#Nanako Yuu

[racequeenparadise]

Roa Ezaki, Hanaoi Miyu, Mizakura Arisu, Nanako Aizawa, Tsujimon Anera, Midori Imai, Yuri Ikenaga, Ayumi Hara, Hiromi Hikichi and Yuu, Veleno & Garage Booth, Tokyo Auto Salon 2024

[whalesforhands]

the first-years of jujutsu high! (satosugu x reader)

warnings: yuuji just doesn’t understand how relationship dynamics work, fluff, mistaken cheating, teacher! geto and gojo (+haibara)

Itadori Yuuji thinks that he fares quite well with his classmates despite being the new kid within the Jujutsu High campus. He thinks himself someone easy to get along with; and quite the sociable person.

But what does he think of his own classmates?

He thinks Nanako treats him quite well. Boisterous, loud, girly and quite the chatty trend follower. Someone that Kugisaki had clicked with almost immediately.

“That’s what you call style? You gotta be kidding me, Yuu-kun.” Her eyes squint as she stands next to Nobara, the train doors closing behind him as he faces equally unimpressed gazes, their arms crossed over their chests as matching charms on their bags jingle with every movement. “No wonder Nobara-chan thinks you need to go shopping.” He feels arms hook around one of his as he’s dragged forth; the glittering of the streetwear shops suddenly all too much. “Let’s get you that city-boy charm!”

“What’s wrong with the way I dress?!”

He thinks her twin is a little… Odd. Unsettling, a little scary, quiet… But nice. Almost similar to Fushiguro.

“Itadori Yuuji! I hope to get along with you!” A bright grin and polite hand stuck out for a handshake! The shine of his smile and the friendly demeanour of a highschool boy!

He watches as she squeezes the stitch-filled plush closer to her body, stroking its head as blank brown eyes look him up and down, a slightly ominous aura emanating off of her as he feels a certain chill up his spine.

(That’s just the wind… Right? It’s uncharacteristically chilly in here all of a sudden…)

“I… See.” She finally takes his hand as the head of her doll lolls perfectly to the side to meet his surreptitious gaze, causing him to gulp nervously as he feels tingles spidering up his back.. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance…”

Of course, he loves the teachers here! Someone would’ve have needed the coldest, most treacherous of hearts to hate them!

“Haibara-sensei, you’re so cool!” Excited rambling as he laid on the ground, bruises littering his body and watching with glittering eyes as said teacher grins victoriously down at him. “I thought I had you cornered when I was about to kick, but then you grabbed my leg and it went WHOOSH! BAAAAM!”

“Ahaha! Well, train up and eat rice daily! And soon you’ll be just as strong, Itadori-kun!” A resounding laughter from his chest as hands are placed upon his hips, turning his body to face the rest of the groaning first-years. “Lesson 3! Expect the unexpected, even when you think you have the upperhand!”

“Fuck! There’s a crack in my nail…!”

“Take the nail repair kit in my room later, Nobara-chan…” Nanako is absolutely exhausted with her back against an equally fatigued Mimiko groaning in pain. “I can’t believe he took all of us on when we surprised him like that…” A shiver up her spine at the memory of getting humbled so quick…

“Shut up, all of you…” Megumi fares no better as he grits his teeth, hands on his knees as he finally gets back on his feet. “As if a beat-down isn’t bad enough already…”

“Don’t be so rude, Gumi…” Mimiko’s pained moans reach the annoyed boy’s ears as he waves her off.

“I still can’t believe Fushiguro lets you call him Gumi.”

“There, there kids! Enough complaining, time to get yourselves over to Nanami-sensei’s class!”

Itadori Yuuji thinks that his teachers are wonderful people, the best around. But— Something has been weighing heavy on his mind, a trouble that he has issues coming to terms with. He can’t tell Fushiguro, can he? He can’t tell the twins— Or even Kugisaki. A secret that twinges and shrouds him in panic and worry.

“Hmm? Yuuji-kun, you don’t seem to be eating much today.” The happy tilt of your head, the innocent smile on your face as you greet the first-year in the cafeteria.

“Guh!” He nearly chokes on his food in fear when he hears your voice, his heart rate shooting up as his palms clam, fear and guilt flashing in his eyes as he starts to cough.

He feels you start patting his back vigorously with surprising strength. “Yuuji? Yuuji?! Are you okay?!”

How does he tell you, his lovely teacher— That he saw your husband cheating on you with the Geto Suguru?!

“Ehhh? No kaifuku mochi?” There’s a pout on his face, the blindfold sliding down to stare at the man.

He’s never seen Gojo-sensei so… Needy with someone else other than you before.

“I’m sorry, Satoru. They were all out at the store.”An apologetic kiss is planted on Gojo’s cheek to soften the pout on his face. “I’ll get it next time, okay? My spoiled prince.”

“Hmph! I want another kiss to make up for it.”

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no…

He’s seen it before, the matching rings you and Gojo-sensei donned— Shiny circles that glinted every so often when catching against the light. Ah— And with how often the man likes to drop by the class to pick you up. What a lovely gentleman, as expected of someone deserving of you… Had it not been for his serious adultery?!

Oh, how this guilt eats him up every time you smile at him…

——

It all comes crashing down one day. Days of pulling at his hair, pounding at his own chest and nervous biting of his nails all finally comes to an end.

“Itadori.” The classroom is dark, left only with the two as tree branches tap against the windows.

He’s never heard Nobara so serious before, her elbows on her desk and her hands placed together as her eyes glint dangerously, fingers tapping against each other.

“(name)-sensei… Is being two-timed.” She clenches her fists, irate anger coursing through her. Just how dare that slimy, sneaky man cheat on you? Just where did he get that audacity from?!

“Woah, Kugisaki, you noticed too?!” He thought he was doomed, cursed with this knowledge to bear upon his shoulders forever, hands slamming down onto her desk and hopeful eyes finally happy to see a like-minded individual!

“That’s right. And I can’t stand it anymore…”

A knowing look is exchanged between the two as the air tenses, a nod exchanged between them as their throats tightened, finally unveilingtheir cards.

“Gojo-sensei is cheating on her!”

“Geto-sensei is a cheat!”

Silence.

…

…eh?

“WHAT?! HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THE RING MATCHING WITH GETO-SENSEI’S NECKLACE?”

“HUH?! THAT RING IS MATCHING WITH THE ONE ON GOJO-SENSEI’S FINGER!”

“HAH? GET SERIOUS ALREADY!” Furious irritation as her eye twitches, flashing her teeth at him. “NO WAY THAT OLD MAN CAN GET SOMEONE LIKE (NAME)-SENSEI!”

“GOJO-SENSEI IS HANDSOME AND RICH! HE BUYS US SUSHI ALL TIME!”

“What does sushi have to do with—?!”

The door is slid open. Mimiko.

“…why are you both yelling?”

——

“You shouldn’t be carrying all those papers yourself.” The weight is immediately lifted off of your arms before you can blink, your senses picking up on a familiar; darker energy.

“Suguru, welcome back.” Your head tilts up to face him, the stack of papers being held in one of his arms as his hand is freed to go up to your cheek.

A thumb slowly grazes over your skin as you smile, happy to see your husband back after one of his missions.

“Hmm,” You watch him as his eyes smile down at you, mischief in the quirked up corners of his lips. “Is that all I’m getting?” He was honestly hoping for more. “I risked my life out there, you know?”

“Of course not.” How overdramatic. There’s the slight tiptoe of your feet, and a quick peck to his jaw before you pull away.

“Oooh, exchanging PDA on school grounds? Scandalous!” A burst of cursed energy invades your senses, blinding hot and white.

You feel long arms settle around both you and the long-haired man, pulling you both closer together towards another, sneaky hand settling themselves on your lower back.

“Hello, darlings! Dinner is still on tonight, by the way! At that restaurant Nanako wanted to go to.”

You hear a sigh.

“Isn’t there a need for you to report using your powers on school grounds, Satoru?” A quirk of his brow as he simply lets it happen, feeling the man play and twirl with a strand of his long hair.

“I hope you don’t get in trouble for doing that…” A pat to your head as you hear a scoff.

“Pfft— Me? In trouble? What are they gonna do? Put me in Satoru jail? Anyway—“ You see his lips pucker up as they lean in towards the both of you, with index fingers pointing at the corner of his lips with a rather cute grin on his face.

“My ‘see-you-later Satoru kiss’, please! I got a meeting with Yaga and needa top up on some energy!”

From behind a wall, three faces peek on.

“See?” Mimiko’s stare is deadpan as she watches the jaw of one of her classmates drop impossibly further to the ground as the other just stares confusedly.

“N-no way! Are you sure she isn’t being hypnotized?! Held hostage?!”

“Please do not speak of Geto-sensei that way. The other one, however—“

“Eh? So (name)-sensei, Geto-sensei and Gojo-sensei are all… Together?”

“For the last time, Yuuji-kun… Yes.”

“Uhh… Eh? Sorry, Mimiko— Could you explain it one more time?”

Sigh.

KOFI bonus scenes!

masterlist

[mostlyclairvoyant]

The full video for Adachi's backstory genuinely gives me the chills. The piano at the end with Nanako and Dojima, the subtle realization of Yuu being the opposite of Adachi, a better version.

Girl...

[makoami]

Here's another magical girl analysis post but this time focused on 80s magical girl anime. Some elements I'm looking out for in the "magical girl formula" are: 1. Animal Sidekick, 2. Transformation sequence, 3. main romance subplot, 4 saving the day, 5. Special Attacks, 6. Becomes someone older, 7. Becomes an Idol, 8. Magical powers.

Lalabel 1980

While Lalabel is another magical anime centered around a witch with magic powers there are some things that are different from the magical girl anime of the 60s and 70s. For one, while she can use magic with a wave of a hand, she has a magic wand that she uses as well. I was only able to see 3 episodes but even still I enjoyed this anime a lot. Kind of like Meg-chan she lives with a human family that basically adopt her. She lives with two grandparents and gradually becomes friends with their grandaughter Teko. And of course she has an adorable animal side kick.

Minky Momo 1982

I swear Minky Momo really did start trends for 80s magical girls. Before I go over the magical girl tropes, I need to talk about the theme song. It is so catchy and will get stuck in your head. Like Lalabel, Minky Momo has a magic wand and is trying to fit in with the human world. She is a princess from a magical land called Fenarinarsa and has 3 animal side kicks. With her magic wand she has the ability to transform into an adult woman with any occupation. She also has a transformation sequence. In each episode, she uses her powers to help others/save the day. While I do recommend this anime, the ending is tragic...

Nanako SOS 1983

I was only able to see 3 episodes but regardless it was a pretty unique from the other magical girl anime I've seen. Nanako rather than being a witch or a princess, Nanako is girl who gains superpowers through a science experiment. She is basically "supergirl". She saves the day, can fly, and can grow bigger. What's sad though is that through this experiment she lost her memories. :( Poor Nanako.

Creamy Mami 1983

This was my absolute favorite 80s magical girl anime and I was so sad when I finished the series. All the songs are amazing. The opening, the ending songs, the songs Creamy Mami sings in episodes, the instrumental soundtrack, just beautiful. What makes Creamy Mami unique is that she starts the trend in 80s anime of an average girl that is given the power to transform. It kind of reminds of of Hana no Lun Lun. Two animal sidkicks finds a girl named Yuu and she transforms into a pop idol singer named Creamy Mami. It was Jem and the Holograms before Jem and the Holograms lol. It also starts the trend of having a romance subplot. Yuu has a crush on a boy named Toshio but he has a crush on Creamy Mami, not knowing they're the same person.

Persia the Magic Fairy 1984

Another good magical girl anime with a catchy theme song. It centers around a girl named Persia from Africa. They don't specify where in Africa but reminds me of the areas in Kenya where tourists go on safaris. Anyhow, she moves to Tokyo with an adopted family, two parents and older twin brothers. The same time she goes to Tokyo, she is given magical powers very similar to Minky Momo. She can grow older and have any profession. Her animal sidekicks are a lion named Simba, and three kappas. This is also the same anime with the out of nowhere John Lennon cameo...

Magical Emi 1985

Magical Emi is another really good one. And yes the theme song is good. The animation is amazing. It centers around a girl named Mai who is very clumsy but is given the power to turn into an older girl who is a very good musician and becomes famous. Her sidekick is a talking flying squirrel. There isn't as much of a romantic subplot but she has a crush on a boxer named Shou.

Pastel Yumi 1986

I mentioned Creamy Mami and Minky Momo having a catching theme song but this one takes the cake. Both the ending and opening song are SO GOOD. Yumi is a an average girl who is given magic powers. Instead of transforming into someone older, she is given a wand and whatever she draws can come to life. I was not expecting to love this anime (especially when they did her so dirty at the end of the first episode. :( :( ). However it ended up being my second favorite 80s magical girl anime next to Creamy Mami. Other than that, she follows the trope of being a kind hearted girl who uses her powers to save the day. There's sort of a romantic subplot?? Yumi has a crush on an older guy named Kyouhei and his younger brother Kenta has a crush on Yumi. Kenta and Yumi are the same age though and are a much better fit imo.

Fashion LaLa 1988

Instead of a series, this was movie about a girl who transforms into a fashion model. It's sort of like Creamy Mami, where she can change outfits with magic, there's two animal sidekicks. The soundtrack is really good. Also is it just me or does Lala look kind of like Minako?

I could be just seeing but I swears they have the same hair and eyes.

[unlimitedhearts]

in an effort to combine my two hyperfixations rn, this is the Insomnia Spidey trio's favourite persona games:

Peter loves Persona 3 FES. It's just hard enough that he has to keep notes about how to effectively min max his party. He's not looking up guides, he's building the optimal guides. The man makes Makoto sick on purpose to max his social stats. He's on playthrough 5 bc he refuses to cheat on his girlfriends just to max their social links. The mans has built the guide on how to fill the Persona Compendium. He laughs every time he sees Elizabeth try and go up the down escalator. He stans Akihiko and Mitsuru. He's a little bit of a stealth goth bitch. He has no sense of time management in real life, but you can bet he's got every event planned out in his days in P3 FES. That's not even mentioning the story of a protagonist giving everything he has in service of the people he loves, up to and including his life. No no reason he's mega into that. No reason at all.

Harry Osborn loves Persona 4 Golden like Yuu loves Nanako. This is his baby, that he's nurtured since the day it came out. Sad? Play Persona 4. Happy? Play Persona 4. Anxious? Time for another Persona 4 playthrough! Marie being a melancholic romantic poet speaks to his soul, and you BET he's played this game so many times that he's got the schedule down PAT for maxing out all of his social links the first go around. He keeps saying that every time he plays he finds something new to love about the game, but this is a damn lie, he knows this game front to back to sideways. Marie and Yosuke are his favourite social links.

MJ lives for Persona 2 Innocent Sin + Eternal Punishment. IT'S THE PERFECT YIN AND YANG YOU GUYS. One story leads into another, the story is about futility of high school and how hopeless time feels to the young, and then the oppressive survivalist nature of early adulthood! Min maxing is not her thing, but the mystery that surrounds the story, the characters at the heart of the plot, the idea that capricious gods play with humanity like toys as a part of a bet. All of it speaks to her rebellious nature and anti-authoritarian bent. She also loves that Tatsuya and Maya have the chance to be canonically bisexual. These games harken back to when JRPGs had good story and didn't need schedules to 'min max' your 'friendships.'

BONUS ROUND!!!!

Miles is a fresh face. He's a simple guy with simple needs. Persona 5. He hasn't played P5Royal and he's probably not gonna any time soon. He's played it fully through casually a few times. He loves the characters, he loves the idea of getting back at corruption and hitting the adults that fuck kids over where it hurts. One day he will play Royal and he will get to the second trimester, and it's going to mess him up so bad he's going to gain a hyperfixation. And Peter will see himself in his young protoge all over again, and will ask, "Hey if you want a day-by-day schedule to max out all your confidants and do all the mementos missions I wrote one. I'll send it you." Secretly tho he likes the dancing games the best. These soundtracks hit hard.

[drippingheart]

GETOU SUGURU'S LIFE OF SANITY. . FOR THE MOMENT.

Look at this, a happy ending! Everyone deserves a happy ending . . right?

While the tragic conclusion of the Star Plasma Vessel still occurs, along with the death of Haibara Yuu, Suguru does not get dispatched to the investigate the supposed curses in the small village where Mimiko and Nanako are wrongly persecuted. The fate of the girls could have fallen in the hands of another sorcerer, or the girls could have, more plausibly, met a cruel end.

Despite never being forced to make that tough decision between right and wrong, life or death, the days following the confrontation with Fushiguro Toji, Haibara's death, and the conversation with Tsukumo Yuki's weigh heavily on Suguru's soul. It is an impossibility for him to revert back to his good-natured self and amend his relationship with Gojo Satoru to what it once was but he charges on nonetheless, feeling as though he has no choice in the matter. Further exploring Yuki's work ( and any other related pieces of information encompassing human genetics, phylogenetics, Jujutsu history, Japanese ancestry, etc ) distracts him from his daily gloom.

The studies also interferes with every other aspect of his life, including his free time, which swiftly becomes dominated by vigorous studying like a hermit. Ieri Shoko does notice the change in her friend, however she chalks it up as a symptom of loss and defeat instead of mental health issues worth investigating. With Satoru taking on more missions and rather efficiently, the rest of the school year into graduation goes by fairly . . seamless. No other grievous missions nor earth-shaking events transpire to throw Suguru off his obsessive track.

Until graduation, things pass by in a blur of rinse and repeat — completing missions, dealing with his declining health, studying. Again and again. The true extent of Suguru's relationship with Satoru can be explored through discussion / plotting, but it is likely Suguru has completely dismissed their friendship; if not in words, by actions. Suguru does not any have grand aspirations leading up to graduation. Through his eyes, his future looks bleak, lifeless, and only with a single path paved in front of him.

Taking up the offer of becoming a teacher comes like second nature to him considering he had no other real prospects. In a turn of events, it is the Kyoto division which presents an office letter for a mixed teaching and research position. In order to break away from his strained relationship with Satoru, Suguru accepts the job without hesitation and moves to Kyoto two days following graduation.

Suguru does not think much of Kyoto though he certainly appreciates the change of location and faces. His obsession only escalates in Kyoto where ancient Jujutsu history is emphasized more strongly than in Toyko. It is not all books and melancholy however. Seeing how the new generation of students are suffering just like him causes him to turn his attentions to helping the students, at least those who wished to be helped. His former compassionate and open self makes a return, brought to life by the warmth of his students.

Gakuganji Toshinobu, who never wholly liked Suguru, has enough after four years. The only reason why Suguru was considered for employment and hired was because of his focused, no nonsense nature. Suguru's attempt to bring beneficial changes to the mental health of the student creates a discussion between Kyoto and Tokyo. In the aftermath of such discussions, "everyone felt" it was better for Suguru to work in Tokyo's technical school instead. Feeling rejected and reeling from being torn away from those he bonded inevitably reverses some of the mental and emotional improvements he struggled to achieve over the years.

Upon returning to Tokyo, Suguru takes a very passive and casual approach as if he never left; not once touching the sore spot that was his transfer. Bad memories and sentiments haunt him at Tokyo's Jujutsu Technical school. Although he is not in the depressive slump as he had been as a teenager, he's also not as happy and engaging as he was before the events of the Star Plasma Vessel.

As a teacher, he prioritizes helping the students and only consuming the most powerful curses when assigned on missions; the latter is to save what's left of his sanity and build up his physical health. Things fall into something of a casual lull. Tokyo does not have enough students ( and students to truly bond with ) to completely heal his heart. He stays in sparse communication with Yuki while continuing the bulk of his research on his own, going as deep as uncovering everything and anything on Kamo Noritoshi.

For a moment ( . . spanning over several weeks ), inspired by Noritoshi's experiments, Suguru contemplates conducting his own version of human and curse experimentation despite the overarching vile nature of it all. Before he can actually put any genuine action to thought, he receives news that both of his parents were killed. Local law enforcement classified the death as gruesome animal attack, albeit strange considering the severity of the wounds, while word came down from Yaga Masamichi that the involvement of cursed activity was suspected and a sorcerer had already been dispatched to investigate.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the murder was orchestrated by Kenjaku who, at this point, was attempting to orchestrate Satoru's death by coordinating gradual attacks of the people closest to him. The death of his parents alone wasn't enough to bring a great amount of grief to Suguru's life however; a slight mistake on Kenjaku's part. The fact that a curse was involved brought more ire than the deaths themselves consdering Suguru never had a good relationship with his parents. Although Masamichi insists that Suguru take a break from fighting curses and teaching, hearing news of a similar case in a remote town several days later motivates him to return to the field.

Emotionally on edge — sleep deprived and angry, it made the encounter at the small village all the more impactful. Suguru returns to the village he was nearly dispatched to years ago as a teenager. Instead of finding two abused girls however, he finds that the work of curses are at play . . the work of the curses that became of Mimiko and Nanako. Although warped and not having the perfect ability to communicate, the curses still have the partial resemblance of human children and enough vocalization skills to describe what happened to them all of those years ago.

How they were cast as pariahs. Treated like caged animals. Beaten and then left to starve to death. They, believe they are on the precipice of being killed again, scream their grievances at Suguru. A final showdown yet it isn't. He listens, and it crushes him, far more than the news of his parent's death. Vaguely , he is reminded of his own childhood only if the circumstances had been a little more different, perhaps he would have ended up like them. Despite the desire to slaughter the rest of the villagers, Suguru refrains from doing so and spends several hours communicating with the child curses.

As far as the villagers are concerned, the sorcerer is doing everything standard. He tracks down their remains, at least what few bones are left to find in the woods after they were so carelessly dumped, gives them a burial, and tracks down the remain of their possessions. Believing they were truly cursed, all their clothes and toys had been scorched and buried beneath their family home. Not every item had been burned completely however; the children tied themselves to a burnt fox toy and an unscathed hair tie.

Suguru collected the items with care, explained to the villagers that all was fixed, and left the village with the items and girls in tow to enact his revenge at a later date. The thin thread binding him to both his sorcerer duties any moral obligations snapped. His breaking point reached. As far as his elders were concerned, the curses had been exorcised and all as well in the village. Off campus, Suguru kept the girls safe, spending more time with them than not, as he formulated a way to give the child curses more autonomy . . more power. Naturally, Ryōmen Sukuna's sealed fingers were common knowledge for all Jujutsu aligned sorcerers and their locations easy to pin down.

He makes it his obligation to collect enough sealed digits to make the girls powerful enough to gain full mental comprehension and elevated speech and kill humans in targeted attacks as they please. It is through this search that Suguru encounters the special grade curses bearing full autonomy and eventually Kenjaku makes their presence known.

[nephyrimruby]

yuu & nanako

[sage-nebula]

I finished Persona 4 Golden last night, so like I did with Persona 3 before it, here are my overall thoughts on the game now that it's over. (And yes, I did go through Marie's dungeon, so I did get the full and complete True Ending.)

Overall Score: 6.5/10

The Pros:

— The gameplay was good, which isn't a surprise since it's the improvements in P4 that translated over to P3P. Unlike with P3, I had the option to control my party members on from the get-go, and I also enjoyed how Rise's scans became increasingly more OP the more you completed her social link / leveled her up. It's nice to not have to play a guessing game with enemies to figure out what their weaknesses are. Although all the yellow on the UI hurt my eyes, the menus were still easy to navigate and weren't too busy, something that I unfortunately can't say for the sequel yet. — As far as the murder mystery element goes, they did a good job not making the actual culprit too obvious, while also sprinkling in some red herrings here or there. That's not to say the murder mystery element was handled perfectly (it really wasn't), but they did well not making the real culprit too obvious from the outset, which was one of the flaws that P3 had. (Although, P3 wasn't trying to be a mystery, so there is that to consider.) — The characters that were good were really good. I enjoyed Naoto and Kanji the most, but Yukiko, Rise, and Nanako were also really good characters. Even Chie grew on me, even with Erin Fitzgerald's tendency to hurt my ears with all her screaming. — Being able to work on schoolmate social links outside of school was a huge improvement over P3. I had a very hard time both finishing the SEES social links and also having stuff to do near the end of the game because of how schoolmate social links couldn't be worked on during off days. That not being an issue in P4 was a huge improvement. — At first I didn't like that we were staying with family instead of in a dorm, but the Dojima family really grew on me and I enjoyed their social links. I managed to max both Dojima and Nanako's social links before shit in the fan later in the game, and it made everything have a heavier impact. — It's cool that the party members you don't bring with you can come in as calvary units sometimes. It makes sense that they would, since they're ostensibly all going on the missions with you even though you can only have four party members at a time. — Being able to change costumes without having it affect armor is another improvement over P3. Sometimes I want to look cool without having to sacrifice defense for it, ok. Lemme be fashionable. You can't save the world if you aren't cute etc. — I did enjoy the visual novel style of P3P, but also I liked being able to see the characters actually interact with each other in the real world too (which I knew FES had, so it's not as if that was never a thing for P3; it was just P3P). Maybe someday we can get a version of P3P that fully utilizes the updated hardware it's ported to. — Some of the music was really catchy. — I loved being able to visit Tatsumi Port Island and Gekkoukan High again . . . just like I love how Inaba itself is a place that we visited briefly in P3, and Yukiko is a character we'd met previously when she was in junior high. I LOVE continuity like that, it makes my heart so happy.

The Neutrals:

— My feelings on Marie are really mixed. On the one hand, it's interesting to have a character that is a through-line for the plot; she's the third person that Yuu meets upon arriving in Inaba (because she picks up that paper he dropped and gives it back to him), she's almost constantly in the Velvet Room, and ultimately she's kind of the final boss, in a way. Like she's a part of the final boss. Her theme music is also pretty and some of her interactions were fun.

On the other hand, it's 2023, so tsundere characters aren't really appealing to me at this point in my life and it was aggravating as hell to go into the Velvet Room and have to button mash through another stupid poem when all I wanted to do was fuse some Personas so I could get on with the dungeon. Marie getting upset ten times in a row because I was forced to read her stupid poetry did not endear me to her character. Ultimately I don't hate Marie, but I think that she could have been better implemented, and her shtick of being tsundere hasn't aged very well. — Similarly, Yosuke was really hit or miss. For a lot of the story he worked well as The Leader Who Could Talk since Yuu is basically a silent protagonist. He kept the group focused and on target of solving the mystery, and had a personal stake in it from the get-go given his crush on Saki. But on the other, his homophobia toward Kanji was fucking rank, as was his perversion toward the girls, particularly the scene where he tries to guilt-trip them into changing into the bathing suits he bought them. Ultimately Yosuke is not one of my favorite characters in the game, but I don't hate him, either. There's worse characters in the game that save him from the scrappy heap. — I understand that this is a game series made by a corporation, and so it makes sense that it's not going to go gung-ho against the anti-capitalist message, but it still is disappointing that the very realistic plot of "big box store comes to small town and ruins their small businesses / gentrifies the area" was not only never followed through on, but also had its teeth completely ripped out in the ending scenes where Junes is playing nice with the small businesses by allowing them to set up shop in the building. Again, I understand that this isn't Night in the Woods, the anti-capitalism / anti-gentrification message isn't the point, and so it's not the biggest deal in the world. But it still was a little disappointing. — This game suffers from something a lot of JPRGs suffer from, and that something is The Illusion of Choice. It's something where you're given multiple dialogue options to choose from, but no matter what you choose the end result—sometimes right down to the dialogue—is the same.

Again, this is a standard of the genre; JRPGs by and large don't have multiple endings (or at least not ones that are determined by your response), so The Illusion of Choice is something to expect when picking one up. But still, something that would be fun for Atlus to consider in the future would be something akin to what you see in WRPGs, which is a party member approval system. If I act like a jackass to my party members, they should treat me accordingly. The social links I build (or don't) should have at least a minor effect on the plot (like Dojima's treatment of Yuu after the warning note should differ depending on whether you bonded with him or not). Again, it's not a make-or-break thing, it's expected in the genre, but it still is a little disappointing. — The whole sequence with identifying the target —> asking around for info about the target —> go into a reskinned dungeon to find the target felt very repetitive after a while. As did hearing the "oh noes don't say it!!" re: the "you're not me" scenes, which felt forced at times. This is a minor nitpick, because it wasn't a huge detriment to the game or anything, but it was just a little repetitive is all. — I have complicated feelings on how Naoto's story played out. She's one of my favorite characters in the game, easily. But everything about how her Shadow was presented made it seem as if she was actually a transboy, only for the game to play it as "she's not trans, she just has internalized misogyny." Which, okay . . . but even later in her social link she's saying again that she wishes she could have been born a boy? Only to walk that back again? But she also has no issues with she/her pronouns and dresses more femininely in the epilogue. I don't know. I don't want to misgender her, which is why I use she/her pronouns since that's what she uses in the game after the gender reveal, but it's just a very weird and complicated situation, particularly since it was written with a Japanese audience in mind rather than an American one. I don't know where I stand on it.

The Cons:

— The anti-queer bigotry in this game is . . . immense. From the stereotyped way that Kanji's Shadow behaved, to Yosuke's homophobic treatment of Kanji (right down to lowkey accusing him of being a rapist during the camping trip), to the transphobia surrounding the drag show (both in how everyone reacted to the male characters dressed in drag, to how the male characters acted toward having to do it) . . . it was bad. I've seen some things that say that P4 was progressive for its time in letting Kanji be a main party member, and I can acknowledge that perhaps that's true. But it didn't make it any easier for me, a queer woman, to sit through in 2023. It was super gross and severely lessened my enjoyment of the game. — There's also a lot of fatphobia and . . . uglyphobia? . . . I don't know what to call it. But like, Kubo was creepy looking, and he turns out to be a murderer. Morooka-sensei is a horrible teacher and person, and he was designed with massive buckteeth and bad hair. Hanako is cartoonishly obese and an awful person, and her weight is turned into a joke when she breaks Yosuke's scooter by just sitting on it, and so on and so forth. The game basically holds the idea that, "If you are ugly and/or fat, you're a bad person," which again, is not funny nor good, and I don't think is even a "fair for its day" thing. It's just really distasteful, especially since there are scenes with these characters that you can't avoid. — I really hated a lot of the sexualization when it comes to the female party members. The biggest offender here is Rise's Shadow. The whole strip club thing was bad enough, but you could try to argue that, hey, Kanji's was a bathhouse, so it's fair play. But during the battle against Shadow Rise, when she uses her ultimate attack, her Shadow literally humps the stripper pole and lets out a loud, sexual moan. That's vile. Rise is a sixteen-year-old girl, and even though that was her Shadow instead of her . . . the Shadow is part of her, and the Shadow is meant to be like, sixteen-year-old girl but monster. I understand these games are made with a teenage audience in mind, but it's still super gross and I was disgusted and super uncomfortable by it. — In addition to Shadow Rise, there were multiple strip tease shots of the girls in bathhouses; female characters who were introduced by the camera panning up their legs and over their bodies; many, many, MANY jokes made about Teddie and Yosuke trying to peep on the girls, etc. These "jokes" would also go on for unbearably long at times, be in animated cutscenes, etc. It's not funny. The humor didn't land. I didn't enjoy it.

— Speaking of Teddie! I fucking despise him! I hate literally everything about this stupid fucking bear. I hate his voice. I hate how perverted he is, and how it's played for laughs or played as charming. I fucking despise how often he flirts with / talks about hitting on Nanako (like when he wanted to greet her with a kiss when she came home from the hospital? Nanako is SIX YEARS OLD you filthy fucking creep, stay away from her!!). His scenes are not funny. His character is not cute. "I was a Shadow that somehow gained sentience" isn't a plot thread that was handled in a remotely interesting way, especially with everything else going on; it just felt distracting and pointless, since I hated Teddie so much by that point that the only reason I maxed his social link is because the game gave me no other choice. I was so excited when it looked like he died and so disappointed when he was brought back. I hate him more than I hate the main villains of the game. If I could light his stupid bear costume on fire, I would. Worst character by far, bar none, this is a Teddie Hate Blog. — Speaking of plot lines being handled poorly: while I'm glad that ultimately she didn't die, Nanako being temporarily fridged for the drama is not something that I appreciated or liked, especially since how she came back to life was never explained and made no sense. I mean, she was dead for a while. Her brain was without oxygen for a long time. As someone whose mother died from her brain being without oxygen for too long, it's just not realistic nor possible for Nanako to have come back from that without severe brain damage. I get that there are a lot of unrealistic things in this fantasy game, but still. Made no sense, was done for cheap drama, and ultimately shouldn't have been. Either stick to your guns and actually kill the child, or just don't have that enter the equation at all. — I also feel that there was just too much of a Guide Dang It element to getting to the True Ending. Like I was reasonably suspicious of Adachi by that point in the game, but I still needed to look things up beforehand to know that not following through on the revenge impulse against Namatame was necessary in order to avoid the Bad Ending, and I feel like a lot of players would believe the game telling them "yeah Namatame did it, he confessed to doing it, he's not sorry for doing it" and be tricked into the bad ending therefore. Then there's everything with Marie, and hunting down Izanami . . . I had to look up how to trigger the real ending by going to Junes a second time since there was nothing in the game telling me to do that. Kind of frustrating how missable things like that are, and not the best game design. — I know they couldn't exactly repeat the whole thing with Tartarus and the Dark Hour (or at least they wouldn't be able to without some serious plot explanations of Persona 3 and why what was done at the end of that game was undone or whatever), but I was never able to take the "we went into the TV!!" thing seriously. It sounded stupid from beginning to end. And while I understand wanting to have this game accessible to people who didn't play the third one (like how the third one was accessible without having played the first two) . . . I kept trying to rationalize this "TV world" with Tartarus and the Dark Hour and I was never able to connect the dots to make it seem like cohesive worldbuilding. It's like they took the worldbuilding from the first game and just chucked it out the window. Which would be fine if this was a different universe, but with characters like Yukiko being in it, it's very clearly not. It kept taking me out of the game over and over again and I wish they had built the story of Persona 4 to better mesh with what was set in Persona 3.

— Lastly, I think they tried to cram multiple plots at once into this game, and it just did not work. If the game focused solely on the murder mystery—nothing about Teddie being a Shadow, Marie being a fragment of a goddess, the goddess herself having beef because her ex-husband was a jackass—then they could have really beefed up the murder mystery and made the whole plot feel more cohesive and grounded, even with the lunacy of traveling into another world via TV sets. As it stands though? The goddess plot felt wholly separated from the murder mystery plot, and as a result felt a lot like a "plot twist" that was tacked on at the end just to pad out the game and make it longer. Yes, Edogawa-sensei told us the story of Izanami and Izanagi when we were at Gekkoukan High; but I got rid of Yuu's original persona so early that I forgot his persona was even called Izanami to begin with, so again, it felt out of left field to me. They just tried to do too many things with this game, and as a result ended up making all of them pretty lukewarm. In the end, this game was okay. I will probably never play it again, because I think P3P was much better and I would rather replay that one if I was going to replay a Persona game. But it wasn't completely awful, either.

[tvtruths]

'You deserve some rest.' (from Naoto) - @epitomees

   YUU'S EYES SLUGGISHLY LOOK TOWARDS NAOTO, and in that moment, her facade falls. not entirely--she's not that exhausted of life, of putting up her act--but it was enough to prove their unsaid point. ❛❛       deserve is a strong word, naoto,       ❜❜     she murmurs, a twinge of a bitter smile on her face. ❛❛       but maybe you're right.       ❜❜

   her eyes lower to the ground as she ponders the past . . . it had to have been at least a month. at least a month since nanako, her dearest sister, was hospitalized. the days are muddy now, contrasting the innocent, snow white landscape. it chokes her with every breath.

   she wonders if it was her karma for being a terrible son. being a burden on her parents for simply existing. but it was cruel of fate, of destiny--of whatever god was meddling in their lives to bring her little sister into it. if she screams hard enough, loud enough, would they take pity?        (    probably not.    )

   even though nanako was no longer declared dead, narukami knows better than to say the battle's won. the fog still hung heavy in the air, clouding the truth from even the investigation team's view. she looks up from the wooden floor of the hospital room, her eyes landing on nanako's sleeping body. maybe if she were awake, she'd say the same thing as naoto.

   ❛❛       . . . yeah. yeah, you're right,       ❜❜     the smile became genuine--tired but accepting. she stood up from her seat--ignoring the aches that came from sitting there so long, the pops that came from her unmoved bones--and silently leaves with them, this time without looking back.

[5poundlobster]

☆OCs: Mariko, Nanako, and Aiko

(Doing all three of them together cause they aren't that developed and are triplets)

Name: Mariko Masami (straight black hair), Nanako Masami (blonde one), Aiko Masami (braids) Nickname(s): Mari, Nana, and Ko Age: 20 Birthday: 11/26 Gender: Female (all of them) Sexuality: Bisexual (all of them)

•Appearance Hair color: Black (Mariko & Aiko), Blonde (Nanako, a lot of ppl assume it's dyed, it's not) Eye color: Green Height: 172 cm (5' 7")

•Relationships Parents: Their parents love them and spoil them a lot Siblings: They have an older brother and twin younger brothers; they adore all of their brothers Friends: Mariko and Nanako are super popular; Aiko has a small group of friends Partner(s): Yuu Itoh (Nanako), Vincent Hoshakauji (Mariko), Chika Yoshimura (Aiko)

•4 facts about them: °They're half japanese and Nanoko's natural brown skin comes from her father ° Aiko is apart of Ouran's Black Magic Club °Mariko is the leader of the three (aka she likes bossing the other two around and they let her) °Mariko and Nanako love gyaru fashion while Aiko is more into gothic fashion

[seawitchmimi]

It remains to be one of my biggest HCs that the outfit Geto had on when he found Nanako and Mimiko was worn to Haibara's funeral--Geto never wears well-fitted clothes, always loose and baggy. It's basically a single jacket short of proper funeral attire, which he could have taken off to be less "overtly" formally dressed on the mission. He went on that mission so quickly after Yuu's death it makes sense.

Thinking about how Geto stopped wearing his uniform after Haibara's death.

[artibun]

Round 2~Nanako Yuu vs. Senshi Yasashii!

@taiyuu-high-oct

         Her family was expecting good results from Yuu at the hero school, no matter how good she was, her father and sister would keep having higher expectations, especially her father, his expectations were a bit too high, at least her sister wasn’t as stern as him. Yuu was very grateful that her mother’s only expectations was that she was passing all tests and doing well, instead of expecting Yuu to be perfect. Well, she had to satisfy the rest of her family too, she needed to win every exercise. She knew she couldn’t do that, but she’d try.  

         Gladly, Yuu was confident this round. She had to find and grab an orb in the middle of a field that looked like a city, and pass the limits holding it. She needed speed and a clear view of the place. She had that covered, for sure! Not only she could fly, but she could do it fast. She was going to compete with Senshi Yasashii for the orb, their field was overlapping with Takakutou Shakou on Yuu’s side and Fujinuma Ozen on Senshi’s. It was Yuu’s chance to prove she was worthy! She got this! Yuu knew her opponent was quirkless, but she also knew she shouldn’t underestimate them.

         Currently, she was getting ready to fly as soon as everything began. Then it was announced the start of the round. Yuu immediately set flight as fast as she could and went up very high. Then, she started flying towards the middle of the field, as the students knew it was in the area. First, she started searching at the top of rooftops; it didn’t take much time as that was the easiest part to see. Then, she settled for searching the ground, still flying to get a better view, and she was faster that way.

         It took some time, but she decided it was inside a building. She was going to try and look through the windows instead of entering each building first, until she saw Senshi jumping through rooftops and looking through windows. She had to be faster, win this, Yuu. So Nanako decided to ignore them and keep looking, as they weren’t giving her trouble yet. She wasn’t going to attack them without a reason, she couldn’t possibly try to hurt someone because she simply saw them. So the butterfly continued her flying, moving her head to look at windows on both her sides, though she had to move along with her head, as the buildings weren’t that close. The downs of the possibility of having orbs inside buildings was the fact that she had to check every window of every apartment of every floor.

         Then, she spotted Yasashii on a rooftop again, they noticed her and started going faster, they were running in their goal’s direction… To make sure Senshi was doing what she thought they were doing, she decided to, flying in their direction, search for any signs of the orb. They were running as fast as they could, but Yuu wasn’t too far behind. Then, she saw it. There was something on their pocket that wasn’t there before, something big enough to be the orb. ‘Alright, this time you have a reason, it’s okay.’ She thought before speeding up and tackling the opponent. They rolled and almost fell off the building, but Yuu, holding on to them flew back to the middle of the rooftop they almost fell from.

         Senshi looked a little nervous, they were probably trying not to be seen, well, now she has to get the orb and- they were running again. It seems they didn’t notice that when Yuu tackled them, the orb fell from their pocket right before they almost fell, and it was the orb’s turn to fall, only to be caught by Yuu when it had just started falling. ‘Huh, lucky me I guess.’ Then, she started fastly flying towards her goal. 

---------------------------------------------------------

         Senshi noticed she hadn’t chased after them and looked back, only to see Yuu flying in the opposite direction while holding something. Then, they checked their pocket. ‘Oh no.’ And started heading in her direction, she was too fast when flying, but they shouldn’t lose hope.

---------------------------------------------------------

         Almost there! Yuu decided to quickly look around, and noticed Takakutou running and looking very pissed. ‘Maybe she needs help? No, she has the radio, she can just ask for it.’ Realizing Yuu had stopped flying when she started to look at the girl, she quickly looked back only to see Senshi almost catching up. So she went back to flying, fast, get to the goal and win this. She could feel them right behind her, they took hold of one of her hands- too late. She was exactly where she needed to be to end all of this. “Eeeeeee I won!” She exclaimed. “Oh, but you were super good too!” She decided to add. She got a ‘thanks, you were very good too!’ or something like that as a reply, she was a little excited so she didn’t pay too much attention.

       A teacher came to tell them the round had ended. Well, at least for these two.

[incorrect-taitwo]

Rika: I am 80% awesome 20% water and 100% beauty

Yuu: that’s 200%

Rika: I’m twice the woman you’ll ever be

[cor-are-they-stars]

Second ArtFight attack!

@artibun, you've been HAD!

[drippingheart]

Wistful. Bitter. Resentful. Yearning. Like a child of two incapable of handling the rush of things that was human emotions, Getō Suguru, despite being a strong and capable of a leader, sat in the middle of a several balls of unraveled emotions. Which was which? Which was justified? A madness cracked his skull in the aftermath of watching a child being shot in front of him, losing a friend, and then witnessing the abuse of two his children. For the sake of his status and the happiness of his children, Suguru did not allow himself to spiral nor did he thrash against the mess that was the unraveled emotions, splayed about like knotted yarn.

In pressing times where emotions wished to burst free with the violence of a rabid beast, he picked at the strings and carefully folded everything into an outwardly composed pile. Suguru said it was passion, and it was, yes, but there was an uglier truth beneath. Haibara Yuu, Amanai Riko, himself, and countless others should not have suffered to begin with, so the fact there were still children used as weapons and others cast aside like pariahs, deemed curse users, irked him to no end. Only Jujutsu elders and those dogs who continued to remain on their leash deserved to be on the end of the onyx haired sorcerer's rage, thus he bit his tongue and sentiment remained . . wistful.

He was equal parts thankful and appalled with the shift in emotions. Rage a dying ember, squashed beneath a tide of sorrow. It was very familiar, very trusting. Yes, Suguru expected as much from someone he was essentially trusting with his family's life, yet he knew one did not have to unfold their entire lives to be considered one of the fold. Like glass about to shatter, the sorcerer handled the precious item with the utmost care. Only Mimiko and Nanako witnessed the true tenderness their father was capable of.

Then there were those such as Miguel or Suga Manami who witnessed, often from afar, how a smile fit Suguru's face as naturally as the sun breaking across the sky each morning. Someone @strywoven this new was exceptional in this experience, to witness the proud peacocking of shoulders deflate with an anguish he did not readily display. As a father, he could only imagine. Hated to imagine. He studied the image with keen and polite eye as she described it as if Suguru himself was attempting to recall someone from his past. Was the other woman a friend? A partner? He never had such a thing, never would, but losing loved ones was not foreign by any means.

How could she stand as she did now? If anything happened to his daughters, he would scorch the entire Earth and die to join his daughters in the after life. People handled trauma and grief in different ways after all . . look at Goj— Skewed ivory hairs and ignorant, boyish smile were shoved into the depths of his mind. Suguru schools his expression despite the muscle's desire to jump eyebrows towards the top of his forehead. A wife, ah. A human. As much as he loathed the vile cockroaches, he had enough sense not to besmirch the woman's memory and Verona's loss. In his mind, he gave both of the deceased voices.

Pictured their laughter. Shared embraces. Simply pulling from what he had with Mimiko and Nanako. He handed over the memorabilia when appropriate and could not . . would not allow his gaze to settle on that of his daughters; it would hurt too much if his imagination turned more vivid. Sugilite eyes were focused on Verona's face and solely her face. Thoughts were vocalized.

── ❛ How do you . . deal with the grief? How do you continue without them? ❜

Her sins? . . What would those be then?

cont'd. // @drippingheart

ONE DAY , he says ⸺ The words ( which might be mistaken for a promise ) inspire in the devourer a s m i l e , an affirming hum.  It is only a meager solace , but one she graciously accepts ( her soul , too , is quelled by the prospect ; imagine , a world where even the condemned might know salvation ) .  ❝ Such a day cannot come soon enough , ❞ The reply is not bitter so much as wistful , her humor m e l a n c h o l i c .  ❝ Glad I am to provide a hand to serve the purpose , at least. ❞  And she means that.

His question feels warranted , the slightest of pries into the woman newly welcomed into the cause.  It is not lost on her that t h i s appears to be a commonality they share ( & one she does not often find footing with amongst others very often , either ) ; she has seen it , he understands what it is like to LOVE & CHERISH a child.  Thus his prompting about own daughter is , despite her secrecies , a w e l c o m e one ; it provides a push in the RIGHT & PROPER DIRECTION , setting the foundation for what might well be a stronger connection going forward ( with any luck ) .

Her hand dips into the fold of her waistcoat , within an inner-pocket , to procure her wallet , and then a set of pictures carded together.  Holding them , h e s i t a t i n g , Verona at last makes the offer , handing them to Suguru so he can see for himself ( there are several , unsurprisingly ; memories tucked together of three people – verona , her wife & her daughter – frozen in moments of laughter & bliss ) .  After watching him sift through the images she steps closer , leaning in to tap her clawed digit to one of them – a photo of a spritely little thing , all frazzled hair and beaming grin with missing tooth , currently holding up a poorly made ceramic monster ever so proudly – and speaks , voice hush and bittersweet , ❝ We named her Ravona.  And she was so … ❞ The thought trails , her eyes drifting over the photos , distant and detached , fading off into a place bygone before eventually continuing , ❝ … P e r f e c t .  Sweet and spirited , and a natural talent.  You know , she would always i n s i s t I use my illusions for her to play pretend.  She was so fascinated by how it worked , always asking questions , always eager to learn and understand and …— ❞

Her voice audibly BREAKS .  Verona gathers herself , shaking her head and taking a breath before pointing to another image in the fold , this of a refined and demure woman perched by the window with a mysterious little smile as she tilts her head back to regard the camera.  ❝ — And this gorgeous woman was my wife , Lenore.  You would have hated her , she was human.  She had cursed energy but no grasp on how to control nor utilize it , neither would her family allow the education for it.  I remember them DESPISING ME ; which only made our runaway marriage that much more thrilling in the end.  It was her idea that we settle and have a child at all. ❞

It falls quiet for several long measures.

❝ … They … They were KILLED .  Taken from me due to my own sins.  I live with that grief and remorse , the image of their bodies , every day I survive them. ❞

[persona-incorrect]

Chie: If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it's venomous.

Yosuke: What if it bites me and it dies?

Chie: That means you’re poisonous.

Rise: What if it bites itself and I die?

Yu: That's voodoo.

Kanji: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Naoto: That's correlation.

Yukiko: Are you sure it's not causation?

Yu: What if we bite each other and neither of us die?

Nanako: I think that's Kinky.

Chie: Oh my gosh!

Yosuke: What the actual fu-

Rise: Yosuke language!

Yu, majorly unnerved: Sweetie where did you learn that word?

Nanako: I heard someone talking about biting and they used that word. I don't know exactly what it means though. Can you tell me onii-chan?

Yu: But I-

Nanako, with puppy dog eyes: Pleeeease.

Yu: When a living thing is not deadly when biting or being bit it is simply known as kinky. And that's all it means.

Nanako: Oh, okay thank you for explaining it onii-chan.

Nanako: *excuses herself to the bathroom*

Everyone: *gives Yu a look of horror*

Yu: What?

Everyone: *still looking at him with disapproval*

Yu: Give me a break without badass courage and genius knowledge that was the best I could come up with.