#The Full Moon Paradox - P3 Verse;

[webbedphantom]

"... I'm sorry, she has an arranged WHAT!?!?"

[webbedphantom]

"... I was talking about the franchise-"

To be fair, it's usually called "Like a Dragon." Your western influence is showing by calling it "Yakuza."

"I had literally just mentioned movies, why is that so hard to-??"

"Y'know what? Nevermind."

"Point is, I can your future self in a fight. You minus 10 years of experience ain't got nothing on me."

And it was that fact alone, something he had to remind himself of due to still not fully having accepted the whole time travel thing, that made his bravado real. Present Day Noboru was a challenge, but this guy? A guy who didn't even know all the tricks he had up his sleeve? Piece of cake.

"And for the last time, I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HER!!"

"Even if I was, I'm a time. traveler! I don't belong here!! If I end up going back home, which as soon as I finish what I came here for is what I'm gonna try to do, there goes that relationship!"

"And I'm not the type to woo a girl and leave her in the dust the next day! I'm a gentleman, not some jock trying to wrack up a body count-!!"

... You know he's going to misunderstand that-

"I don't shocking care, he can think what he wants!!"

"Oh, I know lots of Yakuza. Most of them have the good sense to be terrified of me though. But I'm on a first name basis with some of the heads." Not something he should just say, really.

"Anyway, I can tell you're strong. If you know me in the future, then I'm probably even stronger. Which means that I would be able to fight you without holding back now, right?"

"I assume that this isn't false bravado that you are putting on in order to impress Mitsuru and win her heart?"

[webbedphantom]

Mitsuru slips into bed next to Akira, arms wrapping around him and lips pressing against his cheek. "I'm sorry I couldn't join you for dinner tonight. My meetings went rather late and I couldn't get home until now. How was your day, mon amour?"

It was rare for him to get into bed before she did. Not that he had much to do, given the nature of... well his life in general, but... old habits die hard.

And on this particular night, after pushing himself through a mountain of paperwork and projects that were meant to be sorted through over the next month (he finished it in about a week because he has that much free time these days), he had gotten into bed, leaving the light on for her as he laid down and read some old comics on his phone.

... Or new comics, he supposed, but they were old to him-

"I figured as much." He said with a hint of mirth in his tone, something that was ever present around her. "I just hope you got something to eat eventually."

He turned around to face her, setting his phone down on his leg as he kissed her cheek, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "It was alright. Finished all my "homework" and things are running smoothly at the office. It won't be long before we'll have something to show to the board."

It was kind of exciting to finally have something to show off after all this time, and he was eager to prove himself to her company, to prove he and his team were worth all the money and freedom they'd been given, and that it wasn't just because he was engaged to their boss.

But none of that mattered right now... because she was here, in his arms, curled up next to him in their bed. In other words, he was in his personal little heaven... and he wanted to savor it.

"What about you, Princess? Those meetings aren't boring you to death, are they?"

[webbedphantom]

Eras in Error

[ @caramialunaestelle continued from here ]

"Your father..."

Oh... shit.

Her Dad hadn't died yet. Maybe he could stop it from happening-? But could he?? He didn't know how he died, only that he did. And that's not even considering that he was in the past, and who knows what sort of chain reaction saving him could cause-

... then again, he'd already changed the past by being here, so either he was in a new branch or he was always meant to go back here, so-

'GOD, time travel is so confusing!'

"It's... complicated. My dad did experiments with spider venom and Metaverse-whosamawhatzits to create a serum that was supposed to allow people to connect with their Personas harmlessly, as a sorta mental health treatment. But it was never finished because it was super deadly, and uhhh-"

And he died... A few months ago if he remembered correctly. It was a little jarring thinking about it now, but around this time he was just a kid, sulking around his aunt's house, moving from day to day like a zombie, wondering if there was anything he could've done to save them.

'... and yet the answer is still no...'

"A-anyways, I snuck into his lab last year got bit by one of the spiders, knocked over some of the serum onto me, and gave myself super powers. So it was... somewhat forced? But more like an accident-"

"The costume is a sort of cognitive defense system, if that makes sense. It protects my identity, helps me resist most forms of mind control, keeps my heart from being distorted by other cognitive beings- basically, just keeps anything from letting me stay me."

"Could be a serum thing, could be a situational thing, I'm not really sure. All I know is I, and everyone else who's been exposed to the serum and lived, gets one when they get their powers. Plus it looks cool as hell, so I'm not complaining."

He didn't think he needed to hide any of the details. He knows he can trust her. He just... wanted to hold off on the whole "time traveler" thing until he'd gotten her trust... and figured out how to even broach the subject without sound insane-

"Okay, my turn... What's up with that... swamp gas tower making the sky all green? Why were you all running around in there like you owned the place??"

"And why in the shock is there an extra hour of the day that replaces everybody with coffins??"

[webbedphantom]

It was strange to repeat the same day over and over, never moving on to the next like a never-ending nightmare. But it must have been even more strange for Aaron, with it being his birthday after all. Mitsuru hesitated before gently knocking on his dorm room door.

"May I come in?" She asked. "I know we celebrated your birthday... yesterday? Yet... I'd like to spend a little time alone with you again in celebration."

When she was allowed entrance she took a seat next to him on his bed. "Happy Birthday... Again."

[Aaron's Birthday 2025 - Accepting for the next week]

This was definitely his worst birthday by far.

He was stuck nearly 10 years in the past, his old friends not even knowing he exists, his new friends about to split up, and while he'd still have Mitsuru (just about the only thing he had now), today was always going to be a bittersweet celebration.

... and that wasn't even getting into the timeloop shit. He was so sick of time travel at this point, and a part of him couldn't help but feel responsible for their current situation. After all, was it really a coincidence that this just happened to occur while a man out of time was living in the dorm? He didn't think so.

He'd been sitting alone in his room for the past few hours, lying on his bed with his legs dangling off the side as he stared at the ceiling, contemplating all of this. All of these revelations, all of these recent events, recent losses, and how much of it was his fault. He'd come back in time to save Minato, only for him die anyway... had he failed in his mission? Was that why time had stopped on today of all days?

Was he sent here all for nothing?

It took him a moment to even realize she'd knocked on the door, so lost in thought about... all of this.

"... yeah-" he said finally, moving to sit up so he could look at her when she entered. "-of course you can."

He gave her a half hearted smile as she opened the door. She usually brought so much joy to him that he'd never had to try to smile, but today... today was just too much to really handle.

"I appreciate it..." He replied in a quiet monotone, staring down at the floor like it would somehow give him the answers he was looking for. "I did wish we'd gotten to spend a bit more time together before, but... there isn't much to celebrate today... nor will there be the next day, or the day after that."

His hands tensed at his sides, lightly gripping the sheets beneath them. How could he possibly celebrate when he'd potentially caused the nightmare they were trapped in?

After a moment he let out a soft sigh, moving to lean his head against her shoulder.

"Though I suppose we could look at this as playing catchup. A few more loops, and you'll have been to as many of my birthdays as I've actually had... or... the other guy had, I guess-"

[webbedphantom]

For anyone reading that most recent thread who has no idea what that's referring to, it's following up from this Drabble here

Alternately check out the posts in the verse tags below to get more context and even more confused.

It'll all make sense eventually, I promise.

[webbedphantom]

So, since I've been doing some stuff with it recently, I think it's time I gave a vague summary of my new Persona 3 verse. And yes, it does involve time travel.

Some Persona 3 Spoilers ahead, so it's going under the thing

Basically, at some point my AU has its own Infinity War moment, where Aaron's team has to team up with all the previous Persona casts (with a big focus on the P3 cast for reasons that'll be obvious in a sec) to stop Thanos and his Black Order from using the... cognitive mcguffins I haven't fully developed yet, to free Nix from the seal to finish what she started.

They manage to stop Thanos by the skin of their teeth and even manage to free Minato/Kotone (both are canon to this AU, but I haven't decided on which one got sealed yet), but one of his Order, Proxima Midnight, uses the last mcguffin to travel back to 2009 to kill Kotone/Minato to prevent Nix from ever being sealed.

Obviously, they can't allow that. So, everyone works together with the Velvet Room to send Aaron through the Sea of Souls after Proxima to save the timeline. And it's only Aaron, because... reasons I haven't fully settled on yet-

There's a little more to it than that, mainly a big twist saved for the end, but I wanna leave it a surprise for anyone else who wants to write in it. Once that twist has been revealed, I'll make a part two to this explaining everything else I got in mind.

[webbedphantom]

... Yeah, no he's not buying this.

"No, I don't think you did. I'm honestly not sure if you even thought about the fact that you should have a say, out of some misplaced notion of it being your "duty" to "uphold the traditions" set by more old, stick-filled assholes."

"And I don't say this lightly, but fuck tradition. If anything says that someone shouldn't get a choice, that they have no right to choose, then it needs to go. No matter how old it is."

He let out another groan at her "love isn't a requirement" thing. Of course, he disagreed with that notion, but that was beside the point.

"I'm not even talking about love at this point! I'm talking about whether or not your company is forcing you to marry some selfish asshole you've never even met!!"

"Because, no offense, most rich people are selfish assholes!! I'd know. The future's full of them! And they didn't just come out of nowhere in the last ten years, I'll tell you that much."

He sighed, bracing his forehead with his hand. This was getting them nowhere, and being all riled up wasn't helping.

"Look, if this is what you really want, I won't fight you on it. But as your friend, I want you to do something first-"

He swiftly pulled off his mask, determined eyes focused on hers. There was anger in them, but none of it was directed at her. Instead, she'd mostly find... concern.

"I want you to look me dead in the eyes and tell me that you know, for certain, that whoever this guy is will treat you right. That he isn't just going to steal your family's company out from under you once the honeymoon's over."

"Because if you can't, then you clearly haven't thought through this enough. And as someone who's already had to save a friend from their abusive arranged fiance, I can't just stand by and watch you go through the exact same fucking thing because you trusted a bunch of morons in suits over your own damn heart."

"Are you finished? Do you think I do not want this? Do you think I had no say in the matter?"

She hadn't. But she knew her duty as the heiress to the Kirijo Group and she was willing to go along with everything her father and his council asked of her. Including this. Sure, she made the decision to fight with her Persona herself, but this was also her decision. In her mind, this was for the better of the company.

"If my father and mother could make an arranged marriage work, then so can I. I don't believe love is a requirement to make a partnership work. So long as both are aware of their roles and perform them well, then again, I see no issue."

[webbedphantom]

He groaned... Loudly.

"... That's not how sex works-"

"Also, you watch WAY too many crappy horror movies. At least watch something decent like Yakuza or Cake Knight-"

... Cake Knight hasn't come out yet.

'... oh yeah-'

Best to change the subject before the elephant in the room derails this conversation even further.

"Buddy, you have no idea how many bones I've broken over the last year and a half."

"So how about you just drop it before we find out how brittle you are, huh?"

"What- you- that- No!!"

Good Lord, how was he THIS much more clueless in the past?? And the to think the present day Noboru's lack of common sense could get on his nerves-

"There's no child, We're not in love, You're not killing anybody, and I swear to God if you ask another question about it, I'mthrowingyourassthroughthewall!!!"

[webbedphantom]

"You don't see the-???"

He lets out an exaggerated groan, rubbing his temples like he was nursing a headache. How in the hell does she not see an issue with this???

He takes a breath, attempting to keep his tone calm and collected. To him it was like she'd just said murder was perfectly legal and that morals were made up.

"The issue is... you're not a piece of meat to be traded over to the farmers down the road for a share of their harvest like this is shocking medieval times."

"You're a living, breathing, sentient human being, who last I checked, had a right to decide what she was going to do with her life, and not just marry some rich dumbass because of bunch of old men in suits with sticks shoved so far up their asses they don't even feel them anymore, don't believe a woman can run a business by herself."

... He is trying really hard not be rude here, but he has some strong feelings on this subject... and a heavy bias against old business men in suits-

"I mean for God's sake, do you even know this guy?? What's his name? Favorite color?? Does he have any hobbies?? Does he know how to cook?? Is he a gentleman?? Does he have any friends that aren't being paid to like him???"

"Can he even shocking dress himself, or does his butler do that for him!? These are kind of important questions to know when it comes to the man you're likely going to be forced to spend the rest of your life with, Mitsuru!!"

"... I'm sorry, she has an arranged WHAT!?!?"

[webbedphantom]

"What- you- that- No!!"

Good Lord, how was he THIS much more clueless in the past?? And to think the present day Noboru's lack of common sense could get on his nerves-

"There's no child, We're not in love, You're not killing anybody, and I swear to God if you ask another question about it, I'mthrowingyourassthroughthewall!!!"

"You will not kill him. He is an ally."