#Makoto Niijima Week 2017

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The Next Step @MakotoNiijimaWeek

Day 5: Future/Career Makoto Niijima walked into the testing center, her bag full of all the essential tools she needed. Her heart was racing. This was it. This was the big moment. The entrance exams that she spent a big piece of her life studying for. They were finally here. She took a deep breath, looking at her phone one last time.

> Haru: Do your best, Mako-Chan!

> Ryuji: Show those tests who’s boss!

> Ann: I believe in you!

> Yusuke: If anyone will ace those tests, it’s you.

> Futaba: You got this, advisor!

> Sae: Good luck, Makoto. I’m proud of you no matter what happens.

Makoto smiled. She was so grateful meeting such wonderful friends over the past year. Her phone buzzed again while it was in her hand.

> Akira: You can do this. I love you.

She put her phone back into her purse, shutting it off. She walked into the classroom she was assigned to, her mind full of knowledge and determination. She took her seat and took out an empty notepad, a pencil, a pen, and her favorite calculator. The test booklets were passed out, The timer was set, and the test had begun.

Thanks to her rigorous studying, the strict schedule she was placed under by her sister, and her constant tutoring sessions with her boyfriend, she managed to breeze through most of the topics, giving herself plenty of time to go over each section thoroughly, leaving her feeling very confident. There was even an ethics essay about the Phantom Thieves! Makoto slyly smirked to herself as she wrote page after page regarding the topic. Who knew those hours in Mementos would’ve helped her in her studies?

The final egg timer went off. She put her pencil down and grabbed her wrist, rubbing it. She may have overdone it on those essay questions, but it was worth it. Her test was collected by the monitor. “You will receive an email about your results within 24-48 hours, sent to the address listed on your application. That will be all.” Makoto sighed to herself. It was almost over. All she needed to do was wait for the results, and her future would be locked in for life. She could be a police commissioner just like she had always wanted. She turned on her phone and sent a message to Akira.

>Makoto: It’s over. Would you mind if I stopped at Leblanc? I feel really tired...and I just want to see you..

>Akira: Sounds great. I’ll be waiting for you.

Makoto put her phone away and dragged herself to the train station. Unloading on that test really took it out of her. But she was excited for the results. She had brought it up with Akira beforehand, but she was planning on going outside of Tokyo for her university. After all, he was leaving. And she didn’t want to be without him. She couldn’t even explain it to herself, but Akira was really the center of her universe. Everything about him just made her happy. Even thinking about him made a subconscious smile creep across her face. The train had arrived and Makoto managed to find a seat. She yawned, rubbing her eyes as the train departed, making its way to Yongen-Jaya.

Makoto yawned again as her head bobbled. Her eyelids began to get heavy as she leaned back and drifted off to sleep. She began dreaming about coming home to her luxury apartment. Makoto could immediately smell her favorite dish being made. Blue back fish. She was dressed in a suit, with a badge attached to her hip. She removed her jacket, putting it on the coat rack. “I’m home!” she called out. She made her way to her kitchen, loosening her tie. “Hey, how was work?” Akira was cutting up the fish, preparing it for her. “It was great! We took down a syndicate today.”

“Wow, that is great. They should’ve known not to cross Commissioner Kurusu.”

Makoto chuckled and blushed. She still wasn’t used to the name.

“And how was business today?”

Akira looked over at the coffee pot, which was now boiling. He put his cutting knife down and went to pour his wife a cup of coffee.

“A bit hectic. People just can’t get enough of the new curry dish!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Makoto inhaled sharply, taking in the smell of the fish & coffee. “I don’t blame them, you’re such a great cook!” Akira smiled and said “YONGEN-JAYA. THIS IS YONGEN-JAYA.”

Makoto’s eyes shot open, looking straight at the train door, which had swung open. She jumped out of her seat and ran out, the door closing on the tip of her bag. She yanked it out, the door opening again and closing quickly. She panted. That was a jolt of energy she wasn’t expecting. She made her way to the alleyway, taking in the familiar sights. She had grown accustomed to Yongen since she started dating Akira. It was a quaint neighborhood, small and humble. A perfect place for such a wonderful cafe. She walked through the door, the bell attached ringing behind her.

“Sis…!” Makoto gasped. Both her big sister and her boyfriend were sitting together at a table. She walked over to the two of them, Akira moving over to make room for her. She smiled and sat down next to him. “Secret’s out, huh?”, she said, trying to keep her cool. She never really publicized her relationship, she was a private kinda girl. But seeing both Sae and Akira together, she just assumed the worst. Sae gave a knowing chuckle.

“I’ve known for a while. For a pair of Phantom Thieves, you’re not very good at covering your tracks.” Makoto blushed and looked away. “But now that you’re here, we can talk about that.” Sae’s eyes narrowed, looking over at Akira. He swallowed nervously.

Sae folded her arms and held that stern look. Makoto knew immediately that was her sister’s ‘interrogation face’. “What are your intentions with my sister?” Makoto put her hand on Akira’s knee. She could see that Akira immediately felt less tense thanks to her touch.

“They’re pure, I promise. I...I’m in love with her.”

“Can you provide for her?”

“I have 10 million yen.”

Sae’s eyes widened, her stern look wavering. “W-what?”

“I have 10 million yen.”

“O-Oh...I see..”

Makoto was watching this exchange in awe. Nobody could ever get Sis that flustered, not even in the courtroom! After all this time, he always found new ways to surprise her.

“I feel like after our...previous encounter that I have a good grasp on your morals. I know you’re a good person, and with this, um, financial incentive, I think Makoto would be in good hands dating you. I approve of your relationship.” Akira let out a sigh of relief. “But if you manage to hurt her in any way…”, Sae growled, slamming the table. “Let’s just say I’m proficient in kickboxing.” Akira gulped nervously.

“You don’t have to threaten him, sis!” Makoto cried out. “Akira’s a really smart guy. I think he understands.” Sae sat back down, satisfied with the results. “Well then. What do you say you treat us to a meal?”

“Y-yeah, okay.” Akira mumbled, still feeling a bit flustered Makoto got up so he could attend to the back area, making sure to make the finest plate of curry he could. That woman knew how to put fear into a man’s heart. Makoto looked away from Akira and back to her sister. Sae’s expression relaxed now that she wasn’t in interrogation mode. “How did your entrance exams go? Was there anything that may have stumped you?”

“Not at all! I’m feeling more confident about my results. I went over every subject and every question.”

“I’d expect nothing less from you. When should you learn about the results?”

“In a few days. I’ll get an email telling me my placement.”

“That’s definitely worth celebrating. With your high score, you’ll be able to go to a top school in Tokyo, and land a high paying positi-”

“Yeah, about that…” Makoto interrupted, rubbing the back of her head nervously. She wasn’t looking forward to bringing this up with her, but now felt like as good a time as any to bring it up.

“Hm?”

“I was talking with Akira and…” the words got lodged in her throat. “I, uh…”

“She’s looking to move in with me once I go back to the suburbs, and wants to go school outside of Tokyo.” Akira said, putting the pots on the burner and turning on the gas.

“What?!” Sae wasn’t expecting to be thrown for so many loops tonight. “But you just started dating! You shouldn’t be moving in together so suddenly!” Makoto cleared her throat. That push from Akira helped her speak again.

“We’ve been dating since last August. A-and now that I’ve graduated high school, I don’t have anything tying me to Tokyo any longer. And with me gone, it’ll ease the financial burden you’ve had. Sis, there’s always Tohoku! Or Nagoya! I just…” Makoto looked down. “That month without him hurt a lot. And...I don’t wanna be without Akira anymore.”

Sae looked over at Akira, who was busy preparing Leblanc’s signature curry dish, and back to Makoto. She put her hands on the chin, elbows on the table. She didn’t want to see Makoto go...but she wasn’t just her little sister anymore. She was a woman who needed to do more than live in her shadow. And she was right, money would be less tight if she was only supporting herself...Sae sighed. I wonder what dad would do if faced with this, she thought.

She leaned back, her expression softening. “Makoto.” Makoto looked up immediately. “I could not be more proud of the woman you’ve become. You’re strong, compassionate, unyielding, with a need to always do what’s right. And you’re right. You should go and live your own life. It won’t be the same without you around the apartment, I’ll admit.” she said with a smirk. Makoto’s eyes welled up with joy. “S-sis!!” she went over to the other side of the booth and hugged her sister tight, squeezing her. “Thank you so much! You’re the best…” Sae managed to dislodge her arm from Makoto’s absurdly strong grip to pat her on the head. As much as she’d matured and grown up, Makoto would always be her little sister.

“I, uh, hate to interrupt this heartwarming moment, but the food’s ready.” Akira chuckled, sprinkling the spices onto the 3 dishes. He served the girls first. “The curry for you, madame~”, he said, winking at Makoto. Makoto’s smile never left her face.  “And for you, miss.” Sae kept her arms folded, but she did smile at Akira. “Well, if your cooking tastes as good as it smells, I shouldn’t worry about Makoto going hungry.” she chuckled to herself. Makoto scooted over to make room for her boyfriend, who came back with his own dish. The two of them watched Sae, as she took a spoonful of the curry and rice. She put the spoon in her mouth and involuntarily moaned. “Mmm…!!” Akira felt himself ease up for what felt like the millionth time that night. “This is delicious! This may be even better than Sakura’s curry.”

The three of them continued eating, the only noise being heard was the clanking of the spoons against the plate, and the moans coming from Sae. There wasn’t a moment when her mouth wasn’t full of Akira’s delicious curry. Once she was finished, she pushed the plate aside and let out a sigh of satisfaction, her hands on her stomach. “How was it?” Akira asked, already knowing the answer. Sae smirked. “Are you sure I can’t come with you two?” Makoto chuckled, finishing her own plate of curry. This was even better than she could’ve possibly anticipated. Her sis and her boyfriend were getting along great. And she even said it was okay to move in with him! The future she’d been planning for may have finally started.

The next day, Makoto had packed up all her old textbooks, her clothes, everything she owned. She looked back at her room, now only her futon remained. She smiled, thinking back on when she and her sister got that thing. It was only supposed to be temporary until they were able to afford something better for her. Makoto then felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to miss you, Makoto.” Makoto turned around to look at her sister. “You can stop by anytime you like! I’ll give you the address!”

“I promise to do that. There’s no way I’m gonna spend the holidays without you.”

Makoto smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. “I wouldn’t let you anyway.” Makoto hugged her big sister, wiping her tears on Sae’s blouse. Sae gently rubbed her back, fighting back tears herself.

“I love you, Makoto.”

“And I love you, Sis!”

After what felt like an eternity, but not long enough in Makoto’s eyes, she had to let go. The two of them loaded up her newly purchased Citroen H van, and Makoto took off. She sniffled again. It wasn’t a goodbye, she told herself. But she knew she had to get moving, quickly! She wanted to surprise Akira with the van, so she had to get to Shibuya as quick as possible before he went to the train station.

She couldn’t believe her own delinquent behavior. She had run multiple red lights just to make sure she made it on time! She pulled over to the side of the road once she made it to the station, keeping her eyes out for Akira. She saw him instantly. On the corner of the block. She got out of the van and started waving to him, frantically. “H-hey! Akira!!” but he didn’t see her. Damn!, she thought. She had to say something that would get his attention. Thankfully the girl who never fumbled with her words knew the exact thing to say.

“I’ve always loved you, Akira!!”

That’s when he looked over, his face completely red. It was a rare sight to see him blush. Makoto was jumping up and down, waving her arms. She started laughing, her plan working perfectly. He walked over to her, carrying his Shujin bag behind his back, with his rolling suitcase not far behind. “Now you know what it feels like.” she chuckled, his mouth partially agape. “W-when did you get this van? It looks just like Morgana.” His bag started to shake as a familiar head popped out of the bag. “What looks like m-woah! It’s a big grey me! How’d you do that, Makoto?” She leaned against the van, satisfied with herself. “I wanted to get us a car, something special that commemorates a very special time in our lives. And there’s vans out there that looked like the Mona van. So I thought ‘hey, only fitting, right’? And when we get everybody back together, we won’t have to worry about space! I wasn’t gonna let us go on a boring old train anyway.”

“Wow, you’ve really thought this through.”

“O-of course I did. This is really special to me.”

Akira smiled and kissed his girlfriend, holding the kiss for longer than normal. It was Morgana who broke the silence. “Bleh! Are you two gonna be like this for the whole trip?!”

“Keep up that attitude and you’re going right back to Leblanc. Do you wanna have your face pinched by Futaba?” Makoto said, waving her finger at Morgana.

Morgana muttered something incoherent and put his head back into the bag. Akira put his suitcase in the back seat, strapping it in, along with putting his Shujin bag down, unzipping it so Morgana could roam around the van as he pleased. He got into the passenger’s seat next to Makoto as they took off together. Akira took in the sights of Shibuya one final time as they drove away from the city and onto the highway. He leaned back in his seat, smiling. He was looking through the sunroof at the sunny skies above him. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he looked at Makoto, and said “You know, I’m glad that things turned out the way they did. I’m glad you caught us.”

“You are? I hated that time in my life. I hated hanging on the Principal’s every word. Being his...his lapdog!”

“But if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be a Phantom Thief.”

“I suppose…”

“And we wouldn’t be together.”

“Y-yeah.” she smiled. She always prided herself on being the smarter of the two of them, but there were times when Akira’s intelligence even outshined hers.

“My sweet stalker~” Akira teased. He put his hand on Makoto’s thigh, gently rubbing it.

“A-Akira! Please, I’m trying to concentrate on the road!”, she said, blushing.

“What? It was cute having you follow me around like that. And it was even more fun losing you.”

“So you knew I was following you that whole time?!” Akira flashed a sly smirk at Makoto, making her cheeks redden even more.

Morgana hopped into the front seat.

“Oh yeah, he saw you coming from a mile away.”

“Wh-huh?! But I was so clever, hiding in the crowd…”

“The only girl in the crowd that would hold a manga up to her nose and still manage to look over it..”

“Damn. I think I should’ve followed Ryuji instead. He would’ve never figured me out.”

Akira and Morgana laughed.

“I’m glad I learned how to say no to Kobayakawa. To stand up on my own merits. Ann was really nice and helped me a lot when I was just starting out with you guys.”

“What happened?”

“She came to the student council room and apologized for telling me off. And then she wanted to become friends.”

Akira pretended to gasp and put his hand over his mouth “So ‘The secret between girls’ finally comes out!”

Makoto playfully punched his arm. “Oh, shut up.” she giggled. Morgana ran across Makoto’s lap and looked out the window. “So this is the suburbs...it’s so pretty!” Akira looked out her window. Things were looking familiar, almost nostalgic. He was getting close to home. “Take this exit, right here.” Makoto pulled off the highway, Morgana trotting his way back to his seat. She looked over at Akira, who was looking out the window, smiling.

“So I haven’t asked before, but what was your home life like?” Akira didn’t break contact with the window, but his smile faded. “Things were rough for a really long time. My dad, he lost his job when I was a kid, and he didn’t take it well. He started drinking, hard. And kept gambling a lot of our money away. There was a long time where I wasn’t sure if I was gonna have anything to eat. Debt was piling up, and that’s when my mom divorced him. He didn’t leave without a fight, though. And he always made his fights with her public. He did love me, for what it’s worth.”

Makoto pulled over to the side of the road, unbuckled her seatbelt, and hugged Akira. She had never seen him so upset.

“Heh, thanks.” Akira wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Things are much better now that everything’s over. I think you’ll like my mom.”

“I hope she likes me.”

“What’s not to like?” Akira smirked. There’s that cocky guy I fell in love with, Makoto thought. She got back into the driver’s seat and got back on the road.

Akira gave Makoto directions until they pulled into an average sized home, sandwiched between other average sized homes. “So this is where you live?” Makoto asked. Akira nodded in response. “I’m home.” He got out of the van and opened up the sliding door, getting his bags in first. Morgana hopped back into the Shujin bag. “You need to remember to act like a cat, okay Morgana?” Makoto said. “Yeah yeah, be really cute and meow a lot, I understand! It’s not like she knows what I’m saying anyway…” He kept his head out as the bag was zippered around him.

Akira slid the door aside and walked through, taking his shoes off. “Hello? I-I’m home…” Akira called out. Makoto followed behind him, taking her shoes off as well. “Akira-kun?” a voice responded. A woman peeked out, her greying hair looking strikingly similar to Akira’s. She walked fourth, hugging her son. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re back! You look like a changed man. So handsome! And who is this lovely young lady?” she said, motioning over to Makoto. “This is Makoto Niijima. She’s my girlfriend.” Makoto bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, Ms. Kurusu.”

“Such manners!” she smiled, admiring Makoto’s respect. “And what about this little guy?” she noticed the cat peeking out of Akira’s bag.

“Oh, this is Morgana. He followed me home one day. He’s a good kitty.” Akira’s mother petted him as Morgana meowed and purred. He was pulling off the cat act pretty well.

“It sounds like you’ve had quite the eventful year, Akira-kun. You must be starved! Let’s sit down and you can tell me everything over lunch.”

“In a second, mom. I have to help Makoto with her things.”

“Her things?”

“Oh yeah, she’s moving in with me.”

“Goodness! It’ll be nice to have so many people again!”

Makoto had already left and come back with 2 boxes, stacked on top of one another. “Just bring those upstairs. That entire part is my room.” Makoto nodded as she went up the stairs. She walked up the stairs to see a dusty room, but it was definitely Akira’s. It felt like a more personal version of his attic bedroom. The bed even looked like his from Leblanc. She smiled as she put the boxes down. This is her new bedroom. Her new life with Akira. It felt good to think about. She then heard him come up the stairs, the remaining boxes in his arms. He grunted. “Aaah, is this okay?” Makoto chuckled as she took one of the boxes off the stack, freeing up his field of vision. “It’s perfect.” she put the box down and kissed his cheek.

After unpacking, the three of them went downstairs as Akira and Makoto told Akira’s mom all about their escapades over the last year, save for a...few details. Mostly the Phantom Thief thing. But she was still captivated by their story. It went well into the evening. It was a lot of information to process, so Akira’s mom had went straight to bed. Makoto washed the dishes as Akira had gotten out the cleaning supplies. They couldn’t exactly sleep in a year’s worth of dust, after all.

Once she washed the dishes and put them away, Makoto was walking up the stairs to their room. She liked the sound of that. Their room. She got to the top of the stairs to see Akira, already changed into his pajamas, lightly dusting his desk. He looked over at her. “What’s got you all smiley?” he smirked. She didn’t even realize she was smiling. She started unboxing her clothes to find her pajamas. A slim black top and white sweatpants. She felt nervous changing in front of her boyfriend, but they were gonna be sharing a bed. Akira kept dusting, replacing the old sheets in the bed with new ones. Makoto changed fully into her pajamas, keeping her bra on. She still wanted to remain a modest in front of him, after all.

“Wow, you look even cuter in pajamas.” Akira chuckled. “Would you stop?” she pushed Akira away, making him fall onto the bed. Akira just laughed as he made his way under the covers. “Care to join me?” he smirked. Makoto was about to say something, and then her phone buzzed. It was the email she’d been waiting for! “M-my results are in!” Akira got over the covers and scrambled up to her. “What’s it say?” Makoto read the email, her eyes started to well up. “I….I made it. I scored within the top .1 percent of all incoming students. I’ve been granted full academic scholarship to any university of my choice..” Akira beamed. “That’s incredible! I knew you could do it.” Makoto put her phone aside and kissed him deeply, her hand holding the back of his head. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She wanted this moment to last for eternity. She didn’t have a single worry in the world. All the nervousness, all the ambivalence was gone. All that was left, was hope. With a full scholarship to anywhere she wanted, and Akira by her side, she knew everything was gonna be okay.

@makotoniijimaweek

[repostvoid]

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Persona 5, Persona Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren Characters: Amamiya Ren (Persona Series), Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro, Takamaki Ann, Sakamoto Ryuji, Kitagawa Yusuke, Sakura Futaba, Okumura Haru, Niijima Makoto, Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Sakura Sojiro, Maruki Takuto Additional Tags: Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Goro Akechi needs a hug, Goro Akechi gets therapy, ...but it’s from Maruki so does it really count?, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Set after 2/2 bad end, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, more like slow dwindle, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Less edgy than the tags make it seem I swear Summary:

On the 2nd of February 2017 Ren Amamiya condemned the world to eternal happiness. He doesn’t regret his decision. Mostly.

Goro Akechi remembers their old reality a blissful week into their new one. He’s decidedly more upset about being trapped by somebody else’s wishes than Ren is. He’s going to do something about it. Probably. When he finds the time.

[makotoniijimaweek]

Schedule & Rules

What’s the schedule?

Sept 16 Day 1: Books Sept 17 Day 2: Sisters Sept 18 Day 3: What if? Sept 19 Day 4: FREE Day (Anything!) Sept 20 Day 5: Crime Sept 21 Day 6: Train Sept 22 Day 7: Throwback Day (Use any prompt from 2017 or 2018! Click the link for the list.)

You may do as many or as few prompts as you like. Late submissions happily accepted!

How do I know if I'm doing the prompt right?

We take a broad interpretation of prompts. If you believe if it fits, have marked it as such and otherwise follow the rules below, it’s probably fine.

We've chosen these prompts because they're broad. For example, “Books” could be literal or could reference the plot of the book you like or something else! “Train” could be physical training or a method of transportation or something else!

We will also retweet/reblog new creations tagged #makotoniijimaweek even if they don’t fit our prompts, with a limit of one per account per day. We understand some media are tougher to associate with a prompt than others. For example, we don’t expect cosplayers to travel great distances for that new photo or create a prompt-specific outfit, though we’ll happily add it to the appropriate prompt Moment if they do!

What types of post are accepted?

Fanfiction, fanart, fanmixes, edits, headcanons, videos, and other content mediums that do not violate the rules (see below) and are not reposts of another person’s work will all be accepted. All submissions should be safe for work, free of hate, and original for the week (not new chapters of ongoing work).

How do you participate?

On Tumblr: You can either post the content on your own blog and we will reblog it here, or you can submit it to us at /submit. If you are posting on your own blog, make sure to mention @makotoniijimaweek in the caption and use #makotoniijimaweek in the tags.

On Twitter: Tweet with the hastag #makotoniijimaweek. We will be following that.

What is the deadline?

There is NO DEADLINE to submit content. All late content will be accepted.

RULES:

This event exists to celebrate Makoto through creating and sharing content about her and supporting content creators. We will not retweet or reblog content that goes against the spirit of this event.

Ships are allowed, however the content should still be Makoto-centric (if it focuses on the ship, it probably is) and not include any NSFW themes.

This is a NSFW-free event. No NSFW posts (involving explicit sex/porn) will be reblogged here or collected in our Twitter Moments.

Any reposts we are mentioned or tagged in will not be reblogged here, and will be reported to the original creator or flagged.

Minor/adult ships of any kind (between a character who is a minor and a character who is an adult) are strictly forbidden from appearing or being implied in the work.

Please don’t make your work a continuation or new chapter of an ongoing story, or part of an ongoing comic. The work cannot be part of something that has been posted prior to the event. You may start a new continuing series however.

Make sure to use the appropriate tags for your content when you post it, including but not limited to death, injury, blood, etc. Please help people find the content they want and avoid the content they don't!

Please keep your posts and content hate-free. This includes but is not limited to hate directed at people, communities, ships, and characters.

The organizers and mods are people too. We reserve the right to avoid handling the content of anyone who harasses our event or our mods.

This content has been adapted from the original Makoto Week (2017) page:

Most of the content of this post has been adapted from the original Makoto Niijima Week from 2017 (no longer online). Our ongoing thanks to the creators and curators for organizing the original event!

[shumakoweek]

Schedule & Rules

What’s the schedule?

Jan 14 Day 1: First / Milestones Jan 15 Day 2: Leaders / Power Couple Jan 16 Day 3: Distance Jan 17 Day 4: Protect / Heal Jan 18 Day 5: Nerves / Jealousy Jan 19 Day 6: Double Date / Date Night Jan 20 Day 7: Future / Family / Children

You may do as many or as few prompts as you like. Late submissions happily accepted!

We will also retweet/reblog new creations tagged #shumakoweek even if they don’t fit our prompts, with a limit of one per account per day. We understand some media are tougher to associate with a prompt than others. For example, we don’t expect cosplayers to travel great distances for that new photo or create a prompt-specific outfit, though we’ll happily add it to the appropriate prompt Moment if they do!

What types of post are accepted?

Fanfiction, fanart, fanmixes, edits, headcanons, videos, and other content mediums that do not violate the rules (see below) and are not reposts of another person’s work will all be accepted. All submissions should free of hate and original for the week (not new chapters of ongoing work or other pre-existing work). We do accept NSFW material but ONLY if the post linking to it is safe for work.

How do you participate?

On Tumblr: You can either post the content on your own blog and we will reblog it here, or you can submit it to us at /submit. If you are posting on your own blog, make sure to mention @shumakoweek in the caption and use #shumakoweek in the tags.

On Twitter: Tweet with the hastag #shumakoweek. We will be following that.

What is the deadline?

There is NO DEADLINE to submit content. All late content will be accepted.

I want to do something but I’m not a creator!

1. You can become one! Go for it!

2. You can also participate by supporting the creators! Have you ever left a comment? Maybe it’s time to give it a try! If you have before, maybe set a new goal for yourself: Comment once a day! Comment on every piece you consume! Challenge yourself!

Note on posting times:

Our team spans many time zones but work and life still happens. Please bear with us if we don’t retweet/reblog immediately. If your post doesn’t violate any of the rules and still hasn’t been retweeted/reblogged, please send an ask in! We may have missed it.

NSFW make take us longer to retweet/reblog because we have fewer people reviewing them for rule compliance and of course they can't review them from work :)

RULES:

NSFW (involving sex/porn) materials is accepted but ONLY if the post linking to it: (i) Is completely safe for work, no explicit previews even on hover, (ii) the link is clearly marked as NSFW, (iii) the post is acceptable on the platform on which it is submitted and (iv) does not involve photographs/videos of real humans. Basically anyone should be able to read our blog safely at work.

While we love a lot of ships over here at @shumakoweek, we want to keep this week focused on ShuMako only, so we won't be reblogging OT3s and other poly pairings that include the characters.

Any reposts we are mentioned or tagged in will not be reblogged here, and will be reported to the original creator or flagged.

Minor/adult ships of any kind (between a character over 18 and a character under 18) are strictly forbidden from appearing or being implied in the work.

Submissions should be new for the event. You can get started before the event begins, but their first posting should be for ShuMako Week, even if late.

Please don’t make your work a continuation or new chapter of an ongoing story, or part of an ongoing comic. The work cannot be part of something that has been posted prior to the event.

Make sure to use the appropriate tags for your content when you post it, including but not limited to death, injury, blood, etc.

Please keep your content hate-free, this includes hate targeted at other characters or ships.

The mods of @shumakoweek are people too. We reserve the right to avoid handling the content of anyone who harasses our mods.

This content has been adapted from the original Makoto Week page:

Most of the content of this post has been adapted from the original Makoto Niijima Week from 2017. Our ongoing thanks to the creators and curators for organizing the original event!

[makotoniijimaweek2018]

Schedule & Rules

What’s the schedule?

The schedule of prompts is as follows:

Sept 17 Day 1: Buchimaru Sept 18 Day 2: Broadening Horizons Sept 19 Day 3: Sports / Motorsports / Martial Arts Sept 20 Day 4: Fears Sept 21 Day 5: Resolve Sept 22 Day 6: Future / Careers Sept 23 Day 7: Travel Sept 24 Bonus Day: Crossover

You may do as many or as few prompts as you like. Late submissions happily accepted!

What types of post are accepted?

Fanfiction, fanart, fanmixes, edits, headcanons, videos, and other content mediums that do not violate the rules (see below) and are not reposts of another person’s work will all be accepted. All submissions should be safe for work, free of hate, and original for the week (not new chapters of ongoing work).

How do you participate?

You can either post the content on your own blog and we will reblog it here, or you can submit it to us at /submit. If you are posting on your own blog, make sure to mention @makotoniijimaweek2018 in the caption! If your post doesn’t violate any of the rules and still hasn’t been reblogged, please send an ask in! We may have missed it.

What is the deadline?

There is NO DEADLINE to submit content. All late content will be accepted.

RULES:

This is a NSFW-free event! No NSFW posts (involving explicit sex/porn) will be reblogged to this blog.

Ships are allowed, however the content should still be Makoto-centric and not include any NSFW themes.

Any reposts we are mentioned or tagged in will not be reblogged here, and will be reported to the original creator or flagged.

Minor/adult ships of any kind (between a character over 18 and a character under 18) are strictly forbidden from appearing or being implied in the work.

Please don’t make your work a continuation or new chapter of an ongoing story, or part of an ongoing comic. The work cannot be part of something that has been posted prior to the event.

Make sure to use the appropriate tags for your content when you post it, including but not limited to death, injury, blood, etc.

Please keep your content ship and character hate-free.

This content has been adapted from the original Makoto Week page:

Most of the content of this post has been adapted from the original Makoto Niijima Week from 2017. Our ongoing thanks to the creators and curators for organizing the original event!

[dynamite-derek]

My personal top-10 games of 2017

With 2017 slowly fading, it feels like my favorite games of the year are locked firmly in place. 2017 was a strong year and while it was hard compiling a list of my favorite games, I also feel pretty good about my list. That said, there are some games that I didn’t get around to playing that I feel had a good chance of making my list if I had gotten around to them. They are: Nioh, Resident Evil VII, Trails in the Sky 3 and Golf Story. After I finish Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I think I wanna tackle RE VII. Alas. Only so much time in the day. So, let’s get started.

10-) Splatoon 2 - Not the most original sequel ever made, but I had a lot of fun with it. Splatoon 2 carries a lot of what made the first one so great over to the Switch. There are some new features - including new weapons and a wave-based mode where a squad of human players takes on AI called Salmon Run - but it’s mostly more of the same. Given that this is only the second Splatoon I can look past that. I had a lot of fun with it and am happy that people who couldn’t experience the original on the Wii U can fool around with it now.

9-) Tekken 7 - I have a lot of love for the Tekken series. I remember renting and playing Tekken 3 for hours. I once wrote a way-too-long column about how Tekken 5 was like a love letter to fans. 7 was just a really solid new addition to the franchise. The character customization was super deep and allowed for very unique feeling takes on familiar fighters. It also has both Akuma and Geese, which is the closest we’ll ever get to a Capcom vs. SNK 3 it feels like. 

8-) Sonic Mania - I don’t buy into the belief that there has never been a good 3D Sonic game and I certainly don’t buy into there never being ANY good Sonic games. That said, I will definitely say that the series has had far more spotty entries than good ones. When I first beat it, I think I suggested that it was better than Sonic 3 and Knuckles. That’s insane. A Sonic game in 2017 is at least on par with 3+K, a game many consider to be the best Sonic game ever. And it’s made by fans! If I had to describe my experience with Sonic Mania in one word it’d be: joy. Shame Sonic Forces also came out this year, robbing me of all my blue blur joy.

7-) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - It feels insane to me that Zelda is only ranked at 7, but that’s how strong 2017 was to me personally. Breath of the Wild brought an entirely fresh feeling to the very stale Zelda franchise. Honestly, I hated Skyward Sword. I didn’t have a whole lot of hype for Zelda. If it wasn’t a launch game with the Switch, I might have waited to give it a go. ...Obviously the hype around it would have brought me in eventually. And it was totally different. It brought a world that was fun to explore with mechanics that were fun to tinker and experiment with. For weeks, people would post videos of them doing weird things with the various objects in the game. It’ll be interesting to see what a new Zelda game does. Will it be another big open world? Is this the new face of Zelda? 

6-) Cuphead - Aesthetically one of my favorite looking games ever made. It legitimately looks like a 1920′s era cartoon in motion. The visuals only aid in how great the game plays. It not only has a retro aesthetic, but in the gameplay department it also brings with it a retro-feeling difficulty. You have to memorize boss patterns, look for visual cues and have a quick trigger finger in order to survive. With the difficulty also comes the sheer joy of beating boss that is just dominating the hell out of you. I feel like I struggled for over an hour on this clown boss. I almost feel like I got lucky even beating him. His stupid charlie horses always popped up at inappropriate times. But when I managed to win, it felt like I really accomplished something. My only complaint about it is that I wish there were no run-and-gun levels. I just wanted to not play them and get back to the boss battles. They felt like an after-thought. 

5-) Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - I did not see this game hitting me as hard as it did. I enjoyed the first two Danganronpas and even endured the anime, which served as a conclusion to the storyline that played out in the first two. DRV3 plays much like the first two games, but where it shines is the story. A big twist occurs in the first chapter and the hits just keep coming after that.Then chapter 6 hits and brings with it one of the best plot twists and endings I have ever seen in a video game. I’m not going to spoil the ending in case a person who wants to play DRV3 stumbles across this list somehow, but the last couple hours of the game hits the player hard and makes you think about narrative and story telling in general in a really interesting way. One of my favorite bits towards the end involves real life things about the game, like the logo. It’s just well thought out and compelling. Even if you’ve never played a Danganronpa, play this game. It also introduced my favorite character of the year Kokichi Ouma.

4-) Nier Automata - A sequel to Nier making my personal top-10 list probably isn’t that shocking. What is shocking is that Nier Automata has garnered praise from all over the gaming world and has become something of a surprise hit for Square Enix. There’s a good reason for this. Automata’s visual style, amazing music and depressing story telling help create a compelling world for the player. The story, as everybody is probably aware, is the real star of the show. It makes you ponder about life and humanity in ways rarely touched on in video games. One of the endings to the game, E, is one of the most effective ever. It really speaks to the player. I’m sure I’m not alone in sitting at the decision you need to make and really pondering it. The gameplay is also solid, but honestly a little weak for a Platinum game. Nier Automata feels like a miracle of a game and I’m thrilled that it has taken off as much as it has.

3-) Super Mario Odyssey - This game was just a pure delight. For years, it felt like they just weren’t making Mario games I was terribly interested in. I would never say Mario 3D World was a bad video game, but it just wasn’t what I wanted out of a Mario. It felt like a 2D Mario game in everything but the 3D gameplay. Mario Odyssey brings back the big worlds filled with objects to find seen in 64, Sunshine and Galaxy. The worlds were all really interesting too. I think everybody was excited to see New Donk City (Metro Kingdom), but to actually run around a realistic looking world as Mario really just feels surreal. It’s just great. It’s interesting to think about how Nintendo’s two biggest franchises took two different but equally successful approaches. Zelda completely flipped the script and tried to do something different. Mario refined what made some older Mario games great. Mario felt like a really polished Mario game, and honestly most years that will put it up there as one of the best games of the year.

2-) Yakuza 0 - I had always wanted to try to get into the Yakuza series before this year. The story just seemed too daunting to get into. There’s a lot of it, after all. I decided to give Yakuza 0 a shot because of its nature as the first chronologically in the series. I also saw hilarious screenshots, which helped to further my decision. I was hooked. Yakuza 0 not only tells an amazing story, but it gives you a world with a ton of things to do. There are amazing mini games - I found myself hooked to the Maid Cafe in particular - and a ton of sub stories to experience. You get to meet characters like NOT MICHAEL JACKSON, you can play Outrun, you can become a real estate mogul. Honestly, Yakuza 0 does a better job of creating what feels like a living, breathing city than even a Grand Theft Auto. Also, I just love Goro Majima. This game was so good that I played through Yakuza 1(Kiwami)-5 just to see what would happen to Kiryu and Majima. That’s not an insignificant chunk of playing time. But the world and story weaved by Yakuza 0 was so strong that I knew I wanted to be along for the ride. Play these games. 

1-) Persona 5 - I had to think long and hard about whether Yakuza would top Persona. In the end, I honestly feel both games are among my favorite games ever made. Persona 5 seems like a title that was made specifically for me. It is amazingly slick, has some of the best music I’ve ever heard in a video game (Specifically Rivers in the Desert), and features a cast of characters that I really deeply cared about. I wanted to see more of their lives and I was actually sad when Persona 5 ended because I knew it’d be a while before I saw Makoto Niijima or Yusuke Kitagawa again. There are things I’d like to see Persona 6 work on - it’d be great to see your confidants interact with more people for instance - but Persona 5 was a gripping experience and really spoke to me at times. And honestly, sometimes it’s fun to turn your brain off and just grind against demons in a dungeon. It was a close race, but I knew Persona 5 would be my favorite game of the year before the year started. It’s nice to be right for a change.

That’s all for now. I know this is tl;dr, but I wanted to write out my favorite games somewhere. 

[1-fuyu]

My contribution for Makoto Niijima Week 2017 @makotoniijimaweek

It was mean for Day 3 - friendship but I ran out of time (I don’t have time to draw more in the next few day T __ T ). You can count it as Day 8

Happy Makoto Nijima Week 2017 :D

[ao3feed-p5-boyslove]

by Randomblackberry

On the 2nd of February 2017 Ren Amamiya condemned the world to eternal happiness. He doesn’t regret his decision. Mostly.

Goro Akechi remembers their old reality a blissful week into their new one. He’s decidedly more upset about being trapped by somebody else’s wishes than Ren is. He’s going to do something about it. Probably. When he finds the time.

Words: 1999, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Persona 5, Persona Series

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Amamiya Ren (Persona Series), Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro, Takamaki Ann, Sakamoto Ryuji, Kitagawa Yusuke, Sakura Futaba, Okumura Haru, Niijima Makoto, Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Sakura Sojiro, Maruki Takuto

Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren

Additional Tags: Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Goro Akechi needs a hug, Goro Akechi gets therapy, ...but it’s from Maruki so does it really count?, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Set after 2/2 bad end, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, more like slow dwindle, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Less edgy than the tags make it seem I swear

[ao3feed-akeshu]

Splintered Reality

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/35MPkhB

by Randomblackberry

On the 2nd of February 2017 Ren Amamiya condemned the world to eternal happiness. He doesn’t regret his decision. Mostly.

Goro Akechi remembers their old reality a blissful week into their new one. He’s decidedly more upset about being trapped by somebody else’s wishes than Ren is. He’s going to do something about it. Probably. When he finds the time.

Words: 1999, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Persona 5, Persona Series

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Amamiya Ren (Persona Series), Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro, Takamaki Ann, Sakamoto Ryuji, Kitagawa Yusuke, Sakura Futaba, Okumura Haru, Niijima Makoto, Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Sakura Sojiro, Maruki Takuto

Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren

Additional Tags: Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, Goro Akechi needs a hug, Goro Akechi gets therapy, ...but it’s from Maruki so does it really count?, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Set after 2/2 bad end, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, more like slow dwindle, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Less edgy than the tags make it seem I swear

[recentanimenews]

Atlus USA Rolls Out Full "Persona 5" DLC Schedule

Persona 5 hits PS3 and PS4 in the west next week, which is kind of hard to believe! Nate already posted his review, so now it's time to look ahead to the DLC Atlus has planned for the long-awaited RPG. 

  The full schedule includes a mix of free and paid DLC, from the free Japanese audio track to a ton of costumes, avatars, themes, and more. Check out the list and all the pricing below.  

  DLC

Release Date

Price

Persona 5 Japanese Audio Track

4/4/2017

FREE

Persona 4 Costume & BGM Special Set

4/11/2017

$6.99

Persona 3 Costume & BGM Special Set

4/11/2017

$6.99

Persona 2 Costume & BGM Special Set

4/18/2017

$6.99

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Costume & BGM Special Set

4/18/2017

$6.99

Shin Megami Tensei if... Costume & BGM Special Set

4/18/2017

$6.99

Persona 4: Dancing All Night Costume & BGM Special Set

4/25/2017

$6.99

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Costume & BGM Special Set

4/25/2017

$6.99

Shin Megami Tensei IV Costume & BGM Special Set

4/25/2017

$6.99

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Costume & BGM Special Set

5/2/2017

$6.99

Catherine Costume & BGM Special Set

5/2/2017

$6.99

Orpheus & Orpheus Picaro Set

4/11/2017

$2.99

Izanagi & Izanagi Picaro Set

4/11/2017

$2.99

Thanatos & Thanatos Picaro Set

4/18/2017

$2.99

Magatsu Izanagi & Magatsu Izanagi Picaro Set

4/18/2017

$2.99

Kaguya & Kaguya Picaro Set

4/18/2017

$2.99

Ariadne & Ariadne Picaro Set

4/25/2017

$2.99

Asterius & Asterius Picaro Set

4/25/2017

$2.99

Tsukiyomi & Tsukiyomi Picaro Set

4/25/2017

$2.99

Messiah & Messiah Picaro Set

5/2/2017

$2.99

Persona 5 Healing Item Set

4/4/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Skill Card set

4/4/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Regular Clothes & School Uniforms Set

4/11/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Phantom Thieves Logo Morgana Car Sticker

4/18/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Swimsuit Set

4/25/2017

FREE

Persona 5 New Difficulty Level Challenge

4/4/2017

FREE

Persona 20th Anniversary Logo Morgana Car Sticker

4/18/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Maid & Butler Costume Set

6/6/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Christmas Costume Set

7/11/2017

FREE

Persona 5 Protagonist Special Theme & Avatar Set 

(PS4 only)

4/4/2017

FREE with digital pre-order/$1.99

Persona 5 Ryuji Sakamoto Special Theme & Avatar Set (PS4 only)

4/4/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Morgana Special Theme & Avatar Set 

(PS4 only)

4/4/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Ann Takamaki Special Theme & Avatar Set

(PS4 only)

4/4/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Yusuke Kitagawa Special Theme & Avatar Set

(PS4 only)

4/11/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Makoto Niijima Special Theme & Avatar Set

(PS4 only)

4/11/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Futaba Sakura Special Theme & Avatar Set

(PS4 only)

4/11/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Haru Okumura Special Theme & Avatar Set

(PS4 only)

4/11/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Goro Akechi Special Theme & Avatar Set

(PS4 only)

4/18/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Igor & Attendants Special Theme & Avatar

Set

(PS4 only)

4/18/2017

$1.99

Persona 5 Protagonist Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/4/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Ryuji Sakamoto Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/4/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Morgana Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/4/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Ann Takamaki Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/4/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Yusuke Kitagawa Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/11/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Makoto Niijima Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/11/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Futaba Sakura Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/11/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Haru Okumura Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/11/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Goro Akechi Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/18/2017

$0.99

Persona 5 Igor & Attendants Special Theme

(PS3 only)

4/18/2017

$0.99

  Atlus has more DLC info on the official website. 

  -------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS, every week at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox. 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com