#I don't know if it's just a coincidence and I don't care tbh cuz I love both stories equally the way they are

[cowardlychimera]

ACTUALLY. TALKING ABOUT CHARACTERS SIMILAR TO MARI AND SUNNY. GUESS WHAT.

recently also played the game tomorrow won't come for those without ██████. the main character is named Ori (sound familiar yet?) and he has a dead sister named Mari, who's associated with the color violet. she haunts the narrative and heavily affects Ori's actions. fascinating

[graphx]

so…that avatar show, huh?

me no likely:

they made aang leaving an accident. like he didn't deliberately try to run away from his problems, it was just coincidence on a midnight fly and he even says he will go back when he clears his head (then everyone else frames it as intentional??? Even himself???)

Kataras character literally feels like her ember island counterpart and made her perfect and I hate that she doesn't get mad at aang talent at all because she can't be TOO MEAN NOOO WHATEVER WILL WE DO IF SHE HAS FLAWS??? OR A REALISTIC REACTION TO FRUSTRATION OF NOT BEING ABLE TO DO SOMETHING SHE VALUES A LOT CUZ ITS HARD??? (took away all of her development about having to be the bigger person and gave it to sokka??? Fun loving joking sokka??? Even tho it ties in with her toph conflict later?)

jet blows up things with jelly and hurt civilians but…the entire point of jet was that he hurt people who did nothing wrong and there was definitely fire benders doing something wrong so he can justify his actions?? And the entire point was that he needed to REALIZE his actions were unforgivable before moving on from his vengeance to ba sing se?But now he does nothing wrong because we can't have the pretty boy terrorist be TO00000 BAD

i get that we are supposed to emphasize the power of friendship thing in the bumi episode but it just seems like instead of aang realizing he is going to make hard choices with no right answer his friends take that decision/responsibility AWAY from him? And the point in the show is that while he cant rely on others and has to do it alone???

azula sounds like she's complaining about zuko like a normal teenager gossiping to her friends even tho her entire beach episode was emphasizing how she is NOT A REGULAR KID AND DOESNT ACT LIKE IT. Or being mad zuko got banished and got himself an opportunity? No azula only cares about her dads orders/approval at this point she doesn't take zuko seriously as a threat? She was glad he was gone and tried to take him prisoner? Complaining that she is "risking her life undercover?" Did we watch??? The same source material???

would have been so easy to show badger moles and benders but noooo lets just make them savage animals that don't react to VIBRATIONS AT ALL ya know THE EARTHBENDING TECHNIQUE

why the hell is kyoshi getting mad at aang for not fighting WHEN SHE IS TRAPPING HIM IN A DREAM TO LECTURE HIM INSTEAD OF LETTING HIM FIGHT??

Good!

Never recovering from zuko and leaves on the vine playing at the same time

at least sokka got some development?? It could have been worse tbh

I like that they explained the avatar possession stuff can only happen in certain places

my cabbages made everything worth it

giving iroh and lu ten a bit more depth! I like that everyone subtly framed it in a good way but zuko was more empathetic

im a mixed bag on how they handled suki (great to show that she is unsociable from being an isolated warrior all her life but I hated that they just…beat up sokka for no reason by taking out his misogyny arc…. And didn’t frame it as a bad enough thing?? And then they just… got over it? With no real apology? Cuz it’s fine now that they think the other one is hot!! Problems solved!!!)

i like that they made jet and kataras relationship less “ooooo hot bad boy!!!” And more a mutual relationship (then they threw it out the window for no reason cuz JET IS BAD BUT NOT TOO BAD! KATARA NEEDS TO GIRLBOSS!!!! U guys can make empathic characters while still making them bad not giving him misogyny problems he never had???)

sokka and katara sibling moments? They were okay

(I’ll update when I watch more)

[spicyraeman]

This week's batch of drawings will make you coo gentlepeople! Traumatised murder Bébé Lae'zel and happy Bébé Xan will make you melt like butter in a warm croissant! You never cared for kids? Now you do!

As a french speaker, the charisma check of a froggy frog Lae'zel would probably fail tbh. But it makes me laugh to imagine her accent being 100% harsher and the words mispronounced. They really missed a comical opportunity.

"What do you mean, wizard? Why can't I say 'I want to hit the beach' in front of the hatchlings? I had my hopes to see some phoques there. WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING SHADO-ART! We need to foc-us!"

Buuuuuut in french to say "my love / 🐸 my joy 🐸" you can say "mon cœur" which means "my heart". ( Coincidence? I think not!) I can almost imagine a scene where it's softly choked in a bloody pointy ear at camp after a scary fight. Almost. So just for that I can admit it can be cute. (Want more french lessons? Scream weewoo 🚑 at 3am and I'll appear on your bed, sleep-deprived with a complotist white board ! Special discount for fanfic writers and artists)

I saw briefly the translated version of the game, it's... an experience. They translated SH literally, it really brought out the cringe I probably should've felt in English but didn't. It's wayyy to close to "Shadowcunt" too, but we have Shart here so I can't really speak up. Poor girl is taking punches in every languages 😂

Also I love how everytime I send you something stuck in my brain, you come up with the most reasonable and obvious answers. Why do I forget these characters don't live in a bubble but in a society? Ofc there are gonna be pointy ears headphones 😂🤦‍♀️ All week I imagined some designs for those, then jewelries, then piercings, then I reaaally need to stop this brain. Qquipart is right too, Karlach is def a speaker user!

I live to give you cute drawing ideas. Doing the devil's work I'm sure, adding to the everlasting pile 😈

And take all the time you need to answer, obv. I'm sending a weekly rambling letter to a friend and finding an answer randomly in my mailbox ; waiting is part of the fun.

🫀🚑

Yes! I had kids on the brain at the time! It's not something that happens often, but i couldn't resist baby Xan or Lil'zel

I find French accents incredibly endearing, not particularly attracted to them, but theres something about them i just love. An obscenely french Lae’zel would make me lose my shit, and honestly, it would fit her. I've always had the hc that lae'zels accent is waaayyy more prominent than in game and that she mispronounces words more frequently. I mean, shes probably never had to speak common to anyone before the nautiloid, how would she know how some words are pronounced?

Also bestie ya cant just drop an atomic bomb on me like that, thats too fuckin cute bro my heart 😭

As for reasonable and obvious answers, they're like that cuz ive got terminal worldbuilder disease, and as soon as you sent that ask, i took a whole day just researching headphones and IEMs. I really should draw up some designs for them 🤔 and yeaaa karlach is def bumping the speakers at full volume

It truly is an everlasting pile, i should probably actually start writing them down lmaooo

Trust me, im taking my time lol my brain works at a snails pace, but seeing an ask from you makes my week so ty <3

[pumpernickel-simswood]

I'm sorry for spamming the tag. I think I'll just put a few eps together going forward to make the tag less cluttered.

Episode 15:

-Now I want steak, thanks Steve lol.

-The impulse control on these gents. Aww, Steve. No, he's not your dad, he's your fucking friend and he cares about you, Nate >:( Steve deserves better. Oh man, that's some d&d pc behavior. That poor window did nothing wrong lol

Steve's Theme is pretty great.

Episode 16:

-Why is Jim's wedding photo in a kitchen drawer? That's very weird. Nate, you are certainly as arrogant as a Gryffindor. Why was there a woman's scream???

Episode 17:

-Steeeeeve, yes, Powerline is fantastic. Excellent taste in fictional bands. Good man lol. Fear reaction being singing is so valid. Steve's hate of Jim is incredibly weird and interesting. This man is having a Time.

Episode 18:

-If Steve is right about Jim, I'm gonna laugh so hard. A stack of lawn chairs is not weird, Nate. The door, on the other hand. Okay, the wall of clippings of missing and murdered people is definitely weird. It feels kinda like a wall of trophies tbh. Also, props for the soundscaping. Oh boi, a journal full of weird symbols? That's definitely a Leitner. Okay, full length mirror is- Uh, what was that? Ah, the entity who tried to kill Steve. Well then!

Episode 19:

-I really don't like mirror horror lol. The entity has Doppelganger/Stranger vibes. A knocking? The mirror maybe? Oh, a hidden hallway. . . The way the buildings change around them is really unsettling. Yeah, just enter the random hallway and doorway. Nothing can go wrong by doing that. I just want know what is helping the gents and why.

Episode 20:

-Yeah, um, this isn't good. The sound engineering is fantastic though! Hmmmm

Episode 21:

-So, did Steve just get thrown out the attic to the ground? Ah, fuck. Time loss again. Shit. Not a mention of Steve, huh Nate? And Jess has been wiped out of existence. More knocking. I wonder what's causing that. The entity is really trying to isolate Nate, that's fun. He really can't hear the knocking, that's interesting. And has no memory of Steve. Man. Man man man. That's weird, starts off as the first letter and then leads into a Lonely statement. Or a Lonely/Stranger combo. Which, valid. And that was probably Steve :(

Episode 22:

-That is so cruel, the situational irony. Good gracious. Nate! How dare you insult my childhood horror! Goosebumps and Courage are amazing! Just cuz you don't get it lol. It's weird that all these letters are from women. Every single one we've heard. Hmmm. Paul is a name that's been repeated for brothers twice at least. Which wouldn't be weird in real life, but given that it's a horror podcast... Bella is such a good dog. Oh shit, was that Paul? Nate's brother?

Episode 23:

-Sleep paralysis? Sleep paralysis. I wonder if whatever the entity is is what's controlling the weather too. Nate and Bella haven't been able to get far from the house. It's like the weather has a mind to keep Nate there. And finally, a knocking Nate hears. And the faceless being directed him to his phone. Interesting, interesting.

Episode 24:

-Give his memory baaaaaack. Correct, gender is unimportant to the gaining your memory back. Stop rambling, Nate, look at the phone. Oh thank goodness, there's some of the old stuff still on his phone. Good, good, good. Can not believe Nate has less agency than Jon Si- Puppy noises!!!! I'm sorry, *what* woods? Prentiss? Okay, that's pretty great. What a coincidence there lol. STEVE! NOOOO NATE! UGH! I'm dead on the floor. I miss Steve. Oh thank goodness you're gullible, Nate. Thank you for accepting the photo from our gent. Holy crow lol.

Episode 25:

-Alright, last one for now. Let's go. You have bad takes, Nate roflmao. Gamers rule. Nvm to the only lady letters apparently lol. There we go. He caught a lead. Finally. Hopefully he'll be able to make progress again. I feel like he was close to figuring something out before his memory got stolen again.

[originalgenshinscenarios]

Time to make you cry.

So, the abyss order, you know them.

Can I request a lil something about the god of ash?

The abyss order brings Guizhong back but in a twisted form, the god of ash finds out and returns to Liyue to kill all the abyss creatures. Litterally turning them in ash, making them suffer their wrath

But they come face to face with 'Guizhong', they know they have to kill her, that thing is not their sister, not anymore.

Headcanons or oneshhot, I don't really care, you can add whoever you want, Zhongli, Ningguang up to you :P

Have fun <3

As a league of legends player this sort of reminds me of ruination.

Also FUCK you I made it sadder instead of making her fully corrupted.

And also also I had no idea if we should make it a continuation from Zhongli's assassination or not tbh... But I just really really REALLY want to write anything with Guili cuz I'm obsessed with them so let's say that this takes place after part one in a separate universe than part two.

God of Ash and Zhongli having a sad reunion with Guizhong

You knew the abyss order was up to something and you called Zhongli to come with you, after all your investigation lead you to Guili plains... Exactly in the spot where your sister had died.

At least that's what he told you when he noticed them approach, hoping it was just a coincidence.

You didn't like where this was going when they started a ritual... The sky grew dark and fragments of dark Ash had gathered.

Before you could interfere you saw her. At least she looked like Guizhong...

She was deformed, her hands lacked form, infinite ash falling from her sleeves but her gentle voice still could be heard as she gasped and her kind eyes were still looking around in shock.

She noticed you with a corner of her eye and you made an eye contact for a brief second, it begged you for help before her attention was turned towards the abyss' minions.

She was confused and was filled with rage and pain at that moment due to the ritual which was corrupting her further.

You and Zhongli decided that you should act before it's too late... But little did you know, you couldn't save her on time to begin with...

With your power combined the abyss mages just disappeared, either by his spear or by your magic.

But it didn't stop the corruption. Before she lost herself she said "Y/N... Rex... You know what you must do... I'm sorry that we have to say goodbye yet again" she smiled at you "My dear sibling, I suppose your sister wasn't meant to live in this time. But please remember that I will always watch over you, do not let your anger from my death control you and neither seek revenge" you couldn't hold it anymore and hugged her, crying your eyes out. Her form wasn't fully solid but she tried petting your head as ashes from your sleeves covered your back.

Then she turned to Zhongli "Do not grief me for I will not return, nor will I ever disappear. As long as your memories of me stay I will remain alive" he nodded as his eyes couldn't help but tear up as well. She reached her other hand out to him and as he took it she gave him a small squeeze.

When you pulled away from the hug she took your and Zhongli's weapon and pointed it towards herself.

Her smile remained on her face even after she was pierced. Both you and Zhongli were speachless as she dissolved slowly yet again.

It was but your duty to honor her last last wishes... But neither of you could forgive nor would you forget what the abyss order had done.

~Mod Lisa

[levinneheart]

Hi! I was wondering if I could request a matchup? :)

My name is Cecilia, and my pronouns are she/they! I am a Aries sun Aquarius moon and Leo rising. Im Bisexual ( I don't really have a preference in gender tbh) and im a ENFP-T. When it comes to the physical aspects, I am 5'8, I have dark brown hair and eyes and I have freckles on my face (like my face is FULL of freckles). I'm also chubby and I have the fear of accidentally squishing people if I sit on their laps or if they carry me 😀. And I'm kinda blind lol I use glasses bc I can't see shit without them 😃. I would like to add that im mexican with spanish and Italian roots. I am an amvibert, but depending on my moods and my hormones I can be more inclined to being a extrovert or introvert. When someone meets me for the first time you will either get the first impression that im a rude and sarcastic person that doesn't care about anyone and I will kill you (basically a person with a resting bitch face) OR I am one of the nicest human beings that you will ever meet on the planet earth. There isn't really a in-between. BUT, usually when I warm up to people I can be really chaotic and fun. oH I also am a really clumsy person (I will trip over air, literally...). But I tend to be a very snarky and loud person, and some people might not really like that. Some people also say that I act like this or try to have this personality bc im trying to be "qUiRkY aNd dIfFerEnT", but in reality I'm literally just plain weird 😐 (like actually what normal person screams at 3 AM bc they just felt like it, scares everyone in the house and goes back to sleep like nothing happened-). Some of my hobbies are to listen to music, read books, ride my bike, roller skate, play video games, watch horror movies, drink orange juice at 3 AM while singing and dancing along to the titanic flute song, and scaring children and my dad😄. I also really enjoy learning new languages and for now I speak 4; Spanish (which is my native one), English, Portuguese and Russian, I'm trying to learn Japanese. I hate strawberries, thunderstorms and hateful people.

Thanks and have a nice day, take care and stay safe 🥺💓

❝ Hi I wanted to know if I could participate in your 200 follower even :). I sent a matchup some days ago but forgot to ask if I could participate. Anyways thanks and have a nice day! Happy 200 followers lovely!!!! ❞

a/n: hello, lovely! dw, you didn’t forget to ask if you could participate! also, welcome to my blog! hope you enjoy your stay here~ <3

i match you with...

Sugawara Koushi!!!

chubby? plus size? say no more than the ever so chaotic Suga

he also has that two-faced persona when meeting people; either feral or momma suga, there’s no in between

he thinks your cute when you lit trip on nothing but air, dw he won’t make fun of you

instead, he will kith kith on pain away like a fking dream boat that he is 😘😘😘

meeting each other

you guys met during Halloween when you scared his students away from him during his break

he thanks you and insists on taking you somewhere to repay you cuz those damn hooligans always pester him (lmao he sounds old 🤣)

you’re just like: yay, free food cough him cough

falling in love

i feel it in my bones that you two hardcore pin for each other, like date already 🤦‍♀️

everybody is so shocked when they ask you, if you’re dating Suga and you’re like no

i lowkey think they would ship and otp you guys LMAOOOO

confession

i feel like this is one of the coincidences that you two would confess on the same day

idk how and why, it just happened

just goals, like you two are the literal definition of relationship goals

as a couple

he likes doing your hobbies along with you as a stress reliever

very chaotic!!!

but he will stop at a reasonable time when he feels it’s getting out of hand

loves being a little spoon 🥺🥺🥺

he whispers sweet nothings to you that makes your heart go 💗💗💗💕💕

he got that tongue technology 👅 this is a joke and a reference to Suga from BTS (i couldn’t help but add it 🤪)

— other potential candidates: osamu, daishu, & kageyama

[akechicrimes]

I'm a brand new goroboy and have questions if you don't mind answering any of them 1. Was everything that Akechi said about the PTs being unjust a part of his detective act or did he really believe that changing hearts was bad prior to the engine room? 2. When did he first suspect the PTs? Did he figure them out immediately at the TV station or did he just become interested in Joker cuz he's gay and figured it out afterwards lol. Basically who sussed who out first? (1/2)

hello welcome!!!!!! we are happy to have u!!!!!!!! 

unfortunately we dont have concrete answers to a lot of these, but i will do my best!!!! these are some really excellent questions so i want to do them justice. and by do them justice, i mean theyre under a cut because it got really long lmfao.

thanks for the ask–this was really fun to write, instead of doing literally any of the work that i was supposed to.

1. Was everything that Akechi said about the PTs being unjust a part of his detective act or did he really believe that changing hearts was bad prior to the engine room?

SHORT ANSWER: we don’t know.

SLIGHTLY LONGER ANSWER: we can’t say for sure but there’s strong evidence that he was probably telling the truth, actually.

VERY LONG ANSWER: there’s strong evidence he both is and isn’t telling the truth in the TV studio scene, but with the qualifiers that (1) he never necessarily says theyre unjust, he says they’re dangerous. (2) he probably thinks the phantom thieves change hearts in the same way that he makes people go psychotic. (3) his sense of justice is basically entirely based on righting wrongs that have been committed against individuals, not what the law says. (also, when i say “individuals,” i mean himself.)

to the extent that he’s lying–he does say that they’re operating outside the law, and that they have unknown and apparently very effective power that cannot be stopped by traditional law enforcement. traditional justice says that if you operate outside the law, that makes you automatically bad. akechi is playing the part of someone who’s lawful good, so when he says, “they’re dangerous and operating outside the law,” he has to say, “that makes them unjust.”

to the extent that he’s telling the truth, that’s basically everything else he says. i do think those viewpoints are his own for a lot of reasons.

when he talks about the changes of heart, he makes it sound like it’s a thing that could just happen to anyone–even people who’ve done no wrong. when akira voices support for the PT, akechi argues back against akira to say “If [Ryuji’s] heart suddenly changed, wouldn’t you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?” like it could just happen to any random joe schmoe. he’s acting like someone could just one day change their entire attitude–possibly for the worse–resulting in terror amongst the population.

we have to keep in mind that at this point in time, akechi has no idea that you can steal treasure to change a person’s heart. he doesn’t even know treasure is a thing, let alone that you have to send a calling card to make it manifest. morgana is the person who knew all that stuff, and akechi definitely didnt have access to morgana when he started his hitman career.

so with the way that he’s talking about the changes of heart, i dont think he assumes that changes of heart always change the person for the better. he has no idea that it’s literally removing a person’s distorted desires. i’m like NINETY-FIVE PERCENT SURE that he thinks changes of heart operate in the same way that his psychotic abilities work: you cast a persona spell, and a person goes apeshit.

from his point of view, that’s kind of what’s happening. when akechi casts call of chaos, a person starts behaving in a way they never would under ordinary circumstances in the real world. the changes of heart really look exactly the same way to an outsider’s POV. and to akechi’s understanding, call of chaos can be cast on even good people. from the phantom thieves’ POV, only people who’re mega-dicks can have their hearts changed in the first place, because the requisite to have a palace is a certain level of distortion. (futaba, of course, proving that you don’t have to be a mega-dick to have a distortion, but the TV studio scene happens before futaba.)

akechi’s argument is that leaving that sort of power in just anyone’s hands is dangerous. because that’s a LOT of power for one person to have. akechi would know, considering that he’s in the same position. he’s wary of the fact that there’s no guarantee that that person will use it for good.

that, of course, brings us to the question of “well, what does akechi think ‘using power for good’ is in the first place?” does he think that the phantom thieves are using their powers for good? does he think he’s using his powers for good?

when asked why he seeks justice, akechi says: “Because of sickening human beings… Yes, my contempt for such people drives my sense of justice. It isn’t some grand reason like society’s sake or some lofty ideal. It’s simply an absurd grudge… and extremely personal.” 

the traditional, lawful-good way of thinking about justice is that if you operate outside the law, you’re automatically bad. but akechi’s sense of justice seems to be driven primarily from the hurts he’s suffered, the grudges he still bears, and his conviction that wrongs personally done against individuals should be righted. it’s an end-goal oriented sense of justice.

if wrong-doers are punished and the grudges are appeased, then justice is delivered. how that happens does not necessarily constitute justice. my best guess at this time is that he’d qualify a lot as “the ends justify the means,” since his concept of justice is end-goal oriented. 

of course, i think akechi definitely shows throughout the game that he knows that how you achieve those ends is… not irrelevant. i think his black mask outfit (and a bunch of other things he says) implies that he feels like he is a “villain” of sorts. he demonstrates feeling a type of way about killing okumura. he definitely knows that his actions are morally wrong under particular lenses. take a look at this section:

Akechi: Who cares? My targets were all doing the same damn thing in this eat or be eaten world. [referencing that all his victims were dicks who kind of deserved to get glocked]

Akechi: How is that any different from the Phantom Thieves?

Ann: We’re not murderers!

Akechi: (now looking kind of pissed) So what?! [launches into speil about how it’ll all be worth it when he exacts revenge on Shido]

obviously he knows that murder is morally indefensible. but i think he’s justified it to himself as either not so bad because he killed primarily corrupt people, and/or that it’d be worth it if he achieves revenge on shido. he’s doing some kind of weird karma cosmic-scale balancing of “how much can i get away with and still be able to call it justifiable and justice,” and it looks like his answer is “quite a fucking lot.”

ironically, this makes his views on justice fairly practical. rather than idealistically committed to some platonic edition of justice, he’s more of a “what do i need to do to get the goals i want achieved? what needs to happen to make sure that asshole abusers get what’s coming to them? what needs to happen to make sure that i get emotional closure?” the biggest issue with that is the danger of a Pyrrhic victory–the moment where the means so go far that the ends no longer justify them.

all of this is to say: when akechi is talking about the phantom thieves as potentially unjust, i dont think he has a problem with their methods. “methods” are like a knife–it’s about how you use it, and for what.

i think he knows that changing hearts, and turning people psychotic, is morally skeevy if your sense of justice is very puritanical, but his sense of justice isn’t puritanical. i think he’s wary of what they might be using their methods for. again: his big argument in the studio scene isnt necessarily that theyre unjust, only that they’re dangerous.

seriously, though–changing hearts is potentially a recipe for societal collapse if used the wrong way. imagine if the PT were more self-centered and they went the light yagami route with their new supernatural powers, maintaining peace and order through authoritarian fear. that is, actually, the entire premise of the P5 Vanilla Bad End, in which the PT enforce peace through relentlessly changing hearts and making people too terrified to keep committing crime. 

since his views on justice seem to be defined by what the end goal is, he’d have to know what those goals are before understanding if they’re “just” or “unjust”–which is probably why he keeps hounding akira for akira’s viewpoints on justice, tbh. the phantom thieves are only unjust if their end goal is unjust, not necessarily because of their methods. (see answer to question 2 for related/continued discussion.)

2. When did he first suspect the PTs? Did he figure them out immediately at the TV station or did he just become interested in Joker cuz he’s gay and figured it out afterwards lol. Basically who sussed who out first?

SHORT ANSWER: i pretty sure atlus expects us to believe that he figured it from even before the TV showing–he figured it out when he overheard ryuji saying “It’s not easy being phantom thieves” when they were in the hallway. it’s the same time and place where akechi did his famous pancake fuck-up.

SLIGHTLY LONGER ANSWER: the idea that akechi was just super horny for the guy who gave him shit on live TV and then realized that akira was a phantom thief later as a neat bonus is fuckign SENDING me.

VERY LONG ANSWER: because of the scene with ryuji, i’m pretty sure he knew that akira was a phantom thief, and also i’m half-convinced that he somehow got the TV host to specifically choose akira during the “ask the audience” portion of the show. it’s really too much of a coincidence. 

because of that, i think the other implication of the scene is that he wanted to see what akira was made of when he invited akira for a debate on live television, and was pleasantly surprised when akira had something very interesting to say on the topic of grey morality and achieving justice outside the law.

what’s interesting about that scene is that akechi becomes interested in akira regardless of what akira says about the phantom thieves. akira’s options are “They’re justice itself,” “They’re necessary,” and “They do more than the cops”–so it’s not like akira ever says that he dislikes the phantom thieves, but the level of support ranges and two of these imply a justification/reasoning for it. and then akechi fucking argues back on live television like this is some kind of debate, instead of a daytime talk show meant to distract bored housewives. 

like. akechi gets INTO it. justice is his THING. and here’s akira, who seems to be not only a metaverse user operating outside the law like akechi himself, but also has some pretty grey morality thoughts on what justice is and could be, also like akechi himself.

taking it as a given that he knows for a fact that akira is a phantom thief from the get-go, from even before the TV scene ever even happened, then akechi probably keeps hounding him because akechi’s interested in hearing akira’s reasons. he’s not fishing for evidence, since he already knows. this is very speculative, now, but my best guess is that he keeps hounding akira ever after this scene because he wants to compare notes, one vigilante to another, to hear how akira rationalizes his vigilante work as a type of justice. very possibly, he’s seeking reassurance to himself that his own actions are justifiable. (he certainly seems that way in P5R, especially when he wonders about if a “justice nobody wants” is really a true justice at all, or just someone being self-centered.)

so re: “did akechi figure him out or was he just gay,” the answer is. yes. akechi did figure him out, and also akira made him so intellectually horny on live television that he hounded the man down in public for follow-up dates. 

what a king.

3. Does Akechi have a Velvet Room? Does he experience rank ups with Joker and the game over stuff too? 

SHORT ANSWER: we don’t know. no, seriously, we have no idea.

SLIGHTLY LONGER ANSWER: i’ve seen compelling takes on him having his own velvet room, and i think it’s thematically very fascinating if akechi is quite literally akira’s counterpart in terms of cosmic chess pieces, but i would be surprised if he did. but again, seriously, since there’s no confirmation on the matter, i say akechi’s potential velvet room is fair game.

VERY LONG ANSWER: lore-wise, i’m betting no. akechi was yaldabaoth’s piece, while akira was philemon’s (if i’m remembering my lore correctly). philemon provides the velvet room to aid the people he chooses–yaldabaoth has no such deal. the only reason why yaldo was in the velvet room in the first place was because he wanted to fuck over philemon’s chosen trickster.

it’s the same logic for why someone like adachi wouldn’t have a velvet room: while souji/yu, namatame, and adachi were all given the power to go into the tv world by izanami, only souji/yu was selected by philemon to save the world from ruin, and was accordingly given the resources and aid to do so.

secondary bonus: the psychotic ability/call of chaos just removes a person’s bonds in their heart, which makes them behave as if they were crazy. it’s the exact opposite of joker’s ability to create bonds. yaldabaoth’s one gift to his chosen chess piece was to essentially undo the very social links that make akira strong. so again, i’d be shocked if akechi experiences things like ranking up, or any sort of velvet room/persona fusing mechanic.

personally i think the loki/robin hood divide just happened because he awoke to a persona twice. awakening to your persona just happens at moments of rebellion and strong resolve, and canonically even other persona-users “awaken” (sorta) twice when you max their social link. i’m betting that he just had two moments of resolve: one in which he wanted to be a hero of justice, and one in which he decided he was going to tear shido to the ground no matter how far into villainy he had to go.

but as always, it’s not like there’s a hard consensus on the matter. 

4. How did he kill the shadows of people who don’t have a palace? Does *everyone* have a shadow in mementos?

SHORT ANSWER: he probably kills them in mementos, and also i think we’re expected to believe that literally everyone has a shadow in mementos.

SLIGHTLY LONGER ANSWER: i’m almost certain that the mementos depths section of the game confirms that basically everyone’s shadows are in there somewhere, even if they’re just your average joe with no significant distortions. the palace ruler for that section is “the public,” and also we do see the shadows of palace rulers who’ve had their hearts changed in the mementos depths. so even if you’ve had your heart changed and are supposedly a perfectly good human being now, this evidently doesnt disqualify you for having a shadow in mementos.

VERY LONG ANSWER: morgana says that mementos is the collective distortion of everyone in the area, but not a lot more concretely than that. morgana also says that reality is fairly plastic and that reality is somewhat determined by how we perceive the world, so i think that we’re expected to believe that everyone has, to some degree, some level of distortion.

i could say that jungian theory, which is the theory that the persona series is based off of, says that everyone without exception has a shadow. but this seems a little bit of a doylist explanation. instead i’ll point to persona 3, in which people without shadows literally become comatose and apathetic husks of themselves. this is because having a shadow is actually a fairly important part of a person’s psyche, and not having one doesnt make you a good and perfect person, it makes you a nonfunctional vegetable incapable of cognitive thought.

so yeah, i’m pretty sure EVERYONE is in mementos. with the exception of the phantom thieves, because… i think we’re expected to believe that their personas are in some ways their shadows? but also their personas are like, real-life kinning mythological/fictional characters so hard that you bind them to your soul? frankly i’ve been confused about how shadows work ever since persona 5 had people’s eyes turn yellow when they go through their awakenings, since perosna 4 used to use that as a sign that the person was a shadow, so… maybe i have no idea what the fuck im talking about. LMFAO.