#anyone in the p5 fandom has probably read this one already

[html-tryhard]

HTML Fic Rec Monday

this account's tweets are protected by alsahm and benetnash

fandom au, where joker is a big name fan, crow is his favorite fic author, and everything goes even worse than expected.

This Persona 5 AU is told primarily via twitter feeds and DMs. The authors paid meticulous attention to POV and details like profile pictures and number of likes, and the result is a very clean and enjoyable reading experience. The plot itself is also a ton of fun, though we won't say anything more and spoil it for anyone. The authors also have a list of the workskins they used in the final chapter's author's note, if you see anything you like and want to replicate for your own stories.

[ragecndybars]

🫐 and 🍇 for the writing asks

🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

I'm gonna cheat a little bit and answer each of those sub-questions separately because I want to :). First of all: I understand why, because he has no social link in male route, but Shinjiro/Minato is a CRIMINALLY underrated ship and if I have to populate the AO3 tag myself then I WILL. (there are some really amazing fics and art out there tho 😭). As for underrated characters, Fuuka is the obvious answer to me, I love her so much but she's so overlooked 😔. Though I will also add: I'm a bit sad about the lack of Ai Ebihara content because she is Everything to me. Lastly, a trope that I haven't seen yet that I really want to: maybe this is just my own insanity talking, but I remain shocked that I haven't seen any "roleswap" type fics that swap the characters between the different Persona game scenarios. For example, a fic where Akira discovers the Dark Hour rather than the Metaverse while on probation and he and the other P5 characters end up joining/forming SEES, or a fic where there's a string of murders in Iwatodai and the P3 characters have to go into the TV world to save the victims... stuff like that, y'know? I don't think I've ever seen a single one, even though they seem like really obvious ideas to me! (BTW if anyone reading this knows of such a fic, I would appreciate if you could rec it to me <3)

🍇 Is there a particular scene/episode/book/etc that you want to just write a million fics about, over and over? Which one?

SO MANY. I already mentioned the P3 Magician full moon shadow and the Ikutsuki reveal, so my third pick would probably be the interrogation room from Persona 5. Just... first of all, I want to write fics about just the aftermath of that scene. How did everyone else react? How did Akira cope? etc. But also, there are SO MANY SPINS you can put on the scene itself. The obvious ones being, what if Akechi either didn't fall for it, or decided to defect to the Phantom Thieves at the last minute? Either of those could lead to so many delicious possibilities, and even if neither of those happened, I love imagining scenarios where people other than Sae are there to break Akira out, be they the Phantom Thieves, the grown-up Shadow Operatives -- hell, I kind of want to see a fic where former government worker Sojiro has to dust off his old badge or whatever and Bluff and Bluster his way into the facility to spring Akira himself, even though that doesn't even make any sense. It's just... AUGH there are so many juicy POSSIBILITIES

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Was reading your response to the Okumura Ryuji/Morgana fight, and the way the person worded Ryuji's character made me wanna ask... Do you think a bad fanbase is a fair reason to dislike a character? I've heard people say things like "no look at the character too", but... For example, I'm very neutral on Ryuji. When he's good, hes SO GOOD, EXCELLENT BOY, but Ann is my favorite girl. Guess who he pervs on exclusively and is rude to all the time? I've never seen his fans talk about (1/2 sorry)

His rude behavior, or his pervy tendencies, or his more selfish desires regarding the PT. That's fine!! Not everyone wants to constantly talk about bad things their fave has done!!! But people referring to him as a "woman respecting king" so insistently rubs me the wrong way, since he treats Ann Like That. That, and (more personal) i remember making a post/ask thing once about my grievances with Ryuji, esp his perv stuff, and the fans that interacted very aggressively denied his behavior (2/3)

And it even turned into a big discourse on the blog I submitted it to (it was that one confession blog). All the people that responded and just tried moving the arguments to "well Yusuke did this-" or even tried to push blame on Ann "she was asking for it" just kinda cemented my already growing dislike for Ryuji. Super sorry this is so long!!! Final question: is a bad fanbase a fair reason for disliking a character? (3/3)

Don’t say sorry about multiple sent asks, I don’t mind kfdsjla;fja As for the answer, I want to say yes and no, but really it’s just “yes with a side note attached.” Yeah, it’s ok to not like a char because of their fans, but I think it’s as long as you know why you dislike the char beyond the fans (well tbh, imo it’s usually the crazy fans so I think stans is a better word, but even then there’s diff stans). And tbh, I....can’t....think of a character I don’t like that the fandom/fanbase does....but I know nothing about the char all the while (closest and most recent example this....is....I know people dislike that grey haired moe blob on twitter even tho I don’t think they watched the show, and while I’m not a fan of the moeblobness I don’t know anything about the char so I’m personally not upset). I can only name chars I don’t like because of what happens in the text, fandom be damned (but sometimes they don’t help). Which is why it’s a yes with a side note. If you don’t like the char despite not knowing them.....probably get to know the char first even if your impression is clouded by the fandom....at least you gave the char a chance. 

Under cut cause length (first few sentences in the first paragraph under the cut/tldr at the end gives you the answer a bit more in depth, the rest is rants related to that and why I get frustrated in a similar sense too, but yeah sorry if I repeat myself, I kinda jumped all over + my tendency to try to nail a point home I feel like might’ve had me repeat a bit more than usual akslfjdakfjaf):

I say this because.....it’s hard....it’s hard to keep them separated, unless you completely isolate yourself from the fandom (which is basically impossible if you wanna keep up with news, even the comment section is part of the fandom tbh...and you might be looking down their for diff reasons). And then.....well...the big reason....sometimes seeing the fans really highlights the reasons you dislike the char. That’s what happened to me and Makoto, specifically cause of....a certain fan (and buddy if you happen to see this, nothing against you, no bad blood, def won’t mention your name I respect you and the debates we had)....AND TO THE TUMBLR READERS WHO GET NERVOUS: It wasn’t on this website in case anyone is freaking out so if you’re thinking “Oh god it’s me” it is most likely not you (tho I think we do know each other on here cause of usernames/saw each other in passing but we def aren’t mutuals last time I checked), and while I do respect that person.......my god did they highlight the reasons I had issues with P5 and Makoto. Ironically in trying to defend her and show off her good sides, I realized the writing issues more and more and her bad sides became more glaring. It turned my frustrating dislike and attempt to try to work out my issues with her and P5 (ironically “working out” in hindsight would’ve been me....denying and refusing to look at P5′s flaws) into....well......the salt factory you know today. (same thing happens with like......Yukari and Junpei fans too tbh...that’s more recent tho, it feels like they are just downplaying their negatives constantly and I’m not about that). Basically, you probably have issues already, they are just more pronounced now. 

As for “look at the character”....you kinda already are doing that, and that’s probably where your existing issues originated from (tho if someone wants a more in depth reason as to why, while you DON’T OWE them an explanation, it is also hard for someone to understand your feelings and reasons if you don’t try to explain). 

As for Ryu, yea, I getcha, I like the guy, I’m neutral positive on him....was my best bro but he’s 2nd best thanks to post-Kamo writing. I like him because of his positives, but I always keep his negs in mind because. Cause like while I agree with the fans IT MAKES NO SENSE! P5′S WRITING IS BAD! it happened, same as I agree that Anne kicking Ryu’s ass, along with the other girls, is shitty. Hate the scene, and I accept that it happen (low key gonna start some kinda 2nd wave war with this bs cause the fandom be like that, but I’m really surprised no one took Anne smacking Ryu behind the neck cause he was being too loud as super offensive and abuse.......it’s def something a friend might do, not like belting him just a tap, and it’s framed as chill and also as warning him to reign in the volume control, but high key surprised no one has tried to cancel her cause of that). BUT that DOESN’T mean it erases all the creepy stuff he’s done. Is he the goodest boi when he’s being good? The best. Is he always a good boi? No, he def is not. And hearing that he is can be frustrating to people that do see his flaws (cause they are there). And like....you are 100% able to like a character despite and because of their flaws, while also accepting they have those flaws. I do it with Yosuke, Ryuji (for the most part), Teddie, Shinji, Ken, Kanji (when he’s not around Naoto, then he’s in a trash can for me), P1/2 casts, Aigis, Mitsuru, as long as the flaws are within reason and are treated pretty well....then I’m ok with it. (again, Kanji/Ryu have moments when I’m like....NOPE! but when they aren’t doing the bad thing I’m cool with them). As long as the flaws are withing reason (aka they aren’t making a jerk person out to be the person in the right, or the writing is trying to sweep what they did under the rug, or trying to force us into empathizing with them despite what they did while also trying ot sacrifice empathy towards another char.....*cough*Makoto/Yukari/Junpei*cough* if the writing isn’t doing that...... I’m probs neutral to pos on them). 

Like I’m fine if they are criticizing the writing and being like “Him doing this makes no sense cause it conflicts with the good boi we’ve already seen!” That’s a-ok! Not only do you recognize your char has flaws, you also are able to identify issues with the writing. But saying “so I’ll choose to ignore that scene” isn’t....ok. Because sadly it did happen, as contradictory it did happen. AU it all you want, but you have to accept it happened outside of that AU. Like, I don’t like the Mika conflict in Anne’s CoOp, by which I don’t like how it went down (100% fine with Mika, and there being conflict with her). How it the whole thing started doesn’t make sense if you put MainStory!Anne in her CoOp. MS!Anne can read the room and other people’s emotions (only other person capable of that is Haru, or at least with Mona), hell she was so good at it she noticed something was up with Shiho without Shiho telling her about it! The issue was the fact Anne’s not a mind reader and could only assume the issue Shiho was going through that Anne was aware of (and that was her spot on the team). Now MS!Anne is not like Yosuke, she doesn’t put her foot in her mouth. She’s not like Naoto who can’t read the room. She’s not super eloquent, but can empathize and when she can interact with people she can do it pretty well. So why the hell does she basically not think before talking and insult Mika? Sure Anne’s not GREAT at school, but she’s not a moron, she can talk to people. But her CoOp makes her a moron all around, 100% airhead, and that’s how her issues with Mika start, by not thinking before talking and accidentally insulting her via blatantly “not caring” about the job to a full time person......it’s stupid, it makes no sense, I hate it. But it’s there, the flaw might not be present in the main story, but for the all around character (cause CoOps are included) it is now and I just have to deal with it. We can bitch about it all day (and trust me I will) but it happened. Basically never frame it as “it didn’t happen,” but instead “It SHOULDN’T HAVE happened.” One is denial, the other is critiquing the text. 

Anyway my rant aside, yeah I hate it when...well Ren/Ryu/Yusuke (no one’s said Mona yet, cause....well yeah...which is good they haven’t labeled him as it yet tho), are labeled as “drinking respect women juice” and I’m like “I have one to a few women who would disagree.” I know some people will argue Goro is drinking it, and imo he’s not....he’s just eating the “I don’t discriminate sandwich” which is different. And yeah the “But Yusuke-” yeah yeah we’ll get to him, but right now we’re talking about RYUJI. I’m not a fan of derailing a topic *war flashbacks* *shivers* anyway. But yeah I remember that debate, I was probably one who was like “We’ll get to Yusuke but right now we’re talking about Ryuji” and pushing the blame onto Anne is disgusting and Kamo Arc!Ryuji would be very upset. >:( (btw high key I think I was the first one who started the first anti-makoto war wave with me saying “yeah Anne shouldn’t have apologized Makoto started it and blah blah she was an ass” not the exact words but basically just calling her out on her shitty behavior cause the game certainly didn’t......tho as Miley Cyrus would say.....”I didn’t mean to start a waaaaaar~!” I actually wrote my first Persona Problems on that topic.......but it got lost in the drafts....my photo examples kept getting messed up which is bad considering the whole post really relied on them....I should try to dig it up tbh....)

Tldr/short answer: Yeah, you probably already have issues with the char to begin with tbh, and the fanbase can highlight those issues more. It’s also hard to escape the fanbase (I see stuff I don’t wanna see despite trying my hardest to avoid certain circles, it just happens).

[razorblade180]

You mentioned before the manner of behavior characters will have in your stories (Yang acting more like Ruby when she's with Jaune). How do you go about deciding characters' personalities when writing them?

I think I’ve had the benefit of joining this fandom a little late. There was a bunch of fanfiction already created and I had plenty of time to read them before I really started writing myself. Going from story to story I started to see that a fair amount followed the same trend when it came to writing ships. (Yang disapproving of Lancaster, Jaune extremely depressed, Weiss’s serious side, Blake being calm, etc.)

That combined with the show proper only really showing characters with two or three kinds of emotions they might flip through burnt me out of seeing them like that. So I got to thinking about traits I’d love to see them express, or traits they have but never really shine through a lot.

No one can argue that Ruby would want to beat up someone who hurts her friends, but we don’t get see her fight anyone and have the aggression of a person who’s trying to beat someone up for a friend. So any time I get the chance to test one of Ruby’s bonds I like to put a little bit more bite behind everything she does because it just makes sense to me that she would be upset that something is messing with her loved ones. I’ll make her confront Yang if she is trying to hinder a relationship with Jaune. He will be chastised by her if he does something viable to get himself or his friends killed out of recklessness. A villain or a flirt will have to deal with her attitude. It’s all out of all love.

Nora is usually made to be a little ditzy or just tension relief but we know she can offer wisdom. Writing her being loving and caring isn’t hard because we know she can do it; we’re just used to someone else doing it. Yeah I keep Nora’s antics in but I also like her being the one to offer genuine comfort in emotional situations. Anytime I write Weiss being stressed out about her emotions (especially with Jaune) I usually consider Yang or Nora because both of them show instances where they can just be really comforting people.

Weiss always has something weighing on her mind in the show so having her live in the moment during something is enjoyable. Let her attempt a joke, being a little crude, wear her emotions on her sleeve, etc. Instead of her acting like “I won’t do this because I find it in proper.” I try to make it more of “I’m going to do this but I’m going to be clumsy at it because I’d never dreamed I’d do it.” Her showing public displays of affection is infectious to her. Saying “I love you” takes either a lot of effort or it’s overflowing with emotions. No matter what trait I give her I take it to some form of extreme because a reserved and poised Weiss is what she always try’s to be; not what she wants to be. (Weiss is like a P5 character to me. She’s ripping the mask off)

Yang is always seen as a firm wall of resolve, crumbling to complete pieces, a social butterfly, or angry. I just wanted to make a Yang that has moments where she’s not exactly a mess, but things still get to her and it shows. I’ve read plenty of things that always have her being the more aggressive purser in any ship, so I just make it an even playing field with Jaune. His active advances can show her being the shy one that’s caught off guard. Maybe the our tough girl wants to be the one held sometimes. A softer Yang just shows that it takes effort to be that strong wall people love.

Blake is always serious so I let her have fun. That’s honestly about it lol. Yeah her past is darker than the rest but she’s still a teen among her friends. Raven from teen titans had moments where she went along with the antics and cut loose a bit. I’d imagine Blake would be no different. My version of knightshade is literally those two being teens. Concerts, late night calls, hangout spots, dumb movie choices. Most stories I see are about trudging up the past and facing it. I’m more interested in a Blake that takes a day to finally gets to see her favorite band perform live because that’s something her past prevented.

These are just a few examples but I literally just sit back and think for a minute of ways these characters would probably act when they’re not constantly trying to be some kind of perfect version of them self. If you write an Adam that’s not thinking about Blake or vengeance then he’s automatically going to more interesting then his show counterpart in my opinion. Jaune can easily be many things because we’ve seen him express so many emotions. (Any person who writes Jaune always has a certain twist to him) I make Emerald care for others like we know she can. We know Mercury has a heart so I make him show it. Raven clearly has. a lot of conflicting emotions and looks like she loves Yang. So a vulnerable Raven with awkward social skills talking to a Yang who would love to let down her guard and be kid just works.

I don’t think what I’m doing is special, I’m just highlighting emotions the characters either try to conceal or emotions that they really should have given their circumstances.

[missredtie]

So, you all know by now how much I love talking about Adachi and since I don’t have much on my hands right now, I think I’m going to do it again.

Yesterday night I stumbled upon this video while looking for ... Adachi things (yes, I do watch periodically his final battle against the IT, don’t judge me ok) and I wholeheartedly recommend it to those who still have doubts about Adachi as a villain or as a character in general. 

Summing up, this video answers two questions which have gone around the fandom for a while (how old is this fandom anyway? it feels like I’ve been here forever, someone give me a veteran discount), namely:

Is Adachi realistic? 

Does Adachi fit P4′s story as its villain?

I’m not going to make a summary of what the guy says in the video (I mean, watch it), but I’m going to simply add or stress some of the things he mentions. 

Question 1.

"It doesn’t take an horrific childhood trauma to make a person into a monster”: I particularly loved this sentence because, well, this is kind of what Adachi’s character is all about. I think I will have to add just a little bit more of a context (because remember kids, when analyzing a character, never forget about the time and the place), by directing you to this post on the so called “Lost Decade”. Either way, what is important to understand is: Adachi is not your common villain who had childhood traumas or underwent abuses of some sort. For all we know, he lived in a well-off family who wanted him to study and become someone important and gain lots of money. Lots of pressure, of course, no time to have fun, high expectations and all that jazz, but no one would compare such things to what, for example, Goro went through. No. Poor kid had it much worse. However.  As the video correctly mentions, other factors like isolation, arrogance, lack of human contact twisted his view of the world to the point of him hating his current life to death. It doesn’t take much to turn a person into a monster. Which means, that your neighbour, your childhood friend, even you, under the right conditions, can become Adachi. And this is exactly what is fascinating (and terrifying) about him. I think that many people don’t like the way he’s written because he’s too real, and deny him for what he represents: how easy it is to step on the wrong path. 

However. There is something I didn’t like about that part of the video; or, let’s say, it was not clear enough. Adachi is compared to a mass-shooter who, I am very sorry, I don’t know much about. The comparison works, when the roots of their hatred towards the world are analyzed. Still, let us take a step back and try to be as objective as possible.

Adachi many and many times mentions that: “It was the TV that killed them”, “Throwing them him was never the plan”, “Everyone is the killer, including you”, “All I did was to give a little push” (quoting from memory here). Let’s leave these sentences here. Now, let’s recall the scene in the TV World where Yu confronts Adachi on his own: as we know, he shoots the boy to scare him away, but remember what Yu (or Souji, whatever floats your boat) thinks? “This didn’t seem like a threat” (again, quoting from memory). Then again, we have the infamous scene of him puking at the sight of a corpse (I have no objective proof here, but I honestly think it was a sincere....uh, puking-moment, if it makes sense). What I am trying to say is: he is not capable of killing anyone with his own hands. He did that - I mean, if Yamano was an accident, Saki surely was not- however he keeps on trying to distance himself from such things, “It was the TV that killed them”. He’s a disgusting manipulative bastard, but getting his hands dirty? I can’t see him having it. Even when stating that “We don’t need our world anymore”, Adachi can do that because he’s not actively doing it. Let the TV World engulf reality, see what I care. But firing a bullet through every people’s head and killing them? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, nah. So, honestly? I don’t think he’d have the guts to go, I don’t know, at Junes, gun in his hand, and kill everyone. 

After all. What he wants is slightly different from what a mass-shooting is. “Better for mankind to turn into shadows.” He hates this world, Adachi hates this world’s guts. But what he can’t stand is, and now I’m accurately quoting: “Once everyone turns into Shadows, they’ll still keep on living, oblivious to all the things around them...[...] No need to hold back to anything...No more pretending we don’t see things.” People see things going wrong in this society, they see injustices, they struggle to obtain nothing: and this causes pain and suffering. At the end of the day, he doesn’t want to kill people, he wants to free them from society’s chains and turn everyone into creatures of pure instinct. In his very own weird and twisted way, he thinks he’s making a change for good. And I’m going to get a bit deeper about this in just a second.

Question 2.  

I don’t think I need to add much more to this part of the video. Adachi is clearly the other side of the coin of Yu. I actually want to continue talking about Adachi’s speech during his last fight. 

The whole point of P4 is understanding the power behind bonds and friendships, how they make you grow and change, and help dealing with the world around you. Listening to what the others have to say, understanding and trying to put yourself in people’s shoes. And this is where the IT utterly failed.

I am not saying there was any other way to behave in such a situation: in no way I am implying they should have gone like “Owww poor little ‘dachi, it’s ok, we forgive you”. No, that asshole needed a good spanking (no innuendos intended, please, no). However. 

What Adachi missed all his life was someone, anyone, to stand by his side, to vent to, I imagine, someone to share his troubles with. During his speech, he many times mentions things like “You are young and you still don’t know anything about life”, “I’m telling you this ‘cause I already went through this shit and I’m warning you kids”. He’s warning them. He’s explaining that life is not all merry and happy and friends and adventures and fun. He’s saying, you might have hopes and dreams, but life will crush them, so be prepared. And the best response the IT can give to him is “Wow this is bullshit u suck shut up”. And again, yes, they had ALL the reasons to be mad at Adachi, BUT there was no point in straightforwardly denying anything he was saying. I think that in this regard, the P5 gang did a much better job while dealing with Akechi, and I’m infinitely grateful to them for this. So, basically, what the IT did was nothing but to corroborate Adachi’s twisted view: “No one listens, no one understands”. 

This pretty much covers all the topics dealt with in the video. But there is something more I want to say. Of course, the video tries to explain Adachi as a villain. And when we think about a “villain”, as the guy mentions, we think about someone who can be described by negative adjectives or emotions or words only. So, yes, the video does a good job telling you why Adachi is a well written bad guy, but despite it being the first question addressed, it does not fully explain why he is a well written human being.

When I say human being, I mean that he is capable of experiencing not only negative feelings, but also positive ones. Him caring about Dojima, or about Nanako, him showing interest in Yu’s life is not in contrast with him being the P4 (mid) villain. 

Given the very poor contribution the IT gave to Adachi’s final speech (”guyz this world sucks and ill tell u why. in this essay i will” “sHUT UP ADACHI WHO CARES” >magydyne), he understands he has to abide by the rule of the world on his own. As shown in P4U, he wants nothing but serve his time in prison peacefully, he steps up only to help the guys preserve the world he still hates (’cause he still hates it ok), he understands that Minazuki is full of hatred like he once was, and hopes that he will change and open his eyes. Adachi understands the importance of the bond he shared with Dojima and realizes how blind he was. All on his own. Yeah, let’s say that Yu did like 50% of the job, but that’s because you are the main character and whatnot. 

He is capable of growing, of understanding and being stubborn (’cause lets admit it this world suckz am i rite fellow kids), because he is a well written human being. He can care for Dojima, while wanting to obliterate the world. He can tuck Nanako in, and still throw Saki in the TV. People are not completely black or white; they are made of many colors and shades.  

And this is it. I could talk about this piece of shit for hours, but maybe it’s better if I cut it here. Thanks for reading the whole thing, I know it’s long, so you deserve a round of applause, Adachi-style.  

Wow, I’m surprised you made it this far --quote. 

PS. I didn’t throw in the Ameno-Sagiri possession thing, because I wanted to be as objective and mumbojumbo-free as possible; I do believe it played a role as well, but probably only for a 20%. In any way or capacity I endorse what this piece of trash did; you can appreciate a character for what it is without calling it a poor and misunderstood babu uwu. Adachi needed prison, like, all of it. I hope he’s there staring at a wall.

[an-obligatory-blog]

I’ve known this for quite some time, but I’m just going to post this now since even now, it’s still a very confusing part of P5.

Regarding to the ending split...

... it has plot holes, but it isn’t as major as I initially thought it was.

It was a complex plan, no doubt, and certainly, there had to have been a better way to explain it (ATLUUUUUS). After all, for a good amount of time, I thought the thing is riddled with nonsense, but after being explained by a certain someone on discord and some more thought, some questions has been answered. Oh, and reading Futaba’s dialogue before you go to sleep-- I don’t see many videos of that on it’s own so I suppose that’s part of the reason why it’s confusing.

These a few plot holes that I thought (or others) existed, but didn’t:

- How Akechi got out of the Metaverse (do you remember how you leave the Metaverse?) - How Akechi contacted Shido (u thought he was was underground/in the metaverse? apparently he wasn’t necessarily) - The Metaverse app being activated without alerting Goro (you can use the app without audio input via the search history function (see: the second time Akira and Ryuji entered Kamoshida’s Palace)) - Goro not getting into his rebel outfit after entering the Metaverse (When asked, you can sell out your teammates and/or you confidants, but NOT Akechi. At that moment, Sae didn’t know that Akechi intends to shoot Akira until Akechi had already left the Metaverse. During the duration of the attempted hit, there was no reason for Sae to see Akechi as a threat, either a hitman or a thief)  - How tf Futaba can get a signal from Akechi’s phone (since it had a GPS) and Akira’s phone (GPS and voice messaging) when both Akechi and Sae were supposedly 8 floors underground (They weren’t necessarily. Sae met Akechi w/ the phone right after leaving an elevator. The voice messaging was pre-programmed into Akira’s phone so that it could work in the Metaverse; Futaba OP, pls nerf) 

What wasn’t explained regardless:

- The mess that is Justice Rank 8 (someone told me that it might be a developer’s joke since Morgana commented how it didn’t make sense nor would it make sense for either Morgana or Akira to , which would be shitty cuz that is literally the definition of lazy writing: “Idk what to put here so let him rank up cuz lul”) - How exactly did Sae convince the police that there was a body in the first place? I get forging the death certificate (which should be enough to fool Shido since his ass isn’t getting out of his office chair), but what about everyone else? That doesn’t sound like a feat that could be done by one person. Maybe the grunts anticipated Akira’s death too quickly and assumed that it happened when Sae reported? Eh, even for P5, that relies way too much on incompetence. How Sae managed to 1) drag Akira out without being caught 2) fool the police in regard of a dead body and 3) get away with it all for so long is the worst plot hole you could pull out of this whole plot segment. - SEE EDIT BELOW

Asterisks (*) are used to mark questionable parts that I realized after what Atlus was really trying to do. 

I found Futaba’s extra dialogue during NicoB’s Let’s Play of Persona 5. It’s around the last 10 min of the episode linked below. Couldn’t find a better video, but this is where I found out, so it’ll work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi6wLyeuqws&list=PL5bkYBlFL9xcNUVU5-EcBxdaVVAZM2zX1&index=62

Look at the moment when Akechi and Sae meet. When Sae showed him the phone, Futaba explained later that she bugged the phone (the one belonging to Akira) similarly like with Akechi’s phone. Through that, she remotely activated the Metaverse app to transport the two into the Metaverse. (remember the search history function that was used for Akira’s and Ryuji’s second visit to Kamoshida’s palace? That’s the function that Futaba remotely activated. She didn’t tamper with the magical app itself.)*

So Sae and Akechi are in and they went in opposite directions. Akechi goes in, kills the cognitive guard and cognitive Akira.** Now, here’s where one of the so-called ‘major plothole’ existed. How did Akechi get out? First, let me ask you this, how do leave the Metaverse in the first place? I thought that you just press the app to leave, but apparently, that’s wrong. You have to physically go back the way you came, and that’s why you always have to return to the Palace’s entrance to leave the Palace. This is what Atlus failed to do-- what leaving the Metaverse actually looks like. We saw Akechi’s pictures of the PT appearing/disappearing out of thin air back at Okumura’s palace, but we didn’t see how it really looks like without the red/black circles washing over the screen every time we do it. Apparently, leaving the Metaverse doesn’t involve pressing the app at all-- just going back the way they came. Remember where Sae showed Akechi the phone? That is where they entered, and hence, where they exit. When Akechi was done with his assassination attempt, he goes down the hall, up the elevator (yeah, the guard couldn’t have seen Sae and Akechi conversing, they were on a different floor), and back to where the app was first activated. Once Akechi crossed that point, that’s when he left the Metaverse.

This is when Akechi calls Shido. You see how he calls Shido right in front of an elevator? Yeah, he probably wasn’t 8 floors underground at that point. 

Now, I’m assume you know the general story with Sae, but I’m going to clear this up anyways. Sae received the pre-programmed messages from Akira’s phone, and she followed their instructions to go back to the interrogation room. Once again, she crossed the same point where the app was first activated, thus causing her to exit the Metaverse. She goes down the elevator and towards the room. The GPS installed in Akechi’s phone helped Futaba to time Sae’s entrance because it would be awkward if Sae encountered Akechi mid-assassination. (Futaba would know when Akechi is out of the Metaverse and out of the police station; nothing contradictory of getting a signal by then)

*The problem with this is... even if you use the search history function, the phone still plays it’s voice protocols like normal (”...Beginning navigation” You know the drill.). I don’t recall this ever being mentioned by any of the characters, but you can easily explain this away with “the phone was on silent”. **The cognitions should’ve disappeared similarly like Shadows when they were killed. You can pull any number of BS by using “well maybe Sae’s cognition is different because hurr durr”, but it was never mentioned by the PT to even consider the rate in which cognition disintegrate into nothing nor was there any measures to accommodate for that. This instance is plot convenience at it’s finest.

Now for the sake of clarification, this doesn’t mean that Atlus is suddenly flawless in regards of how they handled this aspect of the story. Aside from what I’ve already stated above, this stuff could’ve been handled better. The search history function was only mentioned offhandedly in the the very, very beginning of Kamoshida’s Palace (before even Shiho attempted suicide) by Ryuji so there is almost no way anyone would remember without looking back. The anime cutscene where Ryuji was smirking “we got ‘em” when he heard about the supposed suicide of the PT leader made no sense. (How would he know that the plan even succeeded???? I know he was being like, “well I toOOOTALLY knew that we were going to succeed” but goddamn, but that sounds like he was acting tough more than anything. That kind of blind confidence shouldn’t be present, even for a character like Ryuji.)

You know what would really help? Seeing a few frames of the inside of the elevator as it goes up and down. Despite hanging out in the background, I barely even noticed it before someone else pointed it out.

A good part of the fandom was impressed by the plan and yes, I do think it’s a clever trick for Atlus to pull on us. However, the more complicated the plan is, the more effort one should put in explaining said plan because, you know, it would be harder for the player to understand. I don’t mean treating the audience like idiots and I understand the concern of dragging the explanation scene out, but man, Atlus was totally off their game when it came to hinting/foreshadowing. Instead of doing off-hand comments about seemingly arbitrary, but relevant aspects of the plan (ex. Futaba’s bug on Akira’s phone, the search history function, etc.) that you can probably catch by your second or third run of the game, Atlus favored getting hung up on whether or not they wanted the traitor to be obvious or not because they seemed to be pretty damn bipolar regarding to that.

I do give them credit for making some information optional (discoverable by talking to Futaba). It makes the scene less draggy and allows people who don’t give two shits to skip the parts they don’t care. I don’t watch many let’s players on the same game, so I can’t conclude if many people actually went out of their way to talk to Futaba and process her words.

And one last note, I don’t think Persona 5 is a bad games by any standard, but I do believe that the writing is the weakest aspect of the game. Style and gameplay seems more polished than the actual story aspects.

I hope this helped for any of you guys out there. Feel free to let me know if you.see any mistakes/seek clarification. It’s 9:30 PM for me, so I hope I didn’t mess up too badly explaining this.

EDIT: It came to me that if the method of leaving the Metaverse is truly just by going back where they came, it raises issues in Shido’s Palace, where the place they started was on the front deck, which, as you guys know, was sinking into the depths by the end. Basically, there’s no winning with P5 plotholes-- no matter how you look at it, there’s an issue.

[kamvkoma]

1,2,3,4,7,9,15,16,23,30,32,34,37 for fanfic writer meme

thanks for the ask!!!!

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.i don’t know if i even have a comfort zone when it comes to writing lmaoo. i will say that i found my kamukoma college au to be pretty easy and fun to write, so i guess something lighthearted like that? 

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?i love the fake/pretend relationship trope, and have been mulling over a half-baked idea about one. don’t know if it’ll ever come to fruition, though. 

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?probably anything that has to go with kids. i don’t like kids or kid fics lmao.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?honestly, not too many at the moment. i’m sort of between fandoms right now. i have some ideas for p5 and some for sdr2. i already kind of said i’d like to do one involving a fake/pretend relationship, and that one would be sdr2. i don’t want to go into it more though in case i do end up writing it! 

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.“Hinata thinks he loves Komaeda the way Komaeda loves fire—because it’s beautiful, and it will destroy everything, even the one who loves it.”i don’t know, there are some snippets of prose i like in this fic but i can’t pick anything in particular, so here’s the summary lol which isn’t too bad either. this is the first fic i posted on ao3 and i still have a soft spot for it, and i think despite some obvious flaws, it’s one of my favorites because of the vaguely-poetic prose.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?i gave up on that coffee shop au of mine from a while back because that was hard to write. that’s just because i planned to give it a sad ending, and then felt bad and didn’t want to do it, lmao.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?the one that i’m currently working on (and i use the term “currently working on” loosely because it’s been nearly a year since the last update...) is definitely going to more action-packed than anything else i’ve written, so i’d go with that. oh, and that mirai nikki au i never ended up continuing... that’d be cool to watch too. 

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?despite not really being very into the dangan ronpa fandom at the moment, kamukoma never gets old to me, so i’ll go with that.

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?i don’t even know... my oldest ones on ao3 aren’t that old, but i haven’t written much else before that. not anything finished, anyway. so i’m not sure.

30. Do you accept prompts?yes!!! i can’t always promise that i’ll come through with them, because i’m garbage, and sometimes a particular prompt just doesn’t inspire me enough. but i encourage anyone to send me something they want and i’ll see what i can do.

32. How do you feel about smut?smut is good, i don’t read too much of it anymore, but i like when it’s done very well. i don’t like writing it, though--i get too embarrassed....

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?i don’t like it... i might read a fic about it if it’s treated appropriately and with the severity it deserves, but i don’t know if i’d ever write it. 

37. Talk about your current wips.i can’t because i feel too ashamed lmaoooo. i have so much i should be doing.... don’t look at me;;;

[empanther]

SHIPPING INFO   //   answer  the  following  for  your  muse(s)  so  people  know  how  shipping  works  on  your blog.  REPOST.  DON’T  reblog.

1.   WHAT’S  YOUR  OTP  FOR  YOUR  MUSE? :

i wouldn’t say i have a definitive OTP for ann? at least not in the sense that i vastly prefer her with one character over others because i honestly believe she has considerable potential with a lot of the persona 5 ( young adult ) cast!

however, i won’t deny that there are some pairings i feel more strongly towards than others and those would be ( in no particular order )! :

   – makoto & ann / ann & haru / makoto & ann & haru : i adore these three ( and the entire female cast of p5 too lbr ), both individually and collectively and not exclusively in a romantic context. these three complement one another as duos and as a cumulative trio and anytime i see any content for them, you can bet i’m smashing that motherhecking like button    – ryuji & ann : that animated cut sequence at the conclusion of the seventh palace. u kno which one i’m talking about. yea. that one. that is all. ( ok but in all seriousness there’s so much subtext hinting at them i love them ) –   akechi & ann : this is probably the one that’d elicit the most hate and out of the interest for my safety i shall refrain from elaborating on the reason for this ship here : ‘ ) – ann & girls : ain’t no way in heck she’s straight ( hint: she’s bi ) – me & @burntofight : ilu

2.   WHAT  ARE  YOU  WILLING  TO  RP  WHEN  IT  COMES  TO  SHIPPING? 

this is such a broad question     ummm………….. whatever constitutes the standard ( with the exception of nsfw / heavily grim content ), i suppose? ( i was going to elaborate on what i define as ‘nsfw’ but there’s a question for that later on so i’ll expound there! )

3.   HOW  LARGE  DOES  THE  AGE  GAP  HAVE  TO  BE  TO  MAKE  IT  UNCOMFORTABLE? :

since this is a v sensitive and complicated topic and i have no interest in inciting or participating in discourse, i’ll limit the scope of this question to ann and ann alone.

ann is canonically 16 and ( while emotionally mature for someone her age ) she—as i understand and interpret her—would not, at time the game takes place, date someone older than her by 2 years ( i.e. older than 18 ) or younger than her by 1 year ( i.e. younger than 15 ). given her young age in her canon material, this would invariably change as she grew older, such that by the time she’s in her early 30s she’d be comfortable dating up to 5 years older / 3 years younger. ( please be aware that is based on my understanding of ann and is applicable only in relation to my interpretation of her. ) 

4.   ARE  YOU  SELECTIVE  WHEN  SHIPPING? :

not really! especially when it comes to roleplaying female characters as they so seldom get enough appreciation OOCly that i’m more than amenable to the concept of romantic interest / interaction as compensation for the convention of the fandom’s mistreatment / negligence of them. as long as there’s chemistry between the characters and the muns are in mutual agreement about roleplaying in that context, the idea delights me!

5.   HOW  FAR  DO  STEAMY  MOMENTS  HAVE  TO  GO  BEFORE  THEY’RE  CONSIDERED  NSFW? :

hfakshdas i said i was going to elaborate here but i’m embarrassed……………… AHEM ok! honestly nsfw content of a sexual nature is almost nonexistent across all my blogs regardless of whether the muse in question is a minor or not simply because i’m v awkward w the topic.

as a rule of thumb as to what i’ll tag as nsfw: anything that is more sexual in nature than kissing without tongue; if kissing involves tongue, it’ll be tagged as #nsfw cw / #nsfw ish cw (altho regardless of the intensity of the kiss i’ll still tag it as kissing & pda)

as for the specifics of the extent of nsfw that has the potential to appear on this blog:    – in verses in which ann ( or any of my muses ) is under or around the age 18: anything beyond intense kissing would be considered too nsfw for me to feel comfortable writing and i’d either stop there or have the thread “fade to black”    – in verses in which ann ( or any of my muses ) is an adult [ 20+ ]: anything beyond intense kissing / caressing of the body above the belly button and beneath mid-thigh / removal of shirts and/or pants ( undergarments remain on ) would be considered too nsfw for me to feel comfortable writing and i’d either stop there or have the thread “fade to black”

6.   WHO  ARE  OTHER  MUSES  YOU  SHIP  YOUR  MUSE  WITH? :

wait wha i thought i answered this question unless it means specific blogs??? in which case i owe my fervent frankness abt p5 girl gays to my gaylord and gayvior @shogitogo ( hifumi ) / @okxmura ( haru )  +  @freefound’s ryuji is my forever best boy  +  @queenedme could run over me w johanna and i’d thank them and their makoto +  both ann and i would lay down our lives for @burntofight’s sakura ( & their yuri & their evrae & their kamui——& theo gets an honorary mention bc he’s a Good )

7.   DOES  ONE  HAVE  TO  ASK  TO  SHIP  WITH  YOU? :

if you want to have our muses start out in a romantic relationship — yes! i like to communicate with the mun of whomever i’m shipping with so communication is a must! otherwise — nope! it would be nice but it’s not a requirement, especially if we have a thread or have interacted numerous times and you’d like to further their relationship in a romantic context.

however, if i a reblog a meme that implies / entails romance, anyone is free to send something in, even if we’ve yet to interact!

8.   HOW  OFTEN  DO  YOU  LIKE  TO  SHIP? :

it’s definitely not a priority and seldom ( if ever ) do i initiate interaction with the intent of romance. tl;dr: if it happens, it happens!

 9.   ARE  YOU  SHIP  OBSESSED  OR  SHIP  MORE - OR - LESS? :

i…………… don’t know what this means……………… but like i said in the previous question, shipping is not a priority of mine; however if we have agreed to ship then odds are i’m super enthusiastic abt it and would love to talk about them / their dynamic ( on this same note, if i ever become too overbearing, please don’t hesitate to tell me to heck off bc i absolutely understand and would never take offense to your doing so! )

10.   ARE  YOU  MULTISHIP? :

i should probably put this in my rules too but i’m multiship + ship exclusive meaning that i’m open to shipping w numerous different characters but won’t ship with another blog of the same character!

11.   WHAT  IS  ( ARE )  YOUR  FAVORITE  SHIP  (S)  IN  YOUR  CURRENT  FANDOM? :

i……………………. ………am i answering these questions incorrectly i feel like i am bc i thought i already answered this ( see question 1! )

12.   FINALLY,  HOW  DOES  ONE  SHIP  WITH  YOU?:

just approach me about it! ( even tho i can’t understand y u would ever want to )

tagged by: the swexy @burntofight​ tagging: any sorry soul that put themselves through the entirely optional torture of actually reading my response to this thing ( feel free to tag me! )

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

oh! I'm surprised (mainly 'cause Yusuke and Futaba are two of my favs) but ye a post explaining it would be nice. Could it be under a read more if that's alright though?

(Sorry for taking so long had to rewrite 2 of them ;w;)

*inhales* Ok, Ipromised myself I wouldn’t say anything unless someone asked me. So here we go.;w; Don’t worry I was gonna put it under a cut anyways. XD Beware, it’s gonnaget a bit negative and there will be endgame spoilers so yeah. 8U (alluding to this post btw) (note: I rewrote this and the endgame spoilers are only in the Goro section, the rest are about beginning tomidgame spoilers and I tried to keep the vague)

(also you don’t have to agree with me, and I’m not being negative just to be negative, someone asked my opinion and I’m just being truthful. So please don’t send hate)

Ok so like…..it’s not that I hate thesecharacters (hopefully I won’t, but I can’t fully say till the english version),but…..I actually just don’t care about them…. I’m very, VERY apathetic tothem. But I should note that out of all my least favs Yusuke and Futabalook like they could possibly go up when the english version is released (stillwill be ranked under Haru but better than where they are now). I feel like someof these might be because of the fandom or because I really am not happy withhow the game is paced/how it flows….. Also it took so long cause I had torewrite Makoto’s and Goro’s cause it go too heated and negative (probably cause I’ve been bottling this up for months) sooooolkdasnfafnlak;ndfk;a I’mm keep it short and simple

Yusuke: I dunno…..maybe itwas when he was first announced people compared him to Jun. I dunno if it’scause I don’t like Jun or that I don’t like how it felt like they weren’tletting him stand by himself as his own character…. So maybe it’s that Idon’t like his design? (I really do think they should’ve went with thebrowner-haired and long haired version we see in his concept art.) Maybe it’scause I didn’t trust him? Judging by the concept art (when it was more roughsof him) he seemed a bit shady…..maybe he was originally going to be thetraitor? Maybe it’s just that I don’t like how the fandom views him… Maybeit’s all these things…I can admit I didn’t like him when he was firstannounced. When I got the game tho? I did like his arc, not as much as thefirst arc (no really that arc really leaves an impression) but it was a goodfollow up and is like maybe my 2nd fav in the game (and cause of hisarc I feel like I do have the potential to like him more). And then…I dunnowhat happened…it’s like he dropped off the face of the earth! When they weretalking in-game during the plot related things after the 2nd dungeonI would catch myself thinking “Oh yeah he exists! I forgot!” I legitforgot this kid existed. I don’t really recall him doing anything worthwhileeither (maybe what he contributed in the discussions was big? I dunno, it feltlike everyone else was talking a lot and contributing and not him as much? thisis something that the english ver will clear up for me tho so my opinion willprobably change, this isn’t a reason why I don’t like him…I just….didn’tnotice).  I know what you’re thinking “Well what about his CoOp? How couldyou forget he existed if he had a CoOp!” Well……I… didn’t…..do it….. 8UCause he wasn’t a character I cared about still, and I was focusing on eithermy stats or CoOps that I deemed more important (like best in-game benefits andwho I actually liked) or could do. So yeah…..Though, all this being said, Ireally do like his interactions with Futaba tho, maybe it’s cause he’s probablythe closest in age to her,or maybe it’s cause they’re both odd. I kinda ship them. 8U He’s really theonly one I do ship her with. >.>  This is a good segue into…

Futaba: I dunno, she alsorubbed me the wrong way when she was first announced (actually her and Haru andMakoto all did….). I dunno she was very “waifu bait-y” when I first sawher. And…..now…..she still kinda does, but more on the “littlesister-siscon kinda bait.” She really does feel like a little sister toeveryone except Yusuke and Makoto (Makoto is more like her mom tbh). And so herromance really……feels almost like I’m romancing Nanako tbh, and the factyou can view how she falls for you asa way of “tricking her” (not my words, just repeating what I heard someoneelse say), so that doesn’t really sit right with me either….And the fact thatshe’s been listening in on you for months…..is……yeah…… I think weshould’ve had a CoOp  with her at thestart of the game that was similar to the Hermit in P3 (it hits a roadblock atsome point of course and opens up again after plot stuff happens), we insteadare her online friend and she gets close to use that way. Maybe she does hackto find out location but she doesn’t….you know….bug our place. I dunno someof the things just doesn’t sit right with me. But her backstory does seeminteresting, so that might have me like her in the englishversion….. “So did you do her CoOp?” Didn’t do anything past rank 1 tbh(ok maybe rank 2 or 3, I had some free time before the game ended)…. Statusreasons was the main reason, but again….like Yusuke….didn’t really care(tho I got farther in Yusuke’s CoOp I think).

Makoto: Let’s be honest, shedoesn’t even need to be here. She’s only here cause of her sister Sae, and tbhI’d rather have Sae be on the team. We know the MC was originally going to livewith or next to Sae in the early versions, I bet Makoto wasn’t even conceived backthen. It’s only when they moved the MC they decided that Makoto might beneeded, and even then they could’ve gotten around her and still go stuff done.Nothing Makoto does is that important that another character could’ve done. “Butshe found Haru! That’s what the wiki says” (might have changed) No…..She didn’t,Anne found Haru in the book. Makoto just accompanied the MC to confront Haru….whichyou didn’t really need anyone could’ve done that. “Oh but she’s the strategist ofthe group!”  So? Tbh why is she the strategist?What gives her the authority to be that? Cause she’s smart? Guess who else issmart? Hifumi. And guess what, she’s more of a strategist than Makoto. The gameshe’s a pro at is more is grounded in strategy. And guess what, she wasoriginally going to be on the team too. It would’ve made more sense to haveHifumi on the team than Makoto.

Tldr; She’s unnecessary/doesn’tneed to be there, her role could be removed completely or just filled by anyoneelse. 

Goro: Sigh…..short andsweet….short and sweet. I don’t care about him and his struggles. 1)  we don’t see it, it’s only alluded too (P5’sshow don’t just tell thing was so strong with the first two dungeons and Futaba’swas decent too, and Haru’s problems with her fiancé was shown and you felt forher too despite her being thrown in last second). They already did this withSho and Adachi (Adachi was kinda lost in translation, and Sho was just not toldtoo well but still they’re retreading). Like I have to rely on what I saw withthe other kids to feel for Goro instead of Goro himself. And speaking of that2) he has more in common with other characters than the MC (like Yusuke, and/orAnne/Ryuji)…..which really sucks considering he’s supposed to be the duality tothe MC (like Adachi-MC, Sho to Adachi/MC, Ryoji to MC, Takaya to MC ect), yesit’s not uncommon for other teammates to have duality with the antagonist(Adachi-Yosuke/Naoto, heck the Adachi-Yosuke really parallels Goro-Yusuke)….but…..whatabout MC-Goro????? They really don’t have much in compare and contrast going onimo. 3) He doesn’t even feel like one who fulfills a detective role in aPhantom Thief thing (ex Batman to Catwoman, Carmalita Fox to Sly Cooper, ToshioUtsumi to Hitomi and her sisters, Ganimard/Zenigata toLupin/Lupin the 3rd, etc you get the point), if anything Sae is the one who fulfillsthat role more (bonus points she’s pretty much Naoto in this game, who alsofulfills this role). 4) I never felt like the team felt connected to him….likethey knew he was a snitch and they never really treated him well imo, so himbeing like “I’ll help you out and sacrifice myself” doesn’t really make a wholelot of sense. I mean if he had been on your team longer that would’ve made alittle more sense, but they didn’t like him before or after joining the teamtbh…. So why should I feel connected when the rest of the team doesn’t reallyeither (heck the fact you can be so freaking mean to him as the MC AND STILLrank up really doesn’t make sense). :/

Tldr; He’s not reallywell written compared to everyone else (as well as other past antagonists), and he doesn’t make sense.