#chie i’m so sorry you’re in persona 4

[klvbxlove]

chie being saved by her male s/o after being trapped in a bubble

anon asks:

Weird persona 4 Headcanon request, but how would Naoto, Chie, Yukiko, and Rise (each separate) react to being captured alone by a Shadow in the TV World, and put in a giant floating bubble, they can’t pop from the inside? As things look grim, as they’re going to be trapped in a bubble forever, they’re rescued by their Male S/O, who pops the bubble, and they land in their arms.

a/n: another request from an anon! i do have to give the news that i ONLY did chie for this. unfortunately, i was having a bit difficulty for the other girls, and that’s when i realized that maybe writing for up to 5 characters can be draining for me. which is why i’ll only write 2 characters for headcanons (in the case i write for more, it’s only because i found the motivation to). and also, i realized i did write your request a bit differently (not by a whole lot, though!). OOPS. so yeah, i’m really, really sorry if this isn’t what you wanted :( just let me know if you want this rewritten or if you want something different!

reader type: male

reader specification(s): none

pairing(s): chie x reader

word count: 758 words

♡ ♡ ♡ (ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*) ♡ ♡ ♡

key:

(y/n) = your name

♡ ♡ ♡ (ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*) ♡ ♡ ♡

By now, Chie was already used to fighting shadows in the TV world. I guess you could say she had little to no fear up to this point. However, there was one shadow that Chie underestimated just a bit. And oh boy, that was her mistake! 

It had started with her and the rest of the Investigation Team fighting it, although there was some difficulty. Moments did pass, and the group was extremely close to finishing it off. Chie could feel the excitement coming through her veins at another victory! But that excitement was soon wiped off as the shadow unexpectedly trapped her in a bubble.

Chie was a bit taken off guard by this, but she didn’t think much of it. She figured maybe she could pop herself out. At first, she tried touching the bubble on her own to see if she could free herself. It didn’t work. Chie figured it was a much more powerful one, and she used her Persona. Again, it didn’t work (Oh God, no!). That’s when she resorted to seeing if any of the Investigation Team members could help her out. And much to her dismay, not even they could pop the bubble.

Chie was starting to panic right now. So not only did the shadow come out as undefeated, but it also trapped her in a God damn bubble?! THAT SHE CANNOT POP FROM THE INSIDE?! It was not helping that she was starting to float away from the rest of the group.

Later, Chie felt like she had been floating for all her life (in reality, it was only a few hours). At this point, she was beginning to realize that she was probably going to be stuck in there forever. And the team still has not found her, too.  All hope, she felt, was gone. She might as well try to get comfortable, even though it was hard—

“CHIE!” At the sudden call of her name, Chie’s eyes immediately widened, and she looked around to see who said it. Looking down at the ground, she gasped even farther upon realizing it was you! Her S/O! 

First, she was slightly confused. When the hell did you arrive here? As far as she remembered, you were extremely busy and had no choice than to skip out on the TV World with the team. But then again, Chie realized that this wasn’t the time to question things (and at least you were here!). She still had to find a way to escape this bubble—

‘POP!’ Chie’s eyes widened upon hearing the sound. She realized the bubble was gone. She was finally free! However--

“AHHHHHHHH!” Crap, she was falling! High up from the sky! Damn it, she needed something to land on, but how was that supposed to happen?! 

Then you answered Chie’s prayers. “Don’t worry, I got you!” you yelled. You moved around just a bit to find the perfect position, and before you knew it, you had caught Chie in your arms. 

When Chie hesitantly opened her eyes, she realized that she was being carried bridal-style by you. Meanwhile, you gave her a relieved smile. “Are you okay?” you asked. “You’re not hurt or anything, right?”

“O-Oh! Um…” Chie scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, “Yeah, don’t worry, (Y/N)! I’m all good! Ahaha, oh man, I felt like I was about to die, though,”

You chuckled at how quiet she was becoming (you assumed she meant to whisper the last part. “Well, obviously, I wasn’t gonna let you die,” you said, as you gave Chie a wink. “I mean, what kind of a S/O would I be if that were to happen?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Chie could feel a blush tinting her cheeks, damn it! Why did it have to be a damsel-in-distress moment for her?! She was more than capable of saving herself. Although that’s not to say she didn’t enjoy being rescued by you—

Carefully, you placed Chie back on her feet before engulfing her into a hug. “You really gave everyone a scare, you know?” you spoke softly. “You especially scared me when I came here. Yosuke and Teddie were practically waving their arms in panic as they explained the situation. And I’m not saying this as if I’m accusing you of not being capable of this, but be careful next time, okay?” 

Was this a shoujo anime? Because Chie did NOT remember a sparkling background with cliche OST. But regardless, she felt a sense of passion behind your hug, so she wrapped her arms back around you. “Don’t worry, (Y/N),” she whispered. “I’ll be careful.”

[notcorrect-persona5]

Hello, may I make a very Persona 4 quotes request? Can you do AU where the Investigation Team (excluding Teddie) instead of having Shadow selves they have to confront, have Persona 5 Style awakenings? Can you do make quotes of what their Shadows say to them in their heads before they tear off a mask?

Since Persona 5 has a completely different premise than Persona 4, this was really hard. I tried to stick to what was going on in the character’s lives, but for them to get a P5 style awakening, the game would need to have a different plot, the characters would need backstory changes, and the Palace rulers would be characters that don’t exist (with the exception of maybe Adachi, Namatame, and Mitsuo). These aren’t great, but they’re the best I could come up with. I hope they aren’t too cringy!

Rise

The idol world is...not great in the Persona universe. Rise often implies that she was sexualized while working in the industry, and in Persona 4 Dancing she gets mad that idols are being treated as dolls rather than human beings. Dancing talks about how these girls are trained to create an entirely new persona because that’s what sells. That’s what people want to see. In this AU, Rise would be standing up to someone who represents the idol world.  

“They only view you as something to be toyed with...To them, you’re nothing more than a beautiful doll...But I see the porcelain is starting to crack...Will you embrace the role of a marionette designed for the entertainment of others? Or will you cut the strings that tell you how to live?...Such passion... I am thou, thou art I...It is time you take back the throne.”

P4 Dancing gave me the idea of going with a doll theme. It also matched with the idea of being a marionette controlled by the idol world. The throne part is a reference to her Persona who was known for being a beloved queen.

Naoto

Naoto knew she wouldn’t be respected as a detective because of who she is, so she pretended to be a boy. But as her Shadow said, no matter how mature she acts, she couldn’t pretend to be an adult. Naoto was still talked down to because of her age. The Inaba police found it insulting that a child was brought in to help them with their jobs. They didn’t care how many cases she solved or how many times she’s proved herself as a talented detective. They refused to look at her as a colleague. They also disliked her methods and acted as if they knew better. Although the Inaba Police aren’t the first people to act this way towards her, in this AU the Palace ruler Naoto is standing up to would be someone from the Inaba Police. The story takes place in Inaba, so that’s what makes sense to me.

“Are you done hiding behind the guise of the Detective Prince?...Are you done living a lie?...I see. Then let us forge a contract. I am thou, thou art I...With your skills and this power, you will finally reveal the secrets behind this case...No longer shall you hesitate, doubt, or deceive.” 

Chie

Chie doesn’t have anyone specific to stand up to, so I think her awakening would be similar to Ren’s. Like Ren, I think Chie would awaken to her Persona to protect another party member (I assume Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie) in whoever’s Palace they’re in. Chie’s whole thing is protecting people, so this idea actually fits pretty well. 

“Your friends...They’re in danger...Will you stand there and watch?...Will you run away to protect yourself?...Or will you save the lives of those whom you hold dear...I thought as much...Very well...I am thou, thou art I...Accept this contract...Follow your heart.”

As for everyone else, I won’t be posting their awakenings. I did write them, but they kind of really suck. If you want to see what I came up with, DM me, and I’ll send them to you. Even though I won’t post their actual awakenings, I’ll talk about the concepts I used.

Kanji

I don’t know what the lead up to Kanji’s awakening would be. It depends on who the Palace ruler is and how it would relate to Kanji. Because of that, I wrote Kanji’s awakening similar to Makoto’s: less about who he’s standing up to and more about what he’s standing up to if that makes sense. 

Yosuke

Yosuke would be standing up to someone who represents the people in Inaba who treat his family poorly or employees at Junes who take advantage of him. I took the taking advantage of route when I wrote it his awakening. 

Yu

Since he’s the protag, Yu has to have his awakening at the start of the game, but I don’t think he has the “will of rebellion” then or most of Persona 4. There’s actually a few dialogue options Yu has stating that you shouldn't or can’t do anything to change the way things are. I still wrote an awakening though, and I centered it around people pleasing. Yu is very much a people pleaser, and it is extremely unhealthy. Although this awakening wouldn’t actually happen, I still wanted to figure something out for him, so that’s what I went with.

Yukiko

Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with anything for Yukiko. My first instinct was to make her awakening about the inn, but nobody at the inn is forcing her to take it over. They kinda figured she didn’t want to, and they were fine with it. Everyone in town just assumed she would take it over, including herself. 

I’m sorry this probably isn’t what you were looking for, but I tried my best. This was really hard, but it was cool getting such a unique ask!

[rjr1396]

Fake Dating AU

Based/inspired off of this 

So I know very little of Persona Q so bear with me. Souyo + Akimina

Imagine that somehow, the events of both persona 3 and 4 are going on at the same time (don’t worry about the logic) outside of the events of persona Q

When Minato/Makoto’s partner ended up being Yosuke, he didn’t mind. Sure he did hope for a certain boxer, but a fellow music lover is the next best thing he figures. Hell Yosuke seems all for it, so this shouldn’t be that bad.

The moment Yosuke said that he and Minato/Makoto were destined partners, Souji/Yu tried to not visibly wince, weren’t they partners? He had to remind himself that it didn’t mean anything, it was just the gimmick for this part of the labyrinth

Akihiko on the other hand didn’t expect the sudden flare of irritation of seeing his leader with Yosuke. He didn’t even realize that he was clenching his fists until Mitsuru grabbed his wrist and gave him a look that somehow said ‘Calm down’ and ‘Don’t do something stupid’. He tried calming down, but the moment he caught Shinji’s knowing smirk, he resorted to glaring at the ground trying to figure out why he’s acting like this. 

Minato/Makoto and Yosuke seemed to hit it off well, a little too well for Souji/Yu and Akihiko’s liking. The music lovers stuck together after that. Minato/Makoto noticed that Yosuke was a pretty good strategist and quite level headed when he needed to be, he was the second in command of the IT for a reason, he needed to be whenever their leader was too impulsive. Plus with how well he worked with Souji/Yu, they were a hell of a unit and asset to the team as a whole. Even Akihiko had to begrudgingly agree that Yosuke was strong, he still didn’t like the guy being a little too buddy buddy with his leader.

After everything was said and done, before each group went their separate ways, Yosuke and Minato/Makoto swapped info/numbers to keep in touch. They text every day.

Souji/Yu tried not to get too upset with that development, Yosuke didn’t have any friends outside of the IT so this is good for him, makes him happy, right?

Mitsuru kept telling Akihiko that it was good that Minato/Makoto have friends outside of SEES. They had to admit that he was smiling more now and Yosuke’s friendship was helping him open up more. Still, it didn’t help with the irritation or the bitterness he felt when he caught a smile that Yosuke help make. He may or may not have punched threw a few punching bags imagining they were of his face.

Minato/Makoto helped Yosuke realize that he may not be as straight as he thought he was, what do you mean I have feelings for Partner? For Souji/Yu?

Once Yosuke fully accepted himself, (Yes Yosuke you’re not straight, No this isn’t a phase, Yes you are somewhat socially inept at times, but this is more than that and you know it, No you can’t keep denying it unless you want to deal with another shadow, now get over yourself) he decides to come out to his parents

It goes well, though they are now convinced that the main reason he came out was because he had a boyfriend and after trying to tell them otherwise, he accidentally says that Minato/Makoto is his boyfriend who lives in Iwatodai.

“So I may have messed up a little.” ‘What did you do?’ “I may have told my parents that we were dating since they refused to believe that I didn’t have a boyfriend since I was coming out to them.” ‘….’ “Please.” ‘….’ “I’ll buy you beef bowls for a month.” ‘*sigh* Fine.’ “Yes! Thank you! AlsotheywanttomeetyouI’lltextyouthedetailslaterkthanksbye!” ‘…Wait what?’ *Hangs up*

Fuuka: Hey, how was your day? Minato/Makoto: Apparently I have a boyfriend now. Everyone: WHAT?!

The moment Minato/Makoto makes that announcement, says that Yosuke is now his boyfriend, everything falls into place for Akihiko. He had romantic feelings for Minato/Makoto and he was jealous of Yosuke. Shinji calls him an idiot. Mitsuru is a little more sympathetic but she still calls him an idiot too.

Teddie, busy with work doesn’t know the whole story, just that Yosuke’s dating someone, so he proceeds to tell the rest of IT, starting with Sensei. “Sensei, Sensei! Did you know that Yosuke’s scoring?” ‘…What?’

Minato/Makoto goes to Inaba for a visit the next holiday, staying with the Hanamuras. Yosuke’s parents end up loving him. They urge the couple to enjoy themselves in town which they do, Where’s my beef bowl Hanamura?

The IT decide to ask about what Teddie’s been telling them, C’mon Teddie, we’d know if Yosuke were dating anyone. They all meet up at Junes, Minato/Makoto hanging nearby out of sight for everyone but Yosuke in case he needs backup.

Yosuke comes out to the group (’I KNEW IT!’ “Shut up Chie!”) and they’re all okay with it, though the punch in the arm by Kanji was to be expected (”I really am sorry, man” ‘ts cool, but I will kick your ass if you bring it up again’ “Understood!”). Naoto and Yukiko applaud him for his bravery and willingness to open up to the group, Souji/Yu smiles and says that he’s happy for him (Internally crying for joy, he may have a chance!) Rise is the one who asks about him ‘scoring’. Yosuke waves Minato/Makoto over and announces that they’re dating. Something in Souji/Yu breaks a little.

The IT all accept Minato/Makoto. Souji/Yu pull him to the side to be alone for a bit Souji/Yu: You better not hurt him. Minato/Makoto: Wouldn’t dream of it. Souji/Yu: I’m being serious! Minato/Makoto: So am I.

Souji/Yu had never been more tempted to throw someone into the TV world til now, Yosuke was his best friend, his Partner, who did Minato/Makoto think he was getting in between them? (but he makes Yosuke happy, isn’t that what matters?)

Minato/Makoto: Yosuke, how long are we gonna keep this up? Yosuke: We’ll just wait til you go back to Iwatodai and then say that we broke up because of artistic differences, but decided to stay friends. Minato/Makoto: Did- did you just quote Chicago? Yosuke: ….Maybe.

Yosuke’s parents suggest that Yosuke go to Iwatodai for the 2nd half of the holiday break, so he does. When they arrive at the dorms, SEES welcome Yosuke amicably

Mitsuru: If you hurt him, know that they’ll never find your body. Yosuke: UH…

Akihiko maintains his distance from the couple (’It’s your fault for not figuring it out sooner, Aki.’ “Shut up Shinji!”), but it’s a bit harder to do when Yosuke joins them during the Dark Hour and into Tartarus. Everyone finds it sweet when Yosuke goes to help Minato/Makoto up when he gets knocked down, snaps him out of a status effect, or just full on takes a blow for him (”I could do that too.” ‘Yea, but you don’t’ “Shut up Shinji!”)

The truth comes out when Yosuke is about to leave for Inaba Minato/Makoto: Well, it’s been fun being fake boyfriends with you. Yosuke:  I guess we’ll just have to settle for just friends. Minato/Makoto: Maybe friends with benefits if we get bored and both single. Yosuke: Sure why not. Everyone: WAIT WHAT?! Minato/Makoto: Oh, did we forget to mention that?

They explain the whole situation and boy has Akihiko never felt more relieved. 

The moment Yosuke leaves Akihiko: Hey Minato/Makoto, you wanna get some beef bowls with me? Minato/Makoto: Is this a confession? Akihiko: Y-yes! Minato/Makoto: Thank fuck. 

Souji/Yu goes to pick up Yosuke from the train station. The moment Yosuke gets off, he gets a text from Minato/Makoto: ‘Man up and go get your man’ Souji/Yu: Get a text from your boyfriend? Yosuke: Ex-fake boyfriend if we’re being honest. Souji/Yu: Wait what?

By the time Yosuke’s done explaining everything they’re back at the Hanamura residence and they’re all alone. Souji/Yu: So it was all a lie? Yosuke: Yea, my parents just wouldn’t listen to reason. I do feel kinda bad for dragging hi-

Souji/Yu pulls him for a kiss, and Yosuke just pulls him closer.

They plan to have a double date the next day off

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

After a few fluffy pleasantries were exchanged, some cutesy things for their new fans, Rise bid her lady love farewell and went back to class. The rest of the day, she doodled in her notebook a few thoughts about the situation, trying to make sense of everything that happened. All in all, she was more or less satisfied with the results, even though she desperately regretted that they had to arrive there through such a rocky avenue.

Once she stepped outside, she barely had enough time to start fishing in her bag for an umbrella before one appeared over her head, blotting out the rain. She looked over to see Ai smiling serenely down at her.

"Awwwww," a chorus of girls from nearby cooed as the two headed off toward Inaba together. The boys around them mostly just looked confused.

Walking in silence with her arm hooked through Ebihara's was the nicest thing she had felt in a long time. If only it would last… but Rise knew better. Being right didn't make it any less hard to take.

"Let go of me," Ai growled when they were alone.

"Aww, c'mon," she purred in an unctuous voice, only tightening her hold on that arm. "We still make an adorable couple. And you know this still feels good."

"I ought to punch your lights out for what you did to me today. How could you out me in front of that whole crowd? Again?"

"What?! I didn't! In fact, I specifically saved you from being outed — they were going to lynch you, and somebody would have knocked your towel off!"

"That isn't- do you really expect me to believe that's the reason you did all that?"

It was, actually. "Of course not. Not all of it, not the only reason. But it's why I sped things up and jumped in when I did. I didn't want…"

Ai let out a bone-weary sigh. "Fine. Doesn't matter, the damage is done. Thank you very much, you cunt."

"Oooh, ouch." They were both quiet for a minute. "What do you mean, I outed you again? I didn't even out you on purpose the first time, and I specifically stopped anybody from finding out this time. Kind of self-destructed my career to do it."

"Oh please, your career was going nowhere. This isn't going to change that. And I didn't mean outing me as trans; I meant outing me as bisexual."

"What? Oh… well I did it to myself, too. You didn't leave me any choice! Do you not remember the part where I begged you to just let me walk away?"

"That's not the point! You made that choice, just like you made the last choice! It was all you! How do you not see why I'm pissed at you for taking away all my options?!"

"FINE!" When that word echoed off the nearby buildings, they both ducked their heads and tried to do a better job of keeping their voices down. "Fine. I'm a huge moron, I do everything wrong, I just mess everything up for poor you."

Ai snorted. "If you're waiting for me to disagree with you, you're going to have a long wait."

"But now you're stuck with me. At least for a little while. Maybe in a week or two, we can stage some big breakup — one where you're wearing all your clothes, and you could get away from me, and spend the rest of your life thinking I'm the worst person on Earth. But until then, it's me and you, so you're just going to have to make the best of it."

This silence was a lot longer. Both of them resented each other, and resented that they still cared about each other despite the damage they were causing. It wasn't until they were walking past the Shiroku store that Ai suddenly seemed to find her voice.

"Crappy as you're being toward me… I have to admit, I'm impressed. You got really conniving in that locker room."

"Yeah, well, you didn't leave me much choice," Rise sighed as she watched the clouds for a moment. "I can't let you run me out of my own hometown, or destroy my whole career. And making life miserable at school was just really getting old."

"Oh." When Rise turned to look at her, Ai shrugged. "Sorry. I don't know how, but I forgot this is your hometown. Probably because you were too busy slutting it up all over Japan to come back until last year."

"Oh yeah, slutting it up. The total virgin."

"You are not. I don't buy that at all; I never really did."

"Oh well," she sighed with a shrug. "Guess you'll never find out now, since you hate me so much."

"Oh yeah? Wait…" Ai brought them to a stop in the middle of the street, near the old Tatsuhime Shrine. "Did you think… I was going to stick my dick in you?"

Rise winced. Hard. She felt an odd chill run through the back of her knees at the directness of the language. "Do you have to be so vulgar? I mean, wow, you could use a little tact!"

"You did. You thought we would be each other's firsts. Awww, that's so cute!"

"Hey, I did not think that far ahead! And I always thought Yu-kun would be… my…"

That one still hit them both hard enough that the ire faded immediately. Seemed that despite all their best intentions to move on with life, they were still two women who carried a torch for a boy that had always been bound for greener pastures once his parents returned from overseas.

"That… can be what you give me."

"What?"

Ai turned to look at her coldly, directly. "Give me Narukami-kun."

"EXCUSE ME?!" she burst out, eyebrows shooting sky high. In the corner of her vision, she saw a little fox wearing some kind of bandana start and rush into the bushes. "Are you crazy? You think I'm just going to-"

"It's really simple. You and I take care of this breakup thing. Then, once I graduate, I'll chase after Narukami; we'll go to the same college. It'll be perfect. You're a year younger, you can't even try the same thing. And if you give me that… I'll consider us square. I will actually forgive you for trying to out me the first time, and for whatever the hell just happened in the locker room. Totally square on all fronts."

Rise couldn't even form a response. That was crazy. No, it was more than that. "Are you that disgusting?"

"What now?" Ai fired up. "Disgusting?!"

"Yeah! For thinking you can just say that Yu-kun is yours without even asking him!"

"God, you're such a goody-goody," she groaned with a huge roll of her eyes. "I meant, you will take yourself out of the running. Obviously I won't want to hang onto him if he's not interested anymore! But if it's between you and me for him, which it was looking like before…"

"Then you're the one, because I'm off the list." Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose while Ai smirked triumphantly. "That isn't… I mean, I can't really agree to that. If he comes after me, I'm going to let him. He deserves to be happy. But…"

"But?" she asked swiftly.

"But I will not chase him anymore. That is the best I can promise."

"You'll… really do it? Wow, I thought you had more fight in you."

"Oh, you have no idea," she grunted, and Ai snorted. "But I also know I really messed up. You won't believe me that it was an accident; okay, I can't help that. But I still should do what's right and try to make it up to you."

The prissy girl pursed her lips as she shook her head. "You always sound like you're in front of a fucking camera." But when Rise just shrugged and looked down at the ground, she didn't follow it up with another snide comment. Just started walking again in silence.

They made it all the way to Rise's before they seemed to realise what they were doing. Ai cleared her throat as she led them up to the door. And she couldn't resist. "What, were you waiting for a goodnight kiss?"

"For your adoring public? Pass." Then she sighed. "I was trying not to let you get rained on. Hurry up."

"Okay." Though she did hesitate. So many things she wanted to say… but now wasn't the time. As defeated as she felt, she had to convince herself that there would be more chances to patch things up if she didn't foul this one up by pushing. "Thanks."

"Yeah, whatever. Go."

And that was that. Except Rise knew, deep down, it wasn't. They would have more chances to do something besides snipe at each other ceaselessly. It was all she had to hang onto for now.

                              ~ o ~

"So wait… I don't get it."

"Neither do I," Rise sighed into the phone as she sorted through her clothes. "But like, do you mean you don't get it at all? Because I can explain it again if you need-"

"No, no, let me try." Chie's tinny voice took a deep breath. "You basically forced him to play a big game of chicken. Either he cops to the fact that you two have been screwing with each other, and he's been playing all these shitty pranks, or he has to spend time with you and like, you can maybe patch things up?"

"Youuuu got it. Oh — this one's cute, I forgot about this." She hung the garment over the closet door.

"Man, that is twisted. But he really said that if you back off Narukami he would forgive you?"

"She did."

"And you believe him?"

That pronoun thing was really starting to get on her nerves. "Chie… can you do me a big favour? Stop calling her 'him'."

"What? But… you told us he's a guy under all that makeup."

"It's disrespectful. She wants to be seen as a girl."

"Well… maybe he shouldn't be a dick to you. That kinda goes with the dick he has in-"

"Chie…" Rise wasn't even entirely sure why her blood was boiling over this so much. Especially when it wasn't like Ai had been entirely respectful to her. But she did know that she couldn't focus on the topic of discussion if she had to keep mentally correcting Chie.

"Okay, okay, geeze. It's not like I meant anything by it."

"I know. Just try? Pretty please?" Rise cleared her throat. "Anyway, yeah, I do believe her. But I'm not stupid. I know this could just be some kind of trick to one-up me again. Like, she still sees it all as a big game to win, and… I don't like it but I can't stop her."

"Right. So he's- she's willing to blow your friendship to kingdom come, and for what? The win? Bragging rights? That's so… depressing."

"She really thinks we hurt her. On purpose. And the more I think about it, the more I get it."

"Well, I don't! We were supposed to be her friends!"

"Her friends have betrayed her before. Back in her old school, they all said she was a gross pig, and disgusting, and… and all that other stuff. And here we act like we'll be her friends, but the minute we find out she's a little different, what do we do?"

There was an annoying groan on the other end of the line, preceding a sigh. And then… "We blabbed it all over school. You're right, I'm… we all sucked. But doesn't he know it was an accident by now? You told him, right?"

"Told her, yeah."

"Fuck. But yeah, so like, what more does h- she want from us? To make a public apology during the morning announcements?"

"Well…" Rise dropped the capris in her hands. "Whoa. Actually, that might be a great idea."

"HUH?! H-hey, come on, I was just messing around! I couldn't do that, you know how I get stage fright!"

"No, no, listen. Not what you said exactly, but… I think you and the others could apologise to her. I have, and that's important since the whole thing is my fault for blabbing in the first place. But I think if we all told her we were sorry for spreading it around…"

Chie didn't answer right away. Rise had enough time to put half of her clothes away before she breathed, "Okay… I don't like it, because it still feels like I didn't do anything wrong. But seeing how it turned out kinda does say otherwise, doesn't it?"

"A little bit."

"Yeah. Copy that, I'm… me and Yukiko are in. I'm sure she would have done it without even putting up a fight. And I can call Yosuke and bully him into agreeing."

"Thanks," Rise laughed as she flopped down on her bed. "Now… what do I wear on my date?"

"Yeah, I dunno. Wait — your what?!"

                              ~ o ~

Her date. With Ai Ebihara.

Now that the entire school was gossiping about how two of its prettiest girls were dating each other instead of the most eligible bachelors at Yasogami High, it was put up or shut up time. Which meant they had to be a couple as visibly as possible or be exposed as a sham. They had thought about simply being cutesy around school, but that could have the unpleasant side effect of getting them in trouble with the staff; they frowned upon public displays of affection. So they settled upon a little flirting and winking in the hallways, and going out to Aiya afterward.

Which was all Ai would talk about on the phone. No deep reflections on how they had hurt each other, no attempts to patch things up; just business. Which was funny, considering their "business" was pretending to patch things up. What a disaster. But Rise tried not to let it get to her; there would be plenty of time to improve this situation if she paid attention for opportunities.

Flirting and winking was easy, because it was brief. They both had some experience with acting; Rise professionally, and Ai in terms of learning a completely new set of outward responses and behaviours. That was another realisation she came to with all that free time apart from Ai. How hard must it be to learn how to be a boy all your life, then realise you aren't one, and have to start over from scratch? She had been about a dozen years behind the other girls her age at that point. No wonder she spent so much time poring over fashion magazines, exhibiting typical bitchy queen behaviour. She had to cram a lot into six short years.

"Well, are you ready, girl?" Ai said with a convincingly enraptured smile.

"Mmhmm!" Bounding over, she wrapped both arms around one of hers. Clinging. That was going to be her thing; since Ai was taller, she would be the 'girl', right? "Let's go! I'm starving!"

Once they were out of earshot of the students, Ai whispered, "Why are you hanging off me like this?"

"Because it's cuuuuuute," she cooed, making the taller girl snort. "And they expect me to be the cute one. I'm Risette, it's my whole thing; if I weren't, they would probably figure out something is up."

"Oh, you had a legit answer. Didn't expect that." Then she shrugged. "I guess that works. It's just… nah. Forget it."

"Oh, don't get all shy now, Ebi-chan!" When she poked her in the stomach, Ai looked so offended that she couldn't help laughing. "No, really. What's up?"

"No, I… I'm just… I know you don't care, but this is bad for my dysphoria."

"Dyswhat?"

Her eyelid twitched in annoyance. "Gender dysphoria. It means… like… you know how euphoria means you feel really good?" Rise nodded. "Dysphoria is the opposite. And in terms of gender, like, it means I'm uncomfortable because…"

Ai was really and truly struggling. So she might as well give it a shot. "Because… your gender isn't right?"

"NO. That's the opposite of- forget it."

"Hey, I don't know this stuff. I don't know why you keep acting like I'm supposed to be- like, you. That's not fair."

"No, it's not. But it's not my job to educate you on all of it, either. Crack a book, go online? God, you have so many resources avail-"

"And you are one of them. I'm asking because I want to understand better! Really! Clearly I screwed up bad so I… do you want me not to screw up anymore, or what?"

That seemed to take Ai by surprise. She blinked a few times before shaking her head. "Wow. Spoiled as ever. You should still try to learn this shit on your own, too, but… I guess… I am a little impressed."

"You said you felt this badness because I'm hanging off your arm, right? I don't get it. I mean, is it because it makes your boy-parts uncomfortable?"

"They're not-" Another deep, cleansing breath. Was she really being that much of a pain in the ass? "Okay, I'll walk you through this, princess. You're hanging off my arm like you would for a guy. But I'm not a guy — and I've literally spent thousands of dollars and years of my life trying not to be seen as one. So when you treat me like one, anyway…"

A crease marred her perfect brow. "Oh. It… gives you the big feel-bad. I see."

And she let go right away. Rise felt even more alone now, walking next to Ai, than she had over their days of total silence. Even now, she was still screwing up. She wasn't wanted by the person she found herself most wanting to be with. If that wasn't the lowest feeling in the world, it was definitely in the running.

"There you go."

"What?"

"There." Ai was pointing at her. "The way you look right now? Probably feel like garbage? That's it — that's how I felt all day when people were spreading the rumour around, how I felt back before my transition began. Like I'd rather walk into traffic than have to keep feeling that way. Maybe it's not quite that terrible for you but at least it gives you an idea."

"Oh." By now, her eyes were watering, but she told herself this wasn't the time for a pity party. She had to take care of Ai if she wanted to show her she was really listening, not just making nice for the sake of moving past the painful retaliation. "S-so I shouldn't… grab your arm. Or do other things that make you feel like the 'boyfriend'? But I don't… know how to… what e-else I'm…"

"Spare me the tears," Ai said — but at least this time, she just sounded defeated instead of angry or disgusted. "Just say what you mean, like an adult."

"Fine! Then I don't know how to be your girlfriend, because all I know how to do are girlfriend things! What, am I supposed to be the boy? I have NO IDEA HOW! Should I get a driver's license so I can chauffeur you around?! Buy you a really, really late White Day present?! I… I'm not good at that, I'm just going to screw it up, and you already think all I do is screw up! So can't you just tell me what to do already if I'm such a failure?!"

By that point, there were definitely more than a few people standing on the sidewalks, staring at the two of them. Rise knew it was her own fault; she had lost control of her emotions. The frustration was manageable most of the time but her patience and resolve weren't infinite. The look on Ai's face was one of abject horror, mingling with confusion. But little by little…

She began to smile. Then laugh — not much, just a chuckle or two. "Oh my God, that was a lot."

"Tell me," Rise said in a softer whisper.

"Fine. The real answer is 'neither of us is the boy', but I don't think you'll like that one. So…" She shrugged and started walking again, Rise hurrying to fall into step next to her. "Just do what you want to do for a friend. But for me. And say something cutesy and girlfriend-y; that part is fine. I would want you to act like the girlfriend, anyway, since you are a girl. I just don't want to be treated like a boy."

"But that's so complicated!" she burst out in frustration.

"Yeah," Ai admitted with a long sigh, eyes downcast. "Everything is. You… really complicated my life. I was hoping I could just marry Narukami, finish my surgeries and so on, and maybe life would fall into place. And here comes Risette to throw a wrench in the works."

That left her quiet for a moment. Then a small smile formed on her lips. "Along comes Risette? Meaning… you aren't completely done with me yet?"

"Tch. Clearly I'm not now that you blackmailed me into this relationship."

"Hmmm, you mean like you tried to blackmail me into outing you?" She examined her nails as they reached Inaba proper, turning down the street toward the diner. "Which I figured out, by the way."

Ai blinked a few times. "You did? What do you mean, you 'figured it out'?"

"Your motive. Guess I'm not as dumb as I look."

"What motive?" But instead of answering, Rise merely skipped ahead a few steps, turned to walk backward, and stuck her tongue out at her. "Hey! What the hell are you talking about?! JERK! You are the WORST!"

                               To Be Continued…

[snowpeawritings]

14. Everyday’s Great...

Philemon seems to enjoy seeing his Wild Cards live on with their lives…

insp.

Persona 4 Golden X FeMC!Reader

05/03/TUE-Daytime | Junes Foodcourt

“If the killer was trying to silence her, there might’ve been something at the scene only she would have understood. Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi.”

The words of Adachi still rang fresh in your mind. Yesterday, you and Yosuke offered to treat Chie and Yukiko Junes’s steak meal as compensation for your Personas practically eating all of the instant noodles. When your group had given them the steaks, Adachi had came by and began rambling his mouth over precious information. The evidence that’s been compiled from the police has been keeping you awake at night. Even Izanami had caught on with your overthinking, her trying to shake you out of it last night and before you were meeting with the others plus Nanako.

Speaking of Nanako, she was having the time of her life being at the food court despite it being, well, just a food court. You wish you could share her happiness but with how those words ring in your mind, you just couldn’t share her sentiment.

“So you’re the family cook, huh? Pretty impressive ‘Big Sis’!”

You blinked out from your thoughts, looking at Chie for a moment before shrugging. “You have to do what you have to do.”

You tried to ignore the sharp, side-eye glance from your Persona as you fiddled with the hem of your coat.

“As expected from our Leader! You’re pretty good with your hands when you made me that pork cutlet the other day!” Yosuke said, giving you a thumbs up.

Jiraiya, who was being held by the scarf by Tomoe, piped up. “’Good with your hands’...? Really, man?”

Yosuke choked, cheeks flushing red. “D-Don’t take words out of my mouth!”

You were thankful for the distraction as Izanami shook her head at the Wind-attuned Persona. “I blame the both of you for that.”

Beside her, the shivering pink Persona looked at Jiraiya and Tomoe. The muscled Persona still had Jiraiya in a strong, leash-like grip. “They’re quite close, aren’t they?”

From that comment, Tomoe sneered but held no ill will against Konohana. “As if I would be close to scum like this idiot.”

“Hey, that’s like two insults already!” Jiraiya yelled at her. “Besides, it’s not like I bug you all the time and the rest of the ladies don’t realize I exist!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, we have a new ally on our cause that I’d rather not corrupt so soon.”

Beside Yukiko, Konohana Sakuya was busy trying to catch a butterfly between her hands. It would’ve been adorable if the butterfly phased through her hands like they were nothing before she sadly sighed. She may not have realized that she was able to physically grasp things at her will but you’ll put your faith in Izanami that she’ll teach her... Even though you don’t know how they do it themselves.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue in disdain before moving his head towards Yukiko. “Hey, Amagi, was it?”

The girl in red jumped up in surprise, not expecting to be under fire. “Um, yes?”

He cocked his head (as much as he could) to your direction. “You sure you don’t have any closeted feelings for ____ here? Because I’m pretty sure Sakuya here says otherwise.”

“Dude!”

“Anyway!” Chie exclaimed before patting her hand behind Nanako’s chair loudly: A sign that there was a child in the group and, most importantly, she can’t see or hear your Personas. “I can consider myself a pretty good cook too!”

Yosuke scoffed. “You? Cook? Hard pass.”

“What, you wanna cook-off?!”

From her battle cry, Tomoe let go of Jiraiya’s scarf and raised her fist at Yosuke. “Bring it on! Chie will not be defeated by the likes of you!”

Jiraiya flexed his shoulders even though you knew that he was joking about this. “Don’t cry when you lose, woman.”

“Children, behave.” Izanami said, but not making a move to stop them at all.

Now that it sunk in, you looked back at her on why she wasn't stopping them. In fact, she was leaning on her left leg and her arms crossed like she's watching actual children fight. All you could think about was since when was Izanami so laid-back? She wasn't like this before and you didn't even know Izanami could take a joke.

As if wanting to further spiral your mind into disarray, she joined in on the festivities. "If we're speaking about culinary talents, it is my own master who will reign supreme."

Good god, since when can she gloat?

Soon, everyone has the same aghast expression on their face. With everyone looking at Izanami like she told them that your hand would be fine if you dunk it in scalding hot water, it was a wonder how Izanami wasn't buckling down from the attention. Even Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko are looking at her like she was the goddess that she's supposed to be.

Nanako, who finished her snack with a smile, looked up to see all of you staring at something with a funny expression on your faces. She looked to where you all were staring at only to find nothing but a cat with its paws outstretched towards a fish decoration. It was clearly fake and sloppily done-the white of the paper peeking through the mismatched crayons-but the cat deemed it was tasty enough for it to try and eat it.

But the girl thinks that it was funny enough, so she copied your expressions with glee.

Eventually, Izanami noticed their staring and shrugged. "Jiraiya must be rubbing off on me."

Like a gust of wind, the frog immediately slid next to her like in those cartoons before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Oh, Izanami! You sly woman, how adorable that you're taking my mannerisms!"

As if to add more to the fire, his voice dipped lower, a tone that you never heard him or even Yosuke since they sound remotely the same, made you shiver. "You trying to turn me on?"

Before Izanami could say anything, a sharp spear was hooked under his scarf and yanked him away. It wasn't long before a smack was heard.

“Um… Anyway…” Yosuke steered back the conversation to them. “So Nanako-chan! With all these contenders in our group, I bet we can make something that could top your mom’s cooking!”

You and Izanami winced.

Nanako answered without flinching. “I don’t have a mom. She died in an accident.”

Everyone besides you and Izanami eyes widened at the statement. Tomoe stood even more rigid than usual, Jiraiya actually paused in his floating for once, and Konohana stopped fiddling with her petals.

It took a while but Chie nudged Yosuke with her hand. “Hey, Yosuke…”

He fumbled with his words, trying to come up with something to try and clear the awkward air, but all he could muster was the usual ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know’ phrase.

Luckily, Nanako took it in stride. “It’s okay. Even if I don’t have a mom, I have Dad with me.”

And to put the final nail in the coffin for being how cute she was, she turned to you, a happy blush on her cheeks. “And now I have a big sister, too!”

And now to bury the coffin, she turned to everyone. “And I’m having a lot of fun today! I love Junes!”

"... I will die for this child." Jiraiya said seriously. "I will."

"For once, I agree with you frog." Tomoe said.

Even Konohana, the most emotional Persona, started bawling. "Sh-She's the sweetest!"

Izanami tried to comfort Konohana but that even croaked another cry from the pink Persona as her petals fluttered from her shaking.

Looking at your friends, you see that they also share the same sentiment, albeit not as extreme as their Personas. You were pretty sure Yosuke was about to straight up cry though.

Chie smiled at her. "We'll play with you all that you want, Nanako! Just say the word!"

Yukiko piped in. "Yeah, we should hang out more often."

"Nanako-chan!" Yosuke said to her with an easy-going smile. "How about I buy you a drink?"

She nodded gleefully at Yosuke before following him to the drinks stand. It wasn't long before Jiraiya followed them, wanting to watch over Nanako like his life depended on it. The rest of you watched them go away.

"She's a strong girl." Yukiko said after they were out of hearing range.

"Yeah," Chie replied to her, "she makes me feel like I'm the little kid."

"She'll grow up to be a strong woman. I just know it." Tomoe said softly and you couldn't help but linger for a second that Tomoe let her guard down.

Konohana looked at Tomoe then to the direction where Yosuke, Nanako and Jiraiya went. "Do you think Jiraiya may be talking Yosuke's ear off?"

A momentary silence ensued before Tomoe sighed sharply and went to the drinks stand. Konohana soon followed, at least wanting to try and calm down Tomoe. It wasn't long before Yukiko and Chie followed them, not to stop them but to buy something for Nanako.

You have a feeling your friends won't stop spoiling Nanako anytime soon.

"Nanako has them wrapped around her fingers." Izanami said.

You were sure it was a joke. It has to, with how laid-back she is right now.

"You're not going with them?" You asked her.

She paused before she turned to you with her golden eyes. "Not after you tell me what's been bothering you."

You flinched under her gaze, looking away from her piercing stare as you fiddled with your hands. "What do you mean?"

"Do not try and dissuade me. You've been silent ever since you came here with Nanako. Even you aren't immune to her charms."

You struggled to formulate a response. You weren't as eloquent like the books you've read so you can't weasel your way out of her interrogation.

With a sigh, you resigned yourself to your fate as you looked at your Persona. "I'm just… thinking about the case."

She tilted her head. "We think about it all the time."

"No, like-" You said, the temporary flare of frustration creeping up but you held it down. "I just… want to solve this case as soon as possible."

"Hasty decisions lead to dire consequences." She quoted. "We have time to figure out the truth."

"I get that, but like…" You trailed off. You suck in a breath before continuing. "I don't want this team to worry even more. We're supposed to be worrying about midterms, for god's sake. Not finding some serial killer on the loose!"

Izanami sharply said your name, reminding you that you were technically by your lonesome in the eyes of others. "I understand how you feel. You are still a child, wrapped up in responsibilities that shouldn't even be on your shoulders."

She then looked down, looking like she was mulling over on what else to say before staring at you straight in the eyes. "But you have friends that care for you, even a family to care for you. And you still have me."

For what felt like hours, you stared back into those golden eyes. They seemed to shine even brighter than before and you don't know if that was the watery sensation you're getting in your eyes.

"You still have us," She continued, "you're not alone in this."

You blinked away, trying to fight back the tears before nodding at her. "... Thanks."

She let out an amused huff before turning her head to hear footsteps coming towards your table. Nanako came back with a carefree smile on her face.

"Do you want something too?"

Thou art I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Justice Arcana… 

Persona Time

After bidding goodbye to your friends, you, Izanami, and Nanako went back home. The little girl now has a little baggie full of snacks provided by all of your friends. You wondered briefly if her teeth would be alright with all of the sweets they bought for her but she comforted your fears by saying she won’t eat them all the time.

That being said, that didn’t stop her from eating a choco cornet. The chocolatey filling made her squeal in happiness as she savored the pastry. You two went around the shopping district, not quite ready to go home yet when the sun is still high. You thought about attempting the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge again but it wouldn’t be worth it when it wasn’t raining.

Right now, you looked at the shops, eyes lingering on an old textile shop. Recalling the news last time, there was a brawl that happened in front of the store because some punks were causing a ruckus. It was at that moment when…

“Hey,” Nanako said softly, “there’s a funny-looking guy at that shop.”

The lady’s son stood in front of the textile shop like he was protecting it from anything harmful. His bleached hair made him stand-out from the passersby as his daunting stature made him look like he was a part of a syndicate. If the news didn’t slip that he was a year under you, you would’ve kept your guard up.

You tugged on Nanako’s hand. “Let’s steer clear from that guy, okay?”

She muttered an ‘okay’ before following you. Izanami stepped ahead of you two, cleaver in her hands in case of anything that could happen. You and Nanako hurried to the nearest bus stop, trying to avoid any eye contact from him as Izanami stood guard.

For a moment, you were about to be away from the first-year before somebody stopped you. An arm darted out in front of you, belonging to an older man that you’ve no doubt want to punch his teeth in if not for a child in the vicinity.

“What’s the rush?” He slurred and you recoiled back from his breath. You quickly placed Nanako behind you as Izanami raised her cleaver.

“Leave us alone.” You spat, not bothering to give him the time of day. You tried to dodge him but that led to him sidestepping back in front of your vision. You felt Nanako shiver from behind you as you glared at the man. Izanami swung her cleaver back, ready to maim.

"No need to be afraid! I'm gonna take real good care of you two--"

Before he could even finish his sentence, a fist came and clocked him clean in the jaw. Nanako gasped, you pulled her closer as you followed the fist to see the bleach-haired first year staring down at the pervert like he was scum.

"How many times do I gotta tell ya?!" The first-year spat, kicking his foot towards the man's chest as he doubled-over in pain. "If I see ya here one more time, it won't be just your face that's gonna get a beat-down!"

The man couldn't even respond, seeing from the odd angle of his jaw. He hurried to his feet and ran away from you, not even looking back.

Beside you, Izanami lowered her cleaver. "That was… an event."

You nodded at her before looking down at Nanako. She was still shaking but not as much as before. She didn't even realize her choco cornet had been squeezed too much, the chocolate filling already staining her clothes.

But it looked like she didn't mind. Instead, she looked at the first-year with a wide-eyed smile. "Thanks mister for beating him up!"

Like a lightswitch, he immediately turned into a blushing mess. He stumbled with his words, looking away from Nanako as he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.

"Sh-Shut up! I didn't do it for you!"

Ah, so he's that type.

"Thanks still, for chasing him away." You said to him, smiling softly. "We owe you one."

He choked. "You ain't owin' me nothin'!"

Your lips quirked upwards at his real demeanor, wanting to tease him even more but he was still a punk that socked someone without hesitation. You still had Nanako behind you and a pile of books that you need to study for midterms.

“Thanks anyway. Stay safe.” You said to him earnestly before walking to the bus stop. Nanako lagged behind a bit, looking back at the bleached boy with a smile.

“Goodbye, strong man!”

Izanami was the only fortunate soul to witness a boy combust to the ground.

[stargazer-balladeer]

Photographer S/o [Persona 4]

@aspergerhero: Will you do a Yukiko Amagi x Photographer! Reader imagine scenario ?

Characters Included: Yukiko Amagi

Note: Please send another request if this isn’t what you asked for :) Hope you enjoy this! (This isn’t my best works ;-; I’m very sorry for it being short and bad.)

Reader’s Gender: Neutral

Warning: none

Yukiko Amagi

-Everyone in the school pretty much knows Yukiko, since she’s pretty and perfect. So naturally when you see a pretty girl, you want to befriend her or ask her out. You, on the other hand, wanted her to be your muse.

-And that’s how you two met. You asking her to be your muse and her being surprised. You two pretty much hit it off instantly, you adoring her quirkiness and her loving how you capture a picture in your camera.

-Yukiko loves how dedicated you were in your hobby (soon career). She’s even envious how happy you are with it, since you are yourself while doing so. No one is telling you that you need to do it, not feeling trapped at all. 

-Yukiko is curious of how you do it, so she’ll ask you to teach her. It might take some time just to teach her the basics, but after that, she’s pretty much a natural at it. 

-Your camera storage is filled with Yukiko, to her surprise. All of them were her either laughing, staring at something or deep in thought. How you captivate her so beautifully is so... (Yukiko is at lost of words at the moment).

-Expect her bringing up you photography skills while talking with you. She’ll even talk about it with her friends (mainly Chie). Also, her friends suddenly became your friends, and they are very supportive towards the both of you.

-Also expect her to suddenly burst out laughing, please love her ;-; she’s precious--

-If you’re in the Investigation Team, she’ll be a bit protective of you. If you got hurt, she’ll automatically heal you, no matter if its just 1 attack hit. If you’re not in the Team however, she’ll not bring it up and instead just carry on whatever you two were doing.

-She’ll be very supportive of you when you became a Photographer in the future. 

[x] Main Page || [x] Persona 4 Page

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

so i just heard on twitter P5S had some development problems, thus the issues with the story, the lack of character development, and the switch performance. It would explain quite a bit, but I haven't really heard anything from legit sources. Did you ever see or hear anything about that?

I....I’ve been very sparse on Twitter today tbh. So I’m a bit behind. So I don’t know the tweet you’re referring to. ;w; orz 

(oh boi, under the cut cause weeeeeeeeee 8U buckle up novel time)

If P5S had development problems with story/chars, that would’ve been with the JPN release. Which might explain why it started developing before P5R but released later (doesn’t help that Atlus apparently just signed off on the story rather than write it themselves >.> think that info in particular can be found on another personacentral article). But AtlusUSA isn’t involved with writing the story, just translating/localizing it. 

Switch performance, I doubt AtlusUSA is the one who is in charge with fixing that too. If anyone is gonna patch that mess, that’s gonna be KT (hell not even AtlusJPN, cause KT is who developed it iirc). Now I DO know that AtlusJPN is working on a patch for having SMT3 run better but that’s not P5S sooooo 8U

Now my personal theory/theories about why P5S was taking so long was:

Covid

Covid

Covid

Localization rights (KT America vs AtlusUSA/AtlusWest, I’mma still use USA screw west sorry its one letter too long and I’m lazy >8U)

PS5

Swap PS5 out with Steam and there we go. Should’ve seen the hints before but yeah....we’ll get to that in a bit. 

Covid really screwed a lot of things up, like REALLY REALLY. I don’t think I can stress this enough. It pushed back a lot of stuff because people couldn’t gather. Not just “in public” like literally at work. It took awhile for people to implement ways to still do their job (either by working from home, or having a small bubble). We know anime and dubbing got delayed because of that. Hell some games got delayed because of that too! So I cannot stress enough how much Covid screwed everything up. But how much did it screw everything up? Well......that’s when I decided to look at the past few games AtlusUSA had localized. The result was usually 5-7 months, that includes PQ2 which infamously didn’t have a dub (ah should’ve included SJR..... uhhhh oh same time, 6 months). Anyway I predicted August-November if they skirt the marketing, otherwise we’d get it early 2021. And a-yo wouldya look at that~!

Anyway that post was in July, by that time I think companies figured out how to safely gather for dubs. But keep in mind AtlusWest was also doing other translations beside english now so........yeah......people who say the dub is the reason for the delay, I don’t think that’s right (heck even in this case I don’t think it’s right). Considering that SJR/PQ2 both took about the same time, I have a feeling that AtlusJPN doesn’t want AtlusUSA to release their game until a set time (thankfully it seems that might be changing with SMTV tho!) 

So we’ve addressed Covid, and my mini conspiracy of AtlusJPN forcing a later release date on western releases..... What about Localization rights? So.... ok, there was a post I wanted to make sometime around 2018 but never did. In around 2018 BBTAG was coming out right? So fun fact, at Acen I was there and lo and behold a rep from Arcsys was there showing off an arcade of BBTAG~! And not just any rep, a marketing rep iirc! Well let’s just say I had a few questions, as a fan I’m not a reporter fksjdkflja didn’t come in swinging with a recorder sorry (anyway the questions were something about VAs like getting old Kanji/Chie/Teddie back, changing Aigis’ name back to Aegis....iirc Teddie wasn’t out yet so yeah I’d ask why the wishy washy stance but ey didn’t know that info yet, if they’d be working on Arena 3 rather than AtlusUSA, yadda yadda). Well the thing that stood out was when I asked if Arcsys’ new western branch would be in charge of localizing this hypothetical Arena 3 or any other Persona Fighting game if made. And he said “yeah, if Arcsys JPN works on it, we’ll be localizing it!” Now, that was then this is now. Things change, it’s also a diff company compared to KT so things might be different. (btw Arcsys didn’t have a western branch with Arena/Ultimax so yeah obvie AtlusUSA did the localization). Or it could’ve been bad info. Or it could’ve been that-that was the case but it isn’t now. But here’s the thing, KT does have a western branch (that or google is lying), and IF, IF what Arcsys’ rep says applies here....then there might have been a dispute between two companies on who might localize it going on behind the scenes. Which might explain why AtlusUSA wasn’t talking about P5S cause....yeah....you don’t really talk about that stuff when it’s in dispute. >.> BUT that’s just a theory. 8U A SILLY THEORY! Thanks for-oh wait I have one more. 8U (but low key that could’ve been happening behind the scenes, so like I wouldn’t be surprised, but the next theory also makes sense why it was delayed so eh, could be both, could be one or the other doesn’t matter)

So the last theory I had was originally the PS5. So like, we didn’t know till very late that when the next gen consoles were coming out. :) Thanks Sony. :) And Microsoft. :) *cough* Anyway, so I thought maybe AtlusJPN wanted to do an update or something and might’ve been holding AtlusUSA back so they could do that because YEAH WHY NOT! ANYTHING GOES ATM! But....BUT..... after the leak.....it made sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if they held back because of.....Steam. sajdkfla Esp with those teases of other games coming to Steam....I can’t believe I didn’t see it kdljsaf It also makes a lot of sense timeline wise. So we know that CHN/KR got their own versions of P5S right? Yeah so those dropped around the time of P4G’s WW release on Steam (4-5 days after P4G iirc). Now, CHN/KR tranlsations are probably faster than the western releases for a number of reasons, similar cultures (so localizing isn’t as bad), and the languages are closer than their romance counterpart so it’s probably easier translating too (they also don’t have to dub but as SJR/PQ2 have shown that’s a non issue). But here’s the thing, AtlusJPN wasn’t expecting such a success on Steam....and then it happened. So that leads me to believe that they probs got to work right away on a Steam release (or at least got more serious about it). And now all of it is probably basically done (translating, dubbing, Steamming, yadda yadda), now they just have to market it, and VGA is the best time this late in the year.

*inhales* So yeah, that’s my theory on what happened. Again, it’s a theory, all speculation from info I have available. Not saying any of it is true, it’s just what sounds plausible. 

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

An Explanation of Why Louis and Violet are Both Terrific Love Interests [2/5]

+Why both romantic routes are not only amazing but better than other games I’ve personally played in the past.

+Why some people are idiots and get off on picking stupid fights.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Romantic Option #2: Warren Graham

Uhm.... Warren’s a person in this story, too.

He, uh, he’s really nerdy. He does some science shit. He has a huge crush on Max which is made very obvious by the everything about him. Uh..... he took a fist to the face and got a black eye because he was helping Max, uhm.... he took a picture that was pretty important to the plot... um....

I literally can’t remember anything else about him.

I couldn’t even remember his last name. I had to look up his wiki to remember anything about him.

That’s how forgettable he is.

Hell, fans of the game took his character and made him more interesting in fanart and fanfics than he ever was in the game! I remember more about THAT version of him than I do about the him in the canon of the game!

I gave you that whole bit about Chloe from memory. That’s how much more fleshed out and important she is within the game than Warren is. Everything I’m about to talk about here if from reading his wiki and remembering things that way.

We meet Warren and find out that he’s into nerdy shit like Max. He’s also obviously into her and does a shit job at hiding that fact, but then Nathan comes over and beats the shit out of him because plot.

When I first played, it was pretty obvious that Warren would be romanceable, and truth be told, I liked Warren. He was fine! He’s dorky and weird, but I thought he and Max could potentially be a cute couple, and so does the rest of the school since you can’t talk to any of the girls without them implying that Warren likes Max.

I kept waiting for Warren to be important, but it never really came! I mean, you could talk to him and help him with a science experiment [in which he fucking blows up] and you text him a lot. Oh, and you can go to a Planet of the Apes marathon with him which you never actually get to go to, but the game constantly reminds you that you’re going because Warren won’t shut up about it.

Let’s see, he also sends you instructions on how to build a bomb so that you can break into the principal’s office, and then he beats Nathan up, and then he shows up and takes a picture of him and Max that ends up being important in the final episode and then.... he doesn’t do much else.

Well, okay, he does talk about Max’s powers a little bit in ep5 and you can give him a smooch or hug him or disregard him completely.

And that’s about it.

........Wait a minute.

A boy with boyband hair who has extensive chemistry knowledge, knows how to make bombs, uses said bombs for pranks, gets fucked up by one of the antagonists AND was a throwaway character that the writers threw in there to further the plot along but doesn’t really do much so the fandom took him and made him better than the game ever gave him credit for...?

.....Welp, that’s a whole thing that I’m not gonna get into. One post at a time, folks.

ANYWAY

Back on topic, Warren’s a romanceable character, apparently. You can agree to go on a date with him and smooch him. You can tell people you think he’s cute. It’s fine.  

With all that about these two choices in mind, compare Warren to Chloe.

There is no comparison because Warren’s “romance route” is... is nothing! It’s a whole lot of little things that don’t amount to much! With Chloe, Max has all this chemistry and you spend 90% of the game with her! You forget that Warren exists until you get another text from him or another character brings him up!

You know what Warren feels like? He feels like a character that the writers threw in because they were worried that players wouldn’t want a tragic wlw love story between two best friends, who reconnect and fall in love over the course of five episodes.

Which, fair, because people are idiots.

Could they have made Warren more important? Sure, but like with Skybound and Telltale, they didn’t have an unlimited budget to pack everything they wanted into the game to make it better, and that’s not just limited to the relationships, that’s clear in the endings we got. And I’m sure that some Warren stans will read this and retaliate and tell me that he’s just as important than Chloe, I just don’t understand because I’m a shithead.

And maybe that’s true, but look me in the eye and tell me that if you took Warren out of the game, it would have drastically changed the story beyond repair.

Now, what does all this mean?

Compare Chloe and Warren to Louis and Violet as far as love interests go and how they were handled.

In TWDG, Louis and Violet are fairly even.

In LIS, Chloe and Warren aren’t even in the same universe. It doesn’t matter if you like Warren more, or if you like Chloe more, Chloe got more time and effort put into her story and romance than Warren did.

Think of it like this: Chloe is at a 90% and Warren 10%.  Louis is at 48% and Violet’s at 52%, and that’s depending on how you look at it.

If TWDG did the routes like this, then Violet would’ve been way more important, would’ve have ten times as many scenes with Clementine, and if you took her out of the story, the whole thing falls apart because she’d be 90% of the plot, while Louis over here would’ve been used as background noise and plot convenience once or twice. Sure, we would’ve gotten to know him a little bit, but not nearly anything substantial and not nearly as much in comparison.

That’s what we could’ve had, okay? The writers could’ve given us a single love interest and said: “We want you to pick this person... but we’ll also throw in this other person just in case y’all are homophobic/racist/fucking stupid/whatever.”

In conclusion: We were blessed with Louis and Violet who each got an arc and love story, both of which are fairly even. 

Have I made my point yet? No? You need more examples? Fine. I’ll give you another alternative to what we could’ve had, or rather, what we could’ve missed out on.

[Note: I want to add that I haven’t played Life is Strange 2, but I know that its playable character is also bisexual and can choose between a boy and a girl to romance, but I can’t comment on how well it did because I’ve yet to play it.]

[persona 4 and the relationships you can’t have]

This one time I tried to romance my partner but he was too busy trying to convince everyone that he’s straight to even notice.

Persona 4 is a game that came out in 2008, then re-released with new content in 2012 under the name Persona 4: Golden. The game follows your nameable protagonist who has just moved in with their uncle and cousin. During his year-long stay, he becomes involved in investigating mysterious murders while harnessing the power of summoning Persona. 

Great game, one that took over my life for about a year. Great characters, great voice acting, great story, great antagonists, and great romance and romanceable characters. 

While the romance is more of a side thing depending on if you decide to take that route with one of your social links, it’s still nice to have special moments with them to break away from all the TV murder and whatnot. 

And you have several great options to choose from! You’ve got Chie, Yukiko, Rise, Naoto, and then you’ve got several other girls around the school that you can start a thing with, but they’re not as important as those core four. 

Each of the girls has an incredibly well-written story and share a deep bond with you, the protagonist. So, the reason I’m putting this example here is that the choice between all these great girls is super hard, right? 

Wrong. 

Because when I played the damn game, I didn’t romance any of them. Not because I didn’t like them or because I didn’t want my character to have a romance, but because the asshole I WANTED to romance wasn’t an option. 

Because I’m not allowed to romance the dudes. 

And that includes this dude. 

Yosuke Hanamura

Remember that pin I mentioned about how great it is that Clementine’s bi because not only does it give us well-deserved representation but also allows the player to romance both girls and boys? 

The Protagonist of Persona 4 is not bisexual. 

I can only romance the girls because he is straight. 

But not really, because MY Protagonist pursued and sought after Yosuke despite the fact that the game would not let me romance him. Which is bullshit, because he clearly feels the same way, and no, that’s not my crazy brain making shit up. 

My entire playthrough was pretty much 

I won’t get into it because Persona is a long game and a complicated one to even try and explain to someone who hasn’t played it so that’s another rant for another day, but know this: 

Yosuke was the perfect opportunity to tell the story of a boy dealing with internal homophobia, falling in love with his best friend [PARTNER] after the girl he cared about died horrifically and faced his shadow learned to accept himself and his insecurities. The potential here was wasted. 

There are a shit ton more layers to that, but on the barest of bare-bones, that’s what I wanted. 

Hell, according to a bunch of people, Yosuke was going to be a romantic option, but they scrapped it! Insult to injury, I’ll say!

Comparing this to TWDG, you could argue that Clementine only gets to romance Louis and Violet, but some wanted to romance Mitch, Aasim, Brody, ect. 

Fair enough, but what I’m saying is this:

It sucked that I couldn’t romance the person I wanted to when I played Persona, and it still sucks every time I play a game and my person of desire is unattainable. This isn’t just Persona, that’s just the first game that comes to mind when I think about characters I always wanted a romance, but that includes all the other missed opportunities from other games, as well.

The Final Season is different. 

The writers of TFS could’ve said, “Oh you want to romance Louis/Violet? Oh no, sorry, we were gonna do it but we changed our minds! But, don’t worry, we’ll leave hint after hint that they have feelings for you but you can’t actively pursue them. Allow us to tease you with the wonderful romance that could’ve been! Midnight piano lessons! Conversations under the stars! Lots of smooches! You’ll never see it in canon!”

Or, they could’ve only given us one of them, but that’s the topic of the next game. 

In conclusion: They didn’t have to give us Louis and Violet or make them romanceable. If you want Clementine to have a relationship with them, you have the option to do that, which is something you can’t say with other games.

Continued in Part 3

[thatlittledandere]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 31 and 40 for that shipper ask meme (sorry for picking so many but those questions are GOOD)

You're right, they absolutely are. I'm sorry in advance that this is gonna be LONG and I'm on mobile so I can't even add a read more;;

1. Talk about the first ship you ever had

So I'm SURE there were relationships I was invested in in movies and cartoons I watched as a child (I've always been a sucker for romance, even though there was that period when I didn't want to admit it) but I can't remember anything from very far back;; So it was either Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter or Ichigo and Masaya from Tokyo Mew Mew, whichever I read first.

2. Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life

GOSH. You can't do this to me. I guess Romione because it was the time in my preteens when I was becoming more aware of... stuff, in general, abs the two cemented my love for friends-to-lovers. Then Ioryuu, because I've never been AS invested in and passionate about a ship before and likely never will. Nothing can compare to that intensity and ngl I miss it;; I miss the genuine hype I felt in my heart that made me interact with people and make things. So many things. I honestly can't think of a third one with such a lasting impact, sorry;;

3. What's your current OTP?

I imagine Souyo scenarios in my head every night before falling sleep and every morning after waking up, this is not a joke not an exaggeration. I still feel a little traitorous saying this on tumblr but their dynamic IS somewhat similar to the way I see Ioryuu so-

4. What's your current NoTP?

I don't think I have one? I have dislikes, some of them strong, but I don't see any of them often enough to be, like, actively angry. I have better uses for my time than willingly exposing myself to stuff I don't like.

5. Do you have any poly ships?

Not generally, juggling two characters is enough work lol. The only poly ships I've ever really actively shipped are Niels, Duncan and Natalie from the web comic Niels And the Gang by humon and Kinatsuen from Boueibu, but neither are actively on my mind much these days.

8. Have you ever shipped yourself with a character?

BOY HAVE I EVER. I've seen someone on tumblr have a side blog for self-shopping and not gonna lie, it's an excellent idea. My late teens were spent reading character x reader fics on Quotev and I started my fic career with the same genre. I don't really know what to do with myself when I DON'T actively ship myself with a character, which is my state of being now that Yosuke surpassed Yoosung as my favorite character;; Ibushi and Yoosung are the biggest ones but man oh boy I have shipped myself with characters from early age and I'm showing no signs of stopping! There's a reason that I main dating sims.

15. Have you ever "shipped at first sight"?

Not for long. I SUCK at forming first impressions. Usually if I start thinking I'll ship something, I end up not being so invested in it after all, and instead shipping something I swore off at first lmao. Which leads us to...

16. Talk about a ship you initially disliked

As a rule of thumb, all of them. I don't understand HOW it keeps happening but somehow almost all the ships I truly care/d about (that I didn't start shipping through osmosis before knowing them in the source material) started out as something I thought I "wouldn't be able to get behind." Gajevy. Shikatema. Sasunaru. Doctor/Rose. Karabita. Atsutodo. Kiribaku. Yoozen. Enatsu. Freaking IORYUU. EVEN SOUYO. IT'S BEEN YEARS I REALLY SHOULD KNOW THE PATTERN BY NOW

17. Talk about a pairing you've stopped shipping romantically

Like, I started to think they're better as friends after all? I guess NaLi. Then again, I mostly only shipped them out of spite in the first place because I wanted a counter for N/a//Lu, which I never liked at all;;

20. Talk about a ship you feel alone in shipping

Now this time I can say for sure that there isn't one. I can't come up with ships myself and stay on board if there isn't content for it, canon or otherwise;; It's not a conscious decision or anything, it's just how my mind works. I get attached to stuff by exposure, whether from fans or the source material, and if the source material has enough content for two characters for me to pick up on and become interested, it's guaranteed to be enough to become a somewhat popular ship.

21. Is there a ship you just don't get, but have nothing against?

Actually... That's the extent I go to with notp'ing these days. I'm passionate about the right to ship whatever you want so by proxy I can't have anything "against" a ship, even if the sheer thought of it existing makes me nauseous. And I know how to think from points of view other than my own, so I can usually see the appeal, even if it appeals to me personally less than eating dog shit while walking barefoot on rusty nails that are also on fire.

That said, the only ships I have on my Tumblr blacklist are Yoo//ra/n and Suza//lu/lu because they're both popular ships for characters whose tags I am/was following and therefore get suggested a lot even if I want following anyone who ships then. Oh, and all B/LMa//tsu ships! I generally can't feel good about incestuous ships, but can and will fight for their shippers' right to do as they please as long as they stay respectful. (never saw blmatsus who weren't respectful. saw a plethora of anti-blmatsus who were absolute demons. actually the reason i moved away from the last remnants of my anti mindset was that i didn't want to be associated with THOSE anti-blmatsus, when the shippers they wanted dead were all such sweet people. food for thought.)

22. Which of your ships have the best chemistry?

All of them?? Lmao I don't understand this question, isn't shipping all about liking the chemistry between characters? Or the potential for it I guess, in which case the chemistry is whatever you want it to be, which is great B) I'm sorry I keep accidentally dodging questions I'm bad at choosing examples from a long, unordered list

23. Which of your ships deserve better writing?

Hhhhhhh I shipped Jerza for years and was still unsatisfied with their ending, Jellal didn't get to heal enough and we didn't really see them working through their past in an effective way and getting comfortable around each other. It's like they were supposed to be friends to enemies to lovers but the last part didnt really develop and their relationship stagnated at the stage were they were both just permanently awkward out of regret, and couldn't bring themselves out of it even though everything was forgiven forever ago. Or I've forgotten a lot of stuff that happened. Very likely. Is your a case of bad writing or good writing not working out the way I wanted it to? You're asking the wrong person.

25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs/graphics or similar?

EYUP. Harumichi was my otp for like a whole year before I saw a single episode with them lol. It was crazy, but it was REAL. I've also went into shows already paying attention to things I knew my friends/people I follow shipped, kind of hoping I'd get into it.

26. Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic I'm writing these questions down from screenshots and I cropped the rest of this one out by accident rip

Eeeh I go for the obvious. Best friend pairs, obvious pining, some rivalry with sexual tension, though I don't really know what to do with those. Then there's the fact that I never see it coming sick Persona 5 reference bro and start shipping the couple I thought "should just be friends" at first. This is more about my relationship to the ships than their dynamic but it's very constant...

27. Is there a ship you've shipped for most of your life?

Hmmm well I got into HP and started shipping Romione sometime in mid elementary school so it's definitely been more than half my lifetime since, but I don't really know if I "ship it" anymore. I didn't start disliking them or anything but for me, "shipping" is an active intrest in a fictional relationship, so if it reaches the stage where I like it, in theory, but I don't have the feels, it doesn't really count. That's why I can say I like ships without shipping them. It's gotta be actively on my brain, man.

31. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love

I haven't mentioned Kannao once, which is criminal. So here's some of what I imagine their future to be like :D I've been getting new Persona followers recently so here's something for you to unfollow me over lmao

So first of all I ignore the canon that Naoto goes back to the city for her detective work after her first year of high school, shhh she stays in Inaba, only taking the occasional jobs. She and Kanji start dating during the spring break before their second year and get more comfortable with each other, so that the next summer they're still cute and very much themselves (which means somewhat reserved) but not as awkward anymore :) I haven't thought about what happens after they graduate but they get married in their early 20s and have a son <3 (Chie and Yukiko adopted their daughter only slightly earlier. They may or may not have had a bit of a competition going on) ((yes Souyo are very much together but if they end up having children I haven't thought about it it's later))

Kanji manages the textile shop and Naoto helps when she's free from detective stuff. They live in Inaba but Naoto is away quite often for her gigs;; She takes up a few jobs less when Kouta is little though so he wouldn't feel less close to his Mom than his Dad.

Both Kanji and Naoto suffered from unfair expectations growing up, so they try their best to make up for it with Kouta's upbringing. They want him to feel comfortable being himself and free to express himself the way he wants; they make sure he knows he'll always be loved and supported, and to never be ashamed of who he is. As a child it doesn't even occur to him that many social norms and social expectations exist, because Naoto and Kanji pretty much let him do whatever as long as he isn't hurting himself or anyone else. They might go a little overboard though, giving into Kouta's whims without much consideration at all. The Amagi Aunties enforce rules and keep kids grounded in reality much better lmao

40. If you could change one thing about your otp, what would that be?

HMNGHNMHGNMGH I WAMT YOSUKE'S INTERNALIZED BULLSHIT ACKNOWLEDGED!! It's there AtlUS!! Stop pretending oh my god.... I love the Dancing All Night story mode (so far. I am by no means done); Yosuke gets cool moments and Yu's internal monologue really shows how much he appreciates him. The dynamic is so much better than with a silent protagonist, and thank god they didn't go with the tactless anime Yu (as fun as he is). I know there are a bunch of nods to the cut romance across spinoffs but mannnn... I wish they were more serious about it. At this point it's not even that far-fetched to think Yosuke has feelings for Yu that he may or may not be aware of, and I know that Yu as the player character can't be too tied down to one option in canon, but still... Even the clown gets tired of jokes at some point. One can dream.

40 ship questions

[skye-maxwell]

Thank You

Persona 4 | Souyo | Rated G

---

The Investigation Team sat around a small rectangular table picking at their last bits of food and sipping at their drinks. They had gone to Okina to see a movie and eat out together, taking a break from studying before what was sure to be a grueling week of exams. 

“Oh hey,” Rise said, looking at her phone. “Did you guys know today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.?” 

Kanji asked, “Ain’t that the holiday where they stuff themselves ‘til they can’t fit in their pants anymore?” 

“A day just for eating a ton of food?” Chie asked. “Now that’s a holiday I can get behind!” 

“I believe it is also a day for giving thanks,” Yukiko said. “Hence the name.”

“Oh, I get it!” Teddie declared. “Thanks-giving! Giving thanks! I think all holidays should be named like that. Like, Christmas is for couples, right? So it should be called Smooch-giving!”

“Teddie, no…” Yosuke started, but it was too late; Teddie was already skipping off into Fantasy Land. 

Directing his attention to the nearest girl, who just so happened to be Naoto, Teddie proposed, “What do ya say, Nao-cakes? Would you like to celebrate Smooch-giving with me?” 

He batted his eyelashes at her and pursed his lips, and while Kanji was about to throw a fit on the other side of the table, Naoto barely reacted at all. 

“No, I would not. It is not currently Christmas, and I would not like to participate in such a way with you now, on that day, or ever.” 

“Gragh!” Teddie wailed, somehow falling out of his seat and into a bawling heap on the floor. “You’re so mean, Nao-cakes! Wahhhh!” 

“C’mon, Ted, stop that,” Yosuke said gently, nudging Teddie’s quivering form with the toe of his sneaker. Teddie was being inappropriate, of course, but Yosuke couldn’t help feeling a little bad for the guy. “Get up. People are starting to stare.” 

While Teddie sniveled and picked himself up off the ground, Souji seemed to be off in his own world, staring into the distance. 

“Thanksgiving, huh?” he mused quietly before abruptly looking at everyone and stating, “I’m thankful for all of you.” 

“Awww, Senpai!” 

“We’re thankful for you too!”

“I love you, Sensei!” 

Not finished yet, Souji folded his hands in his lap and stared at them as he said, “It’s hard to believe that this time last year, you were all strangers. Everything is so different now. I never would have imagined I would find even one person I cared about so much, let alone a whole group of people. You’re all so special to me. Honestly, sometimes you all can be really annoying…”

“Eep!” Teddie cried, not having been prepared for his Sensei’s bluntness.

“I think he’s talking about you,” Chie whispered to Kanji, elbowing him. 

“Me?! You’re the annoyin’ one!” Kanji yelled back. 

“Pfft,” Yukiko chuckled, barely holding it in. 

Completely unfazed, Souji continued, “…but then I worry that you might think I’m annoying, like too annoying to even deal with, and I wonder why you even want to be around me. But underneath all that, I know that you’re good people, and we’re friends, and we love each other, at our worst and at our best. I’m… I’m just…”

Everyone else went silent, waiting with bated breath for their leader to finish his sentence. 

Looking up with a small smile and glistening eyes, Souji said, “I’m just so happy. Thank you.”

---

On the walk home, Yosuke shyly reached out for Souji’s hand, and Souji immediately latched onto him.

They had started dating shortly after rescuing Naoto from her dungeon, which was a good thing since Souji didn’t know if he would have been able to get through the Nanako ordeal without Yosuke by his side. They hadn’t had much time for romantic things though, so holding hands like this was still a new thing—warm and surprising and exciting.

“So, Partner…” Yosuke said awkwardly before trying to laugh it off. “Hey, that speech you gave back there, you made pretty much everyone cry except like, me and Naoto. Was that what you were going for?” 

“Hm? No…” 

“You sure you didn’t draft all of that beforehand?” 

“I was just saying what I felt.” 

“Haha, I’m just kidding. Of course you didn’t plan it out beforehand, otherwise I’m sure you would have thrown in a bigger, more personal shoutout to your Partner,” Yosuke said with a wink. 

With a blank expression, Souji immediately replied, “I’m sorry.”

“What? No, don’t apologize! I’m still kidding, man!”

“I’m so thankful for you, Yosuke.” 

“Wh-whoa, you don’t have to say it!” Yosuke sputtered, blushing. “I mean, I’m glad and all, but—”

“You’re wrong; I do have to say it,” Souji said, having learned his lesson about sharing his true feelings with the people he cared about. “My life is so much better with you in it. You’re my Partner, and I’m yours; I can’t exist without you now. I’m more thankful for you than anything.” 

“Than… anything?” Yosuke asked thinly, his voice catching with emotion. “Um, heh, I’ve, uh… I’ve always wanted to be that to someone,” he admitted, gripping Souji’s hand as he looked away and sniffled. “I’m glad it’s you.” 

Souji beamed, wishing Yosuke was looking so he could see how happy he made him. 

“I’m glad I said it,” Souji said, feeling lighter somehow now that he had expressed what had been in his heart for Yosuke all along. 

“Me too. Thanks, Partner.”

Souji briefly considered telling Yosuke he loved him (and even more briefly considered kissing him right there on the spot), but he figured he could save that for later. He didn’t want to short out Yosuke’s brain right before exams, after all. 

After exams was fair game though, Souji thought to himself excitedly as he swung their joined hands between them. 

[kazekis]

Good For You - Persona 4 Fic

Yu awoke, blinking the sleep from his eyes, realizes he isn't in Inaba anymore. His old house stares back at him and the darkness presses against him, suffocating.. His stomach tightens as he looks around the room and he shakes his head to try and get his mind cleared of unwanted thoughts. Getting up and moving to the living room, he sees a familiar figure. The figure, a female, has her hair long hanging in front of her face and her head bowed low.  Yu knows exactly who this is and yet prays his eyes and the darkness were tricking him. He hadn’t seen her in so long that he hops silently he’d forgotten what she truly looked like, his mind attempting to just fill in the blanks. “Mother…?” He hesitantly speaks up. While she doesn’t turn around,  her head does lift up, reacting to his hushed voice.

“Yu.” She replies softly and a bit raspy. No matter how nice her voice sounds, it sends chills down Yu’s spine, too little memories of it to tell him what it was hiding. “Why are you back here? I thought you left for good when you found someplace new.” Yu stood silent. “Not even going to speak to me?” Inquires the woman when there was no response.

    “I’m sorry...I don’t know why I'm back here…” With no memory of returning there, he truly doesn’t know why he is back. She looks back at him for a split second, a piercing glare stabbing through Yu before she turns away from him. 

“So…” She starts and Yu’s head drops knowing unpleasant words are coming. “You found a place where the grass is greener, and you jumped the fence to the other side.” She whips her head back as she yells. “Is it good?! Are they giving you a world I could never provide?”

“....I didn’t...you were never…” Yu starts, his forced calm falling and his fear rising to the surface, threatening to bubble out.

“Hah, well i hope you’re proud of your big decision, I hope it’s all that you want and more! Now you're free from the agonizing life you were living before!” Yu flinches knowing that it’s true that he likes it much better than his old house. He shakes his head anyway mustering the courage to speak once more. 

“If you are just going to yell at me... then I should go…” The silver haired teen inhales before continuing. “You were never..around so I didn't see why I should stay…” He takes a few steps away from her even as his voice got louder.

“Well then, there you go! You say what you need to say! Now you can walk away. It would KILL you to have to stay trapped when you’ve got somewhere new you’d rather be!!” She screams, frustrated. “Well I’m sorry you had it rough, that I’m not enough!” The teen flinches once more. “Thank God they rescued you!” The woman says sarcastically. 

Yu opens his mouth to protest but nothing comes out, the confidence from earlier evaporated and he feels powerless. This is when he noticed another presence near him. The teen spins around and behind him stands a girl with short, light brown hair. In the dim lighting, her green clothes stuck out and Yu’s eyes widen in shock and relief. “Chie, you’re here! I-” He cuts himself off when he notices that something is off.  That she seemed utterly pissed, her hands clenched into fists at her sides and shaking from the effort of remaining still.. “...Chie?” 

“Yu...Does it cross your mind to be slightly sorry?” His eyes widen...What…did I do…? Why is she mad…? He thinks, caught off guard. “Do you even care that you might be wrong?” Her eyes narrow at Yu and she continues, louder and more angry. “Well was it fun? I hope you had a BLAST while you dragged me along!!” Yu’s head drops down again as a realization comes to him…

She was talking about him dragging her along in the Midnight Channel shenanigans. I didn’t want to make her upset… If I knew she didn’t want to come along, I wouldn’t have taken her…! His thoughts are interrupted by another voice. Whipping his head up once more, there was a boy beside Chie now. He has brown hair and dons their school uniform. “Yo..suke…” Yu mumbled in surprise. 

“So you say what you need to say, and you play who you need to play!” Yosuke starts. Yu shakes his head and holds his head, nearly crying. “And if somebody's in your way, crush them and leavе them behind!” When Yosuke says this, the dam breaks. Tears start falling down his face hot and burn a trail. 

“Well I guess if I’m not of use, go ahead you can cut me loose! Go ahead now I don’t mind!” Both brunettes shout causing Yu to shake his head more violently. He can’t handle the thought of his friends being angry with him! His mother interrupts, adding to the downward spiral of emotions. 

“I’ll shut my mouth and I’ll let you go, is that good for you? Would that be good for you?” He shivers at her voice and looks back to her. Chie and Yosuke come to stand next to her and starts to shout in unison with her.

“I’ll just sit back while you run the show, is that good for you? Would that be good for you?!” The three yell at him as the silver haired teen shakes his head and covers his ears. “So you got what you’ve always wanted, you got your dream come true! Good for you! You got a taste of a life so perfect, so you did what you had to do, good for you! Just good for you!” Yu can’t handle it anymore, he snapping and yelling as well, overlapping the three.

“All I need is some time to think, but the boat is about to sink, can I erase what I wrote in ink?! Tell me how can I change the story?!” He asks, as if they’d hear him and answer. “All the words that I can’t take back, like a train coming off the track! As the rails and the bolts all crack--” Yu grips his head, desperate to block out their yelling, he manages to yell louder than them, “I’ve gotta find a way to stop it, stop it! Just let me OUT!”  

They don’t listen and Yu’s legs give out, but instead of hitting the ground, he continues to fall. The sound of them yelling soon becomes non-existent as he falls further. When it seems he’s hit some type of ground, he sits up. Now in his room in Inaba, he looks around nervously, tears still filling his eyes. He sighs in relief as he realizes it was all a bad nightmare, but he continues to cry.  

Despite it being a nightmare, it scared him shitless. So he just cries out, and he doesn’t expect a response. However, there is. A knock on his door, and a few familiar voices call out his name. It was the two of the three who were just yelling at him, moment’s earlier, Yosuke and Chie. 

[crackimagines]

Teruteru gives the P4 girls some cooking lessons.

Ooooooh, now this is an ask I REALLY will enjoy! Thanks anon! I love Persona 4 to death! Now…

“Alright…I didn’t want to have to do this, but I have to use my secret weapon for this situation!”

- Yosuke began dialing numbers on his phone, and waited for the line to pick up.

“This is the Hanamura diner, Teruteru speaking!”

(Yosuke) “Teruteru, it’s Yosuke!”

(Teruteru) gasp “YOSUKE, MY COUSIIIIIIIN! How can I help ya?”

(Yosuke) “Listen, I know you’re the Ultimate Cook, and I know some people who REALLY need your help!”

(Teruteru) “I see…How bad is their cooking?”

(Yosuke) “They put mint chocolate chip into curry!”

(Teruteru) “I’LL BE THERE AS FAST AS I CAN!”

beep!

(Yosuke) “God I hope this works…”

Later…

“Ladies, I am Teruteru Hanamura, and I am the Ultimate Cook! My cousin, Yosuke has explained to me your…cooking skills.”

“Huh, you never told me that your cousin was a student of Hope’s Peak, Yosuke…Wait, what’s this about our cooking?”

“It’s nice to meet you! I’m Yukiko and that’s Chie. I hope it was about something well!”

(Yosuke) “…Huh, I’m surprised you didn’t hit on them immediately, Teruteru.”

(Teruteru) “When they can actually cook and not poison people, THEN we can talk. Now is business.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for me! I know how to cook a little bit-”

(Teruteru) “Didn’t you knock Yukiko out in one bite? That’s a failing grade to me, Miss Kujikawa.”

(Rise) “W-What?! We didn’t even start yet!”

“I admit, I don’t exactly know how to cook that well, so I hope that we can learn from you well.”

(Teruteru) “Thank ya for the flatteries, Miss Shirogane! Now then…LET’S BEGIN!”

- Everyone grabbed their whisks and opened their cooking books as Teruteru cleared his throat loudly.

(Teruteru) “LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS, TO COOK UP…SOME BUNS!

DID THEY SEND ME WATER, WHEN I ASKED FOR RUM?

YOU’RE THE SADDEST BUNCH, I EVER MET! BUT YOU CAN BET, BEFORE WE’RE THROUGH!

MISSES I’LL…MAKE A CHEF, OUT OF YOU.”

About half an hour later…

BOIISAYYOUNEEDAMIXITUPNOTGETTHATDANGUN THROWITINTHEREBOWLNAH!

(Rise) “S-Sorry!”

(Yukiko) “You add…4 gallons of rum into this dough, right?”

(Teruteru) “NOYOUIDJITYAGOTTAADD4PINTS-”

“Ya know…It’s been a while since I’ve seen him get so angry he reverted back to his New Orleans accent…I don’t know whether to be impressed or ashamed.”

(Chie) “SHUT UP YOSUKE-W-Whoops! I uhh…accidentally spilled several egg shells into the bowl.”

(Teruteru) “NOWHOWTHAHELLYAGONANDDOTHATFOR?!ITAKEMYEYESOFFFORONEDANGUNSECOND-”

“…I just put my bread in the oven, w-what’s going on right now?!”

“I think their lack of common sense is causing him to short circuit…I just hope it isn’t so bad that he starts foaming-”

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

DASIDYLAUDGSAIHDIPW’JQWPDIJWQFHWQFUGYISDXZDHJSK’PLF

“Or the three can make me completely lose faith in them, that works too…”

[shadowtarot]

Hidden Pain: A Persona 4 Drabble

Read this for context. 

Junes Food Court, mid-day, Sunday. The Investigation Team had called for a day of training before the next possible event could happen. But so far only Kanji, Yosuke, Teddie and Yu were at their normal meeting spot.

Yosuke drapes his arms onto the table as he sinks his face into them slowly. “What’s taking the girls so long? We only have a few hours until that huge sale hits, and when it does it’ll be near impossible for us to slip into the TV...”

“They’re getting medical supplies, man. Yu-senpai mentioned we were low.” Kanji closes his phone as he stashes it away in his pocket before glancing at his leader who’s using this downtime to fold a few origami cranes.

“I said I was going to grab them on my way here, but I had to help Nanako with something and ran out of time...” Yu states, not even glancing up from his work as he sets the crane down on the table.

“Well I know you can’t refuse anything when it comes to Nanako-chan, so I get it.” Yosuke nods. “Also how many of those do you plan to make?!”

“Sensei’s got some real skill with that!” Teddie states, his bright blue eyes watching closely as Yu begins another one.

“That just made wonder something, hey Kanji are you able to do origami as well?” Yosuke glances over at the younger teen.

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s easy enough once you figure it all out, but it’s not really my niche if you catch my drift.” Kanji shrugs. “It’s right up his alley though.”

“It’s relaxing...” Yu smiles a bit.

But as he’s beginning the first few folds, Yu suddenly jolts, enough for the paper in his hands to tear. 

“Yu?! Everything alright?” Yosuke gets up from his seat and walks to his best friend’s side.

Yu is wincing slightly, setting down the paper before looking up at his three friends. “Yeah, I think an old injury from the TV just popped up suddenly is all.”

“Really? Lemme know where it is when we get into the TV and I’ll heal it up for you. Could have sworn Yukiko took care of all the major ones last week....” Yosuke mutters.

“If Yosuke’s heals don’t do that much, I’ll help!” Teddie beats his chest once, smiling.

Yu chuckles, nodding. “Thanks you guys, but I think I’ll be fine. If it gets too bad, I’ll just heal myself.”

Yosuke focuses his gaze slightly before letting out a sigh. “If you say so...but don’t get too shocked if the girls start freaking out and try to heal you themselves.”

“heeeey! Sorry we’re late!” Chie calls out, waving her arm as she and the other girls walk up.

“Apolgies, but there was an issue with the cash register at the store where we normally get our medicine from.” Naoto explains, placing a hand in her pocket. “I hope we didn’t keep you four waiting too long.”

Rise starts counting the cranes Yu made before shrugging. “Seems he made twelve before we showed up. So they weren’t waiting that long.”

“Pffft, you can tell how bored they were by the amount of cranes? What if...we told time that way? ahahaha!” And there goes Yukiko on one of her laughing fits again.

“Geez, well if everyone’s ready we better hurry up and get in. Two more hours until the electronics sale starts. Plan to be in there for a few hours guys, we have to wait out the traffic.” Yosuke looks to everyone in the group.

“Let’s get going.” Yu puts all of his cranes away in a cloth bag before patting his hidden Katana with a small smirk.

Slipping through the currently average sized crowds, the group makes it to the TV they always use. Everyone puts their glasses on and slips into the TV World undetected.

Teddie slips into his bear suit, which he had left right at the hub area before looking at everyone present. “Alright! So who’s dungeon are gonna train in today Sensei?” 

“Well, I was actually thinking we might want to try tackling that Reaper you mentioned before. So it really doesn’t matter what area we go into right?”

“Are you serious Senpai?!” Rise stomps on her right foot hard on the ground. “You guys almost got killed by a Reaper back in Mitsuo’s! I’m not going to sit back and watch you guys actively hunt something that strong!”

“....it was a joke.” Yu rubs the back of his neck.

“Dude...your sense of humor needs some serious work.” Yosuke shakes his head. “Well if I could offer something, you guys know those Treasure Hands we keep running into? What if we went after those?”

“Oooh! We can make it a competition!” Chie raises her hand and bounces a bit as she speaks. “First one to kill ten of them gets...uhh...”

“First ten gets to have the others cook for them!” Yukiko smiles.

Yosuke and Yu wince. “H-How’s about first to ten gets to request something from the losers...that isn’t cooked.”

Yosuke nods. “What Yu said.”

Rise nods, writing that down. “If you all are each hunting ten then that’s going to be a lot of gold hands to hunt for.”

“They’re good money makers though, so no matter who wins we’ll all benefit in the end right?” Kanji crosses his arms. “Why don’t we do it in Yukiko-sempai’s Castle? It’s a small enough place that we won’t loose each other.”

“Sounds good, let’s move out guys!” Yu leads the way to the castle.

“Treasure hands spotted! Wow...for rare shadows there sure are a lot of them right now!”

“Let’s do this! I’m not passing up a chance for a request!” Yosuke smirks, dashing at a treasure hand.

“...for our sakes let’s hope Yu at least wins...” Chie sighs as she goes after one as well.

Everyone begins fighting the hand hoard, but Yu keeps switching Persona as he fights.

“Black Frost!” Ice shatters and destroys a treasure hand with retaliative ease. 

“That’s one for Senpai!”

“Perhaps we should bump the number up to twenty?” Naoto suggests. “Yu-senpai is having far too easy of a time right now.”

“Yeah, because he’s got more of an arsenal of Persona compared to us.” Kanji launches a treasure hand with a hard strike from his chair. “Just means we gotta work harder to keep up, yeah?”

“I’m with Kanji! No way I’m gonna lose to Sensei! KENTOKI-DOJI!”

Yosuke laughs. “Hell no, I’m not letting you take that one Ted! Jiryaya!” 

Both Persona charge at the one Treasure hand, closing in before...

“Konahana-Sakuya!” 

The hand bursts into flames as Yukiko cockily fans herself. “Oh I’m sorry, did you boys want that one?”

“One point for Yukiko-senpai!”

“ARGH! I’m not coming in last place here!” Yosuke goes after another one with increasecd speed, not wanting to be one upped again.

“If you’re getting serious then maybe I should too...Partner.” Yu adjusts his glasses. “IZANAGI!”

Yu runs right up beside Yosuke, using his Persona’s lightning to keep pace. The two smirk at eachother.

“This one’s mine, no doubt.” Yu gives Yosuke a small laugh as they rush at the shadow.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Yosuke has Jiryaya attack the shadow, and Izanagi does the exact same...but then...

Yu falls to the ground on one knee, coughing badly as Izanagi vanishes back into it’s tarot card. Everyone stops what they’re doing to look at their leader. 

“Yu?” Yosuke kneels down beside him. “Dude, you don’t look so hot...”

“I’m fine...really.” Yu starts to get up, but Kanji places a hand on his shoulder.

“Like hell you are. You had that sharp ass pain before the girl’s showed up and now you’re coughing this badly? Stop trying to act cool with this kinda shit going on, man!”

Rise does a scan on Yu, focusing intensely. Yu starts coughing again, this time blood coming up as he does so. 

“I can’t see any sort of spell on him...” Rise sighs, shaking her head.

“And my nose can’t sniff out anything abnormal either...” Teddie looks worried.

“Guys really, I’m okay...” Yu pushes Kanji’s hand away from his shoulder. “Let’s just go back to-”

“I’m sorry Senpai but I have to respectfully refuse.” Naoto states, arms folded. “It’s quite clear you’re not in the right condition to fight, despite your claims. Coughing up blood like you just did is not a sign of a healthy individual.”

“Yu...if something is going on, you know you can tell us right?” Chie pouts a bit as she speaks. “We’re your friends after all.”

“...I’d tell you...if I fully understood it myself...” Yu mutters a bit. “I’m going to hang around here a bit longer before heading back. That sale is still going on, so leaving now wouldn’t be wise anyway.”

Yosuke sighs, nodding. “Yu has a point. Well...we’ll all hang out around the hub. Ted’ll get you once the coast is clear.” 

The others walk off, giving Yu some space. He holds his chest tight, as blue static seems to shock him before subsiding. 

“It’s gotten worse...as he’s gotten stronger. I don’t know...how much longer I can hold out like this...but if I try to do what they did...will they even..NGH!” The static starts up again, but Yu sinks his katana into the ground as he closes his eyes...and the surge comes to a halt. “No...I refuse to lose the one thing tying me with them...not now...not ever.”

Yosuke watches from a safe distance away, seeing just how much pain his best friend is in. He may not fully understand what’s going on but...

“Maybe he’s just as scared of accepting a part of himself....like me.” Yosuke shakes his head. “I’ll stay by your side as long as I can. And maybe one day...we can all help you face yourself...like you have for us.”

[nadziejastar]

I think a big obstacle that I don't see acknowledged to Lea and Isa becoming romantically involved is that Japanese culture is even more conservative regarding LGBT issues than Western culture is. SE has only had a few LGBT characters in their entire history, and they're all relatively minor. I hope that Isa and Lea can break the mold and I think that them being both supporting characters and adults makes it more likely, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

I definitely don’t have my hopes up either. I think KH3 did everything it could to intentionally eliminate all the intimacy between Lea and Isa. Skuld seemed to be thrown into the mix for that purpose. Even if they hadn’t sabotaged it in KH3, I still think the relationship would have been more implied that outright stated. Because like you said, Japan is even more conservative than the West regarding such depictions. I can compare the situation with Lea and Isa to a few other pairings and how they were handled.

There’s Yosuke and the main character (Yu) from Persona 4. Yosuke was going to be a romance option. Voiced dialogue still exists in the files (including dubbed!), but the option was completely removed by the time of release. The fact that even a more niche series (well, at the time) like Persona felt too afraid to put an optional romance between two guys in, shows how taboo this topic is, especially in Japan. And KH3 was much higher profile and had a much bigger budget than P4. So, it was not that surprising to me to see how Lea and Isa got treated. It was like déjà vu. Doesn’t make me less annoyed by it, though.

I also think they heavily altered Yosuke’s personality in the final game to cover up any suggestion of same-sex attraction. In the final game he mostly acts like a frat boy stereotype. Constantly hitting on any girl, and making sexist and homophobic remarks. They were really overcompensating. It was very annoying actually. And it only made him seem more closeted. In his Social Link, the dialogue was incredibly well-written and I loved his personality. This pairing was handled so similarly to Lea and Isa. Here’s why I think so:

Yosuke: Oh yeah, I’m Yosuke Hanamura! I’m his friend. His partner, y'know.

Marie: …Partner? You mean like a close friend?

Yosuke: Heheh, that about sums it up. Er, what’s your name?

They’re very close. Yosuke constantly refers to himself as Yu’s “partner”.

Yosuke: I haven’t changed addresses since before we moved to Inaba.  I mean, I might get a text from someone. …It’s hard to call, y'know? If I called people just to tell them my number changed, they’d get annoyed. And some of them never planned to text me anyway…Oh but hey, don’t look at me like I don’t have any friends! ……Though to tell you the truth, I don’t remember what we all used to talk about. Can’t really call ‘em friends…

He did not feel close to any of his old friends.

Yosuke: It’s only with you guys that I talk seriously like this. I dunno why, but I feel like I don’t have to lie…Especially with you. You’ve already seen the worst of me and all. But well… thinking about it now, if someone had to see that, I’m glad it was you.

He opens up to you in a way he doesn’t with anyone else.

Yosuke: So, you ever invited a girl in here?

“I haven’t.”

Yosuke: Haha, maybe you’re more of a man’s man than I thought.

> Yosuke seems happy…

He’s happy that you are a “man’s man”.

“I will soon.”

Yosuke: Seriously!? That mean you’re working on someone!?

> Yosuke is keyed up…

He gets anxious if you say you’re bringing a girl over.

Yosuke: M-Man, kids sure are mature these days…Well, my first love was in first grade, too! I’ve always been ahead of my time. But, well… I don’t really need that in my life right now. It’s just not the time…I have something I need to do before that can happen…

He said that he was not interested in dating right now. He’s working on sorting out his feelings, since the girl he liked before was murdered. Yet in the rest of the game, they have him constantly hit on every girl and act desperate to get a girlfriend. It was so weird. It felt like deflection, in the same way Skuld was with Lea and Isa.

Yosuke: When the murders started, I got excited…I thought there was finally a point to me being in Inaba…I thought I could forget Senpai was gone… and the fact that I was such a loser…I jumped at the murders and never once thought about what I was doing…I… didn’t even take the first step…I’m sorry…Saki-senpai. I’m sorry… Yu.

He starts crying after opening up to you. There’s an option to hug him. Around the waist too. He says it’s for girls, but still accepts it. That was what he needed. You are the one who helps him sort out his feelings.

Yosuke: This town I hated so much? Now, I love it. There’s still nothing here, but I have family and friends… and you. The important things are never far off… They’re all around you.

He mentions family and friends, hesitates, then mentions you separately. Does that mean you’re more special to him than a friend?

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

It reminded me of this. Axel mentions everyone else, hesitates, then mentions Isa separately. Not Saïx, Isa. Was Isa special to him?

Yosuke: I always wanted to be “special.” I thought my life’d finally have meaning if I was “special” to someone. That’s why I was really excited when got my Persona. But I really didn’t need it… It’s not what you have or what you can do…Just being born, living your life… Before you know it, you’re already special to someone.

“You’re right.”

Yosuke: Yeah… Like you… You’re special to me, you know?

Yep. Yosuke wants to be special to someone, and he says you’re special to him.

“That’s not true.”

Yosuke: You just don’t realize it yet. You’re already special… to Chie, Yukiko… and me.

When Yosuke said “special” it stood out to me. This was before I found out that the romance option was taken out. I don’t pick up romantic vibes between male characters that often. I don’t wear shipping goggles. Their relationship simply seemed romantic to me. “Special” is not a word guys will use with each other very often.

Because it is very intimate. If the writers have a character say that another character is “special” to them, it almost always will seem romantic. Especially between two guys. And I did get those vibes. When I found out he was supposed to be a romance option, I wasn’t surprised. So, after all this intimate bonding, how does their arc end?

Yosuke: I didn’t realize it…When I called you “special,” I thought some more about it. I think of everyone, I wanted to be acknowledged by you the most…So…I want you to hit me! Give me a good one. Knock out all this crap inside of me. I want to be equal with you. I want us to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. So c'mon…

By…getting in a fist fight? Two guys were getting just a bit too close and intimate with each other. Yosuke used a taboo word. “Special”. Now he has to be beaten up for it. Otherwise it’s just too GAY, ya know? And that’s NOT okay. The message is if a guy is too intimate with another guy, he needs to “man up” and get some sense knocked into him. Sad, really. In the deleted dialogue, there was a romantic confession. Yosuke says he likes you. The Japanese word for “like” is the one specifically used romantically. To me this is the ultimate display of the writers chickening out.

And that’s how Lea and Isa’s arc felt to me, too. There was all of this dialogue suggesting there was something very intimate and special between them. Then in KH3, we get a girl shoehorned in out of nowhere. Apparently Saïx was doing “everything for” her, despite having zero emotional capacity. And Lea also wants to “clobber” Isa now, not free his heart. It felt so contrived in order to create emotional distance between them, so any hints of romance would be gone, gone, gone. It felt like the writers were panicking and going “No Homo!” They were so desperate that they wouldn’t even let the real Isa get saved from being a vessel. That’s how afraid they were of Lea and Isa’s natural chemistry and special intimacy together. Pathetic.

Then there’s Ike and Soren from the Fire Emblem series. Lea and Isa reminded me of them. You have the more confident, “masculine” one in Ike and Lea. And then you have the calm, quiet, “feminine” one in Soren and Isa. They have a hard time opening up to anyone else. I think Isa even kinda looks like Soren. They both have that penetrating stare, indicating high intelligence. And they have soft, delicate features, indicating vulnerability underneath the surface.

They both act cold outwardly, but Soren is described as a very empathetic young man. And I think Isa was, too. I love this ship. I think this is the direction they were originally trying to take Lea and Isa’s relationship. This pairing is HEAVILY implied by the story. But it’s never made explicit. Why do I think it’s romantic?

Soren: Curse you! Why won’t you let it go?! I have no one to rely on but you! If I tell you and you turn on me… I… I… I could no longer live.

Ike: That’s why you have to tell me, Soren. You wouldn’t open your heart to anyone else. So if I didn’t so something about it, you’d probably be in pain forever.

Soren is totally emotionally dependent on Ike. And Ike is tender and soft with him in a way he isn’t with anybody else. There’s just a level of trust and intimacy that is unique to them.

Soren: When the sage died, no one would help me. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find food. I was dying. You were the only one who helped. You and your father. That’s why you’re my friend. My…only friend.

This is the localized text. Even in the first game, the they tried to remove any romantic intimations. They added a reference to Ike’s dad for no reason. And plenty of people still choose to see Soren and Ike as just friends. I think it’s more than obvious the writers intended for them to be more than that. But many people don’t want to see it. And it was kept ambiguous for that very reason.

Soren: When the sage died, no one would help me. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find food. I was dying. Only you held your hand out to me. That’s why…only you are special to me…

This is a translation of the original Japanese dialogue. There’s that word again. “Special”. This word cannot be overstated. It conveys a VERY different message than “friend”. That’s why they thought it needed to be changed.

Soren: “There’s only one place for me to be, Ike… and it’s by your side.”

Soren is described as “the boy always at Ike’s side” by other characters. The story demonstrates again and again that they are inseparable. If Ike and Soren achieve A-level support, there is a paired ending. Ike has this with no female character, and Soren has this with no other character.

Axel: I think you can be inseparable even if you’re apart. It’s like, if you feel really close to each other. Like best friends.

Lea and Isa were inseparable, too.

Ike: Listen, lady. This is a shop, and I’m a customer. What’s so sweet about that?

Aimee: Oh, such cold words… My hero plays hard to get! You’re only making me more interested.

Ike: Will you let go of my hand? Please?

There’s a running joke about Ike avoiding a persistent female admirer that Soren has to save him from.

Gatrie: Not those flowers… THOSE flowers!

Ike: …Gatrie, we’re inside. There’s nothing here but the temple handmaidens.

Gatrie: Exactly! It’s like a whole new species of girl lives in Begnion! Everyone in this palace is drop-dead gorgeous!

Ike: …

Gatrie: You know what I mean, Ike? Tee hee! Say, which one strikes your fancy? That buxom lass with the chestnut hair is… Hey, Ike? Ike?

He has no interest in admiring pretty women.

“Hey, Redhead over there!” Axel turned at the sound of the voice, scratching his head.

“What, Larxene. I’m Axel. Got it memorised?”

“I can’t just remember over ten names all of a sudden, can I?”

“Yeah, I guess not.” Axel watched as Larxene ran up to him.

“How is it? Does the coat suit me?” Larxene did a twirl in front of him. The coat always changed to fit the wearer. It was a perfect tight fit, as expected.

“It’s fine, I guess.”

This feels like it was put in for the same reason Ike’s scenes were. Sure, Aimee is clingy and obsessive. And Larxene is a bitch. It doesn’t prove they’re disinterested in women or that they’re in love with their best friend. But in addition to everything else, it presents a strong argument. Axel isn’t interested in admiring pretty women.

Soren—An officer in the Greil Mercenaries. A cool-headed realist who has deep trust in Ike, but will rarely open up to any other beorc or laguz.

Isa—A quiet and cool-headed youth. Though he does come out of his shell when talking to his best friend Lea, toward others he is distant and untalkative.

Like Soren, Isa is described in terms of his relationship to Lea. He only comes out of his shell for him. There’s a level of intensity to their friendship that is unique. I am sure Isa was dependent on Lea emotionally, like Soren was with Ike.

Soren: Ike? Ike! This can’t… It can’t… What am I… If you’re not here, what am I to do?

If Ike dies in the first game, Soren has a special reaction.

Soren: “Ike… Please live… Even if all the cities burn, and the seas swallow Tellius… You mustn’t die… Not you…”

And another in the second game. He cannot bear to lose Ike. Sounds like some Shakespearean sonnet, too. That just doesn’t sound like something you’d say about someone unless you were in love with them.

Micaiah: Your heart is frozen, but I feel a warm core trying to melt through that ice. I see… You have someone you cherish very much. Someone you rely on.

Soren: Do not presume to understand me, you ridiculous girl. You have no idea who I am and what I can do. None at all.

His heart was frozen, but Ike was able to melt through the ice. Soren cherishes him and relies on him. He doesn’t appreciate hearing it from others, because Ike is his weakness. Soren’s entire character arc revolved around Ike.

Saïx:Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

Much like how Saïx says he lost his true purpose as soon as Axel left Organization XIII.

Ike: Soren, don’t cry.

Soren: Cry…? I’m … crying?

Ike: You’re so smart, and yet you’re completely hopeless at normal stuff. Look, come here.

Soren: P-please don’t treat me like a child. I’m not that…

Ike: Come on.

Soren: …

Ike: Sheesh, you’re such a pain. I’ll come over there.

Soren: [breaks out crying]

Another scene that involves hugging a crying person. A very intimate act. Soren opens up about his dark past. He pushes Ike away when he tries to hug him, saying not to treat him like a child. But he accepts it, too. It’s exactly what he needed and wanted. This scene is referred to in the official fan book as “the moment where their two hearts become one”. I think a scene like this is what they were absolutely terrified of happening in KH3.

Axel: Hey, I’m not about to tell you ALL my dark secrets. Got it memorized?

It all comes down to the degree of intimacy. Axel doesn’t express his deepest feelings to Roxas, Xion, or anyone else. And he doesn’t want to. He’s more than happy to avoid heavy issues like his past. He’d prefer to keep things light and fun, just enjoying their company.

Axel: As long as we remember each other, we’ll never be apart.

Roxas: Ha ha, wow, Axel. That sounded ridiculous.

Axel: What? I thought it was pretty deep.

When Axel made his comment, the other two thought it was awkward. Roxas laughs and says he sounded he sounded ridiculous.

Xion: Don’t worry, Axel–we got your hokey speech memorized.

Axel: Just checking.

And Xion said his remark was hokey. And I don’t think either of them were out of line with their comments. I completely understand why they teased him. It was because his statement contained a lot of intimacy. It sounded like something you’d say to, well…a lover. To them Axel’s remark came out of nowhere. And it kind of did. Because for the most part, his comment wasn’t really directed at them. Sure, he never wants to forget them. But he had someone else on his mind before he said it. He only spoke his thoughts out loud to cheer them up. But even they could recognize that the comment didn’t feel appropriate for them.

Day 118: You Changed, Not Me

Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It’s a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don’t feel like it anymore. It’s strange, but I’m content with just missing what’s gone. I’m not the one who changed. You did.

Roxas and Xion remind him of his past. But unlike with them, Axel DOES want to share his memories with Saïx. Badly. He wants to connect emotionally with him. But Saïx has no interest in having an emotional relationship. Because of this, interacting with him is incredibly painful for Axel. So painful that he’s more content with just missing what’s gone rather than subjecting himself to continual rejection. Saïx is the only character Axel acts like this towards.

Axel: So you don’t need a heart to have something that you can’t bear to lose then. If that’s true, then I guess the closest thing that we Nobodies have would be memories of our past. It’s the memories that create the things that we don’t want to lose.

Even though Saïx rejects him, Axel is always careful not to open up to anyone else about his past. He never does, even in KH3. And yet, memories of his past were the one thing he felt like he couldn’t bear to lose. The same memories that he longed to share with Saïx. Axel desires intimacy with Saïx and nobody else. He can’t bear to lose his memories of the past—of Isa.

Axel: Love is what happens if there’s something really special between two people.

Roxas: You mean, like, if they’re best friends? Inseparable?

Axel: Well, you can care about your friends, I guess, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

There’s that word again. “Special”. And again, it conveys a VERY different message than “friend”. It’s a very taboo word when used by men towards other men. If men can’t be special to each other in a video game about hearts, light, friendship, magic, love, and Disney Princesses, then they’re pretty much out of luck I guess.

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

WARNING: A little NSFW.

NOTE: Welcome to July! I went nearly a week with no internet, but I have returned and I intend to start jamming this fic through to the end. We're essentially entering the last "arc" of the story now and I hope you're all ready for it. Thank you for the reviews and continued readership, I appreciate that so much - especially when I'm taking forever to get this finished.

---------------------------------------------------

"Aww, c'mon, why am I the only one excited about this?"

The rest of the gang sort of shrugged noncommittally. None of them seemed to want to say aloud that the reason they couldn't summon the same level of anticipation as Yosuke was that they were still missing Narukami. Chie was staring down into her usual bowl of meat, stirring it distractedly.

"Not even you, Satonaka?!"

"Why me?!" she protested grumpily. "Like, single somebody else out, you jerk!"

Wilting in defeat, Yosuke leaned back against the railing around the school roof. "Ugh… you're all impossible."

"It's just Golden Week," Yukiko protested with a slight squirm. She wanted to be kind, to resist the temptation to pop Yosuke's little bubble of joy. But she also wanted to be realistic. "I agree, it would be wonderful to have a little vacation, but if we can't agree on where to go, and aren't that excited as a group…"

"Come on, we shouldn't have to give up that easy." Rise shrugged and hopped up from her seat. "Why don't we just do Okinawa? It's far enough that it's a vacation without being so crazy that all our time would be taken up by travel. I mean, unless we have to go all the way to Hawaii or something to have a good time."

The floppy-haired boy looked at her like she was the coming Messiah, drifting down from upon high to bless him with her presence. "Bless you. Absolutely bless you for saving me! I could kiss you!"

When he started to approach, she held up a hand palm out. "Try it and I will be wearing your teeth as a necklace." As he deflated, she turned the charm back on and pressed her hands together on one side of her face, smiling a dazzling smile. "Okinawa it is! We just need an adult to accompany us, or we're gonna get hassled a lot."

"Hmm, good point," Naoto said. Then the group as one looked toward the unsuspecting Kanji.

"Huh? Wha- I'm younger than most of you guys!"

"Yeah, but you look older," Chie pointed out with a thoughtful expression, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Do you think we could pull it off?"

While the taller boy was very clearly fuming that they thought of him as an old man, Yosuke put his fists firmly on his hips. "Yeah! I'm liking this! Next stop, the island of Okinawa!"

                                                        ~ o ~

Of course, even though at that time Rise was overjoyed, there would be complications. And one of these was pointed out to her by Ebihara after school, when they were stopping off at the Shiroku store just to take a poke around.

"Why didn't you suggest everybody go see Narukami?"

Rise stopped dead with her hand halfway reaching toward a candy bar. "Oh… I… wow, that is a really good point."

"As if I make any other kind," Ai scoffed with a half-smirk. "But yeah… probably a little late now, since you have everybody amped up to go to Okinawa. But hey, there's always summer vacation."

"Yeah, that's true… but I feel incredibly stupid. Seriously, why didn't I think of him first? We all miss him… me most of all, since he's my boyfriend."

The taller girl rolled her eyes as she picked up a bottle of green tea. "Are we going back to that? You can't do anything about it publicly right now, anyway — since the entire world is convinced you're having a 'Class S fling' before you grow up."

The words hit her so hard she had to brace against the wall to keep from pitching over. "You saw that one, huh?"

"All over every tabloid. They really like that outdated way of thinking; like girls can't legitimately want to be with girls for their whole lives. To be honest, I'm a little shocked you aren't being hounded by paparazzi at this exact second. We don't exactly have a lot of LGBT idols."

"Yes, well… there aren't any pictures, so technically, it's just a bunch of gossip from teenage girls. Only had a handful of phone calls about it, and saying 'no comment' to all those seemed to actually stop them. Pretty weird."

"That's because you're all washed up, Kujikawa," she sighed, smirking hard at her. "Yesterday's news. Retired before your time."

"Stooop! Why are you so mean to me?!" She slapped her a few times on the arm, and Ai laughed and held it up to shield herself a little better.

"Kidding! God, take a joke, bitch. But for real… maybe the word isn't out about your comeback yet, so they don't think you're worth being headline news. It will get a lot bigger when you get a lot bigger again."

At least that was a less bleak spin on the situation. Rise smiled over at her as they paid for their odds and ends and headed out. "Fine. I just don't know what difference it makes to you where we go."

"Hey, maybe I want to see Okinawa just as bad as you. Why are you the one that gets to decide everything without my input?"

"Oh, don't be such a…" Then it caught up to her, and she turned with raised eyebrows to look at her girlfriend. "What?"

"You're the one who can't finish her thought. What what?"

"I didn't think you would want to come with us."

Ai scowled as they came to a stop in the middle of the main street, hands on her hips. "You really think you're going on a big Golden Week vacation and I won't want to go with my supposed romantic partner?"

"No, not… I didn't think you would want to go with them. After what happened."

"Mm. I mean, clearly they are complete morons. But… being with you trumps having to put up with their idiotic antics. Besides… you gotta."

Jutting out her chin, she said, "Hey! I don't 'gotta' do anything but stay cute and talented!" Ai only laughed, so she stamped her foot. "Don't you laugh at me!"

"Why not? You're adorable. And anyway, I meant because I'm your giiirlfriend, so how would it look if you showed up there without me? Or if the town spotted me wandering around this week while you're out there living it up. Face it, you really painted yourself into a corner this time, Kujikawa."

Still pouting, she muttered, "Fine, senpai. I guess you know best."

"I do," she replied, mussing her hair up. Rise slapped at her hands and she laughed, and eventually Rise couldn't help laughing as well. "Sorry, I know that's a pain in the ass to fix. But you're just too cute!"

"I am," she admitted with a sigh. "And you're right; I did this whole 'public relationship' thing to get you to listen to me, and it was a dirty trick. This is my punishment. I must accept it diligently."

"Who the hell are you supposed to be now? Wait, you know what? Don't tell me. Let me just believe you lost your goddamn mind." That one earned her a lot more smackings.

                                                        ~ o ~

Everything bumped along easily enough through to the following Saturday. The minute their classes let out, the whole gang was racing home to their already-packed bags, ditching their uniforms, and hopping the train to a bus, to the airport. It was a mess of changeovers and stress, but Naoto had mapped the perfect route that would limit their time spent travelling without costing them extra. Without her, they would have been sunk.

The trip itself took the entire rest of the day. By the time they dragged themselves into their rooms in the rustic inn, they were all ready to fall immediately into bed and be dead to the world for several hours so that the next day they could enjoy themselves. The problem was…

"Wait, where are our beds?!"

Yosuke wasn't wrong. The traditional-looking room most certainly didn't have beds at all. The boy pouted as he dropped his duffel bag and clutched at his hair, scanning every nook and cranny as if one would jump out at him from the shadows.

"This does seem to be very traditional," Yukiko pointed out, scanning the room again. She immediately crossed to the closet and yanked open one of the sliding doors. "Ah! Futon."

"Futon?! Aww, I thought they'd have Western beds! We're on vacation, for cryin' out loud!"

"Don't be such a baby," Chie sighed, stretching her limbs. "Feel more sorry for those of us who don't like sleeping with a bunch of nosy jerks so close to each other. Like you."

While he was pouting and grumbling, Rise glanced between her and the dutiful Yukiko, who was already laying out the futons for everyone without prompting. Falling into her usual job. Chie probably meant that she was upset she wouldn't get much "alone time" with her girlfriend while they were all lying on top of each other. That really was too bad; even if she had barely tasted true love with Narukami, and seen hints of it in a certain affluent team manager, she knew that being kept away from it would likely be as agonising as it sounded.

And speak of the devil…

"Sucks to be you guys."

They all turned at once, and Rise cringed when she noticed everybody else froze. So she tried to be quick about announcing, "Hey, Ebi-chan! You made it!"

"Thank you, Welcoming Committee Of One," she snorted as she glanced around at the rest of them. "And you guys, too. Really doing a great job of making me feel like this trip was worth it."

"You don't have to be here," Chie muttered.

"What's that? It almost sounded like you had something to say, Bowl Cut."

Said bowl cut almost seemed to bristle as Chie rolled up the sleeve of her green jacket and started to stomp over toward her. But Kanji grabbed her by the neckline to hold her back. "Can't you guys save it till tomorrow?" he yawned. "I'm beat."

"Please?" Rise insisted. The tomboy looked like she wanted to protest, but she dropped back to fold her arms over her chest sulkily.

"Beautiful," Ai snorted. "I've just come to collect my property and then I'll head back to my room."

"What property is that?" Rise asked. When Ai pointed at her, she gulped and whispered, "Oh."

"I don't think that's very nice," Yukiko remarked with a slight frown.

Summoning a smile wasn't exactly easy when she was dealing with all those butterflies in her stomach, but Rise managed. "She's kidding, Yuki-chan. Thanks, though."

"Who says I was kidding? If you want me to keep playing along with this media circus, you're my bitch. Get used to it." Then she smirked at the others. "I promise to return her in good condition. Slightly used."

As they headed out, Rise bowing slightly and apologising, she overheard Chie muttering "The nerve of that guy" before the door shut behind them. Great.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yep."

"I'm really sorry. I tried to explain ab-"

"I don't give a shit what Bowl Cut thinks about me. They can all think I'm some drag queen if they want; there are worse things in the world. Like bigots."

"Y-yeah," she laughed nervously. "But I'm kinda hoping… we can all get along during this trip. Maybe they can even be better than-"

"Don't hold your breath."

"I will," she told her, a little frustrated with being cut off so many times. "I'll hold my breath until Golden Week is over if I want to, you aren't the boss of me. No matter what you just told them."

Finally, Ai turned to smirk at her as they walked along toward the other hotel room. She had flown ahead, given that she had access to more swift modes of transportation than the plebs; Rise could have done the same, but she wanted to hang with the group. "Oh, we'll see about that, bitch. But not tonight. Everybody's exhausted."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." However, she changed her tune quick when Rise turned on her heel and started walking back the way they came. "Wha- hey!" She jogged a couple of steps to catch up. "Where are you going?"

"Back to crowd into that shitty little room. It's better than being called your bitch every five seconds."

"Hey, whose fault is that? And do you really wanna have a public fight where the paparazzi can see us?"

"I don't even care. Maybe that would be for the best; then it's a public end to the public thing, and you can be an asshole to… to whoever you want, on your own time! So just leave me alone and go… to…"

The hand clamped onto her own gave her pause. The touch was firm but not rough; just enough to keep her from storming any further toward where her friends were getting ready for bed. When Rise didn't try pulling away, she caught up enough to place her other hand on Rise's shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Wow, you really are a jerk." Ai swallowed hard before continuing, "I'm sorry… for being so… ugh. This is a pain in the ass."

"Then I guess I'm not worth it to you."

"Wow, loaded statement much?" No response, so she pressed ahead, "I'm trying. Okay? I'm just a bitch by default, you know that — and you did some fucked shit to me. Let me work through it if you want to get anywhere."

Rise turned and buried her face in Ai's chest, nuzzling against the side of her neck. The taller girl's breath caught and held fast. "Just be nice to me. Try?"

"Rise…" After a second, her hand drifted up to press into her back, holding her there. "Come on. Let's go get some sleep."

"Yeah." They parted, turned to head for Ai's room… but weren't walking nearly as far apart this time. That was marked progress.

                                                        ~ o ~

The next morning was a lot more interesting than that evening. They were so dead tired that they only got about half their clothes off before crawling into the futons Ai had set up — right next to each other. Her rationale was that if anyone checked the suite, it would support their claim that they were a hot-and-heavy couple. Rise found it hard to argue with that.

However, waking up with a decent-sized boner digging into her hip was a fine hello.

'Oh GOD,' she squealed internally. 'This can't be happening! Ai is all horny and too asleep for me to be able to ask her to cut that out!' In fact, she had tried to dig her elbow into her side, just enough to rouse her; no luck. If she did more than that she was afraid of robbing her of her sleep, or waking her up in a bad mood that might persist for the remainder of the day. Or worse: waking her up and embarrassing her, which she didn't want to do, either.

Then again… she couldn't pretend some part of the reason she didn't wake her was interest. What was it like to touch her directly? Not just petting along it with one finger for half a second — or through underwear and a long t-shirt; she already knew what that felt like, given that she had been dealing with the sensation for about fifteen minutes by now.

The worst part was how her own body was reacting. At first, she was just nervous and maybe a little creeped out, even though her curiosity was always there. But by now… she felt her heart pounding, throat dry, and tingles in places she had rarely felt tingles before. All thanks to a rigid little monster hiding in her girlfriend's panties.

"Wakey-wakey, Ebi-chaaaan," she whispered to the figure slumbering against her side. She really did look so sweet there. So pretty… she wanted to kiss her again. But that wasn't okay! She was asleep. Even though she knew it was a relatively harmless thing to do, she still didn't feel quite right about it.

Maybe she should try to slide out from under her. Yes, that sounded like a much safer idea. Nobody would feel like they had been violated this way. So little by little, she began to inch away from her, keeping her eyes on Ai's flawless features…

"Nnnhh…"

"Hey!" Rise squeaked when the sleeping girl redoubled her grip on her. Shit! She bit her lip, trying to ignore how much closer to a certain area that firm presence was now. Could she find no relief from this personal hell?!

This was supposed to be Narukami. Oh, she had dreamed many times about waking up beside him, letting him see a glimpse of a sexy shoulder before she pulled her kimono on and went to get breakfast. Sometimes, he dragged her back to bed, began to ravage her with kisses. And sometimes…

Well, no, she didn't really imagine sex. That part wasn't as integral to her fantasies; she just wanted to enjoy the physical and emotional intimacy. The act itself might be fun but she wasn't as concerned with that. But from time to time, she did imagine Yu kissing all over her neck, or-

OH NO. Now she was even more tingly and right up against the thing that had instigated these tingles in the first place. This was getting bad! Ai was groaning a little from all the movement but not quite rousing from her slumber. So she was still stuck fast.

"Ebihara, please," she hissed, pushing at her shoulders slightly. The noises got louder. "Hey! Are you in there, somewhere?!"

"Mhhh?" she asked as her hips began to grind a little — and Rise could swear she was seeing stars. This was awakening her body for the first time and she was just starting to wish that this wouldn't stop. "Who… wha?"

When Ai's eyes slit open and she saw Rise was beneath her, she blinked a few times. Rise gulped and grimaced. Then the teen queen began to frown down at her pop star girlfriend as she struggled to come up with a proper greeting.

"Oh. I uh… good… morning?"

                                                                To Be Continued…

[your-fixof-fics]

the slow reveal of what another needs -- by Gigglepud  Yosuke x Yu, Persona 4 

Summary: Yu’s been acting just a little weird, recently. Just a little; no big deal. Sure, he’s all but stopped inviting Yosuke over to his house, but Yosuke’s sure there’s a good reason for it. He’s not freaking out at all. 

(A 1.8k words fic of Yosuke and Yu being dumb dorks)

AO3: Link

The thing is – it takes Yosuke weeks to notice.

He and Yu have been going steady for three months now, after at least double that amount of time wasted on the delicate dance steps of equal parts pining and flirting.

As far as Yosuke is concerned, everything is great! He sees Yu almost every day, and every time they meet, it still sends a spark straight to his heart. Just thinking about Yu gets a dopey grin on his face. His life is perfect in every way that matters, and he loves it.

Or at least, it should be.

It takes a failed robbery at Junes for Yosuke to figure it out. He’s lurking by the scene as his father recounts the situation to the police when Dojima spots him. Dojima breaks into a grin, slapping his notebook shut as he waves for Yosuke to come over.

“Is something the matter?” Yosuke glances at the arrested robber.

Dojima waves a hand, “No, everything’s all good. Just haven’t seen my favourite nephew’s boyfriend in a while, you know? How have you been?”

“I’ve been great!” Yosuke ducks his head, scratching the back of his head. “We’ve just been busy, I guess.”

It’s only after Dojima has left, the store left quiet and empty, but for the mess of tapes and dislodged displays left for Yosuke to clean up, that a chill suddenly spikes Yosuke’s spine.

He tries to remember the last time he’d been by Yu’s place. And though he remembers fond afternoons with Yu and Nanako from the early days of their relationship, somewhere along the way, those visits had petered out.

 The next time he sees Yu, he tries to bring it up.

“Hey, why don’t we ever go to your place, anymore?”

Yu shoots a surprised glance at Yosuke.

“What? Oh, it’s just a mess, I guess,” he laughs.

“You know I don’t care about that. I don’t see how it’s possible to be messier than my place,” Yosuke retorts.

“Well I still think there are better places to hang out,” Yu insists.

“Oh.”

Yosuke lets Yu change the subject, but the nagging thought stays, like a stain on a white shirt that won’t completely fade.

Yosuke tries not to overthink it. It’s not completely implausible that Yu might be embarrassed about his room’s mess, though Yosuke remembers the meticulous neatness the last time he’d been there.

But there could also be other reasons, right? Reasons that has nothing to do with Yosuke specifically.

Nevertheless, Yosuke attempts range from subtle hints to explicit requests to visit Yu’s house. Not even to his room, just the living room, to see Nanako or something. But Yu manages to shut it down every time.

Sometimes, Yu’s segues are so subtle Yosuke doesn’t even realise what Yu’s done until ten minutes later and they’re somehow talking about the similarities between King Moron and donkeys.

Even when Yosuke walks Yu home, he’ll never make it past the threshold of the front door. Yu is never forthright in his rejections, but instead, he’s extra subtle that Yosuke doesn’t realise he’s promising to leave until the words are already out of his mouth.

 “Is that normal?” Yosuke demands, a week later when he’s at Yukiko’s place.

Chie lifts her head from Yukiko’s lap, gestures at herself then the room at large. Her voice is dripping with sarcasm as she retorts, “What do you think?”

Yosuke raises an eyebrow at the two of them. Yukiko seated on her bed as Yosuke has seized the couch. Chie lies lengthwise on the bed, using Yukiko’s thighs as pillow while Yukiko’s finger tangle softly around Chie’s hair.

“That’s different,” Yosuke pouts. “You two are generally disgusting anyhow.”

Chie snorts, “Who’s speaking? You’re just as gross when you’re with Yu. Seriously? Would it destroy you to let go of each other for just a single second?”

Yosuke cackles. The four of them have had their fair share of passive aggressive competitions comparing their relationships. But the humour dissipates just as quickly when he thinks back to the problem at hand, replaced by the harsh pressing of his chest.

“Okay, but then why won’t he let me in his house anymore? I mean, it’s not like I want to intrude, but what does he have to hide? Is he keeping some huge secret from me?”  

“If he is, then I think you should respect that,” Yukiko is soft but firm in both tone and gaze.

“And talk to him,” Chie adds. “Seriously, have you even properly asked him about this?”

“You guys are about to watch the break down of a relationship,” Yosuke wails, but he doesn’t contest their advice.

 Chie finally decides to do her job as a best friend a few days later, when the four of them linger after class.

“Hey, Yu,” She wraps an arm around his shoulder and pulls him close. “Can we go visit Nanako? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Yu looks thoughtful for a moment, and Yosuke is ready to cut in with an alternative suggestion, before Yu nods.

“That would be good,” Yu smiles. “She’d like that.”

Yosuke tries not to gape too obviously. When he glances confusedly towards Chie, she raises an eyebrow in turn.

“Alright then,” Yukiko claps her hands together, drawing the three’s attention to her. “Let’s go.”

He staunchly averts Chie’s eyes the rest of the way to Yu’s house, and though he tries his best to keep the conversation going, he can’t help the pout that surfaces whenever Yu isn’t looking.

It’s easier to forget his turmoil once he arrives, when Nanako all but bounces to the door. He grins as he squats down to meet her at eye-level, enveloping her into a hug.

“Long time no see!” Nanako squeals. “Are you all here to play?”

“Yeah! We’re here for whatever you want to do!” Yosuke responds with a grin. He glances up to Yu, but instead of the matching grin he expects, he catches a glimpse of a frown before it’s quickly forced away.

“You alright?” He murmurs when he gets up.

“Yeah,” Yu says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Come on, lets go into the living room.”

 A while later, Yukiko suggests something about fabrics for a new dress, and before Yosuke even realises Chie is ushering Nanako towards the door.

When Yu attempts to follow, Chie puts her hand out, letting it hover right in front of his face.

“Girls only, sorry!” She announces, though she did not sound sorry at all.

Any confusion on Yosuke’s part clears up when Yukiko has led Nanako out the door, and Chie turns back with a sudden glare.

“Meanwhile, you two, talk.”

Yet, when the door slams shut a second later, it only leaves the room drowning in silence. Yosuke darts a glance towards Yu, whose brows are creased as he frowns towards the door.

“So…” Yosuke attempts, only to trail off as soon as Yu looks his way.

Yu waits a few beats, the silence-induced awkwardness manifesting like disease. “Well, I bought that new comic we were talking about last week. It’s in my room, do you want to come see?”

Yosuke rubs a hand roughly through his face. It was the perfect opening, but…

“Maybe later. I think, we probably should probably listen to Chie, first.”

Yu nods, his expression sobering up as he shifts to sit more comfortably in his seat. Yosuke’s heart sinks; he’d hoped, just a little, that Yu would be confused – then at least it would have a higher chance this whole thing is just a figment of Yosuke’s paranoid imagination.

But it seems they’re on the same page, and that might as well be an explicit confirmation that there’s a problem.

Yet, Yosuke doesn’t know how to begin, and Yu doesn’t seem inclined to start, either. It shouldn’t be like this, the two of them sitting across each other, separated by the table. It’s almost like they were strangers again.

“Well?” Yu prompts, when the silence drags on for too long.

Yosuke takes a deep breath. “Why are you keeping me away from here? What have you got to hide that you never invite me to your house anymore?”

Yu buries his face into his hand. “It’s stupid,” he mumbles into them.

Yosuke stares, his heart racing. “What do you mean?” he asks slowly, because if Yu is talking about their relationship, he’s not sure how he’s going to handle it.

But Yu only shakes his head with a groan. “It’s- urgh. It’s just stupid!” He looks back up at Yosuke with a self-deprecating smile. “I’m sorry, you’ve been worrying about this for ages, haven’t you? That’s why Chie got involved too. It wasn’t supposed to become a big deal, it’s just, well…” Yu looks away.

“Well what?” Yosuke tries to be patient, but this moment is the culmination of weeks of tension, and he can only control his anticipation for so long.

Yu shrinks into himself, “Look, it’s just, whenever you come over, you always end up spending all your time with Nanako. And, that’s great, it’s fine, I love that you get along with her so well, but it also means we never seem to get any time alone. And sometimes, well, that gets frustrating, you know?”

Yosuke stares.

Yu stares at the floor, “I know, this is so bad.”

It takes a while for Yosuke to process all of this, but when he does, he’s slamming his hands onto the table as he leans forwards, “No! It’s not bad. This is, like, the best news I’ve heard all week.”

Because it’s true, this could have gone in so many horrible directions.

“Really?” Yu raises a bow.

“Hey, don’t act all high and mighty. You’re totally right that this is so stupid,” Yosuke laughs, and it’s a genuine grin on his face as he feels lighter than he has for a long while. “I can’t believe you got jealous.”

“It’s not jealousy!” Yu tries to protest, but Yosuke just laughs some more.

“You’re an idiot,” Yosuke retorts good naturedly. He’s probably an idiot too, but no way he’s going to actually admit that. “I can’t believe you made me worry for nothing.”

 The next Sunday, Yosuke arrives at Yu’s house extra early. As expected, Yu isn’t up yet, though Nanako is peppered with youthful energy.

He’s enthusiastic as ever as he hugs her, then leads her to the kitchen. “Help me cook?”

The make fried rice together, taking their time as Nanako catches Yosuke up with all that’s been going on with her.

But when they’re done, Yosuke nods satisfactorily at the prepared dishes, then turns solemnly to Nanako.

“Hey, are you going to forgive me if I still Yu for the day? I’ve got a full plan to prove myself a worthy boyfriend.”

Nanako grins and claps her hand, “Of course! I hope you guys have a great time!”

Yosuke grins, and they fist bump before he carries two servings upstairs. They’re going to have such a great day, even just staying indoors, that Yu won’t even want him to leave.

End. 

Thanks for reading! Fic inspired by this cute af couple i saw the other day with a bunch of who I assume to be younger siblings at the water park. Title inspired by Damien Rice’s It Takes A Lot to Know A Man, only because it’s the song i’ve been binging all day.