#I think something similar could happen with Makoto as well (just not with him initiating the emotions)

[snakes-and-fluff]

The atmosphere in the dorm was tense. Everyone was ready; that wasn't the issue. It was the wait before then, the hands of the clock seeming to move slower with every passing minute, that put everyone so on edge.

Nobody knew who first turned the TV on, but the background noise helped to soothe their nerves some, so nobody turned it off. Maybe it was because it was the final day, or maybe it was just the channel that happened to be on, but Apathy syndrome wasn't mentioned even a single time.

All that is to say that when the upbeat music of the Phoenix Ranger Featherman R theme started playing, it wasn't surprising that SEES found themselves in a huddle around the screen.

Whether they were intimately familiar with the show or had never heard of it before, it made no difference: before the credits rolled, every one of them was hanging out in the lounge, eyes glued to the screen.

Of all of them, Kotone was the first to shed tears as the ending music played. She attempted to hide it, wiping her face on her sleeve, but Junpei noticed regardless and threw himself across the room to give her a hug, pulling Yukari with him. Akihiko almost collided with them in his haste to comfort her, embracing her from the other side. Koromaru barked in excitement, jumping onto the couch (nobody admonished him for it), closely followed by Fuuka and Aigis. Mitsuru was slower, unsure how exactly she was meant to react, but when she saw that even Ken had joined in the huddle, left her chair to join the rest.

They were all crying at this point, some more than others, but nobody needed to elaborate. They'd all seen parts of their dynamic in the Feathermen; had just watched them take down their final foe and stand victorious. It was a mirror to their own situation, but they didn't know how their trial would end.

There were tears of joy, of fear, of sadness. They were the emotions that every member of SEES had experienced that past year, shared by them all. Kotone hugged them tight, stretching her arms as wide as possible to encompass everyone.

"I love you." Her voice was small, but everyone heard it regardless and hugged tighter.

"Well," she managed to say some minutes later, after most of the tears were dry, "we have a big fight ahead of us. It'd probably be best to have a nap and rest up."

Junpei's voice came from somewhere over her shoulder as an affirmative grunt, but when she turned to look at him his eyes were already closed. The emotional outburst had taken a toll on them all, and none of them had slept much the previous night in preparation.

"Don't worry," Mitsuru said, assuaging a fear that nobody had yet spoken, "I've set an alarm for 3PM. There will be enough time to prepare after that."

So Kotone slept, crowded onto a single couch with SEES - with the Nyx Annihilation Squad. With her friends.

[theamityelf]

I appreciate the validation, lol! (And sorry, I'm back on my nonsense.)

I'm imagining they call Makoto out of class to have him talk to Kamukura in the basement, just to kind of see what happens. After a while of just observing their interactions, they basically go, "Well, Kamukura isn't going to absorb his outlook, but we can have him just repeat what Naegi says until he's learned enough of his rhetoric to generate it himself without help."

I could see Kamukura initially regarding Makoto like, "So, he has the one talent I don't have?" and everyone else in the lab hastily correcting, like:

"No, he doesn't have a talent; he was admitted as his year's luckster; you're just making use of his...palatability."

And Kamukura accepts that answer at first, willing to consider Naegi just another teacher he'll soon inevitably surpass, but it becomes harder the longer they interact. He doesn't see Makoto the way he does his other teachers. He starts questioning things more as time passes. "You're saying I can't be the Ultimate Hope without him?"

"We're saying his disarming nature is a useful skill for you to learn."

He observes their use of the word "nature", their use of the word "skill", any word but "talent".

Also, in this scenario, I feel like Kyoko would know almost immediately. Like, as soon as the "Ultimate Hope" goes public, she notices something about the speech patterns, or remembers Makoto saying something similar. Maybe Kamukura's on live TV and she (watching from a classroom or something) takes out her phone and calls Makoto, and he doesn't answer the phone, so next time she sees him she's like "What were you doing at 3pm yesterday?" If the hope-tutoring-Kamukura thing is still a secret after that conversation (and I'm going to say it is, because Makoto will keep a lid on stuff if he feels he has to), she goes to her father to ask vague questions about Kamukura, and she leads him to slip up in some way. I think she would sit on the information for a while, gathering data by observing Makoto, but she would know pretty early on.

Okay so I was watching Ratatouille and I planned to be asleep by now so who knows what words I'm about to say, but I was thinking about that line toward the end that seemingly encapsulates the theme of the movie- "Not anyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere" -and I remembered that one Jenny Nicholson video about how that's actually kind of a mad cynical thing to say, and then I started comparing it to how talent is treated in the Danganronpa universe, which is a whole train of thought I'm not getting into right now because the main point of this point is that it led me to: If Remy is Makoto, then who can be Linguini?

Already a flawed premise, obviously. Should Makoto's Ultimate Hope status be considered as inherent to him as Remy's sense of smell? Is Remy's sense of smell inherently, physically better or more sensitive than that of his family, or is it just that he's been training it based on his interest in cooking? I'm ignoring those questions. Because the thematic tie here is that both Makoto and Remy weren't supposed to be talented or worthy of consideration based on the rules of the status quo of their respective universes, and the fact that they disproved assumptions about themselves was essential to challenging that status quo.

ALL OF THIS TO SAY: Is Hajime Linguini? Is Izuru Kamukura Linguini? It has to be Izuru Kamukura, right? The role of Linguini in the narrative is to start out as an underdog and eventually assume the credit and prestige that would be given to Remy if the world were willing to accept that someone like Remy could be worthy of accolades. Linguini is the acceptable face, wholly undeserving of being praised on the basis of the talent he's being praised for. That would be Kamukura's Ultimate Hope title. He's the Ultimate Hope they can accept; Makoto is the Ultimate Hope they can't.

The difference of course is that they mean Ultimate Talent when they call him the Ultimate Hope. They don't falsely believe that Kamukura has the qualities that Makoto later demonstrates when he is given the title; they give Kamukura the title on the basis of what is true for him, based on what they earnestly value. For it to be a true parallel, Makoto would have to be coaching Kamukura in how to pretend to be optimistic.

But like...let's play in that space for a minute! In which Kamukura can't actually be hopeful, because they ruined anything in him that could have been. In a universe where Hope's Peak cared about that kind of thing and wanted their talented superhuman to come out of the process as hopeful as Naegi, suppose they lament the expenditure of money and resources that led to this failed end-product, and then Jin Kirigiri brings up Makoto because he's seen what Makoto is like on a day to day basis, and Makoto is made Kamukura's...hope tutor? Or just the voice in his earpiece telling him what optimistic thing he can say at PR events? And everyone is blown away by the speeches Kamukura gives, using Makoto's words, and also Kamuegi happens because of course I never pass up an opportunity, and okay that's everything. I'm going to bed, lol.

[br4inr0tx]

Hi! If your matchups are open could I please get a romantic matchup for one of the Danganronpa THH guys?

Appearance: I’m 5’5”, cis female, white with long brown hair, babyfaced and skinny/petite.

I’m an INFJ and studying to become a nurse. I can come off as boring and too much of a closed off stickler as I’m shy and awkward when meeting and getting to know new people, and always follow any rules given to me, but I’m confident and self assured and incredibly empathetic, nurturing and affectionate, and protective of the people I care about. I’m a big believer in self love, acceptance, politeness and being good and treating everyone with absolute respect. I tend to become intense and easily excitable, and hyperfixate on my passions and end up putting too much pressure on myself, but I’m hard working and always strive to do my best with everything and get everything done right. I’m family oriented, a homebody and fairly old fashioned, and prefer to spend time getting closer with my loved ones than being out in a crowd.

My ideal partner: someone who puts their all into reaching their goals, intelligent, respectful, kind and considerate, and stays true to their beliefs no matter what. Unmotivated people and laziness, lewdness, arrogance and violence will put me off immediately

Hobbies: I love reading and writing, music, I can sing a play piano, animals, drawing, I’m very studious and particularly interested in history, and I’m super interested in health care in general.

Love languages: Quality time, acts of service and physical touch

ofc ofc I got you

Your Danganronpa matchup is.. Kiyotaka Ishimaru !!

• I promise this is just not because of your pfp, you genuinely seem to go together. A close second being Makoto.

• He’s the perfect boyfriend when you think about it. Not to mention, your type; as I’ll mention later. He makes time for you, as well as to get his duties done as a hall monitor and or body guard in some cases.

• I think he’s a inch or two taller then you, and sense your smaller he tends to bully you with forehead kisses. Make it a competition by giving him cheek kisses, I dare you. The first time it happened my man had to have a system restart, metaphorically speaking 😭.

• The fact you really want to be a nurse interests Taka. It’s not everyday you find someone so passionate about health care, and your passion is what draws him in initially. Your cute face when you get all excited..ugh what’s a hall monitor to do?

• Angst idea, skip if death of a liver his triggering. I’d imagine when Taka passes, you try to save him by patching up his wounds and doing absolutely everything you could to bring him back but..it wasn’t enough.

• Okay happy thoughts now.

• shy meeting new people, but opens up later. - At first Taka thought your shyness was just something to cover up a self esteem issue (similar to Chihiro), but after trying to get you to come out of your shell for awhile he just noticed how it was all actually a misunderstanding. You just have a hard time opening up to strangers, which is fine. You know boundaries! It’s not like you go up to everyone on the street and just start spilling all of your trauma you’ve suffered, no. You’d only do that to someone trusted. Even then I don’t think that’s come by easily.

• easily excited, hyperasphyxiatates on certain passions - When you start to hyperasphyxiate on your favorite things, Taka wants to learn from you. Have a favorite show? Tell him all about it! Want to give him a medical fact? He’s all ears. He loves pushing you forward and keeping you happy, especially with a hobby that’s so appreciated.

• So glad someone understands how much self love is important! Hell yeah!

• The two of you definitely have a full day where you just relax, and do beauty care on each other. Everyone was jealous.

• The both of you are the type to be friends with everyone. While others can annoy you two life style wise, you never judge anyone for their interests.

• He’s your type! He’s very intelligent, respectful, and very goal focused. - speaking of which, he’s so your type. Intelligent, respectful, and is always goal focused and a genuine cheerleader for anyone who needs it. The both of you equally support each other’s needs, and that’s something Taka holds dear.

• He’s a lovely boyfriend, despite the two of you getting into awkward situations for being so similar. Though Taka seems to catch on when your being too nice, and warm you about the dangers of it. 10/10 couple.

[speuradair]

Fighting With Byakuya After Trial 2 Headcanons

Contains: swearing, death mention, trial 2 spoilers, angst

Requested: anonymously

“you can answer this one however you’d like to,, let’s say byakuyas s/o was disgusted by what he did in chapter 2, and how would he try to make it up to them..,,,.::.?? idk love have fun with this one lol”

As you’d been dating prior to coming to Hope’s Peak, the two of you still stick together after the memory wipe

Pretty much immediately he insists on staying in the same room

Not for any perverted reasons of course

He just feels more comfortable knowing that he’d be there if anyone tried to attack you at night

One night he doesn’t stay in your room though, telling you that he thinks he’s found a lead on the mastermind

He needs to go investigate something during nighttime when he won’t be interrupted by the others

Reluctantly you agree

The next morning a new body is discovered and you cling to his side during the investigation as you usually did

But then during the trial, he reveals what he was really doing that night. 

“I just happened to come across the corpse in the girls' locker room, and I decided to alter it.”

“Are you fucking with us right now…?”

“No, I am not… effing with you right now. I’m telling you the truth.” 

He practically spit out his response, daring to sound offended by the suspicion after he’d just confessed what he had

Your stomach turned at the thought 

The same hands that comforted you last night had desecrated the body of a poor murder victim, just to fulfill his own sick fascination with some serial killer

-

After the trial and execution, he returns to your side as if he didn’t just admit to playing with your friend’s corpse like a doll

"Well, that's done then. Come on, I’ll stay with you again tonight.”

He dares to reach out to place his hand on your back, but you flinch away immediately

“Don’t bother. Besides, I'm sure you have better things to do, like get murder tips from Toko."

"Tch, are you really throwing a fit of jealousy over Toko? I expected better from you."

"Jealousy? You think this is about jealousy? You left me alone so you could go pose the dead body of our friend for some sick crime fetish you have! That's why I'm angry, you asshole!"

Which turns into a big fight

And that leads to you distancing yourself for a while

You'd defended his other questionable actions when the others asked, but this was too far

There's no way you could excuse that 

He doesn't understand why you're so mad at first

Doesn’t go after you initially

Treats it as if you’re just overreacting

He thinks you’ve just thrown a tantrum, and you’ll come back to him once you’re ready to stop acting like a child

But you don’t

You keep to yourself for a little while, but Asahina and Makoto are quick to offer you their company

Hina is just so kind and bubbly, she can’t help but want to make you feel better

And Makoto wants to be a good friend too

Plus, he realizes that having you help him with investigations is pretty similar to having Byakuya’s help (just with less insults and a softer way of explaining things)

Even if you weren’t naturally intuitive, you’ve picked up a handful of Byakuya’s habits just from dating him for as long as you have

Speaking of Byakuya

He can’t stand that you’re hanging out Makoto instead of him

He’s working alone and you’ve chosen to help Naegi?

He’s jealous

It barely takes a week for him to become absolutely sick of your absence (and Toko’s constant presence)

Being alone gave him time to really think about the situation, and he comes to the conclusion that maybe he had been rather insensitive

It’s a rare occurrence, but maybe he was wrong

He’s not going to tell you that out right, of course

He has his pride to think of after all

So he opts for smaller gestures to show his remorse

Praises your suggestions and observations

Specifically asks for your opinion

Even stops by your room to bring you a cup of tea one evening

Then he tries to ask you to let him in and help him investigate without a real apology

“(Name), I would value your help with this.”

You just cross your arms and raise an eyebrow at him, not about to give in

He sighs

“Alright, fine. I suppose I acted insensitively during the last investigation. I’ll try to be more considerate and humane in the future.”

“Is that an apology?”

He rolls his eyes as you made him say it out loud, but he knows he deserves it

“Yes, that would be an apology. I’m sorry. Would you please help me with the investigation?”

You were absolutely disgusted by what he’d done

You missed him though

And if Byakuya Togami was willing to apologize and admit that he’d been wrong, he must’ve really felt bad about it

You sigh, taking the cup of tea from his hands. “Alright, you can come in.”

[houseisekai]

House Isekai: A Realm Reborn - Part 3, Thunder Rolls (2 of 2)

House Isekai ARR Masterlist Here

—

Client: Marianne Von Edmund

With Marianne's help, the new House Isekai split off into teams to find this mysterious object and take it down before it becomes too dangerous...

[Tactics - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

Marianne handed Sitri a paper with all the findings her scouts have reported.

(Marianne) "I hope this will be of use to you all."

(Sitri) "It will, thank you, Marianne."

Marianne nodded and smiled.

(Marianne) "Please be careful, I would not like to see any of you come to harm."

(Kazuma) "Eh, don't worry, the kids'll be fine with us!"

Marianne raised an eyebrow, although her smile was still kept.

(Marianne) "With Rean and the others, I can believe that."

(Kazuma) "Hey, who was the group that saved your guys asses plenty of times back then? Mine, that's who!"

(Rean) "Aaaand, don't forget who bailed you out for a lot of those situations."

(Aigis) "It was us."

Kazuma continued to cause a commotion, letting the other groups spectate.

(Jean) "They all seem rather close."

(Lisa) "Reminds you a bit of home, doesn't it?"

Lisa smirked as she turned to Kaeya and Diluc.

Diluc rolled his eyes while Kaeya shrugged.

(Kurt) "I trust Instructor Rean and Towa's guidance, but I am unsure about the other two."

(Juna) "Well, that Aigis lady seems nice enough though, now that I think on it, what CAN those two do?"

(Ash) "Noticed Kazuma has a dagger and a short sword on his belt, but for Aigis...can't tell."

(Altina) "It appears she is like me."

(Juna) "Wait, as in not human?"

Musse turned to the Garreg Mach students.

(Musse) "What do you guys think?"

(Astrid) "Eh? Well, I dunno. I've only heard stories, never seen them in action."

(Helena) "Gets kinda hard to tell what's true."

(Stefan) "I guess today's our lucky day!"

(Elizabeth) "Hmph, if you call having to deal with otherworldy monstrosities lucky!"

(Helena) "Harsh. These people aren't that ugly."

(Elizabeth) "What in the-That is not what I meant and you know it!"

(Kairos) "..."

(Astrid) ? "Kairos? Somethin' up?"

(Kairos) "Huh? Oh, I am fine. It's nothing."

Kairos looked back down, a bit dejected.

(Stefan) "The things Lady Marianne and Sitri say getting you down?"

Kairos raised his voice to object but sighed instead.

(Kairos) "I just cannot believe I let my immaturity get the best of me there. These people are the reason we're here right now, but I cannot shake off how I feel that easily."

(Elizabeth) "I...would be lying if I said I did not feel the same."

Venti and Amber didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to considering how loudly they were announcing their feelings to the entire group.

(Venti) "If that's the case, why not get to know us then?"

(Elizabeth and Kairos) "Huh?"

(Amber) "Yeah, this mission looks to be tough, so if we all work together, I'm sure we'll be friends in no time!"

(Kurt) "I would not be opposed to it. Well, considering that we also have no alternatives present as well.'

Meanwhile, the Instructors finally finished their conversation.

(Marianne) "I wish you luck, House Isekai."

(Rean) "Thanks, Marianne. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Marianne bowed and went inside back to her estate, leaving the Instructors to walk back to their groups.

(Towa) "So, what's the plan?"

(Sitri) "I...Hm."

She stopped walking to take a moment to think.

(Sitri) "I think it'd be best if we were to all search together. We have no idea what we'd be up against."

The tone of her voice made it sound like it was more of a suggestion than a command.

(Sothis) "Looks like the group has another one."

(Diluc) "Miss Sitri, was it? If we could speak our mind."

(Sitri) "Huh? O-Oh, Go ahead."

Kazuma leaned over to Rean.

(Kazuma) "She doesn't exactly sound confident for a headmaster."

(Rean) "Being fair, she was just a nun from what we were told by Jeralt."

(Aigis) "Affirmative, she also was very weak and could not leave Garreg Mach often."

(Towa) "...S-So, if that's the case, how is she walking around out here carrying her sword no problem?"

The four stared at her while Diluc was explaining the group's plan.

(Rean) "Lahabrea did mention she was chosen to be resurrected for a reason...Did we ever find out why?"

They were silent.

(Kazuma) "Tch, even dead Those Who Slither are a pain in our ass. We never get straight answers from them"

(Aigis) "Well, that wasn't Those Who Slither, that was Byle-...Er, Lahabrea who did the resurrection himself."

(Towa) "Regardless, I think we should ask this ourselves another time."

(Diluc) "...And so, we think splitting up is the best way to approach this threat."

(Sitri) "Well..."

(Jean) "You have our word that nothing will befall any of your students."

(Kurt) "And mine as well."

(Helena) "To be fair, this would be a good way to know how we all fight considering this is our first assignment together."

(Sitri) "Fair enough...Very well, we shall split into teams.

(Rean) "I think it'd be best to mix and match teams."

(Aigis) "Agreed. Based off initial data, I will configure the teams as follows:

First Team will consist of: Rean, Sitri, Helena, Stefan, Kaeya, Amber, Altina, and Ash.

Second team will consist of: Myself, Kazuma, Astrid, Diluc, Jean, Venti, Kurt, and Juna.

Third team will consist of: Towa, Kairos, Elizabeth, Lisa, and Musse."

(Jean) "No objections from me."

(Ash) "Sounds fine."

(Musse) "Aww, I wanted one with Rean-"

(Rean) "You'll be fine under Towa's command. Besides, she was your homeroom teacher anyway."

(Lisa) "Ouch, shot down."

(Musse) "Doesn't mean I'm giving up!~"

(Lisa) "Oh, I like your attitude, love is such a powerful thing..."

(Towa) "Uh...."

(Elizabeth) "I had some slight objections being put in a group with you, Kairos, but now? I think I am glad to have at least someone familiar..."

(Kairos) "Ugh, the feeling's mutual."

(Rean) "Right then. We'll split up and meet at this point in the map if we don't find anything."

(Kazuma) "How are we gonna keep in contact if shit goes down?"

(Aigis) "Rean and Towa have their Arcus Units, and I believe the students of Garreg Mach have something similar."

(Stefan) "Yes, we were all given a communication crystal upon our entry for Sitri's group."

All the students of Garreg Mach pulled out a small flat crystal that faintly glowed blue.

(Kaeya) "We have our methods then. It's probably best we stop wasting time and get moving."

(Sitri) "Agreed. Everyone, remember to be safe. This may be only our first assignment, but do not underestimate the danger. Your lives could be thrown away if you're careless enough."

Everyone nodded and split up.

(Towa) "Alright, looks like we'll head to the site where it was first spotted. This way everyone."

Towa's group walked down a path deeper into the forest and slowly disappeared from sight of everyone else...

...

===

Doomguy's Base, Present...

Doomguy tapped his foot while listening to the Persona Users give their explanation of what was happening.

Apparently, Ryuji, Ann, Mitsuru, and Naoto fought off a group of hulking green creatures calling themselves "Orks" who came from Fodlan's Crystal Tower.

(Yu) "And that's about the gist of it."

(Yosuke) "Yeah, we weren't close enough to the scene and the news gets everything wrong anyway.."

(Futaba) "Even with my hacking I can't get a full picture, it happened so fast."

(Akihiko) "You still got any idea what's going on in Fodlan right now?"

Doomguy shook his head, and shrugged to the air, indicating for VEGA to speak for him.

(VEGA) "Unfortunately, no. There is too much interference for us to make contact with those currently in. That being the case, they are working to rectify this communication block, hopefully soon."

(Junpei) "So what, we're supposed to twiddle our thumbs and just wait?"

(Yukari) "And what exactly can we do, Stupei? If all of us just jump in guns blazing, who knows how long we'd be trapped, and how Fodlan would react!"

(Makoto) "Our entry and exit wasn't the most graceful after all..."

(Akira) "I have faith in everyone over there. It'll be up to us to keep our home safe."

(Chie) "Hey, who else has responded anyway? Seems not too many of us were able to make it in there."

(VEGA) "You are correct. The only ones to answer the call are yourselves, Rean, Elliot, Laura, Fie, Towa, and Kazuma."

(Morgana) "Anyone else?"

(VEGA) "The Denizens of Nazarick appear to be busy handling their world's politics, but they have acknowledged our call and plan to send whoever is available. The same goes for the remaining members of Class VII."

(Teddie) "Oh, how about Yuki-chan and the others?"

(Fuuka) "The School-Living Club?"

(VEGA) "I'm afraid nothing has been sent our way. Not even an acknowledgement."

(Rise) "I hope they're alright. Their world didn't exactly sound forgiving..."

(Kanji) "It's prolly' best they weren't here anyway. Not sure they'd be much help...Er, wait that sounds bad!"

(VEGA) "Negative. You are objectively correct, in terms of combat at least. Megumi and the School-Living Club were the least active members when it came to fights. Their efforts were focused on helping fleeing civilians and moral support. Neither of which we are sure is needed for Fodlan's current circumstances."

(Ken) "I'm sure everyone's fine. We should be worried less about how they are and more on how the Crystal Tower came to our world to begin with."

(VEGA) "We are currently looking into that as we speak. Please feel free to rest here until then."

The Persona users nodded and tried their best to relax, not knowing what the future would bring...

===

[Stilness of Night - Trails of Cold Steel 3 OST]

A few hours later...

Towa's group kept investigating the points of which the scouts had written on the reports, but they had found nothing.

No trace of any warning shots Marianne mentioned, its like they had completely erased the evidence.

The sun was starting to set, but thankfully it was still bright enough for them to keep looking untroubled.

Lisa was close by with Towa, looking with her and Musse while Kairos and Elizabeth investigated somewhere close by.

(Towa) "Hm...still nothing."

(Musse) "Instructor Towa?"

(Towa) "What is it, Musse?"

(Musse) "If I can ask, why is it that the people of this world hold such hostility against you?"

(Lisa) "I have been rather curious myself. It seems every opportunity those two in particular talk bad about your old group."

Towa looked up and made sure Kairos and Elizabeth was far away enough for her to continue.

(Towa) "Truth be told, our group was a mess. We kept coming in out of nowhere, and forming this massive superpower that threw a wrench into all the world leader's plans for...whatever they were going to do. World Domination? Separation? I have no idea."

Towa's eyes looked down as her expression darkened.

(Towa) "We lost a lot of friends during that war too, they gave their lives for a world they didn't know. But this place is home to us, just as much as it is to them..."

Musse and Lisa looked at each other but didn't say anything else.

Towa was doing her best to keep those memories out of her head. She had to keep a clear mind for this assignment.

Though, being told that their group was the reason a civil war was on the brink again, it didn't sit well in her stomach.

Towa's mind ached, thinking the possibility of losing even more friends to this world, which she was struggling to keep out.

Lisa walked towards Towa, kneeling down and rubbing her head.

(Lisa) "There there...I'm sure they'd understand if you told them. No need to fret."

Towa shot back up, a slight tinge of red as she put her hands on her hat.

(Towa) "ACK!"

(Lisa) "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle."

(Towa) "N-No you're fine, Miss Lisa! I'm just usually used to Rean doing that...Which, now that I say out loud, is kinda weird..."

(Musse) "Hmph, lucky."

(Lisa) "Is it weird? I was under the impression you were a couple with the way you acted."

(Musse) "I'm sure she'd like that!"

Lisa and Musse's smirks were flustering Towa.

(Towa) "T-That's not relevant, Musse! And Miss Lisa, we are NOT a couple!"

(Lisa) "So, you're available then?"

(Towa) "BWUH-WHAT?!"

Lisa failed to hold back a chuckle.

(Lisa) "Relax cutie, I'm just joking...Mostly."

(Towa) "Ugh, please just focus back on the task at hand!"

She began mumbling to herself.

(Towa) "You think I'd be used to this considering how much time I've spent with Angie and Crow..."

Lisa crossed her arms as she turned back to finding any signs of a fight.

(Musse) "...Thanks for doing that, Miss Lisa. I never liked seeing Instructor Towa get that down on herself."

(Lisa) "Figured no one does, from what I've gathered. By the way, have you found anything?"

(Musse) "Not particularly. Though that being said-"

Musse began speaking with Lisa who crouched down next to her, pointing at the trees in front of them.

(Kairos) "This question is only now appearing in my head, how exactly do they fight?"

(Elizabeth) "Now that you point it out, the only real weapon I see is on Musse's back. It appears to be some sort of...staff?"

They stared at the rifle that was strapped onto her, not sure what its function was.

(Kairos) "That makes sense, though it's shaped quite oddly. What's the point of that...lever, I think?"

Squinting at the triggerhair on Musse's rifle, he shook his head and turned to Lisa.

(Kairos) "And her. Everyone else from her group has a visible weapon, but she doesn't. All I see is a book."

(Elizabeth) "She could be a spellcaster, though what kind of magic user dresses like that?"

(Kairos) "Of course you judge them based on clothes."

(Elizabeth) "Oh stuff it! As if you're one to talk to ME about biases!"

Kairos and Elizabeth stood up, glaring daggers at each other.

(Kairos) "Hey, I was talking about their weapons!"

(Elizabeth) "And I'm talking about your little outburst earlier! Do you know how much you embarrassed all of us by-"

The went back and forth a little bit, Musse and Lisa pausing their conversation to listen.

(Musse) "How noisy."

(Lisa) "Well, we didn't find anything over here anyway, we might as well put a pause to it."

Towa watched them head towards Elizabeth and Kairos, and decided to watch what would happen instead of interfering. She knew Musse was a lot smarter than she looked, and Lisa seemed to be the same way.

(Towa) "So this is how Instructor Sara felt."

(Musse) "Is there a problem?"

(Elizabeth) "O-Oh, my apologies! No there isn't any problem."

(Kairos) "If you don't count her mouth as one."

(Elizabeth) "Silence yourself, or so goddess help me, I will silence yours!"

(Lisa) "My my, so feisty! You'll ruin those cute faces if you keep frowning so much."

That snapped Elizabeth and Kairos out of their spat and took them aback.

(Kairos) "C-Cute?"

(Elizabeth) "Feisty?!"

(Musse) "It seems no matter the world, people have the same reactions to these things..."

(Lisa) "It would appear so. It's nice having someone who understands, though."

Lisa and Musse smiled, making Kairos and Elizabeth feel slightly uncomfortable.

(Musse) "But back on topic, did you happen to find anything?"

(Kairos) "No, not really."

The two looked back down to the ground they were examining prior.

It was two trees that had snapped and fell to the ground, but there was no magical energy or weapon marks to indicate it had fell down by unnatural causes.

They were looking at the point where the tree snapped and fell over, hoping to find anything but-

(Elizabeth) "Kairos and I are well versed in magic, but we were unable to find anything that we could detect."

(Musse) "Hm...from what I see, there's nothing there either."

Lisa furrowed her brows as she gently pushed everyone to the side, taking a look herself.

(Kairos) "Miss Lisa?"

(Lisa) "...Instructor."

(Towa) "Huh? What is it?"

(Lisa) "I believe I found something."

(Elizabeth) "Truly?"

Towa walked over to the group and looked at the trees as well.

(Lisa) "I understand why no one has reported anything. This was caused by something from our group's world."

Everyone stood on edge.

(Lisa) "Our world has something we call 'Visions', powers granted to us by the Archons and allows us to attune ourselves to the elements and channel them into our will. Diluc and Amber have Pyro visions, letting them control fire. Kaeya has Cryo, Ice, Venti and Jean have Anemo, Wind. I, have Electro. Electricity."

Lisa rubbed her finger against the tree and looked at her finger.

(Lisa) "And on my hands is a very faint remnants of an Electro attack."

She stood up, grabbing her book.

(Lisa) "A very recent one."

Musse and Towa unsheathed their guns while Kairos and Elizabeth quickly looked around.

(Lisa) "I'm presuming you two cuties also wield magic?"

(Kairos) "Y-Yes. I'm proficient in dark magic skills."

(Elizabeth) "I am most skilled with white magic, but I am able to channel dark as well."

(Lisa) "Good. Because I think I know where our target is at."

Kairos and Elizabeth felt the hairs on their arms raise. The darkness of the forest started to glow with an eerie purple in the distance.

Towa got behind them and pulled out an ARCUS unit, calling Rean.

(Towa) "Rean, I think we found it! I'm sending our coordinates-"

A bolt of lightning shot down and almost hit her, making her scream and almost drop her unit.

(Towa) "AAH!"

(Rean's voice) "Towa?! Towa are you-"

BZZZZZRRRRT!

(Musse) "Target straight ahead!"

The cube slowly floated over to them, shooting out bolts of electricity in random directions.

(Musse) "I believe that first one was the warning shot the scouts were talking about."

(Kairos) "What the hell is that thing?!"

(Lisa) "Hmph. Nothing too dangerous, but still, don't let your guards down. We call it an Electro Hypostasis."

The shapes of the cubes floating around the core slowly shifted around, seemingly ready to change shapes at any time.

(Lisa) "It shapes itself into whatever it wants to attack, so be prepared for anything."

(Elizabeth) "You've fought these abominations before?!"

From Elizabeth's view, Lisa looked more annoyed than anything facing this...thing.

(Lisa) "A few times. They're normally docile until you approach, which makes Marianne's reports a lot more sense considering what's been harassing them."

The Cube seemingly stared at all of them, waiting to see if they would back off.

(Lisa) "I'm afraid my Electro vision isn't going to be as helpful as I'd like, but I won't let that stop me."

She flipped open her book, which began levitating in front of her.

The text in the book began to glow a dark purple as she turned to the group.

(Lisa) "But, I digress. The command is up to you, Instructor Towa."

(Towa) "If we let it go, it could be days before we can find it again, we don't let it slip away!"

Towa loaded her pistol and pointed at the Electro Hypostasis.

(Towa) "Engage the enemy!"

(Musse) "Understood, Instructor!"

(Elizabeth & Kairos) "Yes Ma'am!"

(Lisa) "Got it."

[Twice Stricken - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

Musse backed up and pointed her rifle at the Hypostasis, taking the first shot.

The bullet predictably reflected off, and the four cubes flew into the air and into a rhombus shape, all aiming at the team.

Electric missiles shot out of the Hypostasis at speeds equivalent to Musse's and Towa's gun.

Lisa snapped her fingers and a electricity field formed around them, misdirecting the attacks and hitting in random directions.

Kairos and Elizabeth ran to the front, Kairos casting a fireball while Elizabeth had ice spikes form underneath it.

The first fireball caused a small explosion, blowing back some of the trees and scorching the grass while the ice spikes shot into the air and at the core of the Hypostasis, stopping the fire before it spread and piercing the core.

It made no noise of pain, though they could tell they were doing some damage to it.

The cubes quickly flew away from the spikes and towards them.

Towa fired her pistol, all aiming at a singular point the spike had pierced into.

Small bits of electricity chipped off, tho it began flying faster and dodged whatever was shot at it.

Lisa's spells were having no effect on the Hypostasis as it landed behind them.

(Lisa) "Get behind something!"

Musse and Towa dove for cover as more missiles shot out of it, Lisa standing behind a tree to hide from it.

Elizabeth did the same as well, but noticed Kairos wasn't moving.

Kairos stood out in the open still and tried to fire another fireball, but it quickly moved to the side, dodging the fireball as it hit the tree behind the Hypostasis instead.

The Hypostasis aimed at Kairos and shot a singular missile, too fast for him to dodge in time and hit him in the chest and sending him flying back into the tree.

He clenched his teeth in pain as the electricity rattled and sent a painful shock throughout his entire body.

(Elizabeth) "Kairos, you bloody idiot!"

She quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him behind cover before another barrage of missiles hit her.

(Elizabeth) "Why didn't you get into cover?!"

(Kairos) "Ach, thought I could hit it again!"

(Lisa) "It's not sentient enough to think creatively, but it's not stupid enough to fall for that again!"

Her brow furrowed further even more, knowing her spells would do nothing to it.

Musse poked her head out and pulled out her ARCUS unit, letting it analyze the Hypostasis.

(Musse) "Miss Lisa, your advice?"

(Lisa) "Keep hitting it with any elemental attack that isn't Electro-Er, thunder!"

(Musse) "Understood, taking the shot! Kairos, Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth stood out of the way of Musse's barrel as her rifle began glowing a hot red.

Pulling the trigger, a single shot hit the core, making it stagger back and form back into it's cube state.

As miniature cubes shot towards them from the excess electricity, Lisa stepped out to the open and shielded them from the bolts on the ground shooting out.

Towa rushed over to Kairos and loaded another round into her pistol, shooting it into the air.

Kairos suddenly felt the pain in his body slowly fade away and looked to Towa.

(Kairos) "Thank y-"

(Towa) "Do that later, right now they need your help!"

(Musse) "Instructor, get down!"

Towa and Kairos saw the three of them dive out the way.

Instinctually, Kairos grabbed Towa's shoulders and shoved her down to the floor as laser beams shot out and spun across the forest, it spinning rapidly as it vaporized the leaves into smoke.

The trees were getting burnt, but thankfully not chipped enough to topple over, Kairos saw.

Once it was done, Kairos rolled into the open and got on knee, adjusting his glasses as he raised his hand and clenched it.

From the skies above the Hypostasis, a burning rock crashed itself on the Hypostasis, knocking the cubes that formed the laser into pieces as the core stood out in the open.

(Lisa) "It's exposed, attack now!"

Elizabeth stood next to Kairos and swiped her hands downwards, the air forming a sword-like shape and slicing through the core, making it slightly shatter and pieces fall off.

Musse's rifle glowed white as it fired a straight line of ice, going through the core.

Towa did the same as her pistol began to glow several colors, red, then white, then red again.

Lisa made sure to keep an eye on any of the excess electricity in the air, flicking her wrist and deflecting a bolt of lightning without looking at it.

It quickly formed back into shape, and stood for a moment as the shots reflected off it.

(Elizabeth) "What is it doing now?!"

The cubes broke off into smaller ones, forming a giant arrow-shape and-

(Lisa) "To the sides, now!"

Lisa jumped back as the Hypostasis formed into a drill-like shape and began spinning towards them, tearing apart any trees that was in its way.

Towa and Musse ran to the sides while Kairos and Elizabeth ducked as it barreled past them.

The trees it knocked over were falling down left and right, Musse almost getting hit by one.

(Towa) "ABOVE YOU!"

Elizabeth looked up and realized a tree was falling on top of her.

Lisa raised her book and a concentrated spell shot out, the strength of it rushing it forward as it collided into more trees and away from everyone.

When Lisa turned her attention back to the Hypostasis, she realized it had formed two giant walls.

Lisa's eyes widened as she tried to brace herself for the shock, the walls closing on her and the force sending her into a tree.

Lisa's body tumbled onto the floor and out in the open, her vision going in and out from the attack.

(Kairos) "Lisa!"

The Hypostasis began to form it's drill shape again while Kairos and Elizabeth rushed to Lisa's defense, shooting whatever spell they could as it began flying to them.

Musse and Towa tried to help with their guns, but they were having no effect.

As it got closer, Kairos tried to pick up Lisa to move her, joined by Elizabeth as it got dangerously close to tearing through them.

Although there were no trees nearby for it to be a hazard, they still couldn't move fast enough with Lisa in hand to get out of the way safely.

(Familliar boy's voice) "COMING THROUGH KIDS!"

Kairos and Elizabeth were tackled by Kazuma while Aigis got in front of Lisa.

(Aigis) "ATHENA!"

Her Persona appeared in front of the drill, the shield failing to be pierced as Athena raised its hand, and knocked it to the side, toppling trees as it bounced through the ground.

Aigis spun around and gave Lisa a hand, which she grabbed it and was helped up.

Kazuma got up and dusted himself off.

(Elizabeth) "Instructor?"

(Kazuma) "Yeah yeah, you're welcome, now get your asses up, that cube thing will be doing the same!"

Kazuma unsheathed his sword, letting Elizabeth and Kairos get up on their own.

As the Hypostasis was getting up and about to change forms, before the core was shelled off, Jean and Venti jumped from the top of the trees and used their Anemo Visions.

Jean first blew it into the air while Venti summoned a mini tornado, picking up the core and shredding it with the speeds of the wind.

Diluc ignited his sword as he slammed it down into the tornado, setting the wind ablaze with the core still inside.

Kurt and Juna jumped in as the core hit the floor, Kurt's sword dicing it to pieces while Juna used the force of her tonfas to dent it, making electricity shoot out with each strike.

It quickly got itself up with the cubes forming once more, this time shifting into a giant fist.

It swung first into Kurt and Juna, sending them flying back into Towa and Musse.

Then it shapeshifted into a pair of scissors, making the Vision users duck under cover as it almost cut them into two.

It finally formed a giant rectangle, slamming down in front of them and sending them into the air.

As the core revealed itself while the three landed on their feet, Astrid and Kazuma swung their weapons into it, Astrid piercing through it while Kazuma slashed it in half with his sword.

Aigis, Musse, Towa, Elizabeth, and Kairos readied their guns and spells, all opening fire together while Astrid and Kazuma dodged out the way.

The final bullet went through it, the core now full of holes, it began to twitch violently as it split into pieces.

It split into three prisms as the core remained invisible in the center.

(Lisa) "Destroy those prisms!"

Juna switched her tonfas into a gunner mode and pulled the trigger, shooting one prism to tiny pieces.

Aigis's Persona smashed another prism into the floor, completely eradicating any trace of it.

Diluc's flaming sword shot out a bird-like shape, turning the prism into cinders as he made a wide swing.

With the last of the prisms gone, the core began to twitch violently as the group formed together.

Lisa got in front of everyone and held out her hands, casting another field to block out the electricity that exploded into a bright purple, the skies turning from white to a dark gray, then the clouds finally disappearing.

[Words to Believe In - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

Towa's team tried to catch their breath.

(Musse) "Whew, that was close..."

(Towa) "Now I'm reminded why Rean's the combat instructor..."

(Lisa) "Nonsense, you did just fine-...Ugh!"

Lisa fell to one knee, Diluc catching her in time.

(Diluc) "Hey, are you alright?"

(Jean) "You took a bad hit from the looks of it."

Jean looked at her back and saw a bleeding wound, as well from her head.

(Elizabeth) "Miss Lisa, I'm so sorry! If you didn't have to take your at-"

Lisa waved her hand in a dismissive manner, smiling through the pain now the adrenaline was wearing off.

(Lisa) "Don't apologize, cutie. Ol' Lisa will be just fine."

Jean and Diluc slowly helped her up while Venti turned to them.

(Venti) "Honestly, not bad for your first time fighting it!"

(Musse) "Thank you. Without Lisa, I'm not sure what would have happened."

(Kairos) "Yes, we owe much of our victory today to her-"

(Kazuma) "Yadda yadda, stop being so humble. Just accept the compliment and move on. Besides, far as Fodlan kids fighting the unknown go, you two ain't half bad."

(Aigis) "Indeed. We were only able to see snippets of the fight, but despite your differences you came to work together rather well."

(Elizabeth) "Why...T-Thank you Instructors."

(Astrid) "Wow, no love for you Instructor Towa."

(Towa) "Oh come on now, don't make this a competition!"

The group began to back and forth, Astrid moving to Elizabeth and Kairos.

(Astrid) "So, what's your impression of 'em? Kazuma and Venti just argued a lot the entire time. Was pretty funny though."

(Elizabeth) "They're not as uncivilized as I was expecting to be honest."

(Kairos) "Psh, who's judging on character now?"

(Elizabeth) "Shut. Up. Already."

(Astrid) "And now I get to hear you guys argue. Ugh, great."

(Musse) "...Huh, where's Instructor Rean and the others?"

(Everyone) "..."

Towa pulled out her ARCUS unit again.

(Towa) "Rean?"

...

Everyone stiffened when they didn't hear a response.

(Towa) "Rean?!"

===

Rean, Sitri, Helena, Stefan, Kaeya, Amber, Altina, and Ash.

Rean was looking for any signs of an attack before hearing his ARCUS unit go off.

(Towa's Voice) "Rean, I think we found it! I'm sending our coordinates-AAH!"

(Rean) "Towa?! Towa are you-"

BZZZZZRRRRT!

(Sitri) "Did something happen?!"

(Rean) "Yeah, Towa's team found it! She sent us the coordinates so we need to-AAAGH!"

Rean fell to one knee, reaching for his head.

(Altina) "Instructor?!"

(Ash) "The hell's going-DAGH! SHIT!"

Ash stopped moving and reached for his head as well, followed by Altina, then the rest of the group one by one, their heads pounding as their vision suddenly faded to white.

…

…

[Out of Time - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

The inside of the room was glowing a faint blue-white, two green haired individuals walking through them, though one was significantly taller than the other.

(Flayn) "Father, are you sure this is the way?"

Seteth's face scrunched up as he stared at one of the crystals in his hand. The directions it was pointing to was hazy at best.

(Seteth) "No...No Flayn, I am not sure. But we have to try something at least."

Flayn looked behind her, worried.

(Flayn) "Of course..."

They stopped themselves to what appeared to be a massive doorway. Seteth held the stone up to it and the door slowly began to open, light pouring out from the other side.

The two were about to take a step through the door before a shot of electricity bolted over their heads.

Seteth quickly raised the crystal up, and it glowed a bright blue before whatever was shooting at them disappeared.

Inside the crystal was a dark purple fog before it quickly disappeared with a white flash.

(Flayn) "What was that?!"

(Seteth) "Something we weren't looking for. Perhaps the deeper we go into the tower, we'll be able to find it."

Saying nothing else, they looked around as moving platforms shifted around them.

Seteth and Flayn stepped onto them as everything turned into a static mess, slowly fading out of view...

…

[Spiderweb - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

(Towa's voice) "Rean?"

...

(Towa's voice) "Rean?!"

Rean hazily reached for his ARCUS unit, responding to a very concerned Towa.

(Rean) "Agh, we're here!...I think."

Everyone looked at each other, the headache slowly subsiding.

(Kaeya) "What in the world was that?"

(Amber) "Ugh, my head!"

(Altina) "Is...is that supposed to happen naturally?"

(Helena) "Unless we're in extreme stress situations where our physical bodies are pushed to the limit, no."

(Stefan) "And considering we just started our assignment."

Sitri began speaking in her head.

(Sitri) Sothis...?

(Sothis) "Agh, don't worry, I felt it too...Though, wasn't that?-"

(Sitri) Seteth and Flayn...

(Sothis) "Doubt anyone else would know what they saw besides you and Rean."

(Sitri) What were they doing in the Tower, I thought we cleared it by now!

(Sothis) "I have no idea, but we have to tell this to the other instructors."

(Rean) "...And that was the end of that...vision? Or something. I'm still not sure."

(Towa's Voice) "...Understood. Let's meet back up at Marianne's and tell her that we finished the job."

(Rean) "Roger that. And Towa? Good work."

(Towa's voice) "Heh, um...thank you."

Rean hung up the call and motioned for everyone to follow, everyone still out of it from whatever it was they saw.

Later...

(Aigis) "A vision?"

(Kazuma) "Holy shit, Seteth and Flayn are alive?!"

(Sitri) "Possibly? I'm not sure..."

(Rean) "It's still blurry in my head, and I'm sure the others agree."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

(Towa) "We should investigate once we get back, but..."

[Where the Heart is - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

(Towa) "I'm glad we were able to help out, Marianne!"

(Marianne) "Thank you so much for your assistance. As always, you're always rescuing us from dangers."

Marianne smiled and bowed.

(Rean) "Of course. If there's any other troubles, please call upon us to help if you need it."

(Sitri) "Thank you for your kindness."

(Marianne) "And as requested, we have the railroads to take you back to Garreg Mach. It should be a day's trip.

(Juna) "Man, it just feels like went to a different country instead of a world with how familiar it is..."

(Amber) "What's a railroad?"

(Musse) "Oh, you see it's-..."

Class VII and the Knights began engaging in a friendly banter, which gave Kazuma to groan.

(Kazuma) "A train?! Why the hell are we taking a train when we can teleport?!"

Sothis appeared for a brief moment when she made sure no one was looking in their direction.

(Sothis) "We'll explain it later, but for now just shut up and deal with it."

Rean and Towa laughed while Aigis had a smirk.

Kazuma was ready to cuss out Sothis before the students approached them.

(Kairos) "Instructors? I...would like to apologize for my earlier outburst-"

(Rean) "Don't sweat it."

(Kairos) "Huh?"

(Towa) "To be fair, it IS a little strange for a bunch of people to pop out of portals like this and boss you around. But that being said, we are your instructors for a reason!"

(Kazuma) "Some respect goes a long way, kid!"

(Astrid) "You look as old as we do..."

(Kazuma) "And YOU shutting up can go a long way!"

Aigis slapped the back of his head and nodded.

(Aigis) "Apologies for him. Although he is right to some degree. We are happy to be your instructors, no matter what we have done in the past."

(Stefan) "I look forward to your guidance, Instructors!"

(Elizabeth) "As do I. I will make the Blue Lions proud for having me as their chosen!"

(Helena) "Hear that Astrid? You shutting up means they'll like you more."

Astrid gently punched Helena in the shoulder, Helena's expression being deadpan from the delivery to the literal punchline.

(Astrid) "Same goes for you, smartass."

Marianne approached the Garreg Mach students and looked at Kairos.

(Marianne) "You've grown up so much despite the fact it's only been a few years. I hope in the future we can have a moment to talk, so we can catch up!"

(Kairos) "A-As do I Lady- Er, I mean...Marianne."

Marianne's smile made him unable to look at her in the eye and she turned to Sitri.

(Marianne) "It's right this way. Follow me everyone."

And in a few moments, the members of House Isekai stepped onto a train that took them to Garreg Mach, Marianne waving goodbye to everyone...

...

...

...

BING, BING BING BING, BONG!

[Life at Garreg Mach Monastery - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

Today's instructions were done for the day, the doors being opened as students and guards went from position to position.

A good number of students went to their dorms while many others went into the mess hall.

Guards piloted massive Knight mechs out of the hangar and towards the Gates, practicing military drills and simply standing guard for any potential threats.

Kairos, Elizabeth, Astrid, Helena, and Stefan walked out their respective classrooms and towards the Hangar.

(Helena) "Last day of hanging with the Golden Deer...Can't say I'll miss them too much."

(Astrid) "I will a little, I was FINALLY getting used to the schedule!"

Kairos shrugged.

(Kairos) "It's not like we'll never see them again. We're still attending the same Academy."

(Stefan) "I'm a bit sad I can't hang out with my friends as much, but I guess that's the nature of an Officer's academy."

(Elizabeth) "Well think of it this way, we now have a new opportunity to go down in history!...Even though our instructors are those offworlders."

(Helena) "I still can't tell, do you like them or not?"

The banter went back and forth a few more times as they moved to the hangar.

The Imperial soldier in front nodded to them and let them pass.

(Stefan) "Oh, Kairos."

(Kairos) "Hm?"

(Stefan) "Your data from the fight with that...cube thing is recorded on your crystal right?"

(Kairos) "Yeah. What about it?"

(Stefan) "You should send that to the rest of us, so we can see everyone's fighting style."

(Helena) "Oh yeah, we didn't get to fight during that."

(Kairos) "Sure, one second."

Kairos took out his communication crystal and let it connect with Astrid, Stefan, and Helena's.

Stefan nodded and smiled.

(Stefan) "Thanks, I'm pretty excited to see what they can do!"

(Elizabeth) "Soon enough, we'll get to know how they are-"

(Recette's voice) "Yoohoo, over here!"

The five stopped once they saw Recette waving over to them excitedly.

(Tear) "Welcome. Your quarters are now finished."

(Astrid) "Dam-Er, Dang, it's only been like 3 days, and you're already finished?"

(Recette) "Yup! There's nothing that blood, sweat and heckuva lotta gold can't accomplish!"

(Tear) "The wonders of capitalism."

(Helena) "...Capi-what?"

(Tear) "Nevermind. This way, your instructors are currently in a meeting but everyone else is waiting for you in the room.

The five followed Recette and Tear into their barracks into an elevator, going below the hangar and storage floor...

Garreg Mach's Listening Chamber...

(Sitri) "The other team contacted me and let us know their task is done. They're currently on their way back on the railway and should be back within the hour."

(Towa) "It's crazy to know Slayer sent Elliot, Fie, and Laura to us!"

(Rean) "Duvalie being with them is sure going to make her a lot more irritable."

(Kazuma) "She seems like a bitch."

(Towa) "That's putting it lightly..."

(Aigis) "Regardless, it is good to have reinforcements backing us up."

(Rean) "...Valimar, can you confirm signatures of anyone else present in Fodlan?"

Valimar's voice echoed out of his ARCUS unit.

(Valimar) "...Affirmative. It would appear some of the Persona Users are present as well."

(Aigis) "Really?!"

(Valimar) "Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Mitsuru Kirijo, and Naoto Shirogane, according to my scans."

(Kazuma) "How come no one else has reported this?"

(Towa) "Yeah, that is pretty weird..."

(Valimar) "I am still scanning, so I am unable to tell where they are. Analysis would take a day or so."

(Rean) "Just keep us updated Valimar."

(Valimar) "Of course. Speaking of which, it seems Duvalie's group is about to arrive."

(Rean) "Let's go ahead and meet them then."

The instructors nodded and left before Sitri's Crystal began beeping.

(Sitri) "Hold on, I have to take this. I'll be with you soon."

The four left Sitri and Sothis alone as Sitri opened it up, revealing a small reflection of Edelgard.

(Sitri) "Edelgard?"

(Edelgard) "Hello, Sitri. With the official reformation of House Isekai, we would like to assign your tasks for this month, as it was done when we were enrolled."

(Sothis) "So...why are you calling just by yourself?"

(Edelgard) "And that is my next point..."

...

As the train approached the station, Stefan saw Rean and the other instructors meet up with the rest of the group.

(Stefan) "...Even more of the offworlders."

He looked to see no one was watching him, and slowly snuck away from the group.

Everyone was distracted meeting Rean's friends to notice Stefan had disappeared into a corner.

Stefan looked at his crystal and saw the recording of Kairos and Elizabeth fighting the...whatever the hell it was.

Though, he was honestly glad no one was hurt.

He tweaked his communication crystal by turning a dial to the left and pressing in a specific combination with the buttons on it.

And with that, a voice popped up on the other side.

(Distorted Voice) "There are you. Goddess, we thought something happened. Status?"

(Stefan) "I'm fine, don't worry. And something did. House Isekai has returned."

(Distorted Voice) "...Say that again, it sounded like you said House Isekai."

(Stefan) "I did say House Isekai. It's the White Cloud Contingency."

(Distorted Voice) "...Keep your eye on them. And be careful. We all saw what happened to the poor bastards who underestimated them seven years ago."

(Stefan) "Understood. And you all be careful as well."

(Distorted Voice) "Godspeed."

Stefan nodded and hung up. He slowly blended back into the crowd and saw Kairos looking in his direction.

(Kairos) "Hey, there you are!"

(Helena) "That armor slowing you down or something?"

(Astrid) "I told you guys to wait up, he was falling behind!"

(Stefan) "Hah, yeah I got lost. This place is huge!"

(Elizabeth) "Goodness gracious, just speak up Stefan! Anyways, what do you think of Instructor Rean's colleagues?"

(Helena) "...I like that grey-haired one."

(Kairos) "Of course you would."

(Astrid) "T-That orange haired guy, and...and that blue haired lady! So hot...!"

(Kairos) "...What?"

(Astrid) "I-I MEAN-"

The four exchanged jabs with each other, Stefan occasionally throwing in lines as well, but he was far more concerned that the old members alongside new people of House Isekai were coming.

[Lost in Paradise - ALI]

(Stefan) "...Hmph."

He breathed in and out to calm himself.

(Stefan) No matter what happens, even with them here, they can't interfere...Fodlan HAS to be free from this rule!

===

PART 3: ENDED

STANDBY PHASE 1...

Gotta get it homie gotta move it If you gonna do it then, push everything to the side Everybody just talk nobody really do it You should keep a secret until you actually do it No need to double check with someone Use your judgement only, break the walls Let’s do flashy fake More Cool, keep it low, prove them wrong I won’t give up the fight in my life ‘Cause my life is living for love I won’t give up the fight in my life Stand off and groove on time Tokyo prison Going to relight your feelings When times get too rough Night and day are fading Going to relight your feelings There’s no time to explain Gimme your love Access to your love Oh yeah Lost in paradise Night and day are fading out When times getting rough Access to your love Lost in paradise Night and day are fading out Keep on dancing now Hеy hey hеy hey heyeah

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 50: Stirred

On Saturday, Makoto was called into Principal Kobayakawa’s office. “You wanted to see me sir?”

Kobayakawa was indignant. “I hear you’re asking about Kamoshida. Why is that?”

Makoto grew slightly indignant herself, but kept a level head. “Well, you wanted me to investigate the Phantom Thieves, right? I figured that since we didn’t know of their possible existence until they sent Kamoshida that calling card, then the Phantom Thieves, if they do go to this school, might have an ax to grind with him. Hence the interviews.”

Kobayakawa glared at her. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Is there an issue with my explanation?” Makoto asked. “Because if there is, it sounds like you don’t want people talking about Mr. Kamoshida.”

“Well, it’s just old news at this point,” Kobayakawa deflected. “I don’t want to stubbornly dwell on the past and all.”

“Yeah, but if you want to know who these thieves are, this has to be a part of it,” Makoto instructed. “So what do you want? Do you want to protect Mr. Kamoshida, or do you want to know who the Phantom Thieves are?”

Kobayakawa was about to burst. Begrudgingly, he said “I want to know who the Phantom Thieves are.”

“Very well then” Makoto said, leaving the office.

Once Makoto had left, Kobayakawa smirked. “You want information, Miss Niijima? You’re going to get it!”

During the day, Ren was being treated like a celebrity due to her interaction with Akechi, with both pros and cons. The students divided themselves up between pro-Phantom Thieves, and by extension, Pro-Ren, and Pro-Akechi factions. When it came time for lunch, it was almost too much for her to bear. “Ugh. I almost miss being isolated from everyone” Ren moaned.

“Hey, it’s not so bad,” Ann said, trying to cheer her up. “Besides, things move fast in the city. Who knows, by Monday, this interview thing will be old hat.”

Ren gave a goofy smile. “Thanks…”

Just then, someone burst into their class. It was a male student with shaggy orange hair and purple glasses. He looked around with his gaze coming to a halt on Ren. “Ah ha!” He walked over to her. “Miss Amamiya, the woman of the hour. I am here on behalf of the student council, and I would wish to speak to you.”

Ren was exhausted with the attention. “If it’s about the interview…”

“No, this is about something else,” he explained. “We’ve been conducting interviews at the request of the president. And personally, I’m on your side with that.”

“Oh, um, well, sure, I guess then” Ren said, confused, but figured that this might be better than the constant attention.

“Then let’s head up,” the student council member said. He started walking and Ren followed him. As they were walking, he said “By the way, my name’s Hiroki.”

Ren was perplexed. “No last name?”

“Meh” Hiroki cheeped. “It’s not my thing.”

“Well then, if it’s all the same to you, would you mind calling me Ren?” she asked.

“Of course,” Hiroki smiled. They made it to the student council room and sat down. “So, Ren,” Ren chuckled slightly at him emphasizing her name, “if it’s alright with you, I’d like to talk about Mr. Kamoshida.”

Ren was surprised. “Mr. Kamoshida?”

Hiroki nodded. “We’re investigating the incident to see how we can prevent such a thing from happening again.”

Ren was a tad suspicious, but decided to go for it. “Um, sure. I guess the starting point was my first day here. I’m a transfer student, so that was a little ways into the school year. Anyways, as I was heading over to a crosswalk, there was another girl standing there, Ann, although I didn’t know her at the time. Anyways, Mr. Kamoshida pulled up and invited her into his car. Soon after, he invited me as well. Ann looked hesitant, so I decided to hop in to make sure nothing happened.”

“Wait, you took a ride with a stranger to protect someone else?” Hiroki said, interrupting her. Ren nodded. “I gotta commend you on that. That’s pretty bold.” Ren slightly blushed. “Anyways, please continue.”

“Well, nothing really happened in the car,” Ren continued. “After that, Ann and I hung out all day, and we became fast friends. After school though, Ann had to leave for a bit, and Kamoshida called me to his office. It was there he tried to make a move on me.” Ren looked down. “I have a bit of baggage from my hometown, and Kamoshida was hoping to exploit it to get what he wanted.”

“Oh my” Hiroki said. “Did anything happen?”

Ren smiled and shook her head. “Before anything could happen, Ann and Shiho stopped him. Ann whisked me away and then apologized profusely and then told me about the kind of person Mr. Kamoshida was.”

“I see,” Hiroki noted. “Did anything else happen?”

“Well, I did save a different student from Kamoshida’s advances,” Ren said.

“Could you tell me their name?” Hiroki inquired.

“Sumire” Ren answered.

“I see” Hiroki wrote it down. “And that’s it?”

Ren nodded. “I think Ann and Shiho’s interruption was enough to dissuade Kamoshida, at least for a bit. Besides, I wasn’t here for long before the Phantom Thieves sent out that calling card.”

“Right,” Hiroki agreed. “Well, thanks for coming in. I know this couldn’t have been easy to talk about.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Ren said. “If it’s to make sure a new Kamoshida doesn’t spring up, I’m all for it. Besides, Dr. Maruki has told me I should work on opening up more.”

“You’ve visited Dr. Maruki?” Hiroki asked. Ren nodded. “Huh. Maybe I should give it a try then.”

“By all means” Ren said.

She got up, but before she could leave, Hiroki shouted “Wait!” Ren was surprised. “Uh, I just have a personal question, if you don’t mind.” Ren tilted her head. “Not about you, just something I’d like to know for myself.”

“O...K…?” Ren said, still confused.

Hiroki sighed. “What do you get the girl who has everything? To, you know, show her your affection.”

Ren was still weirded out, but it did seem like he just wanted some dating advice. “Well, the one thing not to get the girl who has everything is a contract with a sea witch” she joked.

Hiroki laughed. “Yeah, I guess it was a bit unusual to spring that on you. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Ren said. “And good luck with your girl problem.” Ren left.

Once she got back to class, Ann asked her “What was that about?”

“Kamoshida” Ren answered directly.

“Really?” Ann asked. Ren nodded. “Why?”

“I’m not sure,” Ren said. “But they say it’s to help them prevent another Kamoshida-like incident.”

Ann seemed distrustful. “I want to believe that, but…”

“Yeah…” Ren agreed. “Still, even if they are being honest, it is better not to tell the truth about the whole Phantom Thieves thing.”

“Right,” Ann agreed. Almost immediately afterwards, they got a message.

Yusuke: Can we meet up?

Jose: Yusuke…

Sumire: What for?

Yusuke: I’m just frustrated is all.

Yusuke: Dorm life isn’t turning out like I’d hope it would.

Ryuji: I get it. Ya need to blow off some steam.

Ann: Come to think of it, we haven’t had an initiation party for Yusuke yet.

Ann: Or really, Sumire and Jose.

Jose: We went to that diner.

Ryuji: Yeah, but that was more to hammer out the details of us going forward.

Ryuji: We need to really celebrate you joining the team.

Sumire: I see.

Ren: As much as I would love to, I’m afraid I’d get recognized wherever I go.

Yusuke: Ah, yes, I did see the interview.

Yuuke: You did wonderful, by the way.

Jose: Yeah, it’s all everyone talks about here at Kosei.

Ren: Ughhhhhhhhh.

Jose: Something the matter?

Ann: Ren-chan’s not a fan of the attention.

Ren: I’m not used to it.

Ryuji: Well, I mean, I guess it wouldn’t be much of a celebration, but how about we just head to your place?

Ren: That’s fine, I guess.

Ren: Come to think of it, I do have a hot pot in my room.

Yusuke: Hot pot, you say?

Yusuke: It’s settled then.

Ryuji: ...Someone’s excited.

Ann: We’ll meet up at Station Square after school, OK?

Sumire: OK!

Yusuke: Works for me!

Ryuji: Alright.

Jose: OK!

Ren: Very well then.

They put their phones away.

As they were heading out, Hiroki met up with Ren and Ann. “Hi, um, Ann.”

“...Hello?” Ann said, taken aback.

“If it’s alright with you, would you mind coming with me to the student council room?” Hiroki invited.

“Ummmm, OK?” Ann said, still confused.

Ren giggled slightly. “Don’t worry, Hiroki here doesn’t bite.”

“Of course,” Hiroki said, grinning like an idiot.

Ann laughed. “OK, OK.” The two left. Ren took out her phone.

Ren: It’s gonna be a bit.

Ryuji: Why’s that?

Ren: A student council member is interviewing her.

Ryuji: WHAT?!

Sumire: Oh yeah.

Sumire: I should have told you. They’re interviewing people about Kamoshida.

Ryuji: Why?

Ren: They say it’s to prevent another Kamoshida from happening.

Ryuji: And you believe that?!

Ren: Well, so long as we keep quiet about us being the Phantom Thieves, there’s no harm in humoring them, right?

Ryuji: I guess…?

Yusuke: I agree. If they are noble, then this is fine. And if they aren’t, you can push them toward nobility.

Sumire: Right. I guess.

Ren: It shouldn’t take too long.

Meanwhile, Hiroki and Ann entered the student council room, each taking a seat. “So, um, do you know why we’re here?”

Ann nodded. “Ren told me you’re asking people about Kamoshida.”

Hiroki smiled. “Very well. Do you feel comfortable talking about him?”

Ann fidgets. “I’m not sure, but I guess I’ll go for it, if this is to help you prevent another Kamoshida.” Hiroki nodded. Ann was still a little hesitant. “Ever since coming to this school, Kamoshida has been a shadow lurking at every turn. As head of track and volleyball, he had dominion over my two best friends. He manipulated them to get us to split up. He also approached me several times pretending to be innocent. But I’m a model, and I could tell what he wanted right away. I kept brushing him off, but he kept insisting. Eventually, he tried using my friends to get what he wanted from me.”

Hiroki sighed. “I've heard a lot of similar stories from people today, and yet it never fails to send chills down my spine.”

Ann was surprised. “Huh.”

“Anyways, continue,” Hiroki instructed.

Ann nodded. “I didn’t know what to do. I was perpetually stuck between a rock and hard place. I didn’t think the school was going to do anything about Kamoshida, so I kept trying to delay what I thought was inevitable.” Ann smiled. “But then one day, Kamoshida invited me into his car, and another girl came along with. I was frightened by this, but soon we became close friends. However, Kamoshida called her into his office, and I was at my wit's end.”

“So, what did you do?” Hiroki asked.

“I rushed over there,” Ann said. “Luckily, nothing had happened, but I was so scared that I had betrayed my new friend’s trust,” Ann started crying. “But she said it was alright. Later, she told me she came into his car to protect me. Isn’t that something?” Ann smiled. “Ever since Kamoshida entered the scene, things seemed bleak. I felt like I couldn’t do anything. My friends and I were in his grasp. But I wasn’t about to let someone else fall there too.”

“I see,” Hiroki said, jotting it down. “Did anything else happen?”

“Ummm, I’m not sure how to answer that,” Ann said. “I mean, I know the Phantom Thieves showed up sometime after that, but…”

Hiroki chuckled slightly. “I meant with you.”

“Oh, no,” Ann answered. “Not really. But after Kamoshida confessed, I felt freer than ever.”

“Hm,” Hiroki said. “Well, thank you for your time. I’m sure this wasn’t easy.”

“Yeah” Ann said. “But if it helps…”

“Right,” Hiroki said. “Speaking of, your friend Ren has some nice words about Dr. Maruki. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, or if this opened any old wounds, I’d suggest paying him a visit.”

Ann smiled. “Yeah, she’s told me as such. And I’ve been thinking about it. I might go soon.”

“Well then, have a good rest of your day,” Hiroki said. Ann nodded and walked out.

Once she met up with Ren, Ren asked “Well, how’d it go.”

Ann was thinking about how to answer that. “About as well as you’d expect. I mean, I had been in Kamoshida’s sights for a while, so there was a lot to unpack.”

Ren frowned. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry” Ann insisted. “You’ve done so much for me. You’re basically my hero.”

Ren blushed immensely. “Thanks.”

“Anyways, we should get going,” Ann said. “We don’t want to keep them too long.”

“Right” Ren nodded. They both headed to Station Square.

Once there, they saw everyone else. “Yo” Ryuji greeted them. “How’d it go? You OK?”

Ann smiled. “Yeah. It is a lot, but I think I did OK.”

“Lady Ann…” Morgana said, popping out of Ren’s bag.

“I’m sorry” Sumire blurted. “I should have said something earlier.”

The three other Shujin students were taken aback. “It’s OK,” Ren said, trying to calm her.

“Yeah, Kamoshida’s A LOT, even with a proper warning” Ryuji stated.

“Yeah. Don’t beat yourself up over it” Ann said. “Really, it’s fine.”

Sumire smiled. “Oh. Right. Speaking of warnings, had I known Akechi was going to be the interviewee, or that you were going to the TV studio at all, I might have told you about him.”

Ren smiled. “That’s fine,” she said. “I like charging into things head first sometimes.”

Sumire smiled back. “I can see why Akechi found you so engaging.”

Ann also smiled. “But you know who else we met?”

Sumire became inquizitive. “Who?”

“Your dad,” Ann answered.

“That’s right,” Ryuji said. “He thanked us for being your friend, and wanted us to thank Jose and Yusuke as well.”

Sumire was embarrassed. “R-Really?!”

“He actually talked to me twice,” Ren said.

This surprised Ann and Ryuji. “When was the second time?” Ryuji asked.

“After the interview,” Ren replied. “When you two left, Akechi came up to me with an offer of friendship. He came up to us and we had a little chat.”

“And you said ‘no’, right?” Ryuji asked. “To being friends with Akechi.”

“I actually said ‘yes’” Ren informed him.

“WHAT?!” Ryuji reacted.

“Well, he seemed nice enough,” Ren said. “Besides, he’s not totally against us, just if we abuse our power, which we won’t.”

“I think that makes sense,” Jose said. “It’s more of a fear than an outrage.”

“Fear, huh” Ryuji reflected. He stared at the dirt.

“What’s wrong?” Yusuke asked.

Ryuji looked up. “N-Nuthin’.”

“It’s OK, we’re all friends here” Ren said, assuring him.

Ryuji looked at her. “Not here. We’re too public.”

“I see,” Ren said. “Well, shall we head over.”

“Of course!” Yusuke said. “I cannot wait for this hot pot!” The gang started walking over to Leblanc. “By the way Ann,” Yusuke began. Ann looked at him. “If I decide to leave the dorms, would it be OK to live with you?”

Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana panicked. Ann blushed. “Of course not!”

“Huh?” Yusuke said, surprised.

Ren seemed a tad confused. “I’m not sure he’s the type to do what you’re thinking.”

“Well, maybe, I guess…” Ann trailed off. “But it would be a bit awkward. I mean, there would be times when it would be just the two of us.”

“Yeah…” Ryuji added.

“Oh. I didn’t know” Yusuke said.

“It’s fine,” Ann said.

They reached Leblanc. Yusuke looked up. “This is where you live?”

“Yup” Ren said. She opened the door.

Sojiro turned around. “Huh. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

“I’m just bringing some friends over,” Ren explained. “Is that OK?”

One by one, everyone started walking in. Yusuke stepped in and took a considerable look around. “Ah, you have a new guy with you,” Sojiro noted.

“Yup” Jose said. “He’s my senpai at Kosei. He’s been feeling a bit anxious, so we thought some time amongst friends would be helpful.”

“Ah. Where are my manners?” Yusuke said. “My name is Yusuke Kitagawa.”

“I see,” Sojiro said. He saw Yusuke looking around. “My name’s Sojiro but you can call me ‘Boss’ If you’d like. So, anything strike your fancy?”

“Huh?” Yusuke said. “Oh, sorry. I’m just perplexed is all. I’ve never met anyone who lives in a dining establishment.

“Heh, well, it takes all kinds,” Sojiro said.

“I’ll say,” Yusuke said. He looked over to see a set of stairs. “Do you live upstairs, or does she?”

“I do,” Ren said. “Sojiro lives in a house close by.”

“Ah, I see,” Yusuke said. “...Wait…”

“Before you ask, it’s complicated,” Sojiro said. “Moreso with me than with her.”

“Thanks boss,” Ren said. “So, if you don’t mind, I noticed a hot pot upstairs. Mind if we use it?”

“That old thing?” Sojiro responded. “Go ahead. I almost forgot it was there.”

“Sweet. Thanks” Ren said. “Well, you heard the man, let’s get this set up!” The gang headed upstairs. Ren and Ryuji got the hot pot down. “Alright then. I suppose ingredients are next. I’ll go see what we have, and what we need. Does anyone have any preferences?”

“Nah!” Ryuji said. “I’m sure whatever we make will be delicious!”

“Anyone else?” Ren asked.

“I’m with Ryuji-senpai,” Sumire said.

“Well, then I guess it’s settled,” Ren said. “I’ll be right back.” Ren went downstairs.

Ryuji looked around. “What’s up?” Jose asked

Ryuji was taken off guard. “Well, it’s just, we haven’t really been up here before…”

“Yeah…” Ann realized. She also looked around. “This place is...a bit different than I expected. But like...good different?”

Sumire looked around. “It’s not traditional, but I guess it works.”

“I’ll say,” Yusuke noted. “I wonder why she doesn’t live with her father.”

“Well, that’s more her place today” Ann said.

“But didn’t he say it was more on him?” Yuske inquired.

“Oh” Ann said. “No, Sojiro isn’t her father.”

“Huh,” Yusuke noted.

Ren came back up. “OK, I’m missing a few ingredients. Who wants to come with me to get some?”

“I’ll go,” Yusuke offered. “I’d like to know more about this place you call home.”

No one was expecting quite a dramatic take on it, but they settled into it quickly. “OK, sure” Ren said. “Anyone else?”

“Nah, we’ll hold down the fort here,” Ryuji said.

“Alright then Let’s go Yusuke,” Ren said. The two of them left to grab some ingredients for the hot pot.

While in the grocery store, Yusuke asked “So, why are you living there?”

Ren turned her attention to him. “Oh yeah. I guess you wouldn’t know, would you. It might be better to explain things when we get back, since I don’t think Jose knows either.”

“I see,” Yusuke responded. “Very well. Let’s continue.” Ren and Yusue picked out some more ingredients and headed back. Once upstairs, Yusuke declared “Alright! Let’s make some hot pot!”

The gang began making hot pot. Ren took charge since it was her room and Sojiro’s pot. She wanted to be careful, while listening to the group to get some good input. Once they finished, they began serving it.

“MMMMMMMM” Ann deighted. “This is SOOOO GOOOOD!”

“Indeed,” Yusuke said. This is DELICIOUS!”

“Boy, I’ll say,” Ryuji said. “Maybe you should become a professional.”

Ren swallowed her latest bit of hot pot. “That might be a bad idea. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be the only cook with a record.”

“R-Record?” Yusuk said, surprised.

“Oh right, Yusuke doesn’t know,” Ann said.

“Yeah” Ren said, “but I did promise to tell him.” Ren smiled. “So, basically, what happened was one night in my hometown, some guy was trying to force this woman into his car. I decided to try and stop it, but he fell down and had me arrested for assault.”

Yusuke was incensed. “Surely the woman would have said something.”

Ren shook her head. “The guy had immense sway. He even had the police leave his name out of the report. Once I got out on probation, my parents thought that with my already turbulent school life, things might become too much, and so they arranged for me to stay here.”

Yusuke was stunned. “Huh.”

“To be honest, we’re all kind of like that, at least a little,” Sumire noted. “I mean, you already know about my trauma, and we all know yours.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Yusuke said.

“Yeah” Ryuji said. “We’re all just a bunch of misfits here. I think that’s what makes us good thieves.” Ryuji looked at the floor.

“Ryuji?” Ann asked.

“Ah, right,” Ryuji said, refocusing. “I was just thinking about what Jose said earlier. About how that Akechi guy might be motivated by a fear of us. I’m just… My mom practically lived in fear of my dad until the day he left. She’s still kind of afraid of him. Not that she’d ever tell me. But I see it.” Ryuji looked at his hands. “I get why someone might be afraid of what we do, but I don’t want people to fear us. I don’t want to use what we have to scare people.”

Everyone went a little silent. Yusuke then spoke up. “As someone who also lived by fear, I can assure you, what we do is different. The people we are fighting are more about using fear to get what they want. When we reject their scare tactics, we are ripping off their mask to reveal the pathetic people they really are.”

Everyone was stunned. “Woah!” Ryuji said.

Ann smiled. “Well, so long as we’re talking about this sort of thing…”

“You too?” Yusuke said, surprised.

“Well, I don’t have anything quite so extreme,” Ann explained, “but… I dunno. I’ve always felt out of place. People only see me for my looks most of the time, so they think that’s who I really am.”

“Ah! I’m sorry” Yusuke said, bowing.

“...Uh, what for?” Ann asked.

“When I asked to paint you,” Yusuke said. “At the time, I didn’t know much about you, but I was taken in with your look and your energy. Forgive me.”

Ann smiled. “You’re fine. In fact, you’re a lot better than a lot of other people. A lot of the time, they don’t think to ask me what I feel, or care what I think like you did, they just want me as they see me, without any input from me.”

“Oh” Yusuke said. “That sounds difficult.”

“Yeah” Ann said. She smiled. “However, after finding people like you all, I finally feel better and more confident about what I want, and putting a voice to that confidence.”

“Way to go Ann” Jose said.

Yusuke looked at Jose. “So, what about you?”

Jose smiled. “Well, I don’t really have much.”

Morgana joined in. “Yeah, Jose and I are kind of in the same boat.”

“How come?” Yusuke asked.

“Well, Mr. Morgana and I aren’t originally from this world” Jose explained.

“Right…” Yusuke said. “I remember now. You did explain that.”

“I’m here as an assistant to Ren, and Jose was exploring Mementos until some shadows raided him” Morgana reiterated.

“So, we’re both looking at humanity from the outside in,” Jose continued. “I’ve been tasked with learning about humans, and the Phantom Thieves have been helping me.”

I see” Yusuke said. “Hm. Delightful.”

“Huh?” Ann asked.

‘Forgive me,” Yusuke continued. “I was being selfish. At the first sign of trouble with dorm life, I intended to turn tail and run. But hearing your stories made me change my mind. I felt so alone in my torment from Madarame that I forgot other people have hardships too. So, to follow your example, I need to face things head on, instead of running from them. Besides, I doubt the dorms will be as bad as Madarame.”

“Yusuke…” Ann said.

Ren smiled and clapped. Everyone who could clapped too. “Great job Yusuke.”

“Huh?” Yusuke said, confused.

“You’re taking your first step into the real world. I know it can be hard, but we’ll be with you every step of the way” Ren continued.

Yusuke was stunned, then smiled. “I see. Thank you.” The group continued eating.

Fool-The Phantom Thieves: Rank 4

They spent some more time together, but pretty much once the pot was empty, everyone started heading home.

As Ren was just getting ready for bed, Ann messaged her.

Ann: Hey.

Ann: I know I’m not the one who determines these things,

Ann: but I remember at our last celebration you told Ryuji, Morgana, and I that you were a lesbian.

Ann: Why not this time?

Ren smiled and blushed ever so slightly.

Ren: It’s not that I don’t want to.

Ren: There’s just another compilation.

Ann: Complication?

Ann: What do you mean?

Ren: ...Sumire…

There was a minute of no response.

Ann: Oh. OH. Huh.

Ann: Well, I hope you can tell her one day.

Ren: I hope so too.

Ren: I’m just...very afraid.

Ann: I don’t think she’d hate you or anything.

Ren: Right.

Ren: Still…

Ann: Yeah, I doubt any of this is easy.

Ann: But you know I’m always there for you.

Ren: Yeah. Thanks.

Ann: Any time.

Ren smiled, put her phone down, and fell asleep.

The next morning, she got up, and headed downstairs for breakfast when she noticed something new. The original “Sayuri”, the one they stole from Madarame’s palace, hanging up in Leblanc. “You like?” Sojiro said. “That Yusuke boy came by this morning and asked if he could hang it up here. I asked him if he really wanted to. He seemed dead set on the idea. Honestly, that kid marches to the beat of his own drum. But then again, look who I’m talking to.”

“I see,” Ren said. She smiled.

“He also gave me this message for you,” Sojiro said, handing her a piece of paper.

Ren took it and began reading. “Ren, Thank you for yesterday. It really helped me put things into perspective. I wish to continue serving the Phantom Thieves, and yesterday really gave me the chance to truly understand what that means. I will not run away or back down. I will face these challenges head on.

As for the painting, the legacy of the ‘Sayuri’ is pretty much tainted. However, it is such a beautiful and masterful piece of art on its own that I cannot let it go to waste. It then hit me: You and the ‘Sayuri’ are similar in this way. You’ve both lost your place to belong. So I decided to emulate you and place it here, so that it can gain a new home, and hopefully a new purpose. I hope you and the Boss take good care of it. -Yusuke”

As Ren read it, she wiped a tear forming in her eyes. “Thank you. I needed that perspective too.” Sojiro just looked on, smiled, and whipped her up a cup of coffee.

Meanwhile, Yusuke was looking at the picture he had taken of the “Sayuri” in Leblanc. He eventually decided to send it to Kosuke. When Kosuke got it, he smiled and said “Right where it belongs.”

[chisatowo]

asks you about your talentswap plot

*inhales deeply* ok I'll try not to make this too long! I don't have everything figured out, but I at least know what roles I want people to play and have a basic idea of who lives and dies! 

For the basic overview, it's mostly the same set up as the first game, although with a few small tweaks to account for the new talents, and a new mastermind. Aoi is the protag, and Sayaka and Chihiro sort of share the assistant role. Idk who I wanna have be the antag yet, but I'm thinking maybe Mukuro? We'll see. 

I'm not going to go too into detail on specific character stuff here, but I will talk about Aoi a bit since she's the protag. They're pretty similar to how they are in canon, except their issues about being productive and useful are somewhat intensified. They spend a good chunk of the story feeling awful about not being able to remember their talent, and finding out that they don't have one is really hard on them. Sayaka is able to help out somewhat, but chirps having chirps own identity crisis as well. They spend a lot of time going back and forth trying to help the other with their problems and ignoring their own. Ok now to the actual plot. 

I'm keeping the same motives, so chapter one starts off pretty similar to canon. There are quite a few people who are heavily affected by this, but unfortunately I think I've settled on Sakura as the first killer. Her motive included a team she's been helping out for years, one that's like a family to her. She didn't initially plan on murder, but when Hiro came in one night to attempt to do just that, she was left with little options. During this chapter, Makoto notices something strange about his birds, Chihiro experiences a strange sense of dejavu, Byakuya thinks of a plan, and Aoi feels a horrible pain in her chest as Sakura dies. 

Chapter 2 is kind of a mess. The motives definitely hit some harder than others, but I think that a good chunk of them don't hit as hard as a lot of the canon ones? Like for example, Mondo's brother is still alive, and the scissor system work together pretty well. Some people actually do decide to just share their secrets upfront, but a good chunk of them still refuse to. The time for the secrets reveal almost arrives, but before it could happen something strange happened. Monokuma was preparing to announce things, when suddenly and without warning he explodes, killing Mondo and severely injuring Kyoko. Everyone is confused and horrified by the event, and while the mastermind did not do that, they still choose to let it slide under the radar, for now. Some start to become paranoid as the possibility of Monokuma killing them for no reason comes up, while some suspect that Mondo might have been working with him and attempted to betray him. While the money motive is presented a few days later, that's not what motivates the next killer. Kyoko actually managed to find out that Byakuya set the timer for the bomb, although she believes that he is controlling monokuma, which is not correct. She kills him in hope of ending the killing game, but ultimately that doesn't happen. Turns out Byakuya simply tampered with one of the Monokumas, and convinced the mastermind to allow it for the sake of adding further intrigue to the game. He was frustrated when it wasn't counted as a murder, and had planned to activly extract a bomb and try again, but ultimately didn't get the chance. Some other stuff happens in this chapter too, mainly Chihiro and Makoto beginning to talk about some of their suspicions and Chihiro hinting at some of that stuff to Aoi. 

Ok that got long so Ill try to keep the next ones short. During chapter 3, Hifumi ends up killing Celeste completely on accident, and nobody is happy about it (except for our mastermind but shh). Aoi gets to be fully included in a theory talk, but doesnt get to learn much. Also, Chihiro doesn't really trust Sayaka, much to Aoi's dismay. 

In chapter 4, Junko finally gets hit hard by all of the paranoia that she's been pretending isn't there, and she ends up killing Taka. The mastermind uses this opportunity to take out Makoto, who was getting a but to close to figuring out the truth, and pins his murder on Junko too. Junko is found guilty of the deaths, but before she dies she insists that she didn't kill Makoto, which while mostly everyone seems to not believe, Chihiro definitely does. 

Chapter 5 features a similar body discovery set up as in canon, with the masked body that gets blown up. Thanks to process of elimination, it's concluded that it's Leon's. As the case goes on Chihiro starts to show distrust towards Aoi, and it soon becomes clear that most of the evidence leads to Chihiro, which Aoi and Sayaka quickly conclude is likely falsified. During the trial itself, Aoi ends up taking the fall similarly to how Makoto did in canon, although I'm still figuring out the specifics as to how that'll happen here. Chihiro ends up feeling absolutely awful, and Sayaka actually snaps at Chihiro a bit for being so cold towards them the whole trial. 

Chapter six is pretty straight forward. Chihiro saves Aoi and tells her a bit about their lost memories, and how she's sure that all of them are missing at least a year or two of memories. The get the retrial, and uncover that Leon was never the victim on the case, in fact he never died to begin with. Uh yeah. Leon's the mastermind. I don't know exactly how the end plays out, but it's probably going to be pretty straight forward and simple, only with the added thing of Aoi having a bit of a freak out about the whole being a reserve course student thing. 

Sorry that got so long! I didn't go into a lot of details, but that's mostly all of the big stuff :) 

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕌𝕡♡

Hi! Can I request a matchup for free, haikyuu, and knb? I’d also like to thank you in advance as I would like to keep my request anonymous.

I’m very cautious around people I am not close to, therefore I tend wait for them to initiate conversation with me. Although it is difficult, sometimes I am able to muster a greeting and a few comments or questions if it’s needed. I am very careful about what I chose to say or do in front of them as I’m worried about what they may think of me. Therefore I keep my guard up, pay attention to my surroundings, and be careful with their feelings as well (which can make talking to people even harder sometimes). I am very anxious around social situations/interactions and often keep them impersonal. It would take a lot of time for me to properly open up to someone. With those I’m close to, I am more open to sharing whether it be something on my mind, something that happened that day, or whatever else I could talk about with them. I’m also able to let myself be more expressive emotionally and I’m quite transparent in my actions about how I feel. I can be quite silly too. But I am the type of person who takes time before properly sharing my worries and concerns, and also tends to observe and reflect before acting. I like to show I care for someone by helping them with something if I can, giving them their favorite things or taking them to their favorite places, and take note of their craving or wants to treat them to at another time. I’d also like to share with them the things I like too, whether it be sharing candy with them or sharing about a hobby.

I have a habit of talking to myself and daydreaming that I also use as a way to release nervous energy. Interacting and dealing with others can be tiring for me, so it is important for me to have time to recharge myself and I very much prefer being alone or with a close friend or two. I definitely have days where my mental illness interferes with my daily functioning even more than usual. I work hard at doing the best I can do whether for work or leisure, which can make me a bit of a perfectionist, and it’s not unusual for me to become emotional about these things. But I am getting better for not beating up myself if it’s not “perfect,“ and understand that my best is good enough. Self-improvement is important to me because not only it helps me grow as a person and find a way to deal with my mental illness. I try to improve myself through learning about new things and applying them, and by being reflective of my actions. Even though I can be reluctant, I also think it is important for me to take my time and be open in trying new things. But sometimes I can be a little too expecting of myself and others which can lead me to being upset that things didn’t work out how I hoped them to. Overall, I’m serious and meticulous when it comes to my work and what’s important to me.

I’m more sensitive than I’d like to admit and I think it’s because sometimes I take things too seriously. I have a tendency to speak slowly and have a loud sneeze. I have an easier time opening up to animals, I enjoy spending time and chatting with them. I have a soft spot for even the animals that need time to open up because they are all deserving of love. I used to play drums and a bit of piano, I’d like to get back to playing them though or maybe even try learning something new. I also like to sing a little but I’m a bit more shy about it. I like to listen to music, play video games, make crafts, collect plushies, and collect stationery. I’m about 156 cm, have chin length hair, wear glasses, and have an average build that is a bit chubby. I have dimples but the one on the right is more prominent than the other and I also like eating sweets. I usually only wear very simple clothes, but I do wish that could wear something different or nicer if I was more confident because I really think that clothing would be a great way of expressing myself.

Anyways, I was very excited to come across this blog :)

Have a good day/night and please take your time with request (❁´◡`❁)

»»————-　♡　————-««

Hello sweetie~! Of course you can have a match-up~! I’ll make it anon for you so don’t worry sweet pea~! ^^ I hope you enjoy who I pair you up with, and thank you so much for your love and support for our blog~! ;; It really means a lot to us~! I hope you enjoy the content we post and that you’ll stick around~!

» » Admin Ko

𝕀 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘...

ᴍᴀᴋᴏᴛᴏ ᴛᴀᴄʜɪʙᴀɴᴀ

Sweet and naturally kind at heart, Makoto isn’t afraid to not only initiate conversation with you, but properly takes the time to not only get to know you but understand your habits and cautious attitude towards those you feel uncomfortable with. It’s no surprise to anyone that Makoto has a strong paternal and maternal instinct to those around him, but he feels something a tad different when he’s around you. Those pulls are still strong of course, but there’s an underlying hint of selfish desire as well as to keep you not only to himself, but for him to be seen truly as a man rather than the mom friend of the group.

It’s without a doubt that he’s highly aware of your emotions in unfamiliar and large social gatherings. Not only is he protective, but he’s quite skilled in weaving you out of situations you find yourself in. When it comes to your loyalty and your trust, he’s patient and understanding of your hesitance to open up or to even begin talking about yourself to him. Of course, he’s quite encouraging and only gives you much praise and reassurance. This doesn’t mean that he can’t be stern. When he feels that some of his words aren’t getting through to you, he’ll most likely sit you down to help you understand that there are some things in life that we physically cannot handle or put blame on ourselves for not knowing better.

Besides that, Makoto is aware of your mental illness and is nothing but love and patient with you throughout the whole thing. Of course he’ll know only glimpses, but will listen fully when you finally choose to explain to him what had happened that garnered these emotions and mental state. 

He finds your tendency to speak slow endearing and immensely thinks of you as a Disney princess with how sweet and loving you are to animals all around you. Sometimes he likes to call you his princess, though of course that’s reserved more so for the two of you. 

ʏᴀᴍᴀɢᴜᴄʜɪ ᴛᴀᴅᴀꜱʜɪ

Someone who is quiet spoken himself, Yamaguchi finds many familiar traits that he sees in himself in you. A good majority of them leading him to now only approach you first, but to befriend you as well. He’s quite understanding in your cautious and shy nature and can’t help but feel a touch of deja vu and the desire to be aware of what those around think. Thus, he not only chooses to be befriend you, but actively goes to visit you and to remind you that he choose to be your friend and actually enjoys your company! 

Similar to you, Yamaguchi won’t necessarily share his worries and inner turmoil with you right away. Rather, he would have the slow and steady approach in the build of the relationship you both have garnered. Though of course when it comes down to it and the day arrives where you both finally speak truthfully towards one another, it’s a day that really changes not only your perspectives on one another, but your relationship as well. Yamaguchi is, unsurprisingly, quite affectionate and loving to you. He’s not very fond of PDA, but makes it a habit to do the smallest things when you both are out in public. Such as holding your hand, or gently guiding you by the small of your back to the next location / destination.

Out of all the things he can relate to, he relates the best with the recharging aspect. He enjoys spending time with you doing leisure things or just basking in each other’s silence, but he absolutely loves it when you talk aloud or daydream. To Yamaguchi, it’s absolutely endearing in it’s own right. Other then that, Yamaguchi knows fully well how a mental illness can be an obstacle. Throughout your relationship, he’s supportive and patient with you and won’t hesitate to do what he needs to do to ensure you know fully well that you’re loved.

ᴍɪᴛᴏʙᴇ ʀɪɴɴᴏꜱᴜᴋᴇ

The ever so silent and observant basketball player. Despite his looming and somewhat intimidating physic, Mitobe is quite kind and considerate to those he cares about. He meets you on a whim and is gentle whilst patient when attempting in engaging conversations. It goes to the absolute surprise of everyone when you announce that you both speak frequently. After all, the male isn’t the most out spoken throughout Seirin and many of his teammates have tried in vain to at least hear what the male sounds like. 

Despite not talking as much, he proves to be an effective listener and is most definitely patient when it comes to how soon you’d like to open up. To him, he’s just happy that he can be by your side and enjoy the little moments. You eventually come to learn how much of a worrywart he is-- though of course not in a pronounced sort of way, rather in the subtle ways he nudges you extra helpings of food or if he’ll slow down or even giving you that curious stare.

The one thing Mitobe really likes to do the most with you, is laying cuddled up on the bed or on the couch basking in one another’s presence. The need for conversation virtually useless as he personally prefers to just lay with you by his side. This doesn’t discern the fact that he absolutely adores your habit of talking to yourself. Like Makoto and Yamaguchi, he finds it endearing and actively listens to you whilst giving you a sweet smile. 

Other then that, he likes to engage with animals with you, and of course in his own Mitobe fashion, observes you chatting with the little furry creatures. To him it’s absolutely ethereal and breathtaking. It’s one of his favorite past times.

[mystech-master]

So, let’s go through each of the BBTAG fights in the 4 o.g. story modes and see which ones are necessary for character stuff. I may not want to use a fight if there is another fight with the same characters I want to interact but doesn’t have a dumb joke assigned to it.

Now I know Tag Team means tag-in-tag-out stuff, but I am just going to look at these fights as two on two fights with a designated opponent for each fighter.

Episode Blazblue

Ragna and Rachel vs Waldstein and Linne: Initial fight so kind of necessary. Linne and Rachel having some banter, maybe Rachel being able to find out about Linne’s curse, meanwhile, you got Wald tossing around Ragna before Ragna goes Grim Reaper on his ass.

Ragna and Gordeau vs Ruby and Blake: 1. I like Ragna and Gordeau’s interaction, 2. Have members of RWBY learn of Gordeau and Ragna’s Soul Stealing Powers and 3. Really you can switch up who fights who, because with Ragna vs Ruby and Gordeau vs Blake you got similar color schemes, but the other way with Ragna vs Blake and Gordeau vs Ruby you got actual Sword vs Sword and Scythe vs Scythe.

Ragna and Chie vs Hakumen and Carmine: Obviously Ragna has to fight Hakumen and Chie against Carmine b/c Hakumen would CRUSH Chie, plus this is where Ragna could earn some point with the I.T. by helping Chie. Of course, since this is post-CS/Pre-CP Ragna he’s a bit more gruff, blunt and not as nice with it, but he’s still helping kind of. Kind of like how Shinjiro was with Minato (yes I use that name STFU), Yukari, and Junpei when they were about to get mugged in P3.

Ragna and Waldstein vs Kanji and Azrael: Like I said, ignoring this one. Dumb joke, no good interactions, and I prefer Ragna and Kanji’s interactions in Episode P4A.

Ragna and Nu-13 vs Aigis and Vatista: As much as I don’t want Ragna to suffer this, this is the only way for him to have any contact with Aigis, the Shadow Operative, so she can report it back to Mitsuru when this is all over.

Ragna and Noel vs Hyde and Linne: This meet up is necessary since this is where they talk about plot stuff, Ragna’s hostility here is understandable considering everyone before his was all like “LET’S FIGHT!” without using any brain cells. While it starts out hostile they do become more amicable over the course of the conversation.

Side note: I do like it when Ragna says Observer, of course either meaning an overseer or the Blazblue term as one who makes things reality by acknowledging them, and Linne sees the term as “Supervisor”. It’s just stuff like that in crossovers that I like, the clashing terminology and stuff.

Ragna and Hazama vs Weiss and Orie: Weiss and Orie becoming aware of Ragna’s bounty, thus allowing some tensions during later meet ups. Although IDK how this will affect Hazama trying to act all friendly with the other worlds when Weiss and Orie saw him all chumy with Ragna, plus if they later see both Ragna and Hazama activating their Blazblues, with the similar activation codes, and they learn that Hazama/Terumi made the Azure Grimoire, with Ragna’s being a prototype in a way. That might not work out for him.

I’m skipping the Es fights since IDK if I’d even add Es in this.

Episode P4A (most of these I feel like should be kept since this is the only fight where almost the entire faction all joins up)

Yu and Yosuke vs Gordeau and Carmine: initial battle, so necessary. Could be someone different, since these itneractions don’t really matter.

Yu and Chie vs Tager and Makoto: Electric vs Electric and fist vs foot, since I’m trying not to flanderize them, Makoto and Chie won’t immediatly be all “KUNG FU *WATCHYA*!” so I’d tone that down a bit considering the situation.

Yu and Yukiko vs Hakumen and Rachel: Like I said before, I’d like to see how Hakumen, and maybe Rachel, reacts to the Wild Card. Since in Arena, Yu’s Wild Card Power of Friendship aura made Elizabeth, aka the one who oneshots Erebus (the manifestation of mankind’s desire for Death) every other month, step back. So imagine how Hakumen, mr. Power of Order/killer of the Black Beast would react to that.

Yu and Chie vs Jubei and Platinum: Kind of wish Kanji was here since this is his intro in the episode, that and Platinum needs to get smacked, but making it a girl on girl fight is fine I guess. Then you have maybe Jubei’s reaction to the Wild Card and Yu’s truth powers (I wonder if the Orb of Sight could reveal Terumi’s true form like Jubei’s Sekigan?)

.....wait is Kanji just not playable b/c he was DLC at the time, okay then screw that noise.

Yu and Yosuke vs Linne and Orie: Okay Naoto has no excuse for not fighting here like Kanji excpet for maybe beign DLC at the time, so Yu and Naoto vs Linne and Orie. Come on seeing Orie’s Thanatos clash with a Persona would be cool. Or at the very least the Persona characters assuming she has a Persona, it wouldn’t be a stretch for them.

Yu and Ragna vs Weiss and Ruby: Should I keep this in? Since it is a moment where people call Ruby and Weiss idiots for blindly trusting System inspite of being the one who summoned them. Plus a lot fo stupid lines from Ruby. The ony thing this does is give Ragna a chance to prove himself to the I.T.

Ignoring Es fights like I said but I do want to keep the offscreen fight of Ragna and Kanii vs Hakumen and Rachel (Kanji’s lighting resistance against Rachel, HA!). Also they were playing Naoto’s theme from the Arena games at the time, so that was kind of off for me.

Episode Under Night In-Birth (half of these is just Hyde’s “Must Save The Girl” tendencies coming in)

Hyde and Waldstein vs Rachel and Naoto: No good interactiosn outside fo seeing how Hde and Wald fight as a team, like maybe Wald pulling a fastball special with Hyde.

Hyde and Ruby vs Yosuke and Chie: Stupid reason to start with Hyde thinking they were bullying Ruby when it was a mistake, and well all know that even if Ruby is like a year or two younger tha Hyde she’d kick his ass. But I know people want to have Ruby be amazed at the Insulator, but I won’t have her be all “YOU HAVE COOL WEAPONS! LET’S FIGHT!” Like I wanted RUby to have more of a personality, but this is too much.

Kind of a side note, but when Ruby brought up weapons with Jaune in Volume 1, she wasn’t all in his face about it immediately, they were apparently talking for a while before bring it up naturaly in a conversation. It felt more....real, to me.

Hyde and Gordeau vs Makoto and Blake: Only here for the Makoto and Blake interactions.

Hyde and Weiss vs Azrael and Carmine: no one here should be fighting with, against, or near Azrael. This is just here for Hyde to play knight in shining armor to Weiss. You Hyde/Ruby shippers might want this so he can earn points with Ruby for protecting her BFF.

Hyde and Yukiko vs Platinum and Noel. More bad cooking jokes, that all of a sudden make Yukiko good, but I think that’s just to make Noel the focus of the joke since this is BLAZBLUE Cross Tag Battle. More Hyde saving the girl in a way, but I’m slightly more for it since Platinum suffers. And hey, System said the losing TEAM had to eat it, so maybe Noel eating her own food can result in her getting better.

I mean seriously, Yukiko apparently got better at the end of her Social Link in Persona 4 (If I recall) and I THINK that there was one line about Fuuka improving in Arena or something (someone please help me on that, I know she gets better in P3P as part of her SL there, but I really don’t think one should cook, even if they like it, if they suck at it), taking that away from them is kind of insulting.

Hyde and Yu vs Jubei and Jin: Insulator vs Musashi (the swords that cut through anything) and Power of Friendship vs Power of Order. I got asked a while ago on what would happen if Isnulator and Musashi clashed and this would be a good chance to explore that. Plus Jubei seeing both the Wild Card and the Insulator would be interesting.

Also, Jubei with Jin goes with Blazblue canon, as at this point (between Cs and CP) Jubei is training Jin on the Power of Order).

Ignoring Es fight

Episode RWBY (this’ll be hard b/c I am TRYING to tone back the anime bullshit with RWBY)

Ruby and Weiss vs Noel and Makoto: System didn’t intervene here and they were just like “We have to fight over the Keystone”, considering RWBY’s themes of unity and such you’d think they’d try and be amicable, before System jumps in. Weiss could even TRY and be civil with the apparent Faunus in front fo them dressed rdiduclously (seriously IDK who else in RWBY during Vol 1-3 wears shit like Makoto who, as Kokonoe said in one of the HMPK segements “Is a strong breeze or a cough away from a major wardrobe malfunction”).

But still Weiss and Makoto on the front with Ruby and Noel as long range support wiht their guns.

I do think Weiss saying they should split up is dumb though.

Ruby and Hazama vs Hyde and Carmine: Alowing Hazama to get some connection with Ruby so he has someone to vouch for him at Beacon when/if he tries something there.

Ruby and Rachel vs Vatista and Platinum: Rachel landed on Ruby, gave her snark, because Platinum and Vatista were trying to ask her questions about the situation, Ruby is TRYING to be cool-headed and ask questions, but Rachel is being a butt and forms a tag team with Ruby just to shut Vatista and Platinum up. This could be used as a way to make Rachel seem untrustworthy.

side note, Vatista asks if she “should switch to a beefy, macho, muchle-type body...” So....can Vatista shapeshift? I mean we know she had an older looking form before she gave up one of her wings to give the Insulator to Kuon in UNI’s backstory. SO does that mean she doesn’t have to be a loli and maybe this form is just o conserve energy or something?

Ruby and Waldstein vs Hakumen and Tager: Hakumen attacks Ruby and Tager tries to intervene, Hakumen says smething interesting “This world may be jeopardized if elements from conflicting worlds interact” in this case Ruby and the keysone.

And like....seithr, ars magus, personas, EXS, and Dust and aura coliding WON’T cause things to fuck up? Especially Hakumen, who has kind of a messed up existence at the moment.

and whe Ruby brings up what Rachel told her, Hakumen gets all on the offense, once again maing Rachel seem untrustworthy. Or at the very least not willing to be cooperative.

Hakumen begins to do his thing but Wald pulls a Hyde and comes in to scold them for attacking a little girl.

I would like to see Hakumen sense the Silver Eye power lying dormant in Ruby, and then lay down some cryptic words here though.

Like comparing the Silver Eyes to the Power of Order is interesting b/c the SIlver Eyes work with love and protection, unlike the Power of Order which is mostly used as a weapon.

Ruby and Weiss vs Gordeau and Orie: scythe and scythe vs rapier and rapier.

1, Orie blowing her cover by saying she is with Licht Kreis, although given the circumstances I doubt that matters. Also she kind of fights on Hyde’s behalf for Ruby getting Hyde’s keystone, and speaking up when she heard his name.

2, Weiss being all too eagar to fight, IDK if this would be in character for canon Weiss.

3. Orie mentioned a restriction. Didn’t System just say there was a punishment? Is it both?

4. Once again Weiss being all too eager to mock and fight. But maybe she is in a bad mood because she has also been having to deal with neandertha;s who don’t care about the situation and are just like “FUCK YEAH, FIGHTING!”

5. Now I may not be too up to date on UNI’s Chornicle Mode, but I don’t know if Orie being THIS against working with Amneisa would be what she would be like.

6. Gordeau is being amicable, but him saying “hate the monk, not his robes”, makes it sound like he is still a member of Amnesia. But if I recall, he quit. Does him working for them as a mercenary count?

7. Orie saying she is devoted to her mission with her ego being secondary should be kept in mind when characters want to be major assholes and make demands of people instead of being nice.

Okay I’m done with that

Ruby and Es vs Yosuke and Yukiko: with that stupid Ninja and Geisha comment, plus I already said I was ignoring Es.....yeah I’m going to skip this and the next one, even though by that logic Ragna won’t meet Ruby. I can fidn some way for this to work, sionce Ragna saving Ruby gets him points with Yang and the RWBY characters.

Alright that seems to be all. Blake got a few fights in but no Yang. What fight would you guys want to see her in that I could add onto here?

[friendshipstates]

Blind Date (Drabble)

As the last bell rings, Gentaro hears a knocking on the classroom door. The students filing past give the newcomer smiles and Gentaro turns to see his good friend, Sakuta Ryusei, standing there in a decent looking black button down shirt.

“Yo, Ryusei! What brings you back here? INTERPOL business?” Gentaro rises, performing the friendship handshake with Ryusei.

“Not this time, Gentaro. Miu asked me to help her with setting you up on a blind date.” Ryusei laughs. Miu had been very insistent on this.

“Well, you and I both learned we can’t say no to our Queen. I guess she’s already made the reservations and everything?”

“Yeah. You’ll be going to the Cascades tonight, and I’m to help you get a good suit for it.” Ryusei beckons Gentaro to the door. “Miu is absolutely certain that the person she picked is perfect for you.”

“She does know what makes me tick. All right. I’m in. Let’s go.” He grabs his briefcase and leaves the school grounds for a local tailor shop.

---

On the other side of Tokyo, Ami Mizuno looks up with a blink as her friends and teammates mention the Cascades. “Wait, our benefactor is sending me there on a date? You need to book a reservation at least four months in advance!”

“Yeah! I’ve been there once before. The food is amazing, and the view is fantastic.” Minako Aino says.

“Well of course you’ve been. You’re a pop star!” Ami looks off to one side. “So our benefactor booked us a meal in one of the fanciest restaurants around. What else did she do?”

“She sent us enough money to get you a makeover and a brand new outfit!” Usagi Tsukino says.

“Wait. This all seems excessive. What did I, or the guy she’s setting me up with, ,do to deserve such treatment?” Ami sputters for a moment before Makoto Kino puts a hand on her shoulder.

“Our benefactor said the man you’re meeting tonight is the best man she’s ever known, and he deserves a wonderful woman in his life.” Makoto says. “There’s still time to say no, if you don’t feel comfortable.”

Ami thinks for a moment. She may never get a chance to eat at the Cascades. And since this is a blind date, her date for the night is probably in the same predicament. He’s probably been put on the spot by the sudden nature of the date as well.

“All right, I’ll go. If this man is as wonderful as she says, maybe there will be more dates in the future.” Ami agrees and her friend cheer as they bring her downtown to get her hair and outfit just right.

---

Gentaro’s definitely out of sorts. While he wears a suit to work at the school, it’s never been one as fancy as this. A neatly tailored black three piece suit. Even the flame-painted sneakers are gone, replaced by a rather uncomfortable pair of new dress shoes.

On his lapel. he’s wearing the symbol Miu told him to wear. A little pin showing the Sun and the inner planets. His date is supposed to be wearing something similar.

As he scans over the crowd in front of the restaurant, he feels a gentle touch on his arm. Turning, he looks down and sees his good friend Ami, in a very fancy sapphire colored dress. The planet pin is resting on her right shoulder.

“Gentaro! You’re the one I’m supposed to meet tonight?”

“Ami! You look amazing!” Gentaro grins and offers his hand to take hers. He quickly scans up and down to see what changes they did to her. Her hair is tied in a neat bun, her face is perfectly made up, and the dress looks like it was magically made just for her. Then he notices the narrow heels she’s walking on and without a word, offers his elbow instead for support.

Their table by the window is all set up, giving them a view of the waterfalls and woods.

“So, before we get started...” Ami poses the question delicately. “Do you know this person that set us up?”

“She is one of my closest friends. I helped her get past some issues with an ex, and she saved my life too many times to count.” Gentaro explains quickly the story of him and Miu, leaving out certain details that he knows Miu wouldn’t want made public.

“And yet she picked me to go on a date with you? Why wouldn’t she ask to date you herself?” Ami picks up the menu as the waiter comes around.

“Sir, Madam, I am told that your entire meal has been paid for. A full five courses and as many drinks as you would like. Please, take your time. May I get you anything to drink?”

Ami and Gentaro both blink at Miu’s generosity and in unison they say “The house white wine, please.” Both of them have friends as designated drivers tonight.

“Very good. I’ll return in a moment.”

Ami and Gentaro realize how they said the same thing at the same time, and both laugh. “I guess she knew we were a... Best Match.”

“She seems to know that, but do you?” Ami asks.

“Well, I’m a teacher and you love learning. We both have a spiritual connection to space. And we both have our own heroic identities, which you’re better at keeping secret than I am.” He says the last part quietly, thankfully.

“It seems she does know what she’s doing then.” Ami smiles.

“She does. She always does.”

---

The Soup Course

“Wait wait...you used a plane to beat him?” Gentaro listens to the story in awe.

“Well, we had only the faintest inkling of how strong he was. He was using telekinesis to move the planes around, and we were losing ground. So we figured a way to blind him and make him lose control. Then he was whisked away and we never saw him again.” Ami takes her last spoonful of soup. “What about you and that space station you befriended?”

“Oh, Ex-Vee Two? I guess Usagi or Makoto told you part of that story. But here’s what happened...”

---

The Entree 

Gentaro takes a good-sized bite of the shiitake mushrooms in his steak dish. “Huh, this reminds me of something, but I can’t place what it is.”

“I’ve had those moments. Like the thing you’re trying to remember is something you desperately want to recall, but there’s some kind of force that keeps it obscured from you.” Ami eats the lobster before her.

“It’s like it’s connected to a person. I don’t know if it’s a man or woman, but I know that I know them...” Gentaro says and Ami finishes the thought.

“And yet, there’s nothing there. No face, no name, nothing to latch on to.” Ami shivers for a bit. What could be out there that both she and Gentaro would know of this person, but not know them?

Thankfully, the conversation passes to lighter topics.

----

The Dessert Course.

When the waiter brings out the single slice of chocolate cheesecake, Gentaro gets an idea. He looks to Ami for permission and she nods. Gently, he slides a fork through the confection, and brings up the first bite for her to taste. As soon as she swallows the chocolate, she does the same, offering him the second bite. There’s no conversation at this point, just eye contact that seems to confirm they’ve both gotten over the initial awkwardness of dating a good friend.

When the dish is finished, Gentaro reaches for Ami’s hand and gently kisses it. Ami blushes, but doesn’t pull her hand away. She looks into Gentaro’s eyes again, and responds by pulling his hand close to her lips for a kiss.

---

When the date has ended, Ryusei serves as unofficial chaffeur, bringing Ami back to her house. Gentaro gets out and walks to the front step with her.

“I had a fantastic time, Ami. And I’d love to have more, if you’re willing.”

“Absolutely, Gentaro. How about next Tuesday night? We’ll go to the planetarium together, all right?” Ami remembers that Gentaro can be a bit thick sometimes, and might forget to ask her out, so she takes the initiative.

“It’s a date then.” Saying this, he leans down and brushes his fingers softly across her cheek, before placing a single kiss on her lips.

He pulls away after five seconds, and smiles that same smile that could melt the heart of any Shitennou, before excusing himself back to the car.

Gentaro gets back home and finds, to only a small amount of surprise, that Kazashiro Miu has let herself in. It should be expected. He gave her a key all those years ago.

“So, how did it go? Did I choose wisely for you?” Miu asks, without even an “Oops” of surprise.

Meanwhile, as Ami re-enters her house, she finds her best friends waiting for a report on how the date went.

And though neither of them knows it, at the same time, they say “It was perfect.” 

[earthnashes]

MKDM headcanon stoof 2

 I hope you all had a happy thanksgiving yesterday! Oooor if you don’t celebrate it a good day! c: In the meantime I’ve come bearing more Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid headcanons. uwu

---------

- The whole gang consider themselves a family and you can’t tell me otherwise. The dragons even go as far as to call it their new “clan”, of which I’d imagine is a big deal for them. In dragon culture I’d imagine to be a part of a clan is more than being a part of a family, but being part of each other’s very existence, to pledge loyalty so fierce it follows them even in death. Being without clan can be damning for a dragon. ;-;

- I’ve always assumed “Kobayashi” was her last name (since Kanna and Tohru adopt it as their last names) and the name she most preferred to be referred to as. She and Takiya share that similarity, preferring their last name over their first. But unlike Takiya, who’s first name is Makoto, as far as I’ve seen Kobayashi’s first name was never stated.

So that got me thinkin’... what would her first name be? It’s actually a lot harder than I originally figured but like... the name that’s stickin’ with me after hours of searching is Ren. Ren Kobayashi??? Hm. :/

-Kobayashi has a small scar a between her ear and her right eye (just below the temple), the spot where Tohru’s father shot when he broke her glasses. He’s too precise to have actually hit Kobayashi, but the force of which the glasses broke did cut deep enough to leave a mark. It’s become a habit of Tohru’s to touch the scar whenever she’s holding Kobayashi, either by giving the scar a gentle kiss or running her thumb over it when caressing her face. The scar serves as a reminder for both: when Tohru was nearly taken away from the world and when Kobayashi threw herself between one of the strongest beings in the universe to protect Tohru. ;-;

-Tohru and Kanna find Kobayashi’s scent comforting and nice, something grounding when they feel sad or scared or anxious. It’s to the point where they will actively seek it out. That’s right.... I’m talkin’ wearing her clothes, primarily her shirts. It got to the point where Kobayashi had to put a stop to it (she was running out of shirts to wear too quickly!) but after they kinda had a sit down to explain why they were doing it, a compromise was reached. One of Kobayashi’s most favorite hoodies, an oversized black jacket with the Skyrim dragon logo on it: looks huge on Kobayashi herself but fits well on Tohru, she gives the dragon this hoodie, of which she almost always wears whenever she’s out of her maid outfit and lounging about the apartment. 

Meanwhile Kobayashi gives Kanna a small stuffed bear she periodically hugs at the child’s request. She’s taken to putting glasses on it and named it  “Kumayashi”. uwu

-Yoooo speaking of Skyrim, I’d like to think that’s one of Kobayashi’s and Takiya’s favorite games. And given Takiya’s passtime in gaming development, I think it’d be rad if he made mods for it (such as one he made for himself and Kobayashi, which gives them a wide variety of butler and maid outfits to wear). What I think would be cool, though, is if Tohru and Fafnir becomes interested in the game because it has dragons in it... only to be almost offended at how they’re portrayed in the game. Where’s the variety? The power? The dignity? And this Alduin character, the strongest dragon it has? Pathetic, he could barely pillage a village by himself! Yet despite their harsh criticism to how poorly the dragons are made in game, they can’t help but play it. Uh, well. Tohru at least likes watching Kobayashi play it, Fafnir refuses to play it.

-Which leads into my next idea! After the travesty committed by Skyrim and their portrayal of dragons, Fafnir could maybe ask (or demand) Takiya to make it better. Enter Takiya engaging in one of his most ambitious projects in the whole of his indie game development career, in which he makes a game where you play as a dragon. Aaaaaaand now I’m thinking about how that game would play and look like. Shit. :/

-Riko is the only human in their ragtag clan that doesn’t know half of them are dragons. I assume she’d suspect something isn’t exactly... well, normal about Kanna’s weird family, but hey, she’s part of it and that’s all she could really ask for. I’d imagine it won’t be long before Kanna tells her though (after discussing it with Tohru and Kobayashi), and it somehow morphs into some weird but oddly endearing “welcome to the clan!” party the gang throws where every dragon present reveals their dragon form to the child.

Riko passes out. She recovers well enough, but then she sees Kanna in her dragon form. And she promptly passes out again, this time over how floofy the young dragon is.

-The longest the Kobayashi fam’s been apart from one another (not including the time Tohru was taken away) is when Kobayashi has to go on a business trip. It’s rare that it happens but it’s cropped up in the past once before: a few of the best workers in the office is sent cross-country to help a sister company or affiliated company either entirely redo their work, or help them catch up if they’re falling severely behind. Sometimes they’re sent out to produce a product for another company. The trips are all-expenses paid with a hearty bonus for the work, but they are by no means a vacation. This time it’s for an entire two weeks, and the folks going include Kobayashi, Takiya, and Elma (who I think would have become pretty competent in their work at this point).

Tohru and Kanna nearly have heart attacks over it, not that Kobayashi fared much better. A curious thing that, her feeling nervous and lost about leaving home when she’s done such a trip before, and for a longer period of time too and had felt completely fine. No level of reassurance of “it’s only two weeks” and “’l’ll be back soon” or “I’ll call every day” helps the situation any. If anything it just reminds everyone that Kobayashi won’t be home for and entire two weeks.

Fafnir and Takiya don’t handle it much better. Takiya initially assumes Fafnir would be fine on his own, given his calm and callous demeanor, but it’s soon made clear he isn’t as accepting to the idea as he originally thought he would. The moment he told Fafnir he was going on a trip that he couldn’t come with him for that very reason, the dragon tensed so hard the human could hear his bones creaking. Then he outright said Takiya wasn’t going. It was probably the closest to an argument the two had (and the first too).

It’s only after Elma sits the dragons down and outright pledges to keep their humans safe, at the cost of her own life should the need arises, that they finally, reluctantly, relent. Not that it makes them feel that much better. The goodbye at the airport was far more heartbreaking than what it had any right to be.

But when they finally return, everyone feels the world is whole again. uwu

-----------------------------

Haha so I’m not gon’ lie that last one is somethin’ I wanna write a fic about but I’m nervous I can’t quite capture the emotion behind it through words myself. I mean I could try, maybe even in comic-esque form????? I dunno man. :/

BUT YUH THAR YOU GO. More stuff of me being trash for this anime and damn does it feel good. c:

[who-i-swim-for]

Free! Ships: My Take

So, seeing as how Free! has so many characters, it makes sense that there’d be a good handful of ships that come out of it. I’m here to talk about them. I’ve done this before on my Bleach blog, but unlike in that post, I’m actually going to be talking about all of them in this one. I’ll also let you know if I ship that particular pair or not, because that’s what this post is about. I kind of just want to gush about all the different dynamics in the show, so I’m gonna do that here. I won’t talk about every possible ship that’s out there because that would take forever, but I’ll talk about quite a few. There’s probably gonna be spoilers for everything up until the most recent episode of Free!: Dive to the Future.

I’ll put the TL;DR version in bold. P.S. sorry for using the same pictures as my previous post, but I don’t have the motivation to look for more.

Makoto and Haru (MakoHaru)

I think this is the most popular ship within the fanbase statistically, right? It makes sense-- Makoto and Haru have the deepest and longest relationship in the show. I think it’s also the strongest relationship, especially now that they’ve moved on to college. There’s something very tender and touching about their interactions with each other. We know that Makoto looks after Haru and has been for years and that Haru would defend and protect Makoto to the ends of the Earth. It’s not a stretch to imagine them as more than friends. 

Personally, I don’t ship them as I enjoy watching such a whole and caring friendship, though I don’t fault anyone for seeing more there. I sort of believe that maybe Makoto had more serious feelings at one point in time, but probably not anymore. Though, mostly, I just believe that he’s really amazing friend. They may actually be my favorite relationship on this list, regardless of who I ship.

Rin and Haru (RinHaru) 

This would be the second most popular ship in the fanbase. I’ve heard it said that this anime starts and ends with Rin and Haru, and I pretty much agree with that statement. After all, Haru’s character essentially centered around Rin from the time he met him in grade school to the time they reconciled at the end of season one. It’s the same for Rin. Even now, one of Rin’s primary reasons for swimming competitively is because he wants to keep swimming with Haru.

RinHaru is the only ship I seriously ship in the series. By that, I mean that it’s the only pair that I really do want to see get together in the anime. Whether that happens or not... well, it probably isn’t likely, but nonetheless, I do want it to happen. They’re so passionate about each other, and nothing drives them more than the image of swimming next to each other for as long as they possibly can. I don’t know, I always think of hopeful things when I think of these two.

Nagisa and Rei (Reigisa)

I have a weird opinion on this ship, I think, but I’ll get to that later. This ship also makes a lot of sense since it was Nagisa who brought Rei into the world of swimming. Other than that, though, they have developed a pretty strong relationship. It’s similar to Makoto and Haru’s, in my opinion, though Rei doesn’t act as as much of mother hen to Nagisa as Makoto does to Haru. They both really care about each other, as can be seen in each of their little storylines during Eternal Summer. Nagisa seemed to be the most hurt that Rei was lying about his whereabouts, and Rei seemed to be the most worried about Nagisa running away from home. I think that their emotions are typically pretty in tune, which is why they make such a good pair. 

Here’s the thing, I don’t ship them in the same way that I ship RinHaru, but I totally believe that they’re close enough to be a thing. I mean, if they did get together in the anime, I’d be totally fine with it because I’d be like, “Well, yeah, obviously.” You know? It’s a really weird view on it, I understand, but that’s what I think.

Sousuke and Rin (SouRin)

This is another fairly popular pairing, I’d assume. Sousuke is Rin’s oldest friend, so I see the appeal of shipping them together since they have so much history. The concern they have for the each other’s well-being and success is pretty incredible. Sousuke clearly wants, more than anything, for Rin to stand on the international stage and fulfill his dream, and Rin really wants Sousuke to recover from his injury so that he can stand on that stage with him as soon as possible. I think the amount of support these two give each other is equal to the support that Makoto and Haru give to each other, but Sousuke and Rin are so intense and passionate about it. 

Speaking of Makoto and Haru, I feel the same way about Sousuke and Rin as I do about them. There’s a really resilient friendship between these two that I love. Watching Rin say he wants to swim with Sousuke again one day or seeing Sousuke really happy just because Rin is happy is beautiful to me. All that being said, I can agree with the opinion that Sousuke does have more serious feelings for Rin. I think that could go either way. Bottom line is that Rin and Sousuke’s relationship is one of the best in the series for sure.

Makoto and Sousuke (SouMako)

I did not understand this ship at all until I watched the Eternal Summer special (which is where basically all their interactions take place). I can’t make a big speech about their deep relationship because they don’t have one, but they are really entertaining together. I think it’s because Sousuke and Haru are so similar that Makoto hanging out with Sousuke seems really natural. We don’t see Sousuke consistently being friendly and getting along with many people besides Rin, but since Makoto is so sweet and disarming, it makes a lot of sense that Sousuke likes him. Plus, Makoto was really worried about Sousuke when he found out about his shoulder and looked like he might cry out of joy when Rin told him that Sousuke’s surgery was a success. 

I don’t ship them seriously, but I do ship them. I like the image of them together, though I can’t really say if that’s a romantic thing or not. Maybe they’re a BROtp to me, I don’t know. Either way, I’d sign on for more interactions between these two. At the very least, I can see them chatting once in a while when they get tired of fretting over Rin and Haru.

Hiyori and Ikuya (HiyoIku)

Ooo, a recent ship! These two met early on in their lives, separated, and met again years later in high school, though Hiyori seemed to be the only one to remember their initial encounter until recently. Something about that is magical to think about, in my opinion. Hiyori is very much the protector in this relationship as he’s been watching out for Ikuya for a long time. It’s clear that Hiyori wants the best for Ikuya, similar to the way that Sousuke feels about Rin. In Dive to the Future, we can see that Ikuya being in pain puts Hiyori in pain as well. Ikuya values his relationship with Hiyori quite a bit, especially lately. We don’t have much information on these two, but I assume we’re going to start seeing something close to Makoto and Haru in the future because that’s sort of what we’ve been getting so far.

I didn’t actively ship them until their fight. During that fight, I actually really did think that their relationship was about to take a romantic direction, or at least that Hiyori was going to confess those types of feelings to Ikuya. I do want them to end up together, though I can’t really say that I ship them seriously like RinHaru. That’s probably because I still think that it might actually happen at one point or another, so I don’t need to ship it seriously. My brain is weird. Whatever the reason, I do ship them, and I can very easily see a romantic future between them.

Makoto and Gou (MakoGou)

I think the idea with this ship is being able to pair off all the Iwatobi boys with someone, but if you ship RinHaru and Reigisa, where does Makoto go? Gou. Or, I guess there’s always the MakoHaruRin ship, but... we’re getting off track. Makoto and Gou do have a bit of a relationship since she’s the manager and he was the captain of the swim club, so they talked frequently. They’re also both very nice people, so all of their interactions were positive ones. Gou seems to worry about Makoto like she worries about all of the boys, and Makoto seems to respect Gou quite a bit. Whether that’s because he’s a big brother, and he sees Gou as Rin’s little sister or if it’s something more is up for debate.

I don’t really think that I ship them, but they would be super cute together. Maybe I ship them a little. I can’t come up with a conclusive decision on this. Like, I could see that once the anime ends, they flash forward and Gou and Makoto are together. You know? Makoto is definitely the only dude that Rin would willingly let Gou date, at least.

Momo and Gou (MomoGou)

While we’re on Gou ships, let’s talk about this one. Momo tries really hard, doesn’t he? Every time he sees her, he’s right there, trying to get her attention and affection. It’s kind of cute, too. He seems to be making some kind of progress, right? I mean, she remembers his name now.

I do ship them in a I-really-want-Momo’s-efforts-to-pay-off kind of way. I don’t know that Gou will ever recognize those efforts as she seems kind of oblivious to that stuff, but it’d be nice.

Mikoshiba and Gou (SeiGou)

These two are pretty much the exact same as Momo and Gou. Mikoshiba has tried to ask Gou out multiple times, but Rin is very protective of her so it never happened. Gou seems to like Mikoshiba well enough, even though she’s oblivious of his advances as well as Momo’s. 

I don’t really ship them, though they certainly would look like a power couple. Their interactions are pretty funny, at least, so it’s never boring when they’re together. I don’t really think Mikoshiba is the most appropriate person to be with Gou, though. They’re probably better as they are.

Sousuke and Gou (SouGou)

Okay, last Gou ship. Well, their ship name rhymes with itself, so that’s cute. These two have known each other as long as Rin and Sousuke have, so they have a similar amount of history, and I think it’s inferred that they also went to middle school together. I think the general consensus is that Sousuke sees Gou as his sister, and I think it’s clear that Gou really likes Sousuke as she worries over him almost as much as she does with Rin.

I do ship these two quite a bit. I think, should they get together, it would be a really sweet relationship. Sousuke does really care about Gou and vise versa, and I can interpret that to be romantic very easily. I don’t think either of them would actively make a move, at least not right now, but I think that they both have very sweet gestures toward the other. More so on Sousuke’s side than Gou’s, but you know.

Asahi and Kisumi (AsaKisu)

Kisumi seems to know just about everyone, so it makes sense that he’s got a ship with a lot of characters. However, I think that Asahi might be the one that he’s the most overall interactions with, especially now that Kisumi seems to spend a lot of time with Asahi at Asahi’s family restaurant. Asahi was initially annoyed by Kisumi in the beginning, but I think now they have a pretty good relationship. They both probably care about one another, though we don’t have many lengthy scenes with just the two of them to go off of.

Do I ship them? No, I don’t think so, I think I just enjoy them being together because their personalities are cute. Kisumi teasing Asahi and Asahi getting annoyed is adorable. Adorable pretty much describes their entire relationship, actually.

Ikuya and Asahi (AsaIku)

These two have a bit more of a basis than AsaKisu. They tease each other a lot... or rather, Ikuya teases Asahi a lot. Asahi seems to care about Ikuya a lot, despite how annoyed he gets because of him. In middle school, Asahi was the person that got the most worked up about Ikuya’s glum attitude, and in college, Asahi worried over Ikuya quite a bit. Similarly, Ikuya looks like he values his friendship with Asahi, which can be seen both in Starting Days and Dive to the Future. 

I like their friendship a lot, though I don’t really ship them. The quiet concern they seem to show toward each other is lovely, and I enjoy seeing it as well as their other interactions. I do hope to see more of them together in the future.

Haru and Ikuya (IkuHaru)

The reasoning behind this ship is probably similar to RinHaru. Ikuya and Rin each have similar histories with Haru, so if it’s easy to ship one, it’s probably easy to ship the other. I don’t think Haru and Ikuya have quite the same amount depth in their relationship when compared to Rin and Haru, but they do care about each other very much. Haru inspired Ikuya’s swimming, and you could even say that Haru’s influence is the reason that Ikuya is such a strong swimmer currently. On Haru’s end, he ended up swimming the other three strokes in a tournament just so that he could swim with Ikuya and keep his promise to him. So, clearly there is a lot of emotion between them as well as history. 

I think the relationship between Ikuya and Haru is something special. Although I don’t romantically ship them, I do think that they have strong feelings for one another. They both took measures to swim with each other again, and that’s pretty awesome. That seems to be the theme of this anime, actually, but I just love the raw emotion with Ikuya and Haru.

Kisumi and Makoto (KisuMako)

These two are just a couple handfuls of sunshine. They hang out a lot, especially now that they’re in college, which might be because neither Makoto nor Kisumi swim, so it might be nice for Makoto to have a friend like that. I think one of the bigger things to note about their relationship is that Kisumi seems to trust Makoto quite a bit since he entrusted Makoto to take care of his brother Hayato. 

I can see them being super adorable together, but I probably wouldn’t say that I ship them. I definitely see the appeal, though. They’re both very positive people, and I would assume that they can confide in each other about many things. I don’t know, I really like seeing them together, at least.

Natsuya and Nao (Natsunao)

I feel like we know a lot about the nature of the relationship between these two without having much actual content on it. Nao looks to be the only person that can tame Natsuya’s wild side, and he’s also the only person that Natsuya can really talk to and go to for advice. Natsuya has also been shown to have a large amount of trust in Nao as he let Nao manage Makoto, Haru, Asahi, and Ikuya in middle school. Nao seemed to have a lot of faith in Natsuya’s abilities as a captain as well. Natsuya was also very sad that Nao got sick, presumably because that meant that he wouldn’t get to swim with Nao again. There’s a lot of love and trust that runs between Nao and Natsuya. 

I feel the same about these two as I do about Makoto and Haru or Rin and Sousuke. I see their relationship as a really strong, unwavering friendship, and I enjoy it a lot. There’s probably a lot of history there that will hopefully be uncovered in the future. Nao and Natsuya have enormous potential as a pair in the anime, and I hope they’re used more in the future.

Natsuya and Rin (NatsuRin)

This ship interests me, thus I’m putting it in this post. So, this is a very fresh ship since Rin and Natsuya didn’t even know each other until Dive to the Future, though they did see each other in Take Your Marks. Rin seemed to like Natsuya, though he probably found him a little strange at first. They end up having dinner together quite a bit while Natsuya is in Australia. Natsuya confided in Rin a little bit about Ikuya, and Rin told Natsuya vaguely about Haru and Sousuke (that he wanted to swim with them again). Rin also seems to have seen some of himself in Natsuya. Natsuya’s personality made most of their interactions seem like banter to me which was cool to watch. Rin and Natsuya meeting was a nice way to tie Rin into the Iwatobi Junior High School set of characters, even if only a little.

I don’t ship them, but I do enjoy the fact that they met separate from Haru, Makoto, and everyone else that they have in common. It would be cool to see them reunite in Japan. Maybe that’ll happen soon.

Rin and Makoto (MakoRin)

They sort of play Mom and Dad to Haru a lot, don’t they? Rin and Makoto do most likely bond over Haru more than anything, but they do care about each other as well. Makoto was concerned about Rin quite a bit in season one, and Rin really wanted Makoto to find a path he wanted to take after high school. Makoto has also confided in Rin, and vise versa. It seems like they reminisce about their past together as well. I think they probably talk more now that Rin lives in Australia, so that’s nice.

They work really well together, in my opinion, but I don’t ship them. I do think they have a very mature and comfortable relationship, though. Rin and Makoto seem to always be at ease around each other, and that must be nice to have. I’m glad that they’re getting more interactions now than they were before, especially ones that don’t revolve around Haru. Though, I’m sure they’ll always fret over their little problem child.

Asahi and Rei (AsaRei)

I’m not sure if people ship these two so much, but I know that people really enjoyed their interactions in middle school and the little Easter Egg in the first and third Free! movies where Asahi walked by Rei. You can’t really say that they have a relationship, but the simple fact these two interacted is pretty cool. It’s sort of like the NatsuRin ship in a way because it was assumed that Rei had no connection to any of the characters until high school, but then boom, he’s met Asahi. Rei seemed taken aback by Asahi initially, but he obviously remembered him because when Asahi walked behind him in the movie, Rei recognized the story he was telling-- that some kid with glasses recommended some books to him in middle school. Asahi also seemed grateful to Rei for doing that for him. Rei also seemed to somewhat recognize Asahi’s voice when he passed him in Take Your Marks. Asahi mentioned that you shouldn’t give up as long as the possibility isn’t zero, and that inspired Rei, which more or less returned Rei’s favor to Asahi from middle school.

I don’t seriously ship them, but I think I do ship them. Maybe I BROtp ship them. I just really want them to meet again and be friends. It’s a cool little bit of history they share, kind of like Hiyori and Ikuya’s first meeting. I think it’d be nice to see them together again. 

Rin and Rei (RinRei)

This is a classic enemies-to-friends ship. In the beginning, Rei was very interested in Rin because of his history with the rest of the Iwatobi SC, and he eventually became very grateful to Rin for teaching him how to swim. Rin respects and admires Rei a lot for his commitment to swimming. They seem to get along pretty well, probably because of their desires to become the best in their swimming specialties. Beyond that, their personalities seem to mesh well, similar to Makoto and Rin’s. 

Ship them, I do not, but their interactions are always welcome. I think it’s cool that Rin got to be a part of Nagisa, Makoto, and Haru’s lives early on and Rei got to be a part of them in high school. That may also be another reason why they get along, but whatever it is, I really enjoy when they talk.

Haru and Sousuke (SouHaru)

To be honest, I’m surprised more people don’t ship these two. Not only because they’re an enemies-to-frenemies ship, but because they’re ship is the exact same as Rin and Makoto’s. Haru is the middle man between Rin and Makoto, and the MakoRin ship basically says forget Haru, just give us these two. It’s the same with Sousuke and Haru, except Rin is the middle man. I think the biggest thing that exists between these two is respect, especially currently. Sousuke acknowledges Haru’s abilities and respects them while Haru respects Sousuke’s. Haru also respected Sousuke’s wish to swim in the relay at regionals and vowed to give it everything he had so Sousuke’s wish wouldn’t go to waste. I assume Sosuke also respected Haru’s decision to swim competitively. 

I don’t ship them seriously, but the ship itself does interest me. At least, I’m interested in seeing more interactions between these two. I think their dynamic is something totally different and isn’t really seen with any other characters in the anime, so it’d be nice to see more of it. The Eternal Summer Special wasn’t enough.

Albert and Haru (AlHaru)

Sorry for the awful ship name, I didn’t know what else to call it. So, I saw some interest in this ship and decided to add it in. I said that I wasn’t sure how to talk about it besides “it was kawaii and then not so kawaii,” but I’m gonna try. Albert and Haru met recently in Dive to the Future. Albert looked like a cinnamon roll foreigner, so Haru helped him order lunch; there’s also a super cute moment when Haru notices that Albert doesn’t know how to use chopsticks and goes to get him some silverware, although, by the time he gets back Albert has figured it out and is totally fine. Albert then proceeds to race Haru and basically crushes him since Albert is the world record holder in the 100m and 200m free.

I don’t ship them, but they are exceedingly adorable together... or at least they were. You don’t see Haru being kind to random people that often, so it was sweet. I also enjoyed the fact that Haru had a full on conversation with Albert while Albert spoke English and Haru spoke Japanese. It was pretty funny considering Haru had such a difficult time in Australia. Anime logic. I don’t know how to sum this up, but I will say that I want to see them together again outside of competition. That being said, I do also love the fact that Albert makes Haru super competitive and motivated. This ship, like many of the others on this list, interests me a lot. If Albert the cinnamon roll can make Haru act like a cinnamon roll, then give me all the Albert and Haru you’ve got. I’m ready.

Rin and Ikuya (IkuRin)

This ship, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t exist. I’m basically making it up right now because I anticipate that there will be some interest in it as soon as Rin and Ikuya meet. There’s a lot of similarities between these two, and that will most likely be the reason that people will ship them. Both of them admired Haru’s swimming, and both of them had a falling out with Haru that was only solved once they swam with each other again. Both Ikuya and Rin want to stand on the international stage, as well. As of now, Rin has been warned by Sousuke about Ikuya’s swimming-- essentially telling Rin that Ikuya swims like Haru and will be formidable opponent. Also as of now, Ikuya has heard quite a bit about Rin, and even seemed a little jealous of his strong relationship and rivalry with Haru.

I’m not going to ship them seriously, but I am still so down for this ship because I want to see them interact so badly. My prediction is that Rin is going to accept Ikuya readily, though he’ll be wary of him as a competitor, and Ikuya will have a difficult time being friends with Rin because of his slight jealousy of him, similar to how Rei felt about Rin. I’m so ready for them to meet. Give it to me.

Well, did you make it? I know this was a lot, or at least, it feels like it. Let me know what you think of the ships I mentioned and if you ship anyone else in this series. What do you think of Ikuya and Rin? Will they be fast friends or wary rivals? Who do you ship seriously? Do you have any NOTPs? Tell me it all! Thank you for reading and see you soon!

[nexttrickanvils]

Stray Thoughts

Written for Day 6 of Ryukita Week: Desire

Characters: Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa

Notes: POV switching

--------- It started with a stray thought.

His hair looks soft…

Ryuji immediately shook that thought out of his head because what!?

No seriously, what? Where did that come from!?

Okay... obviously… Ryuji’s just… bored. That’s it. He felt bored during the subway ride, looked at Yusuke, and had a weird random thought. He probably would have had a similar thought if he was looking at Ann or Akira. No he wouldn’t. Besides it’s not Ryuji wanted to like… run his fingers through his teammate’s hair or anything.

Though now that the thought was in his head...

---------

For Yusuke, it also started with a stray thought.

When Ryuji came to the Hideout, wearing a rather loose sleeveless shirt, Yusuke couldn’t help but stare the blonde’s arms. With Ryuji’s background as a former runner, his most prominent feature would be his legs but clearly Ryuji hasn’t neglected his upper body and arms.

What would it be like to touch…

Yusuke caught himself and buried the thought. No. Even in thoughts, he should not be violating his teammate’s personal space. Especially after his abhorrent behavior to Ann in their initial meeting.

He still found his eyes wandering even after they entered the Metaverse.

---------

“Now! Let us strike!”

Ryuji grins as he, Akira, Yusuke, and Makoto leap into action. This was honestly one of the best parts of the whole Phantom Thief thing, kicking ass with his friends. Once the shadows start looking weak, Ryuji launches a mazio. It doesn’t take them out but as they’re trying to stand up after getting fried, Yusuke pulls off some move straight out of some old samurai movie.

He strikes a post (because of course he does) as they fade away.

“And the curtain falls.”

Ryuji finds himself short of breath with a fluttering feeling in his chest…

...Shit…

---------

It’s the middle of the night when Yusuke awakens and is struck with inspiration.

He rushes to set up the canvas and paints, afraid that at any moment he’ll lose the inspiring spark of his dream. He mixes blacks and reds and yellows along with blues of varying shades.

An unknown amount of time passes as the painting begins to take shape. It’s more abstract though perhaps it is fitting given the inspiration is from a dream. Though he can’t remember more specific details, Yusuke can recall the feelings of the dream.

Contentment… and desire.

He begins to add in the other colors and there’s a different energy to them. They should not painted as smoothly as the blues, they needed to be quick and striking like… like...

“...Lightning...” Yusuke whispers in realization.

---------

Ryuji could deal with being attracted to a guy. Took him a while to accept that part of himself and it’s not like he’d shout it on the rooftops but he still accepted it.

But Yusuke? Yusuke!?

Sure he liked the guy enough to be his friend but…

What if this was just a physical thing? Nothing against those kinda relationships but Yusuke deserved more than just a friends with benefits thing. They don’t really hang out without the others, maybe he should try to get to know Yusuke better and ask him…

...Ask him out… DUH!

Before he could somehow convince himself to chicken out, Ryuji grabs his phone from his dresser and sends Yusuke a text.

RYUJI: Hey dude! I don’t got anything to do today, you wanna go out for some ramen or beef bowls?

He placed the phone down and started to read one of the various manga volumes on his shelf. Yusuke might be too busy to reply right away and he was one of the slower texters in the group so an answer might take a while.

Ryuji was about half-way through the second chapter when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and read Yusuke’s reply.

YUSUKE: I have nothing else planned. When and where shall we meet?

---------

They meet at a ramen shop in Ogikubo and Ryuji insists on paying for them both. The ramen itself is well done and Yusuke can’t help but praise it in his own typical fashion.

“Geez dude, I love the ramen here too but I think that might be a bit much.” Ryuji remarked with a laugh

“I am merely giving my honest opinion.”

He suddenly feels an arm around his shoulder and a warmth spreading on his face. (He hopes that Ryuji would attribute it to the steam from the ramen.)

“Hey don’t worry I’m just messing with ya. I’m sure the owners would be thrilled to hear what ya said. Though um… speaking of uh… saying what’s your mind...”

“Ah… yes… to be quite honest there is something I wish to say...”

“I’ve uh been thinking about this… ‘bout you actually and uh...”

“You have been occupying my thoughts quite often and...”

“I think I like you!”

“I believe I’ve fallen in love with you.”

...Oh…

The two stare at each other as they realize what had just happened.

“Dude, did we confess to each other at the same time?”

“I… believe we did.”

There was a moment of silence before Ryuji burst into laughter. The blonde’s smile and laughter were rather contagious and thus it did not take long before Yusuke joined in.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you full on laugh. It’s… it’s nice.”

Yusuke’s blush returned from the compliment, “Thank you...”

He cannot help but recall the dream that made him realize the true extent of his feelings toward Ryuji. That feeling of contentment and desire, he feels them again now though much more intensely than before.

Yusuke admits that he isn’t entirely sure where he and Ryuji go from here but he looks forward to finding out.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Curious, who's your favorite Persona MC?

(sorry for taking so long with this too ;w;) Including spinoffs, manga, and anime (not dramaCDs cause I haven’t listened to all of them tho I should note I do like the P3P one, both male and female side, nor novels cause....they haven’t been translated....tho that’d really only apply to P1MC’s novel form aka “Jihei”). I also don’t know where to put Anime!Ren, probably after P1MC if “Ren is kind of just their” fan’s testament is anything to go by.

Hamuko/P4MC/Souji/Maya>Naoya/Tatsuya/Moive!Makoto>Spinoff!Yu/Spinoff!Makoto>P3MC/Minato/Akira>Raito!Ren/Daybreakers!P5MC>P1MC>>>>Anime Golden!Yu>>>>>>Anime!Yu>>>>>>>>P5MC

Under the cut for explanation

I should note main games (P1-5), I like all MCs except for P5MC. And Hamuko includes P3P and PQ2 tbh. Btw I think Maya and Tatsuya are equally great, at that point it’s just preference I like playing as Maya more, but I still love Tatsuya.

For the first quadrant (P2 I’ll just say Maya/Tatsuya are both well written with clear character as both silent MCs and side characters, but their MC form allows a bit of choice....not a whole lot cause they are pretty solidified characters, but their characters are great regardless): The reason I like Hamuko and P4MC is....because....they have a lot of personality and a lot of choice. Like....you can really form them any which way you want, make them consistent or contradictory, a good person or an asshole. Each dialogue voice is clear, they are also the two MCs that can effect their story the most (at least with their SLs). It’s a joy playing as them. As for Souji, I just really like the manga a lot, like he starts off pretty there but slowly he opens up and we see his past and he uses it to relate to people around him (and what little establishing perspective in the early chapters show something similar to an Adachi mindset and it’s just really nice to see that his character really DOES show how Adachi’s life could’ve turned out if he had a support system, it really does a good job just.....establishing just that parallel). Is the P4 manga perfect? Nah, nothing is, but I think it’s the better of the two Sogabe works.

For the 2nd quadrant (already talked about P2 above):  Naoya? Great, really good character, really gave him a lot of personality! P1 manga feels like it lacks in developing/completing arcs outside of Naoya and Maki, but Naoya and Maki? Great! Makoto Yuki? I really liked his character, while the movies can be a bit shaky in the middle (and I wish he was still a little more stoic in the 2nd one), I really like how he went from emotionless asshole to actually caring about his friends and his own well being!

3rd Quadrant: Spinoff Yu and Makoto, I think they are pretty solid, not super amazing (might put Makoto above Yu tbh but ehhhh I’m pretty even), but they are consistent. And when I mean spinoffs I mean where they talk not their silent forms in PQ1 (cause man they have two gears, nice and asshole....but then again PQ1 everyone is kind of an asshole for some reason 8U at least it’s consistent). Yu’s a bit of an airhead, but he feels like a capable leader and tbh feels very similar to Souji (not 100% Souji, but much closer to Souji than Anime!Yu is to Game!Yu, plus tbh Souji has some silly moments too so I can’t say he got it only from Anime!Yu).

4th Quadrant: So like I like Minato’s name more, but his manga is a bit all over the place. His personality is....hmmmm kinda just their? I mean I still believe him to be a capable leader, but he feels more just their (possibly commentary that...like....plot’s happening all around the P3MC off screen? which I’ll give some points for). That being said he does have some funny moments, and I do get a sense of “not really caring to caring about friends and his surroundings” journey from him (it’s not as apparent or drastic or interesting as Makoto Yuki but it’s there). As for Akira.....at least for the first two dungeons, I actually really like him? Like it took a bit to look past the.....expression....struggle art (it’s not great with facial expressions ok? I dunno what to call it), but after looking past it I saw something. He’s really a 100% just a giant freaking n00b. They all are! And.....I LOVE IT! I hate how P5 it feels like “oh yeah we’re so freaking cool! look at how freaking cool they are! gawd we just instantly get cool!” And like, P5 manga has it’s cool moments of course, but after the initial summoning it’s like “oh shit they actually are just winging it and they are owning the fact they don’t know what they are doing and aren’t really trying to act like they are hot shit” (cause PT aren’t hot shit but act like they are in every interpretation except for this one, and it’s endearing because of it). I mean I don’t like his name, I prefer Ren’s name, but I prefer Akira’s interpretation the most. As for P3MC, I do like him, and in all honesty I dunno if I should be putting Minato/Akira on the same level, nor P3MC/Minato on the same level. While I value P3MC, he is a bit boring to play as, mostly in part due to his SLs. He does have some funny moments, and I think while he might not be a total jokester, he def is a lot more fluid in interpretation than I feel a lot of people will allow him to be. I think he can be fairly open, maybe not as bombastic as FeMC might take it, or as extroverted as P4MC, but I don’t think he’s 100% grim dark emo boi everyone makes him out to be. But compared to FeMC/P4MC, he doesn’t have as much variety as them, on top of his lines being pretty generic (I mean he has a voice tho, but the dialogue isn’t all that crazy a lot of the times......well unless you went 100% asshole route, but you don’t want to go that route, you will screw yourself if you go that route cause of how his SLs work 8U)

5th Quadrant: Raito does a good job with Ren in both Mementos Missions and his anthology chapter in the first anthology book (tho he wasn’t called Ren or anything in that chapter I don’t think). Raito  gives him character, gives us some background regarding his issues with adults (not canon, and mostly in the anthology comic, but it’s something), and tbh it’s just all around better than the game. That being said.....he’s.....I like Raito, and I’m having fun, and I like their art, but I still just don’t.....really care about Raito!Ren.....I’m just not super into him. As for Daybreakers!P5MC, he has a bit of a different personality, a bit more of a “I don’t really care” personality....which I’d probably wouldn’t like considering how I feel about P5MC proper, but his “I don’t care” is more of a “Rip to me, cross that burning bridge when I get to it I guess. XP” than “I’m confessing to you but I’m like super checked out and don’t really look like I care” feel the P5MC game gives me. We don’t really spend a whole lot of time with him sadly, but what we do see is fun (in a similar vein to Mementos’ Missions). Him and his team are.....weird in personality tho, I mean I can’t say I hate it, but it’s not like the game or any other adaptation, and I wish we could see more of it expanded on. It’s just a weird dynamic and personality that I can’t just outright say I dislike cause it’s not really developed enough.....

6th/7th Quadrant: P1MC.....nothing really bad about him tbh, but from what I’ve played and remember from P1.....he is the most true and 100% blank slate MC out there. I think that’s the point of him tho (cause even the ending is “you come up with what happens to him”). And I can’t/don’t hate on it, but it’s not exactly super duper fun to play as him cause he doesn’t have a variety of options like FeMC/P4MC (or even P3/5MC), but he also doesn’t have a super duper defined personality like Maya/Tatsuya. I don’t hate him tho! Just.....eh I’ll stick to the manga or any other adaptation. Golden Anime!Yu.....From what I remember and seen of the anime, he was generally a good guy, uber goofy but nice. That’s....all..... I mean I can’t hate on him too much, his anime doesn’t allow him to do a lot of things cause it’s just a string of OVAs tbh.

8th/9th Quadrant: Sigh......oh.......Geez.....I really hate first anime!Yu....a lot, I mean the anime and Anime!Yu have....their good moments, they have some REALLY GOOD moments.....but they also have some REALLY BAD “this wasn’t in the game, this is totally conflicting with the game what are you doing????” Moments. The biggest is his personality, he’s an asshole. They have him choose a lot of asshole comments but instead of.....being treated as an asshole for saying it, everyone is like “Oh ok :P Lol you da best dude!” and moves on (and this is reflected in how they mishandle A LOT of the what should be serious moments in the anime, and I say should because they were serious in the game, sure characters might’ve been uncomfortable but they didn’t risk the lives of people to make jokes and such). I think he’s an asshole, I do not like him, I really hate this adaptation a lot. As for P5MC? I ranked him lower but tbh they could just be tied for all I care, the issue is I have to spend more time with this jerk than Anime!Yu (and at least Anime!Yu has a freaking voice and has some good moments). But I’ve already gone over my issues with P5MC.

I basically prioritize either freedom of a silent MC, or the quality of their personality if their personality is more solidified (both points are more aimed at the games, specifically silent MCs). And then how I like the character as a character in adaptations (aka if I think they are an asshole, and the context of that universe allows them to get away with it or they’re just really unlikeable.....then yeah I won’t like them....I bring up the extra explanation on this cause I DO like some asshole characters, but that’s usually cause they are 1) acknowledged as an asshole, and 2) there’s some other world building factor at play, maybe everyone in that world is an asshole ala MPGIS/Panty and thus equal and Stocking, or they get their just deserts for being an asshole ala Victoria in Life is Strange, still can’t explain why I’m fascinated with this jerk but I am, but Yu and P5MC don’t fit under those two exceptions and thus I do not like them), there can be other reasons I don’t like a character, it’s a case by case basis tbh. 8U

So there’s my essay, maybe it’ll change when I re-read the mangas or re-watch the animes.

Oh wait...I forgot Shin and Kazumi (PTS and P2 manga MCs)....uhhhh put them with Spinoff!Yu/Makoto, they’re solid from what I remember. Might move them later.

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

Persona 5-Alternate Team

Due to the nature of Persona 5 one thing it offers, in endless abundance, is the capacity for imagining engaging and interesting ‘what-if’ scenarios.

One of the simplest is a changing of the PT’s core membership and, additionally, their opposition.

If we’re discussing an alternate makeup for the core team which could be engaging one problem, I encounter at least, is whether or not it is capable of creating an entire team using none of the original members (barring the protagonist and Morgana, of course, who must be included). To make things easier lets imagine for ourselves that we have to keep the same rough numbers and, like the original team, we won’t relatively different characters to allow for a wide range of interaction.

Team:

Ryuji - Mishima (this is rather simple, Mishima is a ‘male loser’ like Ryuji and also has a traumatic past with Kamoshida. Mishima would be a more mild character than Ryuji, less prone to recklessness, the only problem this opens is should the admin of the Phansite then be changed to a totally new character, perhaps Futaba, or should Mishima be both a member of the PT’s and the admi for the Phansite?)

Ann - Shiho (again this is an easy one, as it also gives the protagonist a core starting group in Shujin. Shiho would, like Mishima, probably reflect a less hot-headed and impulsive version of Ann, with a similarly scarring story at the hands of Kamoshida. She’d actually quite likely make a not bad ‘Makoto’ equivalent too, in that she has good leadership credentials and stays calm under pressure, even if she doesn’t have the same raw intellect as Makoto. I’d imagine that whilst Ryuji’s ‘fame’ hunger was a driving force for the PT’s growth in the original, Shiho’s desire to prevent suffering for others would be the initial early motivation for the PT’s continuation.)

Yusuke - Hifumi (a tougher one...the only obvious connection is that they both attend Kosei. The problem with not involving Yusuke is one automatically loses a strong connection to Madarame. It is also difficult to see an arc involving Madarame which does not also involve Yusuke. Making Hifumi work might require some arc-welding, perhaps she is concerned for fellow classmate Yusuke in this AU and brings the situation to the attention of the PT’s? It is a lot less clear cut than Mishima/Shiho. One advantage, in terms of differentiating the teams, Hifumi’s inclusion would include, though, is that the role of a ‘Makoto’ character can be divided, with Shiho more clearly a second-in-command to the protagonist in terms of actually having the force of will to lead, whilst Hifumi provides the greater strategic and tactical insight for the plans, even if she is not the best at rallying the team to execute them.)

Makoto - Eiko?/Shinya?/Kaoru? (here we begin to run into problems. Since the goal would be to not let the team consist of adults, since part of the theme is rebellion against adults, we need to stay with children. Additionally since I’m trying to use no OC’s we have to work with the existing ones but...truthfully most have been used already. Shinya is the most developed of the three offered and so, in my opinion, probably the best choice here. Of course, like with Yusuke, this begs the question of should the opponents be changed to reflect the new members, such as buffing Shinya’s mother to full Palace-status, or should I just find ways to connect the existing opponents to the new members? With Shinya this second option isn’t too tough luckily. If he is portrayed as a die-hard fan of the PT’s who, wishing to impress them, tries to solve the Kaneshiro case alone and is caught up in the scandal and then saved, then Kaneshiro’s palace can be kept and Shinya added; who’d be the real hot-head of the team without a Ryuji, also probably be among the more caustically tongued. Of course a side matter of this is that without Makoto you lose the connection to Sae and also one has to figure out how to resolve the issue with the Principal. Perhaps the Principal becomes one of the Palace targets?)

Futaba - Akechi (i’ve discussed before that I’d ahve prefered Akechi to join earlier, so his betrayal felt more impactful and more time was spent developing his one-on-one relationships with the PT’s. Like Morgana and the protagonist I see Akechi, if we’re even somewhat keeping the same plot, as a vital member who has to be kept, so I’d introduce him earlier to give him more screen time as a PT in the game. Of course this raises, like Makoto, the issue of Futaba. Her role as navigator, her mother’s connection to the conspiracy and more are all things which tie her so closely to the narrative that its difficult to imagine simply moving her out of the main cast.)

Haru - ? (without using the Okumura Big Bang Burger chain as an entry to Shidou we’d need to find a new connection. If we keep the same opponents I struggle to see how to replace Haru but...even if we change it, perhaps have the SIU director take Haru’s place as the pawn who is expended to ensnare the PT’s, that still leaves one wondering who could possibly be the opponent. Using Sae would break the ‘children only’ code and also leave one with the problem of Sae being in the main narrative the next palace. But what other options are there?)

There is also Mika as an option, but she is a very bare-bones character. Still it is perhaps possible to somehow work her in to replace someone like Haru...

Ultimately I think its tough to make a team consisting of none of the original members (barring the protagonist, Morgana and Akechi) without being willing to dip in and change the plot, and opponents, considerably. Even when one does that I still struggle to think of sufficient children characters to replace the original members with.

Which brings of course to the potential for new Palace Rulers. Using the same rules (so keeping Plot vital ones such as Kamoshida/Sae/Shidou/Populace and also trying to only replace with characters who are major in the narrative as well) we might try to come up with something;

Vanity - This one is somewhat difficult, since not many other characters are as self-preening as Madarame in the main narrative. One option would be transforming Haru’s fiancee into a Palace, making it that Haru’s father is able to be converted through a Mememtos trip for Confidant Haru and that the Palace becomes her fiancee who’s then played out as an incredibly misogynistic narcissist.

Gluttony - To be fair P5′s version of Gluttony is largely the same as their version of Greed, so by the same measure we could probably use two very similar character motivations here; the SIU Director and the Principal of Shujin. The Principal of Shujin would probably come lower on the sorting list of evil and so get targeted first. The only problem with this is that its difficult to imagine the Principal not being killed straight away were this to happen and, thus, tipping the PT’s off to the existence of the Conspiracy too soon.

Wrath - Honestly a difficult one. Perhaps the use of one of the former PT’s is best here? Does a Ryuji without the PT’s become an overl-violent vigilante? Does Akechi get redeemed in this by entering his palace and finding him angry with the whole world? Or do we keep Futaba’s Pyramid and its wrath inclination? I’m not sure.

Greed - This one’s easier; the SIU director becomes the sacrifical pawn the Conspiracy has the PT’s change the heart of, only to kill him and blame the PT’s for the Mental Shutdowns.

Anyway this is all very early, I’ll give more thought to it as I go on.

[yourheartsaremine-blog]

Beepboop, a self-ship for...

Hanged man anon, here’s your self-ship! c: You asked me who I probably would have matched you with, and without getting too much into it, I probably would have chosen Futaba based off of personality characteristics/how you would have meshed!

What Haru definitely needs is someone who is kind, patient, and encouraging, and you’re able to provide all of these things for her. There is, of course, the whole matter with her father, but her need for support goes beyond that; she has dreams and aspirations which she wants to achieve, but presently lacks the experience. She’s a strong girl and not one who gives up easily, but there will be instances where you may need to remind her to take a step back, whether it’s to distance herself from a stressful situation, or to reflect back and remember why she wanted to do something in the first place. She’s someone who will let you know how much she appreciates you in her life and will ensure that she is the same kind of supportive figure for you. I feel like Haru may have the same sort of difficulty as you do with guilt. She’ll put on a brave face when something is bothering her, but if she feels guilty about something, it’ll plague her until she finds a way to resolve it. What’s great in this case, though, is the fact that you’re both open to listening and giving advice. Rather than let you suffer in your thoughts, Haru would likely kindly pull you aside to discuss what it is that’s troubling you. If she feels that you’re going to too great of a length to fix something that is not your fault, she will let you know, and try instead to suggest alternate methods to fix the problem. You two share a number of similarities, which I feel may allow you to better empathize with one another and therefore help one another though any sorts of bumps that you may encounter. You’ll understand her, and she’ll understand you—it’s very open in that you two won’t (or even feel the need to) hide anything from one another. Overall, I think that Haru highly admires your compassionate nature, and that seeing the way you carry yourself and treat others encourages her to continue trying to be the best person that she can.

 HCs (w/ Haru):

Haru seems to me like she’d be the physically     affectionate kind, though in the kind of sweet, traditional sort of way. While she may initially be shy about it, once you’re both more comfortable, you’ll probably always find yourself with her hand in yours or her holding onto your arm when the two of you go out. Light kisses—whether on the forehead, cheek, or lips—tend to earn a pleased giggle too.

She’ll love it if you’re willing to help her out with her gardening! She finds that there’s something heartwarming about seeing something the two of you have created together flourish, and having you interested in something that’s important to her makes her really happy too.

She’ll try to get into things that you like as well. If you happen to have a new game, Haru will ask if she can watch you play it or, if it’s a multiplayer game, if she can join in. She’ll usually get really invested in the story and characters (expect lots of gasps and “oh no”s if anything crazy happens), and she’s also…unexpectedly pretty good at games? You might not expect it just from looking at her, but she’s got pretty fast reflexes and may even take you down once or twice if you try to play a fighting game with her.

She’s not the most amazing of cooks, but she’ll try to make simple dishes using the vegetables that you two end up growing. Again, it comes from that satisfaction of knowing that the produce that she’s using is the result of both of your hard work. From that fact alone, even if it’s not restaurant quality stuff, Haru’s food still has that touch that you might not be able to get from anywhere else.

HCs (w/ Phantom Thieves)

Futaba likes to recommend anime and games to you whenever the topic happens to come up. You can probably expect for her to show up from time to time with a new game that she wants you to try out, or so that she can ask you to accompany her to Akihabara. Sometimes it’s just so that she has someone to chat to while shopping, and other times it’s     because there’s some sort of event or café for a series you’re both into.

Similarly, Makoto will come up to you with recommendations if she ended up finding a well-written book or series that uses specific mythological themes as its main theme. I like to think that she’s quite intrigued and well-versed in such things as well, so there’s a lot of engaging     conversation to be had over coffee.

The fact that you consider yourself a bit of a “nerd” certainly doesn’t deter Ryuji from wanting to hang out with you. Whether it’s trying to get you to go for a run with him, taking a trip to the arcade, or getting something to eat, the blond is a great friend to have and one who most definitely has your back. While he may not come off as the most sensitive person at first, he’s there, ready to listen and give advice, if there’s ever anything that you need to talk about. He’ll also give you advice on gifts to get Haru (not always the best advice, but he tries!) or accompany you on the trips when you go get said gifts.

 Short scenario:

A plant that you and Haru had spent weeks slaving over and trying to save finally shows some improvement. The book you had been holding nearly went flying when someone rapped rapidly on your front door. Carefully setting the book aside so that you wouldn’t lose your current page, you try to calm your racing heart and head to the door, curious who it could be. “Hello—“ You didn’t even manage to get the whole greeting out before Haru chirped your name in excitement, her face completely lit up with a wide smile. There was something in her hands—a small, tiny potted plant that you didn’t immediately recognize. Had she purchased something new recently? You noted with interest that tiny, pink buds had begun to form, with one or two of them having already begun to blossom. “It’s really pretty,” you offered with a smile, “What is it?” Your petite girlfriend seemed to puff up with pride as she held the plant up closer to your face. “Do you not recognize it?” You stare at it for a little longer. “No…no, I don’t think so?” “Remember that gray, wilting plant that I was really sad over a few weeks ago?” There was a moment of silence as you let that sink in, and then you stared down at the plant with a scrutinizing eye. “No way, you mean…” Haru beamed and bounced a little on her feet. “Look at it now! Oh, I’m so happy to see how healthy it is now! It’s even starting to flower, look!” There was undeniable joy in her voice, and if you weren’t already smitten with her before, you certainly were now. You could still remember the look of discouragement she had been wearing when you had first seen her with this very same plant. The lifeless, dried out leaves and dull coloration was now nowhere to be seen, and similarly, that sad expression that your girlfriend had been wearing before was now replaced by a smile. “Thank you,” she said suddenly, looking up at you with warm brown eyes, “I don’t think this plant would have ever gotten better if it weren’t for your help.” You ducked your head sheepishly. “All I did was some research! You did most of the work.” Haru shook her head. “No, it helped me a lot! So um, really, thank you! Um.” She hesitated, suddenly looking a little flustered. She started to lean towards you, and realizing now what she wanted, you were quick to give her the kiss that she wanted. She let out a little giggle when you parted, her face flushed. “W-well then! I just wanted to drop by to show you how this little one is doing.” Haru cast a fond glance down at the plant, and then looked back up at you. “Would you mind if I came by again once the flowers fully bloom?” Grinning, you shook your head. “Of course not. I’d love to see it.” Though of course, seeing the flowers was just a side bonus to getting to see Haru herself.