#THANKS ASHE THIS GOT WORDY SLDFJS

[ancient-day]

i know we talk about our ships literally all the time but you have the best thots so! your favorite p3 ship and your least favorite p5 ship for your ask game?

Ashe out here asking the Tough Questions, but I'll do my best!

[ Kotone/Shinjiro ]

Ship It

What made you ship it?

Shinji's always been one of my favorite (if not my favorite) P3 characters, so just having the option was pretty predictable for me to get attached, but then the SL itself was just. So sweet? She can go all ten ranks without romancing him, and even if it's obvious he's developing FeelingsTM, they're not the focus. Kotone helps him be the person he wants to be, and he looks out for her and supports her the best he can. It was kinda no question to do the silly "Lovers" rank with those two after maxing out because it just made sense (plus, I love to get my heart crushed by the inevitable tragedy. clearly.).

What are your favorite things about the ship?

The mutual support is a huge reason why I got attached (I think about Shinji's smiling sprite asking her about her day and genuinely enjoying listening to her and asking her to keep going), so that plus the potential. I remember when I played P3P that I turned down every Christmas invitation because in my heart, Kotone went to visit Shinji in the hospital often and would let herself be vulnerable in those moments alone with him, even if he couldn't answer.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Not sure if it's unpopular, but I really don't like when I see them depicted as like... Tragic Man and Manic Pixie Dream Girl or whatever 'cause I definitely don't see 'em that way. Or if he's always like NO FUN ALLOWED 'cause yeah he's a worrier and would express that she shouldn't go run off and do reckless shit, but I think he'd hate to be controlling, y'know?

P5 is a lil more complicated 'cause I have four ships blocked because I dislike them all for essentially the same reasons, but I'll just talk about one of 'em 'cause it has both that common reason plus other issues.

[ Goro/Sumi ]

Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

Classic clash of headcanon immediately since I hc Goro as gay, but their dynamic/potential does nothing for me in general. Usually I'm not a fan of m/f ships with the whole "grumpy man/sweet girl" dynamic, and I just can't see either of them going for it. Sumi ships for me are rough because I know she's only a year or two under the characters, which ordinarily really wouldn't be an issue at all, but because she spent almost a whole year of her life pretending to be someone else and only very recently returned to herself, she... comes off as much younger than she is. I just don't think they have that kind of chemistry, and I think it'd do more harm to them both than good.

What would have made you like it?

Not really sure there's anything that would've made me like them, but maybe I could understand it more if they had more going for them than "Goro didn't want her to die." (I completely understand shipping things based on potential, so I get it, but for me personally I tend to need some real Stand Out Moments)

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I think they're both great characters who could certainly relate to each other! I really, really love the idea of them being friends, and I think they could easily bond over similar feelings of wishing they were someone else/feelings of inferiority. I wish Royal had given them more time to get to know each other as their real selves in the third semester because it would've greatly benefited them both. If only we got a 3rd semester update scene of the trio at the cafe, now with all masks dropped and able to be more honest with each other, but alas.