#akechi system thoughts

[fragmentedstarlights]

Guy who can contain multitudes...

[yuriandyaoi]

Ykw ykw im just gonna post a rant I made on Discord, Ahem:

Akechi is kind of the embodiment of parts of the thieves that make them, well.. Shitty thieves. Parts of themselves that inconvenience other people, or make them difficult, or otherwise present a reason that they might not be worthy of their power. The version of the thieves who got caught up in their own justice and fame.

And weirdly enough, I feel like Sumire kind of has a similar thing going on, but with parts of themselves they find pitiable. The version of the thieves who seem helpless without Joker to motivate them, children crying out for help.

Longer rant under cut

Akechi is the Ryuji who views everyone with inherent mistrust and hostility, because people who should’ve been good to him have hurt him before. Sumire is the Ryuji who lost a feeling of fulfillment from his sporty hobby after a traumatic event and wants that back more than anything.

Akechi is the Ann with a childish streak, for whom the only reason they didn’t murder their least favorite person in the entire world was out of a desire for him to just suffer far worse than that, who has grand dreams of fame. Sumire is the Ann who is socially awkward and blames herself for every tragic happenstance and who wants to prove herself to everyone.

Akechi is the Yusuke who was used as a pawn by his abusive father and settled into that life because it was just comfortable. Sumire is the Yusuke who wanted that life back more than anything, because things were normal back then.

Akechi is the Makoto who was willing to insinuate Ann was responsible for Shiho’s attempt just to hurt her, who played into a system she knew was cruel because as long as she swam with the current she wouldn’t get hurt. Sumire is the Makoto who so so desperately wishes she was her older sister, who feels she’ll never escape from her shadow.

Akechi is the Futaba who believed her life ended after her mother died, that she’ll never recover from that, she was too far-gone. And Sumire is a Futaba who was told she was right. And her only way out is for Joker to fix her. If not him she’ll take anyone really.

Akechi is the Haru with a sadistic side festering beneath her smiley, soft exterior, thoughts of vengeance brewing against the man who ruined her life. And she just has to keep it down, be a good girl, be polite. Sumire is the Haru who’s learned to stop fighting, because the person she is, is not and will never be good enough. She just falls into the same routine she’s always been in, because what’s the point in trying if she’ll always fail, or if no one will listen.

[moniericreative]

Joker and Neurodivergency: The Very Long ADHD Yappathon

So this is mostly just an excuse to ramble, project, and headcanon.

But the longer I've been working on my Dialogue Compilation Project... The more I've gradually started to notice bits about Joker as a character that hit pretty close to experiences I've also dealt with as someone neurodivergent, specifically someone with inattentive ADHD.

So how about we delve into it?

So as a foreward to describe the explanation process: What exactly is Inattentive ADHD?

Inattentive ADHD is a type of ADHD where children have a hard time paying attention but don’t necessarily exhibit hyperactive behavior.

In simpler terms, it's more of an internal hyperactivity. Like your brain or emotional regulation are constantly unrestrained. For instance: - Your thoughts tend to get scattered - Your short-term memory's spotty (i.e. you may struggle to repeat back something you were just told a few seconds ago) - You tend to dissassociate out of the blue due to a lack of stimulation - Your emotions might go 0-to-100 where it may be "nothing" or "suddenly everything at once" depending on what's going on (especially with external stimulants like crowds or sudden noises) - Etcetera.

And because of that lack of internal structure, it's difficult to: - Maintain habits or time awareness for some folks - Bodily queues like hunger or sleep simply don't register unless in extremes (like a low blood sugar, hunger shakes, or overall sleep deprivation crapiness).

And that's not even getting into the executive dysfunction or auditory processing issues... Hoo boy... 💪🥲

There's a wide variety of symptoms for each individual, nobody's the same. Heck some of these are experiences someone else might not even have, either.

Some of them even overlap with autism as well (and some folks might have both), but out of respect as someone who isn't autistic, I'll personally refrain from discussing about it here to avoid accidental stereotyping (but feel free to add to this with personal anecdotes if you like!). Mostly just going off my own experiences with ADHD.

So how exactly does any of this apply to Joker?

Well, some of the oh-so-fun things about being ADHD is:

- Needing consistent reminders for tasks

- Executive Dysfunction (especially when things go wrong or you feel like crap)

- Being able to Hyperfocus (i.e. "being in the zone" to a degree that you tune everything else out including the time spent on the task).

We know based on the Persona series' time-slot system that typically, Joker will spend hours doing a single task and only that task. There's no multitasking or anything. He is focused solely on whatever he starts doing, be it studying, making tools, training, etcetera.

(There's also smaller moments like the P5 Anime as well, where he'll actually get mildly frustrated with anyone that distracts him from a task he's focusing on. Specifically Akechi when he keeps trying to have a conversation with him while he's concentrating on using a pour-over. Or he's shown getting frustrated by an ever-increasing list of tasks in Mementos Mission:)

That sounds about normal for anyone though, right?

Well, here's the thing.

He usually doesn't stop until Morgana suggests he should.

This is different from previous Persona protagonists like Yu or Makoto/Kotone because they don't have someone like Morgana constantly reminding them that they've done plenty of work, or that they should head to bed. They just do it themselves.

On top of that, while party members (both from P5 itself and prior games) will occasionally remind you to "do [blank] by a certain date," Morgana's the one character that will consistently remind Joker (and you) several times in a single day, ranging from maybe a line or two, to three/four different ones every day the week before the deadline.

The one time Morgana's not present do this?

No afternoon or evening events to work on, Joker's just so damn miserable without his close friend that he holes himself up in Leblanc's Attic and does nothing for two days straight. Not even in said attic, it's standing around missing Morgana or going to sleep. Good 'ol depressed-flavoured executive dysfunction if ever I've felt one. 🥲

And on top of the "reminders" bit... Joker's also the only protag who has handwritten notes about events in the game on top of the Calendar Menu's summary too (courtesy of the notebook Sojiro gives him). Sometimes the date in the menu itself will be blank, but Joker will have these written down anyways:

Which is something that's often super helpful for ADHD folks when recalling our long-term memories (one of our bigger strengths), as specific details like these can help us piece the entire situation back together even if it was months/years ago.

(Good thing too in his case especially, considering the Interrogation Room plan hinged on him remembering everything)

So that's surely it, right?

NOPE.

There's another very important detail about Joker that's gets heavily underlooked:

Now we already know some key bits in regards to this information:

Sojiro absolutely doesn't starve him, and in fact he's not only willing to feed Joker on his way out the door, but he's also willing to teach him how to make Leblanc's food too.

And we also that eventually culminates in Strikers as a beloved game mechanic: Joker's Kitchen, which Joker does entirely of his own volition.

It's probably safe to say that he at least doesn't have a food aversion. I mean come on, he's got endless pockets full of random crap from vending machines, some of which sound absolutely inhumane. Or he's at a clinic guzzling random drugs with reckless abandon like the unhinged weirdo he is.

But with the above context that he has a tendency to lose track of time without Morgana's input, it adds a layer to this line that makes a lot of sense. Between being distracted by a task, and sometimes not having "hunger signals" at all, a lot of us tend to not even realize we've been starving all day. It's usually a state of "normal" nothing until oops it's Sudden Hunger Shakes O'Clock.

Which can also develop into just generally eating small portions of food as well, because again, we tend to "not feel hungry" unless it's extreme, and that can really affect our degree of appetite/intake.

Or in other cases, including my own and probably Joker's too until Strikers, there's a lack of general interest in food as a whole too. It's yet another time management task that you have to remember to do, every few hours, every single day, every single week, every single month, every single year. So you'll probably grab anything just so long as it's filling enough to get you by for the day. (Unless you have food aversion... Godspeed us all in finding filling safe foods that don't suddenly change and make us hurl 🫡💦). It's necessary of course, but there's a tedium to it sometimes regardless of the meal that you really have to fight with just to keep living.

Sumi gag aside, come on. Look at the sheer difference. That bun's smaller than Morgana's head and it's the barest minimum snack you can find anywhere.

"But what about the Big Bang Burger Challenge?" Come on man, we all know he's not doing it for the sake of eating. He's doing it to get smarter and prettier and kinder. The power of processed junk food filled with microplastics and employee tears I guess.

Distractability and focusing on a particular interest.

Obviously we don't go "SQUIRREL" at the drop of a hat like an excitable dog (despite how often people like to use that stereotype). But for some of us, our minds do tend to flitter around a bit in search of something to stimulate our brains.

Kinda like a zoo animal pacing around an enclosure, except it's our squishy brain trapped in a cage of bone and too little dopamine. 🫠

And in the abscence of something to work on or talk about, that can range from zoning out in classes/discussions (which Joker does a lot) to dissociate the boredom away (which ironically most people tend to see as "endless patience," if only they knew...), or looking for things to work on or talk about (which he... also tends to do a lot, depending on how much of the maps you explore).

And in Joker's case specifically, a lot of that tends to end up with him sticking his nose into situations that benefits the specific thing that gives him a purpose/drive (being a Phantom Thief), but are absolutely not normal things a teenager should be getting into.

Like dealing with the Yakuza. Or being the fake boyfriend of a drunk woman. Or paying his homeroom teacher to be a maid for him. Or a homoerotic shoot-out (... well, three separate times actually if you count an arcade game) with another teenage weirdo. Or T-Posing in a church to understand The Passion Of The Christ. Or unholy amounts of burger-eating to raise his "social stats."

He's willing to get into all kinds of mischief if it helps the Phantom Thieves. If it doesn't, then he's not particularly interested in starting anything with someone. More often than not, it takes Morgana mentioning how someone's services or skills "could help the thieves" to get Joker to be interested in them.

Or the person being especially pushy for him to cave in Maruki's case, to which Joker will make the same rationalization instead despite his initial pushback:

He's so dedicated to being a Phantom Thief that it's equal parts inspiring, relatable, hysterical, and sad to watch.

Especially since at the end of almost every single confidant (bar the party members', and Akechi's and Maruki's who both peg him as a thief pretty quickly through happenstance), every single one of them find out he's a Phantom Thief on their own. Because this poor boy is so tunnel-visioned on his role as "Joker" and helping people that he's about as subtle as a steel chair to the face and woefully unaware of it until it's told to him. 🥹

Lastly, NO TOUCHY.

Honestly, probably my favorite underrated bit about Joker that barely gets talked about.

Across the different P5 mediums (well, two as far as I'm aware of), there's at least one on-screen instance in each of Joker being touch-aversed whenever other people invade his personal space. Usually whenever he has physical contact with someone else (like any of the romaceable confidants, or Akechi), he's the one initiating it first.

In the P5 Anime you've got the bathouse scene between him, Ryuji, and Yusuke after Madarame's palace. In it, Ryuji jumps away from the hot water coming out of the faucet and bumps into Joker.

His response directed at Ryuji?

In English: "Please scoot back."

In Japanese (according to subs anyway): "You're making it hotter."

Both of which he says while hunched up with his shoulders to his ears and shooting Ryuji an unhappy expression.

Seriously. That is a "dead-inside and accepting reality" stare if ever I've felt one, choppy animation quality aside.

In P5 Royal meanwhile, you've got Yusuke's third awakening in Third Semester, where Joker says this when he suddenly grips his shoulders:

Both of which are basically the exact same message, just told in different ways.

... And that's not even going into how more often than not, any time we see Joker being touched on-screen by someone else, they're usually restraining or physically abusing him.

Whether you want to chalk that up to trauma from his initial arrest in the Shido Flashback, or as a ND aspect of his, is entirely up to you. Personally I'm leaning more on the latter as he usually only establishes this boundary with people he trusts (whereas he just outright avoids contact altogether around strangers), and he only breaks this boundary himself around specific people he cares about.

So with all that rambling finally done, hopefully this helps others notice some really cool bits of characterization around this loveable goofball. I won't say this a "100% accurate" interpretation of Joker as a character because everyone sees him differently. He is a self-insert after all.

But compared to the previous Persona protags (hell, even Atlus protags in general), Joker's always the one I immediately fall back to as the favorite for some reason. The coat is snazzy, he has a smirk that makes all the ladies and gay detectives weak at the knees, but... I could never really pinpoint the actual why until now.

Whether Atlus intended Joker to be neurodivergent-coded is up in the air, but there's just so many aspects about him beyond the player's control that hit really close to home, and I'm glad that he's such a popular and beloved character for the traits that make him him.

[oceanwithouthermoon]

i think the chapter (250) where kusuo tries to change his timeline so that he doesnt have to tell akechi about his powers and ends up accidentally entering a timeline where hes fucking happy and allowed himself to make genuine connections with his friends is by far the most depressing chapter in the entire manga

he had very limited time before he had to deal with akechi, but i just imagine him sitting curled up at his desk for minutes longer than he shouldve, just staring at nothing because where did he go wrong? how is it possible that there are timelines where he doesnt hate himself? is he jealous of that other him or does he resent him because he knows hes undeserving of the connections the other him apparently allowed himself? both?

i need to know what his relationship with his family is like in that timeline... did something change with them too? or everyone treats him the same but in that timeline he has an actual support system to deal with it? or things are different because he actually stands up for himself and can communicate his needs to his family? FUCKKK.

im not entirely sure of the canonicity of the popularity poll contest chapter (73) but it probably caused a similar mental break, but not nearly as significant because it was WAY before he started truly accepting any love from his friends and family... but yk, it just says a lot about him that ONE traumatic experience changed his entire viewpoint on life but it wasn't anything that happened to HIM, like his brother trying to kill him or his friend betraying him or any of his other near death experiences, NO, it was seeing a dog die. THATS what made him decide to better himself and be kind. so yeah, this chapter prob didnt fuck him up TOO bad but he definitely thought back to it during the akechi chapter...

[myeyesarebiggerthanmybladder]

Introducing myself to the many people of Tumblr!

Hello! Depending on the time zone of whoever is reading this, it could be morning, afternoon, evening or night, so I thought a simple greeting would suffice -- otherwise I would of course have said "good evening". I should also note to myself that not everybody will read this at the same time, so even if time zones were not a problem it could still cause issues to mention a particular time in my introduction. I will try to keep this as concise as possible so as to account for the fact that blocks of text are difficult to read on a screen as well as the unfortunate fact that people's attention spans are decreasing almost by the day. I myself struggle to pay attention to something for a long period of time unless that thing is of particular interest to me, so I understand how necessary it is to keep my words to a minimum. I suppose I should tell you my name here, which as you can see from the title of my blog is Akechi Touma. I won't tell you my age or the name of my school -- disclosing my full name is already a risky decision and revealing anything more would be incredibly careless thing to do! While lurking here I've noticed that many of my real-life acquaintances have chosen to share their location as part of their introduction and I must say that I shake my head whenever I see it. Internet safety is no joke, and revealing too much of your personal information online could have serious consequences! Fortunately I am someone who likes to keep things close to my chest, so I am fairly confident that I will be safe from stalkers or predators or anyone else who may wish to do me harm. Speaking of predators, if you do plan on saying anything lewd or "Not Safe For Work" in my inbox then I must ask that you refrain from interacting. I won't hesitate to block those who break this rule as it is one I take very seriously and I simply do not wish to deal with people like that. I sometimes wonder why these people don't have anything better to do, and how sad their life must be if their primary source of entertainment is making strangers uncomfortable over the internet. It's important to remember that those behind a screen are still real people, and your perverted or unkind words can affect them a great deal. That brings me to my second rule, which is that I kindly ask you to refrain from rude or bullying messages in my inbox. That sort of thing is incredibly unkind and can really bring a person's mood down -- although I do try not to let strangers' words affect me too much and have had plenty of experience with rather unpleasant people which has led me to develop a relatively thick skin. This, like the first rule, will result in an instant block if broken -- though I will devise a personal point system for how rude a message must be before I block the person sending it. Sometimes a person can be rude without intending to -- unfortunately people have told me that I tend to fall into this habit myself -- so I will endeavour to be as tolerant as possible. I don't think there are any more rules I need to mention, though if I think of any more I will be sure to add them!

TL;DR: no nsfw and no bullying! Otherwise, ask whatever you like.

OOC:

Hi it's @billiuspendragon again, this time with the Blorbo himself <3<3<3

To clarify on the rules -- I won't allow anything NSFW beyond the kinds of jokes that are in the canon of Saiki K. Akechi sometimes rambles about inappropriate things himself but I'll use my own common sense to figure out whether asks cross the line or not -- I'm not a minor but many people in this RP community are and I don't want to make them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

I have quite a lot of RP blogs now so we'll see if I can keep this up lmao. I just really wanted to try roleplaying as my guy!

[no-psi-nan]

Both Kusuke and Akechi are obviously blond geniuses but I would argue that Aiura is pretty damn smart as well.

She gets bad grades at school, but we see her asleep during class and know she works a night shift, so that's probably a big part of why she's not doing so well.

Additionally, she just doesn't seem to care much about school, which isn't unusual for a teenager TBH but also could be because she knows through her powers that she doesn't need top grades. "Cs get degrees" remains true, and if she knows she doesn't need to go to a top college, why bother working hard at school?

Anyways, school grades ≠ intelligence and we see that Aiura has mastered her powers the most of all three psychics.

After all, Toritsuka shows that developing his powers takes a lot of effort from him, and Saiki sometimes spontaneously develops new powers but then has to spend a lot of time working out the kinks and developing control over them.

Aiura understands the limitations of her powers and the karma system enough to make money off her powers without getting hit by a truck any more (lol), plus she is not generally plagued by her powers like Toritsuka and Saiki are, except for seeing the occasional death mark she can't do much about.

Whether her powers developed more like Toritsuka's or more like Saiki's, the level of control and utility she has means she must've worked hard on them either way. For example, she figured out that crystal balls help her focus without having to do random rituals, even if decoden-ing the crystal balls and making shit up on the fly may bemore fun. The psychic google maps ability must've also been actively developed, considering that it isn't easy and inherent like her aura vision.

Aiura also has high social intelligence and is pretty successful at making money. While she did get targeted by that gang, who would've thought telling people about their soulmates would've led to gangsters trying to make you find legendary treasure at gunpoint?? Luckily Saiki is paranoid and has heard the thoughts of plenty of gangsters over the years.

Anyways, I don't think Aiura is as dumb a blonde as she might think she is, and therefore none of the Saiki blonds really fit the dumb stereotype*.

*Idr Imu's grades but she's generally a pretty good judge of people and doesn't seem to have trouble at school.

[i-need-a-slurpee]

My best friend and I came up with a stupid little concept for our silly little "akechi lives don't ask how though" persona 5 AU

So you know how middle school and high schoolers use codenames with their best friends to talk about other people in public. Like referring to someone's crush as "pineapple" we were thinking that akira does that but since they already have codenames he just switches everyone's codenames down one in order of who joined. We used a whiteboard to illustrate what kind of shenanigans could ensue

I'm gonna write down everything that was on the board in case it's difficult to understand when looking at the picture

A key to all the symbols

-> are Akechi's thoughts

On its own are things that are said

Codenames: Akira - Violet, Ryuji - Joker, Morgana - Skull, Ann - Mona, Yusuke- Panther, Makoto - Fox, Futaba - Queen, Haru - Oracle, Akechi - Noir, Sumi - Crow. The only people who know and understand the codename switch are Ann, Akira and Ryuji and they use it to gossip

The fun begins when we decided to torture Akechi by having him accidently overhear almost every conversation where these confusing nicknames are used.

Akechi overhears:

Akira: omg Noir is so cute

-> cries and calls Ann

[This is the phone call Akechi has with Ann, which is labeled with 3 on the whiteboard:

Akechi: heyyy Ann so funny story um does Akira like...yknow...like Noir? Haru?

Ann, knowing the truth and thinking this is the funniest thing ever: omg yea girl he totally for real likes Noir

Akechi, wanting to die a lil bit: haha cool thats great thx bye]

"Queen is gonna ask out Crow"

-> gag, ew, distance from Makoto bc omg WHY

"Fox and Oracle are dating"

-> ?? I thought Oracle was a lesbian??

"Shujin is gonna fall apart now that Fox left"

-> he went?? to Kosei?? hello??

Akira: "Skull is so heavy T^T like he decides fo sleep right on my ribs it hurts"

-> ?????

Akira: "so yea I'm gonna ask Noir to go to the jazz club tonight, since it's like, our place, yknow"

-> WHAT THE FUCK.

-> (gets a text from akira to go to the jazz club 2 minutes later)

4. Akechi rants to sumi about it cause he doesn't trust ann anymore

☆ has a detective board with w/ quotes ect.

☆ sumi also tries to help (even more confused than he is)

Ann: violet needs to ask noir out already

Ryuji: I know dude, like I love the guy but, c'mon

-> SUMI'S IN ON IT TOO T^T

Akira does this needlessly complicated name system just to be messy. He doesn't plan on akechi finding out but he keeps it complicated in case any of the others overhear him. He didn't think the possibility of akechi overhearing was very high but Akechi loves to eavesdrop.

[bowsers-keep]

Dubbing the fucking Mitsuru nabs Goro before Shido can AU "Akechi Ops" I have more ideas for it now that it's not bad idea hour.

Ken and Goro are roomates wherever they end up living and Koromaru is their silly dog. Through the investigation team they also add Nanako to they dynamic making this the weirdass justice kids friend group.

Generally SEES is just taking care of Goro communally but Junpei and Chidori have pretty much just laid claim to him as their kid.

Goro is still the Detective Prince but his motivation to become closer to the Phantom Thieves when P5 starts would be to try and get them to join Shadow Ops.

On another note his Detective Prince Metaverse outfit is his main one, sorry no Black Mask. I love it I just can't figure out how it'd work with an Akechi who's more well ajusted with a found family.

Yes Mitsuru did pull strings to get him out of foster system hell. I have no idea who's Akechi's legal guardian in this.

Shadow Ops does in fact deal in Metaverse stuff now with Goro's help as he's a full time member of it.

Akechi definitely meets the P4 Protag at some point and they discover the fact Akechi is also a wildcard. Akechi has obtained: Older Brother and Mentor

Okay well that's all I got for now maybe I'll be back soon with more feel free to use all of this. In my hands it will never be anything more than scattered thoughts and ideas

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I am once again thinking about associated animal symbolism, particularly in regard to Ren being associated with cats, and Akechi with crows, mostly because I love cats and crows in general. What am I saying this is just an excuse to ramble about cats and crows. Read my thoughts boy.

Cats are associated with good luck, fortune and protection, especially in Japan, but also the world over. Black cats are especially good symbols of one's luck turning over, with new prospects for wealth, love, and healing, but superstition makes some people assume the exact opposite - treating them with mistrust due to associations with bad luck, witchcraft, and the devil. Cats have important roles in folklore the world over, and are usually mysterious and adaptable creatures who are often attuned to magic and frequently shapeshifters.

Crows, on the other hand, get a bad rep. They are associated with bad luck and curses, where the call of a crow indicates that someone is going to die soon. Depending on the call, the exact meaning can change, but all crow calls signify some type of impending misfortune or death. However, crows also have strong spiritual connotations and are considered messengers of the gods, and while linked to death, they are also linked to transformation. They have good connotations too, particularly seen as intelligent, resourceful, and protective. Their dual associations can be seen in mythical crows such as the vicious, solitary trickster kotengu, and the wise messenger and guide Yatagarasu.

Moving away from symbolism, on the behavioural side of things, while cats and crows can actually get along, they can also pose serious threats to each other. Cats are frequently irritated by crows that will peck at and annoy them intentionally in order to instigate a reaction (which is kind of hilarious honestly).

Importantly though, and relevant to these two characters, while cats and crows are widely regarded to be solitary, they are actually very social animals.

Cats, while independent, actually do get very lonely without companionship, and seek out affection when denied it. The thing is, they prefer to do this on their own terms - cats need to have the freedom to decide whether or not to initiate contact, and also to leave if they so choose. They're also very family oriented and it's good to adopt cats in pairs so they have a companion to play with (that is, as long as they get along!). They pick up on emotional states well and will often adjust their behaviour to match the emotional valence. While the jury's still out on whether cats experience complex emotions, they absolutely feel things like happiness, sadness, anger and affection, and have a need for stability - quickly uprooting them by moving to a new location can seriously stress out and upset a cat.

Crows are actually highly social, and have a complex communication system where they will chatter, pass along messages, and develop specific alarm calls. They have an excellent memory for the faces of those who have helped or wronged them, will remember this for years, and pass on this information to other crows. They are able to use and make tools, solve puzzles, and appear to have rudimentary understandings of things like simple physics, numbers, abstract reasoning, and future planning. They're family oriented as well, socially monogamous, with young crows often staying with their parents to assist them with food or younger siblings. They will even host "funerals" where they will gather around their dead, which are less about mourning (though this may actually be a part of it) and more about figuring out what killed them. While some crows are solitary, there are usually other crows not far away, and those that aren't part of a group may have been outcast.

Both animals absolutely can survive and do well on their own, but they are fundamentally much happier when they have companionship.

Well, anyways, I'm just talking.

[callmearcturus]

redoing this ask because fuck that poll lmaoooo i have a persona question, IMO persona's romance system can sometimes fail when its clear the devs wanted one character to be the "canon" love interest for the overall story, but added in side romances to please fans (p2 with [spoiler redacted], p3 with aigis, and p4 with rise based on how much time is focused on their dynamic and bond) but i feel like P5 *intended* for Makoto to be the go-to romance option (especially with how she was handled in the anime) but Royal switched it to Akechi. Do you think that Persona should just stick with one romance option, have a small number of options that they develop, or have it be "every npc is an option" type deal. personally i think it depends on the game? but i feel as if P5 would have benefited from only having 5 romance options (Haru, Makoto, Akechi, Hifumi, and maybe Yusuke?)

Hmmmmm.

It's hard to consider this without also thinking about the other dating sim RPGs, i.e. Bioware. What's interesting there is that some of the romances felt intended (Liara in Mass Effect especially) but there were multiple really good options.

What I find interesting is how Persona and Bioware games handle the shared authorship of the characters. There's an entire Game Maker's Toolkit video about how the narrative designers had to design on a tightrope, keeping the cinematic nature of the story rolling but also making the player feel like they had a handle on the direction (even when the latter was mostly imagined).

Okay, here's two weird thoughts:

The wide array of Persona romances are pretty shallow and would benefit from a shift to much fewer romances that are far more fleshed out.

Akechi is so shocking and compelling because the comparative shallowness of the other romances, because he is a subversion of them.

To me, what makes Akechi the far-and-away best 'romance' of Persona 5 Royal is that he's not a romance 'option.' The player has very little agency over how Joker feels about Akechi. If you hit a couple of flags, then Joker is fucked up and in love with Akechi. That's just it. Maruki gives everyone what they want, and what Joker wants is Akechi.

The fact that Joker is a partially player-directed character that autonomously decides to be in love with Akechi is the secret sauce, imo. Ergo, if you improve the romances overall, you lose some of the specialness inherent in Akechi.

I had a LOT of problems with P5R's writing and especially its structure. I would remove Makoto entirely but for pacing issues, not for the strength of her writing. I'd cut a lot of cruft from the game.

I don't know if I would take away the gutpunch of Akechi though. Not for P5R. For other Persona games, 100% yes, I would. Narrow the scope of romances, maybe even stick just to party members so its easier to build a coherent, meaningful narrative with the love interest.

i hope some of that makes sense, i'm a bit sick and meandering today

[the-bar-sinister]

Sinister System terminology, differences in fronting vs shifts

Some people seemed interested in our internal experience, so I've written up a little bit of a guide to help it make sense.

system member: a distinct person/soul who is one of many sharing this body.

kintype: the identity of a soul during a particular lifetime experience.

kin source: the media in which a kin life/kintype is reflected.

kin shift: a particular system member experiencing a greater psychological, emotional, and/or spiritual state where they are embodying a particular kintype in the present moment. A sort of psychological/emotional/spiritual regression to or manifestation of a specific kintype's traits and experiences.

collective shift: when several different system members are experiencing a kin shift to their various personal identities during the same source lifetime.

fronting/taking the front/switching: A particular system member takes control of the body. A fronting member experiences the direct sensory input from the body, has a distinct internal monologue which is 'louder' than the internal thoughts of members who are not fronting, has primary control over the actions and reactions of the body.

Sinister system:

Has roughly 25 distinct system members

Each system member has around 19 kintypes in addition to their overall personal singular identity.

A system member may be experiencing a particular kin shift at any given time. Often multiple system members are in a collective shift.

Let's walk through some abbreviated examples.

Some sinister system members are

😼🔪 (Jas)

🌀😎 (Akechi)

🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri)

Each of these system members shares the same kin sources. They experienced several lifetimes in which they were born and interacted with separate identities in the same world.

Some of their kin sources are: Homestuck, Danganronpa, Resident Evil, and Great Ace Attorney.

That means that each distinct system member has a kintype that aligns with each source.

😼🔪 Jas' kintypes are: Vriska Serket (Homestuck), Toko Fukawa (Danganronpa), Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil) and Yuujin Mikotoba (Great Ace Attorney)

🌀😎 (Akechi)'s kintypes are: Cronus Ampora (Homestuck), Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa), Albert Wesker (Resident Evil), and Kazuma Asogi (Great Ace Attorney)

🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri)'s kintypes are: Dave Strider (Homestuck), Kyoko Kirigiri (Danganronpa), Tyler Howard (Resident Evil), and Barok Van Zieks (Great Ace Attorney).

When 🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri) is fronting, that means that 🔍⚔️ is the person primarily processing data from the body's senses, making decisions, acting using the body, and experiencing a loud inner monologue.

When 🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri) is fronting, 🔍⚔️ is still Dave Strider, Kyoko Kirigiri, Tyler Howard, and Barok Van Zieks all at once, because these are all lives that 🔍⚔️ has experienced. He has access to the emotions and memories relevant to all of his kintypes, and they all motivate him to a greater or lesser degree.

However, if/when 🔍⚔️ is experiencing a particular kin shift, then the experiences, emotions and memories relevant to that particular shift will be dominate over his other experiences while he's experiencing the shift.

So for example, in a Homestuck kin shift 🔍⚔️ will act more like Dave Strider, because his thoughts, memories, emotions and preferences will be more closely aligned with who he was during that time, and the experience of his other lives will still be present, but have less priority over his actions and thoughts. His experience as Dave will have more immediate relevance to whatever he's doing, and will be experienced more heavily and as if it were more current than his other lives.

If the system is in a collective Homestuck shift, then it means that 🔍⚔️is in a Dave shift, 🌀😎 is in a Cronus shift, and 😼🔪 is in a Vriska shift, all at the same time. The lifetime of Homestuck is most immediately relevant to the entire system if we're experiencing a collective Homestuck shift.

However, not everyone is always in a collective shift. There are times where 🔍⚔️ is in a Dave/Homestuck shift, but 😼🔪 is in a Toko/Danganronpa shift, etc.

We are open to answering any questions, clarifying or otherwise that people might have about our experiences.

[wishforged]

welcome to the very long postscript to Steal Ahead, a persona 5 fanfiction, that I doubt very many people will read in full but I have chosen to write anyway for my own self-aggrandizement.

before proceeding, please take note that in the following, I reflect on my writing decisions in some detail. reading these notes may color your perception of the story. if you prefer for the author to be dead, I'd advise stopping here!!

introductory thoughts

this fic is titled after a lyric in the song "Tape Song" by the kills.

pretty self-explanatory, right?

I started writing this fic because... well, that was 5 years ago and since then I've gotten a concussion at least once and my memory is kind of bad in general but I can still confidently say goro akechi is my favorite character in the world. a lot of post-vanilla fans might not completely understand the degree to which goro fans were imbibing copium before all the additional material royal gave us-- goro's story ended very ambiguously, and a lot of things about him and his relationship with Ren were left up to our little fujoshi imaginations to ruminate over and decipher. I couldn't help but want to give him a future in my own way.

I also really wanted to write a SUPER SLOW BURN LONG TERM YEARS-LONG EPIC AKESHU LOVE STORY!!! it ended up being a little different than what I envisioned lol but I think it's still true to my original aspiration, which was to create an intimate, realistic, friends-to-lovers dynamic between the two of them. I hope you enjoyed it...

one of my major influences was In Good Company by weialala. yes, it's a naruto fic, one that I've held dear for many many years. weialala's internal monologue for Sasuke and how she deals with questions about his life, as well as her take on Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, goes beyond Naruto canon in an incredible way that really influenced how I wrote Goro and the slow burn romance in this fic. I highly recommend checking the fic out if you're a naruto fan!! sorry if you're not and this revelation gave you psychic damage.

I outlined this fic pretty heavily, keeping a google doc with a timeline of events spanning the four years over which the story takes place. that didn't stop me from changing things and adding stuff up until the last minute, though. I also struggled to keep the timeline straight a lot because I made the questionable decision to start the fic two years after canon left off and I can be kind of dumb.

a look into my struggles/twisted mind. my outlines tend to be quite rough.

in the rest of this post I talk about several things in the fic, like Goro's disability and mental health, how Ren is portrayed, and the original characters, with some behind-the-scenes thoughts.

"redemption"

when it comes to characters who have Done Stuff Wrong, there is a lot of discourse to be had among fans about how they can Atone for their crimes. these arguments often touch a lot of nerves-- in my opinion, because our contributions to this discourse are influenced by how we think about crime and rehabilitation in the real world.

I live in a country where the carceral system is incredibly brutal and discriminatory, abuse of incarcerated people is routine, and the goal of incarceration is not rehabilitation but the infliction of suffering upon those deemed "criminals" by the state. this has shaped my beliefs about incarceration as a form of punishment. to put it simply, I am not a fan. and in a fictional context, I find the idea that a character in a work of fiction can "do their time" and have all their guilt and sin magically removed to be a cop-out.

this is just me and these are just my own thoughts of course. again, I think questions about crime and rehabilitation in fiction are influenced by our thoughts on these concepts in the real world. for that reason and many others this is quite a personal story that draws on my own personal philosophy in its telling (as half-baked as that philosophy may be bc im not a super genius who has all the answers). whether that is a flaw or a feature is up to you as a reader to decide.

in this fic I wanted to explore how to move forward after you have done something horrible. it was hard, because in this story and perhaps in life, there are no pretty answers and no perfect ways to make up for doing the things Goro did. I settled upon an "answer" that reflects one of my deeply-held beliefs: we do what we must after tragedy, and what we must do is move forward, rely on and be there for those we love, and try to do as much good as we can.

original characters

as stated in the tags of the fic, I wrote in OCs so goro could have actual relationships and friends. I tried to gift each one with their own unique personality and some depth! a lot of the OCs are women, maybe because I find it easier to write women lol. sometimes I feel like a lot of female OCs in fic can lean towards being misogynistic caricatures -- I'm not really blaming writers for this as much as I am blaming Society; fanfic deals in tropes and when you constantly see the trope of the bitchy secretary, the shallow seductress, etc. in the media you consume it becomes second nature to unconsciously replicate it, even if you identify as a woman. this is why IMO as a writer you need to make a conscious effort to do things differently (and read more books) although I'm sure there are a lot of ways I come up short...

one of my favorites is cleo which is funny because she only shows up for a handful of scenes in the last chapter lol, and maybe it's recency bias but I spent so long working on the last chapter she feels like my own child... I feel like her first name doesn't make sense for a Japanese-American person to have but I got attached to it lmao.

I actually do think I gave the Kato family too many problems, what with Kagami's illness and Taku's behavior -- I think I kinda reference this at one point by having Goro wonder what kind of a fucked up Dickensian family this is lol. I have some other self-critical thoughts on how I wrote them but I'll keep that to myself... still love them a lot though. I really enjoy messy but loving sibling relationships in fiction so I had to put one in here too.

(fun fact: like Goro, Taku was going to be Deaf, which is why Kagami comments that Goro is "like my brother" during her first appearance in chapter 1. when I decided to go another direction for Taku's character, I changed this to mean Goro and Taku have eyes that are the same color.)

shout out, also, to Hirakawa, who seems to be something of a fan favorite judging by the comments. she was a blast to write lol and I really love her relationship with Goro.

ren

I consider the Ren in this fic to be my Ultimate™ portrayal of him that is the closest to how I see him as a character. my most popular p5 work is The Next Time Around, an AU fic where Ren is an older adult that I wrote when I was a teenager (more than five years ago) (lol) (😔) and although I do have pride in/affection for that work and the Ren in it, he is a far cry from the way I imagine Ren today. (for one thing his name wasn't ren in that fic. lol)

being a silent protagonist, Ren is a tricky character to get right. I was very active in the p5 fandom space on social media for several years before I basically completely stopped paying attention to it, but like many others, in those early days I absorbed parts of others' portrayals of Ren into my own. I actually think that's quite a lovely thing about silent protagonists-- everyone in a fandom space kind of works to build the character together. yes, sometimes the portrayals that attain the most popularity are flattening or flanderizing, but ultimately, it's kind of fun to build a Frankenprotagonist. until you're writing a fic which prompts you to really sit down and think about what a true-to-canon portrayal looks like and how to make it also true to Yourself and what you really believe the character to be. (it's hard)

in Steal Ahead, Ren is superstitious and avoidant and quite bad at expressing his feelings. he's a charismatic anti-authoritarian, a middle child, and a neat freak with a strong, stubborn sense of justice. he's full of contradictions and flaws, and he's healing in his own way from the events of p5 proper, struggling with returning to a mundane life when for a short, glorious while, he was extraordinary. (hence the shoplifting subplot in chapter 2. fun fact -- that was originally supposed to be smoking but then I decided to change it. I forget why but I'm sure I had a good reason, probably. don't smoke, kids! or shoplift if you think you might get caught. kidding etc)

Ren argues and bickers with Goro quite a bit in this fic which I enjoyed writing. though they share many similarities, they're very different people -- I thought it would be only natural for them to clash sometimes, though they always come back to each other.

this Frankenren is composed of a bunch of headcanons, a lot of which were influenced by/shamelessly stolen from friends. I love him very much. thanks to everyone who helped me build my Ren along the way!

disability

goro has a disability in this fic-- single-sided deafness-- which I included because I felt it was unrealistic for him to have escaped from the engine room with no lasting consequences. I was pretty conscious of portraying it respectfully and realistically so I did my research on the condition. this source was helpful as a personal testimonial from someone who has this condition about how it affects their life.

by the way, goro's hearing aid in this fic is a CROS hearing aid, which is designed specifically for people with single-sided deafness.

one of my favorite moments in the fic is the brief conversation Goro and Ryuji have about their respective disabilities in chapter 2 -- it's short, because I didn't think either of them would really be enthusiastic about opening up to each other at that point lol, but it's nice.

I welcome criticism of how I handled this part of the fic from anyone in the Deaf community -- I'm not perfect and don't have firsthand knowledge.

mental health

obviously goro is not doing great mentally in this fic for many reasons. I have written a lot of goro-centric fics, but this one required really tapping into the headspace of a flawed person who has been traumatized & manipulated and is dealing with immense depression and guilt while recovering. like many (most?) writers I draw from my own past experiences and emotions while writing, which made this a particularly taxing fic to work on, and is definitely one of the reasons it took so long to finish 🥲

other than that I'd say one of the most difficult things was being realistic while avoiding melodrama, and portraying a real story of recovery/imparting positive messages without being too cheesy, which made some of the self-help book sections hard to write.

if you relate to goro's depressive thoughts in this fic, I hope it can be an affirming story for you. I also hope you're taking the time to reach out to people who can support you and practicing self-care.

the ending

I actually don't have a ton to say about the ending because I'd like to leave it up to interpretation. however, I will say that the ending is not the original one I had in mind when I started the fic. I'm not sure how people will react to it (if you've been following this fic maybe you'll just be happy it got an ending at all LOL) but I hope it didn't feel like it came out of nowhere.

concluding thoughts

compared to my other p5 works, this one isn't as popular even though I do consider it my best, which I will admit is disheartening. the release of p5 royal also created a new canon in which this fic does not take place, which I imagine certainly doesn't help. despite this, I got some lovely long, thoughtful comments and even occasionally saw people on social media discussing how they enjoyed this fic despite it being unfinished, which always made me super emotional. trust me, in those 4 years that this fic was lying dormant, each new comment motivated me to crack open the Google doc again and ultimately finish this work. let this be a testament to the power of comments and the ubiquitous egotism of fic writers. or writers in general, actually. thank you so much for your kindness!

if you actually read all of this, thank you again! I do like talking about this fic so feel free to ask questions or give feedback via my ask box, retrospring (linked on twitter) or ao3 comments.

I just ran a word count on this and it's like 2.5k words. good lord. bye

[saitoakirachan-fangirls]

Something that occured to me recently is that there is a pretty obvious understanding that "changing hearts" is considered forceful/violating by other characters in the game. I know the Akechi Goro lovesquad (hi comrades 👋) likes to grapple with the more sinister implications of removing distortions, but the scene that provoked this thought wasn't related to him.

Rather, it's the scene where Sojiro finds out that Futaba's heart was changed by the PTs. I was struck by how angry and suspicious Sojiro was, and how Futaba defended the PTs not by claiming that the method is harmless, but that she consented to it. The implication is that Sojiro thinks the PT did something bad to Futaba aka, dare I say, brainwashing? But it's okay! Because Futaba consented to their methods. Implying that if she didn't, then it would be immoral! (Granted, I'm looking at the English script, so idk how it was written in Japanese. Maybe the vibes are completely different so I'm just yapping about nothing, but. You know.)

Thus, "changing hearts" isn't a good thing because it's an undisputably good method, but rather that the alternative (allowing monsters to continue hurting others) is worse. I would say that it's also a better option for teenagers who don't want to have blood on their hands. It's the lesser of two evils, which wouldn't have needed to happen had the justice system worked properly

[raven]

As someone who plays persona I feel you’re a good person to ask: should I play a persona game

you know a game is a real one when the answer is "if you do, please dont think im stupid for liking it". the first persona game anyone should ever play is persona 5 royal and that game is. well. the best part isnt until 70-90 hours in on average. tries really hard to be a social commentary but fumbles basically every aspect. can barely keep a cohesive character arc for most main characters. "the gameplay is really good though" -karl marx. so like short answer, do you have a hundred hours or so and want an excuse to hate on something's story and politics while also having a good time in the actual gameplay, sure... i feel like i can recommend this to any general person but i feel less confident recommending it to you specifically as i feel you are a woman of taste. but you're also someone who loves the slop at times. and what is this game if not slop. i put the rest under a read more because i said too much. My bad for being loquacious

like storywise i do like it... Mostly. and i do like the characters. and i think akechi is genuinely a great character, well written, well acted, yaoibait, knocked everything out of the park with him. he is what kept me going, but if you dont like characters whose main flaw is that theyre a teenager and therefore stupid, he might not click with you. like yeah, everything he does is poorly thought out... it's consistent. it's in character. and he does it with such swag, too. everything in the game's story seems designed around him, including the phantom thieves themselves. but i dont know whats in it for people who dont like him. not that you'll really get to know him for a good chunk of the game. which is the biggest thing... i could say "keep going, it gets better" but... does it? for everyone? it did for me, but it was made in a lab for me.

the game can understand that violence against women is wrong, but it doesnt understand what violence against women is. it can understand that the current system isnt working, but is too weak to actually take a stance on how to fix it. it's too obsessed with giving the player a power fantasy than to give them any challenges at all, or to make them think for a second. which i like in a game. i like it when games fuck up hard because theres more to discuss. and one of my biggest issues was discussed in the very last part. not necessarily to the depth i would have preferred, but it lets you draw your own conclusions. it also really shocked me at one point near the end there, which really colored my view in a positive way. i had grown complacent. i stopped thinking. i didnt think the game could do anything interesting... and then it did. but that level of shock was only because of my specific proclivities... i dunno. like it's hard to defend.. oh also theres a massive climax that builds up to a twist and reveal which is genuinely one of the worst ive seen a story ever do it, especially with such a strong set up. like genuinely laughable. but once you reach that part you're about 3/4 of the way through so you cant really stop there just have a laugh and know it's almost done.

the gameplay IS good though. like it's not only flashy, it's fun. i think the only issue is that it can be too easy, and the merciless mode is famously easier than hard. but as persona games go, it really is the best. it's just fun! the social sim elements are... well lets just say the majority of character writing in this game is stupid. otherwise, it can be fun to try to balance everything. it's possible to do it all on your first playthrough even if you don't know the perfect strategy, but if you fuck up too much you really wont be able to finish them all.

but heres the thing: metaphor refantazio just came out, which, aside from the time aspect (you have so much time lol) almost improves on persona 5 in every way. it's slightly less misogynistic. the social commentary... well, its fantasy racism, but it's a little more well thought out than p5's. but the main thing is the gameplay. and like, the gameplay in p5 was already good! metaphor is much more balanced for difficulty than p5's, but if you really get a hang of character building you can really take control. the slight differences in battle systems really take it for me. press turn system every day. i adore it. basically you get turns if you hit a weakness but if you miss you lose two turns. same goes for the enemies, so you can really get destroyed, but you can dodge every attack and they wont be able to do shit. but the story is, well, it's okay. there were some really good moments, and i liked it mostly because its kind of.. the least bad anyone could ever do it? it's pretty idealistic but just seemed like, nice in a way that i really cant describe. like, i have my issues with it that i could go into detail, but i still generally liked it. beautiful presentation as well-- and is that not all that matters? give me literally anything with a beautiful cutscene and I'll be tearing up. and the words "election magic" are so potent to me. its also shorter than p5r. but will it stick with me as much? no. would it have caused me to play the rest of the persona games? unsure. have i listened to the soundtrack so often while falling asleep that atlus is my number 5 artist on my spotify wrapped, not because the soundtrack is so calming or because i especially like it, but because i was trying to conjure a character in my dreams? NO. and persona 5 was a resounding yes on all fronts.

in terms of the other persona games, i dont recommend 4 unless you want to feel like, actually bad? i dunno it just put me in a foul mood. it was like radiation emanating from my switch for several weeks. incredibly homophobic with a side of (possibly slightly unintentional) transphobia. as well as some very fatphobic jokes (what game from this time period doesnt, but.. well it's bad every time!) and of course our classic misogyny. all this and the gameplay is worse than every other (new) persona game, and the story is fine. it thinks its twin peaks at the beginning. it is not twin peaks. LMFAO. 3 is better than 4 but theres not really a definitive edition even though it just got remade. each version has its ups and downs. if you look it up and any of it compels you i can give you more info on that one. the aesthetics alone are enough to be compelling , I'll admit. if you like boring and repetitive gameplay this ones for you! Im being serious. the story's pretty good though, and the characters are probably the best in the persona series. 2 (which is a duology, but the gameplay is the same and the second is well, a sequel) is pretty bad gameplay wise that i would only recommend if you're really into the series. i really liked the story but yeah i dunno. eh, it's fun. hard to recommend. 1 is okay. underwhelming. nothing much.

[nshi-ao3]

Out of all of the other Final Fantasy games, which other universes do you think Ren or even the other Phantom Thieves could work in?

Because I’m just imagining Akechi in 16 and just screaming in agony and annoyance at all of the stuff with the crystals, Futaba and Yusuke having to survive in 7 and having a grand ol time in the Sector 7 slums, and Haru and Makoto in 15 and knocking sense into Noctis and the other bois when shit gets fucked

I can’t think where the others would go as I haven’t played a lot of the other titles, but a fun question I thought would maybe be interesting

The first thing that came to mind when I read this was Ann and Ryuji going for a joyride in the Regalia for some reason. They should do that!

Ooh yeah, you're right Futaba's abilities would make her a beast in more sci-fi themed ones like 7. 8 too! It's less prominent in that one but it's there. With Sophia hanging out in the Gardens' computer system haha... And then there's 6 if anyone wants to get steampunk with it. Would Makoto like steampunk? I feel like she might. Haru, how would you like to go with her and chop off an evil clown's head? Going back to 7 again, though... Morgana and Cait Sith! Morgana and Cait Sith!! Akechi raging against the system in 16 is a great mental image too. :P Who would fit in 9? 9's one of my favorites... Y'know, Ren would actually be having a great time with Tantalus! Thievery AND theater! Good for him, good for him. Probably wishing he got isekai'd there right about now lol. I know the rebellion could certainly use a lot of help in 2, but the body count in that one's depressing! Ooh, but Erina from Tactica could probably help shake things up there! :P

Somehow, I feel like 13 fits Sumire's aesthetic best. I don't know, it just feels right. And out of all of the games, I personally feel like 10 has the prettiest and most unique scenery. Yusuke! Go forth and paint! Ride a Shoopuf! I, uh, can't imagine him paying Blitzball though...

Haha, I'm half-asleep right now so I'm probably overlooking some stupidly obvious connections. Feel free to suggest more. :V

[mesmir-ized]

*flipping through cue cards

ponysona…no……..my little persona……..no…………

(elaboratig on cutie marks below BC i thought about them a lot !!! ahhh so long)

(not spoiler free !!!!!!!!!!!!)(corn get outta here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

i wanted to keep these as simple as possible , and not cram too much imagery in to them , so they wouldnt look out of place in the show &c ! fun little challenge i gave myself , just for context :D

akechi: a white pawn chess piece ! my friend actually came up with this ! and its kinda genius ! to paraphrase what she said: white chess pieces move first ; akechi is always the one to (attempt to be) one step ahead of the thieves , having everything lined up for himself to succeed . 

     her words: “akechi sets the first gambit, the tone, and gets to begin laying out the chess board how he sees fit, and joker is the reactionary. but heres the thing. strategists differ on how you should play as black, like if you should automatically be on defense from white's offensive move. but the most famous black player of all time is magnus carlsen, who is WILDLY an offensive player and absolutely goes for it every time, to the point where white has been INTIMIDATED by him and played poorer statistically against him because of it . like thats CRAZY!! hes one of the boldest chess players in existence and he prefers to go SECOND! it was pretty much unheard of before him.”

    plus , (my words now) theres the idea of not only him manipulating others (the pawn) , but he himself becoming a pawn in a plan much grander than him . the p5 wildcards and their games of strategy a nd all !

joker: joker card(+mask !) i was actually trying to come up with something “better” , but the joker card really , really fits him . not only literally being a wildcard in the metaverse/persona sense , but also IRL , how he’s adaptable to every situation ! canon pretty much explains it , LOL ! but again bringing in the theme of classic games of strategy , joker with his joker card !

ryuji: EPIC awesome skull (literally his na,me...) , but i liked it with the idea of delinquency/pirates(YIPPY !) , as well as the lightning not only for power , but symbolizing speed~  hes just cool

ann: lipstick kiss mark ! this one actually came to me really quick , LOL ! it symbolizes her role as a model (makeup !) , but also has to do with how she reclaims her sexuality and looks for herself ! that , as well as her caring nature , especially to the little guys(like a mother’s kiss goodbye on your forehead..)

yusuke: ink brush + swirls !!! funny enough this one took me the longest to come up with . i wanted to avoid giving him a palette , since i wanted to focus on traditional japanese art forms above all else (since thats basically his whole tyhing !) and ended up going with an ink brush ! it’s not exclusively japanese by any means , but its recognizable , and we see him work with ink many times ! the little swirls are meant to be the golden ratio (beauty ?)LOL , but just kinda look like swirls.......maybe shapes found in his art ?

makoto: gavel and books ! also took me a weirdly lomg time to come up with , but i figured it out ! the gavel is obviously meant to represent justice/the justice system , but also wanted it to represent power as well (since makoto can often act like a secondary “boss” LOL , and her role as a leader at school !) . the books are for her intelligence (perhaps legal books) ? yippy !!!!

haru: a coffee cup with a plant growing out of it ! this is a bit on the nose , but i had fun figuring it out ! keeping her goal of opening a cafe (and coming up with new coffee blends throughout the game) in mind , as well as her love for plants and gardening ! the plant is meant to form a sort of heart (which can also look like steam coming fromt he cup).. , to also show her nurturing side !

futaba: computer and medjed eyes !!!!!! also a bit on the nose , LOL ! for this 1 , the computer is obviously tied to her skill as a hacker/her computer-focused life , but the eyes carry a bit more weight ! theyre literally the eyes of the deity medjed , who is known for those two eyes that look directly at you ! we dont see any medjed logo with graphics like this in game IIRC , but i added it for the double(triple?) meaning ! medjed in game carries the weight of being a part of the book of the dead , and connected to futaba’s palace themed around egyptian tombs , but i also felt the eyes could be tied to how she monitors everyone , and interacts with the world through her computer (almost as if shes looking out from it !) yippy !!!!!!!!! :D

sumire: magic wand/gymnastics ribbon ! as explained by my description , LOL , this mark is meant to look both like a magic wand (cinderella/fairy gdmother ...) as well as a gymnastics ribbon ! we see her with these in game , which made my job much easier ! the ribbon forms sort of an “s” for her name , and also looks kind of like a shooting star , to symbolize how she is always shooting for the top ! (and on a darker note , how shooting stars can often be meteors that fall apart)... kasumi’s mark is hers but reversed , and has an additional sparkle/star on it , for “3 stars”, 1st place ! the absence of this sparkle for sumire can represent how she lost her sister , and how she feels lesser (even if just as wonderful !)

okay yayyayy thats all bye bye !!!!!!!!!