#and then i started thinking about Dr Maruki

[gurokichi]

I wanna give the counselor in Persona 5 a smooch. LIKE GET OVER HERE BBG KITH KITH MWA MWA

[vashtijoy]

terms of address: maruki

I was asked how the squad refer to Maruki, so here goes.

first, the normies

Many of the cast refer to Maruki exclusively as "Dr. Maruki": 丸喜先生 Maruki-sensei. These mentions are universally in kanji.

Ann has 41 of these, and often uses sensei by itself;

Haru has 26 of these, and uses sensei alone a couple of times, during Maruki's Palace;

Makoto has 27 of these. She uses sensei alone quite often;

Yoshizawa has 41 of these total, 14 as Kasumi and 27 as Sumire. She calls Maruki just sensei often.

Noticing anything? Yeah: they're all the girls. These particular characters consistently seem to have relatively colourless and unmarked speech. This may in itself, of course, be a form of marking, since expectations around gendered speech in Japan can be so strong.

the relatively boring

Ren appears to always use "Maruki", apart from one instance very early on when an option, "Ask about the counsellor", includes Maruki-sensei. He also always uses kanji; protagonists don't have to be polite.

He calls Maruki sensei alone once, during his confidant. Kawakami gets it more often, while Takemi gets it constantly.

slightly more edgy

While Futaba always uses "Dr. Maruki", she slurs it a little, making it slangier: 丸喜せんせー Maruki-sensee. She always uses kanji for "Maruki", except in the text chat after he visits Shujin, where she's only heard his name spoken!—which is a cute detail. Occasionally she uses せんせー sensee by itself, which is distinct from her 先生 sensei meaning "a teacher".

Ryuji, again, virtually always makes it "Dr. Maruki", usually Maruki-sensei in kanji; a few mentions very early on, when they're still talking about the new counsellor guy, are just straight "Maruki". Also, in his counselling session, Ryuji almost just calls him that!—ultimately deciding to make it "Dr. Maruki":

Ryuji なあ、丸喜⋯センセーってよ、よく『変わってる』って言われね? naa, maruki... sensee tte yo, yoku "kawatteru" tte iwarene? Hey, Dr. Maru— ah, I mean, Doc. Anyone ever tell you you're kinda… not normal?

The meaning is a little lost in translation here, with Ryuji cutting from the normal form of address to a nickname. Also, in Maruki's Palace, he recognises Maruki on one of the videotapes, and starts off in hiragana before finishing in kanji. It feels a bit as if he isn't initially sure what he's seeing:

Ryuji まるき… 丸喜先生？ maruki... maruki-sensei? Maruki... Dr. Maruki?

He uses sensei by itself a couple of times, far fewer than you might expect; his "Doc" is usually either glossed in, or was originally Maruki-sensei, "Dr. Maruki".

He also uses 大先生 daisensei, "great leader/teacher/artist" etc, as a term of abuse, aimed at palace bosses such as Shido and Madarame. 獅童大先生 shidou-daisensei—"that stuck-up bastard Shido!".

the slightly outlandish...

Morgana overwhelmingly uses katakana for names, and Maruki is no exception. He talks about him a lot, always in katakana, as マルキ Maruki. He never uses any honorifics for him.

He has only one use of kanji, 丸喜 Maruki, in "will you meet with this confidant?" text, around I think rank 5, which looks like it may be a slip.

the strangely polite...

Akechi, of course, fails to grace Maruki with his title of "doctor"; he's just plain "Maruki". The localisation sometimes makes it "Dr. Maruki", but that's a gloss; Akechi never once uses sensei (or any other honorific) about him.

But he uses an honorific to Maruki, once:

That "isn't that right" is ですよね desu yo ne, which might seem startlingly polite for third semester Akechi. In fact, he's rather consistent about his masu forms to Maruki—and only to Maruki—during the third semester.

He has no uses of desu or -masu/-masen, for instance, to anyone else in the third semester. It's actually rather cute, because it makes it clear a number of his lines in the 1/2 and 1/9 Palace are directed not to Ren or Yoshizawa, as it might seem, but to Maruki.

So this looks like a sardonic little aside, and I'm sure there's a lot of that in it—"Maruki-san". But this is also the only time Akechi ever addresses Maruki by name. And since he has all these desu and -masu forms going on around Maruki, then maybe he just calls him Maruki-san, full stop.

Did I mention he's a weird boy?

...and the downright weird

That leaves us with Yusuke, who (as nobody will be surprised to hear) does his own thing that raises some fascinating possibilities.

Yusuke only appears to address Maruki by name once, when they first meet in the courtyard, and as you'd expect, he calls him sensei—丸喜拓人先生 Maruki Takuto-sensei, "You are Dr. Takuto Maruki, correct?".

But every other time Yusuke uses sensei in the script? He's referring not to Maruki, of course, but to his sensei, Madarame. That initial approach to Maruki, stranger to stranger, face to face, is the only time he uses it to anyone else.

So what does Yusuke call Maruki? He calls him 丸喜氏 Maruki-shi.

what is shi

氏 shi is a very formal and exclusively third-person term, usually seen in writing, or heard from newsreaders. It's often translated "Mr X", which can be very odd to hear in media that retains honorifics like -san and -kun; "Mr. Akechi's coming on!" is an example, from 6/10. And Akechi is, in fact, usually mentioned as Akechi-shi on the evening news.

Yusuke's Maruki-shi is universally translated as "Dr. Maruki", as if he'd just said Maruki-sensei like everyone else. Which is a little bit of a shame.

Yusuke also uses shi for one other person—the art patron Kawanabe, in his confidant, before you meet up at the sushi bar. Most of the rest of the time, before and after, Yusuke just calls Kawanabe "Kawanabe" in third-person, with no title; he pulls out a Kawanabe-san at rank 10, after he's won the contest—face to face, of course, since shi is only third-person.

On the other hand, Yusuke never mentions Maruki at all without a title.

the other time yusuke uses sensei

Okay, I lied: Yusuke has one other instance of Maruki-sensei. This, like Morgana's single lapse into kanji, is in prompt text: "Are we going to Maruki's Palace today?" Again, I think this is likely an error.

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2023/12/29)—first posted.

[smolstarthief]

I swear to god the more I think about how Sumi's toxic/negative thoughts and behavior along with the filter's red flags were not only fully ignored but even outright ENABLED and sometimes mocked by the people around her the more horrified I feel guys. Again, fuck Shujin Academy. Not only that but her whole experience at Shujin just felt so... Isolating. It doesn't excuse it and she needed to grow out of it but it's definitely little to no wonder she primarily clung onto and became dependent on Maruki and Joker for a while.

Like her peers, Shujin faculty, hell even well intentioned ones like Maruki and even her father just kept enabling and putting on temporary bandaids thinking that what's currently happening to her and their ideas to help her were gonna benefit her in the long run when they just... Unwittingly make it worse. It's primarily when Joker steps in to tell her to STOP with the delusions and unhealthy behavior that she finally starts to show actual improvement and snap out of it. Same with her coach who had been trying to tell her to stop from the beginning.

Like don't get me wrong, Maruki and her father aren't horrible and DO care about her compared to Shujin but they kinda still unwittingly contributed to her problems by allowing her to live a lie as Kasumi. But on the other end of the spectrum, there's the added nuance that she did feel like the filter did help her (she was suicidal for Pete's sake) but also felt that she didn't need it anymore because it's ultimately not healthy and just a bandaid solution.

That and she acknowledged and admitted her own faults in the situation saying that she wasn't any better. Actually the more I think about it, the more I realize that one of the mental hangups she's dealing with is being so caught up in her own problems that she doesn't see the bigger picture of things (Kasumi not being this perfect person, Maruki's suffering despite his kindness and smiles, etc.). She even mentions it in a safe room dialogue and can even be shown in the flashback of Kasumi's death. It just kinda adds more to her selfishness even when her feelings are understandable and Kasumi's behavior and methods of helping can definitely come off as condescending to anyone. It just reached MASSIVELY unhealthy levels along with people around her enabling the toxic behaviors (Maruki included).

I guess a tl;dr is that she IS an interesting critique on Japan's fucked up mental health system and stigmas along with Maruki and I feel like people should talk about this more because it's so interesting to dissect.

[piratesoftheseaandsky]

Gods, Villains, and the concept of Change

I beat in Stars and Time recently, and it got me thinking.

Spoilers for In Stars and Time, Persona 5 Royal, Destiny 2: the Final Shape, and Slay the Princess.

The games listed above are some of my favorite, and they have a common ground I didn't expect. Change. Resistance to it, and how that affects the world around it. They're all excellent games made with a lot of love, and I highly recommend them.

Let's start with Persona. Persona 5 Royal is an angry game. It is a game about spitting in the face of complacency. In it, you fight a total of 2 gods. The first is one brought into being from humanity's want to not need to choose. It's a critique of Japan's culture just allowing heinous acts to occur without anyone speaking up because of a whole lot of factors. Prestige, corrupt and failing systems, so on and so forth. That's not why I want to talk about it.

I want to talk about it because this is the most grounded form of resistance to change that I can offer. The god you face says it outright, this is what people wanted, this is a longing from a society at large. No one wants to have to be the one coming forward to fight against things that feel too expansive to handle alone. So, they stagnate. So the world stagnates, and so comes a god of control, to make those decisions for you. And so you are complacent. The point of this game is to scream and bare your teeth at it, to rage at allowing others to be hurt because you're comfortable, because you don't want to pursue change.

You kill that god, stand on its corpse, a bullet through its metallic skull, and prove that things can change, that it's worth a shot. That complacency is not the answer. That to get better, we have to change.

Then comes the second god. A man, one so maddeningly stuck up his own ass that he can't imagine anyone's perspective but his own. Dr. Maruki is a horrible therapist and a worse researcher. But that's not the point. The point is that he ascends to a weird sort of godhood to grant people's wishes. This is where the game elevates itself from pretty good to fucking excellent. He wants to heal everyone, and grants anyone's wish, no matter what it is.

You see a teacher of yours undergo a drastic change from grumpy asshole to friendly and kind. By someone else's wish. It's an insult, in a lot of ways, a different kind of complacency. Everyone is dependent on wishes to make life easy for themselves, and Maruki never seems to bother thinking about what these wishes he's granting might mean when they affect others.

One of your Confidants makes an argument about this relatively early on, that I always took as illogical, until Maruki became a god. She is hypocritical, but also was being manipulated, and besides, there's no point in judgement, only in action.

Once again, that's what the game is doing. The point is to get mad, to act, to do something to fix it instead of letting a shitty situation stagnate. Don't let anyone else dictate you, what you are, how you act, all of it. Don't ever allow complacency to get others hurt.

The point is to change, and force society to change with you.

Now let's fling ourselves to the other end of the spectrum. To a universe ending extreme.

Destiny 2: the Final Shape is the culmination of a decade of storytelling and a last, heartfelt hurrah to a story and a character that players fell in love with. The Witness is not a god, not quite. Powerful, horrifying, but not a god. Not worshipped, subconsciously or otherwise. It is, however, a villain. One obsessed with perfection.

Perfection is always a sticky thing, symbolic for a whole load of things. Here, the symbol doesn't matter, the act does. The Witness freezes everything in what it considers to be their perfect moment.

Well, is in the process of doing so, that's when you show up. To do so, you have to step into the Traveler, your god, or patron, or whatever. It's what granted you immortality, and your only constant companion. Your Ghost. That's something to talk about later, in a different post, how the game flips your perspective of your Ghost on its head.

The Witness uses the Traveler's power, the darkness and the light, the mental and the physical, and manifests a whole world in the Traveler. A world of perfect moments. Your first revival, the first time you make it to the Tower, the first god you ever killed.

It is an iconoclasm. "To step foot in the body of a god would be unquestionably to defile it." The Witness twists your everything, takes existence and bends it into unchanging, frozen, moments. It loathes you, because you are it's antithesis. Impermanence itself, your first life, your original self long forgotten, a constantly changing eternal.

For an immortal, you are remarkably fragile. It drives you into perpetual motion, makes you beautifully imperfect. Everything the Witness hates. Your god encourages growth, and never interferes directly. You exist for a purpose. Your god won't tell you what it is.

Of course it won't, the Traveler doesn't like to dictate you, that goes against its philosophy. Your existence is yours, it won't shove itself into a life that only belongs to you. Choice is valuable, precious. The Witness wants to rip it apart for its own purposes.

Another insult, putting the wishes of one over the many, making choices that only belong to the individuals. You rip apart its "perfection", bare the blood and guts, ugly interior built on one soul's desperate grasping for control. It buries its followers-turned-dissenters under itself, sucks them of their power and strips them of their individuality.

You sink your teeth into its throat, tear it's vocal chords out and destroy it, make an example of it, like you have done with its disciples before. Your freedom, your ability to change, your individuality, you've fought everything to keep it. And someone makes a sacrifice. For you.

But it was their choice. And that's why it matters. They chose that change for themselves, and knew how it would end. It's an honor, that their final death was for you.

For as many times as the change is no one's choice but your own, there are just as many where circumstance forces your hand. Let's talk about In Stars and Time.

In Stars and Time is a game that took me 47 hours to beat, and put me through one of the worst crushers I've ever dragged myself through. I loved it more than anything. There is a belief in this game built around the concept of change.

Change, and time, and their relation to each other. You play as Siffrin, a traveler from a country now forgotten, alongside a party on their way to face the King. The King is freezing Vaugarde, the country you're currently in, in time.

He is not a god, powerful but not divine. Barely even a threat by the end. But that's not where the danger lies, because he's not the only one messing around with time.

At the start of the game, you make a wish. You don't know the contents, not truly, but it will decide everything that happens next.

You miss a trap, and a giant boulder is dropped on your skull as your party watches.

You feel a tug on your stomach.

And you're back where you started. No one but you, and your faithful guide, Loop, remember. You repeat the same two days more times than you should, break your brain apart as you try to figure out why you're stuck in a time loop, all the while pretending nothing's wrong.

You memorize what your friends say, and soon enough you're following a script, only ever erring when it make actually be useful to figuring this out. You uncover things about yourself and your past, you change while everything stagnates.

At one point you meet the change god. It talks to your friend first, for so many reasons I will talk about somewhere else. Then, it looks to you.

You, the only one who still changes, who is still allowed to change. Center stage, under the spotlight, all eyes on you. It thinks itself the audience.

No, you are the center of an orrery, the celestial body in this loop from which all things orbit.

You change in the worst ways, tear yourself apart and drive yourself to mania for any chance at an escape. All it takes is a promise.

All it takes is the worst things you've ever said, the biggest deviation from the script you've ever done. All it takes is honesty. All you have to do is let yourself be loved.

You and the King are foils, driven by grief for a country forgotten, you force stagnation in the world around you. He changes by choice, makes himself gigantic and intimidating, chooses consciously to pluck away an entire country's freedom.

You lose an eye on instinct, wish to stay as nothing more than a desperate whisper, unconscious and drowning in your own forgetfulness.

The Universe leads, you can only follow. A three body problem. The King is a star fading, freezing, everything in its orbit loses speed, until the solar system grinds to a halt.

You are star going supernova, blinding, bursting, taking all that surrounds you with you.

But you change. The King changes. You have a family, they'll stay with you, they love you. You can move on. The King remembers, in his final moments. The last of your home frozen forever.

But he changed. He is gone and you remain, a three body problem solved. Changes made.

None of these happen in a vacuum, there are circumstances outside of both your control and your sight. A whole world to save. Let's talk about one in which there is nothing but you, a path, a cabin, the voices, and a princess.

You are on a path in the woods. At the end of this path is a cabin. In that cabin is a princess.

You are here to slay her.

If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

These are the opening lines of every route of Slay the Princess. It is a love story.

Like In Stars and Time, the gameplay is built on change. Try every dialogue option, find every ending, meet every version of the princess and hear every voice of your own.

No matter what you do, you finish your first route, and you find yourself in the long quiet. First, you must touch a mirror, see yourself, and say goodbye to the voices. They cannot follow you here. A thing sits where the cabin was, holding whatever version of the princess you dragged out. It thanks you. It asks for more. 5 is the minimum. Just five versions. Just five routes.

Everyone plays it a little differently, finds different routes, explores different dialogue. Everyone gets a different ending.

We're not here to talk about the ending, we're here to talk about you, the Shifting Mound (the thing in the long quiet), and the narrator.

The narrator is fragments, echoes of a man who made a choice for no one but himself under the guise of saving the world. Like Sisyphus cheating death. His punishment is you. You and your other half.

He trapped change itself, and split it in twain. Plucked you apart and forced you to slaughter each other for eternity, until finally one succeeds and "saves the world". He interferes, he forces your hand in the most literal sense, he denies and deflects and refuses to be honest. No matter what you choose, before the end, if you've brought the Shifting Mound 5 vessels, you will destroy the narrator.

He shatters, and he gives you answers. Sort of. You only have so manu questions before the shards of glass beneath you can no longer sustain him. It doesn't matter, because you get answers.

A fabricated prison, a separation, ill-fated desperation, and a selfish wish. A wish to get rid of change, in its entirety.

He didn't lie, freeing the princess will bring about the end of the world. But not at once. Just eventually. Because for change there must be destruction. Because motion will always, eventually, run out of energy.

Inertia, and all that. What you do next is your choice. That's the point, after all. You and the Shifting Mound are Change, and there are many ways this can go. Possibilities brought about by chance, by choice, by change.

Four stories, all about change, all about stagnation, all about the value of choice, or the lack of it. Maybe this will be meaningful for you. Maybe you'll scroll past it without a second thought.

That's the point. That's the value of change. That's why I wrote this.

[kroosluvr]

swap au stuff that i cant doodle rn bc it’s 6am:

goro confronts akira who looks smug as always. “ok, kurusu. ive had enough of your bullshit, why do you insist on being such a piece of shit towards sumire and i when we’re all fighting for the same thing? your life is on the life too, and your reality.” like are you stupid or just dumb

akira’s smile, ofc, doesn’t falter. “well, i don’t have ulterior motives for everything, you understand. what you see is what you get with me, isn’t that -“ fist slams into the wall next to him. “cut the crap, kurusu. do you care about winning or not?”

his eyes follow goro’s. “not,” he says w emphasis, “really.” then, “does that surprise you? remember:” voice drops to a whisper, “i’m a dead man either way.”

goro’s head spins. this infuriating guy - what the hell, so he’s basically on maruki’s side? “i saw you in leblanc,” goro says. “i saw your wish. what was it now.... to be a normal, well adjusted student? kind, considerate, honest?” with emphasis. “everything you’re not?”

akira looks angry for a second, and it disappears. he clears his throat. “that must have just,” his voice is noticeably less smooth. “been a lapse in. my judgement.”

“so that’s what you’re after?” goro’s voice rises. “that life? you want his reality?”

“what’s in it for me if i fight for this one?” akira screams. “i was conned out of a good life and, and my plan to save myself failed. this-“ pointing at goro, sumire, their surroundings, “this is just cruel. wont even let me rest, yet bringing me back to show me…” voice lowers, “what… maybe, i could have been.”

goro’s quiet. sumire says from the back, “so dr maruki’s using you.”

“what?”

it clicks. “the same way shido did,” goro says.

akira’s face turns cold. “don’t bring that up.” (he'd thought highly of himself, that he and shido were partners and equals in their arrangement, but ofc he was anything but: just a high school kid that shido could pin his crimes on.)

“it’s true, isn’t it?” goro sneers. “maruki is using you to get under our skin… it's sickening, really, turning our friends against us, just to actualize his horrific reality.”

akira doesn’t say anythjng. goro steps back. “you’re stupid,” akira says coldly, “if you really think we were friends at all.”

as he storms off, sumire says, “i told you it’d be a stupid idea.”

goro grits his teeth. “he’s insufferable.” then, “and unfortunately, a perfect pawn.”

—-

i think it’d be interesting since (canon) goro fights for the true reality bc he doesn’t want to allow himself to be puppeted any longer. meanwhile (swap) akira, the trickster, lets the ends justify the means: since he’s a dead man walking, well, fuck it why not let some version of himself be happy for once.

it also drives a harder wedge in royal trio bc now they have to deal w akira third impostoring before they can get thru the palace. maybe in this au they actually start rescuing the thieves before akira comes around (and we get akira boss fight yayyyyy instead of sumire)

also in this au this means sumire knows that akira died in the engine room which is interesting. will have to thjnk on that more later

[2030kamenriders]

Update on the Persona 5 playthrough:

Finally defeated the boss of the space station level.

Uh.

Something bad is happening I think

Spoilers below? I think. These feel like major story beats.

So context: Joker and his gang of phantom thieves are pretty consistent about making sure not to kill people

Granted, all of their fights are in that cognitive dimension. So all they really have to do is defeat that version of the boss without killing them, and the real version of the boss will survive.

But there's also been mentions of some other unrelated guy in a black mask, up until this point

And said guy decided to show up?!

And decided to shoot the cognitive version of the boss bad guy for this level. And right after the Phantom Thieves left too

And to make matters worse: said boss guy is Haru's dad. This is her first big boss battle as part of the Phantom Thief crew.

Dude's gonna die

But there's more!

The very. Next. Day. After the big boss fight, Dan Lastname (Joker) finds Kasumi's good-luck charm and finds her to return it.

Context: Kasumi is this excelling first-year highschool student at the same place most of the other phantom thieves study at. And apparently that day, the vice-principal* was making her feel bad for only getting 3rd place at a big gymnastics competition.

(*I think. Could've been a substitute principal. The regular principal died before the whole space station arc. Long story)

This guy. This absolute jerk. He is threatening to take away Kasumi's scholarship just because she didn't get 1st place. What's wrong with 3rd place?! Was there only 3 participants at the competition, or are you trying to give her anxiety?

This guy also makes it very clear that all of this is only in an attempt to make the highschool look good to the public. (Well maybe you shouldn't have kept that one creepy guy from the start of the game hired after the constant allegations!)

Anyway, shout-out to Dr. Maruki for trying to call out the vice-principal. Unfortunately it was ineffective, but the attempt was appreciated. (This guy is just trying his best, but I think this job might unfortunately be more than he can chew)

So anyway, after school, Joker (and Morgana) find Kasumi at her usual thinking spot: the arena/stadium.

Except the arena is a cognitive Palace. Meaning it's one of the bad-guy levels in the Persona 5 congnitive dimension. So they get transported to said dimension's version of the place. And for some reason, despite not looking even slightly particularly "evil", it looks very eerie.

You know how in Kuuga, part of Daguva's scariness is how much of a normal well-dressed guy he looks like? It's like that, but with setting. This looks like some sort of fancy brightly-lit futuristic castle-type thing. Like some sort of place you would expect in a Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy type of setting. (Sounds like it too, in terms of background music).

Now the good news is that Kasumi finally gets Phantom Thief powers and that's pretty cool

But the bad news is. I'm kinda concerned about who this Palace belongs to.

Typically, to travel to a cognitive Palace in this game, the character needs a fancy navigation app, and must give the app 3 keywords while standing close to the real equivalent of the location. One keyword is the actual location, another is the name of the person who's the boss of the Palace, and the last word is how that person thinks of the location in their mind.

The fake version of the arena had a bunch of boards with academic posters and stuff (they were arranged in that way that science posters are arranged at certain research-related events, on arrays of move-able wall things). And the teleportation happened right after Kasumi overheard some passing-by people assume the place was a lab, causing Kasumi to say "this isn't a lab, it's a stadium". So that's 2 keywords ("lab" and "stadium").

But whose Palace is it?!

I didn't pay attention to every single detail of what Kasumi said before the teleportation, but I remember her saying 2 names.

One of those names is the name you give the character. But Joker wouldn't think of such a place as a lab, regardless of how the player decides to portray them.

The other name was Dr. Maruki.

There's no way it can be him, though, right? Right?? There's gotta be some other person! Maybe Kasumi said someone else's name and I couldn't catch it. Maybe one of those passing-by bystanders said some other name. Or maybe Maruki has some sort of estranged relative or something—

[tyrantisterror]

Wizard School Mysteries: Book 2 Side Characters

Ok, the supporting cast expanded a lot in this book because of the tournament arc, but let's see if I can account for them all.

Actually, shit, first I have to go with two I forgot to add to the last batch, and pretty important ones at that. Zebul Blaa, the Dökkálfar/Dark Elf extra who ends up being part of the villainous plot in the first book. Dark elves in Norse mythology were born from the maggots that ate the giant Ymir's body, so in Midgaheim they're basically fly-people. Zebul himself is still in his maggot/larval stage of his life cycle at the start of the series, but as this concept art shows, that will change. He's got more to do in the overall story yet, so keep an eye out for him.

Laurel Creusa, meanwhile, is the student whose disappearance sets James on his whole mystery solving path. I tried to set up a red herring with her as well - James drops the word "tower" is his one conversation with her, which, given how the arcana are revealed in book 1, could have been taken as a hint that she was the final ally James needed to make in that book. But, alas, twas not to be - and I'm not sure if anyone fell for my ruse to this day.

Ok, back to book 2 proper. Professor Prospera Bubos and Professor Heka Tlancheb are the two teachers who are most responsible for the tournament at the center of the conflict in Tournament of Death, and it's fun because they're kind of polar opposites from the magic end of things - a professor of healing magic vs. a professor of combat magic - yet they both ultimately prove to be reasonable authority figures who protest the school turning an blind eye to how the students get hurt. Professor Bubos is loosely based on an alchemist character I drew ages back - mainly the big, pointy shoulders with prominent stitches. Meanwile Heka is just me being horny on main making fun of my own fondness for terrifying witch women.

We also get to see Professor Kobut Nyftek, who I think was mentioned in book 1 but not actually seen. They're one of the nicer teachers in the school, and costume-wise I took a lot of inspiration from Dr. Maruki's supervillain get up in Persona 5 Royal. There is... so much Persona in Wizard School Mysteries's DNA, way more than there is Harry Potter, and yet I know Harry Potter is the only thing it'll ever be compared to. A tragedy.

Simeon Helmschmied isn't a terribly complicated teacher concept - I just wanted to make him look like a badass, grizzled wizard blacksmith. D&D really popularized the idea of wizards not being armored and, like, I get it for mechanical reasons, but also I think some wizards deserve to also be heavily armored tanks.

Lacey Spidergrin is part of my ongoing attempt to sexualize Slenderman, and I think it's working gang.

As I said in the last post, before I enacted the grand plan to create a vast reserve of Spare Wizard Students, I plotted out a few supporting cast students based on alternate names for the Major Tarot Arcana. Godfrey Lionhardt and Columbina Paggliacci are based on alt names for The Magician - the Magus and the Juggler respectively - and loosely embody the traits of that card in turn, with flavorings based on the alt names they're given. A Magus is a more respected, princely equivalent of a magician - "Gift of the Magi" and all that - so Godfrey has a princely look about him. His last name, Lionhardt, marks him as being part of one of the noble houses in his home country of Bretonce, so he may well actually be a prince for all you know. Meanwhile, Columbina obviously takes the clown associations with "The Juggler" and plays them up to the hilt - which also allowed me to emphasize the fact that clowns are a monster species in my setting rather than just a job strange weirdos take.

I've mentioned how Joan Tatou is basically a collection of traits that Margot and Gretchen lost in the prewriting stages of the series, so I won't go heavily into that here. She's the Papesse, i.e. the High Priestess if she was more imperious and French. Wiglaf and Wagner, meanwhile, represent The Road and The Victory, which are alternate names for the Chariot - and also words that are used in a lot of descriptions of the Chariot, which makes them both feel like incomplete versions of it. That is to say, if you substitute The Road or The Victory for The Chariot in your Tarot deck, you're kind of specifically simplifying the meaning of the card. Which is why Wiglaf and Wagner are, like, just Margot's soccer hooligan fans - an extension of the Chariot, if you will.

Tinnea Lunae's prompt was "vampire who's primary animal form is a moth instead of a bat." She's trans, too, even if it hasn't come up yet. She, Titania, Sadie, and (eventually) Zebul work on the school's Newsparchment, What's the Buzz?

Grammy Crumblebuttons played a valuable role as a red herring in book 2, but her part in the narrative isn't over yet. Demented old women are too fun to write.

The Great Nyaa and Ursula Cobb are both animal-themed gag characters, but I like to think they're pretty distinct outside of that. Not that we'll know very much about the Great Nyaa given, you know, what happens in book 2.

Ok I think we can actually get to the contestants in the tournament now. Aldonza Dulcinea's outfit is specifically based on the movie outfits for Professor Umbridge. Her earlier designs were less good more generic wizard outfits, but by this point the "Let's spite the Terf Queen" streak in me was strong, and I thought it'd be fun to have a plus size character who's into pink and "girly" stuff not only be a hero, but an explicitly kind and beloved one.

I think my original concept for Breowyn was "what if a studio head forced me to tone down Margot's character concept to be more easily marketable." She's a warrior girl but, like, in the "kind of a tomboy" way that's socially acceptable instead of being a giant with a fucked up arm who looms over everybody. Ironically, I ended up really liking her design - I guess even a watered down Margot is still a fun character for me to work with.

Waldorf Brimli is, like, a wizard in the vein of the evil cult leaders in H.P. Lovecraft's stuff, and a student in the vein of those specific kind of nerds/geeks who are deeply misanthropic and antisocial under the excuse that they assume everyone hates them so they might as well hate everyone back. So, like, the kind of person who'd update the Chris Chan wiki, basically.

Gyrion Clodson is part of the "LOTR Gang," a subgroup of the Spare Wizard Students comprised entirely of Midgaheim versions of various sapient races from LOTR. Gyrion is our dwarf, though in Midgaheim dwarves are synonymized with gnomes.

My goal with Serena, beyond simply homaging magical girl tropes, was to have her be a "badass" character who's explicitly feminine - all her kickass offensive spells use pretty shiny crystals, she loves pink so much that her hair turned that color, she's very much a girly girl. So when I picked her opponents in the tournament, I wanted them to be various shades of masculine to contrast her, with three of them specifically underestimating her because of her feminine traits.

Margot's opponents (Shere Statchell included but not pictured here since she's in the previous post) are meant to play on different traits she has - Shere is has a physical disability (even worse than Margot's, since she fully lost her arm), Chungo and Eruz are both inhumanly large and somewhat ostracized for the danger people fear they present, and Sarkani is a wizard whose powers are distinctly ominous, even if she revels in that rather than trying to hide and restraint it like Margot. Sarkani also has an explicit dragon motif to go with Margot's more subtle one.

Next: alternate outfits!

[sapphic-scylla]

Why Dr. Takuto Maruki in P5R is Very Wrong and Why His So-Called “Perfect Reality” is Deeply Upsetting

(This is a hyperfixation rant that spoils a great deal of the ending of P5R and addresses mental trauma and therapy in great detail. So please, make sure you know what you’re getting into when reading this. Also, while I have played P5R many, many times and have experienced a pretty hefty amount of my own trauma and suffering in my own life, I’m not an expert on psychology and matters of the mind, so most of the thoughts on his mental state are purely perspective and opinion.)

Dr. Maruki in P5R infuriates me beyond any character in any game I’ve ever played for so many reasons and for the longest time, I couldn’t pinpoint why. Because a lot of people thought we were stopping a good thing at the end of P5R and I couldn’t explain why I didn’t agree until this week and I’m now going to go into detail on why this man is making a massive mistake.

Starting with the obvious red flags:

Totalitarian society is the idea that a person or very small group of people not only keeps an entire society in line, but controls how people think and bends their will in service to the state, which is what Maruki is doing. It may look like utopia, but when mind control/“actualization” is required, that already sends warning alarms.

A man who felt his only option was to bend the will of another Persona-user against her will and wield her own power against other people (while she is in deep trauma and mental struggle might I add) is a deeply upsetting move and does not uphold what he perceives his moral standards to be.

Reality-bending power is very dangerous and giving one imperfect man the ability to not only rewrite life and its progress is vastly unwise. Especially if that man could also just as easily erase people from the narrative and no one would ever know they were gone. Just the flick of a finger and whoever didn’t fit his plan just didn’t exist. Bad. Very, very bad.

A man using the persona named Azathoth is like a billboard for petty despot. Azathoth is a Lovecraftian deity of Change, Creation and Destruction and the most powerful entity in all of Cthulhu Mythos. Yikes.

People praise Maruki for the same reasons they hate Yaldabaoth. Both should be hated. What people don’t understand is that they are serving the same shit on different platters. Humanity isn’t strong enough or smart enough to handle their own free will, so I will do it for them. Maruki just gift wrapped his to look like paradise instead of servitude.

Maruki is a vessel of DISTORTION. This man thinks he’s capable of running all of reality while suffering under debilitating trauma. And instead of actively getting help, he sets a vendetta against reality itself. Smart? No!

What was it that Brennan said in Burrow’s End? “Power should make you tired.” Taking godlike power for yourself and using it to reshape society to your liking is ALWAYS a red flag.

Everything about him screams cult and brainwashing. Everything. The outfit at the end, the way he speaks, the verbal and physical manipulation he uses to make you think he wants what’s best for you. No one who says they want to “save” you in a very religious way has your best interests at heart.

Putting people in places like a puzzle is a very dystopian theme. That’s what Maruki’s entire plan revolves around: the idea that, if something has the potential to cause you pain, it is to be avoided. That includes family, that includes jobs, that includes desires. Complete avoidance is his plan and he executes it by bending the minds of the masses to believe that what he says your role in society is is gospel.

Utopias crash regularly. Especially ones based off of peaceful living. Every utopia is a lid covering a festering sickness that, no matter how well buried you think it is, will spill out onto the surface eventually. And it’s devastating when it does.

There were still homeless people and impoverished people in Maruki’s “paradise”. Explain that.

That’s all the physical red flags. From a therapeutic perspective…:

Swallowing, avoiding, bottling, neglecting, or walking on the scars you gain from trauma is always a recipe for disaster. Physical and mental scars are very similar. Treating them with the appropriate care, time, and patience for the specific trauma can help them heal over. It’s why therapists and psychologists exist at all. To help you treat those wounds and help them to heal. It’s never said to be easy, but it’s doable if you’re willing to put in the work. Maruki’s not only bottling all of society’s trauma, but this whole mess started because he was doing it to himself. Trauma festers if left unchecked. It can dig into your mind and heart and make you irrational, bitter, vengeful, lonely, and often angry, sad, and numb. However, being willing to reach out and stumble towards people who can help you work through it can ease the burden, so you won’t do anything you’ll regret.

You can’t make the whole world happy. Checks and balances. Someone’s joy is often someone else’s misery. It sucks, but that comes with the territory of being mortal.

Pain is intrinsic to the human condition. It sucks. It really does. No one likes to experience pain or misfortune and I really do understand the idea of wanting the world to be anesthetized to pain and suffering, but that’s the side effect of free will. You can’t expect a world to live free and with the capacity to make their own decisions without conflict.

Mistakes are meant to be made. We don’t learn anything otherwise. Mistakes bring pain, pain brings learning, learning brings growth, growth brings joy. Yes, sometimes pain is sourceless and you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it sucks, but, again, as rough as it is, it’s part of the human condition and taking that away means taking away free will. The difference between the P.T.’s and Maruki is that the P.T.’s were changing the hearts of the people that were using their free will to silence other’s free will. The only exception is Futaba, and she specifically asked them so that she could start taking steps to working through her trauma, the opposite of what Maruki wants people to do.

Taking a W in life isn’t as rewarding if it is constantly happening. All of the rich people I’ve ever met are fucking miserable. When you have everything you’ve ever wanted, you forget what it’s like to feel actual joy because there is nothing to work towards anymore. If I had to choose between getting torn to shreds as I climb towards my goals and suffering defeat after failure to finally reach it and feel that pure happiness or have it given to me free of charge on the house perpetually, I hope my hands bleed as long as I finally get where I’m going and look back on how far I’d traveled to get there.

Scars, cuts, and bruises tell stories. I was always told as a kid that scars make you look tough, but I also learned that it was ok to cry and scream when I got hurt. Taking pride in the immense amount of emotional cuts and wounds and beatings I’ve taken was something that took forever to learn, but if I hadn’t taken any of those beatings, I’d still be the sheltered little Mormon boy that couldn’t speak up to save his life. All of those stabs and scars made me into the fluidflux, curious amalgamation of interests that knows how to stand up for herself and punch back if she has to. Not all scars are scars to be proud of and not all scars are glancing blows. Some hurt. Really bad. Bad enough to leave trauma and impressions. However, it’s telling you that, no matter how unlucky you are, you’re still alive. And that’s what matters. Because any scars you can walk away with, even if it’s not physically, are wounds that will heal given time and patience. And if it leaves such a scar that it will never truly heal, please reach out for support. Friends and confidants are there for a reason.

Maruki never reached out for help. And I know. That’s rich coming from me, who, to this day, claims that the most difficult thing in the world for me is to ask for any kind of help. But traversing the rough road that is trauma healing is easier traveled when you have people to help you.

At the end of the day when you strip Takuto Maruki down to his bare essentials, what you see is a man who is deeply traumatized, wallowing in his own regret and pain to the point where he is self-destructive. This same man is seeking to become a god of the world, pulling the strings to every single persons life and forcing people to live his ideal of what he thinks is the perfect reality and attempting to become untouchable while doing so.

The protagonist suffered so much injustice and unfairness in his life. Wrongfully accused of assaulting a deeply corrupt politician, he became the pawn in a deal between two gods as he struggled to stick his neck out for a society that deeply rejected him and still proceeded to change the hearts of 21 people without reality-bending capabilities just by talking with them and supporting them in their endeavors. It seems small, but in the end, 19 of those people come together and feed his support right back to him. The 20th person was his biggest rival, someone who betrayed, almost killed, and actively worked to destroy him. He ended up fighting by his side even if it meant in the end, he would die. And the last and 21st person was Maruki himself.

You don’t need godlike powers to change the world. You already can just by connecting with people on a personal level. Maruki sacrificed his own self-care, mental stability, and, honestly, the love of his life in a Faustian bargain with an entity that was trying to usurp the vacancy Yaldabaoth left in the universe’s power vacuum. It quite nearly cost him his life if the protagonist hadn’t been there to stop him, fight him, and show him that you don’t need to perform miracles. You just need to be there for people when they need you.

[chronicbeans]

Idk about you, but personally I like Wally because of his hair. I mean come on! He's clearly put a lot of effort into his appearance and I respect that.(But it was mainly because of fan fiction and fan art I'll be honest...and probably because he's kinda mysterious at the minute)

But in response to the writing for the whole thing, I respect the heck out of that! I love how welcomed I feel here and I honestly hope the best for you in regards to being able to having your writing recognized more, you definitely deserve it :)

Thank you so much for the compliment! I try my best to make people feel comfortable and accepted here! Oh, yeah, it is true that he is mysterious rn! If I had to make an educated guess as to why I like him so much, it is because he seems to either be evi/antagonist or in danger. At least, that's what the fandom seems to believe. I won't get into speculation though, for Clown's sake. I just tend to love characters that are horrible, sympathetic, go through absolute torment, and/or fit a certain aesthetic!

Putting a read more because I think I started ranting about the types of characters I love. Also, SPOILERS FOR A COUPLE OF GAMES/SHOWS I AM SORRY AHH-

Wally is just so out of left field in comparison to a lot of the other characters. Like... imagine going from uh... I think it was either Victor Frankenstein or Dr. Takuto Maruki, to a small little muppet man. (OH WAIT NO I JUST CHECKED. I actually went from Sunny's dad from Omori. I just lived my Smol bean interpretation of him. Everyone thinks he's evil or cruel but I don't really believe it, personally).

I also tend to love the characters that are not well liked (Like Sunny's dad omfg I love him-). An example is Dr. Daniel Dickens from Angels of Death. Everybody thinks he's really weird and creepy, which he is, but I find his character to be extremely intriguing and, as such, loveable! Same with Reverend Gray from Angels of Death. They both fit the villain/antagonist role, as well as fitting a certain aesthetic (mad doctor/scientist and evil priest).

Takuto Maruki fits the more sympathetic part, but he is also considered an antagonist. I wouldn't consider him evil, due to his plans being to try to make the world a place of eternal happiness in response to his own grief (kinda like "if I can't be happy, I'll make sure everybody else is"). I also don't believe I love him the exact same way everybody else does. Like, you either love him or hate him, but I haven't seen many people be like "I have a HUGE CRUSH on this man" besides the characters in the game.

Maison Talo, the character I mentioned in my post, is also kind of (not that much) in the same boat as Maruki, but in a more disturbing way. He isn't trying to help the world, he is just trying to survive, and it seems like he might've been on the brink of dying when you got there from the way I interpret some of his dialogue. He's GOTTA eat people, and depending on your choices/ending he seems to feel genuinely bad for having to eat you. So, at least for me, I can't help but feel a little bad. Kind of like when you see a lot of people calling a vampire or something a monster for trying to drink blood, but then you think to yourself "wait... Don't they HAVE to drink blood? They kind of have no choice."

OMG AND I ALSO LOVE THE OBSESSIVE CHARACTERS! I have never really been into romance, but I LOVE yanderes. I don't condone their actions, of course, and needless to say I would PROBABLY be horrified if I ever met one in real life. It is more like... the psychology of what would make a character a yandere that I like. Then, I can't help but get just as obsessed with them as much as they are with their love! I even kind of try to imagine what would make the other, non-yandere characters I love become a yandere, or if it might just be impossible.

The last kind I can think of right now are characters I relate to. I have a crush on Lewis Finch, from What Remains of Edith Finch, because I can relate in a small way to getting dragged into your daydreams. I have seen others interpret him as hallucinating, but I got more of a daydream vibe from him. It was the first time I saw a character that I can relate to in that aspect, so I really liked him! Then, like turned to a crush, overtime, as I investigated his room more in an attempt to figure out more about his personality.

I am so sorry this is so long! I just like to explain why I love certain character types! I kind of have a passion for it, maybe because I love writing characters, myself. It was a lot of fun to write this, too! YIPPEE!

If anybody got this far and want to talk about the types of characters they tend to like I will be more than happy to read the comments. I am very passionate about this sorta thing (ofc, not in a "YOU HAVE TO AGREE WITH ME ON THIS" but more of a "I love to talk about this" sorta way)!

[precipikitten]

okay while im thinking about p5r third semester, it really reminds me of the book The Lathe of Heaven, but goes about a similar hypothetical in an extremely different way which i love and i wanna talk about it.

In that book the main character, George, takes drugs to prevent deep sleep because his dreams uncontrollably change the past and world around him, and he's the only one who remembers the previous realities. He gets arrested for abuse of this medication and sent to a sleep researcher and psychiatrist called Dr. Haber, who slowly gets convinced of this power and starts remembering the previous realities too. Though initially trying to get George to take control of his power so he won't be afraid to sleep anymore, Haber starts trying to induce dreams of a better world in George's sessions.

Now immediately there's obvious parallels: A psychiatrist who discovers reality can be altered and immediately thinks to leap headfirst into using this ability to improve the lives of ordinary people without their knowledge. The humble soon-to-be god of a new utilitarian world. But here's where these stories start to differ.

Haber tries to suggest a dream of "peace on earth" which results in a reality where humanity is peaceful because they're united against the threat of an alien invasion on the moon. George tries to get a lawyer so he won't have to continue seeing Haber, but she suggests a dream of "the aliens being off the moon" which results in a reality where the aliens have invaded Earth. Haber then suggests a dream where "racism doesn't exist" which results in a reality where everyone has grey skin, and the lawyer, Heather, never existed because her mixed race was such a big part of her personal identity. By the end of the book Haber has figured out how to dream changes to reality for himself, so he doesn't need George anymore. George is able to stop him from ruining reality further, but by the end they're living in a reality comprised of random elements from all the others.

William Haber is a man who tries to play god and fails, his fault primarily lies in thinking that making sweeping changes to all of reality for the sake of a utilitarian utopia can be done by one man and involve decisions made on a dime. We're against him primarily because he only cares about intentions, not consequences: he keeps making things worse and worse because he doesn't know when to stop.

On the flip side, Takuto Maruki is a man who tries to play god and succeeds. Everyone does live in a happier world made specifically for them, there are no huge Butterfly Effect results of his changes that accidentally make things worse, and people are happy because of his actions. But we're still against him. He's easier to sympathize with, sure, but he's still a dictator over reality. He's still erasing experiences incredibly valuable to people's identities for the sake of a world where people get to live contentedly, where nobody has to work for change. Were his ideals taken to their extreme he'd remove more and more free will, and depending on how you look at it he might've ended up creating a eugenicist's society or something to that effect. He's only different from Yaldabaoth in method and intention.

Where The Lathe of Heaven asks "What would happen if a human tried to continue playing god after everything went wrong?", Royal's third semester asks "What would happen if a human tried to play god and everything went right?" and they're both such intriguing questions and explorations of a similar theme, imo.

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 213: The Catalyst

As Ren was making her way through the school the next morning, she was stopped by Dr. Maruki. “Oh! Perfect timing. Do you have some time after school?”

Ren was a little nervous. “Um, maybe a bit. I’m supposed to meet some friends later. But um, I can talk for a little bit.”

“Oh, of course,” Maruki said. “This won’t take much time. I just want to go over a few things with you.”

“Sure. Yeah,” Ren replied. “If it won’t take too long.”

“Great!” Maruki replied. “Meet me by my office after school.”

“Very well,” Ren said, nodding. With that, she went off to class, and he went to his office.

After school, Mishima walked up to Makoto. “Hey.”

“Oh! Hello, Mishima,” Makoto said.

Mishima grinned. “I’ve been thinking about your offer, and I accept.”

Makoto was stunned. “Wait, really?”

Mishima nodded. “I’ll join the student council.”

“Well that’s fantastic!” Makoto replied. “We should get you set up right away.”

Mishima nodded. “Right.” The two of them started walking. “Oh, uh, am I going to be seeing you tonight as well?”

“Hm?” Makoto wondered.

“You know,” Mishima continued. “At Ann’s party. Shiho invited me.”

"Oh right,” Makoto said. “Of course.”

“Great!” Mishima said. They continued on.

Meanwhile, Maruki was waiting outside his office. He noticed Ren walking up. He smiled. “Glad you could make it.”

Ren smiled back. “Of course.” She gestured towards the office. ��Shall we?”

“Actually,” Maruki interjected, “I was thinking we could go someplace else.”

“Someplace else?” Ren wondered.

Maruki nodded. “I’ve been saving up some money to take you someplace nice.” Ren was shocked. “I mean, as a thank you gift…” Maruki continued nervously. “Sorry. I heard what that seemed to imply when I said it out loud. But no, this is just a thank you gift.”

“I see…” Ren said.

“Anyways…” Maruki said. “I know just the place. Let’s go.”

“Sure,” Ren said. Together, they left the school

Ren couldn’t help but chuckle when she was guided up to the Wilton once again. Maruki was confused. “What’s so funny?”

“I’ve been here before,” Ren admitted.

“Oh,” Maruki said.

“Also, I don’t know how much you’ve made amends,” Ren said, “but Sumire’s mom works here as well.”

“I see…” Maruki said, nervously. “Actually, Sumire stopped by my office earlier, and we had a very amicable conversation. Although I don’t know if her parents feel the same way.”

Ren giggled. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Now let’s go. We only have so much time.”

“R-right!” Maruki said. They grabbed some food and took a seat. After taking a bite, Maruki remarked “This is delicious!”

“I’ll say!” Ren agreed. She kept eating.

Maruki stopped after a bit. “If you recall,” he interjected. Ren looked up. “I’ve been working on a research paper.”

“Oh yeah,” Ren said. “How’s that going?”

“I think I’m at a point where I’ve done everything I can by myself,” Maruki said.

“...Meaning…?” Ren wondered.

“I need someone to look it over,” Maruki said.

“Want me to do it?” Ren offered.

Maruki chuckled. “I mean it needs to be peer reviewed. Someone else on my level needs to do it and make sure everything’s up to snuff.”

“Oh,” Ren said.

Maruki smiled. “But it’s nice that you offered.” Ren chuckled. “It’s amazing though, how much I’ve learned taking this job. I know as a therapist, it’s my job to listen, but once I started actually listening, instead of working towards my own ends, I feel like I’m seeing colors I’ve never seen before, you know?”

Ren nodded. “I think I do. After coming here, I started opening up more, and that’s been more rewarding than I thought it could ever be.”

“Hm hm, that's the spirit,” Maruki said. They continued eating.

A little later, a man was walking past when he stopped. “Huh? Maruki?”

Maruki looked up. “Oh, Shibusawa! Maruki replied.

Shibusawa looked at Ren. “Ummmm, I mean, I can understand wanting a rebound, but I think she’s a bit too young for you.”

Ren swallowed her food. “Oh no. We’re just friends.”

“I see…” Shibusawa said.

Maruki chuckled. “She's helping me with my latest study.”

“Oh,” Shibusawa said. “Is this the same one as before?”

“Kind of,” Maruki said. “I did a little introspection, and I decided to change things up a little.”

“I see,” Shibusawa replied, impressed. “Well, when it gets to the peer review stage, give me a holler, OK?”

“Actually, I’m at that point now,” Maruki said. “This has been a long time coming.

“I see,” Shibusawa responded.

Maruki chuckled. “Ren, this is my friend from college, Shibusawa.”

“Hi,” Ren said.

“Hello,” Shibusawa replied.

“So, what brings you here?” Maruki asked.

“Oh, uh, well, you see,” Shibusawa replied, “I’m checking out different venues…”

Maruki was intrigued. “For what?”

Shibusawa smiled. “For my wedding.”

Maruki was stunned. “You’re getting married?!”

“Eh heh, yeah,” Shibusawa chuckled. “Although, I guess this means that you’re the last one from college to be flying solo. After what happened, I mean…”

“Hm,” Maruki grunted.

“Oh, uh, was that too far? Sorry.”

Maruki smiled. “No. It’s alright. But you know it’s not entirely true.”

“Hm?” Shibusawa wondered.

“I recently started dating again,” Maruki said.

Shibusawa was impressed. “Really?” Maruki nodded. “Congrats, man!”

“Hm hm, I should be saying that to you,” Maruki replied. “I mean, you’re getting married after all.”

“True,” Shibusawa said. “But congratulating someone isn’t a one way street.”

“I suppose that’s true as well,” Maruki said.

“You should bring her to the wedding,” Shbusawa said. “Who knows? She might catch the bouquet.”

“Um, it’s a little sudden, don’t you think?” Maruki answered.

“Well, think about it, at least,” Shibusawa said. “Anyways, I’m looking forward to reviewing your paper. Oh, and I’ll take care of the bill today too.”

“Um, don’t you need to save up for a wedding?” Ren asked. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Nah, my fiance’s father’s paying for the whole thing,” Shibusawa said.

Ren nodded. “Cool.” She paused for thought.

Maruki chuckled. “I know you’re thinking about your wedding, and who will pay for it, but I don’t think you need to be thinking about it for a while.”

“Maruki’s right,” Shibusawa said. “I proposed like six months ago and we still don’t have all the logistics down.”

“I see,” Ren said.

“Anyway, it was nice seeing you again,” Shibusawa said. “Oh, and you don’t need to bring your girlfriend, but I would like it if you came to the wedding.”

Maruki smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Great!” Shibusawa replied. “Well, I gotta go. This is the third venue I’ve hit up today. Talk to you later!”

“Later!” Maruki said, as Shibusawa left. He sighed. “I was supposed to treat you.”

“Well, on the bright side, you have someone to review your paper, and got invited to a wedding,” Ren said.

“Hm,” Maruki nodded. “Not to mention letting someone know that I’m doing well again.”

“That too,” Ren said.

Maruki chuckled. “Life is really full of surprises, huh.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Ren said.

Maruki smiled. “Of course. But it is nice to be reminded of that every once in a while.” He paused. “I’m going to slightly break some confidentiality here, but Sumire told me recently that she was thankful for what I did. Not because it was right, but because it led to you.” Ren was shocked and embarrassed. “In some way, I feel the same about Eris. If she hadn’t destroyed my palace, I might still be harboring a utopian vision that I could force upon the world. I might not even be going out with Kawakami. I might still be a little too obsessed with Rumi. And while that pain isn’t gone, I’m starting to come around. So, I guess good things can come from bad things. Oh, but uh, I guess I didn’t need to tell you that either.”

Ren smiled. “It’s fine. Like you said, it is nice to be reminded.”

Maruki smiled back. “Right.”

Councilor-Takato Maruki: Rank 9

“Well, we should finish up what we have here,” Maruki said. “I know Shibusawa said he was paying, but I don’t want to overextend his kindness.” Ren nodded. The two of them finished eating, and then headed out.

Ren headed over to the park. She saw Ann, Ryuji, Shiho, and Mishima setting up at a table. Ann saw her “Oh! Hey there!”

Ren waved. “Hey.”

“We’re just finishing setting up,” Ann said.”It’s just going to be a small little thing. Just some cakes and tea, you know.”

“That sounds delightful,” Ren said.

“Great!” Ann said. “We’re just waiting on everyone else at this point.” Ren nodded.

“Hey honey,” Ryuji called. “Um, could you give me a hand for a second?”

“Coming!” Ann said. “You just wait here for a moment.” Ren nodded. Ann went to help Ryuji.

Mishima walked over not too long after. “Actually, while we have some time, do you mind if we talk?”

“I don’t see why not,” Ren said.

“Great!” Mishima said. “Let’s head over somewhere else. I don’t want to steal Ann’s thunder.” Ren nodded. They headed off. “So, um, I just need to say…Thank you.”

Ren was a little shocked. “What for?”

“Wll…I’m not stupid…” Mishima said. “I needed to change my heart. So thank you for stealing it.”

Ren blanked twice. “Um, I did no such thing.”

“Huh?” Mishima thought. “I thought…” Ren chuckled. “That was all you. Well, maybe I pushed you a little, but I didn’t go that far.”

“Huh…” Mishima said, reflecting on things. “So I did all of that on my own?” Ren nodded. “Wow.”

“I knew you could,” Ren said.

“Hmmm, maybe,” Mishima said. “I guess I was lost in what others could do that I ignored what I could do.” He sighed. “You know, when I tried to get you to break up that celebrity couple, I knew they had a history. I guess I was just jealous that they had something I wanted. Same with Akiyama.”

Mishima smiled. He continued “But now? I’ve learned that I can’t just take the easy way out. That’s what I was doing by passively being in the volleyball team, and that’s what I was hoping for with the Phansite. But after everything, I think I’m making strides forward. Did you know that Shiho and I are dating now?”

Ren was surprised. “I did not. Congratulations!”

Mishima chuckled. “Thanks. Also, Makoto invited me to the student council. I said yes.”

“Wow, you’re going a mile a minute, huh,” Ren remarked.

“Well, I gotta make up for lost time,” Mishima said. “Besides, it’s just the first part of my plan.”

“What is your plan?” Ren asked.

MIshima smiled. “I want to write a book. A book about you guys. You’v helped me out so much, but once you guys aren’t The Phantom Thieves any more, I want people to know what you were like. Some details can get lost to history, so I want to make sure your legacy is preserved as best I can. After all, you saved me. I’m sure with this book you’ll save someone too.”

Ren giggled “That sounds lovely. But you know, we couldn’t have gotten as far as we have without you either.”

Mishima nodded. “You know, for the first time, I can honestly feel the same. Thanks.”

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of the Moon, granting thee infinite power…

Moon-Yuuki Mishima: Rank 10

Ryuji rushed over. “There you guys are. The party’s about to start”

Ren chuckled. “Coming!” The three of them headed to the party. Upon arrival, they saw the remaining Phantom Thieves, Kisa, Hiroki, and Eiko at the table. They took their seats, and the party began.

Shiho raised her cup. “To Ann!”

Everyone else followed suit. “Too Ann!” they chanted.

Ann chuckled. “Thanks everyone.”

“Don’t mention it,” Shiho said.

“Oh hey, when’s everyone else’s birthdays?” Ryuji asked. “So we can plan better, you know?”

Ann smiled. “I do know.” She giggled. “Well, you know mine’s tomorrow.”

“Mine’s July 22nd,” Shiho replied.

“I’m July 3rd,” Ryuji added.

“Mine’s not for a while,” Makoto said. “April 17th.”

“Mine’s not as far off as yours Makoto-senpai,” Sumire said, “but it’s still a ways away. March 25th.”

“I’m January 28th,” Yusuke said.

“Oh, uh, mine is August 16th,” Lena chimed in.

“Wait, did we miss your birthday?!” Ann wondered.

“Well…” Lena said. “A lot was happening around then. Besides, I had plans to talk with my family back in America .”

“I see,” Ann said.

“Oh, and I know Goro couldn’t make it but his is June 2nd,” Lena added.

“Oh, um, we just missed mine,” Eiko said. “November 3rd.”

“Well, not entirely,” Makoto said. “You told me that you moving in was everything you wanted.”

"And it was,” Eiko said. “But I wouldn’t mind a gathering like this for next year.”

Makoto nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Kisa looked over at Sumire. “We aren’t too far apart. Mine is March 3rd.”

“Oh, well that’s nice,” Sumire said.

"Mine's close to Sumire's," Jose said. "March 20th."

"That's on;y a few days apart," Sumire remarked.

"It is," Jose said.

“Mine might be closer to yours Kisa,” Futaba said. “I’m February 19th."

Haru chuckled. “Sorry. I don’t think you’ll beat anyone else in closeness for birthdays.”

“Really?” Hiroki said.

Haru nodded. “It just so happens that Hiroki and I share a birthday. December 5th.” Hiroki sighed. Haru giggled. “I think it’s neat.”

“It is,” Hiroki said. “Also, slightly embarrassing.”

Ren chuckled. “Well, speaking of shared plans, my birthday is December 31st.”

“Eh heh,” Mishima chuckled. “My birthday has the same issue. February 14th.”

Everyone was shocked. “Really?!” Ryuji exclaimed.

Mishima nodded. “Really really.”

Ann chuckled. “Well, now that we know, we can plan around these sorts of things, OK?” Everyone agreed.

"Oh yeah," Futaba wondered. "Do we know when Morgana's birthday is?"

"I've been wondering that myself," Yusuke added.

Everyone looked at Morgana, who was at the edge of the table eating sushi just for him. He swallowed what he was chewing on and said "February 28th."

Ren smirked. "February 28th," she repeated.

Eiko chuckled. "It's almost as if you understood what he said."

"Yeah... Almost..." Makoto said.

Ann chuckled. "Well, with that out of the way, let's party!" Everyone cheered. They continued their party. Under the table, Shiho reached out to Mishima. Mishima took her hand, and they held hands until it was time to go.

[themaddoctorappreciationclub]

Do fights ever break out between some of the Doctors? Do any of them have beef with each other?

The Receptionist nods, looking down at the papers in front of them. "Yes, there are quite a lot of fights. Thankfully, the majority of them are verbal and never escalate to physical. Sometimes, though, physical fights do happen. As far as I have been made aware, none have held a grudge..."

They suddenly sit straight as a board in their seat, their robotic face somehow growing pale. "There is, however... ONE issue that has been brought to my attention. A bit of a war of sorts of two differing opinions... It's about the idea of inviting a... certain doctor to our club. Let me find the papers that started it."

They rustle through some files, before pulling out a paper with messy penmanship written on it. The classic doctor handwriting. "You see, every doctor has the ability to request that a doctor be invited into our club, as long as you also write why you think they should be allowed to join. Then, the higher-ups will look over the requested doctor's work before deciding whether or not to invite them. You can request anonymously, or have your name written on the paper. This person requested anonymously... You know what? Let me just show you the paper." They place the paper on the desk, pushing it towards you.

"I would like to request that Dr. Josef Heiter be invited to join The Mad Doctor Appreciation Club for performing one of, if not, the most infamous and groundbreaking experiments in the history of mad medicine. He also succeeded in escaping the morality of medicine, having once been the leading surgeon in the separation of conjoined twins, before performing his experiment of sewing three people together to work as one unit."

The Receptionist quickly pulls the paper away before you can read anymore. "If you know him, you know him. Anyways... Dr. Heiter is someone a mad doctor either loves, or, more commonly, despises. His experiment is often seen as too vile and disturbing for even the most strong-willed of deranged minds. However, there are also those who admire his willingness to do whatever the hell he wants, by any means necessary." They look over the paper, continuing "So, once word of this request got out, the entirety of the club went absolutely apeshit. The Medic, you know, the one dressed in red gloves, was absolutely ecstatic to hear that Dr. Heiter might be invited. Dr. Maruki and Dr. Frankenstein, on the other hand, have been scared shitless - no pun intended."

The Receptionist then stands, placing the paper back where it belongs "It seems like The Medic, Dr. Randolph, and Dr. Wolfram are pretty excited about the possibility of Dr. Heiter joining the club. Dr. Frankenstein hates the idea, seeing it as something that might interfere with his own work of sewing dead body parts together to form new life. He once told me "The idea that a man would sew three people together in such a crude, disgusting manner sickens me to my core. What if people begin to see my work in such a vile light? It would taint the purpose of my work to be associated with the likes of him!" Dr. Maruki is just scared that he would fall victim to Dr. Heiter's experiments. I heard that Dr. Clef is actually the only person who doesn't seem to care, either way. According to The Medic, Dr. Clef just said "As long as I am not in the middle, I don't give a shit. Pun intended.", in response to the news of him possibly joining the club."

The Receptionist turns back to you, a weary smile on their face. "Unless you are Dr. Clef, you either despise the idea of Dr. Heiter joining the club, or are excited at the... well, the idea of seeing such a deranged lunatic in his element. Me? I don't care... I'm just here to keep things running and do the paperwork. This fighting is getting out of hand, though... I've never seen Dr. Maruki try to claw someone's eyes out in fear before now, but it was quite a sight! This paper probably caused the most physical, VIOLENT fights I have seen in this club, yet! It even got Dr. Maruki to pick up a scalpel... holy shit."

They look back and forth, only to quickly lean in and whisper "Between you and me... He's probably going to be let in. The higher-ups have no morality when it comes to who can join the club. The only reasons why I haven't told the others are because A. I haven't gotten a clear answer, yet, and B. I'm 100% certain that the knowledge of Dr. Heiter joining this club would cause an ACTUAL war in this building. I'm just waiting for the moment that one of these doctors actually gets killed... All over the morality of making a human centipede. Which, to be fair, I think is fucking disgusting-"

[epitomees]

"Dr. Maruki? Or uhm... Maruki-san, I guess I should say," it was different, sitting in a taxi as compared to his small but neat office, however still as homey. "Wow. I... didn't expect to actually get the cab I intended."

There was no ill, never was. Mis-intentioned gestures maybe, ignorance born out of consideration. Makoto hadn't thrown out grace in its entirety, but one might think so, the way she - without preamble - leant forward, holding a bag tied tight with a gold-tinted bow.

"It's snacks. The kind that you ate, not the kind that you always bought for us," granted, he never seemed to turn down a treat. "I... hope you know that, despite all of this... you helped us. A lot of us. Even if I disagree with your initial methods, I've applied a lot of your words to my day-to-day life. I hope you know that none of us... hold anything against you."

Placing the bag down, Makoto folded her hands in her lap.

"Thank you, Maruki-san."

The joys of ferrying strangers across town always managed to outweigh the negatives that came with the job. He could easily complain about stingy passengers never adding gratuity, loud or obnoxious individuals taking advantage of the service and his own kindness, and of course, the bi-weekly paychecks mailed to his apartment. It wasn't some grandiose amount, but enough to put aside for the necessities and a little to spare for a small treat. Maruki enjoyed the more simple life now that he had the chance of starting over.

'Every got a second chance?' It's not a saying he took to heart for the majority of his life. However, that was before the doors of Shujin Academy welcomed his previous amenities, and before he met the individuals whom instilled that mindset into his personal morality.

"Nijima-san! I didn't expect it'd be you either." It's a pleasant surprise, nonetheless, and welcoming. Maruki never thought any of the thieves would accept his company once the true reality was restored. He distanced himself from those victims, minded his own business and figure out how to pick up where he was left off. A fresh start changed the perspective of life for many people. It included himself, albeit at a snail's pace. "Regardless, it's good to see you're doing so well. You must be enjoying your time in college."

Pleasantries lasted very briefly as Maruki retained his focus in front of him. He had a job to do, whether or not he was on friendly terms with his passenger. But as a red light halted his progress, brown eyes casted a brief glance seeing a golden tint flash in his peripherals. A large, well-preserved food bag prepared and neatly sealed shut with a matching bow. Was this why Nijima had hoped to reserve his car? Why gift him something so thoughtful, at that? A signature treat paired with an equally sweet, considerate amount of gratitude. He paused, unable to say something since traffic resumed forward. First driving safety and passenger protection, then as the lane appeared clear he offered his own appreciations.

"...it would be alright if you still did, seeing as I was a hypocrite to my own words. I never held it against you or any of the others for being disappointed in me." He knew his regrets, his faults and his own failures in taking such remedial actions. Instant erasure of a person's individuality, their mistakes and their trauma meant removing the fundamentalisms of humanity. True happiness could never exist when someone didn't put in their own effort to earn it. "I've been taking my time to find out what I should do next."

He paused, gripping the steering wheel rather tightly.

"...but, it's good to know there were some things I did right during my time at Shujin." Failures brought about success if developed and nurtured properly. Maruki never attained his goals before, superficial as they sounded, but perhaps it wasn't his true objective.

His life's purpose. That, he still searched for...

"Thank you, though, for the snacks! I'm glad you were able to find my cab then, if these were intended for me." Maruki never told any of them about his birthday, and yet...there in the seat next to him sat his first birthday present of the day.

He wouldn't tell her. This surprise gift was more than enough.

[smolstarthief]

Another Maruki analysis: His literal Mask

I kinda wanted to do an analysis on his literal mask since this was a realization that hit me really. Now I agree that it looks absolutely silly and I wonder what Atlus was thinking with his overall outfit but... I can't help but think of something here...

Now "Masks," both literally and figuratively, play a primary role in P5 in regards to its characters. They hide who they really are because of either pressure to meet societal expectations, fear (Ex: rejection), dealing with various forms of abuse, and of course trauma. Especially as way of coping with said trauma. It is also a thing in Psychology known as, "masking" which is basically the description I just gave. Masking is basically, as an example, someone performing in a way that it is considered, "acceptable." But it can be at the expense of expressing who they really are, hiding their true selves. It's never fun at all as someone who deals with this on occasion and can even hurt the individual deep down. It can even worsen their mental state as well.

I always feel bad for those that had to go through it for one reason or another. But back on topic. When the MCs awaken their Personas, they literally tear their own masks off (with an exception or two). It's framed as painful but then liberating. They feel free and are done with all the bs they had to deal with. Each mask also has a unique design for every Thief and it's all unique to them and even symbolic of either their true selves or even just overall personality.

So, what about Maruki? While it does look ridiculous... As I've mentioned in a previous post, it almost resembles a shield. A large one at that. Now you could argue Makoto's does as well but it's short and is more like a knight. It also reflects her more tough personality. In Maruki's case though... It covers his whole head and top part of his face (minus his eyes 'cause he needs to see somehow). I also mentioned that it's ironic that "Throw Away Your Mask" is basically his thought process and mental state and yet he is hiding behind his own mask.

Now the "shield" thing can be a double meaning: He doesn't want to hurt the Thieves at all and can be considered a pacifist unless pushed and even while fighting he tries to reason with them and mostly uses Azathoth/Adam. But at the same time, it can also be his own mental defenses coming to the surface. He's hiding behind a metaphorical shield and running away from everything. The truth, his true feelings, his trauma, everything. He gives a calm and serene/gentle demeanor ("Gentle Madman") which is genuine but also puts up his defenses. Even when everything around him is falling apart, he refuses to believe that "his way" was ultimately wrong and harmful even when he knows or realizes it.

Then it gets damaged, and Adam is destroyed which is when he starts to fully break. His barrier is falling apart. He starts to show more of how he really feels. He has awareness and is regaining it at the same time and the cracks remain.

Then he fully removes it and later his godhood outfit changes to his white attire albeit torn up, damaged, and dirty. He's completely vulnerable. No barriers... No mask.

He's not hiding anymore, and we see who he really is: A sad, traumatized, and broken man who gave up everything for a dream that was ultimately not gonna help anyone... Not even himself. He wanted to do good so badly but went too far and about nearly lost himself in the process. It was unhealthy and self-destructive... Like the story of Icarus, hubris got the better of him and flew too close to the sun. All because of things that were out of his control and led to him making impulsive and downright harmful decisions. It's being human and understandable. But he still needed to be stopped, otherwise... Things will turn out for the worse for everyone, including him. Now I wonder what other character this can remind people of...?

So, joking and small fandom jab aside, a TL;DR version: Maruki's mask can represent a barrier he put up for himself to hide and run from it all and once it cracks and it's fully taken off, he shows his true feelings, coming to terms with himself and the truth. It's only then he starts to take steps towards healing and starting over on his own two feet. No hiding, no mask, no barrier. Just him and whatever reality will throw at him, and he'll try his damndest to get better and even redeem himself.

[dragondemoness]

Bunny yeah we do so let just get this started I’m pretty sure they deserve to know the truth too and I’m won’t allow him get close to her ever again I’m will protect my sister no matter what

*With that, Ren picks up the tape on the top and puts it into the TV. As the screen turns on, it shows a white room with five bloody bodies of scientists on the floor, sitting against the wall, or behind a table in the middle. The bodies that are visible have their throats torn out with brutal claw or fang marks, another has bruised coil marks around their neck from a tail, and one more has large, deep gashes in their face. Tensei stands there with his hands on his hips while Maruki is beside him, looking mortified.*

Tensei: ...Feeling proud of yourself, dickhead?

Dr. Maruki: Th-This is... I didn't... I only wanted to help...

Tensei: Well, how about minding your own damn business instead? I don't know what you studied in college, but I'm almost certain it had nothing to do with Hybrid studies! What the fuck made you think that you knew how to help her better than me, the one who found her damn egg?

Dr. Maruki: Y-You trusted them, so I thought-- I didn't know she was this--

Tensei: Don't blame her. That was an act of self-defense, and nothing more. This is no one's fault but yours. Worst part is, the poor thing won't even remember it. She'll recall what led up to it, but not the outcome.

Dr. Maruki: I-I'm sorry! Besides, you said she was just your experiment!

*Tensei falls silent as he looks away from him.*

Tensei: ...Yeah, maybe I did say that. After I found the egg. But things are different now. I took her away from them for a reason. All I wanna do is keep the damn kid alive, and then YOU just had to waltz in and undo my work! She was already out for three weeks, and now you've probably messed up her brain even more. Whatever your intentions were, you're the one who almost sent her to her death.

*Maruki only stares at him in shock, and Tensei moves behind the table and glances at Maruki again as he kneels down.*

Tensei: Now why don't you make yourself useful and open that sliding door for me? I have to set her up on the table to examine her, again. And after you help me clean this mess up, you're out of here. If you really wanna help, just keep your goddamn mouth shut. I'm not risking anyone else coming to kill this kid, intentional or not.

Dr. Maruki, mind: Maybe he's right... It may be better to stay away. But she's only a child... There has to be more I can do!

*He only stands in silent guilt as he looks down at the ground and leaves the room, and the TV switches off.*

[grimescum-2]

part 2 !!! with talk of shitty old fandoms i was in so cw cringe for that (no offense intended). i talk about better stuff after the first 3 paragraphs though. mostly one big ramble for fun

i remember when i was huge into danganronpa i had a new wife every month or so it was kinda funny. i guess thats what kept me in the fandom for so long

umm..... kazuichi will always be my number one fave character from dr evn if he contributed jack shit. i love that he's a sad weirdo with a big stupid crush on a woman way out of his league. korekiyo (minus the inc3st shit), gonta and twogami are fairly high up there

when i was really big into bnha my stupid ass was more obsessed w todoroki than the superior choice of Literally Everyone Else (not really but still). when i finally gained sentience and got better taste i was big on iida and shigaraki :o3 i like shigaraki because hes ugly and weird. when i saw how they anime boy-ified him in the recent episodes i was so fucking mad u have no idea.. and umm i like iida because he is autism incarnate and very cute

not an old fandom but jojo!! kinda the same case w dr, i always had a new character i had a crush on. given just how fucking many characters r in jojo its no surprise its the fandom ive been in for the longest.. anyway if i had to choose my absolute faves it would be mista, gyro, kira and mikitaka. but again i love so many of them its crazy

persona 5 :o3 HUGE on yusuke. i still think he's cute, him n futaba are my faves. i've been starting to appreciate ryuji more now though.. other than that i like maruki, the other guy with the long black hair and futaba's dad who's name i just forgot. also i love yosuke from persona 3 but i havent seen much of it

i love basically everyone from guilty gear but faust, axl, testament and slayer hit the hardest. i was so shocked when i found out slayer had an irish accent it was so fucking crazy.. irishman jumpscare..

from the various horror movies ive watched i love brahms heelshire (hellshire? forgot), billy lenz, herbert west (duh), otis driftwood/firefly and umm. whicherver guys i forgot. I haven't watched tcm yet but i am in love with chop top and leatherface ok <3

w/ kaiji ultimate survivor its very easy to pick. def just ichijou and kaiji. the rest im either uninterested in or find them to be too ugly. i did have a brief thing for kazuya though

... i think thats mostly all of the significant fandoms ive been in . THANK U IF U READ ALL OF THIS U R SO AWESOME!! even if u didn't tbf i dont blame u HWYAHA

me writing this