#Haru will get her revenge

[smolstarthief]

Ok, a hot take (I think): Making Mika and Sugimara Mementos targets wouldn't have worked for Ann and Haru's SLs because it would undermine their growth and the fact that they managed to solve their problems and dealt with those two on their own terms without supernatural help (Joker being their moral support helped as well).

(Now I DO wish we actually saw Sugimara facing consequences so perhaps a small rewrite would have worked (ex: Takakura maybe telling him that he found some evidence against him off screen when he decides to barge in to lash out at Haru and her standing up to him perhaps) but that's it. No Mementos, let Haru be the queen she already was and regain her autonomy that was stolen from her on HER terms)

[mobolanz]

Thinking more and more of fruba rather often than I have in a long time now I'm legit more upset than ever about the reboot cutting this off and instead just having rin stand there.

That stuff reasonates in personal ways more than ever for me tbh :v

[justauthoring]

I really like your Tokyo revengers He’s Taken scenario. What if it happened in reverse where someone told the boys that they would be a better fit for reader <3

TOKYO REVENGERS - UM, SHE'S TAKEN?

includes: manjiro "mikey" sano, hanma shuji, baji keisuke and kazutora hanemiya all include xfem!reader!

a/n: this is so late but i felt i should actually do a request for once :) and i always love me some jealous boys!

MIKEY:

The audacity of this man.

That was all Mikey could think.

Did he not know who he was? Did he not know who you were dating? The Invisible Mikey, Toman's Leader and the most handsome boy you knew?

Clearly not.

Frowning, Mikey watches with barely concealed disdain as your classmate (the one you’ve been complaining to him about for weeks now) follows you outside of the school. He couldn’t always pick you up from school with Toman business and the like, but today he’d made sure he’d be able to after you’d texted him the day before that your annoying classmate had proceeded to take his infatuation with you a step further and follow you out of school. It had taken you great convincing to get him not to ‘walk you home’ as he so eloquently put it – stalking more like it – and though you’d tried to play it off, Mikey knew how scared you were.

The second your eyes fall on Mikey making his way over to you, he sees the instant relief that floods through them. Despite everything, Mikey can't help but feel slightly smug at that, hands shoved nonchalantly in his pockets as he crosses the distance over to you.

"Y/N-channn!" He calls out, arms stretched out towards you and with a single brief glance at the boy next to you, you all but race towards him, allowing yourself to fall into his arms. Mikey hates the way he feels you shake slightly beneath his fingertips, and he throws a not-so-subtle glare the classmates way, who – as he figured – is glaring right back at him.

"Y/N," the classmate calls, and Mikey's eyes narrow at his familiarity when regarding you. "Who's this?"

You lean back from his hug, and Mikey can see you look rather annoyed at the question – clearly, you've told him this before.

"Mikey," Mikey cuts in dryly, "her boyfriend."

And he must really not know who Mikey is because he has the gall to laugh.

"Boyfriend?" Haru laughs, mockingly and loudly, head thrown back as you cast a quick glance up at Mikey in uncertainy, trying to gauge he's reaction. Truthfully, Mikey looks unphased. "I thought you were joking about that, Y/N."

And then Haru steps forward, moving towards you; "I mean, you and me make a much better–"

It happens in a flash. Suddenly, you're no longer in Mikey's arms and rather set gently behind him, Mikey’s body blocking your view as Haru's hand that was outstretched towards you is now tightly grasped in Mikey's fist. A quick glance at Haru's face, and you can tell that Mikey's grip is tight, his face twisting with pain.

"Did I forget to mention?" Mikey smiles, "I'm also the leader of Toman."

Haru's eyes widen and he looks scared–well, shitless.

Mikey's grip tightens, finding the way all colour leaves Haru's face rather amusing and the way the panic wells with pain as Mikey bends his arm to the point of just being about to break.

"Now, what was that about you and Y/N-chan being a better match?"

"I was wrong!" Haru cries, voice pitching pathetically, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Don't apologize to me," Mikey shrugs, "apologize to Y/N-chan for making her so uncomfortable for the past few weeks."

Slowly, Mikey takes a step back, allowing you to fall in the view of Haru again, who, near crying, falls to his knees. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

Cheeks red slightly in embarrassment, you turn to Mikey.

He lets go with ease, Haru falling to the ground with one last cry, before Mikey makes his way to you, pulling you back into his arms with a wide grin.

"Let's go eat!" Mikey calls out with a cheer, snuggling into you. "I want you to feed me!"

HANMA:

"I mean, you're no good for her."

There's a beat. One long, single beat of silence before Hanma can't hold himself back anymore and he burst into laughter.

You, whose stood next to him, looks at him in disbelief, eyes widening as Hanma all but cackles in response to Asahi's words. Asahi, to be fair, looks just a stunned, and with a frown, you step towards your boyfriend, tugging on the sleeve of his jacket.

"Shuji!" You hiss, grip tightening on him.

He falls quiet at that, letting his eyes drift across you briefly, taking in the worried look in your eyes and the laughter stops at that. Hanma lets his eyes fall back on this boy, Asahi apparently, and the frown deepens – you were scared of this guy? He looked like wind might blow him over.

Besides, didn't you trust him to protect you?

A single glance back at you, and you're still throwing worried glances at Asahi, shuffled close to his side.

Guess he had something else to prove then.

"That's funny," Hanma finally speaks up, letting his eyes fall on Asahi with disinterest. "Hilarious actually." But all the humour has left his body, and Hanma simply stares back at the boy with a straight face.

Asahi falters, just slightly.

"I-I mean, you're a deliquent!" He calls out, gesturning in front of him at Hanma, before his eyes fall on you. "I mean, surely you can see that being with him will be nothing but a bad influence. If you were–"

Hanma steps in front of you, blocking you effectively from him.

"You don't get to talk to her," Hanma states rather bluntly.

Asahi turns to him, lips parting.

"You're not worthy enough to talk to her, pipsqueak. So let's keep this between you and me, huh?"

The air changes, thickens, and although you can't see it, you can practically sense as Asahi grows nervous, registering the glint in Hanma's gaze as he stares him down.

"I mean, surely, if you knew I was a... what did you say? Delinquent." Hanma snorts, "you think you'd have the brains to realize I'm not someone to mess with. And I don't take kindly to idiots like you trying to tell me who my girl should or shouldn't be with."

Hanma takes a step forward then, towering over the boy whose skin has grown pale, eyes flooding with fear as he stares up at Hanma.

"I especially don't take kindly to you scaring my girl either."

"I-I–"

Grabbing Asahi by the collar of his jacket, Asahi falls silent as Hanma pulls him up until he's standing on the tip of his toes, kicking his feet beneath him.

"But it seems I screwed up too, huh? My girl shouldn't have to be afraid because she should know I'd never let anyone touch her, let alone look at her if they made her uncomfortable."

There's a pause and Hanma's gaze grows wild as his fist slowly raises beside him, Asahi's cries of panic and pleads of mercy simply a background noise.

"So it looks like I gotta show her why."

BAJI:

"You're loud."

Well, Baji guessed he couldn't necessarily argue with that.

"You're rash."

That, too... maybe.

"You're not very smart."

Uh, ouch.

"You act without thinking. It could get Y/N hurt."

Okay, well that was just rude.

You were always Baji's top priority.

Well, that and fighting. But, still.

"I think I'd be a much better fit for her."

Baji should've figured this is where the conversation was going. Letting his eyes drift across the boy stood in front of him, he takes in the sight of his Toman uniform. He doesn't readily recognize the boy, so he's certainly not in his division.

Ballsy, he'd admit.

But stupid nonetheless.

He's probably in Mitsuya's division, Baji laughs to himself.

Well, not for much longer.

"I'll take your silence as a sign you agree with me–"

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," Baji chuckles, grinning down widely at the boy. "What makes you think you're so great for Y/N? I know she's happy with me."

Lips parting, the boy pauses; "what?"

"You listed off all the reasons why you think I'm not a good fit for her, right?" He quirks a brow, and the boy nods. "So, tell me why you think you're a good match for her. You win, I'll break up with Y/N. And if you lose... well, needless to say." With a wide grin, Baji cracks his knuckles, baring his fists down at the boy.

The boys eyes widen, and he fumbles for a second, before he steels himself, inhaling deeply.

"Well, I'm smart, for one–"

"Wrong," Baji cuts in, "Y/N doesn't like smart guys. Why else would she have gone for me?"

Faltering, the boy shakes his head; "w-well, I'm a good cook–"

"Y/N prefers cooking herself," Baji shakes his head. "It's her passion."

Cheeks redenning, the boy rushes to add; "I-I'm! I'm strong!"

Baji just laughs; "not as strong as me. You're not even a vice captain of Toman!"

Thoroughly embarrassed, the boy hesitates, face bright red.

"Looks like you lose," Baji sings, stepping towards the boy. "I mean, if you really knew Y/N, you'd know the most important thing."

"W-What?"

"That none of that matters because she loves me!"

"You can't just–"

He never finishes what he's about to say before a fist makes contact with his cheek, knocking him off his feet and sending him straight to the ground.

Baji glances down at him with a blink.

"Strong my ass."

He makes a move toward him, before;

"Keisuke!"

Eyes lighting up, Baji spins, grinning at the sight of you. "Y/N!"

You fall in front of him, eyes flickering from the boy groaning on the ground back to him, "did you get in another fight again?"

Baji shrugs; "the guy deserved it. Not much of a fight either.”

And your eyes fall back on the boy on the ground and there's a flicker of hope where he thinks you might help but, but then after a moment you follow Baji's lead, shrugging, letting him take your hand in his before leading him off.

Guess Baji was right – you really did love him.

KAZUTORA:

"I mean, didn't you go to juvie?"

Frowning, Kazutora glares at the man, Daiki as he'd introduced himself as, in front of him. He was apparently a co-worker of yours, though Kazutora's never heard you talk about him before.

Stuck at this party your work was holding for you as a celebration for the promotion you'd received and your excellent work at the company, Kazutora had gotten a whole half hour of your time before you'd been whisked off by two woman, you offering an apologetic smile over your shoulder in response.

At the time, Kazutora hadn't minded – this night was for you after all and he wanted you to enjoy it.

Now, though? He desperately wanted to leave.

"How do you even know that?" Kazutora asks, his patience thin.

"I did some research when Y/N mentioned your name," Daiki shrugs. "Of course, when she mentioned you she hadn't mentioned that."

It's obviously meant as a jab. But Kazutora knew you weren't embarrassed of him – at least, he'd been pretty sure of that.

"Well, it's not really any of your business is it?" Kazutora cuts in, barely able to contain the snide in his tone. He barely liked socializing with people anyway, especially strangers, but he'd gone for you and because he wanted to be apart of your celebration. It was the least he could do after all you'd done for him.

But now he wishes he’d stayed home if he had to continue dealing with this guy.

"Still," Daiki insists, "aren't you embarrassed? I mean, such an upstanding woman... it's a wonder why she ever chose you."

"I chose him because I love him for him," you cut in and Kazutora’s eyes widen, glancing over his shoulder to see you making your way over to him. You look absolutely stunning, dressed in a floor length Y/F/C dress and when you notice his eyes on you, you smile at him, before it falters as you turn back to glance at your coworker. "But I hardly think that's any of your business anyways."

You fall next to Kazutora, wrapping your arm around his waist as you fall into his side, and the second you do, you squeeze Kazutora's side, and he realizes you're trying to reassure him.

"Y/N–!"

"Honestly, Daiki," you breathe out, voice coming out purposely exasperated as you roll your eyes. "I've had this conversation with you multiple times. I am happily in a relationship and your obsession with my personal affairs is strange and inappropriate. Given my promotion, I could easily have you fired."

Kazutora watches as the man's eyes widen, cheeks bleeding red as he shakes his head; "my-my apologies. Please, you don't have to go that far. I'll... I'll make sure I stop."

You raise a brow, holding the man with bated breath for a moment, before you nod. "Just don't let it happen again."

Daiki scurries off without another word, desperate to get away and Kazutora watches as you let out a sigh, shoulders falling as you shift, coming to stand in front of him, hands falling on his hips.

"I'm sorry about him. He's been... annoyingly persistant about asking me out for the past bit. I thought he'd have stopped when I reported him last week but when I saw him talking to you just now, I realized he hadn't."

Kazutora glances down at you, meeting your gaze.

You understand what he's trying to say before he even does; "nuh-uh," you shake your head, tugging him closer to you. "Don't let a word that idiot says get to you. He's just a pervert anyways. He spends half of his time looking down my shirt and I would never want to be with someone like him over you."

Biting his lips, Kazutora smiles softly; "I love you."

"I love you too," you grin, before slipping your hand into his. "Now, come on, I want to introduce you to my friends."

[celestica-1988]

An headcanon for every Tokyo Revengers character. Some are funny, other are not.

Mikey favorite holiday is Halloween cause he can eat as many sweets as he wants and nobody can tell him shit.

Draken secretly wants to go to a spa with Emma. Draken babysits Toman, Emma takes care of the Sano household and they need to rest. He gets flustered if he thinks about sharing a bed with her or taking a bath together at the offsprings.

Baji feeds stray cats and others animals. Animals are naturally drawn to him for some reasons.

Chifuyu likes to watch TV programs of plane crashes. He dreams to be a pilot and he wants to learn how to avoid situations like the ones in the programs.

Takemichi started reading and watching thrillers in the hope they help him sharpen his ability to investigate

Kazutora still has nightmares of his father beating his mother.

Mitsuya keeps himself updated on what is popular amongs kids so he can sew cool things to his sisters like clothes or stuffed animal.

Hakkai is secretly learning Italian since he loves the Godfather series.

Taiju favorite film is Shark Tale.

Pahchin sleeps cuddling his dog.

Pehyan reads scientific books so he can came up with more witty come backs on Pahchin brain.

Angry is really loved by the elderly people in his neighborhood because he's always ready to help them in any way despite his grumpy face. One of the grannies taught him the perfect recipe for ramen.

Smiley is an hardcore naruhina shipper and won't hesitate to fight if someone insults his otp.

When Mucho saw Sanzu for the first time he thought he seemed like a stray cat. That's why he approached him with food aka cheesecake.

Sanzu would like to fix his relationship with Senju but he doesn't know how. Senju is always with Takeomi and he hates Takeomi. He's also scared that if he stops checking on Mikey, even for a second, something bad will happen to him and Shinichiro would have died in vain.

Kisaki has an album of pics of Hinata that he took when she didn't notice.

Hanma really loves movies with a lot of action and comments loud every scene of violence saying what he would have done instead if he was the protagonist.

Kokonoi talks about his days and his thoughts to a framed pic of Akane. He feels like she's still with him.

Inui plays guitar and he's interested in spiritism.

Izana throws darts to a Karen Kurokawa pic pinned on the wall because she ruined his life and his relationship with Emma and Shinichiro.

Kakucho shaves his hair by himself. He's not comfortable with people touching his scar.

Shion is unexpectedly good with children. He's a bit chaotic but overall a good babysitter.

Mochi is really good at cooking and he's proud of it.

Rindou started going to the gym because he was tired of being teased for his chubby cheeks. His guilty pleasure is eating Mac Donald food.

Ran loves 70s lamps, the one with bubbles that are moving up and down inside. They help him sleep.

South loves to dance Latin dances like samba, cha cha cha, rumba etc...

Wakasa has got some fishing trophies in his apartment.

Benkei appears as a tough guy but he loves to sleep with plushies.

Shinichiro has got an organizer that uses as his diary in which he writes his thoughts and notes all of his siblings birthdays.

Takeomi is always scolded by his relatives because of how he wasted his life, raised Haru to be a lunatic and ruined the relationship between Haru and Senju.

Hinata secretly trains in martial arts to help Takemichi, even though she knew he probably won't let her take part in a fight.

Emma often thinks at how good it would be if Izana lives with them. She wants him to have a family.

Yuzuha listen to heavy metal as a let out of her frustration for living with Taiju.

Senju sometimes wants to be adopted by Wakasa so she won't have Takeomi around and maybe Sanzu would visit her. She also hate Concordes.

[aettuddae]

hole in one — karina [smau]

⌕ pairing: karina/yu jimin x fem!reader/oc

⌕ synopsis: at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, where everyone is battling to be the center of attention, yu jimin is just a regular. people want her because of her beauty, but all she cares about is sharing her freaky stuff with her friends and passing her subjects. although there's one thing that might push her out of her comfort zone, revenge. when nakamura kazuha, one of the richest and most well-known students of NCU, starts to spread gossip about her for thousands of followers to see, jimin decides to get back by taking away the thing kazuha cares about the most: her perfect girlfriend, the young golf star, kwon haru.

⌕ genre: social media au, college au, sports au, high class au. comedy, fluff, angst, slow burn, non-idol.

⌕ warnings: main character is an original character. insults, swearing, kms/kys jokes, suggestive jokes grammar mistakes (english not my first language), will add on.

⌕ status: finished.

⌕ featuring: aespa, and members of le sserafim, seventeen, wjsn, monsta x.

— profiles.

karina's friends | haru's friends

— chapters.

• chapter 1.

• chapter 2.

• chapter 3.

• chapter 4.

• chapter 5.

• chapter 6.

• chapter 7.

• chapter 8.

• chapter 9. part 1 - part 2 - part 3.

• chapter 10.

• chapter 11.

• chapter 12.

• chapter 13.

• chapter 14. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 15.

• chapter 16.

• chapter 17.

• chapter 18.

• chapter 19. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 20.

• chapter 21.

• chapter 22.

• chapter 23.

• chapter 24.

• chapter 25.

• chapter 26.

• chapter 27.

• chapter 28.

• chapter 29. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 30.

• chapter 31.

• chapter 32.

• chapter 33.

• chapter 34.

• chapter 35.

• chapter 36.

• chapter 37.

• chapter 38.

• chapter 39.

• chapter 40.

• chapter 41.

• chapter 42.

• chapter 43. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 44.

• chapter 45.

• chapter 46.

• chapter 47.

• chapter 48.

• chapter 49.

• chapter 50.

• chapter 51.

• chapter 52.

• chapter 53.

• chapter 54.

• chapter 55. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 56.

• chapter 57.

• chapter 58.

• chapter 59.

• chapter 60.

• chapter 61.

• chapter 62.

• chapter 63.

• chapter 64. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 65. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 66.

• chapter 67.

• chapter 68.

• chapter 69.

• chapter 70.

• chapter 71.

• chapter 72.

• chapter 73.

• chapter 74.

• chapter 75.

• chapter 76.

• chapter 77. part 1 - part 2.

• chapter 78.

• chapter 79.

• chapter 80.

• chapter 81.

• chapter 82.

• chapter 83.

• chapter 84.

• chapter 85.

• chapter 86.

• chapter 87.

— chapters 2.

[can't put more than 100 links in one post, so to see the rest of the chapter list, click here]

[samasmith23]

How Goro Akechi effectively serves as a dark foil to the Phantom Thieves' brand of rehabilitative justice

So... I understand that Goro Akechi is a pretty divisive character within the Persona 5 fanbase (especially his pre-Royal incarnation), but I have to admit that I honestly found his backstory and role as a sinister foil to the Phantom Thieves to be legitimately intriguing. Elements which are revealed during his boss fight in the game’s “Cruiser of Pride” arc!

When the Phantom Thieves infiltrate the Meta-Verse to confront the Shadow of the corrupt ultra-nationalist politician, Masayoshi Shido, who’s palace takes the form of a gigantic yacht sailing through the ruins of a sunken Japan, they are suddenly confronted by Akechi in the ship’s engine room. Having just betrayed the team during the previous arc, Akechi is revealed to not only be the true culprit behind the mysterious wave of mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns (which included the deaths of two Phantom Thieves’ member’s parents, Futaba Sakura’s mother Wakaba Isshiki & Haru Okumura’s father Kunikazu Okumura respectively…) that have occurred throughout the game’s narrative as part of Shido’s conspiracy to get elected as Prime Minister, but that he is also Shido’s illegitimate child. Essentially, Akechi was the product of a dubious affair between Shido and a sex worker whom the former later discarded when he discovered that she was pregnant, driving her to depression and suicide shortly after Akechi's birth. Akechi spent his entire childhood being passed around as a “problem child” between various foster homes (highlighting Japan’s problems with how the country treats its orphaned children) before later being granted the power of a "wildcard" persona-user, as well as knowledge about the existence of the Meta-Verse by the false god of control, Yaldabaoth.

While Akechi was a societal outcast similar to the members of the Phantom Thieves, he took the wrong message from his experiences. Akechi misguidedly believes that the only way to truly oppose the status quo that looked down upon him is to not only become a part of it (i.e. caring only about his good grades & celebrity status) but to destroy everything that he hates by reducing himself to Shido's right-hand assassin in the Meta-Verse, perpetuating mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns on Shido’s political enemies simply to get some semblance of recognition & validation from his abusive father before exacting revenge on him (whilst exploiting his "ace-detective" celebrity status to "solve" the crimes that he himself committed).

Essentially, once Shido finally became prime minister Akechi planned to whisper the truth about being the former’s illegitimate child, telling Shido that he was only able to get where he was due to the son he abandoned and labeled as a potential “political scandal” before murdering him.

Despite Akechi and the Phantom Thieves' mutual dislike of Shido, the former is so fixated on vengeance that he does not care about the innocent lives he ruins and destroys in the crossfire to satisfy his own personal bloodlust. Instead of legitimately trying to reform society like the Phantom Thieves do, Akechi becomes a pawn of the very same systemic corruption that was responsible for his initial suffering. Akechi cares only about his own hatred & jealousy instead of empathizing with others who were also victimized by society’s ills. This contrast is visually reflected through the juxtaposition between Akechi and the Phantom Thieves’ leader, Joker, when they confront each other in the engine room of Shido’s yacht. While Joker is portrayed as standing strong alongside his teammates & friends, Akechi stands alone in the opposite end of the room, confused & angry. While there is a part of Akechi that regrets his horrible actions and even recognizes the potential for him & Joker to be friends due to their similar backgrounds, he's too far gone into his obsessive vendetta against Shido that he refuses to turn back and now desires to kill the Phantom Thieves in a misguided attempt to ease his internal conflict.

During the boss fight with Akechi in Shido's Palace, the detective prince repeatedly dismisses the Phantom Thieves' efforts to appeal to his common senses, believing that concepts like friendship and teamwork are foolish "cliched bullish*t... in this eat or be eaten world."

While this attitude of Akechi's might seem unrealistically cartoonish on the surface, it actually makes sense when considering his background of being unfairly labeled as a "throw-away child" by Japan's foster care institutions. YouTuber LadyVirgilia goes into far greater detail about this in her excellent The Truth About Goro Akechi analysis video. There, she states that an overwhelming number of Japanese orphans are incapable of being legally adopted due to impoverished parents voluntarily relinquishing them from their care while still maintaining legal guardianship over them. Additionally, LadyVirgilia discusses how violent hierarchical power structures often form among the children within these foster homes, with younger orphans sadly being subject to bullying & abuse by their older peers.

While these facts are not explicitly stated about Akechi's backstory within P5 Royal itself, they can easily be heavily inferred due to the game's heavy emphasis on exploring themes related to Japanese sociocultural issues. It’s implied that the institutional failings of Japan's foster care system (combined with Shido's abandonment of his son while he was still in the womb), ultimately contributed to the development of Akechi's warped perception of the rest of the world. Due to being dismissed as a "throw-away child" and being forced to grow up in an institution that is unfortunately subject to high rates of systemic abuse & neglect, Akechi spent his entire life feeling unwanted & loved. Ideals such as friendship & companionship became foreign and unrealistic concepts to him due to having experienced nothing but society's cold & uncaring apathy.

Essentially, Akechi became deeply jealous & hateful toward the rest of the world, misguidedly compelling him to want to prove his superiority over the rest of society by manufacturing his status as "the celebrity ace-detective and honors student who ultimately brought down Shido." But when Akechi encounters the Phantom Thieves and befriends their leader Joker, he begins to experience his first genuine bond of companionship. Despite developing a legitimate appreciation towards Joker, Akechi is simultaneously confused & unable to fully process these newfound feelings. Akechi becomes envious of Joker's ability to rise above his similar status as a societal outcast by befriending & protecting others like himself. Consequently, Akechi projects his own failings & inability to legitimately rise above his tragic upbringing beyond his false celebrity status onto Joker & the Phantom Thieves, cruely dismissing them as "the trash of society" and blaming them for interfering with his revenge plot against Shido. This empty & hollow existence that Akechi chooses to live is further reflected by the sole two personas that he utilizes during his boss fight: Robin Hood, who represents Akechi's false celebrity & justice-abiding gentleman facade, and Loki, who embodies Akechi’s true personality as a deceitful trickster & psychotic murderer.

I personally couldn’t help but find all of these elements to be rather interesting & insightful about Akechi’s role as an antagonist/rival to the Phantom Thieves. It honestly highlights the tragic nature of Akechi's situation, since while he had the potential to utilize his deductive knowledge & skills as a "wildcard" Persona-user similar to Joker, he instead allowed himself to be consumed by his own hatred & madness.

The parallels between Akechi & Joker are further evident through the latter also being a victim of Shido’s abuse. Specifically, the corrupt politician wrongfully sued Joker for “assault” when he tried to stop Shido from drunkenly forcing himself upon a woman. In contrast to Akechi however, Joker is motivated by his negative experiences to fight against the unjust status quo that figures like Shido represent to prevent similar abuses of power from ever occurring again to others. Additionally, we also see dualistic parallels between Akechi and other members of the Phantom Thieves, such as Makoto Nijima who similarly previously upheld the misconception that “good grades and following orders are all that truly matters to be a worthwhile member of society.” Whereas Makoto outgrows this mentality by instead choosing to utilize her status as student council president to help her suffering peers rather than for her own academic career, Akechi conversely exploits his intellect as an “ace-detective” to perpetuate societal injustices for his self-centered vendetta against Shido.

In essence, if the Phantom Thieves embody the potential benefits of rehabilitative justice then Goro Akechi embodies the dangers of retributive justice (aka, revenge). To reference two of my favorite movies, Batman Begins and Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, not only is there a strong difference between justice and revenge (one is about altruistic harmony whereas the other is about personal satisfaction), but the most surefire way to victory is by fighting to protect what you love rather than fighting to destroy what you hate...

The distinction between justice & revenge is made abundantly clear at the end of Akechi's storyline in the baseline game (i.e. before the Royal exclusive Third Semester new content), where following his defeat at the hands of the Phantom Thieves Akechi is suddenly approached by a cognitive duplicate of himself that dwells within Shido's palace. In addition to the Cognitive Akechi emphasizing the futility of Akechi's quest for acknowledgment & vengeance against Shido by revealing that the latter always intended to dispose of his right-hand assassin once he was elected prime minister, the cognitive duplicate also reveals the true depths of Shido's depravity when he states that he only ever viewed Akechi as a puppet to fulfill his own ambitions. While it is true that Akechi was so obsessed with revenge that he allowed himself to become a pawn of the corrupt status quo, it is exceptionally cruel to learn that this is how Shido has always viewed his own son (which is further punctuated by Shido later revealing to the Phantom Thieves that he secretly always suspected that Akechi was his illegitimate child due to how much he reminded him of his mother). It is this revelation in particular that allows the Phantom Thieves to better empathize with Akechi's tragic upbringing & circumstances. Even though they still seek to hold Akechi accountable for the murders that he committed at Shido's behest, the Phantom Thieves simultaneously recognize that in a sense, Akechi was also a victim of both Shido's cruelty and the systemic injustices of larger Japanese society.

This effectively culminates in the bittersweet resolution to Akechi's storyline in the base Persona 5 game. When the Cognitive Akechi duplicate offers his real-world counterpart one last chance to "redeem" himself in Shido's eyes by killing the Phantom Thieves in his stead, Akechi for the first time in his life decides to be his own person instead of being defined by the labels Shido and society had imposed upon him since birth. Choosing to no longer be a puppet of Shido's corrupt machinations, Akechi rejects his cognitive duplicate's hollow offer by instead turning his gun on the duplicate and his Shadow minions before sealing the engine room's watertight doors between himself and the Phantom Thieves. At the very end, Akechi was finally able to acknowledge that his desire for false appreciation from both his abusive father and larger society was ultimately worthless. Akechi ultimately sacrifices himself to allow the Phantom Thieves to escape, recognizing their true justice while entrusting them to do what he was incapable of by holding Shido accountable for his crimes & reforming society.

From a certain point of view, one could argue that the Phantom Thieves indirectly inspired a change of heart in Akechi by proving to him the validity of their sense of justice.

Overall, while I was initially indifferent towards Goro Akechi at the start of my playthrough of Persona 5 (and even outright skeptical & suspicious of his motives given his vocal opposition to the Phantom Thieves), by the time I got to his boss battle in Shido's palace I ended gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for what the developers at Atlus were attempting to convey with his character. Akechi effectively functions as both a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing oneself to be consumed with thoughts of revenge, as well as a dark parallel to the Phantom Thieves who seek to legitimately reform society for altruistic rather than self-centered reasons. It was these elements that ultimately elevated Akechi into becoming one of my personal favorite members of P5's cast (right behind Makoto, Futaba & Ann...) from both a narrative and character writing perspective (especially with the Royal edition's overhauled confidant line for Akechi, which better fleshes out the latter's rivalry with Joker, and the player now has to progress manually instead of it being automatic)! And I am definitely curious to see how Royal's exclusive "Third Semester" content further fleshes out Akechi's character since I'm aware that he plays a major role in the new story content.

[starlight-bread-blog]

My Interpetation of The Southern Raiders: Part 1 – A\ang

Warning: The views expressed in this analysis will be very critical of Aang. If you aren't critical of him in this episode, you aren't going to enjoy this post. This is your chance to leave. I probably won't have a debate for personal reasons.

——————

The Southern Raiders is probably one of the most discussed episodes in the fandom. Everyone knows Zuko Alone is great, but the discussion surrounding this episode is a war zone. In this essay I will try to answer every question posed in the discourse. This is part 1 out of three. In this part, I will discuss A\ang. I believe that understanding both Zuko and Aang's decisions in this episode will give us great insight into Katara's. Because the this episode is hers.

——————

1. Is Aang's philosophy of forgiveness valid?

(1) "Revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself".

(2) "You do have a choice: forgiveness". // "It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive". // "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing".

This philosophy is indeed morally sound. Revenge comes from rage, a negative emotion that causes harm in the long run. Forgiveness is letting go of that rage, which is healing. I cannot write a full thesis, this essay is not about that. But on paper, I do agree with A\ang. He's right to say that letting go of rage is a better alternative than getting consumed by it. (However, his philosophy might not help some).

——————

2. Was A\ang being insensitive when talking to Katara?

First I must reiterate, a lot of people frame the conflict of the episode as one regarding the ethics of murder. In my interpretation, it is not. During this episode Katara was in a deeply emotional place. Her rage stemmed from intense grief and those around her should treat her as a mourner - with great sensitivity.

Now, was Aang being this sensitive with Katara? Well, in my opinion, very much so.

Imagine a scenario where A\ang just happens to meet Haru, and he's about to go on a quest to find revenge on who imprisoned his father. He tries to help him with the following sentences:

(1) Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

(2) Wait! Stop! I do understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

(3) I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge.

(4) Haru, you sound like Jet.

(5) The monks used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself.

(6) Haru, you do have a choice: forgiveness.

(7) No, it's not. It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive.

(8) You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing.

Everything makes sense, right? The pieces fit.He just talks about his cultura\personal values, nothing about what Katara needs at the moment. He could have had this exact conversation with Haru without changing a thing.

Therefore his lines are impersonal and thus preachy. In this conversation he doesn’t show signs of trying to convince Katara not to end her mother’s killer because she is, fundamentally, a good person and couldn’t live having committed murder. He shows signs of trying to make her obey his cultural ethos. This is highly insensitive. Katara was in a very emotional place, filled with rage and grief. And his response was, intentionally or not, to impose his own cultural principles onto her.

But his lines weren’t insensitive just because they were preachy, some of them were judgmental and even harsh. When A\ang is first confronted with Katara’s intentions, he says:

A\ang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

You can tell from his tone and how the rest of the conversation plays out that he does know what Katara thinks this will accomplish. He asks the question as a form of disapproval - that he thinks that going after Yon Rha won’t accomplish anything. He’s not being genuine, he’s casting judgment on her. He’s almost looking down on her and Zuko, looking down from a moral high ground and sarcastically interrogating the two. Another line that sticks out is

A\ang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

He says she sounds like the man who wanted to flood an entire village full of innocent civilians. He’s insulting her, and greatly so, all the while wanting to keep a moral high ground. This is incredibly rude and condescending.

In the next scene, right after the intense argument concludes, it appears as though A\ang comes around to the journey Katara was about to go through.

A\ang: I wasn't planning to. This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man.But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.

While he’s still discouraging Katara, it’s not outright condescending. But it’s as clear as day that he’d just preferred if she didn’t go on the journey at all. When he sees Zuko and Katara taking Appa to find Yon Rha, he says:

A\ang: So you were just gonna take Appa anyway?

Clearly disapproving of Katara. He doesn’t want her to go on the journey to find inner peace, he wants her to forgive the man who killed her mother right here and right now. He couldn’t change her mind on the subject, so he’ll advise her the next best thing. It is worth noting that in the beginning, before he advises her, he cracks a joke.

A\ang: It's okay, because I forgive you. [Pauses.] That give you any ideas?

Overall, A\ang’s behavior is unsympathetic and callous.Instead of placing his focus on Katara’s wellbeing, he preaches about Air Nomad teachings and goes as far as insulting her. Even when he comes around, it’s not because he realized his mistakes, it’s because he knew he couldn’t change her mind. And then he makes a humorous remark while giving him his supposed new found advice. The answer is: Yes. Aang was very insensitive when talking to Katara.

——————

3. Did A\ang know what Katara needed?

I don’t think he did. A\ang thought Katara needed to forgive Yon Rha, and as we previously established, without going after him. But even if we look at his second advice, she still doesn’t follow it.

A\ang: This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man. [Katara situates herself on Appa's head.] But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.

Katara explicitly didn’t forgive Yon Rha, and yet the whole point of the ending is that she’s in a better place now. No matter what Zuko says, A\ang didn’t know what Katara needed. And considering that his lines in the episode were as impersonal as they were, it isn’t a surprise.

——————

In conclusion, A\ang’s behavior in The Southern Raiders is questionable at best. He might have had pure intentions, and had a good message, but the way he put out the message was degrading and preachy. And in the end, he didn’t know what was the right thing for Katara.

Continued

[ocean--toast]

I was gonna not make this post but it's gnawing at me from the inside

This is entirely unprompted

I think that the reason that I can't ship Akechi with just Joker is because whether or not he means to he does and can have deep, meaningful interactions with the other phantom thieves that are just as interesting as with Joker. There's nothing that's by necessity just interesting about their relationship that isn't interesting about the others.

What Akechi is to me, narratively, is a mirror that reflects whatever the thieves dislike about themselves the most. Like for Ryuji it's how quick he is to anger and how he feels like he has something to prove, for Ann it's that desire for revenge that sits under the surface of her skin that she never shows, for Yusuke there's so much that we would be here all day because they are so fundamentally similar in so many ways, for Haru it's the way he gets used by everyone in his life just like her and for Sumire they both pretend to be someone they aren't in order to be liked

I just think there's a lot of potential in making the other thieves look at themselves through Akechi in the same romantic lens that's put so heavily on joker and I think that Akechi should be making out sloppy with the thieves that I listed about it

[mal3vol3nt]

I think ZKs really exaggerated Zuko and Katara’s relationship, and this is coming from a guy who actually really likes Zuko and Katara’s relationship, just not a ship (it’s not as toxic as some say, by the end of the show at least).

Isaw this one post about how Zuko and Katara have the most intimate relationship of The Gaang. How he’s the only one who supports her, understands her and validates her anger. Whereas Zuko is the only one Katara doesn’t have to look after, the only one she can depend on emotionally, the only one who she’s sees as an equal and matches her maturity.

I question this, because when did we see this in the show? Besides like 3 instances. ZKs act like Katara was never supported by Aang (or the others). I’m sure that everything they say Zuko does for Katara, Aang does for her and more. Everything Katara supposedly has in Zuko, she already has in Aang. I could list all of this, but this is already running long as it is.

What do you think?

This the full post: https://www.tumblr.com/theotterpenguin/738115696097116160/thinking-about-how-katara-is-the-only-person-zuko?source=share

not only are they exaggerating the depth of katara and zuko’s relationship, but they’re underplaying the depth of her relationship with literally everyone else. like they undermine how much all her friends mean to her by saying the guy she was on good terms with for like 4 episodes immediately became her closest companion and confidant

the only time we see zuko offer her support of any kind is during the southern raiders episode where he’s encouraging her to go kill the guy who murdered her mother. and he’s not doing it because he genuinely wants to be a supportive figure for her, but because he thinks this is what’ll get her to finally forgive him and stop treating him so coldly. and then the episode ends with him admitting that he was wrong in terms of what she needed—not violent revenge but the chance to let her anger out without compromising her morals in blind rage. other than that, we don’t see him act as a shoulder for her to lean on, and the one instance we do see him act that way, he’s bad at it and ends up realizing there are ways other than violence to move on from internalized anger

and sure you can argue that zuko still gave her the chance to confront yon rha even if she chose not to kill him like he encouraged her to, and that inandof itself is an act of emotional support, but the reality is he did that to get on her good side rather than to be a genuine friend. had she already been friendly to him, would he have ever brought up that he knows who killed kya? would he have even asked sokka about the day their mom died to get that information? in the show he only does this because he can’t fathom why katara is still mad at him when everyone else has already forgiven him. he wanted to speed up her process of forgiving him, so had she already forgiven him and they were friends, i doubt the whole “i can help you avenge your mother” convo would have ever happened because it wouldn’t have served him to do so. and in my opinion, any support that has ulterior motives and an end goal isn’t genuine support

but compare this to aang and sokka. we see these two go out of their way for her countless times throughout the three books, which makes sense considering the three of them are the ogs and went through everything together (incoming really long list lmao)

aang offers to take katara to the northern water tribe so she can learn waterbending under a master after knowing her for only a few hours at most. he also does this after she expresses her upset at being the only southern waterbender left. “katara! we’re going to find you a master!”

aang gives himself over to zuko and his fire nation crew to save katara and sokka’s village

aang completes all of bumi’s challenges to save katara and sokka

aang credits katara for haru’s sudden bravery in saving that old man. “wow you must have really inspired him”

aang and sokka willingly (and eagerly) participate in her plan to get arrested for earthbending

sokka comes up with the plan to get coal to the earthbenders so they can find motivation again, something that katara is very passionate about, thus showing his support in her goal

aang and sokka help fight the fire nation guards that are keeping the earthbenders prisoner, aiding in katara’s goal of helping them help themselves

aang weaves katara a brand new necklace after she had her mother’s stolen. this makes her smile

aang is quick to reassure katara when she begins to show signs of self-doubt at aang’s natural waterbending talent. “well you had to learn all on your own. i’m lucky enough to have a great teacher”

aang refers to katara as a waterbender, something that clearly means so much to her after she spent the whole episode insecure of her abilities

sokka steals the waterbending scroll for katara and aang to learn from

aang travels alone in search of medicine for katara and sokka, all while an entire nation is hunting him down with the intent to torture him to the brink of death, thus risking his life for their safety

sokka tackles aang after hearing katara’s cries of pain when he accidentally burns her. despite knowing and caring for aang, sokka can’t stand the thought of someone hurting katara even if unintentionally, especially with fire

aang explicitly states he will never firebend again after accidentally hurting her. he too can’t stand the thought of her in pain and hates that he was the one who hurt her (this is also him taking ownership of his mistake and punishing himself—for those of you who think he is never held accountable for his mistakes)

aang refuses to learn under pakku when he rejects katara and only lets up when katara tells him he needs to take this chance to learn waterbending

sokka is the one to suggest that aang teach katara everything pakku is teaching him, and aang loves this idea

aang cheers for her when she fights pakku. “go katara!”

the general is only able to trigger aang into the avatar state after he is made to believe that katara was buried alive, showcasing once again how much he cares about her safety

aang pushes katara out of the way of falling rocks when the aftermath of appa getting burned causes the tunnel to cave in

aang refers to katara as ‘sifu’ after she made an offhand comment about him never calling her that. this makes her smile

aang turns away from cosmic power immediately after he sees a vision of katara in danger

aang lets her go so he can unlock all his chakras and save katara from impending doom against azula, zuko, and the dai li

aang eagerly participates in katara’s plan to perform ecoterrorism and calls her a hero

aang also eagerly participates in helping her scare off the fire nation general as the painted lady. sokka participates as well because “i would never turn my back on you”

sokka has a talk with toph after she blows up at katara for her motherly-attitude (and while i definitely have issues with this episode i still think it’s important that sokka sought out this conversation to sorta defend his sister and help toph see where katara is coming from)

aang and sokka hug and comfort her when she breaks down crying after becoming a bloodbender

after knowing her for so long (his whole life in sokka’s case—he’s her fucking brother) and witnessing the kind of reaction she had to bloodbending, aang and sokka both tried talking her down from killing a man. this is a 14-year-old girl in pain. the same 14-year-old girl who put her life and freedom at risk to save earthbenders from their metal prison and sobbed when she was forced to bloodbend to save her best friend from dying again and delayed their group’s traveling to relieve a fire nation village from fire nation pollution and control, was now demanding to kill a man in cold blood. aang and sokka were supporting her full on during this episode because they knew, more than fucking anyone, that killing yon rha would only hurt her once she came down from her blind rage. and to add even more proof of their unwavering trust in her to always do the right thing not just for others but for herself, aang allowed her to take appa to confront the man. appa, aang’s lifelong companion and animal guide, his only living reminder of his culture and pacifistic people, and who aang had suffered a painful separation from. aang trusted her with appa to go on this mission. because he trusts and supports her

———

now onto the claim that zuko is more mature than everyone else and therefore matches her in maturity. i just bust out laughing LMAO

for starters, let’s not act like katara is the epitome of maturity. yea, she’s the mom friend, but she’s still a kid and acts like one. yall just refuse to acknowledge the moments where she makes mistakes as her acting her age and being human. instead yall hold these mistakes over her more aggressively than the other characters or yall pretend they don’t exist in favor of idealizing her so she fits into your “she’s so mature and is a mother figure to everyone” role (her telling sokka “then you didn’t love her like i did”, blowing up at aang for picking up waterbending so quickly, antagonizing toph out of pettiness by making fun of her blindness—“too bad you can’t see them toph!”, etc.)

zuko is a whole other story lol. that boy wouldn’t know maturity if it hit him in the face, and when you compare his behavior to other characters in the gaang it becomes all the more obvious (incoming another—shorter—list)

aang when presented with his mistake in “bato of the water tribe” -> he accepts the consequences—katara and sokka leaving him—and admits he was wrong. he doesn’t blame anyone else nor does he beg for forgiveness or try convincing katara and sokka to stay. he accepts he was wrong and lets himself sit with the consequences of his actions. from then on, we never see aang selfishly hide information from his friends again

katara when presented with her mistake in “the waterbending scroll” after yelling at aang -> she apologizes immediately and punishes herself by handing the scroll over to him, claiming she wants nothing to do with it. she recognizes the mistake and quickly accepts a self-punishment to regulate her own behavior

sokka when presented with the issues of his sexism -> he gets on his knees in front of suki and respectfully asks that she train him, using the word ‘honor’ to communicate his sincerity. he admits his faults to her at the end of the episode and his behavior is different from then on. he reflects on a part of himself, deems that he needs to change, and then makes those changes without having to be forced into doing so or guided repeatedly into making the right choices along the way. he arrives there by himself after being presented with evidence that proves his original way of thinking wrong

now compare that with zuko’s journey of unlearning his prejudiced ways

when he is shown extreme kindness by song and her mother, he repays them by stealing from them

after having been on a good-streak while living in the earth kingdom, zuko sides with azula the moment his integrity is put to the test in front of the avatar, betraying his uncle in favor of “his honor”

when iroh stops talking to him, zuko screams at him and places blame on iroh for this change in their relationship

when mai is seen talking to another guy, zuko storms over and throws that guy across a room. she, understandably, breaks up with him

when katara gives him the cold shoulder, zuko demands “what’s your problem?!”, asking how it can be that she still hates him but everyone else has forgiven him, as if he hasn’t given her—and everyone else—plenty of reason to be distrustful of him for lifetimes to come

when aang is goofing off instead of training, zuko—instead of communicating—attacks him with blasts of fire, forcing aang to retaliate

the only reason why zuko is given this extreme maturity label is because his worldview was challenged and changed. whereas the other characters in the gaang already had correct worldviews and didn’t have to go through a series-long redemption arc to become good people. they were already good people, so their mistakes and shortcomings are held to higher standards than zuko’s because his are viewed as stepping stones to a pending redemption. never mind all the times in which he backtracked and hurt more people. those times were all “necessary” for his redemption to happen and be well-done. yall can excuse all of zuko’s flawed behavior by saying “but he was redeemed! that wasn’t really his true self!” and all that bullshit, so everything he does that’s good post-redemption gives yall this delusion that he was always this good person who is capable of making mature decisions (never mind the fact that he is still incredibly immature post-redemption and still has a long way to go in terms of unlearning his prejudices by the time the show ends)

in conclusion, yall have a weird obsession with isolating katara from all her relationships with the other characters in favor of making her zuko’s one and only, and yall have deluded yourselves into thinking either one of them are incredibly mature

that’s all i gotta say ✌️

[vashtijoy]

haru: "we'll just take him out again"

Ah, this 1/10 line of Haru's, about what they should do if Akechi betrays them all a second time.

I've talked about Haru and Akechi before—she is overwhelmingly compassionate towards him. She shows him understanding he has not earned and does not deserve. She contrasts, in fact, with Futaba, who takes a consistently harsh tone with him—and well may she do so.

Haru is done dirty by the bulk of the fandom with this flanderised crazy axe mean girl schtick, and this translation does not help. So it's time for another big red....

Let's take a look.

tatakau: "to fight or battle"

Haru また裏切るようなら戦うだけだよ。 mata uragiru you nara tatakau dake da yo Plus, if he does betray us again, we’ll just take him out too.

mata uragiru you nara—"if he betrays us again, then we'll...". tatakau dake da yo—"we'll just tatakau him". But what's that verb; what's tatakau?

戦う tatakau means to fight, or do battle, or to make war on someone, or to oppose them. It's a common word. ALC has a number of examples:

戦うか逃げるかの反応 tatakau ka nigeru ka no hannou, "fight-or-flight response";

戦うことを諦める tatakau koto o akirameru, "to give up the fight";

戦う必要なく tatakau hitsuyou naku, "without even having to fight".

It is excessively common in P5:

Ryuji (before one of the robot minibosses in Okumura's Palace) こりゃもう戦うしかねーな! korya mou tatakau shika nee na! Looks like we're gonna have to fight. Haru (when you try to switch her into the party too early) 私も戦えるよ! watashi mo tatakaeru yo! I can fight too! Haru (before a robot miniboss) こうなったら戦うしか⋯! kou nattara tatakau shika...! It looks like we just have to fight!

tatakau is the word we translate as "fight"; "a fight" is often tatakai, from the same root verb. When the PTs fight in the Metaverse, they are tatakau-ing. And when they fought Akechi in the engine room? They tatakau-ed him:

Ann 同じヤツを憎んでるのに、なんで戦うの!? onaji yatsu o nikunderu no ni, nande tatakau no!? We both hate the same guy! Why do we have to go against each other!? Morgana 戦う前に笑ってたの⋯あれ、本心だろ? tatakau mae ni waratteta no... are, honshin daro? That smile before we fought… Isn't that how you really feel?

See? Let's look at Haru's line one more time:

Haru また裏切るようなら戦うだけだよ。 mata uragiru you nara tatakau dake da yo Plus, if he does betray us again, we’ll just take him out too. And if he betrays us again, we'll just fight him again.

the phantom thieves' ghost murder victim

The other key point is this: though this isn't present in the Japanese, the localisation still says "too". "we'll just take him out too". Who's that "too"?

They're not killing Maruki, despite Akechi's efforts. They didn't kill any of their targets. They didn't even kill Shido, who they all held responsible for the murder of Haru's father, and Futaba's mother, and who knows how many others.

In short: nobody is getting murdered in this line—except Haru, by the localisation.

"take him out"

In fairness to everyone who fast-forwarded all of Haru's dialogue and so thinks she's even worse than Akechi, cold-bloodedly planning murder as a form of revenge, "take him out" is a confusing choice of words.

"take him out" means to disable a target. This is how it gets its primary meaning of "kill him". It means to get something or someone out of your way, in a way that corresponds with its death or destruction—or, as in this case, with extreme violence; remember they KO Akechi in the engine room, just like every other boss.

This is why it's common in so many contexts—sport, business, politics. You take out targets in many fields, but you don't kill them! In the same way, Haru intends for them to eliminate Akechi as a threat, if he ever makes it necessary again.

Futaba makes this explicit to him the next day, on 1/11:

Futaba けどまた裏切ったりしたら、絶対許さない。 kedo mata uragittari shitara, zettai yurusanai BUT if you ever betray us again, we'll make sure you regret it.

Futaba says this right to his face: "if you betray us again, don't think you'll get away with it"; "if you betray us again, you're done for." She tells him this is his one and only chance.

(That zettai yurusanai, of course, is the same wording she uses about the men in black suits, and the men who killed her mother—it's fighting talk, blood debt talk. And it's interesting that she has clearly not yet put Akechi into that category. yurusanai is also the word Haru uses to him in the engine room, often translated as "I can't forgive you".)

context matters

Many common misunderstandings of P5's characters and plot boil down to something like this: an overfocus on one memorable line, at the expense of the bigger picture. Again, in fairness, P5 is a huge game, which makes this very easy to do.

But the fact that the Phantom Thieves have chosen not to kill comes up over and over. It is absolutely fundamental to them: their justice does not include murder.

Again: the fact that they don't go in for vigilante killings is what makes them better than Akechi! Part of the essence of their conflict is that Akechi has made bad choices that the PTs avoided—such as Ann's fateful choice to let Kamoshida live:

Just as with Ann and Kamoshida, I don't think the Thieves would stop Haru or Futaba, if they decided Akechi should die. But I also don't think it would pass without question, as Haru's "take him out" line does. Even if nobody else said a word, Makoto would say something. Because the Phantom Thieves are not murderers.

when someone shows you who they are, believe them

On top of that, if you want to read Haru's "take him out" as meaning she wants Akechi dead, you have to ignore everything else she says about him—and, frankly, every other time she's onscreen. Because Haru oozes kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness from her every pore.

Remember, Haru expresses compassion for Akechi, not hate. Here she is on 12/25:

Look at that. Commit it to memory. Show all your friends. Haru is glad Akechi is alive. She's glad he turned himself in and thinks he should pay for his crimes—but she didn't want him dead, and she certainly doesn't want to kill him.

In the engine room, when he's at the point of death, she's afraid for him. She runs forward to call to him; note that Futaba does not, and is at the back of the group, furthest from Akechi.

Even when Haru judges Akechi for what he took from her, she is sympathising with him:

When Cognitive Akechi arrives, Haru isn't just trying to stop Akechi turning on them to save his own skin. She empathises with him, and understands how complex his feelings towards Shido truly are—and why that puts them all in so much danger:

Say it again and say it loud: Haru understands Akechi.

but how does she really feel

Haru tells us her secret feelings in the safe room:

See? Just like Futaba, she doesn't want to be around him; she doesn't want him as part of the group. But she doesn't want to kill him.

That's not her nature. Haru is not a murderer. I'll say it again for the kids at the back: Haru is not a murderer. Her compassion is what makes her unlike Akechi. It's what makes her so much better than him.

She doesn't need to be his best friend to understand him. She doesn't need to hang out with him to see herself in his situation—because the two of them have so much in common. She can acknowledge that he wronged her without secretly (or not-so-secretly) wishing him dead. Haru is a better person than most of us, and her feelings about Akechi are complex.

what is the line actually about?

The sad thing is that Haru's "we'll just take him out" is a beautiful line.

Remember, Haru could be justifiably afraid of the prospect of being around Akechi. He's not safe. He's responsible for one of the greatest traumas of her life. But she shuts that fear down: "if he betrays us again, we'll just fight him again".

She removes his power over her—power to control her, to intimidate her, to make her afraid. Haru can stand up to Akechi and look him in the face, because she's surrounded by her friends. And her friends will stand with her. They prove it over and over in the third semester, when they repeatedly prioritise her feelings and Futaba's. It's made clear repeatedly that if either of them have a problem, Akechi will not be on the team.

So Haru is prepared to work with the scorpion by the river. She understands what made it how it is, and that it can only act according to its nature. But she'll be watching—and she'll be ready. Just like Akechi, who steps forward to fire on Maruki when the rest of them are paralysed.

It's just that Haru's bag of tricks doesn't include murder. Akechi has kept that in his back pocket—but Haru never had it in hers. It's a shame that Haru's clearsightedness here, and her readiness to act—something else she shares with Akechi—is so badly misunderstood as "lol funny murder psycho girl".

Akechi's second betrayal looks like them beating the shit out of him. I'm sure Haru would shoot him in the face a second time, and good luck to her. I'm sure the Phantom Thieves would, each and every one of them, make him deeply regret it before he was again turned in—voluntarily or otherwise.

But murder? No. That's never on the table. That's not Haru, and it's not the Phantom Thieves. And, ultimately, that's why they're the good guys, and Akechi is not.

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2023/10/13)—first published.

[ran-rindouhaitanis-wife916]

Hey, so I really liked your most recent post, and I was wondering if you could do a fem reader that's in the mafia x Rindo, Ran, Hanma, and Mikey and like they see her "take care" of someone who screwed her over woth money on a deal or something I hope this makes sense 😄 have a good day/night 😊

Omg yes, I love this idea a lot sorry it took me so long to get back to you anyways lets now waist any more time

—----------------------------------------------------

Female reader that's in the mafia

fandom:Tokyo revengers

Characters include: Ran, Rindo , Mikey  and Hanma

Warnings include: Swearing and mentions of death 

‐---------‐------------------------------------------------------------- Ran: When he found out you were in the Mafia and like your dad's right-hand man or women in this case, he was surprised but he got over it quickly but the first time he saw you “take care” of someone was completely different.

“Two hundred, three hundred and four hundred....MOTHERFUCKER”

You yelled as you counted the money that your usual dealer gave you, noticing that he was short a hundred thousand. 

Ran had heard your yell from outside the door while he was talking to your dad. He’ll admit he was scared only because he had NEVER in all the time of knowing you had he heard you yell like that, Ran’s train of thought was stopped when he saw you walk out of the room with a gun in your hand and a very scary glare on your face, you had walked past him and out of curiosity he followed you to see where this would go.

You both had walked outside to the guy's car where he was standing texting on his phone.

“Hey dumb Fuck!” You had yelled at the guy, and he looked up at you and immediately looked terrified, he tried to run away at first, but you had shot him in the leg, he immediately fell to the ground and screamed in pain. 

“Did you really think that you could get away with shorting me cash in there, cause you're a fuckin idiot if you did?” You said while kneeling down in front of the man on the ground.

“No, I swear I just didn't have the full amount I swear I can get it to you though please don't hurt me I'm sorry” The guy said as he trembled in fear. 

“You could have just told me and we could have worked something out but you just tried to walk out of here and not have to fully fulfill your end of the deal, you know that's not how I do business, and now how am I supposed to trust you not to pull some shit like that again you had one chance and you fucked it up sorry not sorry dude.” You said as you pointed your gun at his forehead and pulled the trigger.

“HARU CLEAN THIS UP!” You yelled at your assistant, and he was already there standing next to Ran with everything he needed 

“That was kind of hot.” Ran said as you turned around and let out a light laugh “of course you would think that's hot you fuckin werido.” you said as you gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away with him following you soon after.

—--------------------------------------------------Rindo: When Rindo found out you were in the mafia with your dad he thought you were going to betray him at some point, but you didn't, and he trusted you after a while of dating you and you trusted him but the first time, he saw you “Take care” of someone was a shock to him.

You and Rindo planned to hang out at your house that day but 20 minutes before he got to your house your dad had informed you about a guy, he had captured that hurt your little sister Yuna and wanted you to make him regret what he had done and of course you had agreed.

About 20 minutes later you were done and about to finish the guy off, but you had not heard the garage door open, so you had continued what you were doing and put the gun into the guy's mouth and pulled the trigger and killed him.

 When Rindo saw the guy’s state he was in absolute shock your dad had brought him into the garage to “show him how we handle things” he then saw you shoot and finish the guy off he wasn’t disgusted or scared it just shocked him but he should have expected this I mean you're in the mafia what else did he expect, His train of thought was interrupted by you calling his name his eyes had looked to your scared and concerned ones.

You were scared of what he would think of you now that he had seen what you were capable of, but you didn’t see fear or disgust on his face. All you saw was shock and of course that was to be expected.

“I'm sorry.” Was all you said to him and looked down to the tiled floor now that you guys had come inside. 

“For what I'm just shocked that you're capable of that but nothing like that could make me love you less I promise.” Rindo said while pulling you into a hug and kissing the top of your head.

“Aww Rinrin that's so sweet, here let me clean this blood off and then we can watch a movie in my room ok.”You said while walking to the kitchen sink.

“Ok” Rindo said as he let you grab his hand and drag him to your room after washing your hands and all he could do was smile because he knew now for sure that he was in love with you and he's pretty sure you feel the same way. 

—-------------------------------------------------Mikey: Like Rindo, he was shocked that you were in the mafia, but he got over it quick. All he cared about was your safety and made sure you would never leave him, but the first time he saw you “take care” of someone, he was kind of proud.

You and Mikey were cuddling in your room watching a movie when your dad had come in and asked you to help take care of a traitor that was at the house trying to get info and you had said yes but the take care part peaked Mikey's interest because why would you take care of a traitor so he asked you if he could come with you he was happy when you had said yes.

When you both had went downstairs and out the garage door Mikey's eyes immediately went wide when he noticed the bloody screaming man tied to the chair right in front of him, he had shut the door behind him and stayed where he was standing as he saw you walk off towards your dad who was holding a gun out towards you.

You had taken the gun from your dad's hand and walked up to the man in the chair, raised the gun and pulled the trigger, after that the screams had stopped, you then handed the gun back to your dad and turned back to Mikey only to see he had a small smile on his face, it honestly freaked you out a little.

 you walked up to him and asked if he was ok.

“Ya I'm just a little proud you were able to do that, all it means to me is that you can protect yourself if needed.” he said while looking at you.

“Well, ya I guess that makes sense.” you said as you had started to walk back inside with him.

“Ya, now can we go back to cuddling in your room? I'm tired.” He said while grabbing your hand and dragging you back to your room.

“Of course, when can Manjiro.” you said as you walked with him stopping to give him a light peck on the lips and continuing back to your room.

—-------------------------------------------------‐ Hanma: When he found out you were in the Mafia with your dad he was like ‘ok’ he was fine with it honestly it didn't even come as a shock to him you were confused but moved on after that and when he saw you “take care” of someone he wasn't fazed at all.

You had invited Hanma to go with you to a fancy party your dad wanted you to go to and he had nothing to do so he said yes, when you guys got there, he noticed how you had seemed to be looking for someone.

When you had found said person you told Hanma that you would be right back and left to talk to a guy at the bar, Hanma had followed you out of curiosity when you had left with the guy.

You both had went out the main room and outside to the alleyway behind the building you had suddenly pulled a gun out of the back of your waistband and shot the guy in the back of the head having him fall to the ground and bleed out Hanma’s eyes had widen for a sec but then he just blew it off and went back to where he was originally.

When you came back and acted like nothing happened, he just smiled and kissed you on the side of the head and told you he loved you.

[princessleechan]

“Choi Seungcheol Must Die” profiles #1

Masterlist

📌synopsis: Mingyu wasn't the one with his heart broken. It was his little sister. And Seokmin's older sister. And Chan's best friend. Choi Seungcheol is a menace to society and needs to be put down. Immediately. The sure fire way to do it is to give him a taste of his own medicine: break his heart.

📌pairing: fem!reader x ??? (seungcheol, mingyu, seokmin, chan)

📌genre: slight angst, romance, humor

📌series tags: SMAU, inspired by “John tucker must die”, John tucker!seungcheol, college au, revenge fic, tags will vary from chapter

taglist: @mhlsymlysn @silvsie @christinewithluv @tara-drabbles @aiforyuu @2youngsworld @justcruisingalonguntilbamkpop @asyre @simpxxstan @anzellll

🐈‍⬛YN(reader): background character turned 'it girl' with help of three men in it for revenge against a infamous asshole. a lover of cats with misfortune of not owning one and an undecided major. didn't think much about helping take down a guy that has done nothing but broken countless hearts but gets more than they ask for after getting themselves involved.

🏀Choi Seungcheol: resident asshole whom is a serial dater and has a reputation of dating multiple people at once. athletic scholarship student (not that he needs it being loaded) that gets off on attention of all kind, especially with his big social media presence. Visibly a 2D Character whose only personality is that he dates and has a close friendship with Yoon Jeonghan, another athletic scholarship kid.

📸Kim Mingyu: older brother to a dating victim of Seungcheol's. film and photography major that takes part in AV club. He is the leader and brains of the operation and has never liked Seungcheol but now has a good reason. Access to camera equipment, records and/or captures everything instinctively. Usually the man behind the camera but has always been told he has the face to be in front of it.

🎤Lee Seokmin: Younger brother to a dating victim of Seungcheol's. Performing arts major with a minor in music theory. Spends most of his time performing and perfecting his craft. Other times is the doting brother that has a hard time believing his strong sister could be hurt by simply a guy. Typically unconfrontational but would do anything to see a smile on his sister's face again.

🌟Lee Chan: Best friend of a dating victim of Seungcheol's. Creative writing major with a love for all thing romantic comedy and a sense of justice. has always been madly in love with his best friend, Haru, but has always been unconditionally supportive of anything in her life, including relationships, and he is okay with just being an important person in her life. After hearing her heart was broken, he wants nothing but be by her side.

[himejoshimarcille]

literally this!! and i think a big part of it is because. she sees how goro is and how much his own hunt for justice has affected him and she doesn't want to become like that. she has been hurt so much and her way of fighting back is with kindness. she has brought some tea and crumpets to a gunfight.

but at the same time it's clear that she does want to go ape shit underneath it all!!! there's a part of her that believes the best way forward is kindness and another part that wants to tear it all down with bare bloodied hands and it's the dichotomy between these two ideals that makes her such a potentially interesting character

@edelgard-enjoyer replied:

it’s so funny how many haru fans are also goro enjoyers (myself included). i want to put them in a locked room with nothing but a baseball bat and see what happens

it’s so true, and maybe it’s because truly loving haru means not giving a shit that her asshole dad died, so it’s not really something to hold against goro if you don’t really care lmao they’re also both that “looks cute, has sadistic tendencies in combat” type, so i dunno, i just think they’re neat! and you’re right; would love to see what goes down in there.

[beezonia]

Brain came up with a persona street racing au (I really just wanted to draw them in fun outfits tbh)

So the girls have roles and this is like the gist of it

Makoto - Kinda undercover for her sister so Sae can cut the illegal street racing off at it’s source, but she races from time to time (but usually ends up patrolling on her motorbike instead so she can warn everyone when to scatter)

Ann - Your go to for upgrades and new paint for your cars, Ann also tends to give racers advice depending what cars they have (she herself knows a lot about cars and engines)

Futaba - The one who sends out the location for gatherings each month, she prefers to keep herself anonymous so she can come to these meets in peace (usually scopes out areas that are hard for the police to find so they can stay racing for longer)

Haru - Eyes and Ears! Haru uses her status as heir to gather information on when meets should be depending on what’s going on with the police, she also likes to participate in so called “Revenge Races” (and she goes haywire if you give her a certain target!)

——

Makoto gets those leather biker jackets, Ann customised it!

Ann in leg warmers!! She also wears the friendship bracelet Shiho got her!

Space-bun futaba! I also just wanted her in something baggy because it’s what she’d be comfortable in probably

Haru still looks absolutely graceful but she’s wearing big heels so she can intimidate people even more!

——

[asirensrage]

The Road to Hell

Title: The Road to Hell Fandom: Tokyo Revengers Rating: Explicit Pairing: Sanzu Haruchiyo x Unnamed!Undescribed!FemaleOC Word count: 2306 Warnings: Dark!fic. Dub-con. Drug overdose. Non-con drug use. Obsession. Forced Relationship. Sex. Coercion. Forced Relationship. Unbeta'd. *warnings are not exhaustive* Summary: It's pure luck that she stumbles across him alone in the middle of an overdose. He thinks it's fate.

MANGA SPOILER WARNING! This fic mentions events in the manga that have not yet been shown in the anime. You have been warned.

Notes: okay, I don't completely love how this came out with the pov change, but I can't figure out how to improve it yet. If I do, I'll rewrite/repost it like I dd the Ran oneshot. It is a dark fic. Consider yourself warned. It was inspired by my mother talking about kids accidentally overdosing in parks and how I should pick up one of these kits. The POV change shifts in the middle and there's a bit of timeshifting in it, but I hope it makes sense. (please tell me if it doesn't so i can fix it. I've looked at it too much myself and I don't have a beta for my TR fics) I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think.

“Ha–Haru–” she tries to say his name, unable to catch her breath from the way he’s thrusting into her. 

“Yeah, baby?” he asks, grinning down at her. 

Her arms are tied above her, making her arch her chest up towards him a little more. She’s so fucking pretty like this, tears in her eyes as she begs him for more. He leans down and kisses her, letting her taste the remnants of herself on his tongue. 

God, he wants more. 

He didn’t think there was ever a woman who would drive him to madness, but here he has her under him. His angel. His fucking saviour who’s too good for him but Sanzu doesn’t give a shit. Tasting her is better than any of the drugs he’s been on. She makes him fucking crazy.

“Come on, baby. Lemme see you come for me again.” 

She whines, shifting as though she can resist him. He knows better. He leans down, kissing her neck as he adjusts the angle of her hips. She feels so fucking good. If he hadn’t looked into her, researched everything about her, he’d think she was a virgin with the way she was squeezing him this tight. 

She cries out as he picks up his pace and it’s music to his ears. 

“Fuck!” he groans against her skin, kissing her hard again. “Gotta come for me, baby. Come with me. Show me how fucking pretty you look.”

Her eyes are closed, lost in the feeling of him. She’s fucking glowing with sweat from how long they’ve been fucking. “Open your eyes, baby. Look at me.” When she doesn’t move fast enough, lost in how good he’s making her feel, he grabs her neck forcing her attention back on his face. “Look at me.”

Her eyes open, glaring at him for the distraction. As if he’s going to deny her the pleasure only he can bring.

He grins at her. “There’s my angel.” 

🩹

Some time ago…

He doesn’t mean to do it. He doesn’t. It’s not like he takes more than he usually does. He’s slipped something by one of his usual suppliers but something is wrong. He knows something is wrong and he’s trying to get some air, shoving his way outside as he grabs his phone to call someone for help and he drops. The world is spinning around him and he laughs. He can’t move. 

“Hey, are you okay? Hey, look–” 

A face appears over him but he can’t make out the features. Things are blurring. They’re saying something else but he can’t make it out. He calls for Mikey, reaching for his phone but his vision goes black and he passes out. 

🩹

Being sober fucking sucks. 

It makes him more irritable than normal. He wants to succumb to the feeling of weightlessness, of drifting away from the world just enough that he can actually do his work. But since he was fucking poisoned and nearly died because of the pills, Mikey’s ordered him off of them. Even if he already killed the dealer who gave it to him. 

He’s fiddling with one of the pens that he stole from the purse of the girl who saved him. At least, that’s what he had been told. Whatever she gave him kept him alive long enough for the doctor they have on staff to drag him back from the edge. 

He doesn’t remember more than the sound of her panicked voice and the way the light in the alley acted like a halo framing her head. He’s seen her license, but photos never really do someone justice. He just wants to know…why did she save him?

He tries to shove it out of his mind. He doesn’t have time to wonder about a stranger, not when he has traitors to dig out and Mikey to protect. He’s number two, after all. He has work to do. 

🩹

He can’t stop fucking thinking about her. Why did she save him? Why him? Of all the people he could have stumbled across…it was the one woman probably in the whole country who didn’t fear him, who had something in her bag that kept him alive. 

He’s always felt justified in his choices, in his decisions to follow Mikey. He was certain he wouldn’t let that old timeline come to pass, he’d do what Shinchiro set out to do and keep Mikey alive. But her? She was like an angel in his time of need…the thought stops him. 

He didn’t believe in religious junk, but something brought Shinchiro back, something saved Mikey…and something sent this woman into his path. Maybe there was more to it than just saving him…maybe it was Shinchiro sending his thanks for looking after Mikey. He snorts at the idea but the more he ruminates on it, the more it makes sense. Clearly, she’s meant for him. Otherwise, why would she have saved him? Why would she have been there?

🩹 🩹 🩹

Honestly, it’s a lot of luck on his part that she happened to be walking by. She doesn’t usually like to get involved in the affairs of strangers, but it’s easy to see with one look at him that he’s blissed out. Until he falls and she can see the way his breathing catches, the way he’s struggling. 

When he drops, she’s moving without thinking. She kneels, praying he doesn’t throw up on her and calls out to him. 

“Hey! Are you okay? Hey! Look at me!” His eyes can’t focus, pupils nearly erasing the irises. 

“Mik–” his voice slurs and he passes out in front of her. At first, she’s just going to turn him over to make sure if he does throw up, he won’t choke. Then he fully stops breathing. 

He’s lucky because she’s trained in first aid. Because her mother had been watching the news about children accidentally overdosing on drugs somehow left on playgrounds and strongly recommended that she carry the drug meant to help keep someone alive if they overdose on her person. So she digs it out of her bag, yelling for help as she unzips the pack and shoves the first one into one of his nostrils and presses it. She calls 911 and puts it on speaker since no one is coming to help and starts CPR. 

She talks to the operator, trying to tell them where she is but she’s not from this district and she’s trying to get this man to start breathing. She pauses and instead of putting her mouth against his, she shoves the second dose of it into his other nostril and sprays it in. 

He coughs and throws up. She jolts back, turning him towards her so that he can get it out and not choke. The operator is asking her what’s happening but he’s finally breathing that it takes her attention until she has him in a recovery position. 

She grabs her phone but before she can actually confirm that he’s alive and ask where the ambulance is, someone knocks it out of her hand. She looks to get it but someone steps on it, fully shattering the screen and making it go black. 

“HEY!”

The click of a gun, the cool metal touching her temple stops her from reaming them out. 

“What the fuck did you do to him?”

“Saved his life!” she snaps back. “He needs a hospital and you just broke my call that the operator was probably tracking!” 

“What’s this shit?” another voice asks and she sees a foot kick the pack that the naloxone was in. 

“It’s Naloxone. When used fast enough, it can save someone from overdosing. Now instead of interrogating me, call an ambulance!”

They refuse, instead dragging the man off and leaving her in the alley, covered in his sick after they threaten her if she says anything to anyone. It’s not until she’s home and locked out that she realizes that they took her purse. 

It all goes to shit after that. 

🩹

It all goes to shit after that. 

Getting all of her IDs, cards and papers replaced takes longer than she wants. She does, however, tell her mother that she was right and she did help someone. Even if it wasn’t a child like her mother feared. Honestly, she didn’t know where her mother thought they lived but it was clearly somewhere more dangerous than they did. 

She expected that to be the worst of it. 

Until she runs into him by accident. 

She’s leaving a convenience store and putting her wallet away when she accidentally stumbles into him. He grabs her by the shoulders, steadying her. She looks up, an apology on her lips when she realizes who it is. 

“Oh my god, you’re alive!” 

He looks a little startled at her reaction before he smiles. “It’s you.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. I didn’t think you made it,” she admits before remembering the rest of the night. “You stole my purse.” 

“Me? I was dying,” he says clearly. “I couldn’t have.” 

“Your friends then,” she replies. Now that he’s alive and seemingly healthy, she can finally stop thinking about the incident. 

“Let me make it up to you.” He stares down at her and she shifts under the sudden intensity of his gaze. His pink hair falls to his shoulders and his suit looks finely pressed. The scars on the edge of his mouth make him look intimidating. It’s a huge change from the last time she saw him. 

“You don’t need to,” she says. She doesn’t need to get involved with anyone who overdoses and has friends ready to murder her in retribution for causing his death. “I appreciate the offer but it’s fine. I’m just glad I could help.”

He steps forward. “You did. They said I wouldn’t have made it without you. Come on,” he grins at her. “I want to say thank you.”

“You just did,” she points out.

“Properly.”

🩹

She doesn’t think much of it at first. 

Sanzu Haruchiyo, as he properly introduced himself as, is persistent in his determination to say thank you. She expects dinner and refused, not wanting to get more involved with the man than she already was. 

He sends her flowers with a card that holds a number. When she doesn’t call it, choosing to dispose of it instead, her work receives an anonymous donation for upgrades and her class is the first chosen. She refuses the upgrades but then her vacation days are suddenly increased. He pays her rent for the next six months. 

It’s enough to make her track him down so she can get him to stop. She knows the feeling of a gun against her head because of him. She doesn’t want anything else. 

It’s not an easy thing, but she tracks him down to a club. In the process, she learns the name of the criminal organization he’s involved with: Bonten. It’s enough to make her second guess finding him, the criminals more serious than she ever anticipated. She watches the news. She knows the reports of just what they do and how often bodies are found with them as the main suspects. 

It makes her more determined to find him, to get him to stop. It leads to her eventually arguing with the bouncer of the VIP area of the club she waited in line for over an hour to get in. She just wants this to be over. 

She doesn’t know when he spots her, but he approaches with a grin, waving off the guard and leaning in towards her. His pink hair falls between them, brushing her bare shoulders. She’s forced herself into a borrowed skimpy dress to get into this club but she’s more uncomfortable now with him so close. 

“What have I done to earn seeing your face again, angel?”

He doesn’t look high but she doesn’t have enough experience with drugs to confirm it. 

“Why did you pay my rent? Or send that donation to my work. That was you, wasn’t it?” 

He reaches out, brushing her hair back out of her face. “You never called. Wouldn’t let me take you to dinner.”

“And that’s your response?” She stares at him incredulously. It was more than a little overkill. 

He grins at her. “Let me make it up to you?” he asks again, almost a parody of the last time. She stares at him for a long moment. If she says no, there’s no telling what else he’ll do. So she accepts.

🩹

Sanzu keeps her. 

It was an accident, pure chance that she saved him, and he has not let her forget it since. Her attempts to tell him no fail every time. He slowly takes over her life and any attempts to make him stop has him increasing his actions until there’s nothing left except him. 

She gave one small thing. He takes everything in return. 

Every attempt she makes at pulling away has him digging himself deeper under her skin. Before she knows it, there’s a bodyguard outside her work. He moves her into his apartment with claims that it’s safer for her. He breaks down every protest, every action, with cool logic, soft touches and warm promises. He distracts her with orgasms and pretty trinkets, burying her until the only things she has are reminders of him. 

And now they’re here.

🩹

He’s slipped her something. 

“Just to help you relax, baby. Let me lead you back to heaven,” he says, murmuring it into her skin. It makes her head spin. 

“Haru…” She breathes before he kisses her. It’s not the first time they’ve kissed, not the first time they’ve tasted each other, but it feels ten times more intense than before. 

“I got you.” 

He whispers promises into her skin. He brings her to her peak with ease, content in devouring her bit by bit until all she can say is his name. He’s breaking her apart every time she cums under his mouth or fingers or cock.

If she wasn’t bound, stars in her eyes and lost in the feelings he was creating, she’d kill him for this. He’d probably enjoy the attempt, tell her it’s more proof they’re meant to be. If she could feel anything except the constant ebb and flow of pleasure, lighting coursing down her spine, she’d–

“Come on, baby. Lemme see you come for me again.” 

She whines, trying to shift away because it’s too much. She’s overstimulated to the point she feels like crying. He kisses her neck, forcing another mark into her skin and adjusts them until she can barely speak from the way it feels. 

 He kisses her again and she can taste herself on his tongue. “Gotta come for me, baby. Come with me. Show me how fucking pretty you look.”

Her eyes are closed because she can barely keep them open, because she doesn’t want to look at the man who’s stolen her life. 

“Open your eyes, baby. Look at me.” She doesn’t want to, but his hand moves to her throat and she feels the pressure he puts as he forces her to face him. “Look at me.”

She glares at him, eyes brimming with tears and anger at the way he won’t let her escape even just as far as the distance of an eyelid. 

He grins at her. “There’s my angel.” 

She’ll give him this. Let him grow comfortable enough that she has space to make her move. She’ll be free of him. One way or another. 

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[aettuddae]

hole in one — extras : 1.

⌕ synopsis: at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, where everyone is battling to be the center of attention, yu jimin is just a regular. people want her because of her beauty, but all she cares about is sharing her freaky stuff with her friends and passing her subjects. although there's one thing that might push her out of her comfort zone, revenge. when nakamura kazuha, one of the richest and most well-known students of NCU, starts to spread gossip about her for thousands of followers to see, jimin decides to get back by taking away the thing kazuha cares about the most: her perfect girlfriend, the young golf star, kwon haru.

masterlist | chapter 1

[half written chapter]

her elbows resting on the bistro counter, her eyes scanning the menu. the girl with long brown hair looked confused, still unfamiliar with the place after having only been there for two weeks. it was the first time that she approached one of the several options that the club offered for eating. she didn't want anything too heavy, but the light dishes that she had in front of her eyes didn't appeal to her at all. she had been reading and rereading the sheet that had been given to her for a couple of minutes, without reaching any resolution.

“oh! you have to try the pajeon they make here.” a boy's voice came from behind her.

when she turned to see who was talking, she found two people, both dressed in sports clothes, a tall boy with black hair and a girl who accompanied him. she looked familiar, somewhere she had seen that face of hers. the moment she laid eyes on her she couldn't help but find her beautiful. her eyes were big and she found light there, as if she had stars in them, and a smile rested on her lips, she seemed to be a genuinely radiant person.

the boy… he was there.

“the bibimbap here is also good.” added her.

“if she's going to order something to eat, it should be something really good, not bibimbap.” her friend complained, carefully hitting her shoulder to nag her.

"if she chose to eat here she clearly doesn't want anything highly produced, otherwise she would have gone to the restaurant.” she hit him back.

“ask for the pajeon, i know what i'm talking about.” the boy turned his attention back to the chestnut haired. “by the way, i’m lee minhyuk.” he held out his hand for her to shake. “keep the name in mind, it will help you if you need anything.”

“in case you need, you know, a lawyer…” his company continued. “or a cellmate.” she joked, making her laugh. “kwon haru.” she presented her hand for her to take as well, which she did after letting go of minhyuk.

she now remembered where she knew that face with angelic features. kwon haru. of course the name rang a bell in her brain. in front of her was the new promise of korean golf, the new discovery of the sport. if you liked and followed this hobby, then you had heard of haru. with her hawklike vision and precision in her swing, at 21 she had already earned a place among the country's future sports stars.

“i know that name.” she said shyly. “i'm nakamura…” she paused unconsciously, usually her last name was enough to get a reaction. “kazuha.” she finished, laughing at the awkwardness with which she said that.

"you are rich!" the taller one pointed his index finger at her and exclaimed.

"i imagine that you too." she replied simply, assuming that if you had made it into rottary, you must come from a well-off family.

“her parents are well-known businessmen.” he commented to the girl.

“i’ve heard the last name.” she nodded, but didn't seem to care too much. "are you new here? we don’t see many people our age around.”

“i've only been here for two weeks.” she informed, intimidated, for some reason, with kwon's attention.

"hello!" minhyuk greeted the cashier, who seemed to know him well. “two servings of samgyeopsal and…” he turned his head to look at the new girl and wait for her response.

“oh…” the sudden pressure took her by surprise. “a bibimbap.” she asked, finally, directing her gaze to haru, who smiled upon hearing that she took her recommendation.

“a bibimbap.” the boy added as he rolled his eyes. “you're missing it.” he shook his head.

the employee wrote down the group's order and gave them an approximate time the food would be ready, suggested they choose a table, and then walked away.

“will you sit with us?” the black haired man proposed.

“actually, i wanted to eat quickly and continue training.” she rejected him, lowering her head.

“oh, don't worry, it's okay.” he patted her shoulder reassuringly, earning a sideways glance from the girl, causing him to cut contact quickly.

“we will be seeing each other around.” haru gave her a kind expression. “look for us if you need anything.” she added. “it was a pleasure meeting you, nakamura…” she paused for a moment as she began walking towards the tables with her friend. “kazuha.” she finished, causing the named one to laugh, turning on their heel to leave.

“she doesn't like me.” minhyuk whispered towards haru once they were far from her.

"i don't think so." she dismissed him. “you're just being paranoid.” she rubbed his back with her hand to calm him down.

“i'm sorry, haru,” the brunette spoke after seeing her ball land in the distance. “but i think i'm about to win this match.”

“after this, there is still one more hole, zuha." she replied confidently as she approached the tee. “i wouldn't claim victory yet.” she bent down to place her ball in the teeing area.

“i have fewer hits than you.” she recalled, following the girl's movements.

“and i am the next golf superstar.” she stood up and gave her a teasing smile.

kazuha opened her eyes in surprise and let out a dry laugh as she put her hand on her chest, pretending to be offended by haru's sudden ego. she lifted her club into the air, joking that she was going to attack her with it, to which the older girl ran off with the brunette chasing behind. kazuha dropped the object and concentrated on catching kwon, who was further ahead, eventually managing to close the distance enough to reach her sweater and pull it, making her stop running, and then jump on her back. haru held her thighs with her hands so she had something to lean on, and she wrapped her arms around her neck for support.

“i could hit it while carrying you." she assured with plenty of attitude.

“haru, i can see your legs shaking from here.” she contradicted her.

“i'm just nervous in the presence of a pretty girl." she lied with a flirtatious tone. “it's not that i don't have strength.”

"how shameless." she shook her head.

haru approached her club bag, still carrying kazuha on her back with some difficulty, and took out a driver from it. she didn't have much strength, but she had great pride that was forcing her to show that she could make a good tee shot even in that situation. trying to keep the girl in place and not fall, she approached the tee box and got into position. kazuha's leg was in the way when lifting the club, but she still did her best to carry it high and not hurt her during the swing, managing to hit the ball with force and precision without touching the girl, and more importantly, without dropping her.

once she saw the small white object flying through the air, she collapsed, falling to the ground on her knees, unable to support the weight of a human on her back anymore, and being pushed flat when kazuha's body collided on top of her. leaving them both on the ground, they began to laugh at the event that had just happened.

“wow, you're really good at this." spoke nakamura, who was now lying on haru's back.

“it's my vocation." the oldest answered in a low voice due to the little air that was reaching her lungs, with her head on her side, her cheek against the grass.

kazuha let her head fall forward of her, her stare remaining directly on haru's profile. she looked at her for a moment, appreciating her features from up close, forgetting the position they were in. she leaned down and placed her forehead on the girl's temple, closing her eyes and holding them there for a moment while her game partner caught her breath.

she rolled her body to her side, getting off of the girl and facing the sky, enjoying the warm weather and sunny day for a second. she stood up, sitting on the grass, then looked to where haru was still lying, with the hand closest to her, she adjusted her hair, then gave short, soft caresses on her cheek, to finally bent down to leave a kiss on it.

“and that?” haru asked, surprised after the sudden display of affection.

“nothing." she replied simply. “it's just that you made me feel very happy just now and i wanted to thank you.”

haru raised, remaining in the same position as her, wiping the lawn off her clothes. she gave her a tender look and smiled sideways. “it makes me happy that you are happy.” her smile expanded, showing her teeth and causing her eyes to disappear, causing a mirror reaction in the brunette.

kazuha couldn't contain the emotion that haru generated within her. in those months since she had met her and they had become close, her smile had turned into her favorite thing in the world. she was all the time searching for it, telling the girl the best jokes, doing stupid things that she wouldn't do for anyone else just to see it. she couldn't contain the need to shower her with affection all the time, to show her how much someone could adore her.

with her hands against the earth, she pushed herself, landing on her knees and launching herself towards her older one, who hugged her around the waist. kazuha surrounded her shoulders and, since she was thus taller like that, she looked at her from above, meeting her eyes with her own, the shine that haru carried in them was reflected in kazuha's everytime they made optical contact, and in the way the brunette admired her with her eyes, you could tell who her world really was.

“do you know how else you can make me very happy?” she inquired, the excitement generated by the girl's simple existence painted in her tone.

haru nodded, the euphoria impossible to hide on her face, and she moved her body forward to the level where she could touch her mouth with hers, and therefore capture her lips to share their first kiss.

"love." haru called from inside her apartment, walking towards the balcony, where kazuha was seated in a chair looking at the seoul skyline. “it's merely a job, you're not tied to this guy for the rest of your life.” she took a seat beside her.

“but i don't like him.” she took a couple of grapes from the bunch that haru had just brought in a bowl.

“you never like anyone.” she brought a unit of the fruit to her mouth. “there must be three people in total that you stand.” she gave her a scrutinizing look.

“the only thing that matters to me is that i like you.” the brunette leaned to her side to plant a chaste kiss on her girlfriend's cheek.

“and i like you.” this one responded straightforwardly. “but you need to learn to be more patient.” she advised.

“i'll attempt, but i don't guarantee anything.” she shrugged, to which haru replied with a knowing smile. “i was thinking we could got out for dinner tonight.” she changed the subject.

"sorry, love." she ate another grape. “the boy minhyuk met at the gym dumped him, so we'll go console him.”

“minhyuk gets dumped every week.” she sulked.

“it's not his fault he chooses the most idiotic men.” she defended her friend.

“i'm very certain that if the pattern recurs so frequently the issue must be him.” she reasoned.

“see that you detest everyone?” she remarked, but kazuha just rolled her eyes.

“why did he get broken up with this time? it seemed like this one it was real."

“the man told him he was going too fast.” she informed, making a displeased expression. “like, just say that you don't want any commitment and don't raise the poor boy's hopes.” she spoke with irritation.

"right?" her girlfriend agreed with her. “you wouldn't do that to me, would you?” she changed to a serious tone.

"love." she gave her an incredulous grimace.

“what does that ‘love’ mean?” she raised an eyebrow, interrogating her. “have you imagined a future with me? because i do." she confessed, and haru was silent momentarily. “baby, we're not marrying tomorrow, i just want to know if you see me in your future.”

“clearly i do.” she nodded. “every time i wake up beside you i think that is what i would like for my whole life.” her gaze was filled with tenderness.

“that's the response i was expecting.” she approved with a firm tone and brought another grape to her mouth.

"that's your answer?" haru shouted indignantly. “i admit to you that i wish you to be part of my day to day eternally and you say that?”

"you already know that my universe is you.” she mentioned laughing at haru's reaction.

“forget it, after that reaction i'm not so sure.” she lifted her hand, placing it between them and obstructing her face from looking at her.

"baby." she seized her girlfriend's arm and pulled it down. “you know how in love with you i am.” she slid her palm down kwon's forearm until they intertwined fingers. “you know my dream is to live with you, drive to the club with you every day, kiss you goodnight every night, get married… do you remember where i would like our wedding to be?” she looked at her with furrowed brows.

"in spain." she replied, smiling without realizing it when she heard her girlfriend.

"exactly." she rested her head on her partner's shoulder. “move to a house with a lovely yard, have a daughter, and fight about whether we'll give her a japanese name or not.” they both chuckled. “you know i can't envision a future without you, i didn't think i had to remind you.”

"i love you." haru expressed and then planted a kiss on her head. “the future i dream with is exactly what you just described.” she assured. “i don't wanna grow older without your head on my shoulder.”

"that will not happen." she vowed. “you will listen to me complain about minhyuk until i have to wear dentures.” kazuha envisioned making haru burst into laughter. “and i love you too, by the way.” she kissed her face.