#Goro I'd get but Sumi

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

sakdfjlfj someone check on the Goro and Sumi fans. TT0TT Their first spinoff to be featured in since Royal and Atlus stated P5T is a separate continuity.

[kroosluvr]

if it were up to me i'd send royal trio to sumaru city

(poses cutely)

so this isn't a 1:1 crossover but more like if i were to put royal trio into p2's story/plot!

akira is one of the people most afflicted by the rumors. he already had a "dark" past, falsely accused of assault in the past, and is kind of a rough-and-tumble guy. when rumors start coming true, this gets a little dangerous for him. i think he's very snarky and pretty arrogant (kinda like eikichi!) and people don't try to mess with or befriend him. since he's more "delinquent" i drew him w/o his glasses! but a rumor spreads that akira kurusu has bad eyesight so he needs to get glasses LMAOOOO

goro is very academically-inclined, and "interns" at kuzunoha detective agency (not really bc he doesnt get paid and basically does most of the work there out of pure passion.) he wants to become a detective when he grows up. not certain how to work shido innnnnnn I WILL THINK ON IT. i think he keeps akira close bc he's suspicious that he's behind the rumors coming true (he's not, obviously)

sumire is on the track club at sevens for fun outside of her intense gymnastics training, it's a good outlet/hobby for her. kasumi is already a world-renown gymnast and for most of the game she's abroad, as well as her parents probably. she still has a pretty strong inferiority complex but she tries to stay upbeat as much as she can. like her parents and sister love her a lot but shes obviously lacking more in gymnastics than kasumi so she feels left behind a lot of the time, and pretty lonely. she befriended goro on account of both being honor students (?) and met akira through goro. i'd say more often than not she wears the track uniform but i like the sevens uniform a lot too hehe

idk idk they played the persona game when they were kids soooo woahhhh philemon sighting???

(i said it's not a 1:1 but i think eikichi - akira, tatsuya - goro, lisa - sumi kind of stacks up well LMAOO) (which is awesome bc i love innocent sin trio)

[maespri]

let's talk about the many crimes of the phantom thieves

hello and welcome to me detailing the many crimes of the persona 5 royal teenagers... my dearest friend and i got bored and decided to make a list of every crime they could potentially be charged with, and i thought i'd post it to get other people's thoughts (in case i missed any) + laugh about the insane shit they've pulled off.

lets go!!!

before we get into this: we did not count crimes that were committed within the metaverse, as it wouldn't be possible to really charge the phantom thieves. the only exception to this is goro. we counted his metaverse crimes because it made his laundry list of crimes funnier. that's all.

p.s.: i love studying criminology, but i know i'm not an expert by any means. if i mess something up, miss a crime, etc.- let me know!

now, let's get into it, in order from least to most crimes!

sumi yoshizawa commits zero crimes.

good for her... good for her...

ann takamaki commits one crime: battery.

aside from ryuji and haru (who also only commit one crime), ann has the shortest list of crimes with just one: battery. it's a stretch for sure, but technically, she does slap ryuji after shido's palace, and that does qualify as battery. good on her otherwise.

ryuji sakamoto commits one crime: assault.

side note for anyone who doesn't know: assault and battery are two different things. assault is the threat, battery is the action. for example: if i tell someone i'm going to punch them, that is assault. if i actually do punch them, that is battery. that's often why the two go hand-in-hand.

ryuji threatens people quite a bit, but we actually couldn't think of any instances where he goes through with said threats, excluding him punching kamoshida. because that happened pre-canon, however, and because kamoshida clearly didn't charge ryuji, we didn't count it.

haru okumura commits one crime: perjury.

haru lies to sae when being questioned about her father's death. and yes, lying to a prosecutor during a criminal investigation does count as lying to law enforcement in general.

makoto niijima commits three crimes: blackmail, hacking, and theft.

blackmail: makoto approaches the phantom thieves and blackmails them with a video of them stating their identities, threatening to leak it if they do not meet her demands.

hacking: makoto intentionally manipulates sae's laptop in order to steal documents from it.

theft: makoto steals confidential documents from sae's laptop.

ren amamiya/akira kurusu/the protagonist/joker commits three crimes: improperly bringing an animal onto public transportation, resisting arrest, and breaking and entering.

improperly bringing an animal onto public transportation: animals are allowed on most subways in japan if they are documented, in a proper carrier, and, at times, have been paid for with a proper fee. joker brings morgana onto the train every day without doing anything of the sort.

resisting arrest: joker runs from the police and attempts to escape when surrounded outside of sae's palace.

breaking and entering: in one of yusuke's later confidant events, joker picks the lock to madarame's house and enters.

yusuke kitagawa commits four crimes: plagiarism (charges would likely be dropped, however!), stalking, solicitation, and trespassing.

plagiarism: this one was really interesting to discuss with my buddy. yusuke does commit plagiarism by willingly handing over his artwork to madarame and allowing him to claim it as his own. however, it can be argued that he did so because he was being manipulated, abused, and was under duress* (madarame essentially claimed he would end up on the streets if he did not hand over his art). it can also be argued that because yusuke did not place any copyright infringement on his paintings, it wasn't really plagiarism. therefore, this charge would likely be dropped, either on the basis of insufficient evidence and/or his being under duress.

stalking: yusuke does stalk ann for a few days before speaking to her. because this action causes distress to ann (shown by her mentioning yusuke following her around a few days prior, as well as her initial reaction to meeting him), it falls under the category of stalking.

solicitation: yusuke solicits joker to commit the crime of breaking into madarame's house in one of his confidant events.

trespassing: when joker does break into madarame's house for him, yusuke enters.

*under duress: constraint illegally exercised to force someone to perform an act (AKA, forcing somebody to do something illegal via threats, blackmail, manipulation, guilt-tripping, etc.)

futaba sakura commits eight crimes: wiretapping, non-consensual surveillance, espionage, truancy, hacking, tampering, theft, and blackmail.

wiretapping: futaba hacks into phone lines (most notably, ren and akechi's) and listens in on conversations.

non-consensual surveillance: futaba tracks the GPS on a few people's phones.

espionage: futaba spies on people.

truancy: we don't know the full extent, but it is implied that futaba has missed a lot of school, which is a crime.

hacking: i hope i don't have to explain this one HAHA.

tampering: to send shido's calling card, futaba tampers with all the big screens around japan, which is tampering with property.

theft: futaba has stolen plenty of information, classified or not classified, from a loooot of different people.

blackmail: when she first asks the phantom thieves to change her heart, she does so through blackmailing them, threatening to reveal their identities if they don't do it.

goro akechi commits twelve crimes: attempted first-degree murder, mass first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, conspiracy, fraud, aiding and abetting, terrorism, assault, battery, perjury, blackmail, and obstruction of justice.

attempted first-degree murder: whilst akechi technically doesn't kill joker, he does try to, which means he can be charged with this.

mass first-degree murder: akechi murders. a LOT of people. which falls under this category.

unlawful possession of a firearm: in order to kill joker, akechi steals a gun from a police officer.

conspiracy: akechi states his plans to murder joker and plots it out in advance for a long, long, time.

fraud: faking joker's death certificate is a form of fraud.

aiding and abetting: helping shido kill people is aiding and abetting.

terrorism: terrorism is defined as "the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims." akechi's actions fall under this category.

assault: akechi throws plenty of threats people's ways!

battery: and follows through on many of them.

perjury: akechi lies to all sorts of law enforcement around him, most notably sae and the guard outside of joker's interrogation room.

blackmail: akechi threatens to leak the identities of the phantom thieves if they don't infiltrate sae's palace.

obstruction of justice: by lying about what he knew about the phantom thieves, withholding information from law enforcement, and overall just completely messing with the case, akechi commits obstruction of justice.

that's it!

thank you for reading thank you for joining us joy to the world... shoutout again to my wonderful friend for being these guys' defense attorney's

BYE!!

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

no. 1 thing people get wrong about sumi? (Or royal trio in general)

i mean honestly that she's terribly written. she's not. there are flaws because of the time constraints of third sem being so short, and i do have issues with her writing, but people complain so much about things that aren't issues or were the entire point. for example, the first half of her confidant being boring. she's supposed to feel like half a person, like a mask, like there's something Off, that there's more to her she's keeping secret.

something that haunts me is how little she talks about her dead sister, which feels like should be the key to her character arc and her slump--she mentions her once, in passing, and doesn't get very upset about the fact that her sister and best friend is dead! but the thing is, sumire thinks she is the one who died, and so she doesn't mourn herself. because of course kasumi wouldn't care. no one would care if sumire died. anyway, my point is, before you find out she's sumire, the way the narrative completely brushes over the fact that her sister died just months ago feels like missed potential. but it's actually entirely intentional. that's how the whole first half of her confidant is.

oh here are a couple other things about sumi that i've seen people be wrong about in the past. there was a post going around about how sumire should have been allowed to be more angry and go apeshit about being herself and allowed to be depressed for a while and like i just don't understand that? did we play the same game??

sumire DOES get angry she DOES go apeshit she LITERALLY TRIES TO KILL YOU so she can remain kasumi. after you defeat her she refuses to talk to you for days and for the next couple ranks she's visibly upset and depressed. sumire's arc is about recovery. they had to show her getting better in the short amount of time they had, so she couldn't continue to be dark and depressed beyond those couple ranks, but it is there.

and like. sumire wouldn't get angrier or darker than she does, because she's far too respectful? it's not in character for her to be rude or angry beyond how she already is in the game. and on top of that, she idolizes the protag. so she's not angry with him, she's angry at herself for failing him by refusing to face the truth.

the other thing is the take that cendrillon in her entirety represents sumire, while cendrillon at the ball represents kasumi. which is a really nice idea and i'd love it were it true, but it just...isn't. when sumire awakens to cendrillon the second time, it's kasumi's "spirit" or memory that transforms into the persona. cendrillon is always symbolically tied to kasumi, whether that be sumire's desire to become kasumi, or sumire carrying on the memory of kasumi. and the latter idea is nice, but it doesn't quite work for me without a middle step where sumire embraces that she is herself, without the baggage that is kasumi, first. (which is why i gave her odile in code violet.)

as for royal trio, probably the idea that they're a really boring and overrated trio, which just. isn't true. i get that there is limited content of them, but royal trio is all about the potential. as someone who has written a 100k+ fic about them, trust me. the potential is there and just waiting to be explored.

and this isn't really a royal trio take persay, but the idea that goro doesn't care about sumire, dislikes her, only sees her as a useful teammate and nothing more, or is indifferent to her, is objectively false. seriously. the moments are few and far between, but goro does show that he cares about her. in navi dialogue, one particular moment during the royal trio infiltration that lives rent free in my mind where he seems genuinely concerned for her, even the way he refuses to fight her is in its own strange way an expression of care.

and ofc, most notably when he saves her life after their fight with maruki by stopping her from going after him. "he only sees her as a useful teammate" my ass. if that were true he could have let her kill herself going after maruki and it'd have been nothing to him, because their fight with him was over and her usefulness was moot. but no, he stops her, because her safety matters to him. can you tell i'm insane about that moment? because i am so insane about that moment.

[crescentmoonteas]

hi same anon as before, i'd love to hear more about the plot you have planned out so far!

and I would love to tell you about it!! be aware this contains spoilers for both Persona 5 Royal and the AU itself, so I'm putting it under a read more just in case

∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

SPOILER ZONE oOoOOoOOoOOoo

okay so this is a very loose/rough plot outline because it's still changing and being confirmed (I literally changed Makoto's palace like 10 minutes ago) BUT

edit: I FORGOT MY BOY RYUJI........... RYUJI I AM SO SORRY........... timeline now updated to include Ryuji!

story opens with Haru talking to Wakaba about the exploits of the PTs (same framing device as Sae talking to Joker)

flashback to Haru arriving in Tokyo to start her probation

Sojiro is like "grumble grumble kids these days and their *checks notes* haha you kicked a guy in the balls? that's rad. anyway don't do it again"

first day of school

Haru meets Sumi

Sumi's like "I KNOW WHERE SCHOOL IS SENPAI"

surprise: school is now Madarame's palace (same art gallery kind of theme, thinking of having waxworks instead of paintings and it's highly implied the waxworks are just the cognitive versions of students that have been dipped in wax)

Sumi's like "OKAY MAYBE I DON'T KNOW WHERE SCHOOL IS SENPAI"

anyway blah blah awaken Haru's persona

meet Goro who's stuck and about to be taxidermied (chrome spellcheck told me this was wrong and it was actually taxidermised but apparently you can use both. this is irrelevant to the plot I'm just letting everyone know what I learnt today) by Madarame

save Goro, learn about persona, etc etc

decide best way to get Yusuke to fess up is by stealing his diary

steal the poor man's diary

Haru takes it back to Leblanc and tries to open it

Goro is no help because he's like WE HAVE NO LOCKPICKS!!! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!!! PECK IT OPEN?!

Akira (works part-time at Leblanc) is like "hi :) let me get that for you" *opens diary*

(Akira is the one who teaches Haru about infiltration tools)

meet Ryuji at some point. he's the new track star at Shujin!

anyway. something something awaken Sumi's persona, recruit Yusuke, awaken his persona, everyone gets a persona,

defeat Madarame

yay

go to Kosei to attend a volleyball game

Haru learns who Ann and Futaba are

[the second palace belongs to the guy who runs the eSports team that Futaba is on. I have yet to really nail these details so let's just skip forward]

Futaba: persona awakened, joins the team, hooray!

Futaba promotes the PTs by claiming they're sponsoring her. she puts their logo on her gamer jacket and all.

third palace is Principal Kobayakawa whose name I can never spell correctly from memory so apologies in advance

Kobayakawa has tasked our poor little meow meow Morgana, who is literally just a first year hall monitor with big dreams, with finding out what's going on with students getting jobs and shady deals

Morgana: panic.mp4

the PTs decide to go and change Kobayakawa's heart because tbh he's a bit of a dick

Morgana: persona awakened, joins the team, hooray!

important note: they do NOT find out about Kaneshiro or any of that. however, Kaneshiro is mysteriously taken down anyway.

Haru gets a text that's like "hello pls change my heart. I am literally dying. here's my address pls bring Big Bang Burger if you're coming" (that's a joke) (maybe)

the address leads to an apartment complex and Makoto lives on the very top floor. she's basically barricaded in and the state of her apartment probably violates every single health code

her rent/bills were set to auto-pay but the money's running out

they find out the auto-pay was set up by Sae before she died while out on a mission

"hey this apartment kinda looks like a lighthouse huh-"

MAKOTO'S OWN PALACE TIME

Makoto's palace is an abandoned lighthouse on a deserted island

the water level is rising and there's a leviathan nearby threatening to kill them

the PTs need to get through her palace and change her heart before they all drown/get eaten

pls look at this tweet by Jazzy for Makoto's palace and persona refs!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway. save Makoto, reconciliation with Sae, wooo Makoto is a PT now and she's the nav so Goro can finally stop guessing everything wildly

fifth palace belongs to Akira's dad who owns a wildly successful modelling company (that happens to be the same one Ann belongs to! what a coincidence)

Akira is engaged to Mika and the deadline for their wedding is approaching

(note: Mika isn't a complete bastard in the AU like Haru's fiance - she keeps her own personality!)

Akira's dad's palace is a factory where the models are the product

something something something. have yet to decide if Akira's dad dies like Haru's. remind me to ask Jazzy about this when we start designing that bit of the AU

Jazzy mentioned having both Akira's parents as bosses in the palace so we're doing that!!!

cognitive Akira is like a Barbie doll - he's trapped in a plastic box and he's not allowed out lest the world damages their perfect little darling <3

(hitting cognitive Akira turns him into damaged goods)

anyway AKIRA GET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sixth palace is Wakaba's

she asks the PTs to explore her palace in the name of COGNITIVE PSIENCE!!!!!

Haru still gets apprehended and arrested by the antisocial force after and they fake her death like oh no, the PTs aren't together anymore. what a shame. anyway,

Seventh palace is Kamoshida

Ann gets her engine room moment (keeping this under wraps because the ideas Jazzy had were AMAZING and I don't want to spoil them)

Kamoshida goes down in FLAAAAMMEEESSSSSSSSS

hang on. everything is wrong. wh-

TIME TO FIGHT YALDABAOTH

pew pew pew

oh no. we lost Goro- oh wait there he is

and everything was fine :)

OR WAS IT!

MARUKI REALITY TIME

RYUJI WAS REALLY HIS BROTHER RYOJI?!?!?!?!?!

AND THE REAL RYUJI WAS THE TRACK STAR AT SHUJIN!

Maruki should not be a therapist. listen. that man needs whatever license/credentials he has revoked.

ANYWAY SHUAKE REALITY TIME NOW AKECHI HAS A HUMAN BOD OUTSIDE OF THE METAVERSE

Maruki fight: now with 20% more thong!

[spoilers censored because they're big and I want them to hit people in the face] [in a loving and good way]

anyway that's the general idea of it. obvs I haven't noted side confidants or anything but that's like the skeleton. the spine. the framework. if you have any Qs, my ask box is open!!!!

[promisinininining]

post project rambling

blood spills over is finished!

The whole thing has been planned from the beginning, but the exact scope of it kept creeping and creeping until it went form something I thought I could finish in around 5k words, to 10k, to 20k, at which point I gave up trying to estimate the length it would end up at. The last part (five of pentacles, reversed) ended up being longer than the previous parts added together, sitting at 26 out of 47k. Oops! That's longer than the previous longest fic I'd written on its own! It was only supposed to be a little thing to tide us over until the final part but ,,. uh, well, I got carried away a little. I had only written parts 1 and 2 before I started posting, and at that point I thought I was mostly done, so I thought it was safe to do so. (As an addendum, I did start posting because of my cute little stalker digging up my old accounts and sending abuse to those inboxes, where I hadn't closed anon off yet, so it was a bit of a spite fuelled adventure at the beginning.) I don't normally like to post things before they're finished because quite frankly I didn't trust myself to actually finish it, but I guess because I had a clear ending in mind, I was able to get there eventually.

I am not used to being in such a big fandom, so the support has been a completely new experience, and it's honestly been a little overwhelming (in the best way possible). I have been on the struggle bus these past few monoths with moving to a new house and a ton of unexpected bills on top of it, and I don't think I would have been able to get to this point without my friends and reviewers. I've met so many wonderful people, and it's been fun being in a fandom that isn't just me and my best buds.

About the story itself, there were a few deleted scenes that I wished I could put in, but ultimately decided against. Goro was initially going to physically meet Rumi, for one, but it didn't quite fit, and it felt like it was distracting from the main story too much, which was ultimately Goro finding something to live for. There was definitely not enough time for him to learn to love himself in just the short space of time where the third semester took place, but he has the rest of his life to learn how to, surrounded by people who are willing to show him by loving him back.

Sumire's relationship with Goro is also one that I really wanted to play with, especially as two extremely cynical people who don't really interact in canon. I feel like it's easy to just see Sumi as someone who's peppy and a little airheaded, but she's also extremely depressed, and put her entire existence on fulfilling her sister's wish, much like Goro's existence is based on killing Shido. I think they would understand each other intrinsically on a level that is very fun to explore, beyond "well we both love pego". Also, Atlus what the heck did you do with her. Give her to me. Let me sort it. I didn't think it helped her character any by being kidnapped for a week then beaten up and suddenly being like "wow you're right I can live as myself now". She needed to find that inner strength herself, with a little nudge from Goro who recognises the same pain. Of course, Goro's solution was "kill the person responsible" and Sumire can't reaaally do that with a hit and run, but she has a better support system than Goro and can learn to channel that more productively. If it's gymnastics, or something else entirely, I don't know.

I don't want to go too deep into the details with futaba and haru because this is already getting QUITE LONG, and I'm certain that there are only going to be a few people who have read this far, and those people already know how I feel about their relationship. I mean I was pretty clear in the fic itself, it's one of the less subtle things, I think; Futaba is the youngest, and she's extremely traumatised, and people have been enabling her bad behaviour by indulging it. It's 'helpful' rather than invasive, and okay, it saved Akira's life... but I do think there was definitely a better way to do it than bugging his phone. (Actually, another thing I didn't get to touch on is how the Thieves blatantly used Goro for their own plan regarding the interrogation room rather than attempting to understand him or his motives, perfectly fine with manipulating him back to thinking he's manipulating them, and how much that would fuck up someone who already has a complex about being used... but that's for another day and another fic, I think).

Finally, Maruki: this man is fucked up. I know it's easy to see him as sympathetic when he has the best intentions, and wants to 'help' people, but intentions don't matter when it comes to hurt and abuse. You can intend to be a perfectly kind person and still abuse your power over them. Don't get me wrong, I love him dearly, he's such a fucked up little skrungley boy, but he's definitely not the wet cat that he looks like at first glance. He's a researcher, forward in his field of cognitive pscience to the point where he awakened his own powers by himself, and has been shamelessly abusing his position as a therapist to get more information for his own gain (which, I emphasise, is to control the lives of everyone ever so that nobody suffers again) from the main cast.

Anyway, before I sign off, I will put out there that I have been thinking about Strikers, But With Baby Rei On Board. It's been spinning in my head since I finished. it's not going to happen (I refuse to do an entire game rewrite--just the third semester was an entire Thing, and I hate rehashing canon scenes), but hopefully you can glean some fun and entertaining thoughts about it. If you do, let me know! or don't.

A'ight, that's it from me. Thank you for reading. It's been... well, not long, but I feel like my writing is a little dense and requires some re-reads to fully experience it, so it FEELS longer than it is. Either way, I am kissing gently every single one of you who have made it this far down my massive ramble. Thank you, truly.

MIS

[daz4i]

Have you ever thought about the p5 cast in the bungo stray dogs universe?

👁👁 oh now this is A Concept

ok ok lemme think up some abilities that can work for them

joker: disappearing into the crowd. once he puts on his glasses/activates his ability in some other way he's overlooked, security cameras don't pick up on him, you can't see him unless he wants you to

ryuji: i'd say super speed makes most sense tbh?? not quicksilver-like, rather only when he chooses to activate it, and it leaves him fairly exhausted afterwards

ann: ngl i have 0 ideas for her 😭 just pyrokinesis honestly. i'm sorry ann i let you down 😔

yusuke: replicating anything he's seen in art. he can already kind of do that in canon tbh but i'm talking down to the tiniest details without needing to get a good look first

makoto: seeing the unfolding of certain choices. leaning into her strategist role and her more careful approach to things, she can see glimpses into the future before making a choice and see how things turn out whether she does one thing or the other. it's very powerful and paralyzing so i think there'll be some drawbacks, like only seeing a few seconds ahead for example

futaba: either smth like katai has aka screen manipulation (i have literally described katai as adult male futaba like 2 days ago lol) or the ability to learn things very quickly? maybe touching a book and immediately being able to know everything in it? and somehow with practice she managed to transfer it to the internet as well. it only works for raw knowledge and not like, languages and such, and she can't learn actual skills without actually doing them, more like having the right reading material in her head

haru: there's a lot of directions you can go with her and tbh the one i'm feeling the most is plant manipulation. she can't grow ones that aren't already there but she can use existing plants in her area however she wants. bc why not. it'd be cool

goro: making people go berserk lmao. no but really i feel like he'd have smth with like. masks. like he can change the way he's perceived by others. it's also kind of a flip on joker's "don't perceive me" i think, leaning into them being foils. maybe the berserk thing can be kind of like chuuya's arahabaki, but with loki. like this deity takes over him and through it he can make people lose their marbles somehow, after being experimented on (it's already kind of a common fan theory that loki is the result of goro being experimented on, and while i don't like it in p5's context, it works nicely here imo) (also i have a soft spot for this bc one of my ocs is literally that. aka was experimented on and now she can make people go insane with one touch. so i'm biased)

sumi: stealing other people's abilities ofc 👀 she maintains an ability up until she steals a different one. at first it's triggered through strong emotions and she doesn't even know she can do it or that she did it with kasumi, but she can later learn to control it and willingly steal abilities after perceiving them in action.

ok this is what i have for you. excited to hear if others have other ideas for them!!!!!!! 👀👀👀👀

[starlight-phantom]

So what are your thought on those p3r and p5t trailers??

P3R, I am so goddamn excited, it looks amazing already! Plus, I love P3 but it has some aspects that make it a little annoying to play like the non controllable party members and the fatigue system and the weird way romance routes were handled and such, but this'll probably fix all that considering everything they've learned since then! I mean just P3 to P4 was a big improvement for battles and dungeons, imagine what they'll do now. Plus there's so many characters that I can't wait to see their new models and HEAR THEIR VOICES, cause that just suddenly hit me that none of the social links in the original even had any voice lines. Now I'm even more excited.

P5T..... Meh? The trailer really didn't leave much of an impression on me. Like the art is obviously the person who did PQ2 and the promotional art and the cutscenes look nice, it's just the models look a little weird to me? I'm not sure what it is about them, they just look off somehow? Also no Goro? No Sumi? No Sophia? No Zenkichi? I get it, but this is clearly a spin-off with barely anything to do with the original... Does it really need to be canon compliant? I'm just getting annoyed with their insistence to only use the 'base' thieves. Also it looks like it plays like Fire Emblem? But like... If I wanted to play Fire Emblem, I'd play Fire Emblem. I dunno, maybe later trailers will change my mind but right now I'm not particularly bothered.

EDIT: I will say one concern I have for the P3 remake is if they try to tone down the dark themes of the game because... No. Don't do that. The darkness of P3 is a huge part of its identity and it honestly helps the overall messaging to hit harder. So yeah, that's something I'm nervous about.

[kingspuppet]

Last thought on this for now, but supposedly Goro is going to be in the game. (I believe they said Sumi will be as well.) It's coming from the same people who had leaked the info initially so I'm more inclined to believe it, but either way I'm still not going to get my hopes too high. Just because they are rumored to be in the game doesn't mean it won't turn out to be them behind a DLC paywall. But hopefully since they are part of the main cast for Royal they'll actually get decent, already in the base game kind of roles. At this point it's just a lot of speculation and hearsay, and hopefully with the actual official announcement on Monday we'll get more details. And since the game comes out in November it shouldn't be long before we get to see more even if they don't reveal a whole lot at the event. Either way, I'd like for this to be true because I'll go absolutely feral over Goro being in it. But I'm anxious to see the extent of it so I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be all okay. If they do him dirty though I will riot.

[stellatenuem]

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad, and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.” (from sumi)

SAD QUOTES STARTERS (Accepting!)

❝ I'd say... considering everything... that's a perfectly understandable mindset to have, though. I... I get it. ❞ Ren nurses the side of his coffee cup with his finger as he gazes down into his drink in thought.

❝ You're grateful that you've come down this path, cause it's lead you to this new clarity, to the person you are now... and you wouldn't trade that for anything. But... there's still pain there you don't know how to sort through... ❞

The former leader of the Phantom Thieves can understand why Sumire would be thankful to Maruki... Ren never would have seen Goro or Momose again had he not done what he did. But they also never would have had to be re-traumatized by losing them both all over again. Ren, honest to god, did not fucking need that.

There wasn't serious emotional pain he needed to escape in order to just function day to day without breaking down all the time, like what Sumire was going through. Not to say Ren wasn't hurting. They were, but they were managing it. (Managing it healthily? Probably not.)

Ren looks up, their eyes locking onto Sumire's pretty ruby ones.

❝ You don't have to settle on one feeling or the other... it's okay for both to co-exist. If you feel confused or frustrated with yourself, remember that it's not the job of your feelings to make sense... Healing takes time. ❞

He smiles at her, and he means every word,

❝ We'll work hard at it together. ❞

[generatedreflection]

Can I talk a little bit about how Ren and Goro being wildcards really does create a unique connection between them that the PT would struggle to grasp?

The power of the wildcard and wielding multiple personas comes from a disconnected, unstable sense of self, right? The protagonist is a wildcard because of the potential they have to be any number of things.

In Ren's case, this is linked to a traumatic event. And given his general reticence and personality shapeshifting, I don't think his sense of self was all that gelled together to begin with. (But that's going into headcanon territory.) And of course, Goro has two personas; his identity is fractured by neglect, trauma, and necessity to survive. He's been shutting off inconvenient parts of himself for a long time.

The PT, by contrast, essentially resolve at the end of their Palaces (and really at their Awakenings). They may have future struggles to work out, but their sense of self is pretty gelled?

(Morgana does have some identity insecurity, but that's more due to memory loss than sustained pressure and trauma? He's not suppressing his identity because he believes it's "wrong" somehow. Sumi is the only exception, of a sort--but she doesn't know that for most of the game, so she doesn't really get a chance to connect with Ren over this. And the connection she does develop in-game is...uncomfortably dependent. Plus, she's not a PT.)

Goro is the only one who can really *get* that side of Ren, I think. It feels like the PT are often telling Ren who he is--"you're always so cool-headed, you're so laid-back" or whatever response is appropriate to what he's said. But Goro doesn’t seem interested in defining Ren, just understanding his own feelings regarding him and where they might come from. I'd need to analyze this more thoroughly before making strong statements to that effect, but it's a pattern I've noticed.

I don't think the PT are able to connect with Ren on that deepest level because they're not shattered quite so thoroughly, and he's not connected enough to meet them. This is probably why I lose interest in the PT so quickly after their Palace in the main story (and why Scramble is even less interesting). They're reduced to consistent, internally whole characters with little friction inside them anymore. Because that's kinda the whole point of awakening a Persona--accepting that other repressed part of yourself and making it work for you. Ann and Yusuke even discuss this in My Palace, saying they can't even imagine not having their identity resolved into one thing.

So whenever I see Ren in the group...I still see someone alone in a crowd. The ability Goro has to understand Ren is so astronomically important to Ren healing, imo, because I don't see any other place in his life that that could really come from. He can receive support and acceptance from people like Sojiro and that's all good, but to me the relationship with Goro is the one thing that lances all the way down and opens up the possibility that he might become more open to healing influences. It's really necessary.

(And as a postscript--I was gonna put this in the tags but might as well put it here. I'm not here like "Ren needs no friends ever, only boyfriend." I'm here like "Ren needs to feel seen before he can start making meaningful friendships and that's not possible yet from what I see in game." I love me some of his fanfic friendships but I cannot feel it in canon.)

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

oh well i figured given the whole 'i want my money back' response to p5t being non-canon, and the dlc being a memory wipe end.... And the dlc being about Goro... And not including any of the 3rd semester plot so it's before Sumi, well, becomes a good character imo lol

Yeah I figured that's where you got that impression. TT0TT So I totally get it. XD

I'm only there for Sumi, and tbh....I don't actually mind pre 3rd semester Sumi, she's at least a breath of fresh air to be around. TT0TT

But yeah I'd rather get the DLC on a sale considering......eeeeverything else. (I mean if Atlus wants me to buy DLC the second it drops well haha just slap FeMC in it, that's how you get me haha......ha........you're going to avoid giving me anything with FeMC, even DLC, aren't you Atlus ;w; jokes on you!...you already did that with P3D....at least I got her songs orz)

[kroosluvr]

Ive been wondering lately, how would have P5 played out if Kasumi had failed to save Sumire. For all the times Sumi says or feels that Kasumi would be able to still succeed at Gymnastics and life through the pain, and wouldnt need as much help as she need...i feel like Kasumi would have been fucking destroyed emotionally.

Would she have really been able to move on more quicly like Sumire felt? Would she end up asking a similar wish as Sumire if she went to Maruki's counseling? Would she become friends with Joker and the Thieves like Sumi did?

You have such a deep understanting of Sumi, im curious to hear your thoughts on the other Yoshizawa

OMFGGG this is such a good concept.... i havent tried to get into kasumi's head that much but off the top of my head:

(under the cut bc its a bit long)

kasumi's love for gymnastics, surface-level, seems to run much deeper than sumire's love for it. i interpret sumire's love for gymnastics as more like "its because i did it with my sister that i really enjoyed/loved it" so since that was the main factor, when kasumi died, sumire drifted away from the sport (also due to traumatic factors but like yeah)

so i think, opposite to sumire, she would throw herself TENFOLD into the sport, and be more grating to herself if she failed: kind of pinning her entire identity on the sport (the way sumire did prior to her death) and basically she invests all of her time into gymnastics, because of the guilt and distress and sadness she feels, maybe if she's at the top-of-the-top, she can figure it out more.

SO LIKE she didn't move on any better than sumire did but she deals with it in an opposite way (in my headcanon)

thinking about it.. i don't think kasumi would wish to become sumire, but maybe she'd allude to something (i.e. i'm trying to become the best gymnast in the world but this guilt and sadness is holding me back) that maruki would take as "oh maybe if u forgot about sumire u'd be better off"

so that's something that's Just As horrific and jarring as literally becoming your dead sister, and it'd lead to like interesting moments like (interview) "so kasumi how are you coping with the loss of your sister" "ah, if you're talking about the loss of my latest competition, i just had a few mistakes with thsi apparatus but i'll be back in tip-top shape for the next one!" optimistic to a fault.. she glazes over anything that doesn't fit Her Reality.... everything goes back to her gymnastics

and i think, because of maruki's "intervention", it works! kasumi suddenly does rocket up to the top in gymnastics! that's something that's absolutely terrifying to kasumi when the delusion breaks: was i really willing to give up the beloved memories of my sister just to get an edge in gymnastics? would i really give it all up? did i really think i'd be better off without her?

it'd def be interesting if she befriended the thieves!!! i think her boisterous sort of personality and her intense, almost overwhelming dedication to her sport...... that confidant w akira seems interesting..... i think, at least, her sudden "switch" in terms of gymnastics prowess would draw media attention (kind of like the opposite of a mental shutdown... goro akechi ON THE CASE///SHOT DEAD)

but no like fr that'd be interesting if goro had a sort of "confidant" with her, trying to get to the bottom of the case abt dr. maruki.....

SORRY IF THSI MAKES NO SENSE I LITESRALLY JUST THOGUHT THIS UP JUST NOW. HEHE THANK U FOR THE ASK!!!

[mistresseast]

I couldn't get to you on CC. After that anon ask, I wanna share this. If I were to answer the last anon in your CC, I'd say: Sumire crushes after Akira because the latter reflects her own guilt of not being able to accept herself and her past. She found in Akira someone who she thought could save her from her grief. Unfortunately, Akira wears masks even with his friends and the only person he seems to be open about anything (unrestrained if you may) is with Akechi

Yes, my thoughts exactly, anon. Akira plays a different role with every one of his friends, and I don't think that devalues their relationships or the affection they come to feel for him, but when you contrast how he acts with the others to how he acts with Goro, it's obvious that any romantic relationship with anyone else would be unequal and unhealthy for everyone in the long run. Akira needs someone who can understand him and Sumi needs someone she doesn't feel indebted to. For the sake of their friendship, I think Sumi might be able to work through her hero-worship, but she'll never be able to be what Akira needs.

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

my favorite persona 5 fics

a while ago i made a post that listed all the fics i'd read over the course of my first year in the persona 5 fandom that i enjoyed. i've been thinking about making a post of all the fics i've read since then, but i actually decided to do something different this time. if you want a complete list of every fic i've read and enjoyed, check out my bookmarks on ao3. this, on the other hand, is a list of only my absolute favorite fics. i will continue to update it as i read more fics that i love.

these are the fics that occupy my thoughts to this very day and changed my perception of these characters. that made me cry and laugh and changed me forever. in no particular order, without further ado, these are my favorite p5 fics of all time.

Daredevil, You've Hit the Wall

A Persona 5 Strikers rewrite with Sumire and Akechi. Cookie is a phenomenal writer, and she'll be showing up on this list at a later point. Her characterization of both Akira and Akechi are absolutely godly, and their arcs in this fic are incredibly satisfying for someone who loved Strikers but was left disappointed by the lack of Akechi.

Read this if you like Akira angst, want to see Akechi improve himself and befriend the Thieves (and all the complications that come with that), like Strikers (or don't like Strikers), or love akeshu. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Love is a game (and I only play to lose)

The worst possible outcome to the Interrogation Room. This one is Dark, but the akeshu is absolutely phenomenal. Definitely heed the tags, this one isn't for everyone, but I was hooked from beginning to end. While I don't normally read Hurt No Comfort, I am very glad I gave this one a chance.

watching all the stars burn out

Are you in need of some incredible Royal Trio polycule fluff and angst? Would you like to read some of the most in-character fic I've ever read? Are you in need of a good cry today? Well, then have I got a fic for you!

This is a beautiful, heartwrenching, very sweet Royal Trio polycule fic that takes place during the final week of January when Akechi tells Sumi and Akira about his impeding demise early. It's so good. I cried. You will too. And if you're scared, I promise there is so much fluff here too. My babies,,,

Interminable Ballistics

Time loop of the interrogation room scene. Akira and Akechi are Not Okay. This fic makes me go hnnngh it's so well written the prose is beautiful and everyone is so in character it hurts. I love my bois please someone get them therapy.

goro akechi's waxed asshole

Ehehehe yeah well. This one is nsfw, but it doesn't actually have a whole lot of sex. It's more of a character study than anything, and despite the title and crack concept, is actually really beautiful and sweet? If the title doesn't scare you off please check it out I promise it is incredibly good.

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

AKESHU PIRATE AU!! Goro is a prisoner at a lighthouse and Akira is a pirate. The ways the author plays with their backstories in this AU is fascinating. I'm obsessed with this version of Akira and Goro and I really really wish a sequel existed that explored Sumire because my god-

If you like AUs, pirates, angst, and themes about self loathing and redemption, then check this one out. I think about it constantly.

Flight through fall

Okay....this one is probably the heaviest of all the fics on this list. Severe trigger warning for suicide, self harm, and medical stuff. It's...a lot. But it is also very very good. Akira is Not Doing Well after the events of Royal, and Akechi showing up in his life only makes things worse. This fic is not for everyone, but I personally found it very cathartic and poetic, to the point where I read it two times in a row.

Once More, With Feeling

Another akeshu timeloop, but this time, it's the day of the engine room scene. (I really like timeloop stories.) And then halfway through it also becomes a Palace fic (I won't say whose for the sake of spoilers). I love the characterization of Akechi and Akira here. The way they both handle the time loop is so very Them. It explores ideas of redemption, guilt, and finding a way to move on. I love this Akira so much please someone give him a hug <3

Falling Up

This is one of the only short one shots that have made such an impression on me to make it to this list. Akira and Akechi in the third semester. Akechi has...Feelings about having killed Akira. I don't want to say too much else for fear of giving too much away. Please read this. It's short and powerful and beautiful.

why don't we spin the wheel

Sae Niijima has a cognition of Akechi, and he's really fucked up. Please make sure to heed the warnings, this one's pretty violent. The exploration of Akechi is phenomenal and I think about the ending (and the rest of it) all of the time constantly.

When it's over, you're the start

Everyone starts to forget Akechi ever existed. This longer one shot made me fucking cry. It's so mean, incredibly mean, but don't worry, it has a happy ending. Nothing can erase the power of akeshu.

Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away

A what-if Mamakechi didn't die, but instead was kidnapped by Shido and her suicide faked? The characterization for Misato (Mamakechi) is sooo good, and while this fic does travel some dark places, it ultimately does result in some heartwrenching comfort for both Goro and his mama. I love this fic so fucking much, Misato is such a fantastic interpretation of Goro's mother and the the angst is sublime.

the first step to find your way is to mark where you have been

The best Akechi Palace fic I've read by a landslide, to the point where it's inspired my own Akechi Palace fic quite a bit. I had my kink awakening thanks to this fic (while reading That Scene in the middle seat on an airplane. Sorry, strangers). It's mostly an Akechi character study and an incredibly good one at that. I wish it existed as a game. It did what p5t did with Toshiro with Akechi and it did it so incredibly well. This fic makes me insane. Read it.

Fools Rush In

Akira speedruns Akechi's confidant in a day. This is one of the first fics I ever read, and when I did, I went "this is it. this is Them." The characterization is *chef's kiss.* I'm running out of new ways to compliment incredible writing help-

Pleasant Boy

This fic should be required reading for all Goroboys. No one is allowed to have an opinion on him (especially in third sem) before reading this fic. Akechi is actualized by Maruki in third sem, and Akira hates it. I love this fic so much. It heavily inspired code violet and changed the way I look at and think about Goro forever and ever I love it so much read it read it read it

it takes a village

Or, as I like to call it, The Akechi Fic. I legit had a major hyperfixation on this fic to the point where I read it three times in a row. It's more or less a NG+ where everyone remembers except Akechi. It is quite literally everything you could ever want from an Akechi redemption fic. After reading this I wondered if I ever needed to read another fic about him in my life because everything I ever wanted had already been delivered. There are so many moments in this masterpiece that make me go completely insane. This is my favorite fic of all time. Read it. Read it read it read it Please

[kroosluvr]

someone on twt asked for royal trio tennis playing styles so i will think out loud for several paragraphs under the cut:

PLAYSTYLE

GORO AKECHI. the son of masayoshi shido, one of the best players of all time, so he has big shoes to fill. however he didn't learn from shido himself and was instead passed around various intl academies before settling in at shujin tennis academy. as a lefty he uses it to his advantage: his spin serve is killer and he's a menace with backhand slices and drop shots. he's not one to rush the net and only cleans up with volleys if his opponent is basically off the court already. though not PATIENT by any means, he's very very consistent and i think he seeks to wear you down quickly at the beginning of the match: you get the feeling that "oh shit this guy's an absolute wall, i can't counter this, it's hopeless" so that he can rake in the games from there. i think you have to go into a match with REALLY high confidence otherwise he'll break you pretty fast he also does passive aggressive mind games i.e. instead of passing u the ball to serve he hits em to the corner so u have to go fetch them. doing quick water breaks or none at all if he's winning so you're forced to rush. asking "are you sure?" on linecalls where it was DEFINITELY out just to make you second-guess yourself. he doesn't cheat, though, obviously,that's leagues beneath him, but he'll do little things to break your concentration in a match so there's already a high bar to vault over if u even want a CHANCE at beating goro akechi, but if you get on his nerves somehow then you can crack him from there. someone like akira's unpredictability and flippantness on the court without much sense of planning probably gets under his skin really quick

AKIRA KURUSU. wildcard....... he played a lot of sports growing up, baseball, soccer, track, basketball, u name it basically, but picked up tennis at around age 13 and Somehow was extremely good at it, and immediately scouted and currently training at shujin tennis academy. his athletic and naturally competitive nature means he's naturally really attuned to the nature of Competitive Sport: aka, if he's down, no big deal he'll just fight like hell to get back up. one of the things in tennis is that u can spiral real easily: losing a few points can turn into losing a few games then the match, however, that doesn't phase akira which is his biggest strength. he's really good at Wiping The Slate Clean and starting from scratch if he's down. he's really good at swapping strategies: he can be the moonballer, he can be the 25-ball-rallier, he can be the serve-and-volley menace. etc. and he can do this on the fly without any reluctance. the biggest thing apart from goro and sumi is that he's having FUN. he loves being on the court no matter what, the competition part is secondhand. meanwhile goro and sumi are really really wrapped up in their issues with tennis so the kinda Mind emptiness akira has puts him a step ahead (which they're envious of slash HOW DOES HE DO IT? slash working towards it) SO YEAH hes highly adaptable and fluid in his game style. though, ofc, he tends towards Flashier stuff (which can easily surprise his opponents) so i'd say he's a big fan of cross-cross-down-the-line and such patterns. deep rallies then sudden drop shot and while ur scrambling he beats u to the net. stuff like that. second serve on the first serve. etc. another thing is that his parents are pretty absent (different than the way goro is) i.e. they just dgaf about him entirely, no matter what he does, even if hes good at tennis. (while w goro at least shido would acknowledge him since shido is so far in the limelight). so i think this adds to his adaptability - he doesn't feel constrained the same way goro and sumi do, by their family relationships akira's also one to chat up his opponent mid match LMAO he's not even trying to distract them or play them like that but he's just a friendly happy go lucky guy in the end his thinking is "i hate to lose" so he just keeps playing and keeps winning. it's simple like that

SUMIRE YOSHIZAWA. younger sister of kasumi, she started rhythmic gymnastics w her at a baby age but even from a young age she could tell kasumi was going to outshine her. because of her own timidness holding her back, her own reverence of her sister, she could tell she'd never truly have the willpower/confidence/steadfastness to reach out and be Better than kasumi. because what she really wants is to imprint her name on the world - she doesn't want to be yknow. "kasumi and sumire" she wants to stand on her own, something she doesn't feel she can do if she keeps on with gymnastics. SO SHE SWITCHES TRACKS TO TENNIS another independent sort of sport where you're also scrutinized in the limelight and etc. it'd be difficult to learn this late in the game (age 11ish maybe.) but she's steeled herself and shes determined and READY. it was a biiig decision for her but her parents+kasumi were basically like ok <3 yay<3 and she doesnt reveal how insecure she was about all of that and living in kasumi's shadow and etc. she only confides in akira abt this later down the line (and then goro) her game is really like yknow textbook GOOD like all her shots are impeccable and perfect and really technically perfect. super impressive all around. i dont think she has any specific shots/plays that make her stand out, but her game speaks for itself already in how consistent she is and how steadfast she seems on the court (though inside she's lowk nervous) i think her game might be "predictable" just because of how pristine and mechanically she learned it, but the thing is her form and aim is just so flawless that even if you do know whats coming next you cant counter it all the time actually if anything i think she'd have a killer fast first serve. like CRAZY powerful i think she's not naturally "good" at tennis the way akira and goro are so she works 10x as hard to remedy it. more than just the physical/technical component, getting her mental right is the hard and most important part. when she gets deep into a match sometimes her brain gets the better of her, so in longlong matches she oftentimes loses so that's the current thing she's working on.

PUBLICITY

as with pro tennis comes PUBLICITY and BRAND DEALS and INTERVIEWS and MODELING and ETC

goro dgaf about that but if he's more Famous then he'd be more shoved into shido's face so he goes along with sponsorships and interviews and magazine covers even tho he lowkey hates it.

He doesn't do the detective prince thing here bc he doesn't need to be. he's outwardly bitter and pissed off and snappy the way we know him

akira and sumi are his biggest fans tho always collecting his brand deals and magazines and stuff. they also help tutor him in english so he can do interviews better LMAOO though he's really eyeroll about it

akira and sumi both are good with the publicicty aspect as opposed to goro. sumi, striving to become an intl star, expects it and trains herself for it in spite of her social anxieties. akira, well, is akira and is totally made for the limelight

this causes some sort of internal distress? in goro. he can't quite place it but he feels strange standing alongside them..... something like that. like, of course he wants to take the tennis world by storm, but in the way that he can rub it in shidos face. not really this... aspect? he's not sure what to do with this.

OTHER NOTES

sumi and goro are both highly superstitious and have a solid routine that they ALWAYS adhere to. i.e. goro always practices vs the ball machine the night before. sumi always rewatches rio iwasaki's killer 2016 matchpoint before matches. sumi never wears tennis shoes anywhere other than the court. goro never drinks other gatorade colors besides yellow.

meanwhile u could call akira up 3 mins before and be like hey matchtime and he'd be like ok<3 yay<3

sumi and goro also both analyze their opponents before matches i.e. looking up their ranking and stats and extrapolating stuff frm there while akira is like "oh narukami? from uhhhh. gekkoukan? no. yasogami? ohhh haha thats fun i dont think i played him before :3"

to me at least sumi doesn't come off as naturally competitive the way akira and goro are, inherently: i think she wants to be GOOD, and maybe (in this au) she wants to be Better than kasumi, to gain recognition, to stand on her own two feet: etc. but maybe she doesnt have the inherent Means to get there so that's a lot of what she gains from being friends with akira and goro, to get insight into their mindsets

akira and goro are doubles partners (for better or for worse) (it works great some days and horribly the next. you never know) they dont Seriously compete in doubles though, theyre both singles players to the end.

akira and goro switch off being sumi's mixed doubles partners. she doesn't really play doubles at all i think

sumi is the one who watches pro tennis the most. goro and akira don't really keep up

they all go to shujin academy but kinda half-homeschooled bc as pro players they dont have time for full-time school. theyre also traveling a lot so yeah

goro ties his hair in a low ponytail on the court, sometimes pins his bangs back. akira's hair is too short to tie back, i imagine he pins it back or wears a headband a la rafael nadal

sumi wears a visor! and contacts. akira wears contacts too but sometimes he wears glasses when hes silly goofy

mishima is a sports reporter LMAOOO well theyre all highschool age here so he's a Wannabe sports reporter.

it's also common knowledge that goro is shido's son btw. and goro's mom is dead also. i think only akira and sumi know abt like. his hatred and resentment towards his dad tho

ALSO they all idolize rio iwasaki bc i said so. shes prob like the coolest tennis player of the decade and also woah shes from gekkoukan thats cRAZYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! hamuko is her wife too. tennis coach ham:3 or smth

i think akira's story is then catalyzed later down the line by an injury - that he can heal from, but it forces him to seriously look at tennis and say for certain "ok this is my dream and this is something i want to devote my life to" the way sumi and goro are already devoted to