#entire life (actually canon) (Makoto will just keep getting involved in things like it's a longrunning light novel series)

[tsuzukerukoto]

Little detail I like: Makoto's reactions to finding corpses have become somewhat more subdued as time goes on. He says he'll never get used to this, and on some level that's true-- he's not like Kirigiri, he refuses to emotionally suppress/detach himself, but... At the same time, on some level, he is getting used to death.

[violet--crown]

The Supposed Audience Surrogate And His Confidants

I believe that Ren (/Akira/Joker/Inmate/Haremfucker249/Whatever you want to call him) is a much more interesting character than the game presents him as in the Confidants. Although he does have his moments, in the Confidants he serves to be the shoulder to cry on for all the characters and through player choice reflects back to them what they want to see. Although this is never truly elaborated on, I do think it’s very interesting, but it doesn’t change the fact that in the Confidant routes Ren is reduced to a boring audience surrogate. I do believe he can both be explored as a character in the Confidant routes while also being careful with his words to make others like him. I want to examine how the Confidants could potentially be altered to make Ren less of a brick wall and to make the relationships feel more two-sided.

The except to the rule is the Justice Confidant. When paired with Akechi, Ren truly gets to shine as a character.

(P5R Spoilers Ahead)

Justice 

Akechi’s Confidant stands out from the others. All the Confidants follow a similar pattern where the subject of the Confidant has to struggle with an internal and/or external conflict (usually both). Ann and Makoto are two good examples. Ann’s internal struggle is with finding her inner strength and drawing strength from those around her and the external conflict focuses on her job as a model and Mika’s antagonistic interference. Makoto struggles to find direction in her life when she’s no longer following anyone else’s plan and the external conflict is helping Eiko.

Akechi can’t follow this pattern. The external conflict, getting revenge on Shido is interwoven into the plot so that it can't be solved in their Confidant. And his myriad of personal issues also can’t be solved if the plot is to progress. So a problem arises: What is the focus of Akechi’s Confidant? And the solution is the relationship between him and Ren, which will later become vital to the plot in Royal and makes Yaldabaoth’s plan a lot more interesting and tragic. While Akechi is better fleshed out as a character in his Confidant, it’s not the sole focus; one primary focus is the relationship between him and Ren and it can’t exist if it’s one-sided. Ren has to be an active member in their relationship or the premise of their Confidant falls apart. We see that Ren is extremely perceptive, being able to pick up that Akechi is using his non-dominant hand when playing billiards after only meeting him once. Another important trait is his confidence and competitive streak. While him being cocky is established in the first scene of the game, his competitiveness is something established in the justice Confidant. All these traits draw the two together. As I just mentioned, Ren plays a very active role, while (as is in character for both of them) Akechi does most of the speaking, Ren is not just a brick wall listening to him walk. Ren forces the disguise on Akechi, showing he is not afraid to poke bears with sticks. He challenges Akechi, not wanting him to go easy on him in their billiards matches. And most obviously their debates on The Phantom Thieves, the thing that draws them together in the first place. Their relationship is filled with conflict which grows to be more serious as Yaldaboath’s plan comes into action, but it’s clear they care about each other. The importance of their relationship is part of what motivates Akechi to sacrifice himself and it’s what makes Ren’s ultimate wish for Akechi and him to “have a fresh start together,” according to Maruki. It’s clear their relationship has a profound effect on both characters and means a great deal to each even if there are clearly conflicting and complex feelings. This is only possible because both parties are equally involved without Akechi being the only focus. 

Akechi and Ren hold a mirror to each other and their traits are explored through their similarities. One of the most interesting aspects explored is that of a dual identity. For Akechi this is extremely overt with the detective prince persona masking the bitter orphan who paradoxically craves both revenge and love. For Ren, this is a lot more subtle. His fake glasses are a symbol of his mask. He uses them to appear less threatening and make himself blend into a crowd. While this is nowhere near as extreme as Akechi’s facade, similarly to Akechi he does don a persona (you know what I mean) to make himself appear more presentable and to shed the bad reputation that’s been unfairly attached to him. He also hides the more passionate side of himself, the side he shows off when he’s allowed to be Joker. Their relationship is very dynamic, switching from argumentative to childish to serious to fun to antagonistic to caring. This relationship between them can’t exist if Ren is not playing an active role. 

While their Confidant is easily my favourite, I don’t actually believe every Confidant should mirror theirs. The pattern exists for a reason and each Confidant does tell an interesting story. Additionally having every Confidant be like theirs could lessen the impact of Maruki’s final offer in the third semester. So if that’s the case, then what needs to change? I think Ren as a character needs to be able to shine through more often in the Confidants and at least one trait or aspect of his character should be explored. 

The Hierophant

Sojiro is great. You’ve played the game (I’m assuming) so you know this. And Sojiro is a great dad. But how many kids does he have? That’s the real question. Ren—at the start of the game, when first under Sojiro’s custody—is not his son. Sojiro is simply his legal guardian for a temporary amount of time. But this changes over the course of the game… kinda. Ren hangs awkwardly at the side of the Sakura family, not quite a part of it but not not a part of it either. Multiple times the player has the option to have Ren refer to Futaba as his sister or as family, but she also has a romantic route. This leaves their familial status in a very awkward liminal space.

It’s clear Ren sees Sojiro as more of a parent than his own biological parents, even if Sojiro can’t keep custody. At the start of the game, Sojiro recaps what happened, telling Ren and the player “the courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved.” And then rather cruelly remarks: “In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass.” While it is a harsh way to put it and Sojiro doesn’t personally know Ren’s parents I’d argue his assessment is essentially true. The typical parent would fight tooth and nail to keep their children from being taken away, yet it’s implied Ren’s parents were content with Sojiro’s temporary custody. This leaves a parent shaped gap in Ren’s life. 

In Royal’s bad ending, Ren has three wishes: 

Having Akechi back.

For his friends to stay together.

To stay with Sojiro.

For now, I’m going to focus on that third one. Sojiro asks Ren "Would you maybe like to keep staying at the cafe? And maybe, even after graduation, you could..." and then trails off, waiting for Ren’s response. The two options the player is given is "Yes, I'd love to." and "I want to stay forever." Sojiro approaches Ren about this, indicating this isn’t just Sojiro being brainwashed by Maruki so Ren’s wish comes true, it’s clearly something wanted by both of them. Royal’s bad ending indicates that the two very much see each other as family and they want to remain that way.

I propose that a way this Confidant can be improved is to have Ren admit to Sojiro in one of the later ranks that he’s been more of a father then his actual parents. What Ren’s home life was like could be elaborated on in this Confidant. Then in rank ten have Ren welcomed into the family. I’m not suggesting massive changes, just that Ren’s family life be elaborated on a little bit more. 

Please just let them be a family and cut the Futaba romance route. Please ATLUS I’m begging you just let hi—

Faith

Sumire’s Confidant is one I have many feelings and opinions on. I love Sumire as a character, but the Faith Confidant needed to be better. To me it seems as if Sumire was intended to be very close to Ren. She is one of two characters to have a show time with him and then no matter your personal feelings on the matter, it’s impossible to deny Sumire is pushed as the main love interest for Ren (just look at the marketing). Given their Confidant, this is undeserved. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think it’s any worse or better than any of the others, but if it’s going to be the main route and if her feelings are going to be canonical regardless of out route the player chooses, then their relationship regardless of whether it’s platonic or romantic has to be more two-sided. I think their relationship should be important. As I mentioned they have a show time together and a lot of the advertisement for Royal pushes them together. 

Let’s take a quick look at Haru’s Confidant, while personally, it is not my favourite as I believed Haru could have been written better, her feelings for Ren make a lot of sense. She’s been very isolated her entire life and it’s clear that Ren is the only person who has ever just listened to her without ulterior motive so it seems natural that feelings would develop even if their relationship isn’t two-sided. I don’t want to sound cruel or malicious but in this situation, as long as Ren listens and is kind, the rest of his personality doesn’t matter.

Now, let’s return to Sumire. Ignoring romantic feelings for now, why does she like Ren? Because he inspired her and she wants to show off and impress him which drives her to complete and be her true self. This works as a premise but why Ren? She could want to impress her father or her coach. So why Ren? To answer this question you have to make their relationship more two-sided. She has to get to know Ren as he gets to know her.

The first five Confidants should focus on fun and showing off. The first five Confidants are, in my opinion, very boring. Sumire wants to get out of her slump and Ren offers to help her, I propose that Ren’s idea of how to get out of her slump should be having fun together. For example, they could go to the amusement park together or Destiny Land. I think the fourth Confidant where Kasumi’s bad cooking skills are established is important as a) it sets up the later reveal that Sumire is a good cook and just how far Maruki has influenced her that she’s losing skills and b) it establishes how much work she puts into being a gymnast, that she has to carefully consider everything she eats. But the rank itself is boring. My solution is to make it an eating competition between the two of them. We know from Akechi’s Confidant that Ren is competitive and of course from The Big Bang Burger Challenge that he wouldn’t lose automatically. Additionally, it’s a fun way to set up that Sumire likes showing off and impressing people, even if it’s at something as silly as an eating competition. These changes could also establish that Ren is one of the only people Sumire feels like she can relax and have fun around. While she wants him to have high expectations of her, those expectations aren’t crushing, they’re welcomed. I’m not saying the specific changes I’ve laid out 100% should have happened, but it’s an idea of how it could make their relationship more interesting.

Now the second half of their confidence is a lot more important, and already better written than the first half. I have two ideas for how to improve it to make their relationship more dynamic. Number one is the theme of futures. Sumire is one of two characters that Ren makes any hypothetical plans with beyond a general, we’ll remain friends, even if we split. (Though this number could technically be moved to three if you want to count Ren’s incredibly depressing refusal to move past Akechi’s death and holding onto the glove thinking he’ll come back). That’s incredibly important. 

Sumire jokingly asks Ren to “join [her] on [her] tour.” The player doesn’t actually have the option to say no with a joking “give me a break” being the closest to it. (Oddly enough Sumire’s proposal only happens in the platonic route.) While this is purely hypothetical and Sumire only jokes about it, it is a possibility for the future that is more specific than a simple “no matter what we’ll remain friends.”

So I propose that the second half of the Confidant could focus on Ren’s future too. We never see what his future ambitions are and I think that Sumire’s Confidant is the perfect one to explore that in. Although there are other characters who question their futures, I believe Sumire’s fits the best as she’s driven and ambitious like Ren, and while she does question who she is because of her time as Kasumi, she’s always confident about being a gymnast which I feel clicks with Ren’s confidence.

Now I could stop here, but I also think Sumire’s Confidant could also have the potential to explore Ren’s mirroring nature. Sumire’s is one of the last Confidants the player will complete as the last five ranks are locked so this trait can be established prior to her Confidant. Additionally, she has a similar dual identity.

Due to how he’s written as a semi self insert protagonist, Ren adapts himself to each person he knows. To progress through the Confidants, as a player you have to choose and consider the right answers and this transfers onto Ren as a character. And at the beginning of the game, one of the first tasks you are given is not to stand out. I could write a ton on this but it’s going to clog this up so I want to keep it short. I think his friendship with Sumire could be an interesting way to explore this trait and how the two of them hide behind masks. Potentially Sumire could confront him about this and tell him she wants to get to know the real him like he got to know her over Kasumi. I’m going to move on now before I bring Akechi into this and start droning on and on about the Royal Trio and masks. 

At Sae’s palace, Sumire says to Ren "My weak self relied on you so much... that ends today.” “It's my turn to come to your aid, Senpai." Sumire never truly follows up on this new promise. She helps him in that battle and in following battles against Maruki, but she never helps him emotionally as he helped her. She says she doesn’t want to rely on him anymore but she only becomes more dependent. I don’t think relying on one’s friends is a bad thing, of course it’s not, but when it’s only happening one way something is wrong. And there is a big difference between Ren helping Ryuji help the track team and Ren helping Sumire through her trauma relating to Kasumi’s death and her identity. I’m not trying to villainise Sumire or anything like that, but I really wished their reliance on each other was more equal.

I’d suggest that Sumire should say to Ren she feels guilty for always relying on him without ever giving anything in turn. Then either have them talk about their identity or have her ask about his future and ambitions. Either way, have her keep her promise to help and support him as he has done for her.

To be honest, I could go on and on about alterations to Sumire’s Confidant and her Confidant in general, but I’m gonna leave it as this (for now).

All in all, it seems as if Ren’s relationship with Sumire was supposed to be extremely important, but it doesn’t stand out from any of the other Confidants as being so. So in conclusion, their showtime is cool but ATLUS you gotta work to sell me on how close they are.

Conclusion

It’s a shame Ren’s treated as an audience surrogate for most of the Confidants when he’s more interesting as a character. While I think it makes sense that he is closer to some Confidants then others, for example, his bond with Mishima isn’t nearly as close as his bond with Ann, it would have been cool if his character had been explored at least partly through each and his relationships with each Confidant.

[princeasimdiya12]

So in my DR1 Taleshift AU, the talents go as followed: Swimmer!Makoto, LuckyStudent!Chihiro, Programmer!Toko, Novelist!Celestia, Gambler!Leon, BaseballPro!Mondo, GangLeader!Mukuro, Soldier!Sakura, MartialArtist!Kiyotaka, MoralCompass!Byakuya, AffluentProgeny!Junko, Fashionista!Kyoko, Detective!Hifumi, FanficAuthor!Yasuhiro, Clairvoyant!Sayaka and Idol!Aoi. These headcanons mean a lot to me!

Hey anon! Thank you for your patience! I’m sorry it took so long but I had alot of real life affairs to take care of. Even to this day. With that in mind, i would like to bring up that I won’t be accepting any new talentswap asks like this for some good time. 

With that, I hope you enjoy these new headcanons for this AU.

Makoto Naegi as the SHSL Swimmer

He could spend hours in a pool of water just letting his mind wander as his body feels the cool pool sensations.

One day, when he was out on the beach with his family, he spotted what looked like a dolphin in distress and far out into the open waters.

Without thinking, he immediately swam towards the creature and brought her to the beach to have her wounds fixed.

He earned quite a bit of noteriety for that.

He’s the shortest member of his swim team and has been playfully teased for it.

During the summer, he often serves as a lifeguard assistant.

Chihiro Fujisaki as the SHSL Lucky Student

Their luck made it difficult for them to interact with others in social situations.

When their luck causes bad things to happen, it usually results in Chihiro being involved in a given accident making them come off as a bad omen.

When their luck causes good things to happen, they find themselves getting attention from the media and eager crowds.

Chihiro’s constantly changing luck is a prime factor for their timid and frailness.

They put alot of time in researching different forms of luck and rituals in an attempt to change their luck to their preferences.

They’ve picked up a variety of good luck charms and have a tendency of performing superstitious rituals whenever they’re about to do something.

Chihiro is also willing to give those charms to their friends (like Mondo when it comes to big games). 

Touko Fukawa as the SHSL Programmer

Not wanting to be involved with her abusive family, Touko spent her whole time on the computer.

She familiarized herself with the complex workings of the computer and how to make her own programs.

Her specialty is being able to create anti-virus software that can detect and report potential hackers while maintaining a clean software system that can last for decades.

She hates it when people ask her if she can make video games as she believes them to be stupid and not worth her effort.

She enjoys venting her frustrations on message and forum boards by provoking others with her comments.

Syo still exists in this AU because of the abuse and managed to pick up on her original self’s programming skills.

Whenever Syo takes over, she manages to hack security programs and bank accounts as a means of taking revenge against unlucky kids who hurt her or her gloomy self.

She managed to frame them for crimes they didn’t commit, summoned gang members to tear down their homes, and have illegal commodities shipped to them.

Her username is Geno-Zdr50 and after her crimes were revealed, she was given the title of SHSL Hacker.

Celestia Ludenberg as the SHSL Author

She earned recognition for bringing back the gothic-romanticism genre.

Alot of her stories feature tales of romance and tragedy between elegant ladies and their supernatural/undead suitors.

Her wardrobe is similar to her original outfit only with a longer dress and she wears a black veil with red roses.

She claims to have been involved in multiple relationships with different men who provided her with an interesting romantic experience.

Celestia has a strong dislike for tropes and cliches and tries desperately to ensure that her stories avoid them.

The last thing she wants to be considered is a run of the mill author by some half-witted review articles.

Leon Kuwata as the SHSL Gambler

His main attire consists of a red collared shirt, black jeans and shades.

He doesn’t win every game because of his lazy attitude and his tendency to panic whenever things don’t go right for him.

Leon got the title by winning a few big competition games involving blackjack.

He prefers to use slot machines since they make it less hard for him to showcase his skills.

One of his tricks is by flirting with the waitresses or servers and convincing them to give them tips on what the dealers are like.

He often ropes Yasuhiro and Hifumi into joining him whenever he goes gambling believing that their eccentric personalities will boost his chances.

Mondo Oowada as the SHSL Baseball Player

He got into baseball because of his brother who was already a professional player.

Mondo’s has multiple baseball uniforms because of how often he tears or smears them.

He managed to convince some of his friends, who were close to becoming involved in gangs, to join him.

When he started playing, Mondo had a fierce temper and would pick fights against other unruly baseball players which would leave the two of them with bruises and black eyes.

Daiya decided to step in and offer his personalized training sessions to help Mondo before he ruined his career.

By channeling his frustrations into body improvement training and hitting the ball, Mondo was able to get a better control of his temper.

Although there have been cases where the baseballs he swings out of the stadiums end up causing massive damage in random streets.

Mukuro Ikusaba as the SHSL Gang Leader

Just like in canon, she ended up leaving her family to visit a country that was torn apart by war.

But rather than joining Fenrir, Mukuro ended up in the presence of orphans and street rats who lost their families to war.

She managed to convince them to join her in fighting back against the invading soldiers.

Using effective planning and improvised training, she was able to create her own army of resistance fighters who could take on any adult soldier.

They would be known as the Walking Corpses.

She instilled an anti-empathy principle onto her fighters so that they would feel no sorrow or despair for the loss of an ally.

Sakura Oogami as the SHSL Soldier

At an early age, she was recruited by the Japanese government to partake in a program designed to train soldiers.

She was scouted because of her family’s reputation as powerful fighters.

For years, she endured brutal training against a variety of fighters who were three times her age and with no heart in them.

She performed multiple reconnaissance missions which involved rescuing fellow soldiers from enemy territories while also taking down guerilla fighters.

While she won’t say it out loud, Sakura does have sympathy for the guerilla fighters and soldiers who are trying to protect their homeland.

Sakura prefers to use her body to fight, but she knows how to use different guns and weapons.

She actually faced Mukuro and her Corpses once. While her subordinates were easy to apprehend, the Lead Corpse was much more resilient and they ended up in a draw.

To this day, she has yet to take the life of an innocent.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru as the SHSL Fighter

Wanting to uphold the proud name of the Ishimaru Family, Kiyotaka devoted himself to learning martial arts.

While he has studied multiple forms of martial arts, his preferred combat forms are karate, judo and taekwondo.

He has a fanbase of girls who found him to be quite attractive thanks to his handsome physique and his cool profession.

He’s actually very flustered by their attention and tries desperately not to fraternize with dates as they would interfere with his training.

Kiyotaka is always shown wearing a white gi for a uniform and is often barefooted. He claims this is to build endurance. 

Byakuya Togami as the SHSL Public Morals Officer

He runs a tight shift in ensuring that his academy’s rules and regulations are followed by every student.

Byakuya also made a secret group of student officers who would keep an eye on any rule breakers and would report their findings to him.

His punishments range from extra homework to having to clean the entire school during weekends or fun holidays.

He decided to expand his power by influencing different academies using his moral code and conduct.

He’s also openly criticized multiple schools that were lackluster when it came to discipline and how they organized their education system.

With his influence as a Togami, a majority of elite academies in Japan incorporate his strict moral code.

Junko Enoshima as the SHSL Heir

She was born to a wealthy family that specialized in marketing.

At an early age, Junko learned the basics of managing businesses and how to treat employees under her thumb

Her upbringing upheld morals that encouraged her to be as ruthless and tactile when dealing with enemy companies or unruly subjects

She enjoys manipulating stocks and employees as a means of brutally taking down business rivals

Junko also has connections to underground agents that can bring her dirt about her competitors while also assigning them to sabotage their own enterprises.

Kyoko Kirigiri as the SHSL Fashion Model

She undergoes extensive workouts and health routines to maintain a physically fit and beautiful appearance.

Her main styles are based on classic punk while incorporating different concepts of violet.

Sometimes she gives pointers and tips to her model colleagues before a big event but she’ll still be cold and serious when it’s time to perform or showcase her works.

She’s always wearing gloves and there are tons of rumors as to what she’s hiding under her hands.

Kyoko knows how to speak French and English since she often travels to France and the US for modeling events.

Her father is a fashion designer but she stopped modeling his works due to creative differences. 

In her free time, she likes to sketch different designs. Yasuhiro has even asked her for help with creating new characters.

Hifumi Yamada as the SHSL Detective

He wears a classic trench coat and a fiddler hat

He cites Detective Conan as his main inspiration for his career and how to approach his cases

When interrogating potential suspects, he often uses bizarre or outlandish questions in order to make them lose their defenses.

Alot of his cases involve finding lost children or recovering stolen money and valuables

Despite taking on many cases, he has yet to be involved with anything murder related.

He secretly wishes for a detective rival so the cases can be more exciting and that he can be pushed to be a greater detective. 

Yasuhiro Hagakure as the SHSL Doujinshi Author

He grew up loving shonen anime with fantasy settings like Inuyasha or YuYu Hakusho.

His mom helped him in perfecting his writing and drawing skills and later with helping distribute his works.

Yasuhiro didn’t flunk like in canon, but his grades were pretty low since most of his time was spent daydreaming about potential storylines followed by him drawing them out.

The kids at his school were very impressed with his drawings, especially since they were based on their favorite shows.

He became very popular throughout his middle and high school years.

Despite his fandom, there were very few people whom he could call friends since most of them didn’t love the different layers and symbolism of the anime shows the same way he did.

Sometimes when inspired, he’ll pull out drawing supplies and paper from his dreadlocks.

Yasuhiro dreams of making his own anime/manga featuring a (totally not a self insert) protagonist who goes on ghost hunting adventures alongside his magic pet chicken.

Sayaka Maizono as the SHSL Fortune Teller

She dresses up as a carnival themed fortune teller.

Her stage name is the “Fairy of the Moon”. 

She prefers to predict happy and positive things in order to build a good reputation among the public.

When something bad is about to happen, like a fight or an accident, she notices things in extra detail that hint towards the upcoming event. (Like in the Final Destination series)

Sayaka has made several TV appearances where she would make open predictions about a fellow celebrity.

Having been acquainted with Aoi during her appearances, Sayaka often gives warnings to the idol about potential attackers.

Aoi Asahina as the SHSL Idol

While she’s a great singer, she has a hard time with writing her own songs. So she lets her group write them.

Her preferred songs contain messages of friendship and how bonds are important between people.

Aoi pulls off incredible dance movements throughout her performances that many idols have a hard time pulling off.

She has a close friendship with her idol group and considers them as her second family.

Aoi has also sparked controversy for openly supporting idols who defy the harmful expectations of their managers/corporate groups with their choices.

Her opinions on the matter have earned her an equal amount of fans and enemies. 

She has a harder time eating her precious donuts since her manager frequently discourages her from eating unnecessary sweets.

[auncyen]

001 - Ann & Ren/Akira; 002 - Morgana

this time I will c/p both templates at the start so I remember to do both lol

Ren/Ann

when I started shipping it if I did:

I was interested in it from my first playthrough, though I actually romanced Makoto that playthrough due to timing with confidants (I was...not too great with confidants my first playthrough, though I would like to say I only missed by three in the end).  Romanced Ann my second playthrough and was happy.

my thoughts:

Like Ren/Ryuji, these two make me happy as a sort of “opposites attract”, where Ren appreciates Ann’s bubbly nature so much for helping him get out of his head for a bit and Ann doesn’t mind his reserved nature because of how thoughtful he is (until he’s keeping secrets on Christmas Eve and then it drives her a LITTLE nuts)

What makes me happy about them:

They’re pretty much my two favorite characters in p5 (though the competition for the top spots is fierce XD) and I think their differences make things interesting, so it’s fun to pair them just from that, but also thinking about Ren letting himself be silly with Ann is nice!

What makes me sad about them:

Because the game doesn’t let who your girlfriend is affect too much mechanically (which is a bit understandable in terms of difficulty implementing it...), it’s a little awkward if you romance Ann ASAP and they just...seem to go through the entire game with it apparently being a secret?  I think it is believable for them to keep it quiet for a while (maybe not wanting to make a big deal out of it in case they break up, or Ren worrying that any decision involving Ann will immediately lead to suspicions of favoritism once people know, or just not wanting to upset Mona/Ryuji/Yusuke, depending on what Ren thinks the other guys’ feelings for Ann are), but I would hope that by mid and especially end-game, they’d be comfortable enough with each other and the team to say “hey, yeah, we’re a couple”.

(Of course that would get in the way of harem route.  But harem route is dumb anyway.)

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Sometimes I feel the ditziness for Ann gets...way too overdone?  It’s a hard balance to strike because she canonically isn’t much better as a student than Ryuji and it’s implied she has trouble staying on task on her own, but she definitely can stay on task in a group setting and she’s insightful at times.  I can get her getting down on herself sometimes (there’s little moments in canon that seem to imply she does) but when fic actually makes it seem like Joker has to...babysit her or something it’s like nooooooo.

things I look for in fanfic:

I guess just going with above, the sense that they’re equals and both making decisions to better themselves.

But also fluff.  I love fluff. 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Ren: Ryuji, Haru, Yusuke

Ann: ...Ryuji with the caveat of a bit of development?  Like I don’t think I’d hate a different PT romance for her but I haven’t really been interested in any of them.  (Ann/Shiho is kind of so prevalent and usually presented like it’s just some automatic thing that I’m just “meh” on it.  I like them fine as best friends.)

My happily ever after for them:

I really would like Ann to finally figure out what acting is XD and be able to work as an actress.  I’m not sure if it’s something I see her sticking with long term, but I do think her career would be spent in the public spotlight, with her making sure to take lots of downtime in private to be with Ren and keep herself sane.  Ren could go a few ways--became a local politician out of sheer spite over bullshit policies, is a journalist in the politics section because he’s good at stumbling into all sorts of trouble and getting people to open up to him so it’s never been a dull moment....not sure.  They have a nice apartment where Morgana is staying with them (having long gotten over his crush by this point).

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Ann initiates more often as the big spoon but every once in a while, Ren decides he needs to snuggle her close and is the big spoon. 

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

...Cuddling.  Though I’m also amused by the idea of them playing team-based games easy for couples to play, like pictionary (ESPECIALLY pictionary--Ren’s drawings look fine, Ann’s look like an imaginative first grader’s...this would go one of two ways--Ren having fun lightly teasing Ann as their team goes down in flames because he can’t make heads or tails of what she’s drawing, or Ren astounding the other team because he can.)

Morgana

How I feel about this character:

So Ann and Ren are my top two characters; Morgana is third.  (Again, the competition for top spots is pretty fierce--Ryuji, Haru and Yusuke are all right below this, and I like Makoto and Futaba pretty well too.)  ...Part of that is probably because he is a cat, but it’s also just--he definitely comes off to me as a younger, caring but bossy sibling to the protagonist, and it’s just cute???

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

...I don’t...really...although actually in one fic where Ren’s hometown was Inaba and Morgana was trying to become human, I h/ced him having a crush on Nanako, who would be pretty close to the age I h/c him being equivalent to.  (I think they were just slightly off by a year or two?  I’d have to figure out her age again.)  ...But like even in that fic idea he didn’t actually get with Nanako.  In fic where he turns human there are a couple ships I’d be willing to read, but personally I feel like all the PT would probably see him as a younger brother.  ...and also be a little hung up on the fact that he’d once been cat-shaped.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Ren & Morgana brotp for life.  Morgana probably gets in trouble with other PT at some point for keeping secrets about Ren’s more dangerous activities, but he and Ren have a code.  (The code is “snitches get stitches”.  They are both a little terrible sometimes.)

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I just think he gets bashed way too much.  I have literally seen posts where Ryuji is excused on certain things for being immature, still a teenager, and then Morgana is bashed, and it’s like ?????? Ryuji has sixteen years of life experience over Morgana!  If Ryuji deserves that sympathy (which I think is fair, he does), Morgana deserves it as well, if not more!  Where in Mementos was Morgana supposed to pick up life lessons on being mature?

(Granted I think it’s perfectly fair to be irked at the writers for making Morgana the character he is, because they certainly could have made him mature if they wanted to with some handwavey reason.  Just, from an in-universe perspective, ...he actually could have been way worse with the background he has.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Let him be human!  Kind of still on the last point but I also think it’s understandable for Morgana to not always approach issues maturely because there are literally only seven people he can talk to so god help him when he needs to ask advice on an interpersonal conflict because there could easily be no neutral party for him to ask.  I just feel like him being stuck as a cat hamstrings him so much in terms of potential development which like...I guess ATLUS wants a mascot character, but in-universe?  Feels kind of cruel of Igor unless there wasn’t an option on how to make Mona.

...There were ship questions in this meme but I’m taking those out lol

a headcanon fact:

He can’t talk to normal cats, but he does understand them better than most humans do (though he doesn’t understand them perfectly himself--he is still a product of human cognition, not feline) and that’s part of why he gets so upset about the cat abuser.  He people-watches a lot when Ren’s with confidants, but he has once or twice gotten attached to strays in the area and done his best to try to help them, most likely by leading them to friendly humans, or leading the friendly humans to them.

[mythgirlimagines]

How would the DR1 cast react to Monokuma going on a all out war on a random and rather oddly hyper intelligent mouse that somehow got into the building and loosing consently?

Even funnier because Monokuma canonically is afraid of mice

Sayaka Maizono:

This was...strange, to say the least.

Even so, she’d seen stranger in her life.

That mouse was oddly intelligent, so she was almost rooting for it.

Mukuro Ikusaba:

She mostly ignored it, at least until Monokuma chased the mouse into her room.

Actually, the mouse was kind of cute…

She decided to adopt it as a pet. It was under her protection from Monokuma from that point on.

Leon Kuwata:

He couldn’t stop laughing at the mouse outsmarting Monokuma.

Seriously, Monokuma was so dumb!

Three cheers for the mouse for showing him up.

Chihiro Fujisaki:

He wasn’t really sure how the mouse got in there in the first place.

Still, it seemed like the mouse, at least, was having fun.

He certainly wasn’t going to stop them.

Mondo Owada:

It wasn’t too annoying for him to watch.

The mouse was steering completely clear of him, so he was fine with it.

It was actually kind of funny to see.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru:

He pursued both Monokuma and the mouse the whole time.

They were both explicitly breaking school rules!

Was he the only one who cared about school safety around here?

Hifumi Yamada:

This reminded him of one of those old American cartoons he’d heard about long ago.

It was definitely funny to watch, especially with how intelligent the mouse was.

It wasn’t a waste of a few hours at all, in his humble opinion.

Celeste Ludenberg:

She couldn’t care less about their antics.

So long as they stayed away from her, she’d ignore them.

It was honestly as simple as that.

Sakura Ogami:

She probably could’ve intervened and stopped them.

But did she? No.

They weren’t being destructive, so she didn’t involve herself.

Junko Enoshima:

This was actually hilarious.

Monokuma hated mice, so there was that despair.

She filmed the whole thing, just to watch again later and laugh at.

Makoto Naegi:

It looked to him like Monokuma had caught his bad luck.

He felt a little bad for him at first.

But really, this was karma coming for him in the form of a mouse.

Kyoko Kirigiri:

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t amused.

She may or may not have laid a few traps of her own for Monokuma.

Who was to say whether or not she and the mouse were in cahoots?

Byakuya Togami:

He didn’t pay attention at all.

Even when Monokuma was shouting, he just put in earplugs.

Nothing of that stupidity was going to get through to him.

Aoi Asahina:

She was cheering on the mouse the entire time.

Although, she didn’t feel like chasing them around as well.

It made for a good laugh, at least.

Toko Fukawa:

They were making such a racket, it was hard to concentrate on anything.

Wherever she moved, the mouse and Monokuma seemed to follow.

It was so annoying she could barely keep herself from screaming.

Yasuhiro Hagakure:

This was the most entertaining thing that has happened thus far.

He mostly treated it with indifference; he didn’t really care.

But it was funny when the mouse managed to get Monokuma to fall on his face.

[prodigiousvisions-a]

Hi! Since D.Va has been migrated from her solo blog and I have a lot of BSD mutuals on here, please (if you want to) give her BSD verse a read beneath the cut for your convenience!! I honestly use it way more than her main verse and I’d love to use it with people other than just Kit and Paris! Do note it’s long though!

Japan-Korea Alliance And Context:

The Japanese Ministry is extremely weak and fickle when it comes to maintaining solid relationships in the foreign affairs department. Of course, this is by no fault of the ministry themselves. Taking a look at the events in canon regarding Agatha Christie’s role in Dead Apple along with the Guild’s entire existence naturally points one to this conclusion. So what possibilities of friendly relations are left to keep harmonious balance with and fall on in the case of a countrywide emergency in Japan? Well, there’s always the Asian countries, of course! But specifically, we will be looking at South Korea!

The two countries’ relationship in the past couldn’t have been described better than the word “sour”. There was always some sort of internal fussing. This was quick to get settled upon the realization that they both had some exceptionally talented ability holders in their presence. A treaty was soon formed between the countries, and from there, things were smooth sailing.

This will become relevant again below. Please keep on reading!

Ability Users in Korea:

There aren’t very many ability users in South Korea in the first place, which is precisely why a good chunk of those who ARE have been recorded down for reference in their classified government documents. The government doesn’t monitor the activity of these noted ability holders, however, unless they are suspected of causing issues of some kind, or there is an emergency where they may need the aid of said ability users. The few ability users in the country usually have some sort of high-class government job or are living a life or normalcy as their abilities aren’t all that special.

Hana & MEKA:

Hana’s backstory is very similar to what I have written in her about page. One difference is that instead of a colossal omnic ravaging Korea, it is an extremely disastrous ability taking the form of a colossal, multiheaded sea serpent that continues to reap havoc on the country and adapts to each attack the country dishes on it. A very similar concept, just an ability is the cause instead of an omnic. Think of Lovecraft’s Eldritch Tentacle Monster state, but way more devastating. There are also other multitudes of abilities attacking the country, but comparatively, are much minor.

Hana grew up in this environment as best as she could. Hana was one of the special people in Korea who was born with their ability- however, the main aspect of her ability didn’t really prove to be useful for anything other than a simple party trick at first: the ability to call a high-tech mech. Obviously, no one is immediately going to know how to pilot a mech, and she really had no intention of learning any time soon. At the time, it was an entirely impractical and unnecessary ability to have. She progresses the same as written in her about, cruising right into fame as she cultivated her talent of being a gamer and a successful, professional champion at that.

The struggle against the Sea Serpent proceeds to go on. The Korean Army simply cannot keep up with their advances to attack it; it’s only getting more and more resilient. The technology and weapons they have eventually prove useless.

The Korean Government proceeds to keep their eyes on Hana, along with four other special individuals who also have an ability to call up advanced mechs. By some sort of miraculous coincidence, all these individuals have taken the gaming world by storm, notable for their extreme efficiency. quick thinking, and fast reflexes. Out of desperation and seeing the brimming potential of these professional gamers as the Sea Serpent continued to attack the country, the government calls for the five individuals to enlist in the army. From there, they create a special squadron for them, called MEKA, where they quickly teach them how to properly pilot and maneuver their mechs, along with ability holders in the army teaching them how to synchronize with them on a level of sentience so the mechs can act on their own. Each MEKA member is quick to adapt and take to the battlefield, eventually overcoming the Sea Serpent ability itself and tracking down the ability holder who was orchestrating the entire ordeal for years.

After the instance, they do not only get national attention but global attention as well. The MEKA unit immediately gets thrown into even more fame than they had prior to joining the army, being under the glimmering spotlight of the country on a near-daily basis. They saved the entire country, after all, while they were all quite young! Hana claims to fame being the star and posterchild of Korea, standing out from her peers for always being able to save the day when the others were in danger, having an infectious personality, and simply being her heroic, strategetic self. Her face can be seen plastered just about everywhere in Korea. Her fanbase that had already been expanded globally due to her gaming achievements was then multiplied tenfold after her war efforts. As if the reputation she had as a star gamer wasn’t enough!

MEKA Takes Yokohama:

South Korea sends MEKA to Yokohama to flex on them because of how amazing their beloved ability holders are and can actually control what the hell is going on in their country

No, but really, that IS kind of what ends up happening.

Just as MEKA’s successes reach international levels of coverage and fame, Yokohama’s constant turmoil in their city reaches the news of Korea, too - ESPECIALLY when the incident with the Guild, along with Shibusawa’s bullshit occurs.

Due to their treaty, as well as feeling compelled by bragging rights and bits of pity, the Korean government decides they’re going to be very nice and send the best of the best ability holders to Yokohama to help get their city back in order before they self-implode on themselves. MEKA takes to the city of Yokohama, and are now currently hanging around here and there in case they’re needed. They consult with the Japanese Ministry often, specifically the Special Abilities Division. (If you RP a character like Ango, Taneda, or Tsujimura, definitely feel free to message me about hashing out the specifics!)

Otherwise, MEKA is just straight chilling in Yokohama unless they’ve gotta get involved to stop some sort of conflict.

Abilities:

First off, just note that Hana is a trained soldier so her normal combat abilities are pretty sharp. She has a gun, she can kick your ass to oblivion, stuff like that. Don’t try any shit if she’s not bothering to use her abilities because she can DEFINITELY handle herself without it in a simple spar match. But her abilities are also incredibly powerful. It takes a lot to be able to save an entire country, after all! But no worries, much to Hana’s probable displeasure, I will make sure I don’t godmod with her and nerf her accordingly when needed.

TOKKI MECH:

Hana is able to call her mech Tokki and it retains all the abilities which are listed on the very end of Hana’s about page. Not only can Hana pilot it manually, but it is also able to fight on its own by her side with sentience. Similar to Demon Snow, a Jojo Stand, and Makoto Nijima’s motorcycle. Just for reference. :) The mech CAN be worn down and destroyed, but it is incredibly hard to do so unless there is some major damage being dealt to it.

* APM SURGE:

This ability causes the speed and power of her attacks to drastically increase, whether that be in regard to Hana’s own attacks or her mech. It can only be used for a certain amount of time before it needs to cooldown. The cooldown usually lasts for three minutes. The ability can also be disrupted if you interrupt Hana in the middle of an attack before she or her mech is able to land their blow or throw her or her mech off balance.

* Note: APM is a term used in real-time strategy and fighting games which refers to the total number of actions that a player can perform in a minute.

there’s probably gonna be another sub ability here but rn im blanking and this is all i got please forgive me :’)

[jinjojess]

Gold “Jigsaw” Starz wants me to play a game

Okay, so I saw the “which 2 would you revive in the DR games?” question and I think the opposite is pretty interesting, but to maximize the thought of the question, I came up with some rules:

1) You can’t just kill off your least faves, there needs to be some thematic meaning behind the deaths (even if the meaning is the inherent lack of meaning, like Ishimaru)

2) You have to explain the contexts of their deaths in your scenario (how did they die and why?)

3) You can move around deaths so an establish killer or victim kills or is killed by your chosen characters. They do not have to be the same role (killers can be victimized and vice versa)

3a) If you do this, you also have to explain how the revised murders played out (but not how they are thematically involved)

Bonus rule for V3) You can’t just have everyone die in the final Execution like they should have. For this scenario, you can choose everyone who was alive by the start of Trial 6 (Saihara, HaruMaki, Yumeno, Shirogane, and Kiibo)

I hope this isn’t too much lol, I just wanted to come up with a cool game.

Okay, here we go!

DR1

I’d have had Naegi actually die in the 5th trial, and then switch to Kirigiri as the player character, and her choosing to adopt his optimistic outlook in the critical moment against Junko at the end. I understand that the reason this didn’t happen was because a) Kodaka wanted to hammer home that normal people are important too, and b) he doesn’t know how to write from the perspective of a really smart, observant detective without ruining the experience of discovery for the player, but from a narrative standpoint, I think that would have been a legitimately shocking development in a game full of shocking developments and then maybe DR3 wouldn’t have turned out as shit as it did because we wouldn’t have Naegi “literal Jesus” Makoto taking over the series like a fucking cancer. 

As for the girl, surprise! I’d actually have had Kirigiri die at the end of the game, perhaps to let the others go free. She’d feel like she’d be paying back both Naegi and Samidare that way, and it would mean that in later installments the more neglected characters could get more screentime. 

SDR2

I kind of like the idea of Owari and Souda staying behind in the Shinsekai Program to try and help revive the others from the inside, knowing full well that they may be stuck there forever. Not necessarily a “death” scenario, but pretty close. (We’re assuming that Sparkle Hinakura doesn’t exist in this version of canon.) Neither Owari nor Souda really had much impact on the story, and I think reconciling their naturally selfish/self-absorbed natures by having them make a sacrifice like that would put a nice cap on an actual character arc for the two of them.

DR:AE

I love them all to death, but the three boys in the Warriors of Hope should’ve died. Nagisa was crushed by a robot, like?? Having all the important characters live at the end was just so unsatisfying and unrealistic. (I don’t care enough about Haiji to want him dead.)

Girl is a little more complicated–originally the scenario I wanted at the end of the game was for Komaru to fall into despair and become Nu Junko, with Fukawa going to rescue her and bring her back to her senses (there’d be a Chapter 6 where you’d play as Fukawa by herself) before the Mirai Kikan arrived to “handle” the situation. At the end, Fukawa manages to bring Komaru back, but she gets gunned down by Future Foundation goons anyway. This sets the stage for DR3 where both Naegi and Fukawa have their mettle tested.

Alternatively, Fukawa could also die to protect Komaru, which would then trigger her to try and find an alternate path from the one the Mirai Kikan is taking.

DR3

Both boy and girl should have come out of the remaining survivors. Kirigiri and one of the guys. Naegi giving up his life to keep another friend from dying = good. Hagakure making a last minute sacrifice = he finally gets a moment to be the hero in a big way. Togami dies doing the right thing rather than the smart thing = nice cap off to his character.

DR Zero

Not enough people survived to really answer this question.

DR Kirigiri

This one is going to be answered in future tense, as I don’t know what’s coming up yet.

I want Yadorigi to be consumed with the desire to avenge Uosumi and die as a result of getting too up in the Committee’s face. Seeing him become a culprit in some special Duel Noir against Shinsen would be cool.

Connected to that, I want Mizuiyama to sacrifice herself to show she trusts the others, since she’s so wary of everyone else.

(Samidare is too obvious a choice and I’m 95% sure she will die.)

DR Togami

I don’t want Shinobu to die necessarily, but it would be interesting to see Togami react to it. Preferably, she dies in such a way that she takes Suzuhiko and Kazuya out with her–she gets revenge on both her brothers, ending things on her own terms.

Killer Killer

A subtle one, but the series ends on an older Dougami investigating a murder-suicide implied to be Hijirihara and Asano.

V3

Not totally clear on the rules for this one, since it sounds like I have to choose how the final trial ends?

Uh, if I can’t kill everyone, I guess Saihara and the others make good on their word, leaving only Shirogane and Kiibo behind. Kiibo obviously doesn’t blow up to destroy the school in this one–rather he just shoots Mother Monokuma who explodes and blows a hole through the sky. Shirogane has snapped and refuses to leave the grounds of Saishuu Gakuen despite the Team DR clean up crew coming in. Kiibo, meanwhile, has regained his own personality, but now that he doesn’t have any inner voice to follow, he seems confused for a few moments, but then quietly leaves the premises. 

The final scene I guess would be a shadowy cabal of Team DR producers, discussing how Shirogane will have to be sacked and how they can do damage control. Someone mentions using their last ditch resort, and then the camera is facing a door head-on. The door swings open and inside is a CG of Komatsuzaki-style Kodaka sitting on the floor in dirty clothes with shackles around his ankles.

~END~

So that’s it! Sorry I didn’t go mega in-depth on moving around existing parts of canon–if I started that, I’d have to rewrite the entire thing and I really don’t have time to do that. Still, it was fun, so that’s for the game, Starz!

[raifuujin]

If you had to describe briefly the way the boys approach romance, how would it go? And who do you think is more "marriage material" to least?

I assume you’re meaning more in a headcanon way, and not purely based on what we see for the canon couples.... Most of my thoughts are on the ‘if we look at canon’ way type of thinking, though.

Hakuba is too flirty, in my opinion. I can’t feel that he’s serious about any girls he’s shown any interest in, and while I’m sure he’d be good at courting, I can’t imagine him actually settling down with someone in a nicely romantic way. Might be because he’s so work focused, and seems polite to every woman he meets. I still have hopes for Akako, since she at least makes him flustered and he hasn’t really approached her in canon. Just the phone call from the last chapters. Different enough, but I still feel like Hakuba is more experienced with casual dating than with having romantic feelings. It could go fine, but there’s every chance him dating someone would feel fake from how practiced he is in the beginning.

Kaito isn’t forward in being a romantic. He’s more the subtle caring type, not fully invested in romantic acts unless they’re wanted. After all, his idea of cheering up Aoko is making her mad to get her mind of of whatever is bothering her. He might be sweet occasionally, but more often, he’ll just keep spirits up and make sure the other is okay. When he’s serious about someone, he doesn’t make many grand gestures. (That would put too much attention on him at that point, and praise and admiration at that point would make him self-conscious. Praising skills is one thing, praise for how sweet he is would be another.) Would be cute, but good luck getting him to actually progress a relationship.

Heiji... is impulsive, as per usual. Oblivious to his feelings until he admit they’re there, and then he can’t keep them held back at all. So, he doesn’t really approach romance at all. He’s more the type who’s too much an open book and couldn’t hold back how he felt. The only reason he hasn’t said anything to Kazuha yet is because he feels a need to outdo Shinichi, which isn’t a romantic idea so much as a competitive one. (So in a way I could see him being too romantic. Boy can’t do subtle well at all, he’s just lucky his current romantic interest is also a little dense with romantic feelings aimed at her.) Could come on too strong.

Shinichi is by far the one who has his act together. He knows there’s a time and a place for everything, and he’s gained a sense of awareness for when to not get involved in possible cases. He makes both subtle and more noticeable romantic gestures. If he were fully serious about someone, he’s the type who’s the most loyal and most likely to settle into a defined long-term relationship. So, would also be the most normal, in a way. It’d either be short (if there’s no actual romance blooming), or it’d last a long time. Shinichi isn’t the type who could date casually, he’d prefer developing a relationship if he’s truly dating. (Not as permanent choosing as, say, Makoto, who isn’t the type to date unless he’s already made up his mind. Shinichi would be willing to look, but just one at a time and not entirely casually.)

Marriage material:

1) Shinichi is best marriage material, he picked up the better habits of his parents when it comes to romance, and it’d be a nice give and take in a relationship. No one side relying on the other, so could enjoy each other’s company and work with each other to make a nicely stable life.

2) Mmm.... maybe... Hakuba. I don’t think he’d be the best at building a relationship, but if we’re assuming he actually got married, he seems like the type who’d want to be a good husband. Would be the official head of the house, but still likely to listen and provide for his SO. Just also might get distracted if he gets too busy, and he’s the type to travel somewhere on short notice.

3) Heiji falls under Hakuba mostly because of his impulsiveness. It’d win points in being romantic, because clear about having strong feelings for someone, but getting settled into a married life would get slightly more trouble. Since he’s the type who doesn’t entirely think of consequences or future when it comes to making a quick decision. Or more to say, Heiji’s not quite as careful as the other detectives. He’s more likely to make enemies and create problems, even if they’d also get resolved quickly. (I’d be surprised Heizo doesn’t have more enemies, with his nickname, but then again both his wife and son can kick butt, so. Family as a whole feels like it’d be older Japanese style of life that isn’t entirely peaceful, but works well enough.)

4) Kaito is a mess when it comes to his emotions, and I don’t wish the work that would go into maintaining a healthy marriage with him on anyone. He’s easy to work with on the surface, independent, social, good with kids. But he’s childish, stubborn, is firm when his mind is made up even on stupid decisions, and comes with a lot of baggage. Not least of which would be the fact that whoever is with him would have to deal with a possibility that he could be arrested. Even if Kaito were done being a thief by that time, he might not be entirely off the hook. And his father’s past is what started the mess, his own might be even worse if it came back to bite him. Would be nice and conscientious, but Kaito is the biggest risk when it comes to marriage, and it the most likely to hide things from his SO and go behind their back if he feels things need to be done like that. Could be stable, but the chances of that are slim. Can’t be worse than his parents, though. Probably.

[dahliadreamcraft]

So a few days ago I made a post about why I thought Akechi’s character arch was so disappointing in the end. And a lot of people seemed to like it so I decided that I would make this post about how I think Akechi’s character could have gone.

To be clear, this post somewhat disregards “canon” Akechi. This is because I think Atlus originally wanted Akechi to have a different character arch, but because of Development Hell they ended up rewriting Akechi’s character into a more typical antagonist. There are left over voice lines for Akechi summoning Loki as well as I think somebody discovered that Loki was actually in the programming as a playable persona. Meaning there are signs that he was supposed to rejoin the Phantom Thieves at some point.

This is a sort of theory onto how a more sympathetic character arch could have gone had Atlus gotten the chance to flesh it out. 

So if you want the short version of why Akechi’s character was disappointing, here it is.

Akechi’s character was disappointing because unlike the previous traitors, Akechi never really had a choice. Akechi, just Akira and the other Phantom Thieves, was a prisoner of fate from the moment he got his powers. Yaldaboath specifically set Akechi up to be the traitor, pretty much screwing over his entire life and putting a fourteen year old at the heart of a deadly political scandal he had no chance of getting out of on his own. 

Now to get into how I think his character should have/was supposed to go before Atlus cut it out because of too many delays.

I think Akechi was supposed to rejoin your group, most likely in an alternative end to the bad route. I think (or at least hope) he was actually supposed to be a playable character from Shido’s palace rather than from his boss fight for a few reasons.

First of all I doubt it would’ve been after his boss fight because then he would’ve only been around for one more palace (Yaldaboath’s). Not only that, but this would take place after he seemingly shoots the protagonist in the head, which would make it hard to believe why he would suddenly join the phantom thieves after going so far.

But if in an alternate route he doesn’t shoot the protagonist in the head, it’s a lot easier to believe that he has a genuine change of heart. Assuming that Akechi was supposed to be a sympathetic character who was rewritten to be an outright antagonist, Akechi’s been dealing with a lot of built up guilt and self loathing over the things he’s done for a long time. However when he’s forced to kill someone who he actual genuine bond with, he finally cracks and can’t go through with it.

It would prove that he does in fact genuinely care about the protagonist (and the Phantoms), and him helping the team take down his father would also make his remorse seem real. It would also give the player a chance to see the “real” Akechi by having moments between each visit to the palace where he bonds with the Phantom Thieves more and more.

Now here’s the thing, I don’t think Akechi would be around for the Mementos Palace. I think that when Shido’s palace is finished, he leaves the Phantom thieves with the intention of confessing all of his crimes including the murder of Haru’s father, thus prove the Phantom thieves innocent.

However not long afterwards, the Phantoms discover that every trace of Akechi’s existence has disappeared. The public has completely forgotten Akechi and they’re the only ones who remember him (with the exception of anyone who has their rank maxed out). With the threat of police kicking down their doors soon and the mystery of Akechi’s vanishing into thin air, the Phantoms head down into the depths of Mementos to figure out what the hell is going on.

I think this because during Mementos the inmates mention a particularly dangerous criminal in solitary confinement. While we find out that the special cell is in fact the Velvet Room, we never found out who that ‘dangerous criminal’ was. Can’t be the protagonist, he’s outside the cell and if it had been him, the inmates would have been flipping their shit over him being out. It can’t be Lavenza because she’s been split into Justine and Caroline, so technically she’s two people. Can’t be Igor because the “Igor” inside the Velvet room is Yaldaboath and Igor was shoved out into subspace or whatever and can’t get back in until Yaldaboath leaves.

The one who would make the most sense would be Akechi to be the ‘dangerous criminal.’ Basically, because Akechi was set up as the Protagonist’s rival, when he decides to betray Shido he’s not just defying his father, but he’s also defying the role that was assigned to him. Because Akechi is defying his role, Yaldaboath tries to remove him from the game by erasing his existence. 

I also think this because it would still play smoothly into the protagonist needing to be arrested in the end. I think what would have happened in the end is that by the time everything is said and done and they win the day, they realize that Akechi’s public persona as the detective still doesn’t exist. Keep in mind, everyone is cheering for the Phantom Thieves in the end, not ‘The Phantom Thieves and the Detective Prince.” So while Akechi is restored in the public’s cognition as a member of the Phantom Thieves, the detective is still gone.

As a result Akechi can no longer confess to his involvement with Shido’s crimes, his story now contradicts the evidence as a big chunk of it involves him influencing the public with his fame as a detective. The Protagonist still has to take the fall if he wants to protect the rest of his team.

Akechi is upset with this and in the very end where everyone is working together to get the protagonist out of prison, there would be an extra scene where after Makoto makes the phone call to find out the woman’s identity, Akechi actually finds her and with Sae’s help convince her to come forward with the truth.

And I think that in the end when everyone is going on a road trip with the protagonist, Akechi tells them that he wants to become a detective again, this time through his own merits and no seeking any fame or recognition. He’ll just be a simple private investigator who helps people get the justice they deserve.

And that is how I think Akechi was originally supposed to be handled. The reason why I think he was originally going to get a redemption arch is because a lot of the game plays on your expectations. While the big bad being a god born of humanity’s negative feelings is one that has been done twice already, the way it was done to me was incredibly clever in both theme and execution.

Yaldaboath’s theme was control, and the completely insidious way he was able to control everything is mind blowing when it’s all revealed. However because of the bigger theme of rebellion and fighting against control, it makes perfect sense for Akechi to rebel against his role as the traitor. 

That’s my thoughts on the matter. 

[crossgartered]

P5R Liveblog (14/?)

Confidants good. (Haru arc end)

[[MORE]]

Mementos...

Baphomet, huh? Guess I'll try Kouga

Oh crap I forgot to resummon my fusion components

YES MORGANA HARU SHOWTIME

Aw, that's it? I thought it was going to be something wild based on what Mona said

This does actually make sense why she needed Mona's help, specifically, though

I really do like how they've changed Ryuji's ambush skill. It's way more optional now, and you get xp from it. And it seems like a persona will get experience if you stealth-kill a shadow that would give you the same persona? That's pretty cool

Oh, a Futaba & Iwai interaction! Not really something I considered, but tbh it makes a lot of sense! I'm down. Found family alllll around

Oh thank FUCK I'm not sure if this is a relocalization thing or if he says something later but I'm so glad that Mishima now believes me when I say that he changed his own heart without any stealing involved

It was really sad that he didn't think he was strong enough to divert from his course on his own. And that he thought I would lie about something as important as that! I'm glad that this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Hopefully

It's too bad Mishima & Ann don't interact much, outside an apology after Kamoshida and a very short exchange during the school trip. I feel like they'd have a lot to talk about. Even if it's them dancing around Shiho and everything associated with Kamoshida. But if they got to talking about Thief stuff, in earnest, without the oh-surely-i-dont-know-what-you-mean, they could have a discussion about bringing out the courage within people's hearts. And requests, too, obviously. Hmm.

Oh what if he interviews her (as Panther!) For his book/documentary?? That a really makes a lot of sense and I'm into it and I want a short fic now

Dammit

Don't worry, Kawakami, I'm rank 9 with him. I have been very counseled.

HELLO YOSHIZAWA

LETS EAT LUNCH TOGETHER YOSHIZAWA

oh she's inviting Maruki as well. Okay I guess that's fine

...DID YOU TELL MARUKI ABOUT HIS OWN GODDAMN PALACE YOSHIZAWA

Oh, good, doesn't seem like you have.

Hooooooooo how are you going to answer this, Yoshizawa?

That's not really very accurate

*Iwai voice* YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL

It still boggles the mind that we never saw her when our hideout was the rooftop. I saw her talking to a teacher about taking care of the flowers on like one of my first days of walking around the school.

Maybe she had a club or something. Or studied somewhere for a certain time and then came up. Or maybe it only took a little bit after the first few days and we delayed enough that we came up after her. Did we really just miss each other those times? Seems weird

...

"This party's totally the best one so far!" Oh dear.

Listen, we know that Makoto's the one who stole the data, but Akechi didn't actually say he didn't steal it from her. I wonder if he also took some info from her? Probably not, but... It's a little weird

It's interesting to me that none of them consider that Okumura's Shadow didn't return to his real self before the Palace collapsed - that he was acting again when he started sobbing, and that he wilfully committed a final act of betrayal

Or that he was maybe a little too caught up sobbing to return before it was too late.

Or that he was hit by a chunk of debris or fragile machinery.

"That said, it's safe enough to say that you aren't the murdering type." Thanks, Sae.

...in the Featherman game, is the player character going to turn into a villain? Bc that's what it looks like. Lol

FINALLY KINDNESS MAX I CAN TALK TO SOJIRO NOW

No, dude, you should be going after her. She wants to hear she's wanted by you.

Yes, good, he comes up to talk to her on his own.

*CLUTCHES CHEST*

Hierophant rank 7 is an absolute treasure

Tfw you need a stat maxed to advance a social link and then the link gives you more of the stat on the ranks afterwards #thanksforthekindnessiguess

Shinya's voice...! It's still. Something. *Sigh*

"...Whoa! The mark of the Phantom Thieves! They hacked this site!" Hoo boy. Your voice actor, kid...they could have done better.

#LetShinyaSayFuck

Sae, you're gonna be so embarrassed when you learn "where [I] learned to handle a gun"

Mishima no

Futaba's canonically into DnD. Hell yeah.

: / Aww. I usually get max knowledge before finals. This kinda sucks. And I was so close, too.

Hmm. I'm don't think Haru managed to say entirely what was on her mind. Is that even her full wish?

Side note, but I'm actually really proud of her for visiting a counselor. She doesn't trust easily, and she doesn't take care of herself on an emotional level very much, I don't think. She kinda bottles it up and then relieves stress by using her axe, whether it's on wood or on shadows. She takes care of everyone else and never talks about herself, and avoids going into detail when people ask if she's okay. She's been raised to be dutiful and proper and there's a stigma on mental health stuff

And despite literally all of that, she goes and visits a counselor. Even if she can't figure out what she wants to say, she did that. I'm really happy for her, even if I'm also a little sad. I hope she got something out of that, even if it was just a moment's respite.

You know, I read a really great fic where the writer did Yusuke's social link but with Ryuji being there instead of Ren. And there was a p4 manga where Yosuke did the Naoki social link instead of Souji. It's really interesting to see the social links interact.

I wonder who would be a good choice for Haru's link. Yusuke would be an interesting choice - they relate on a lot of points, and he has Thoughts on business. Maybe that would change her conclusion at the end, though. But maybe if he's already had his Hope added? Hmm

Makoto would also be an interesting choice. I feel like she would start doing a lot of research and would encourage Haru to research with her. I wonder how good of a listener Makoto would be. The two of them have a nice dynamic, though. It's kind of an easy one. Also, this way she wouldn't have to worry about burdening her kohai - she tries to keep it casual but she does still think about it

Ann and Haru hardly ever interact. I don't know what they'd be like 1 on 1. I'll have to think on it more

I don't think Haru would talk to Futaba about this. Their perspectives are too dissimilar, based on life experiences. Plus, Futaba is a prodigy. They have some similar mindsets - the keeping busy to distract oneself, for example - but I just can't see her talking about this with Futaba 1 on 1. And for Futaba to be there for moral support! That'd have to be a wiretap/bugged phone situation. And lots of texting.

Oh, but Futaba could tell her if someone was doing something shady with finances. She's know a lot about this kind of stuff from when she did Medjed/Alibaba stuff. Hmmmmmm...

Food for thought.

I kind of thought that Ryuji would be the best choice considering how passionate he is, maybe I'm wrong about that

There's also Morgana. But I'll think about that later. For now, let's continue the game

I wonder how they changed her confidant skills. Hopefully they're more useful this time around. With more variety.