#goddamn I love post p5

[nouvxllev]

the girl across your street || p5 (FINAL)

Pairing: Jenna Ortega x Fem!Reader

Summary: You spent half of your life waiting for the right person to just step into your life and take over your heart by storm, someone who would think of you when they see a shooting star, someone who'd paint canvases of your face so the world would know who considered you greater than the Mona Lisa, someone who cherished you oh so dearly. Now, you can happily say with all your heart, you found her.

Words: 4.4k

Warnings: restating my statement on the previous chapter, this is the longest chapter of all lol

a/n: got a lovely suggestion from @ajortga (check out their stories btw, theyre amazing!) and an anon request for this part! i appreciate them and i wrote it to the best of my abilities.

part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || masterlist.

'...I still got love for you

Your braids like a pattern

Love you to the moon and to Saturn

Passed down like folk songs

The love lasts so long...'

"There's my favorite actress of all time, Jenna goddamn Ortega!"

You shouted with your arms out, ready for a hug, while running over to Jenna in the freezing cold. She was clad in a puffy hoodie and comfortable jogging pants, and she had her beanie on, wrapped around her head along with her own pair of headphones, preparing for the impact of your body-crushing hug.

"Y/n, y/n! No, slow down!" she screamed before toppling down to the snowy ground along with you, your arms wrapped around hers as you laughed together in harmony.

She sat up, your body going in rhythm with hers, "You really love that line, don't you?" She chuckled before cupping your cheeks with her hands. She muttered a quiet sorry, noticing how you flinched at the cold touch.

"Hey, you've finally accomplished your goal. You deserve it, Jenna." You loved saying her name, no amount of terms of endearment could ever beat the love and devotion you had for it.

Jenna looked at you, a smile covering her face as her dimples took over and her freckles became more visible to you, a sense of hopeless romance reflected in both of your eyes before pulling you in with her hands and planting her lips against yours.

It hasn't been one day since you last kissed her and oh how you missed the taste of her lips on yours. It's like your problems melted away by her scent and the taste of her lipbalm.

Before you knew it, you and Jenna had become the IT couple of the year. It even surprised you how the world knew the both of you were dating in the first place considering how Jenna never really posts on social media about her personal life and neither do you. But with how paparazzis work and how Jennas fans work harder than the devil, you can see now why your relationship with Jenna got blasted online.

Now, the two of you were the global love team, featured in commercials, advertisements for certain brands, and even you trying a hand at acting. You occasionally made appearances as Jenna's love interest in a show, though your role was more of a background character, the audience always loved seeing you together with Jenna.

In each film you directed, Jenna was sure to be in it, and she always became the character you couldn't bear to kill off even with a gun to your head.

Jenna always assured you that it was perfectly fine if her character was killed off since she's an amazing actress who pulls all her stunts so flawlessly, but watching her act getting shot in the head, stabbed, or possibly tortured in the horror movies you were set to direct? Just right in front of you? Hell, you'd rather do that to yourself with no pay.

But of course, like Jenna always ranted to you about, the entertainment industry was ass. Jenna warned you after you guys made it official that you'll be under the spotlight for a couple months, or even years. You couldn't go outside for even a minute without seeing a paparazzi literally in the bushes with a huge goddamn camera as if you can't see them. But if that was the price to pay just for Jenna to be beside you at all times, you'd deal with it even if you'll have paparazzi surrounding your coffin soon.

"Y/n?" she said, waving her hands in front of you, as if the only thing keeping you grounded was your tight grip on her waist. "I have something to tell you."

"Yeah? Yeah, sorry, what is it?"

"I'm moving in with you."

"What?"

Damn, you were certainly not ready for that.

"If— If that's okay, of course—"

"It's always okay, it's more than okay, Jenna!" You took her hands into yours, shaking them with excitement. "When are you moving? Actually, why are you moving?"

"It's been months into our relationship, y/n. I don't like how you always drive to my apartment every day just to see me." She stood up, lifting you by your grip, "also, I'm moving next week. I still have a schedule to clean up on."

You stood up alongside her, walking backward while facing Jenna as she walked beside you. "But driving to your apartment is my favorite part of the day, Jenna."

She sighed, "Okay, you choose, driving miles to my apartment or waking up beside me?"

"Definitely the latter." You picked, way too instantly, pointing a finger at her and clicking your tongue while she laughs.

"See? It'll be fun. For the both of us." She ran beside you then took your hand, pushing her body to be against yours as you smiled under your breath. Oh, how you loved being in her presence.

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The two of you approached the front door, kicking off your shoes while Jenna placed hers gently near the entrance. You turned on the lights as you headed for the kitchen, calling out, "You want something to drink, Jenna?" while noticing Jenna was still at the doorway.

She immediately turned the corner upon hearing your voice. A small smile played on her lips as she looked over at you, one of your hands on your hips as you scanned the refrigerator for ingredients. "I'm good. Thanks, y/n."

"Make yourself at home, Jenna. Since you are moving in," you said, glancing over your shoulder. You noticed Jenna looking around your house, finding the interior and atmosphere both familiar and yet vaguely new.

"You got it fixed?" she called out after noticing the DSLR camera you always loved and adored on top of the coffee table. You had it fixed for the holidays and for Jenna, of course, considering how both of you always enjoyed making videos with it in the past. You figured it was time to revive those memories.

"Yup! I had to. Its got my treasured moments in it." You approached her. After scanning your near-empty refrigerator, you took the DSLR camera in your hands and handed it to her. "I wanted to do a Christmas special on it, this time, with you on here."

"Christmas special?" She looked up at you, smiles and all. You remained the same for her—the one who always loved making videos, even if you were too scared to post them online or just didn't have a reason to. Nonetheless, you gave your best in those videos, and it truly brought out your happiest side.

"Didn't even know that was possible. I mean, no offense, but this looked like it got run over by a bullet train." She fiddled with your camera, turning it on and scrolling through the photos and videos. She was surprised to find old videos she hadn't seen the last time she turned it on.

You chuckled at Jenna's comment. "Okay, I'll admit it was pretty busted, but I found a technician who worked wonders on it. And about the Christmas special, well, it's going to be the first video I filmed in a long while."

"Long while? You haven't filmed something in this?" She looked at you, concern filling her eyes. She always knew you were the one in the friendgroup always recording a moment, even in the past she had heard, so why stop?

You sat down with her, "Ever since you left, I haven't been able to record. Even if I did, I'd just delete it anyway. Nothing is ever perfect without you, Jenna. I didn't realize how much it meant to me until I couldn't bring myself to do it without you." Your voice dwindled down into a whisper as you took her free hand that was beside yours, gently grazing your thumb on her palm. The vulnerability in your voice was something Jenna liked about you, how you spoke your mind whenever you were with her.

"I never knew," Jenna admitted, her fingers gently intertwining with yours. "I'm sorry, y/n."

You nodded, a small smile playing on your lips before you checked your phone for the time. "Okay, sappy moment over!" You immediately stood up, putting your phone in your pocket, "I have to go and buy some groceries. Wanna to come, Jenna?"

"I'll stay if it's alright." She assured you, chuckling at how fast you got over the moment so quickly.

"More than alright. I won't be long anyway." You headed for the doorway, putting on your boots and coat, your hand already on the doorknob until you heard Jenna call out your name.

"Y/n! You forgot something!" She called out, approaching you with headphones in hand.

You looked over at her, already smiling at the fact that she was more than an inch smaller when you put on your boots. "Oh, right," you said before cupping her cheeks and giving her a quick peck on the lips, completely ignoring the fact that she was already handing you your headphones.

You gave a little wave and a quick goodbye before going out and closing the door behind you.

"Your headphones—!" Jenna called out before you were already running across the street with your hands in your pockets. Honestly, she was more surprised with your ability to forget everything in your vicinity rather than how you walked so fast.

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Your voice from the camera echoed throughout your bedroom, the room where the both of you had confessed your love for each other. Jenna laid comfortably on your bed, the window opened as cold air flowed into the room, and your camera held up high by her hands. She was watching an old video you had filmed before, you and Jenna in her old home, filming a cooking video, she’d think you’d call it.

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"Weeelcome to—hey Jenna, what should we name our cooking show?" You picked the camera up from the camera as it started recording. You went over to Jenna who was already prepping the ingredients needed, even she was in get-up, an apron and all. You contemplated if you could quickly go to the store and buy a chefs hat for her.

Jenna glanced up from her task, her eyes going to the camera before going to you. "Maybe just our names together? Jenna and Y/n."

You lowered the camera a slight bit, the perspective looking a little wonky, "But Jenna, that's so boring! We need more pizzaz." You looked at Jenna who was screaming towards the kitchen and the cupboards to check where her knife went.

"Then have you got something in mind?" She sharply asked, turning her heel around, "Have you, somehow, seen my knife? I swear it was just around the sink."

"Yeah, okay, great point, I have nothing as well." You placed down the camera on the counter, using a jar of whatever behind to keep it from falling down. "Here," you said with a cheeky smile as you presented the knife as if you were kneeling before a queen, and Jenna could only give you an unimpressed look.

You helped Jenna for a hot minute before turning to the camera once again, your full body being shown and a certain someone who was outside of view "Today, we're baking cookies—Jenna, c'mere." You held your hand to Jenna who wasn't in frame.

Jenna, still holding an unimpressed expression, walked over to where you were standing, joining you as you both appeared side by side in the frame. You appeared comically taller in the camera than Jenna, making you laugh just slightly before the shorter one punched you in the gut.

"Alright, anyway, let's bake some cookies!" You clasped your hands together, and Jenna could only look at you with eyes that conveyed love and adoration, wondering how you never noticed it.

Jenna picked up the camera and whispered, a little bit too loudly into the camera, "Side note, we have little to no experience at all at baking," she said, "We have absolutely no idea what we're doing!" You screamed from the background, already mixing in the ingredients, making her laugh before yelling that you made the wrong step.

"We're winging it, Jenna! God, who knew we could be such good bakers?" You exclaimed while mixing everything up, your hand was getting tired by how you whisked everything at such random paces, but Jenna didn't mind.

Everything was going smoothly, and perfectly Jenna could say so herself before her face scrunched up in confusion when you accidentally added salt instead of sugar.

Jenna's eyes widened, her warnings to stop you were a bit too late as you had already added half of the cup into the mixture. "Wait, oh fuck, y/n, y/n! That's a whole cup of salt!" She exclaimed, throwing her body against you as she tried to grab your arm that was pouring the sugar, but it was already too late.

You paused mid-mix, staring at Jenna, then at the bowl with a horrid expression. "Shoot!" You immediately, in instincts you'd defend until your dying days, dove your hand right into the mixture, as if your hand could magically pull out the tiniest ass bits of salt grains.

Jenna with all her might, restrained herself from bursting into laughter, "Okay, that's just so wrong, you can't just—!"

"Alright, alright!" You pulled your hands from the mixture, putting them up in the air in surrender as the gooey texture of incorporated eggs, flour, milk, and whatever was in there went down from your sleeves.

"Let's just make another batch." You turned to her, "let's just make another batch," you repeated.

"Y/n, we went through 3 batches already."

A moment of silence you both had as both of you looked at the batter you two worked hard on. Before a playful fight completely outraged from the both of you when you started to hand paint Jenna's face from the batter, creating silly drawings on her face as she ran away from you armed with a spatula to fend you off.

In the end, the both of you completed your task of baking cookies while using the same batch, and, well, they turned out... nice. On the camera, they looked really nice, and they kinda even smelled good from afar.

"Annnd, it's done!" You exclaimed, and Jenna tilted the pan slightly to give the camera a preview of the cookies.

After a bit of banter from the both of you, a minute passed by, and you two were holding cookies.

"They look... edible enough to eat anyway," Jenna said, inspecting them before looking towards you with your own cookie. "Cheers?"

"Cheers!" you echoed, holding up your cookie to Jenna's in a mock toast. The camera captured the moment as both of you took a bite simultaneously. And how your faces contorted into disgust.

"Y/n, just take it out, even I can't swallow this."

"Okay, good choice, oh god—!"

The last thing the camera recorded before it fell was you and Jenna quickly spitting out the bites into a nearby trash can and rushing over to the sink, pushing each other as you tried to turn the faucet on and rinse off the disgusting taste you both had in your mouth.

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Jenna laughed heartily as she scrolled through the numerous videos you both had filmed over the past months with the camera in her hand. She couldn't believe that your entire bond had been created over this camera—how you wanted to become a director and how she wanted to become an actress. It was surprising how well the both of you fit with each other, down to your interests.

She kept watching the videos you had filmed for the both of you. Jenna even went out of her way to roam around your room, looking for memory cards to see what other videos you both had done. That was until she opened a certain drawer in your table lamp, tucked away all the way to the end. She couldn't have spotted it if she hadn't opened it all the way.

Handwritten notes, letters, wilted flowers, keychains, an abundance of printed polaroid photos, and photos in general that you had kept, intending to give them to Jenna. These mementos had been tucked away in this drawer for months on end.

She didn't want to pry, but a part of her was drawn to the crumpled letter that stood out among the rest. When she opened it, it had pen scribbles and stains from what she assumed were tears.

The letter read,

To my Jenna To my dearest To Jenna

To the girl across my street, (9/27/2020)

                  You shouldn’t be the one I should be writing a love letter to at 1 in the morning, even if I know in my bones I’ll be writing letters for you until I rest for eternity. You shouldn’t be the one that keeps me up at night wondering if you’ll ever come back until now. You shouldn’t be the one that I subject my undying love to, the love that I kept reserved all these years, and yet you arrive and suddenly, all of it is yours. You shouldn’t be the one for me at all. But you are, and I hate that you’re everything I want in my life. I shouldn’t be mad at you Jenna. In fact, I love you. I love you so much, it hurts as I write this. I love you so much, I can’t look at myself anymore wondering what I would’ve done to keep you moving away from my life. Ever since I saw you, I felt like nothing in my life mattered more than being with you, even if I knew that was impossible. Well, until you suddenly picked me up after a horrible fall. I knew from everyone in my town that you were the most private person, you never opened up to them even if they always kept coming to your doorstep with leftovers from their family dinner. You told me that it was a bit overwhelming, seeing your fridge pile up everyday with everybody’s leftovers, you even got a lollipop from a kid. From our conversations, it was those random moments you told me from your life that I cherished the most, even if it was just something you remembered out of the blue. I fell mad in love with you, head over heels. No one would know falling in love with a great force other than me with you. I realized that when you invited me to your family's house for Christmas after you found out about the relationship I had with my parents, since then, I knew the love I had for you was soon going to drown me until my heart was filled with your name.

The way your family welcomed me with open arms as if I was someone, finally someone a part of something, I couldn’t bear to walk away anymore. The way you had introduced me to your siblings and cousins with a smile that I could only mistake for as a star, the way you had made me a part of your family, the way you made your family love me the way they loved you. I hate it, Jenna. I hate how your eyes brought revelry upon those who are grieving, how your touch brought forth the saints buried in the hearts of sinners, how your laugh would make every great poet struggle to illustrate the sound of your voice, how your soul brings every angel and saint to shame. I hate how you made me so happy, how you made the happiest side of me shine. I hate how I hate none of these things at all. I love everything about you, I can’t just pretend like I don’t. I love you, Jenna. I love you with all of my heart, each bone in my body yearns for yours, your very being became the muse of every thought, my soul is eternally yours forever, why did I let it be that way? And why until now, It’s still yours to keep? To rip apart? Yours to silently remind you that there’s someone out there who had their heart programmed to beat for you, and for only you. The day you left, I only realized how you were so important to me. It’s maddening how that was the first thought came to mind, how I fell so in love with your soul I completely forgot how you left me in pieces. How you didn’t text me, how you didn’t call me, how you didn’t even do the bare minimum as knocking on my door or maybe leaving a note to say you were leaving entirely. It’s been exactly a year since you left, and I haven’t stopped thinking about you ever since. A part of you still stayed with me, or maybe I just looked for you everywhere, hoping one day you’d appear beside me like nothing ever happened and grace me once again with that smile of yours that would last me a lifetime. Everything reminds me of you, Jenna. Every place, every home, every street, every film, every note that I hear from a song you’d used to sing to me with your stupid guitar you always wanted to master but never got the chance to. I’m in love with you, Jenna. I’m so in love with you to the point I can’t say it to your face. I’m yours forever more, and I hate that I am.

From, y/n. Happy Birthday, Jenna.

I wished I confessed to you more earlier.

"Jenna! Jenna!" A voice she loved, loved now more than anything, quickly pulled her out of her thoughts, banging against her own door. She pulled herself up from your bed, running towards the door in a hurry while holding the letter in her hands.

Jenna unlocked the door to see you. The love of her life, someone who wrote thousands of letters for her every day since she left, someone who had the stupidest idea to spend every inch of her savings to go buy her the headphones she always wished to own, someone who was now standing in the freezing cold.

"Jenna— Oh, Jenna, I forgot my headphones, and—and it was freezing like shit. God, I never knew there was a snowstorm coming in. I'm sorry I took so long I—"

You were cut off mid-sentence by her, who pulled you by your collar into a passionate kiss. The warmth of your house, the warmth of Jenna's body against yours, the warmth of her lips that brought every inch of your body to heaven was everything you needed to calm down. If only you had paused for a minute to take a glance at Jenna when you were rambling, you could only see her eyes in a lovesick gaze for you, you could see how much she loved you, you could see how she was everything you perceived her to be.

"Y/n," Jenna whispered, her voice a soft melody that resonated in the quiet room as you wrapped your arms around her waist.

You smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Jenna's ear. "What… What was that for?"

"I love you," she whispered under her breath. "I love you," she added, one more time, as if you were going to disappear if she didn't.

"I love you too, Jenna. What's going on?"

"I just—I just love you so much, y/n. I always said I love you, but never added so much or expressed how much I loved you." Jenna was always straightforward when it came to talking. It was her nature, her style of sentence, how she spoke aloud, the quiet confidence she had whenever she spoke to someone; it was one of the characteristics she had that made you fall in love with her. But now, she couldn't express herself in the way she wanted to. She did, but it only fell short. The amount of love she had for you was something she could never express properly, even with a dictionary in her hands, it couldn't be possible.

It only took you a minute before figuring what had happened.

"You... you read the letter?"

"Yes—Yes, I read the letter, y/n. All of it."

"Well, what'd you think?" You almost thought that you had discarded the letters you wrote for her, but you kept the most important one of all.

She pulled you into a soul-crushing hug, "I love you. I'm sorry, I just love, love, love, you, y/n. I'm sorry if I'm not enough for you."

"Jenna," you whispered, gently pulling back to look into her eyes, "You don't know how much you're more than enough for me. You don't know how much your smile just means everything to me, good or bad, and your love is everything I've ever wanted. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Jenna's gaze softened, and a relieved smile played on her lips. "I'm just afraid that my love might fall short, you know? That I couldn't express it the way you do."

You cupped her face, your thumb gently grazing her skin, admiring her freckles. "Your love is perfect, Jenna, it's yours. I don't need grand gestures or expressions to make me feel happy. I just need you—your love, your presence, and everything that makes you who you are. Just, please, don't change that just for me—or for anyone."

The both of you kissed, the middle of the night while the orange light coming off from the kitchen flickered. A kiss, you knew, lasted only for a second. Or maybe even a few seconds, but this kiss lingered like a memory that lasted forever, a picture that was photographed and kept in a sealed case, stars that die but explode into a gorgeous nebula, a kiss that's worth for a thousand lifetimes.

Afterward, both of you watched the videos that you had filmed whenever and wherever. Jenna noted your habit of bringing the DSLR everywhere, capturing snippets of your private life where she wasn't in the frame. However, you quickly threw the camera against the headboard when she came across the holy grail of you trying out some skateboard tricks, where you horribly fell and got various scars on your leg.

In that moment, both of you probably knew you were going to stay with each other no matter what happened, or what challenges you faced. The way you both kissed then, in the doorway, was the most romantic kiss you had shared in your entire life. Probably not the most ideal of spots to decide to marry someone, but then again, who was the insane one who dated the girl across her street?

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Invisible string.

That was the saying for those who believe there's a string of fate binding people who were destined to be together, or for anyone who was in love for that matter. It's a sweet thing, you can say, considering how you're one of the people who truly believed in it. You spent half of your life waiting for the right person to just step into your life and take over your heart by storm, someone who would think of you when they see a shooting star, someone who'd paint canvases of your face so the world would know who considered you greater than the Mona Lisa, someone who cherished you oh so dearly. Now, you can happily say with all your heart, you found her.

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a/n: aaahhh this series has come to a close, thank you for all the love and support! now i can finally do another series with JO's characters or maybe just oneshots. (i have a fuck ton of drafts.)

[symphonic-scream]

Here's a post about my first au of 2024

P4 parents of P5 au (this needs a shorter title goddamn)

So it's. The Phantom Thieves are raised by the Investigation Team. Simple as that

Yu and Yosuke adopt Akira at age 5, after his parents give him up for being too much trouble. He loves his aunt Nanako, and uncle Teddie, and will eventually inherit the Narukami Family Secret; the rizz.

Chie and Yukiko end up raising two thieves, Ann and Ryuji. Ryuji's father is in jail for killing his mom, and originally the Takamaki's adopted him. Then, they got too busy with work. Chie and Yukiko fostered the two together for a year before officially adopting them at 3. They know they're not related but they're still brother and sister, and Ryuji dyes his hair this time to match his sister, after other Inaba kids make comments about her "foreigner hair"

Kanji is with Naoki in this one. You know, Saki's brother. The King's of the shopping district foster little Haru after her father is caught in an insider trading scandal, and she's adopted officially at 4 after 2 years. She's always got the cutest little dresses, which Kanji makes for her all the time. And, Naoki with his curly hair making sure Haru's curls are well cared for

Then. I had this in another au but. Naoto and Rise adopt baby Makoto, which is the incident that sparks the mass child acquiring among their friends. Sae visits from the city where she's studying, but yeah.

And, Wakaba and Sojiro? They run away before Wakaba is killed. They bring little Futaba to Inaba, move when she's like, 4, and find little orphan Yusuke along the way. They take in Goro after finding out he's Futaba's half brother when he's 12, so they've got the most Thieves Per Household (TPH)

It's got so many good little bits for it. Childhood Friends phantom thieves, the IT watching their kids grow up and be besties too, and. EVERYONE HAVING GOOD FAMILYS DAMNIT THEY DESERVE TO HAVE A GOOD HOME TO RETURN TO EACH NIGHT

Now, some little things I have for this au

Ryuji and Makoto were on the same youth soccer team in elementary school. Chie would pick Makoto up and Rise would drop Ryuji off after, and it starts the life long Jock Friends thing they have going. When they're at Yasogami, after sports clubs they go up to the roof and ramble about their gay crushes together

Haru and Akira are both part timers at Leblanc, which opens in the shopping district in one of the empty lots in the North end. Kanji and Naoki were betting about which of their shops she'd want to work at and both lost

Ann joining the Yasogami drama club, crushing on Shiho and so upset that she's in Ryuji's class instead of Ann's, being unafraid to tell her parents about liking girls because. They're lesbians, Harold

Goro, newly adopted, emo twelve year old, and. Futaba (10) and Yusuke (11) stare at him and decide that despite him being the oldest, they will call him Little Brother. Cause. He's the newest.

Sleepovers at the Inn, playing down by the Samegawa, just. So many good things. Comfort au.

[aku-soul]

MAJOR PERSONA 5 STRIKERS SPOILERS AHEAD, SCROLL PAST THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME FOR YOURSELF (DO IT)

So I just finished p5s and god is it such a good game. I nearly cried at the end. Anyways here's my thoughts (skipping most of the girls because my thoughts in royal were pretty much the thoughts I had of them in this game [besides futaba and i'll get into that soon])

Just to get this out of the way, I do not ship me (Aku) with any of the persona characters. I ship me (Ren Amamiya) with the characters. To explain it well, while I am Ren Amamiya, Ren Amamiya is not me. He is his own separate person. I'm merely acting as him when I play persona, but he also helps make decisions too. I am making this sound way more complicated than it actually is... If I'm not explaining it well whatever, I can't explain it any better.

Also last surprise remix? Holy shit. That goes so hard. And I absolutely loved the hack and slash game style it was so fun. It would've been better IF MY CAT FUCKING HEALED ME MORE OFTEN

So glad I could go to the hot springs with my boyfriends and compliment Ryuji's abs. Not even going to lie, that one scene was the entire reason I bought strikers. And i do not regret it.

The one thing I would change though? Akechi. I need more akechi. I fucking love akechi so much. Akechi is still alive. I need to believe that otherwise I will cry. Can you tell I've been consuming a lot of shuake content? Because I have. God have some of them hurt me emotionally. It's fine though. I'm not gonna cry. Nope nope not gonna cry over my fictional boyfriend.

Ren Amamiya: It's me! I'm so glad I got to go back to leblanc for a little bit. Sucks that I couldn't see gun uncle though, even if it was just for a little bit.

Ryuji Sakamoto: MY BOYFRIEND AND I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND. Dude we got to go on dates, he gave me a two piece keychain which I'm viewing as a lovers keychain. HE ALSO GAVE ME A MASK AND SAID HES MY RIGHT HAND MAN AND SAID HE WANTED ME TO MAKE HIM STUFF EVERY SINGLE MORNING AND DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS MAN. Also Ryuji said fuck in order to protect Sophie and that was such a good use because that goddamn voice deserved it do not insult babygirl sophia like that she is precious baby and you shall not hurt her feelings (more on this in sophia's section)

Yusuke Kitagawa: BOYFRIEND NUMBER TWO BABY!! HE GAVE ME HIS SKETCHBOOK AND SAID THAT HE PLANS ON MAKING AN EVEN BETTER LANDSCAPE TO GIVE ME AND THAT HE NEEDS ME BY MY SIDE AND DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS MAN. Dude the fact that I could go with both my boyfriends on the ferris wheel and to the other date place is so fucking cool. And I am so glad I could because otherwise I would've spent hours debating who to go with.

Zenkichi: BEST FUCKING DAD ALERT (asides from Sojiro Sakura) HOLY SHIT! He could've chosen a better persona outfit though... Also when he saved us from the kyoto jail and also helped save his daughter that was so freaking cool. So glad he could finally arrest owada in the end because that fucking bastard deserves it. Oh, sorry I thought you were going to kyoto to turn us in gun dad. And sorry I called you divorced...

Sophia: PRECIOUS BABY OH MY GOD PROTECT HER AT ALL COSTS. Her shop was super useful (even though I rarely used the healing items I bought). I managed to get 2 healing items up to 99 stock and then never touched them again. Wish I couldve gotten more food from her shop though. Also her all out attack animation is so freaking cute, she is such a little sister. And screw that voice calling sophia useless she is not useless. Oh, playing as sophie was way more fun than I expected. Didn't play as her often though... Mainly because I play as joker because yes.

Itchy nose: I had her pegged the first time I met her holy shit. Something about her just suspicious. So proud of myself for doing that. Even when whats his face was revealed to be the mastermind I still had that lingering doubt. So glad I was right, and nice little redemption arc. I hope she treats sophie well. Also you should be proud of yourself, itchy nose, not everybody can create an ai who turns into a god on accident.

Futaba: GREATEST WINGWOMAN SISTER EVER OH MY GOD. She pointed out to Ryuji that he was pretty much proposing to me when he said his comment about my ramen, and she also invited Yusuke to a cardboard cutout thingy, had us pose in the thing and called us a cute couple. I love my sister so much and she is an amazing wingwoman. I am so proud of you Futaba.

Anyways, I think thats it for now. I'm gonna go check out the bonus content for strikers, play a bit of tycoon with my harem bois and then go do an ng+ for royal.

See you persona freaks

[fantomevoleur]

📻💮🌙 for mun vs muse :3c

Mun VS Muse — send a symbol!

📻 = What music genre do the mun and muse listen to the most? Any favorite bands?

((Mun here enjoys electrofunk/electropop, anything techno, I also listen to video game OSTs and anime OPs, lofi, synthwave, and eurobeat. If you know me ALL TOO WELL, you'll know I constantly listen to the P5 soundtrack. That or I'll be jamming to Mystery Skulls and TWRP.

Akira LOOOOVES musical and movie soundtracks, he's a BIG NERD when it comes to electroswing, jazz is an obvious answer, electrofunk (I infected him with that hehehe) , and surprisingly enough...Japanese metal bands.))

💮 = What are the mun’s and muse’s opinions of each other?

((Oh this is VERY obvious!! He's a little shithead, he's a bit of a brat and a goddamn showoff! He's an absolute menace who enjoys coming up with cringeworthy posts or stupid things he wants to say...but I enjoy him so very much. He's a complex character despite being a silent protagonist. You can see what kind of person he is 'behind his mask' when you observe his body language in game, the dialogue options he has towards strangers versus his friends versus the adults he interacts with in his life. You see his little mannerisms, his nervous ticks, the changes in his personality when he enters the Metaverse. There's so much you can interpret about his character just by watching him interact in-game. I love this charming, awkward, little thief boy so much.

Now on the OTHER END, I think Akira has come to know too well just how much he can bug and pester me. If I'm talking to friends about cursed ideas, if I see an image or a meme video on my feed he comes RUNNING THROUGH THE MUSE DOOR to do something equally stupid or fun. And he'll stand there while I'm glaring him down, a stupid mischievous smirk on his face, because he KNOWS I'll have to post it. Otherwise he's going to be a goddamn annoyance until I do so. But aside from all of that, I think he does hold some respect for me. We're like really good friends. When I have those days where I'm just in a funk he'll do the exact same thing I mentioned above because he knows it'll make me laugh. I know he holds some MAD respect for the job I have since it's...well I'm working in news media and we know how that can get. I like to think some of his pesterings are reminders for me to not let all this news and any other negativity get to me too much.

Bottom line, we enjoy having each other. I love having him around and he loves how I get to write him.))

🌙 = Are the mun and muse more morning, day, or night people? When are they the most relaxed? When do they get the most work done?

((See, for me I find myself more chill and more active in the day. The evening hours especially since I get home late in the evening from my job and then I don't go to sleep until two in the morning. For writing purposes, I tend to find myself more active and big-brained in the evening hours. Nighttime is my friend and one where my mind is WIRED to do so many things!

I think the same can be said with Akira too. He's definitely more relaxed and at ease at night when he's back in the attic in his own space. The boy is an ambivert and he needs his energy restored for the next day, by means of playing video games or tinkering with tools at his desk or even laying in bed scrolling social media while Morgana is curled up next to him. I think..he's more focused on his hobby work during the evening/night hours, while his studies and well...Metaverse training are better for him in the afternoon/early evening hours.))

[haejjoon]

So I started following you because you wrote P5 stuff (your AU roleswap is SO FREAKING GOOD GODDAMN) but recently I've been getting into Honkai fics and found 'it's all too strange and strong' and just???? Your writing is literally just so fucking incredible and fluid and perfectly in character?? I'm gonna be leaving a comment on the fic once I have the full brain power for it but i finished it and was like 'wtf this was so good who did this' and scrolled up to your name and was like 'hey I know this dude!!' So, uh, found you twice entirely on accident and apparently no matter the fandom your writing fucking SLAPS. The comment I'm leaving is gonna be ridiculously long because I swear half of your sentences were fucking fire and legit had me kicking my legs with joy when i read them. I actually lost where I was going with this, I'm just so delighted that my foray into a new fandom had me find a writer whose writing i admired already in it. You're incredible and I can't wait to read more of your work!!

oh my god??? hello??? this was so sweet what the heck oml TT

i was so surprised at how many people ended up liking it's all so strange and strong... i think i wrote the entirety of it in like.. three four days and just posted. i can definitely see the flaws in it whenever i reread so i'm surprised so many people enjoy it so much TT thank you so much though i really really appreciate it... like words can't even describe... and i Write....

i've been meaning to write for hsr more as well!! i have a jing yuan character study rotting in The Archives that i want to finish at some point... i might post a wip of it if people wanna see eheh <3

i look forward to your comment on the fic very very much and i hope you have a lovely day!

[arcplaysgames]

Liveblog Masterpost!

Hello! My name is Arcturus! For some fucking reason, I have been liveblogging games, particularly the Persona series. I started randomly reacting to Persona 3 Portable because it was so goddamn good, I shouldn't stop. This evolved into full-blown recaps and analyses of Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal.

Yeah, I know.

I'm a cartomancy geek and a writer. My liveblogs tend to be summaries and hopefully amusing reactions to what's happening, but also a lot of wild conjecture about the twists in the story, rambling about narrative, and poking all the themes with a stick. I'm pretty thorough, have a lot of thoughts, and praise the games when they are good and break down the failings when they are Not Good.

I am also a Teddie and Morgana Apologist. My favorite character in the series thus far is Kanji Tatsumi. I tend to argue quite a bit with the arcana assignments of characters and offer more suitable options.

If you wanna check out my liveblogs, here are some links. They will work much better if opened on desktop or in your phone's browser, as these are /chrono links, meaning they will show the posts in chronological order.

Persona 3 Portable: Here! (https://arcplaysgames.tumblr.com/tagged/p3p/chrono)

NOTE this kind of just starts in the middle because I didn't expect P3P to be That Fucking Good so it started as my reaction posts and then evolved into a proper liveblog.

Persona 4 Golden: Here! (https://arcplaysgames.tumblr.com/tagged/p4/chrono)

NOTE this is the first full and complete liveblog. It is long and loaded with speculation and analysis and me falling desperately in love with Kanji Tatsumi.

Persona 5 Royal: Here! (https://arcplaysgames.tumblr.com/tagged/p5/chrono)

A truly enormous liveblog of this game. I went into P5R knowing nothing about the story, and unraveling it was a delight. However, I will warn you: I wound up disliking Ryuji.

Next up?: Who knows! I gotta think about it!

[daz4i]

The funny thing is I was talking about a P5 fic and the chances are very high that we were talking about the same one. I'd like to clarify that I know absolutely nothing about the author of it and have nothing against them but goddamn would I love to be able to scroll through the tags without something pertaining to their fic showing up every ten posts...

ahskflglhh oh in that case i know exactly which one you're talking about, bc it really is unavoidable (i think the one i was referring to lost its steam awhile ago bc it ended maybe 🤔 and i think the author of this big one is more normal abt it. or at least i hope so)

[cadcnce-archived]

" Welcome back, Wylan - san." There's a hint of a smile on Niijima's lips, it has been ... far too long since she last saw him.

The world is alien to him, now. A bird with clipped wings. A fish out of water. A trickster with no cards to play. Part of him already wishes he hadn’t taken the deal, that he’d stayed incarcerated in the states awaiting the chair or injection or… whatever it was. He hadn’t listened during the sentencing, let alone put up any sort of fight for himself. Sae had wanted to represent him but he refused any and all support from friends and family in his confession after turning himself in.

He didn’t want that outcome on her or anybody else. It was all on him. All of his sins were on himself and he was and had been ready to die for them. Murder, subterfuge, theft, grand theft auto, blackmail, the list of his accomplishments were something to be admired in some cases. Perhaps it was the realization that even part of himself was proud of what he accomplished that steeled his resolve all the more. He wasn’t normal but a special kind of broken. A bag of glass shaped into a gallivanting prankster.

Shit. He had barely been able to bring himself to notify his sister; a coded letter that told her everything she needed to know to make sure that she was safe and provided for without his continued presence and support. Given that she was still away at college there wasn’t all that much to do, fortunately, Wylan had done things with his income in such a way as that it couldn’t be traced back to Kat. Different last names and different histories to his identity and hers.

As long as she was safe…

Prison was a grey blur in his mind. Something he went through on some a defeated autopilot. The days bled into weeks, the weeks into months. It had been two and some years when he had his first visitor- how they had found him, he had no idea. The Kirijo Group. Mitsuru had exerted her influence in some way to extract Wylan from death row, with the provision that he would be under their strict supervision and charge with his location tracked. A bodyguard. That was one hell of a probation position. Wylan . . . isn’t sure why he accepted. When the deal had first been proposed he’d been ready to wave it off, apologize, and go back to betting cigarettes for cards.

Disembarking from the bus, going over rules and regulations expected by the Kirijo Group, his new residence for the forseeable future. Most discussions felt like a muddled tv show playing in another room, and he couldn’t bring himself to light a spark in his eyes. There was still too much to process. He was free from prison, and yet trapped in a hundred ways he’d never experienced before. The weight of the gps bracelet on his ankle will be a pretty constant reminder of that. No late night wanderings unless he reports it first, and given the mood of his officer he probably wouldn’t be able to get away with much.

Fuck.

He’s in a somewhat sour mood when there’s a knock at his door during his first week back, hardly presentable and not much the man he’d been during the Mental Shutdown case those years back. A white tank top with a couple spot stains from his microwave dinner and shorts he hadn’t taken off after working out. His eyes are listless as he opens the door expecting the officer, Yukio.

“Forget somethin el--” He’s already speaking as he swings it open, but when his eyes lift from the floor it’s very much not the spritely knuckleduster. It’s...

“Sae?”

" Welcome back, Wylan - san."

“Y....yeah....” He stares dumbfound for a moment. Of all the folks that may come and see him, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that the ex-prosecutor was the last person he’d been expecting. His departure was (intentionally) not on the best terms after all. And after everything he admitted to, the fact that she- He laughs in the middle of the awkward moment, bringing an arm up to wipe something from his eyes.

“Uh, yeah. It’s uh. Good to be back, you.... hey, come on in. I’ll get you something to drink. Really awful stuff, I promise. My probation officer is a dick.”

[a-sketchy]

persona fusion is painful ;-;

[orcelito]

OKAY so i think the thing tht’s happening rn is Hyperfocus belongs to fire emblem rn. whoops. & that’s probably a lot of why ive been struggling to write for p5. 

the solution? Read Fic, maybe. lsdkjfsldkjf yesterday i got the urge to write b4 it was killed by inventory bc i’d read an update to a fic ive been following and that made my brain go “huh. akeshu.” so Yeah

[just-hyun]

My personal confession: I get emotional when I think about or see P5 protagonist from the beginning of the game and the end.

(first, take note of the aesthetic this boy has had from day one because damn atlus really hit it out of the park even for civilian!akiren when he’s not cocky and smirking all smug at Shadows in the Metaverse as Joker)

But just look at his expression.

We all know (those of us who have finished the game or at least know what happens in persona 5) that at the start of the game, Akiren (this is what I will call him in this post) isn’t exactly the most open and content character. 

The boy’s been arrested and wrongfully labelled with a criminal record of assault that threw his entire life into just a chaotic mess. He’s expelled from his previous school, and forced to go to Tokyo for a whole year, in a new school, new setting (with what I assume because even before the shit that happened in the interrogation room in p5) not at all enough time to adjust.

So he has a lot going on inside of his head, and in the introduction of the game (I don’t mean the actual gameplay intro where he’s in Sae’s palace but rather the start of his probation year), he’s pretty much constantly looking down or lost in his own thoughts as if he’s still trying to unravel the mess that is his life now. 

He retreats into himself, basically with the thought of “nobody cares, just keep your head down. don’t cause any more trouble.”

On the angst train with me, so far? Great.

Now, compare those two pictures of Akiren taken from the beginning of his probation period to these two shots:

He doesn’t look sad, not withdrawn, not even as smug as he was in the Metaverse as Joker. He just looks... content. 

He looks as though he’s finally completely brought himself back from that isolated mindset from before and is kinda looking like he’s thinking:

 “I shot a fucking god in the face, I can do whatever the fuck I want” 

“Yeah, I got this. Bring it.” 

And it’s just?? so satisfying to see the change. (even though, hi, Atlus as much as I LOVED Persona 5, it’d be nice if you at least allowed Akiren to maybe also have a bit of time to recover from the fact that he was ALMOST KILLED IN THAT INTERROGATION ROOM)

But yeah, just a thought. I’m gonna just go cry tears now because I will never stop loving this goddamn game and this goddamn boy.

[tothedarkdarkseas]

With Stu's ego being at an all-time high, and Murdoc's being the opposite (despite his efforts) what do you think their first times being "intimate" after the now now would be like? What do you think would change?

Below the cut for length!

This is interesting, because I always feel as if I'm still working through the exact timeline and state of their relationship in the immediate aftermath/second half of TNN. It's probably important to establish first that, while I absolutely adore cocky Stu in P5 and wish his dialogue had always been so smarmy, if we're looking at "my" more serious, bleak universe, I'm not sure it's necessarily true that Stu's ego is at an all-time high-- purely in the sense that I think Stuart is still in a very low place emotionally, and in the dark I think that shows. Rather, he does have a massive ego and he is feeling especially slighted/vindicated by the circumstance Murdoc has created for them and he is expressing himself harshly, not always honestly but without any pretense of a filter. He is giving himself permission to be his very worst. But I also imagine that he is brought down by the emptiness, resentment and eventual resignation that deeply permeate The Fall and TNN; it feels to me like a mental nosedive ending in a flat edgeless field Stuart never manages to cross, which follows more naturally for my "storyline." Remember that this is still post-PB, despite how many years have passed, so I don't doubt Stuart grapples very much with what life on the other side of this separation should look like, on whether incarceration means Murdoc is paying or could pay penance for his actual crimes and if that's even what he wants from him-- and worse, with so much time to dwell on this prickliness in his gut and hollowness in his chest, I think Stu asks himself if he will always be more fulfilled by the collecting of debt than he is by an imagined independence, if he is simply ruined for normal connection and can only exist now as "2D," not Stuart. In my timeline the hiatus between phases 3 and 4 includes a separation, I do think Stu has had time apart from Murdoc before... so the revelation is not a new one, but it is a heavy one. He is neither sad nor happy nor troubled nor tranquil. He wonders, with less and less conviction, if he'll ever feel like a real person again.

Anyway, back on track, I have given this question/scenario some thought before but I am unsure how to answer it, truthfully. I don't think Stu and Murdoc immediately jump into intimacy when Murdoc returns, and I don't view TNN as a love letter to Murdoc, or at least not one that frames their relationship as love in a positive way; it is not a joyous confession but a confession one makes over too hard of drinks and too late to change, drawn out by grief or by anger or by shame, and it is given to the other not as a gift but a burden for two to shoulder. It is a burden one can learn to live comfortably with, though. I think... forgive me sounding like an edgelord, but to me PB was Murdoc putting a chain on Stuart to desperately tether himself at his neck, and TNN is Stuart finally giving the grim satisfaction of securing the chain around them both.

Sorry, I always answer these on the spot and work through my own thoughts as I type, and then never end up really addressing the question itself, haha. I don't think their first encounters after TNN are soft, nor are they rough-- I think there is perhaps a coldness but a weightiness to it, the two know more now about what they are and what they are not, and I think Murdoc is his most sincerely humble. He has been on his knees many times, he's been pleading, thankful, goading, but it was always with an air of slightly dizzy, manic desperation, of world-swallowing hunger; I think his hands and mouth held and swallowed and spoke with a burning, gladly-Hellish heat. I think in the wake of P5 that their relationship ceases to be heated, at least for a time. There is always wanting, to be sure, but I think Murdoc's want for Stuart is less like the lust it began as and less like the obsession it grew into, and now it is a wanting to be given purpose, given permission to exist in Stu's orbit instead of crashing and consuming as he once did. For Stuart, I think there is less aggression and less to prove, but there is not exactly gentleness either; his loss of heat is equal and opposite to Murdoc, as they always were. His movements are not frantic and blind with denial, but slow and hard and quiet. For the first time, he sees himself and Murdoc for what they are, whether he can name the shape of them or not. (Hey, note to self, why don't you say things in a way that makes a lick of goddamn sense--) I hope this, er, helps clarify my nonsense thoughts? Thank you!

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

uhhh isn't the whole 'slapping some sense into them' thing from Makoto's confidant a pretty common trope though? like there's Mitsuru and Yukari, Yu and Yosuke in their 10 rank, Louis and Legosi's fight in Beastars, various shounen series, etc. Are those examples different or do ya just not like the trope itself?

Bad trope, but specifically handled bad in P3/5′s case. Makoto and Mitsuru/Yukari event are bad examples of it. Yu/Yosuke....it’s not really a “good” example but it’s not bad. Louis and Legosi/shounen in general....(I’m assuming we’re just talking first season) it’s a bit....yeah....different....Former two bad (and the trope I dislike the most), latter two “good” (not as problematic, usually)....cause they are different tbh......probably cause they are diff tropes.

Under the cut cause length

So let’s go over the slap thing. I might refer to each Makoto/Yukari/Mitsuru/Yosuke stuff as P5/3/4 so just a heads up. 

(I will say I think if I compared the two girl slap scenes between YukaMitsu and Mako, YukaMitsu one is “better” due to it being in private and not as....big of a slap, it’s still shitty tho) I’m not a fan of Yukari and Mitsuru as friends (let alone as gfs) tbh, mostly impart of this scene. I do not think that slap was a good foundation, and I think it should’ve gone in the opposite direction. Tbh I think it should’ve made things worse. Mitsuru is at her lowest point, she’s literally had 14 goddamn days to process her father’s death ON TOP OF her student council duties, and dealing with her company (on top of stuff happening behind the scenes such as apparently being engaged). She has all these adult responsibilities thrust onto her, and she’s had 14 days to deal with it. She’s processing her grief and she’s in a “what’s the point phase.” Then Yukari comes along, a girl who’s....kinda been giving her grief up to this point, yeah Mitsuru has a right to say “what’s the point in us being friends” or even being friends in the first place, you’ve been kind of an ass to her the whole game Yukari, regardless of you apologizing (no one needs to accept an apology). You haven’t been close. So with all that context, pretend you’re the one who’s stressed, in the middle of a fresh grieving process, with someone they aren’t exactly close to, and when they question if their life has meaning.....How would you feel if someone slapped you? I’d be like “Ex-fucking-scuse me????” Like it comes off as Yukari feeling Mitsuru isn’t grieving fast enough for her, like she hasn’t had a decade to process her dad’s death (which is a fault of Yukari’s character that’s never addressed, it’s her way or the high way, she forces her emotions on other people and her being friends with Mitsuru after this feels like a reward for bad behavior). I’d be livid if I was Mitsuru, a slap is not what she needs. You can just passionately shout her speech to Mitsuru, it’s a helluva lot better than literally hitting someone while they are emotionally vulnerable. Her speech is freaking just fine without a gd slap to the face, and ruins the scene. Esp when Yukari gets to have a hissy fit earlier in the game for a similar crisis (but you know, with the context she’s already come to terms with his death for the past 10 years, while Mitsuru’s only had about 14 days), but you don’t see anyone slapping her to get a hold of herself? Even tho, she’s even more emotionally unstable at a certain part, and lashes out, but no we can’t slap her. But she feels justified in slapping someone else? Bullshit. (btw yeah she says sorry but it’s so blase I’m like “really? just a quick ‘srry’ and that’s it?”) 

Then there’s Makoto just....freaking....this girl. Giant walking contradiction, will be characterized opposite of previous characterization just to fit the freaking scene. Makoto will be “hot headed who doesn’t think” for the Kane arc and Slapping eiko, but she’s like 100% chilled to the bone for the rest of the game. Which is it? Which is it P5? Can she make plans and think calmly or can she not? You can’t have both, and if it’s the latter she shouldn’t be in that position. *inhales* ANYWAY! Let’s look at this whole thing from Eiko’s perspective.

Eiko’s feels like she has nothing going for in her life but Tsukasa, she loves him, and she thinks he loves her. She has a friend in Makoto, the perfect girl who has everything Eiko wants. But now that friend wants to take away the one thing SHE has and that SHE cares about??? She keeps saying things but doesn’t show proof iirc (except when she tricked Tsukasa, but she doesn’t give Eiko enough time to digest it and it’s all happening so fast, I think she mentions the text she gets from him but she doesn’t show the texts to Eiko, regardless Mako has another avenue to explore...which I’ll get to). Of course Eiko is confused, why is the girl that is perfect want to take something from her? She’s at her lowest, yeah not the same kind of low as Mitsuru, but she’s not in a good place. So how do you think it feels, to be slapped HARD and IN PUBLIC? And this isn’t like news to Makoto, she told her all this shit in the previous rank. Makoto’s had time to mull it over, so on top of all that, Eiko also feels like “She knows how I feel yet she’s still trying to ruin the one good thing I have??? I don’t understand.” And yeah she’s starts lashing out, but Makoto isn’t exactly handling it well either. Mako’s speech is just fine withtout the gd slap, but the slap brings it down for her character (which I’ll get to after the plan) Which brings me to her plan.....

So then there’s Makoto’s plan.....she really doesn’t have a back up plan? An obvious one? One that actually doesn’t go against their MO....you know changing his heart (INB4 ‘but silly they need his yadda yadda” yeah and we’ve done mementos bosses where we need to dig up dirt, it’s not exactly that hard esp with like Ichiko and Lala and just the general area, we know where he is we just need a full/real name, we know more info about him then most targets it’s not that bad). So why do this whole public thing? Why not meet privately with the receipts? WHY EVEN BOTHER WITH THAT AT ALL WHEN YOU CAN JUST CHANGE HIS HEART! And no this isn’t “you can’t rely on heart changing all the time” the game is ass at that message to start with so why beat around the bush??? Futaba gets help 3 gd times (I’m not saying they shouldn’t have, but if it’s a personal thing I don’t think the thieves are against it). Like listen, why.....don’t we change his heart? This isn’t about “oh why do that when we can solve it another way” no we’re past that, this guy is and has been preying on girls. Why the hell are we letting him run around???? Y’all give Mika shit (and tbf I’ve seen people give Mako’s CoOp the same shit for what I’m stating now), but 1) we didn’t find out about her shitty behavior till the last min and 2) she was caught and the situation was resolved without the need of a change of heart.....Tsukasa is neither of these things, he’s 1) a main antagonist throughout the CoOp 2) while he gets away from Eiko, he’s left to his own devices to hurt other people later (except the anime apparently? but we are talking about the game). Like seriously, change his heart, you help all the girls+Eiko, you can then comfort her without you know the public embarrassment. Hell if you want to keep the freaking speech from the slap scene you can! At least she’s not slapped! Just don’t slap her! Both P3/5 can get by with these scenes without NEEDING the slap! It’s not necessary and god freaking forbid people imitate it IRL (I’ve seen it happen first hand, people are not friends after that kinda BS).

There’s also the fact she and Eiko make amends after off screen and it’s like???? I don’t believe Eiko would go back to Makoto after that sort of public humiliation tbh. I need to see this “apology” (esp since Mako was soooo great at hers the first time with ANne after you know dragging them into the Mafia.....of course I’m being sarcastic, her apology was so gaslighty and her trying to get them to drop it like??? no you are being called out for good reason) And then there’s Makoto post slap, and she’s like ‘oh man was that ok???” like no bitch it wasn’t and the fact you get POINTS FOR ENCOURAGING HER???? Like I always say a negative thing and make her know what she did was wrong. And yeah she’s like “oh geez I didn’t mean for that :(” just.....sigh....doesn’t matter what you mean, you did it.....you have to own it......*inhales*

Now for the unfortunate implications, which if I was a Yukari/Makoto fan I wouldn’t be happy with how Atlus handled them. Already talked about Yukari (her way or the high way, butting in, gets rewarded for bad behavior yadda yadda), Makoto is similar. She’s just more bossy about it (cause she’s older probably, Yukari had it reign it into going behind Mitsu’s back cause of the whole senpai/kohai thing). But the slap reinforces Makoto’s....a bit.....physically abusive with her friends..... I don’t think that was the intent, but it’s an unfortunate implication. Who does Makoto hit (that’s not a shadow)? Ryuji (twice counting Royal), and Eiko (former for “comedy~!” and the latter for drama, yes she’s joined by the other girls in one of the events but she’s still been physical more than them). She also is known for threatening violence on top of that or just being ~intimidating~ (which hits differently when you’ve develop a streak of hitting friends rather than just someone who doesn’t do that?) And yeah it’s for comedy.....but after awhile.....ergh....(esp when they do it once for drama). It doesn’t help she’s also the damsel a lot, and literally can’t fight back against people who have ill will over her (told you she’s a contradiction), or just doesn’t bother putting up a fight tbh. Which.....then sends a message she...only hits her friends cause....she can take them on? kinda thing..... it just....makes me feel gross tbh. It’s just BS that Chie gets labeled a physically abusive person cause she “hit Yosuke in the balls” when she DIDN’T, it was all a misunderstanding! But when actually Makoto does it’s ok???? 

Yukari and Makoto have a lot in common, they get away with a lot of shit, their way or the high way a lot of the times, esp when they do things that’s....really rude and mean and shitty but hey I guess it’s ok with Atlus~! (for a game series that’s like “you are responsible for your own actions and the consequences it brings” it sure likes to let certain chars slide with their actions~! :D :/) It’s such a shame with P3 that we have Fuuka and Natsuki, while not explored a lot (such a shame) is written a lot better than YukaMitsu/MakoAnne/MakoEiko friendships. And they do it without the need for a slap, and the aggressor actually gives a legit and sincere apology??? All on their own??? All because they feel guilty and want to make amends ON THEIR OWN!!!! And actually takes responsibility too???? I’m usually neutral on them but seriously they handle this issue like fine wine compared to the other three. 

Ok let’s go over Yu/Yosuke. So when I say it’s not good but not bad, I mean like....you shouldn’t do it irl cause it’s dumb....but like....the message is a lot better. P4, it’s consensual. Yosuke ASKS to be hit. See “ASKS!” And they knowingly go in for a brawl/sparring match. Because they want to. Eiko and Mitsuru didn’t ask to be slapped, this isn’t an equal footing. P4′s is. P3/5 is someone who’s emotionally vulnerable getting slapped by someone that claims to care (and the friendship is rocky at best and barely formed at worse) and then somehow coming out as friends???? P4, strong bond, very good friends, consensual.

As for Beastars.....again I’m assuming we’re talking about their fight in S1 after the one person (vague for spoilers) gets kidnapped.......here’s the thing.....they....aren’t exactly friends. I guess if I had the beat up/slap trope as a spectrum, this would be on the opposite side of P4 (with P3/5 being in the middle). You don’t want to be in the middle, I think it leads to unfortunate implications (only time I can think of it being ok is if they deal with the fact they were slapped realistically, calling the person out). 

So on one end we have P4, strong friendship, it’s a consensual fight, it’s even (there’s no ....I guess the best word would be “power imbalance”). The other end is Beastars, they aren’t exactly friends, this fight is like....a brawl cause there is bad blood now, tbh it’s just a normal fight fkldsajflkjf; which like is fine, they become friends later, but in a similar sense this fight is even too (I mean not physically but like they are both like “LET’S GOOOOOOOO!”). But in the middle it’s the “we’re new or kinda friends but I’mma slap them when the person is down because I think they need a ‘wake up call’” is bullshit, it’s not even, one person gets slapped and the slapper somehow gets the friendship??? Like how does any of this work??? Only good ending to that is the person really giving a good ass apology or there not being a friendship. 

The only real time I can think of slapping someone to legit have them get a hold of themselves, is if there is a life and death situation, and they are too shell shock to move, and you need to bring them back. Or if they are unconscious and you are trying to wake them up (usually cause there’s bad stuff happening around). And it stems from fearing their safety and you tried everything else and it was the last resort. None of these fit P3/5 scenes tho. P4/Beastars/Shounen is just “dumb bois brawling” (which dumb girls brawling is valid too), they’re different tropes. Slapping for slapstick is closer to P3/5′s trope than the P4/Beastars/Shounen one.....that one is a veeeeery fine line tbh (the more over the top the better, because it’s more distant from reality, the less over the top the closer it is to the drama one and the closer it is to reality and........it ironically becomes unrealistic). 

but yeah there’s just a couple things......that’s wrong with the scene than just the slap, but really those slaps are so unnecessary???? Like the majority of the scene is the speech, just focus on that. I think it takes more skill to metaphorically slap someone with your words than with your literal palm. 

[ao3feed-akeshu]

you're a monster. but so am i— which is why i cant turn away from you.

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/30GrYr4

by 6spicy6satan6

"A world once so rich in its intricacies is dull. It’s been shaved down to its barest bones, a silhouette of what it once was. In the first few days, it quickly became apparent that this was just the world without Goro Akechi in it. In the first few weeks, it quickly became apparent this was just going to be the world for good."

—

Or, what happens when Ren finds Goro Akechi after 5 years of believing he was dead?

Words: 3913, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5: The Royal - Fandom

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Persona 5 Ensemble, Akechi Goro, Persona 5 Protagonist, Amamiya Ren (Persona Series)

Relationships: Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira

Additional Tags: Post-Persona 5, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, just dont read this if you haven't played the goddamn game, Aged-Up Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Background Relationships, Time Skips, Flashbacks, no the time skip isnt an excuse to write smut it's only for plot reasons, can i even write smut?, Slow Burn, (kinda), Angst, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Akechi Goro Lives, Akechi Goro Has A Palace, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, i swear that makes sense for fic spoiler reasons, Post-Canon, each p5 chara comes up in one way or the other, NONE OF THE PHANTOM THIEVES ARE STRAIGHT!!!!!, Idiots in Love, akechi and ren need to just talk about their feelings for once, men are fragile... and i will write them as such, Canon-Typical Violence, THIS FIC IS BASED ON BUFFKECHI FANART BT GORONETFLIX LOL, yes akechi gets lowkey buff in the time skip, you cant stop me, mild tonal inconsistency, fuck u i will make jokes

[lokiarsene]

Someone on twitter already pointed, for all his haters complain a redemption would be "too easy", Goro himself is rejecting that very idea by rejecting the dream world. He's a determined character and can put it to good use. One difference I've noticed with Japanese fandom is how a lot of his fans mention liking him because of how hard working he is and that that coupled with the desire for acceptance from a society that rejected him was relatable.

yeah, it’s a completely different cultural lens over there. western fans seem to think of things in dichotomies. “soft vs edgy” “pure vs problematic” etc etc etc without giving a singular thought as to whether something is actually compelling or not. western fans wouldn’t even think to categorize akechi as “hardworking” and see it as a virtue, because that’s not one of our normal categories for media consumption. it’s not how we view society or ppl’s places within it.

it is kind of interesting that akechi’s appeal of “desire for acceptance from a society that rejected him” is kind of universal, though. serious akechi fans like myself and mod krist and others definitely resonate with that part of his character. he’s an abuse victim, sure, but he’s also living in a society that wholeheartedly rejects the very nature of his existence, which is wildly powerful across all cultures.

i think where antis get their wires crossed is their inability to accept anyone who falls under this umbrella that’s not role model material. and that’s a damn shame tbh. not every portrayal of this oppression should be a fucking role model. sometimes it’s just as important to see the suffering effects of said oppression and what it can push a person to do. if we don’t confront that reality, then it’ll never seem real at all to the people who actually need to understand it.

Mod Krist addendum: Last year I wrote up a long post about the Japanese foster care/orphanage system and how that could have played a part not only in Akechi’s development, but his possible appeal to the audience. I think it’s an important and worthwhile read for folx who don’t know about these background details from the culture.

I see people go on about how Akechi was treated by Shido, and rightly labeling it as abusive, but I also can’t help but feel like that’s a small part into what’s really hurting Akechi. Akechi can’t even see himself as a current victim of abuse; he can’t even think that far ahead because being a bastard child and then an orphan in Japanese society is his major defining pain and point of shame (despite it being nothing to be ashamed of). That’s what hurts him. That’s what he confesses to Ren in Leblanc. That’s the crux of his heart’s distortion: society treats people like him like they’re subhuman, and yet he’s so desperate to be loved and accepted and have his worth acknowledged and embraced by that very society. Western fandom antis reducing Akechi’s problems to how his father treats him (aka “daddy issues”) overlooks the more relevant problem of how Japanese society treats orphans and children abandoned by their parents.

I also think that some people in the western P5 fandom who like Akechi hone in on the abuse, as if the abuse alone is sufficient explanation for Akechi’s behavior, and… I’m not sure I agree. I think the whole “I’m an unwanted child with no place in this country and no legal rights and no ability to care for myself because technically I don’t exist if I’m not attached to a parent” is pretty goddamn damaging alone. And when you add in the whole “and now I have to reach out to the piece of shit father who abandoned me and my mother in order to have any hope of surviving” element, the problem is only made even worse.

This got rly off topic lol so I’m sorry, anon. But yeah–I agree 100% with Mod Sirea’s last paragraph.

[tricksheart]

rant and spoilers underneath

I’m just fed up with 90 percent of the Ake...shu / Shu...ake fans in the tags. Claiming something to be canon, which is sure as hell isn’t, and saying that other ships don’t matter as much as Ake...shu / Shu...ake. Plus, majority of them say that Aki..ra / Re..n will always choose Ake..chi no matter who you choose to date or headcanon that he dates in p5: the royal and that the player has to jump on board the Shu...ake / Ake...shu ship if they like it or not. Like seriously? Not only is that Bi erasure ( if you headcanon him to be so like myself ) , but unfair to everyone that has different ships with him. And before you say that if one of them was female orientated that I and many others would like the ship, that is also a lie. I tend to hate hand forced ships that aren’t healthy.  Others that are forced and aren’t that healthy are Y...u/Ma...rie and Min...ato/Aigi....s. They are hetero ships that I hate with a PASSION. Just because Ake...shu / Sh..uake seems ‘canon’ ( god I hate that word sometimes ) doesn’t mean it gives you a free pass to bash other ships in the series. I even have a few people who like Ake...shu / Shu...ake who are also tired of 90 percent fans of this ship because they can be so goddamn annoying and refuse to hear the other side, and just post the ‘hoes mad’ meme or call the other person out, claiming to say ‘ well I didn’t ask for your opinion’. Well, guess what, it’s the internet and not everyone is going to agree with you. I’m just tired with all of the ‘omg!! they are in love with each other. hahaha, other ships are shit. take that, losers. they are CANON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111′. 

I was okay with this ship but it wasn’t my favorite but now because of royal, I don’t really want anything to do with it. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.