#dont be shy. show me that my language and culture are not the default

[granny-griffin]

guys more of you should post in your native language about stuff that isn’t relevant to me as an american. sometimes I want to learn about other languages/cultures via interaction and not from a textbook but it gets kind of hard when everyone only uses english all the time

[thatlittledandere]

id love to read your essay if you feel like sharing it... yosuke worms are consuming my brain and i need stuff like that to survive (no pressure tho if you dont feel comfortable sharing it!!)

I'd be very comfortable sharing it, I love attention, but there's nothing in it you don't already know. I originally wrote it privately for a friend who just started P4G and asked me to tell her about Yosuke's removed romance because she's a supportive angel. But here it is anyway, 863 words of "why Yosuke should be Yu's boyfriend", in its original form aka my very unprofessional side notes included.

First we gotta look at the dateable social links, sorry for minor spoilers maybe. Of course, if you're going to date one these girls, you need to lay on the groundwork so the confession or getting-together scene feels natural if you decide to go that route. So all the girls have some romance coded scenes and dialogue. Then you look at Yosuke's and he has some of the same things... Yosuke's rank 9 (like ranking from 8 to 9) is arguably one of the most romantic scenes in the game, and referenced in like 70% of canon compliant fanfics lmao

I'm mostly comparing Yosuke's social link to my girlfriends Yumi and Rise, because they're the ones I finished. With both of them, you got into a relationship by hugging them, and it's sometimes said that hugging is Persona 4 code for "we're dating now". It's something intimate, even more so in Japan. Strangely enough, the game also let's you hug Yosuke in his rank 8. (if you did everything right in RANK 7, which I think is UNFAIR. I ONLY LOOKED AT THE WALKTHROUGH FOR THE CURRENT RANK AND IT DID NOT WARN ME SO I TOOK THAT ONE CHANCE TO GO APE WHEN APPARENTLY I SHOULDN'T HAVE AND I GODDAMN LOST THAT CHANCE) So it's my theory that Yosuke's romance flag used to be there until it was removed.

Also, Yumi was able to come out and say "I love you" in clear words, but not everyone is that direct. Rise for example shyed away from The Three Words despite already being in a relationship with the protagonist; she's an idol and an actress and her line went something like "come on, I've confessed my love hundreds of times on TV, why can't I do it in person? ...You're special to me." The Japanese generally say I love you a lot less than many English-speaking people, and it's a very context heavy language and culture in general, so we're expected to understand that "you're special to me" is a love confession, just like hugging was a symbol of starting a relationship. 

Now, Yosuke also tells the protagonist "you're special to me" in the aforementioned rank 9. This happens after the rank where you had the option to hug him, so if his romance had been kept in, you likely would have been in a relationship with him at this point. It's a direct parallel to another, explicitly romantic scene, with the character many players see as something of a default dating option for Yu.

The romance was likely cut out very late in development, as some datamined deleted lines for Yosuke were recorded in English. It's on YouTube where anyone can check it out. It would fit neatly in Yosuke's rank 8, 9 or 10. The most important part of it in reference to this wall of text is that he goes and says "I like you" in it. "I never knew I had such... Heat inside. B-but don't make me say stuff like that! ...Don't go. I like you." Combine that with Yuri Lowenthal's delivery, and I'm convinced it's exactly what it sounds like.

But it looks like the only thing they removed​ in the end was these lines and the "you are now dating Yosuke" notice. The rest of his social link was left as is... Very romances-coded. And that's not even all of it! They didn't leave it at his social link! Yosuke has lines subtly hinting at being interested in or having feelings for the protagonist all throughout the game. Some even speculate it was supposed to be the "canon" romance.

Atlus has never given any answer to why it was removed. Maybe some people on the team made it but the main director, known to be somewhat homophobic, didn't allow it. Maybe it was a case of higher-up intervention. Maybe they didn't think it fit Yosuke's character or his story arc. Whatever it was, it must have been something heavy and irreparable, as they didn't take the easy opportunity to add it into Golden four years later. It would have required considerably less work than adding in two new social links, several group events and new dungeon/s (i don't know how many there are).

Anyway, I think Yosuke romance would have been beneficial. Not just for the obvious "representation is important" sense, but for Yosuke's character as well. It can be argued that if he was still grieving Saki in his later ranks he may not be ready for a relationship yet, but it is shown that Yu was of great help and importance for him, and would have undoubtedly had no negative influence on Yosuke as a boyfriend any more than as a best friend. But in acknowledging his feelings for Yu, Yosuke would have been forced to address and maybe overcome his homophobia. Choosing to date Yosuke and showing him he's desirable may have helped him with his self-worth issues. Obviously the route would be off-putting to many, but so are many of the existing romances. Nobody is obligated to play it.

In conclusion, we were robbed. And I bet I forgot something important.