#he seriously considered it. The only thing stopping him is akechi

[qualityrain]

why are they batshit insane

[manias-wordcount]

Hellooo!! Can you do an akechi, ryuji or yusuke (you can choose which one to do or only do more than 1 if you can) with a ethnically middle eastern reader that has a curvy/full figure who does professional belly dancing as a side thing outside of school at parties/ weddings and what not and then later the readers s/o comes to pick them up a bit too early so he just admires them while they belly dance? (If you want a reference for the belly dancing @/azeeria on tiktok would be nice!)

Ty if you would consider this request <33!

Bellydancer S/o HCs (Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa, Goro Akechi)

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼!!! 𝗶 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆!! 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗳 ): 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗺𝗵 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗲

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚? ⇒ 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧?

Ryuji Sakamoto

One word, three syllables: cheerleader

You know he’s going to brag about you to literally EVERY SINGLE PERSON HE COMES ACROSS

Half of Tokyo knows your name (and it’s not just because you’re famous)

He won’t let anyone give you shit- whether it’s online or in person, he’s always there to defend you (as a phantom thief, as some anon online, as Ryuji the lowkey thug- you name it)

But that’s all while you’re NOT dancing

When you are, it’s like he’s a whole different man

Whenever he catches you at the end of a performance or even practicing, he’ll stop everything he’s doing and he just watches

He’s just completely enraptured with the dumbest smile on his face as he watches you dance because he’s just so damn happy to have someone like you in his life

All his life he definitely felt like he was so different of a person compared to everyone else that being different couldn’t ever lead to something good

So being able to see you be unapologetically yourself to make something beautiful- it just makes him so so so so happy it’s crazy

Yusuke Kitagawa

You are his biggest inspiration for art

Seriously- Japan has so many unique people (himself included) but it’s not all the time that he gets to meet someone from a completely different ethnic background

Much more, get to be with someone with a completely different ethnic background who actively practices and performs part of their culture for the public

And he has caught glimpses of you practicing before of course

But when those rare moments he gets to one of your performances early and he gets to see you

Like, really really see you

In full costume and with the lights shining on you and your bright smile as you give it your all?

It’s beautiful to him. It’s art to him

Time after time, your performances never fail to leave him slack-jawed in pure awe as his mind explodes with creativity 

It’s like you’re truly the best thing that could have ever happened to him in every sense fo the word

Goro Akechi

Unfortunately, your relationship canNOT be public of any sort

Its obvious Akechi is gonna have rabid fangirls who would tear any girl he shows interest apart

So naturally, having an extremely beautiful girlfriend with a foreign ethnicity would be a cause for concern given his popularity (and the fact that shitty stans exist everywhere)

But don’t worry

He’s more than content watching you from afar when out in public

Who do you think films all your promotional videos???

He has seen you dance before so it’s nothing new (there’s a room in his apartment that he cleaned up just so you have a space to practice when you’re over)

But watching you in your element gives him the peace of mind that he’s with someone who has dedication to their own craft

Plus it’s a nice break from being around stiffs in suits all-day

Though people are starting to wonder why he’s often in the same place as you…….

[magioftheseas]

Back to December

​For @badthingshappenbingo and @i-demand-a-hug

Prompt: Don’t You Dare Pity Me taken from here.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Implied (?) mental instability and implicit references to death.

Summary: It was another morning where he wakes up entangled with Akechi Goro, and his phone buzzes.

Notes: That prompt could be stapled onto any shuake fic, because these two just be like that. But it’s friendly friend’s birthday and I thought I’d complete something more bitter than sweet. It’s been a while since I finished another prompt on my bthb, so here’s to another bingo! It’s pretty short, too, so I hope it’s an easy read in that respect.

***Alternate Ao3 Link*** Commission? Donate?

It’s not just any other morning, but Akira wakes up like it is. Face half-buried into chestnut locks, spooning a warm, sinewy figure—Akira wakes up with a contented sigh. The other stirs, but remains otherwise asleep.  Akira is half-tempted to squeeze his eyes back shut and revel in the scent of cinnamon spice and jasmine.

But his phone buzzes, so he has to detangle himself to answer.

>Coming to get you. Will be there at eleven.

He’s half-tempted to text Ryuji back and tell him not to bother. Obviously, he doesn’t and instead texts back a single letter. With his usual smile, he refrains from chucking his phone and instead sets it carefully aside.

Akechi shifts, rolling onto his back. He barely rustles the sheets, but Akira tugs them over his shoulder anyway. His smile is a bit softer when Akechi groans. When Akechi throws a hand on his face, digging his palm into his eye.

“What day is it?”

“Saturday.”

Akechi’s uncovered eye opens to glare at him.

“That’s not what I mean. Have you really been avoiding looking at your calendar again?”

He’s long torn the thing down. Neutrally, he shakes his head.

“I’ll make you coffee. Come on.”

Akechi groans again, louder and with more purpose.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Yeah,” was his easy response. “I know. Three cubes of sugar as always?”

“You should stop wasting that on me.”

“Three cubes it is.”

It’s easy to glide into the kitchen as he always does. To pluck out some coffee beans to grind.

“Just instant is fine,” Akechi says from behind. “You shouldn’t go through too much effort. It’s not like my standards are that high, considering I’m with you.”

Akira gives him a grin. “All the more reason to spoil you, detective. The most expensive brand of beans we have it is.”

“It’s all just going to waste,” Akechi replied, straight-faced and unimpressed. “Seriously, Kurusu, what are you doing?”

He was grinding coffee beans and making coffee, obviously. There was no need to answer when it was obvious. Hell, it was routine. A nice, hot, high-quality cup of coffee was placed on the table for Akechi, with three sugar cubes added. Just as the detective liked it.

Akechi settles into the chair that Akira pulls out for him. Akechi sighs, looking quite tired, but not protesting as Akira squeezes his shoulders. Rather than protesting, Akechi sips at his coffee. There’s the slightest hint of a sparkle in his gaze at the taste, just as Akira remembers.

It’s nice to imagine you like this, he thinks. Domestic and content. Comfortable and mine.

In moments like these, his desire to embrace Akechi and squeeze was almost overbearing. At the very least, he wants so dearly to hold the other’s hand and entwine their fingers together. Because Akechi won’t let him, he settles for just placing his hand atop the other’s. He feels Akechi squeeze it into a fist, tense and not lightening up even when Akira strokes his knuckles.

“Stop,” he orders, almost weakly.

Akira grips the other’s hand. Akechi scowls at him but makes no move to physically pry him off. It’s cowardice that Akira holds no love for and absolutely doesn’t want to concede to.

“Kurusu,” Akechi hisses, but any move he makes is a barebones shift towards him. It’s infuriating, and that must show on Akechi’s face which darkens like the sky before a storm. “Kurusu...”

“Goro,” Akira returns cheekily, nuzzling into Akechi’s nape. He presses a kiss to the cervical spine, another to the base of the skull, and finally one atop the crown. Akechi’s honey-brown hair is as soft as it’s ever been against his lips.

“Stop this nonsense,” Akechi snaps at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Do you want a bullet point list?”

“Your jokes are horrible, Kurusu.”

“That’s Joker to you.” Akira finally felt his smile twitch. “Or leader, if you’re so inclined. I don’t think calling me by my surname like we’re just acquaintances is appropriate anymore. We’re much closer than that, don’t you think?”

Akechi turns away to scowl at his coffee. Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Akira leans in to kiss his jaw.

“Sakamoto is on his way,” Akechi reminds him stiffly and irritably.

“I’ll make the most of our time together before then.”

“Our time.” Akechi lets out a laugh, low and ugly and so very lovely for it. It’s nothing like the saccharine giggle of the second detective prince, but it’s so wonderfully Akechi Goro, even if it’s more muted than before.

“Your time,” Akechi then corrected him with a snarl, fitting an impressive amount of disdain into just that word.

“My time,” Akira agreed if only to show his fondness. “I’d give you all of it, you know. If only you’d ask.”

“Because I ran out of it?” Akechi looked so terribly unamused. “I don’t need your fucking charity. Nor your pity.”

Akira simply smiles at him.

“I don’t need your pity,” Akechi reiterates. “So, stop with this, Kurusu. Let me go. Let me leave.”

Let you leave me?

“You don’t have anywhere else to go,” Akira reminded him simply. With how understanding he was, he felt no annoyance. He did, however, feel a little sad when Akechi’s beautiful face crumbled like wet tissue.

“Please let me leave.”

You said not to pity you when you make a face like this...

“What value is there in keeping me around?” Akechi asked him next, still so outwardly broken with glittering pieces that Akira took in avidly. “Isn’t this hurting you?”

You really are...stronger than you think.

In lieu of a verbal answer, Akira takes the other’s hands and presses into them so very greedily.

--

When Ryuji finally arrived, Akira only had one last thing to say to Akechi Goro.

“Stay.”

Alongside the now cold cup of coffee, the once detective had no other choice to remain where he was. Still, Akira felt a little anxious as he stepped outside. And Ryuji, still, seemed a bit awkward. He still offered a wide grin, but the strain at the edges was undeniable.

“Hey, man, I know it, uh...” Ryuji pauses for a moment to shuffle uncomfortably. “With what time of the year it is, I figured... It wouldn’t be cool to let you stay in an empty house all day.”

Akira nods. “Mm.”

Nothing else would come, but Ryuji’s gaze was still warm with sympathy. Pity.

Akira’s gaze falls, but for Ryuji’s sake, he doesn’t look back even though he wants to.

It was just going to be another one of those days.

[endless-brainrot]

ey ey ey ey ey give me an "alba is blorbo" essay. i will also take an "alba x ross 4ever" essay.

ALBA. i have so much to say about this man i have been brainrotting over him for weeks ok.  so firstly he's?? got such good character development??? like. i won't spoil anything but he gets so BADASS LATER ON. i do miss his wet-clothness but he's so cool....... i also like how he just gradually got stronger over time instead of having a training arc like a lot of other shonen animanga which is more of a compliment to senyuu itself but i don't care! i love him! i also really like his character. TSUKKOMIS.. beloved. and the fact that he's so useless at the start is so funny when added to it asdfghjkl. and then his tsukkomi turns out to be the most useful thing about him because it's what keeps the darkness of senyuu at bay. literally. he's so *explodes* ALSO m'dude is CUTE and i LOVE HIM FOR IT i am so pathetic but he is so pattable. and there's also the aftermath of season one where he was so dedicated to ross i LOVE HIM. I LOVE THEM. I LOVE ALBATROSS. they have SUCH GOOD COMPATABILITY. even though i am TERRIBLE AT UNDERSTANDING IT. but seriously they. they....... *implodes* they trust eachother a lot which is so wholesome considering how ross beats alba up which is less wholesome. i mean ross literally hid razor blades in alba's blanket and alba still trusts him,,, and there was that time where the member of the sleepiez joined the place where alba works later in the series. ross beat them up and alba didn't ask why he just told ross that he trusted him WHY ARE THEY. and ross is protective over alba even though he's such a tsundere skdjkgsjk he beat the sleepiez member up because they insulted alba. AND BACK UP TO THE TSUNDERE BIT. i personally just am a fan of ships with tsunderes (why are all four of said tsunderes spiky haired) so maybe i'm biased but who cares!!! i like tsunderes!!!!! ross in particular is very cute as a tsundere, although i can only recall one time he got flustered and that was over a family member. but he still punched alba because alba was the one who got him flustered over it which still counts as a tsundere in my eyes. AN.AND.D.A. ALSO. THE SLEEPIES. I CAN'T GET OVER IT. cool towl blanket really really likes the boss. and if you've read that far, you'll know what they are to albatross. i bet you don't know what they are to albatross. but i'll tell you here and now, it's something that quite literally makes albatross universal. i think this is getting very long and akechi-like now so i'm going to stop talking here although i could go on about them for DAYS. thank you for the ask

[holycow99]

石田お寿司 12/9/21 stream translation Part 4

This is not the full translation of the stream. I only translated the parts I could understand & interpret or parts I found interesting/important. I’m still a beginner in Japanese, so the translations may not be accurate. If you want to repost, please repost at your own risk.

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(t/n: ** means translation may not be accurate.)

I: We’re talking about the commemoration of 30,000 subscribers, right? What should we do?

C: Is this a chatting stream?

I: Well, yeah.

C: Let’s play game now.

I: I’m totally okay with it.

C: I feel bad that I pinned this person’s comment. Should I unpin it? This is what’ll happen if you guys aren’t careful with your comments. You’ll be exposed. I’ll forgive this person.

C: Please do streaming of you working on lyrics.

I: I’m totally okay with something like that.

C: Have you ever received hair?  

I: I did receive something similar. A deep red colour. Was it a wig or something? This is a true story.

C: Scary!

I: I didn’t think it was scary though. I was like “I see…”. It was unique.

C: Have you received a marriage registration form?

I: No, but I once received a purikura photo from a gal. The letter was cute. She’s seriously a gal, with the round letters and all. She’s super young and the purikara was cute. The content of the letter was hilarious. She’s like “Let’s hang out!”, “It’s fun!” “I read TG! I don’t understand it, but it’s fun!��.  She’s totally a gal. It was amazing. How did I get that? That’s a good one, though I didn’t get to hang out with her.

C: Eh, is it okay to send purikura?

I: I’ll just take a look at it if you send one. I won’t do anything about it. Nothing will happen.

C: Impressive move.

I: Right? But I think it’s the culture. I wanna experience this kind of culture as well. I want gals and Exile fans to read my works, not just people who have read TG. I wanna write something that everyone can enjoy.

C: You wanna interact with gals?

I: I wanna try. Normally, you won’t be able to, right? Have I ever talked to a gal before? A real gal. Avu-chan was super gal-like. Avu-chan is a gal. My first encounter with a gal was with Avu-chan from Queen Bee.

*He’s imitating Avu-chan’s way of talking.

I: I see. So there’s a lot of way to enjoy TG.

C: Seems like you’d be a grandpa.

I: Definitely the case if I ever meet a gal.

C: Are you extremely close with her (avu-chan)?

I: I’m the type who approach the other party. Well, I’m sure everyone is like this, but don’t you have different personas? I wasn’t pretending or anything, but I wore a gal persona for the first time when I was with Avu-chan. Avu-chan has a gal-like personality, so I thought I also needed a new persona.  By the way, have you played the game Persona? Just like how the main character attained new personas, the gal persona came out aggressively from behind me and possessed me.

I: Akechi is cool, right? (t/n: Akechi is a character from Persona 5.)

C: Please impersonate Avu-chan.

I: Avu-chan’s impersonation? “But then~”. How is it again? “Sui Sensei is~”. But she talks about deep stuffs, even though she’s a gal. Although she’s a gal, she’s someone with a lot of knowledge.

C: can you read gal’s alphabet?

I: I can if I try hard enough.

I: I wanna include a gal character in choujin x.

C: Sensei seems to have high communication skill.

I: I don’t think so. There’s a term called ‘communication monster’. My friend, Takahashi Kunimitsu form Osterreich is a communication monster. He knows how to hype people up, since he doesn’t say offensive things.** He can join in conversations with anyone, anywhere like a clown. Then, he’ll be very tired after that. It’s wearing him out on top of having a high communication skill. That is a communication monster. I can join in a conversation as well, but unless it’s with someone I’m fond with, I won’t. It’s tiring.

C: People who are good at getting along with others do exist.

I: Yes. He’s good at that.

I: Kunimitsu’s seriously amazing. He got along with a granny he just met in a bar. I just listened to their conversation the entire time.

C: Isn’t that considered as a communication disability if you get tired by it?

I: I do think it’s a sign of communication disability**, But again, that’s just another side of it. It’s the same as shy people who can speak well.

C: Was it the one you posted on twitter?

I: Yup. The one at the bar in Nogata. Was it in Nogata? Probably there. But I think band men have great communication skill, since they meet various types of people.

Y****: I don’t like gals.

I: That’s not good. You’re in the theatre club, after all. Someone involves in theatres can’t be bias. It’s okay if you don’t like them, but it’s better to come across them.

C: Is it important to talk and meet with various people?

I: Hm, I wonder. I think it’s important, especially when you’re still shaping your identity. I speak like this because I didn’t manage to meet and get along with people. I was super serious whenever I was invited to a live show, like the time I met Mr. TK. I was super serious every time I met people when I was in my 20s.

C: You did meet Gegegay, right? (t/n: Tokyo Gegegay is a Japanese dance & music group.)

I: I did. I might not be able to converse with him if I didn’t come prepared. They’re super nice though. Mr. Mikey’s punch was strong. I was like “so we’re gonna have this kind of conversation on our first meeting.”. But it was really entertaining. He’s actually being considerate of me. Somehow, I’ve had a conversation with Mr. Mikey and Ms. Reol, just the three of us remotely. Mr. Mikey was really considerate during the conversation to make it very enjoyable. I was amazed by it.

(t/n: Mikey is the leader of Tokyo Gegegay. Reol is a Japanese singer.)

C: Have you ever met Hirose Alice? (t/n: Hirose Alice is an actress. She’s a big fan of TG.)

I: Nope. I think it’s better not to meet her. There’s no chance to meet her.

C: Who’s the person you’re most nervous with when you met them?

I: It’s hard to tell, but I felt nervous every time I met someone for the first time. Then, the feeling gradually disappeared after I got to know them. That’s not good, isn’t it? But, when I met Togashi sensei, it’s more like a dream. It’s an indescribable feeling when I met him. I was like “This kind of feeling exists.” I was nervous when I met Avu-chan as well. But rather than feeling nervous, since she was very nice, I was able to talk a lot. It was fun.

*Someone asked if he had meet Masataka Kubota.

I: I’ve met him.

C: Do you have a mentor?

I: Probably Hara sensei. The word ‘mentor’ is hard to describe. But, he’s somewhat a mentor-like presence to me. I don’t know.  

C: Do you like Yonezu Kenshi?

I: That’s needless to say. Everyone likes him.

*Someone asked if he’s met Horikoshi Kohei sensei (BNHA’s author).

I: Nope. We have the same age.

C: He drew the draft while lying down, right? (t/n: OP probably talking about Togashi sensei.)

I: He showed me how he did the draft.

*Someone asked if he’s met Inoue Takehiko sensei (Slam dunk’s author.)

I: Nope. If Hara sensei is considered as my mentor, though I can just call him that, Inoue Takehiko sensei would be my mentor uncle.

C: Was Masataka Kubota good-looking?

I: He’s super good-looking.

*Someone asked if he’s met Kotoyama sensei (Dagashikashi’s author).

I: I’ve never met her.

*Someone asked if he’s met Araki Hirohiko sensei (Jojo’s author).

I: Nope. Wait, I did. It was when I was still an assistant. My senior, Matsubara Toshimitsu sensei, who’s writing a manga called Kurogane no Valhallian in Young jump, was like “Araki Hirohiko is here! Let’s meet him for a bit!”, and I agreed to him. Araki sensei is on another level, as expected. He’s super-duper famous, after all. All the assistants were surrounding him, asking him for pictures. When it was our turn, my smile was so stiff when I took a picture with him. I was too nervous. It was a distorted smile. Then, Mr. Matsubara accidentally stepped on Araki sensei’s foot. He’s like “I’m sorry! I accidentally stepped on your foot!” By the way, I went to the new year’s party in my pajama, which had curry on the sleeve and took a picture with Araki sensei. The clothes were shabby. Since Araki sensei was a nice person, He complimented me saying the it was fashionable. I was so thankful. He complimented my pilled and curry stained clothes. I was happy for that. I went there wearing pajama because I didn’t have any other clothes. The clothes were in a white colour. I went there wearing a parker with dull pants. He was really cool. Very young-looking and a wonderful person.

C: Have you gotten a chance to meet Miura Kentaro sensei (Berserk’s author)?

I: No, I’d never met him. I liked him a lot. I still like him. I can’t continue talking about him. It’s too sad. I can’t express how I feel other than I’m sad. Death. Regarding this, I wish people wouldn’t pray to the dead souls so casually. I don’t like praying to the dead souls nor do I like people doing that as well.

C: Have you met Mengo sensei (Scum’s wish’s author) and Aka sensei (Kaguya sama’s author)?

I: I’ve met Ms. Mengo a long time ago. She’s always present at parties. She’s quite stand out as well. She’s wearing cat ears the first time I met her. It was cute. I think I have met Akasaka sensei.  Probably just introduced myself.  

C: You’re a mangaka, but have you been surprised by other mangakas’ personalities?

I: Pretty much. Like their images or...Well, aren’t you like that with everyone? Isn’t it normal to be surprised by their images, physiques, and voices? Since you never imagine about those things.

C: I want you to meet Isayama sensei.

I: Isayama sensei’s also the same age as me.

C: I have met Itagaki Keisuke sensei (Baki’s author)!

I: So you’ve met him. I see.

C: Have you met Inagawa Junji (actor & director)?

I: I want to.

*Ishida was about to read a comment but stopped.

I: People will keep asking who I’ve met if I answer this, so I’ll skip it.

*He still answered the question.

I: I’ve never met Ryuuichi (illustrator & character designer). He’s gotten married. He looks happy, so it’s all well. Ever since before, I didn’t think he had to be that self-asserting. He didn’t need to tell who he was. It’s already written in his account. I was like “Don’t worry, everyone knows. Everyone sees it.” Well, he looks happy, above all.

C: I was excited seeing Hara sensei at the Kingdom exhibition.

I: Oh, he was there.

Part 5

[lokiarsene]

a Thing i think people overlook, including myself, regarding Akechi and his views on the PT:

In Rank 5, Akechi asks Ren about a hero--is a hero someone who sticks to their own code of justice, or someone who does what the public wants? If you pick the first, he then follows up by wondering if that sort of hero is really just a self-righteous person, since they’re doing what no one else supports. If you pick the second, he says he’s surprised to hear that from you.

In September, thanks to Mishima being a fucking idiot (seriously, he set it up for this to happen lmao), the Phansite gains the feature of letting the random public vote on who they want the PT to target next. Instead of the PT doing their own investigation and simply reaping the rewards of attention after, they shift their focus onto the attention and chasing after anything that seems poised to keep it. They turn from heroes following their own moral code, to heroes merely doing what others demand. They willingly do this.

Addendum to thing: Makoto, to her credit, insists that the focus is on finding the Metaverse culprit. This doesn’t change the fact that the PT only first set eyes on Okumura because the poll tells them to.

And this is really the crux of the problem Akechi has with them: People with strong moral codes and the (literal) ability to see them through are always going to be dangerous when they put that power into someone else’s hands, even if it’s for the sake of a greater good.

As a sidebar: I believe they would have gone after Okumura since he was all over the news, but Mishima putting in that voting feature is what drew them to Okumura instead of their own investigation. And that is the key difference here. Shido was banking on the PT being like him, desiring public approval for their own means, and using that against them by rigging the vote on the Phan-Site.

I bring this up because I think this is a pretty important bit that makes Akechi’s views of the PT so complicated, and land on believing they are childish idiots. He not only is concerned the PT are just going to be another Shido, this time with Metaverse powers, but because they are giving up the freedom Akechi wishes he had. He has to do what others demand, and they choose to do it. Akechi has to live by a twisted code of “justice” (and remember, Shido’s name uses the same kanji as the word “justice”, so he’s always stuck serving a false justice no matter what), as he tries desperately to find a way to still pursue his own.

The PT always have the option to do what they believe in, full stop. Akechi does not.

By asking Ren whether a hero who does his own thing could truly be self-righteous, Akechi is not only reflecting on himself, he’s also wanting Ren to think this about himself. If Akechi has to have an existential crisis on what it means to be a hero, and particularly a revenge-seeking hero of justice, he wants Ren to be the one to consider such things, too. They’re equals, they’re rivals, they understand and connect with each other the way no one else can or has. It stands to reason Akechi would want Ren to consider these concepts of heroism and justice as they both navigate and survive in a corrupt society.

I don’t think many people in the fandom truly acknowledge just how much the PT fucked up not only with the Okumura voting thing, but in letting themselves get bogged down by people close to them who only wanted popularity and acclaim and said that was the way to justice. Now, I’m not saying they shouldn’t have done this in the story. Characters need flaws and stories need conflict, otherwise they’re a bland bit of nothing and boring and not a story at all. What I’m saying is that it’s frustrating that so few people in the fandom give Akechi’s critiques of the PT much thought. He’s not going on TV JUST to taunt them, nor is he JUST spouting Shido-endorsed propaganda, nor is he JUST being petty and spiteful. He’s mixing together all these things and filtering them through his own views of justice, which are that people who circumvent the law to force changes on others are dangerous.

And that’s true. (And nowhere in that comment is he implying he doesn’t think that way about himself--but people don’t seem to consider that, either.)

The PT are the closest thing to the heroes Akechi pretended to be when he was a child. His Metaverse powers are also the closest thing he has to being a hero, and yet both his powers and PT are not only corrupted by Shido, the injustice of the very society he suffers from, both the PT and Shido are threats to him.

I once. Again. Really. Wish. We had someone to speak up for Akechi in the game. Someone who reinforces his view point, his beliefs, his criticism of the PT. No one speaks up for Akechi. No one. And it’s so infuriating.

and this is also why i hate it when y’all goroboys make fun of him lmao knock it off

[riwrite-a]

one of the most notable things that affected akira’s mental health in the year of the phantom thieves was undeniably how,   from the end of shido’s palace to the end of maruki’s,   he had no time to process anything.   everything escalated and kept escalating and he didn’t have a single moment to rest and let himself process in the middle of it all.

it starts with goro’s death,   something he blames himself for   (   because of course he does,   he didn’t do enough,   didn’t say the right things,   didn’t get close enough.   he,   for once,   didn’t read a step ahead and wasn’t able to save him like he was able to save himself   ).   and akira,   who genuinely liked being goro’s friend,   genuinely liked the self goro hid underneath the detective prince persona,   didn’t have any time at all to mourn.   because the following days were a blur of fighting shido’s shadow,   then getting to the depths of mementos and disappearing from reality and fighting yaldabaoth and then akechi is back even though futaba felt him die and then the false reality starts in earnest and akira loses all his friends to it and he and akechi and kasumi explore the odaiba palace and find out it’s maruki’s and then learn that kasumi is actually sumire and then akira has to break his friends free from the false reality and    —   and during all of that and the following exploration of maruki’s palace,   akira is solely in leader mode.    he has hearts to steal and he will stop at nothing to take them.   he has no time for thinking about the past days-to-weeks.

(   he seriously considers taking maruki’s offer at the start of february.   to live in a world where he wasn’t used by a malevolent god and his close friend wasn’t dead and got to take the form of the person he always wished to be and the rest of his team had their loved ones back,   their dreams realized,   happiness on their faces...   he’s ashamed to admit it,   because he has never been one for taking the easy way out.   but the promise of things not hurting then was really tempting.   )

akira’s always been one to bottle his emotions anyway,   only letting his anger out when he’s joker   —   and even then,   with the exception of his awakening to arséne,   it’s an elegant,   righteous sort of anger.   he almost never lets out the pained,   uncontrollable anger of a teenager who’s been taken advantage of too many times.

the only time akira really gets time to process is when he materializes in juvenile detention after they defeat maruki.   and akira...    does not do well there.   he noticeably loses weight,   noticeably grows paler,   and if his friends were around,   they’d notice he’d grown more withdrawn than he already was.   he’s treated poorly there,   and he’s alone with his thoughts and he hates hates hates being alone and all he can do is finally,   finally be forced to think everything over.

and he's finally angry,   in the moments he’s alone,   at maruki for using goro’s life as leverage for his reality,   and for everything he did to sumire,   at yaldabaoth for using him for so long and splitting apart lavenza and encroaching on what he has recently learned is effectively a sacred place   (   that akira never,   ever wants to go back to,   even if the igor there now is genuine   ),   and at everyone who ever dared to hurt his friends.   he’s finally sad,   and lets himself properly mourn goro,   thinking over how he feels about what happened   (   he still blames himself   ).   he reflects on things as far back as kamoshida and shiho.   he finally feels all these ugly emotions he hates feeling because there’s nothing else for him to do and he’s in a miserable place and no one to distract him and they all bubble to the surface unbidden.

(   sometimes,   when the feelings get to be too much,   he lets himself fall into a depressive spiral.   other times,   he resorts to digging his nails into his arms or legs as a distraction.   )

when he gets back to leblanc,   while he gets to see his friends again,   the mismatched little found family of people he loves more than anyone else in the world,   he falls right back into old habits   (   if a bit more...   tired.   in both a physical and emotional sense   ),   sliding back into place his his unflappable mask and embodying the kid he’s been since he got to tokyo   —   naturally charismatic,   naturally cool,   and naturally unaffected by the rumors surrounding him   (   he was,   actually,   very disheartened by them   ).   he eventually,    a couple years down the line,   gets a real therapist but it takes a lot of gently pushing from even them to get him to truly open up about the dark depths of his heart.

[artekai]

I recently picked Mystic Messenger back up, and combined with my P5R brainrot, it gave me a crack crossover idea that just won’t leave me alone:

AU where Rika and V are Takuto’s parents.

Okay, hear me out for a second.

(Bear in mind that it’s been a year since I last played Mystic Messenger and I haven’t seen all the endings yet -- I haven’t played Rika’s Before Story or V’s After -- so this might not make any sense in canon and the characterization might be all over the place. Then again, it’s a crack AU, so…)

Major spoilers for both Mystic Messenger and Persona 5 Royal under the read more!

The beginning is fairly obvious. Rika and V are an inseparable couple, they get engaged, she gets pregnant. But then The Mint Eye thing happens.

Rika considers getting rid of the baby just because it’s V’s, but deep down she still has feelings for him. Plus, having a baby in the cult is like getting a new believer but without all the purifying process, right? So she keeps the child.

Rika treats Takuto similarly to how she treats MC: she’s strangely kind to him, she mostly keeps him away from the other believers, and she doesn’t force him to take the elixir or anything. She already sees Takuto as being purified, because he’s just a toddler, so no need for all those painful rituals; she just needs to raise him the way she wants. Of course, since he’s the savior’s son, all of the believers think he’s like Baby Jesus, so no one bothers him.

You know what happens then. Canon happens. I’m not sure what route and what ending would fit this, but it needs to be a route where they go to Mint Eye and save Saeran. Maybe V’s Normal Ending? I don’t know, I can’t remember if Saeran survives in that ending. Well, let’s assume he does because I need that for my sanity.

And if he doesn’t, then I don’t care tHIS IS A FIX-IT AU.

please let me have this.

So, anyways, they infiltrate Mint Eye, they save Saeran, and they find Takuto. Given that V has been infiltrating the Mint Eye for a while, he already knows about him, and by now he has figured out that that must be his child. Either way, they get him away from the cult before any “cleansing” can take place, and V and MC commit to taking care of him.

Takuto starts off as a very anxious kid, which is normal considering that a bunch of strangers suddenly took him away from his mother and everything he has ever known. He mainly sticks with Saeran (which isn’t good for either of them), but, over time, MC gets him to open up to her and V and, eventually, to the rest of the RFA. Of course, Rika already drilled her ideas of “true paradise” and “eternal happiness” into him, so V and MC take it upon themselves to decondition him and reeducate him. Their efforts pay off, as Takuto eventually manages to adjust to normal society fairly well, but you know that those cultish ideas will still linger in the back of his mind, even if he doesn’t realize it.

Though his memories of Mint Eye completely fade away with age, Takuto inherits V’s gentleness and self-sacrificial tendencies and Rika’s madness and obsession with eradicating pain. When he’s mature enough, he also learns about what happened around that time (but maybe he doesn’t have all the details), because V and MC are determined to not keep any more harmful secrets like they used to.

Anyways, growing up with the RFA fuels Takuto’s natural passion for helping people. Yoosung introduces him to cooking, Jaehee teaches him her work ethic, Saeyoung transfers him his love of cats and animals in general (which is why, in Takuto’s words, “they don’t seem to share the sentiment”), and Zen constantly reminds him to never give up his dreams, no matter how crazy they might seem. He tells him about how he ran away from home to pursue his dream career and has never regretted it since, which Takuto takes very seriously.

As for Jumin, Takuto thinks that he’s too cold-hearted, but he looks up to him for his managerial talent and admires the bond that he shares with his father. When V and MC are away from home, Jumin offers to babysit Takuto for them, so he gets many exclusive tours of C&R, where he starts dreaming of growing up to work on a project much larger than himself with experts in the field (read: leading a team of researchers and having his very own lab).

Takuto also sees that Saeyoung and Saeran are getting along well and slowly overcoming their trauma together, so he comes to believe that everyone can change for the better, and thus, that everyone deserves a second chance, regardless of the mistakes they’ve made in the past. This will come into play at least two times: First, in his reality, when he lets Akechi and most of the Palace Owners roam free; and, second, when he decides to turn his own life around after the change of heart.

Anyways, Takuto meets Rumi, begins dating her, graduates high school, goes to college, and gets engaged after a few years.

V has always felt uneasy about Takuto dating. He knows that Takuto is too nice for his own good, so a part of him is afraid that he’ll end up in an obsessive relationship like the one he had with Rika. But, when Takuto introduces Rumi to his family, he and MC can tell that she’s supportive, well-adjusted, and considerate of Takuto’s feelings, so they are happy for both of them.

And then the burglary thing happens.

Takuto closes himself off from friends and family, overcome with grief and guilt. He still keeps in contact with the RFA, but it’s only because he knows that they will only get more worried if he stops talking to them altogether. Everyone at RFA is concerned, but V especially so, because he understands the pain of losing your fiancée and blaming yourself for not being able to do something to help her, and he doesn’t want Takuto to deal with it on his own.

After Takuto rewrites Rumi’s memories, he tells the RFA the same thing he tells everyone: he and Rumi broke up and it was his fault. This isn’t the RFA’s first rodeo, so most of them can tell that he’s hiding something, but they’ve known him for a long time, they know he’s a good person, and they basically raised him, so they decide to trust him (for the most part).

Takuto isolates himself more and more, acting like he’s fine to avoid being a burden, convinced that he must solve his problems by himself, like his father does. V and MC can see where this is going, and the former keeps spamming the messenger, practically begging Takuto to give him a call and talk to him, or at least get some therapy. But Takuto insists that he’s okay, that he doesn’t want them to worry about him, and that he just hasn’t contacted them much because he’s busy with work.

V starts blaming himself for being unable to reach out to his son, but, when he realizes that Takuto got his self-blaming habit from him, and only blames himself further.

As for the other RFA members, Jumin thinks that Takuto needs time to grieve and that, if he doesn’t want to accept their help, there’s nothing they can do about it. Jaehee is disheartened but she reluctantly agrees, hoping that Takuto will go back to normal soon. Zen thinks that they should be doing more for him, and that, if they put enough effort into it, he will come around.

Yoosung might revert back to his old ways and question V on why he isn’t doing enough to help his own son. Seeing as Takuto is his cousin and everything he has left of Rika, I’m sure he's very protective of him...

Once they all get worried enough, Saeyoung tracks down Takuto with his hacking skills, but he doesn’t find anything suspicious, so they decide to respect his privacy. After all, V doesn’t want to get too obsessive and repeat the mistakes he made with Rika, so he decides to listen to Jumin’s advice and give Takuto some space, hoping he’s making the right choice.

Meanwhile, Takuto figures out that Shido is behind the conspiracy that took away his research, which only strengthens his resolve to keep everything a secret from the RFA. Shido is too similar to the Choi twins’ father, and Takuto is afraid that, if Saeyoung hears about this, he won’t let it go, which could bring back some awful memories from his childhood and the Mint Eye thing… Especially considering that Akechi is in a similar position to Saeran, except that, you know, at least his mother wasn’t deliberately cruel to him.

A lot of the sympathy that Takuto feels towards Akechi comes from his experience with the Choi twins. He can deduce that he’s being manipulated by Shido like how Saeran was manipulated by Rika, so he wants to save him just like how V saved the twins. That also applies to the Yoshizawa twins, since the two of them promised to always be together in pursuit of their dream, but Sumire was the “weaker” of the two and was secretly envious of Kasumi. All in all, the similarities are everywhere, which might, consciously or subconsciously, affect the way Takuto interacts with the PTs.

In any case, Takuto just wants to protect the PTs from the same kind of trauma that the RFA went through. But -- he isn’t like Rika, or so he tells himself. He’s convinced that his methods are right because they can save everyone without causing any more suffering. He’s pretty sure he’s sane (he’s not). Besides, Rika’s dream was originally pretty noble, so it should be fine as long as he doesn’t start drugging people, right?

(He will retraumatize them, hold them hostage, and brainwash them, though, because he doesn’t see it as such)

The third semester comes along. I’m sure you also know what happens here. Takuto gets a god complex, the PTs fight him, defeat him, steal his treasure, and they destroy his perfect reality.

After the change of heart, Takuto is crushed, so he goes back to V and MC and confesses the whole truth through tears. He profusely apologizes, fully aware of how he retraumatized all of the Phantom Thieves to guide them to ‘salvation’, not unlike what Rika did to the members of Mint Eye, and he takes responsibility, knowing that he should’ve asked for help much sooner.

V and MC are shocked and heartbroken, faced with the fact that their son suffered so much that he fell into insanity and no one even noticed. They feel as if, with all the trauma that the RFA has already gone through, they should’ve seen the warning signs, and they should’ve tried harder to help Takuto heal… but they know from experience there’s no guarantee that that would’ve solved anything, so it’s pointless to dwell in what-ifs.

V and MC listen to Takuto’s explanation. They don’t understand any of the cognitive psience stuff and they are sure that he’s delusional because of the whole reality thing, but they comfort him to the best of their abilities. MC tells Takuto that he’s not like Rika and that he can always make up for his past mistakes, while V assures him that it wasn’t his fault and that, if someone like V could get back on his feet after everything that happened with the Mint Eye, Takuto can do it too.

Takuto takes their advice to heart, choosing to leave counseling, seek therapy, and make amends with his former patients. The RFA supports him while he gets his life together (but Jumin didn’t teach him how to drive, of course… oh god please tell me Jumin didn’t teach him how to drive), and he begins (continues?) to volunteer for the association’s charity events, so that he can keep helping people in need. That’s around the time when the P5R ending happens.

And… yep. That’s pretty much it.

Bonus points if Takuto ends up introducing the RFA to the PTs and they all become a big, happy found family. Jaehee and Akiren can bond over coffee making, Yoosung and Ryuji can bond over games, Zen and Ann can bond over acting and modelling, Jumin and Makoto can bond over being robots, V and Yusuke can bond over art, Saeyoung and Futaba can bond over memes and hacking, Ray and Haru can bond over flowers, and Saeran and Akechi can bond over their hatred of their fathers, haha.

Anyways, this crack AU became way more serious and more wholesome than originally intended... Now I actually want this to be a thing, haha.

[selenacosmic]

*Gasp* It's open?? Yay! Hmm~~ what if MC is a princess from another world, and has zero interest with him from the very beginning. What does he feel when he feel attracted, fell in love, and is the one who confessed to her? Can I have it for Masamune, Ieyasu, Mitsuhide, Kenshin and Shingen? Ehehehe thank you ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Ooh! I loved this one! Thank you for the request ❤️❤️❤️

princess MC from another world.

Oda forces.

Masamune Date.

We are talking about the guy who flirts like he breathes. He will try to catch your attention with everything he got. He is intrigued that you refuse his advantages.

Honestly, he thinks it’s attractive that you don’t even blush from his flirty lines. He was captivated by you, and would excitedly follow you around like a little dog, just to get a cute reaction.

He knew you act as if you were too much for him, after all you would always say that you were a princess, and that in your world courting was something completely different from this one.

Don’t think this took his motivation, the man is a intense hurricane who won’t give up until he has you in his arms. What he thought was the most attractive thing? How you would put your finger against his lips when he would try to kiss you. This man melts when you do that.

But he finds out soon that his desperation was becoming bigger, he needed you! His passion towards you was becoming uncontrollable. That’s why he called you to his chambers, looking at you straight in the eyes with his only one.

“Kitty, I know that you normally don’t feel anything towards me. And that everything I did to seduce you failed. But I am crazy about you, please, consider my-!”

You kissed him, he finally was acting seriously towards you, and that’s what you wanted from him. He hugged you, finally feeling comfortable with you in his arms. Or rather, he was in your arms.

Ieyasu Tokugawa.

At first, he didn’t feel anything about you, he preferred to not care about a stranger who claims to be some kind of princess. But then again, he is intrigued by your intelligence, your sense of authority as well.

In your world, as a very respected princess, you were admired by your intelligence, how inspiring you could be and Ieyasu could feel that from you.

He began to ask himself if you were some kind of lord, except you were a princess. His interest in you didn’t match your lack of interest in him, and that somehow infuriated him. Why wouldn’t you look at him but would easily talk and laugh with hideyoshi?

He was beginning to ask himself if he really should persist in this, in trying to get attached with you. He was almost giving up until you actually started to talk to him more, care about him more. He was surprised how caring you could be towards someone, he started to feel something inside him, he was madly falling in love with you.

That’s why he confessed to you. He asked you to go to his room, he had something important to tell you.

“Listen, this is important. I will get it if you don’t feel the same way, but... I actually like you. No, I am sure that is more than just like. So stop giving attention to the others, I want your eyes on me.”

You were impressed by his boldness in this, and thought that his little blush was adorable. Be sure, this guy will do anything for you, even if he pretends to be annoyed. He really loves you.

Mitsuhide Akechi.

This guy was intrigued that you wouldn’t react to his teasing, not even a little blush. He was curious about your real identity, as you would often show the dynamic of a princess and a lord. Who were you, anyway?

You were always a princess who fought for the justice of your people, and that each person should be treated equally, and that is what makes mitsuhide have it bad for you. And mitsuhide is canonically content with a one-side love, as he doesn’t want his beloved involved in his schemes.

But with just the right persuasion, he will want to monopolize you to himself, and never let go by teasing and loving you endlessly. But even though you would persue him to want better credit than what everyone would give him, it wasn’t enough. You made Mitsuhide want more, he wanted you to be by his side.

That’s why he brought you to his chambers, holding your hands gently. He looked at you in the eyes.

“MC, you would always say to me to want more, that I deserved better. You gave me the courage and hope to say this to you. Be my wife, and i shall cherish you forever.”

He was head over heals for you, Mitsuhide loved you very much, and wanted to have your love. You made him want so much more.

Uesugi-Takeda forces.

Kenshin Uesugi.

Just like Ieyasu, he isn’t that interested in you at first. But your skills as a noble person were impressive! In that era and world, princess were educated to be more delicate, normally good for marriages in exchange for alliances. But in your world, the gender didn’t interfere in your commanding presence, in your skills as a leader etc.

He was getting more interested in you by the second, you were the woman he founded intriguing and a worth opponent in spar. He started to want you, as his goddess of war, his wife, everything! Your view about the world was refreshing, you were beautiful in every way possible!

But he noticed that you weren’t that interested in him when it comes to the romantic way, and that frustrated him. Kenshin wanted your attention towards him, he couldn’t act calm without your love.

That’s why one day, he performed kabedon with you, he cornered you against a wall, looking at you desperately.

“I need you. Be mine, or I won’t have peace, you are the one that never gave up on me even in my most miserable state.”

When you accept his love and reciprocated it, Kenshin gave you a very passionate kiss.

Shingen takeda.

We are talking about the guy who flirts like he breathes-2

Shingen will praise your beauty, worship your beautiful heart, offer irresistible suggestions to try and seduce you, but you wouldn’t even blush. He was beginning to feel heartbroken.

You said you were a princess? Yes, his princess. But you seemed to be well known with strategies and was good with a sword, you were a warrior princess. This man was like a puppy following you around in awe, in love with this powerful princess who looked like the goddess of war herself.

It’s canon that shingen have the hots for a girl who is strong, stands her ground and will show how much a fighter she can be. But also praises a beautiful and delicate heart who demands justice. Show him your strength honestly and he will be puddle in your hands.

But his love for you was stronger than anything else, Shingen took you to a flower fields and held both your hands tightly.

“My love, my princess, I can not live without your glowing light shining above me. Please, I ask you to accept my eternal passion towards you.”

He kissed your hands, and when he received an yes from you, he kissed your lips hard.

◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸◹◸

Thank you for reading! If you wish to see more of my work, check out my masterlist.

[houseisekai]

House Isekai: Shadowbringers - Finale (Part 1): The Heroes’ Gauntlet

House Isekai Shadowbringers AU Masterlist Here

—

With the deaths of Rhea and Thales, the merging of the worlds has been brought to an even worse condition instead of bringing peace.

Lahabrea and Sothis are left with no option, but to enact Plan B...

[Tears in the Rain - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers]

The world continued to shake violently as everyone tried to gain a footing.

None of this made any sense.

They had stopped Rhea and Thales.

What was missing?!

The School-Living Club helped up Class VII while Doomguy grabbed Ainz’s arm and pulled him up.

(Ainz) “...M-My thanks.”

Doomguy nodded in affirmation and turned to the others, shrugging.

(Byleth) “Sothis, can you hear me?! SOTHIS!”

“...”

(Sitri) “She keeps saying...stop them...what did she mean?”

(Lahabrea) “She meant Rhea and Thales right, did we not kill them?!”

He turned around and saw Thale’s body, but the Immaculate One was slowly starting to fade away, in the same manner Megumi, Minato, and Minako.

Before anyone could make a move, she shattered into light particles, the shaking finally stopping.

(Rean) “That...That tower is in our worlds! They’ll get killed if we don’t do something!”

(Yu) “The shadows attacking our world weren’t powerful enough to cause a major threat, but if the towers keep forming...”

(Yuuri) “We have to do something! The infection can’t reach your worlds too!”

(Kazuma) “Well what the fuck do we do, Wakasa?! No, LAHABREA! TELL US, WHAT’S THE NEXT BEST IDEA, HUH?!”

(Lahabrea) “...”

(Sothis) “...”

Byleth was about to say something before he was brought to his knees again, coughing out blood.

Everyone stopped when they saw what was happening.

Byleth was coughing white blood.

(Sitri) “B...Byleth?!”

(Akira) “The angel infection!”

(Edelgard) “We need healers, NOW!”

Several people ran up to Byleth and began casting physic, and it seemed to ease his coughing a little.

(Dimitri) “What’s the plan?”

(Claude) “You...You guys don’t even have one for this scenario, do you?”

(Lahabrea) “We do.”

(Yuri) “Well, we’re waiting!”

(Sothis) “You won’t like it.”

(Aigis) “Anything would be better than standing around doing nothing-”

(Lahabrea) “We reverse time while you all get the hell out of here.”

(Aqua) “...Okay that’s DEFINITELY NOT BETTER, YOU WANT TO WHAT?!”

(Rean) “Didn’t you say that using your...Divine Pulse or whatever was the thing causing all of this? Why would you-”

(Lahabrea) “OUR ONLY OPTION IS TO TRY THAT, OR HAVE ALL OF US GET KILLED, REAN! IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY BETTER IDEA, PLEASE TELL ME!”

“...”

(Lahabrea) “...That’s what I thought.”

(Sothis) “I’m preparing the portal now.”

(Yuuri) “What?”

(Lahabrea) “If we can use the energy from the Tower in Zanado, we can give you guys a way home.”

(Kazuma) “And the towers in their worlds?”

(Lahabrea) “...We’ll figure something out.”

(Byleth) “Hell no. That’s too big of a risk to gamble for everyone! What about the people left in Fodlan?! What’ll happen to us?!”

(Sitri) “There’s got to be some other way than just-”

The world began to shake again as Sothis opened up a portal back to Garreg Mach.

(Sothis) “Everyone, inside now.”

(Aigis) “Please, listen to us!-”

(Lahabrea) “This is for your own good everyone...Goodbye. Sothis-.”

She nodded and closed her eyes.

A glowing phantom of Valimar appeared behind them and shoved them into the portal.

Lahabrea and Sothis heard short screams and cursing, but they tried to ignore it as the portal shut behind them.

(Lahabrea) “...How long do you think it’ll take us?”

(Sothis) “Don’t know. We need to see the state of the tower, assuming it doesn’t collapse on us.”

(Lahabrea) sigh “Right...”

They teleported away to the Tower in Zanado...

...

Everyone landed in the courtyard in Garreg Mach Monastery.

(Albedo) “That damn...!”

(Yuki) “Ow...!”

(Akechi) “Quit you’re bitching, we’re alive. Though, if those idiots succeed in what they’re doing-”

(Teddie) “Everyone, look...!”

Teddie pointed ahead of them and they saw multiple portals near the dorms.

Each of them opened up to a specific area that each group recognized.

The Persona Users and Kazuma’s group had their homes, Ainz had the Tomb of Nazarick, Class VII had Thor’s Military Academy, the School-Living Club had the school, and Doomguy had his base.

(Kazuma) “That’s...That’s our ticket home...?”

It had been such a long time since any of them saw any part of their original worlds. Some had been in Fodlan longer than others.

(Byleth) “...It would seem that way.”

Yu was the first to approach his portal. It was a portal back into the Dojima residence. He poked his head around inside, and it didn’t feel like it would close. At least not yet.

He put his hand onto the nearest object to the portal and grabbed it, going out of the portal and squeezing it. It was just the TV remote, yet it felt like it had ages since he saw anything familiar that brought him comfort.

(Yuri) “So...it seems like he wasn’t playing you for fools.”

(Dimitri) “That’s something I’ve been thinking about...All this time, he’s been looking out for you all, even if it has been in a gruff manner. Even us, to some extent.”

(Edelgard) “If what he said about our past is true-”

(Claude) “Hang on now, we seriously can’t be considering just following what he says! Even if it does work out fine for them, what will happen to us?!”

(Byleth) “We could get caught in an infinite loop just like he was...Or rather, is.”

(Ainz) “And there’s no garuntee that we wouldn’t caught in it ourselves. After all, our memories are scrambled at the moment.”

(Aigis) “Data indicates we are in the same year as Yu and Akira, although we are in our past appearances.”

(Rean) “And, we forgot each time we were in the loop...What happens if we forget all of this? About the tower, about each other?”

[Rally - Red vs Blue OST]

“...”

(Sitri) “He...He has been the one with you this entire time, going by what he says.”

(Byleth) “What does that make me? A failed imitation?”

(Yuuri) “And...he said everything you know is because of him, right?”

Doomguy shrugged as the others similarly struggled for the right answer.

(Kazuma) “Wait a sec, Sitri. That voice we all heard was Sothis right, she was just saying “Stop them”. What if that meant...Lahabrea and Sothis?”

(Everyone) !!!

(Ainz) “What? Why wouldn’t she have said it sooner?”

(Sharon) “Perhaps the tower had something to do with it? The more violent it was, the more we were able to hear her, after all.”

(Towa) “I-I’m not sure if we COULD stop him. If he knows inside and out, wouldn’t he know how we fight and what our weaknesses are?”

(Crow) “Plus, he could summon those Phantom things, right? We’d get overwhelmed pretty quickly.”

(Yu) “Seems like the odds are stacked against us. That’s never stopped us before-”

(Dimitri) “But his aim is not to kill us. It’s to save us. I don’t think killing Lahabrea is the right answer-”

(Edelgard) “I sincerely doubt he will listen to reason.”

(Yuri) “And plus if we do wanna stop him, we gotta get to that tower! We’re all the way in Garreg Mach. If we use Rean’s golem thing to teleport, we could be lacking some serious heavy hitters!”

Doomguy checked the ammunition on his guns. It was low, and he shook his head.

(Sara) “Byleth...what IS our plan?”

(Byleth) “I...I don’t know.”

“...”

No one said anything for what seemed like an eternity. All of them faced each other or the ground, unsure of what to do.

None of this felt right. If they got it wrong, then it could mean the end of ALL their worlds, and not just Fodlan.

If they fought back, then they would no doubt get completely overwhelmed.

And if by some miracle they did reach Lahabrea, could they even stop him with both Sothis and his knowledge of them.

Yuki came back to the group, wielding a sword she grabbed from the armory.

(Yuuri) “Y-Yuki?”

(Yuki) “If you do go back...Thank you for being my friend.”

She had a relatively large bag on her as she moved towards the gate.

(Kazuma) “Hey, where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

Kazuma and his group ran over to block Yuki’s path.

(Darkness) “Are you-”

(Yuki) “I’m going to the Tower, with or without everyone.”

(Megumin) “What?! But you’d get killed, not even mentioning the journey there!”

(Yuki) “I know, but we have to try something!”

(Miki) “Yuki-senpai, maybe you should-”

(Yuki) “Think about it? Don’t worry, I have.”

Everyone turned to Yuki. She could feel the pressure of all their gazes on her, but she stood her ground.

(Yuki) “There was a promise I made to Megu-nee before all of this happened. Even if I’m scared, and which I really am, I won’t stop. I’m sad Megumi, Minato and Minako are...gone. But even if that’s the case, I have to keep going. For them, and the people still here.”

She blinked away tears she felt forming and straightened her posture.

(Yuki) “And for this case...we all have each other. Lahabrea may have called our meeting a mistake, Byleth an accident, and that we don’t remember everything, but I don’t care! Even if these feelings I have aren’t real, they’re real to me! I don’t care if our meeting was a mistake, you’re all still my friends.”

She awkwardly held the sword in her hands. In all honesty, she could barely hold it, but she refused to back down now.

(Yuki) “And if I can fight or scream or cry about it to change something, then I’ll do it. If I go into that portal now, I could never bring myself to tell Megumi I ran away. I ran away from the problems I’m facing, and that I ran away from all of you.”

“...”

(Yuki) “If you don’t want to go with me, I understand. But I’m going, and that’s final.”

(Kurumi) “Not without us you aren’t.”

[High Treason - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

Kurumi put her shovel onto her shoulders and nodded.

(Kurumi) “We’re the School-Living Club, we stick together!”

Yuuri and Miki stepped forward as well.

(Miki) “I can’t leave either, not now, not any of you.”

(Yuuri) “You have us, Yuki-chan.”

Doomguy stepped forward activating his wristblade and hitting his chest with his fist.

(Kazuma) grumbling “Fine. FINE. Just...ugh, be careful.”

(Aqua) “Hah...You know what? The Goddess of water can spare this kindness for you. With me, you won’t fail!”

(Darkness) “You have my sword.”

(Megumin) “AND MY EXPLOSIONS!”

Doomguy, the School-Living Club, and Kazuma’s group stepped behind Yuki.

(Akira) “There were many times when the Phantom Thieves faced similar odds and risks. And we never backed down from them. This time, not any different.”

(Aigis) “Minato and Minako gave their lives originally for us to continue living our lives, facing whatever may come our way head on. It would be a disgrace to abandon that chance.”

(S.E.E.S) “Yeah!” Bark!

(Yu) “We’ve faced down gods before, this isn’t too different. We’ll find the truth here, as we always have!”

The Persona users stood behind Yuki.

(Ainz) “...I decreed at our first meeting you were to be under the protection of Ainz Ooal Gown. I don’t break promises.”

Ainz slammed his staff onto the floor, the Denizens of Nazarick bowing.

(Rean) “I think I can safely speak for Class VII when I say, we will never leave a classmate behind, and we won’t run away from any challenges thrown our way, especially if it means saving our friends.”

House Isekai stood united, with Yuki looking at Byleth.

(Yuki) “No matter what he tells us...You’ll always be our one and only Byleth. And you all, our friends. Edelgard, Yuri, Claude, Dimitri...All of you. We won’t leave you to your fates.”

(Edelgard) “...Hah, amazing speech, Takeya. The Adrestian Empire thanks you all for your service.”

(Yuri) “Shame you guys didn’t work for us. Would’ve been one hell of a PR.”

(Dimitri) “I do not have the words to thank you all...Instead, I can only offer you my strength.”

(Claude) “So, we got the sappy stuff outta ‘em. What say you, Teach?”

Byleth was shocked by the sheer loyalty they had. That everyone still had.

It made his chest swell with pride for the class he had the privilege of teaching. Letting this go to waste would be a crime in of itself.

(Sitri) “...I do not think we are ones to run from our troubles, are we?”

Byleth smiled and held his sword tightly.

(Byleth) “Students of Garreg Mach...We have our mission.”

(Byleth) “Our mission is to stop Lahabrea and Sothis from using the tower to rewind time. Above all else, you WILL survive together, and graduate from Garreg Mach as proper students.”

(Kazuma) “...Wow, that was really lame-”

(Kurumi) “KAZUMA!”

(Kazuma) “What? We’re about to go stop universes from colliding and all he can do is bring up school? Psh. Even Schwarzer can come up with better cheesy speeches.”

(Sara) “...He kinda has a point-”

(Rean) “Instructor Sara you are not making things better.”

Byleth rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

(Byleth) “When he sees us there, prepare for the most extreme resistance on the way.”

(Claude) “The Investigation Team and my group have been inside the tower once. We can lead the way.”

(Byleth) “Understood.”

(Yuki) “Um...Actually, Megumin did have a good point earlier. How are we gonna get there in time?”

(Yuri) “Something tells me you got something planned other than the golem?”

Byleth nodded and turned to Sitri.

(Byleth) “They said to us before they resurrected Sitri for her connection to Sothis. What if we tried to teleport like they did?”

(Sitri) “Can...Can I do that?”

(Dimitri) “Suppose there’s only one way to find out.”

Everyone took a step back from Sitri as she raised her hand and concentrated.

She took a deep breath and clenched her hand.

“...”

“...”

(Aqua) “Nothing’s happening-”

(Akechi) “No shit.”

KAFOOOM!

The world began to shake as a portal opened in front of the group.

(Dedue) “Huh. She did it.”

(Hilda) “WOOOH, GO MOMMA BYLETH!”

(Hubert) “Please refrain from calling her that-”

(Byleth) “I second that-”

(Sitri) “Um...”

Sitri examined herself and turned back to them in confusion.

(Sitri) “...That wasn’t me.”

(Akira) “...W-What now?”

[The Heroes’ Gauntlet - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

From the portal stepped out the Velvet Attendees.

(Marie) “Yu, why are you guys just standing around?!”

(Yu) “What the-What are you doing out of the Velvet Room?!”

(Elizabeth) “Worlds are being...how do you say?”

(Theodore) “Excuse the crude language, BUT ROYALLY SCREWED!”

(Aigis) “What?!”

(Lavenza) “Please stop asking questions, we are barely holding off the shadows in your respective worlds as it is!”

(Margaret) “Time is of the essence, go now. Do NOT stop.”

All 5 attendees pointed towards the portal, which led into Inaba.

(Byleth) “You heard the ladies, GARREG MACH, MOVE IT!”

As everyone jumped through the portal, the world began to shake.

The streets of Inaba had soldiers and police officers taking down Shadows, one of the officers being Dojima. The skies were the same pale white color they had seen everywhere.

(Officer) “D-Dojima, sir! Isn’t that-”

(Dojima) “What in the hell, Yu?!”

(Yu) “Dojima!”

(Soldier) “HERE THEY COME!”

Before the soldiers could open fire, Margaret brought out a tarot card and summoned a Persona with two large katanas which split them in half.

(Soldier) “What the hell did that Lady just?”

(Margaret) “Apologies for distracting you despite what I said, this is one of the only safe passages.”

She snapped her fingers and another portal opened up, this time leading into what seemed like an empty field.

Before Byleth went in, a massive robot similar to Valimar flew past, blasting apart what appeared to be glowing orange phantoms.

(Rean) “Isn’t that...?”

(Juna) “Instructor?!”

The group jumped through the portal and saw a massive tower in the field, the giant suits engaging the targets as students ran around with their weapons opening fire. The skies were the same pale white color.

(Kurt) “Instructor Rean? Why...are you so young looking?”

(Altina) “This is not an appropiate time to be asking.”

(Musse) “Oooh, he was so handsome when he was our age~”

(Ash) “Knock it off will ya?!”

Ash used his scythe to slice apart a Phantom that got too close to the group.

(Ash) “You gonna sit there or get your ass moving?!”

(Rean) “R-Right!”

They all moved past, engaging phantoms as they tried to find the next portal.

(Elliot) “Rean, we’ll stay and help these students out!”

(Angelica) “Need our strongest in that tower, we’d just slow you down!”

(Crow) “Meet ya when we’re done here, yeah?”

Rean nodded and disbanded with the rest of Class VII.

Through the next portal, Kazuma’s group was the first ones in, slamming straight into another girl.

(Megumin) “H-Hey, watch-!!!”

(Yunyun) “MEGUMIN, WHAT THE HECKS GOING ON?! THERE’S THIS TOWER THAT SHOWED UP AND-”

Megumin hit her with her staff and yelled.

(Megumin) “PORTAL, NOW!”

(Yunyun) “OW, W-WHAT?!”

Kazuma hit Megumin on the back of the head.

(Kazuma) “She doesn’t make the portals YOU FUCKING MORON! Sorry Yunyun, hold out as long as you can! Get Wiz ASAP!”

She nodded, obviously confused.

As they were trying to find the next exit, they saw several spellcasters wiping out more orange phantoms. They appeared to resemble soldiers, but upon closer inspection-

(Dimitri) “Are those Kingdom soldiers?!”

(Claude) “N-No, some of them are Alliance-”

(Edelgard) “Imperials too!”

(Yuri) “Think Lahabrea is trying to stop us?”

(Byleth) “No, he wouldn’t send soldiers to attack all of their homeworlds indiscriminately if he was trying to save us, I think the towers are just going out of control.”

(Aqua) “At least they’re in worlds we know, right?”

They stepped through the next portal and were immediately confronted by 8 foot tall soldiers heavily clad in armor with massive rifles thundering in their ears.

(Ainz) “Aqua do you ever know when to shut the hell up?”

The environment they were in was clearly a different planet, yet there was the tower and the pale white skies.

One of the soldiers turned around and spoke through his helmet.

(Yuuri) “Y-Yes?”

The soldier stepped in front of the School-Living Members as arrows failed to pierce through his armor.

(Massive Armored Soldier) “The Librarians spoke of your arrival. Head through the ruins ahead for safe passage. We shall guard you all with our lives, professor.”

(Byleth) “T-Thank you?”

(Massive Armored Soldier) “SPACE MARINES, ADVANCE! SHOW THEM NO MERCY!”

More soldiers clad in the same armor moved forward, their rifles almost deafening everyone as several accompanied them into a ruined building. Countless dead aliens littered the floor as they moved into the portal.

(Soldier) “May the Emperor watch over you.”

(Edelgard) “Uh-”

(Soldier) “Not you.”

The next portal they stepped into was resembled a tomb of some sort, luckily it was a wide enough area for them to enter.

(Giant Cockroach) “LORD AINZ, IS THAT YOU?”

Almost everyone had a kneejerk reaction upon seeing it.

A giant cockroach wielding a crown, cape, and cane ran up to him, hundreds of cockroaches skittering behind him as they tried to halt more orange phantoms.

(Ainz) “Kyouhukou! Everyone is to be on max alert until I get back! We’ll explain everything later! Floor Guardians, you are to defend Nazarick with your lives”

(Kyouhukou) “U-Understood milord!”

(Floor Guardians) “Yes, Lord Ainz!”

The Floor Guardians and Pleiades reluctantly followed the giant cockroach as they drew their weapons.

(Kyouhukou) “Milord, one of my children will lead the way to a portal from which they spawn!”

(Ainz) “Appreciated!”

(Yuri) “That...was traumatizing.”

(Byleth) “Keep moving!”

The cockroach on the floor led them to the portal as promised and everyone hopped through.

(Claude) “Ya know, why are we just hopping through other worlds JUST to get to the tower, we couldn’t have just chosen a place right outside the tower?”

(Yuki) “Like that?”

Everyone looked to where Yuki was pointing out.

The portal indeed led into Fodlan.

It was also being swarmed with orange phantoms and catastrophic shaking.

(Claude) “...Other worlds it is! Speaking of where are-”

CRUNCH!

Everyone turned to Dimitri, who had stepped on a crop. Or, rather several.

(Dimitri) “What in the-”

CLANG!

An orange phantom fell behind Dimitri, exploding into light particles. And where the phantom was, a young farmer was there, holding a claymore.

(Young Farmer) “Professor, move towards the Airship landing, oh and someone else who knows you will have something for you!”

(Hilda) “How do these people know who we are if we’ve never met them!?”

(Hubert) “Did you not hear what he said, GET MOVING!”

As everyone ran off, a sword dropped off near Miki’s foot, which she turned to face who threw it.

A small fairy floated next to the girl, and both of them ran from their stall over to the guards.

(Miki) “T-Thank you...?!”

Another portal opened up in front of them as they were moving and were almost crushed by several armored colored soldiers. All of them were firing their weapons behind the groups as they were running forward.

(Red colored soldier) “COME ON DIRTBAGS, HURRY IT UP!”

(Aqua Colored Soldier) “SWISH!”

The aqua colored one moved forward and sliced a Phantom in half with some sort of energy sword.

(Aqua Colored Soldier) “HOHO DUDE, THAT WAS TOTALLY FUCKING AWESOME-”

(Gray and Yellow accented soldier) “Shut up and focus Tucker. Hey! Portals at the end of the pier get moving! Everyone, onto the next portal!”

(Dark Blue Colored Soldier) “GOODBYE GARREG MACH FRIENDS!”

(Aqua Colored Soldier) “Caboose, shut the fuck up and get moving!”

The group thought it best to ignore...whatever that was and kept moving. Though they did appreciate the fire support.

The portal at the airship showed the Zanado Tower at long last.

(Kazuma) “Thank god, LET’S GO!”

Everyone hopped through it, only to plummet down from a cliff.

As everyone screamed in terror, giant winged creatures resembling pterodactyls picked them up with wire, flying them towards the tower.

(Sitri) “W-Wha?!”

As they looked around, they noticed a man in red armor flying next to them.

The armored man waved enthusiastically to them, and it was only then they noticed a cat in armor holding a small club was dangling off his leg, flying back into another portal.

As they landed in front of the tower, they saw orange phantoms appear in front of the gate with weapons drawn.

(Rean) “Alright, LET’S GET THEM-”

Another portal opened next to them, and from it, what appeared to be a child came running out, expertly cutting all of them down with a sword.

When the child finished and sheathed his sword, it looked a lot like Byleth’s.

In fact, it looked exactly the same, including the child.

(Edelgard) “Uh-”

(Child resembling Byleth) “Not a word. Don’t bring up the age, and do NOT get distracted. I have no idea what you guys caused, just fix it.”

An arrow flew out of the portal, almost hitting him as he ducked down. He reached for his hilt and turned to the older Byleth.

(Child resembling Byleth) “Oh, and tell Sothis I said hi.”

With that, he ran back into the portal, which closed immediately after.

(Aigis) “Beginning door breach!”

Everyone nodded and drew their weapons out.

(Hubert) “Your majesty, enemies approaching!”

(Darkness) “Haha...that’s a LOT of them!”

(Constance) “Do NOT MAKE THAT NOISE-”

(Ann) “Final stand?”

(Yosuke) “Yeah, you guys go kick ass!”

(Mitsuru) “Leave command to us, Aigis. Go.”

(Yuri) “Think this is more of your business than mine, honestly.”

(Sitri) “Yuuri, you and the others are with me!”

(Yuki, Kurumi, Miki, Yuuri) “Right!” “Got it!” “Feel a LOT safer that way.”

When the tower doors opened there were only a handful of people entering.

The fate of all their worlds lay in the hands of Byleth, Sitri, Edelgard, Claude, Dimitri, Rean, Doomguy, Ainz, Aigis, Kazuma, the School-Living Club, Yu and Akira.

TO BE CONCLUDED IN:

[ace-pancake-detective]

Guess what? Jacket can write. Kinda. Enjoy this protag X Goro comntent or whatever, ig. SPOILERS!!!! FOR P5R. -------- “I’m not sure why you stick around.” He muttered. Using a straw to swirl the ice around in his glass, he seemed unsure of whether to continue with such a depressing thought line. “I’m not exactly the best person to be around, so why?” He couldn’t look up at the other, one he was actively supposed to be on a date with. The black haired protagonist sat there, in silence, considering his words before deciding to tell the truth. “Because I owe you. For being unable to stop your suffering, the first time.” He took a sip of his smoothie, considering exactly what to respond with. Did the man in front of him really have the audacity to think that way? What did he even owe? “It was nothing. You may have ruined a plan that took years to plan and prepare, but you still took my dying request to heart. You took care of Shido, isn’t that enough?” The silence that sat between them both made the air thick with tension, but neither of them would say anything. After all, this was the one thing they’d always disagree on: The actual value of Akechi Goro’s life. If only Maruki hadn’t decided to try and play God. Then maybe, the both of them could have been at peace with their decisions, the phantom thieves coming to an end, and the detective prince disappearing and being forgotten forever. That’s now how it went, though. “I don’t think it’s enough. You’re back for a reason, Goro. Doesn’t that make you think I owe you something?” The detective finally looked up at his unfortunate partner, the glove that was given months before this sat on the table. His eyes seemed to widen, expression softening just a little. “...Do I really have to spell it out for you? Maruki is using my life to try and get you to accept this reality. I’m not worth it, so why are you so hesitant?” He growled, folding his arms, shuffling in his seat. There’d be no real reason for Joker to accept this world, after all, if hr came to realise what dies needs to stay dead. “I’m hesitant because I finally have a chance to save what I couldn’t before-” “If you want to save me that badly, you’ll let me pass from this world like I should have. I’m not worth as much as you think I am, so take whatever stupid guilt you have, and turn it into a reason to fight by my side.” He seemed to stand, brushing himself down a little. Folding his arms, a hard glare down his nose being the only look he can give to express his annoyance. Joker sat there, staring at the ground, cupping his hands together between his legs, anxiety causing his leg to bounce a little. “...I’ll fight tomorrow. On one condition.” Slowly looking up, he reached to grab the other by the shirt. Tugging him down, Joker had this final chance to show his true feelings… As their lips collided, he felt much more at ease with what had to be done. Only a few seconds passed, before the detective pulled away. “Is that seriously your condition? Disgusting-” “Actually, my condition was that you’d stay here, tonight.” “...I hate you.”

[electricea-archive]

@blackmasks​​ continued from here.

“So, your idea of dealing with your boredom is to poke me...?” That was definitely a...different way to alleviate boredom.

Still, he was feeling pretty bored himself all things considered.  Boss and his  friend were nowhere to be found and he could only look up at the television for so long.  Funny how things worked - there was once a time where he thought he’d never get sick of hearing about the Phantom Thieves and yet by now, it was all just starting to sound like the same old crap to him, especially when it was coming from people who had no idea what they were talking about.  Still, he tried not to let stuff like that get to him - and at this rate, maybe he should try to converse with Akechi, if it would stop the poking.

“...The curry, honestly,” He admits, feeling a little awkward at actually making conversation with Akechi.  “Never thought I was much of a curry guy before, but this place has seriously changed my mind about it,”

[akirakurusuimagines]

The Reaper’s Game

@p5auweek​ day five: Crossover with another fandom AU (The World Ends With You)

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. 

Akira looked up at the figure he once partially considered an ally, his vision hazy, head spinning, and body numb, the combination of drugs, exhaustion, and failure weighing heavily on the boy who stood up against fate. He had barely processed the muffled gunshot that Akechi fired at the guard who let him in and the subsequent thud on the floor of the corpse, much less the way that the same gun was aimed at him, ready to take his own. 

Akechi spoke, but Akira could barely hear him. His blood was pounding in his ears, arms trembling ever-so-slightly. He didn’t want to die… but he had failed, and this was the consequence of his hubris. Memories of a blue butterfly’s words rang in his head: this is truly an unjust game; your chances of winning are almost none. Where did things go wrong? 

“Case closed,” Akira finally processed the words, his eyes widening as the barrel hovered right over his forehead, the smoking gun ready to fire once more. “This is how your ‘justice’ ends.” 

Akira felt an electrifying shock of pain followed by the sound of the muffled gunfire, and then...nothing. 

Only darkness. 

Emptiness. 

The leader of the Phantom Thieves that took the nation by storm was dead. 

“Nngh…” the bustling sounds of Shibuya crossing made Akira’s ears ache. It took him several moments to come to complete consciousness, feeling the rough texture of concrete against his face. He slowly sat up, dizzy, surprised to see where he was⁠— why was he here? Was this some sort of sick joke? He died, he knew he did! And yet, there he was, a familiar spot in Tokyo, full of people of all ages who ignored him, simply walking on the striped lines, aiming for a destination he couldn’t possibly guess.

Akira felt queasy thinking about his own death, not wanting to remember the strange sensation of having his brains blown out. Akira’s shaky hand came up and pressed against his forehead, trying to feel for where the bullet went through, but searched as he might, he found nothing. It was just his fluffy black hair and his smooth skin. He sighed in relief, honestly unsure of what he would’ve done if it turned out that he did have the wound on his face. This was all too confusing. Was it a dream? Akira wasn’t sure, but he figured nothing would change if he just sat there all day. 

He stood up, but the unmistakable gentle clink of something dropping caught his attention. A pin? He didn’t recognize it, but figured it must’ve been on his person. Akira looked around for a moment to see if anyone was searching for it before he knelt down and took it in his hand, tossing it up in the air and catching it, only to feel a strangely familiar sensation. My third eye? He was astonished with how it activated without his prompting, and clutched the strangely designed pin in his hand once more, noting the way it dissipated. 

“What the hell is going on…?” Akira mumbled, shoving the pin in the blazer’s pocket of his school uniform and fishing around for his phone or any other interesting things he had for some odd reason or another. He wondered if he’d even have it, considering the police confiscated it when he was arrested. The sudden weight in his front pocket accompanied by his ringtone made Akira nearly jump out of his skin, and he scrambled to retrieve it.

Reach 109. 

You have 60 minutes. 

Fail, and face erasure. 

The Reapers 

Akira stared at the message for several seconds, wondering if he should take it seriously. He made note of the time, just in case, but began to scroll through his phone in hopes that he would be able to contact someone⁠. His phone did say that he had full signal, so he didn’t think it would be a problem, until he realized that he couldn’t back out of the message. 

“What?” Akira tried and tried again, each time resulting in failure, no matter what he did or what he tried. Not even the small hacks Futaba had taught him were useless. “Ouch⁠—!” a sudden sting of pain erupted in his left hand, as if he had been burned with a branding iron. He turned it over, eyes widening as he watched as a timer ticked away on his hand, something he believed should be impossible, yet it made the threat on his phone much more terrifying. Erasure… what did that even mean?

He didn’t have time to ponder anything as strange symbols began to float in his peripheral vision, every nerve in his body screaming for him to run. But he couldn’t. Akira’s feet were frozen in place as he watched the symbols manifest into creatures that oddly resembled shadows, clearly intent on swarming him. “This isn’t the Metaverse, what the hell is going on?!” he was frustrated, and rightfully so, barely dodging a swipe from something that seemed like a bear, if not for the colors and painted-on appearance of its arms.

“Damn it⁠—” Akira seethed, looking for a way out. Luckily, even if it wasn’t the Metaverse, his experience from being Joker was a great advantage he had under his belt. Spotting an opening, Akira ducked under the monster’s swing, feeling rather light, and made a bolt for the crowd, breathing heavily as he continued to run, only stopping when he was sure he lost sight of them. 

“Somebody! Anybody!” Akira yelled out, the strange pit of despair welling up in his stomach as he slowly came to the realization that no one was intentionally ignoring him⁠— they couldn’t see him. Nor those creatures, apparently. Was he in some sort of hell? He never thought it would be like this when he died. Maybe if he was a little more religious, he could’ve avoided this. 

Akira noticed he had run all the way towards Hachiko, right next to the train station. He should be able to get to Yongen from there, but remembering the message on his phone made his skin crawl. 109 was his destination— it was better to figure out what was going on first, especially with that ominous threat.

“Aaaahhh!!” A series of shrill shrieks snatched Akira’s attention, and he watched in horror as those very same monsters he believed he had outrun were attacking those he thought to be civilians. In a matter of seconds, several people disappeared from the crowd as if they were never there to begin with. 

He stumbled back, watching the shadow-esque creatures approach him. They… they were erased. It made sense to him now, but that didn’t solve the problem of how he was going to escape these things. He could only run for so long, and they seemed relentless. Still⁠— he didn’t have much of a choice. Akira took one last look at the impending doom before sprinting away, only to collide with you, causing you both to tumble, with him landing on top of you. 

“I’m so sorry, I have to go⁠—!” Akira exclaimed, just barely figuring out the fact that he could touch you, and his shock only increased when you cupped his cheeks out of the blue, not moving to push him off of you or anything. 

“There’s no time, make a pact with me! Now!” 

He thought you were a little crazy, being so bold and then suddenly asking for a pact? “What?” 

“Just agree! We’ll both be erased if you don’t! Hurry!” 

Akira took one look over his shoulders and shuddered, seeing them approach. “A-Alright,” he nodded, adrenaline pulsing through his veins. “I accept⁠—” 

No sooner than he uttered those words did a wave of light wash over you two, and a strange feeling not unlike the one he felt as he created new bonds secured your fate with his.

“Look out!” somehow, you seemed to know what you were doing, hastily apologizing before kicking him off of you, barely dodging yourself as one of those large beasts slammed its fist down on the ground where you two were just laying, standing up and getting into an offensive position. “Can you fight?”

“I⁠ don’t—” 

“Just try!” 

Akira looked skeptical as he rose, though he figured that considering the Metaverse and personas existed, there must be a way to fight. It couldn’t hurt to try and call on Arsène somehow. He wondered if he would be able to, stuck in his school uniform, no mask to rip off, but the rebellious fire in his soul never diminished. Akira was Arsène, and Arsène was Akira just the same. “Come, Arsène!” Akira extended a hand outward, momentarily stunned seeing the familiar red arm and black claws mimicking his movement. 

“Holy shit⁠,” he heard your voice from behind him, clearly surprised seeing him summon Arsène. Not a second later watched as you lit the assailant on fire, inexplicably hovering over the ground for a split second. “But I’ve got a couple tricks up my sleeve too.” 

Akira was silently grateful for the hours of torture he put himself through in the gym as he spun around and kicked, watching as Arsène’s heel sliced through one of them, erasing them in the same manner they had erased the others.

He heard static and watched as you dusted your hands and shirt off, before rushing over to him. Akira had to admit he thought you might’ve been aiming to punch him, but when you threw your arms around his neck, cheering, he couldn’t help but smile. You two had survived for now— but it wasn’t going to be enough. You had to keep moving, especially because more of those damn things were going to come after you. 

“We did it! I can’t believe we did it⁠! I can’t believe I found a partner, and a powerful one at that, I⁠—” 

“There’s no time to relax,” Akira gently pulled you off of him, confusion written all over his face. “You know what’s going on, right?” he looked at his left palm, wincing as the timer read 30:28, “Can you explain… all of this? But we should probably keep moving, those monsters are going to come after us again.” 

 “No, we’re safe now,” you explained, still grinning out of relief. “They won’t attack us out of the blue now that we have a pact. Anyways, sorry for before. I should introduce myself,” you stuck out your hand for him to shake, telling him your name. “I hope we get along! We have a long week ahead of us.” 

Choosing to ignore the words that only made him more confused, Akira took your hand and gave it a firm shake. “I’m Akira Kurusu, nice to make your acquaintance,” he cleared his throat and shoved his hand in his pocket quickly after, looking away, up towards the skyline where he saw the brim of 109. “What the hell is all of this?” 

“I think it’s the reaper’s game.” 

“The what now?” 

You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly, “you might not believe me, but it’s true. I’m… something of a casual occultist? I just enjoy reading those types of stories. Anyways, I’ll explain while we head to ten-nine.” 

“You got the message too?” 

“Every player did. You have a timer on your hand, right? We don’t have time to waste, let’s go,” you declared, marching forward with confidence now that you had a partner to help you battle against the creatures. 

Akira had to jog to catch up to your quick speed. “Slow down! I still don’t understand what’s going on!” He was starting to wish that you were Morgana with how you were unintentionally dodging his questions. A sudden, nauseating swarm of emptiness overtook Akira at the thought of his roommate who was most certainly not a cat, and subsequently, the other Phantom Thieves. How were they all? Were they stuck in this hellscape too? He was worried, and rather stunned to have seen no news about him or the Phantom Thieves at all, not even as he passed by hundreds of people. 

Even so, he didn’t have much of a choice of what to do. Akira simply had to trust you, and trust you he would. If it meant the both of you surviving until the end of this week, he’ll do anything. 

[yusuke-of-valla]

like rats fleeing a sinking ship, pt. 3

intermission i

A/N: “intermission,” basically just means I couldn’t get a Whumptober prompt in there.

TW: mentions of being shot

<-Previous Next->

AO3

After a bit of arguing, Akira gives his bag to Haru with Morgana inside it, and takes Akechi with him to Crossroads. If given the choice, Akira would have preferred leaving Akechi at Takemi’s apartment to rest, but over the last three days since the notice for the Phantom Thieves’ arrest went out, Akechi has proven that he will refuse to sit still even if it’s for his own health, so he’s coming with Akira.

Akira lets Akechi get a seat on the train and stands up, watching the people on the train mutter amongst themselves. The news bulletin is giving updates about the “dangerous thieves at large.”

“...my aunt had a change of heart before she collapsed...”

“I heard they’ve given mental shutdowns to children too...”

“...put her name on the PhanSite. I hope Shido catches those thieves before something happens to her. She may be a bitch but I don’t want her to die.”

“So quick to turn on their supposed heroes,” Akechi mutters.

Akira hums.

Crossroads is empty when they arrive, save for Ohya and Lala, as usual.

When the door opens, Ohya perks up, her eyes going from Akira, then quickly settling on Akechi. “What’s he doing here?”

“He’s on our side,” Akira says. “Shido doesn’t like him either.”

“Sweet. The enemy of my enemy and all that.”

“I suppose you boys aren’t here for a social visit?” Lala asks, pouring them each a glass of water.

“I’d really like this to be, but we can’t.”

Ohya sits up. “Right. It’s not great.”

“Sources don’t have a lot of info?”

“It’s not that. The ones I can get in touch with are happy to talk about how their search for the Phantom Thieves won’t rest until they’re dealt with and explaining some of their procedures like setting up checkpoints in and out of the city. They’re also teaming up with some tech company to monitor phones and texts.”

“Lovely,” Akechi says, “things we could’ve already deduced. Do you have anything that isn’t coming from propagandists?”

“You can tell a lot from what people don’t say as much as what they do. They’re talking a big game, but only have Sakura-san’s arrest to back it up so it’s safe to say they haven’t gotten anyone else. They’re focused on the major areas, the subway, Central Street. Stuff like that. And they’re being flooded with tips, so even though people are happy to turn you in, they also don’t have time to go over everything.”

“So the mob’s working against them,” Akira says.

“Right,” Ohya winks. Then she gives Akechi a pointed look. “And I still have some inside info. Like apparently Shido’s been fighting with this one government agency for awhile now, blocking funding and access for them. They’re called the “Shadow Ops,” and Shido is putting a lot of effort into getting them out of the way.”

“And how is that helpful to us now?" Goro asks.

“Enemy of my enemy,” Akira suggests.

“Well if we can figure out how to get in touch with them that’ll be fine, but it’s still more trouble than it’s worth.”

“What is your problem?" Akira snaps.

“My problem is we’re wasting time! You’re supposed to be the leader yet you can’t conceive of the bigger picture.”

“Akechi you’ve been shot.”

“Stop pretending you’re holding back for my sake,” Akechi says, rolling his eyes. “We could go into the Metaverse right now and get this healed. You just can’t do anything without your ragtag bunch of misfits around to sing your praises.”

“Then why don’t you go.” Akira asks. “Why haven’t you left? Is it because after we played you like a damn fiddle and you were betrayed by your boss you realized you might not be as strong or as clever as you thought?”

Akechi crosses his arms and glares at Akira. “Fine. You’ve got me. I don’t think I can take Shido on my own. I could use your help. Yours. But the others are superfluous, we don’t need them.”

“The others have saved my life on more than one occasion, and they’ve saved yours before too. One week, and we go in and fight like hell, but since you need me and you kinda owe me for that little ‘attempted murder incident’, we’re doing it on my terms when we’ve found as many members of my team as we can.”

“Does the thought cross your mind that gathering them all in one place might just be putting them in more danger?”

“I have to know they’re safe.”

They stare daggers at each other.

Akechi gives in first, getting up with a huff. “If you have any useful information, Ohya-san then please let me know. Until then I’ll be waiting outside.” He strides out the door, and lets it slam shut behind him.

“I’m sorry about that,” Akira says to Ohya and Lala, who he’s just realized heard that entire conversation.

“No problem. You okay, kid?”

“I’m fine. Any other news?”

“Not really. I can tell you that the police have the big public areas covered, but I doubt you’ll be going to any concerts any time soon.”

“Nah. But seriously thank you, this’ll help us plan our movements.”

“Stop by tomorrow, I’ll see if I have anything new for you.”

“Actually, do you mind if one of my friends does it? She’s closer at the moment.”

“Sure, just tell me what to look for.”

Akira gives Haru’s description, thanks Lala again, then heads out.

“Are we done?” Akechi asks.

“One more stop in Shinjuku.” Akira leads Akechi a few blocks down to Chihaya’s booth.

“Akira! It’s good to see you!” Chihaya says.

“Hey Chihaya. We’re here for a reading.”

“Do you know everyone in this city?” Akechi mutters.

Chihaya lays out the cards in front of them. “Do you need a specific reading?”

“Can you give me a reading that’ll tell me where my friends are?”

“I’ll do my best!” Chihaya says. She flips the cards over one by one, and there’s a familiar sensation like something snapping. Even Akechi seems caught off guard by it. Chihaya looks at the spread and frowns. “Hesitation will be your undoing, but don’t be reckless. And I’m not sure about the nine of swords, something to do with Gemini?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Akira sees the way Akechi’s eyes widen at that, then he quickly cools his expression again.

“That’s all I can see,” Chihaya says.

“Thank you.” Akira says, getting up.

Akechi walks back towards the train station quickly, and Akira trails behind. He pauses at the sight of a familiar blue prison door.

“Hey inmate!” Caroline says. “You wanna go in?”

Akira considers it, but shakes his head. He doesn’t want to see Igor right now. “Hey, Caroline, how much do you know about stuff that’s going on. You obviously know more than I do.”

“Well duh! How’re we supposed to help with your rehabilitation if we’re as clueless as you?”

“Then do you know where my friends are?”

Caroline’s grin fades. “W-we couldn’t tell you that even if we did know!”

“Alright, thanks.”

“What are you waiting for?” Akechi calls.

Akira waves at Caroline, and runs to catch up with Akechi.

~_~_~_~

After parting ways with Akira and Akechi, Haru at least takes a little joy in the familiar weight of Morgana in her bag. When they arrive in Aoyama-Itchome, Haru hangs back in an alleyway as Morgana pops his head out of the bag.

“Alright, wait until there aren’t as many students leaving, then slip around the back way there.” Morgana says, helping Haru slip in the same way Akira had been getting up to the roof to meet her while he’s presumed dead.

Her first stop is her vegetable garden. Despite everything, her babies have been growing pretty well.

“It’s too bad we can’t bring the whole thing,” she says picking the tomatoes and pulling up the carrots.

“We can see about starting a garden at Takemi’s,” Morgana offers. “There’s one windowsill that gets a lot of really nice sunlight, even in the winter. I like to take naps there, but I’m willing to give it up for your vegetables.”

“Aw, thank you Mona-chan,” Haru gives him a pat on the head before bagging up the rest of her vegetables. “You’re up next.”

Haru slips out the back and heads back to the alley, watching the school until Morgana comes out, Kawakami trailing behind him.

“Hey, slow down kitty, I’,- Okumura?” Kawakami stares at Haru taking in her new hair and clothes. “So that is Kurusu’s cat?”

Haru smiles and picks Morgana up, helping him back into the bag. “Yeah, he’s a very smart little guy.”

“So does that mean Kurusu’s alright, at least?”

“Yes. But we still need to find the others.”

“Any way I can help?”

“Do you have Shiho Suzui’s address?”

Kawakami’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, then she seems to understand. “Oh yes, I suppose that makes sense. I should be able to get it. Hold on.”

Kawakami walks back into the school, and ten minutes later comes out with a sheet of paper. One has an address on it, the other has a phone number.

“Here you go. And if you need anything, give that number a call and ask for Becky. I’ll know it’s you and be right over.”

“I can’t ask you to get more involved in this,” Haru says.

Kawakami laughs. “I’m already neck deep in the Phantom Thieves business. You’ve helped me and so many others, and more importantly, you’re my students. It’s my job to make sure you’re all safe.”

Haru holds the sheet of paper to her chest. “Thank you. Your support means more than you know.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

Haru grabs a tourist map from the train station and follows the address Kawakami gave them. The Suzui residence is a nice small house near one of the smaller parks.

“Ready to go Haru?”

“Yep.”

Haru knocks on the door, and a middle aged man opens it. “Hello, who are you?”

“I’m here to return your cat!” Haru says, holding Morgana up to the man’s face.

“We don’t ha-” Morgana leaps out of Haru’s arms and runs into the house.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Haru says.

The man curses. “Stay here,” he says, running after Morgana.

There are more voices, and then…

“Morgana?”

“Lady Ann! So you are here!”

“Ann!” Haru calls, running in the direction of the voices. She finds an open door leading downstairs, and the man from earlier is there, along with Ann, Morgana, and a girl who must be Suzui, who immediately steps in front of Ann protectively.

“Who are you,” Suzui demands.

“Shiho! It’s fine, this is Haru,” Ann says, “she’s part of the team.”

“Haru Okumura?” the man— Suzui’s father, probably— asks.

“Yes, we’re so sorry for the disturbance,” Haru says.

Mr. Suzui waves her off, and then pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s fine, I guess. Would you like some tea Okumura-san? You and Ann probably have a lot to catch up on.”

“That’d be great, thanks!” Ann says. Haru nods as well, and Mr. Suzui heads back upstairs. Once he’s gone, Shiho shuts the door and Ann gives Haru a hug. “Good to see you! I thought you booked it for the countryside!”

“A little misdirection on my part. It’s a bit of a story.”

“We have so much to tell you!” Morgana says.

“I’m sure.” Ann says, picking him up.

“So, I’m guessing this is the famous Morgana?” Suzui asks.

Morgana perks up. “Oh? You told her about me?”

“How could I not,” Ann laughs, “I mean you’re kinda important to the whole story.”

“I’m important!”

“Wow, you can really understand him?” Suzui asks, stepping closer.

Haru nods. “Yes. How much has Ann told you?”

“Everything, pretty much,” Ann says. She and Suzui share a look, before Suzui pulls up some bean bag chairs.

“C’mon, sit. I’m sure things must have been crazy for you guys.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement,” Haru laughs. “But do you want to tell your story first?”

Ann nods.

[akechicrimes]

Prompt 15 for ShuAke, please? (Your other answers are really really good, by the way.)

(aaaa THANK YOU yes of course!! also jsksjksjksjksjsj THIS PROMPT……. THANK YOU FOR THIS it was SO fun)

15. “Don’t tell me you’re fine, I can see the blood!”

akira has an adrenaline problem and is more reckless in sae’s casino that akechi expected. also akechi cares more about it than akechi expected.

***

The Thieves get overprotective of Joker in Sae’s casino, which is too bad, because it’s very big with many moving parts and it’s best for them to divide and conquer the place, which is how he explains it to them during a Thieves meeting that Akechi is not invited to. Also, when Joker splits them up into groups, Joker is sometimes paired up with only Crow.

The rest of the Thieves give each other unimpressed looks. “That’s… the opposite of reassuring,” Makoto says with a pained sigh.

“If anything happens, I’ll be fine. Plus, Futaba knows where I am at all times, and she can always reach me through the comms. I’ll say something if anything happens.”

Everyone gives each other such a significant look that Akira wonders if maybe the Thieves are having secret meetings that he isn’t invited to, either. But they don’t push him on it.

He asks Ryuji about it when everyone else has gone, Haru’s taken Morgana for the night, and it’s just the two of them in Akira’s attic. “We’re just… worried for you,” says Ryuji, scratching the back of his head. “The entire reason Akechi’s even here is to kill you, right? Guy’s a liar and probably a murderer and we don’t even know how dangerous he is. His Persona’s already crazy strong and Makoto thinks he’s got more tricks up his sleeve, too.”

Akira thought that through already. The probability is that Akechi can’t kill him until they’ve gotten to the end of the palace, and stolen Sae’s “heart” on the exact day that Akechi requested. On the other hand, it’s still just a probability. Maybe Akechi can kill him whenever he wants. “It’ll be fine,” says Akira.

“I mean, I know that,” says Ryuji, and sighs. “I guess… it’d be one thing if we just thought he might kill you the second we’re not lookin’, but I–I dunno. We were all worried ‘cause we thought that you kept pairing yourself up with Crow on purpose ‘cause you liked that he might…”

Ryuji trails away. “Uh, actually, never mind. Sounds dumb now that I say it aloud, honestly. Forget about it. See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” says Akira.

***

Akira Kurusu is a good boy, who lived in a good town, with a good family, with only good neighborhoods. There were never any bad neighborhoods to duck into and pick any fights with the wrong kind of people. There were never any bad bars to lose yourself in and make out with the wrong person. There were no criminals or thieves or so-called bad influences for a boy to get involved in.

Akira Kurusu is still a good boy. He lives in Tokyo now. He never finds himself so furious he can’t think, and he never heads to Mementos to punch shadows full of bullet holes, or (hopefully) get the shit kicked out of him. Akira Kurusu never scales the highest, tallest buildings in the Metaverse’s palaces, just to feel the ice-cold fear in his stomach hit him like a shot of vodka. Akira Kurusu never cuts it too close to the Palace deadline, just to feel the danger prickle on the back of his neck, or see the nervousness in his teammates’ eyes. He never makes an alliance with someone who doesn’t love him, just to wring some mutual benefit for the both of them like pulling blood from a stone.

Akira Kurusu never lurks on the school roof, or picks up shifts at Crossroads, or skulks in alleyways long after his bedtime, hoping for some douchebag to take a dislike to his face and give him a good reason to get some blood under his nails and feel alive for an hour. Whoever walks the Tokyo streets is some nameless, faceless specter, of no future and no past, to disappear when the sun rises. 

Akira Kurusu is a good boy who gets good grades and runs Sojiro’s coffee shop when Sojiro is out. His face is blank and impassive, and there’s definitely no grudges locked behind his teeth. He goes to school on time and answers all the questions right and speaks to no one. He doesn’t think about girls. He also doesn’t think about boys. 

Akira Kurusu is a good boy, who, one day at a TV station, met another good boy named Goro Akechi, who smiled politely and said all the right things, who never had a bad thought in his head or a fury in his throat. When Goro Akechi comes to set up camp in Leblanc, it is of course no problem, because Goro Akechi is a good boy who would never wait for hours just to see the whites of his prey’s eyes, and Akira Kurusu is a good boy who’s never done anything wrong, and never hungers for the sharp jolt of being pursued pressed like a blade against his neck. 

Because they are both two very good boys, it is never a threat when Goro Akechi smiles at him in the subway station, and Akira’s smile back to the quick heartbeat of adrenaline is never real.

***

Anyway, the next day a Ganesha throws Joker through a slot machine.

“Joker!” Crow is probably saying, although Joker can’t hear a whole lot while upside down and covered in casino chips and bits of machine parts. Joker appreciates the concern, though, considering that Joker’s just split up the group again, and it’s only Joker and Crow against this brick shithouse of an elephant god. When Joker springs back up, his coattails and bits of bloody chips go flying; his whole body is singing. Crow says, “Hamao–”

That’s Joker’s least favorite move. No fun when Crow’s Hamaons or Mudoons land right, and the shadow drops clean like a cut puppet, no blood, no mess, no struggle. “Hecantoncheires!” Joker interrupts, and feels another chunk of his life force get gouged out as payment for a Swift Strike. 

“Ganesha resists physical!” Crow snaps.

Joker pulls out his gun and unloads the whole clip and only stops when Crow kicks him out of the way of Ganesha’s angry swipe. “It’s weak to Psychokinesis, Joker! Finish this quickly!”

Trust Crow to have memorized all the shadows’ weaknesses. He sounds just like Queen does when Joker’s not taking it seriously enough for her. Joker pulls Kunishinada from his soul and casts a weak Psi, sweeping the shadow right off its massive feet to hit the ground with a floor-shaking crash. Joker pulls out his dagger. If Ganesha was going to beg or bargain, Joker’s not interested. He wants a good old-fashioned fight.

When Joker’s dagger slices through Ganesha’s fat stomach, Ganesha’s death throes slam a fist right into Joker’s back, crushing him and tearing Joker’s dagger straight through Ganesha’s body. Ganesha explodes into shadow dust and a shower of yen. 

When Joker stands back up, he can feel himself beaming like a maniac, and Crow seems to almost smile back just out of pure shock. And with the Ganesha gone, it’s just Joker and the last and only enemy that mattered in the middle of the casino floor, surrounded by the Sae’s machines chattering out numbers of the highest, highest stakes. Joker’s enemy is sizing Joker up in the wake of battle, examining the blood streaking down his face; Joker’s enemy is sweeping his body from head to toe with his dark red eyes, lingering at the cinch of Joker’s vest waist, the high collars. Joker’s enemy’s eyes are wide. 

“Gorgeous,” says Joker, and then collapses.

Crow’s over him in a second, but before he can say anything, Oracle’s voice comes over the line: “Joker? Your reading’s are a little wonky, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” says Joker. He sounds remarkably fine, actually, considering that his vision’s going a little grey.

“You’re not–”

Joker presses a finger to his own lips. Crow shuts up, his eyes glittering and rapt. “I’m fine,” says Joker again to Oracle. “It was just a skirmish with a shadow. Nothing big.”

“Uhhhhhh… Okay? You know where the safe room is if you need it? Noir’s not too far away if you need a hand, too.”

“Thanks, Oracle.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” says Oracle, which makes Crow’s lips purse for some reason. The line clicks off. 

“Don’t tell me you’re fine,” says Crow immediately. His voice is shaking.

“I am fine.”

“I can see the blood–!”

“That’s a flesh wound.”

“This is no time for jokes,” says Crow sharply.

“Worried?” asks Joker. His to-be murderer, fretting about death coming a little too soon for his tastes? Ah, his to-be murderer is tracing his gloved fingers by Joker’s exposed and open neck. 

Crow ignores him. “Robin Hood doesn’t know any healing spells. Can you heal yourself?”

“I’m out of magic.”

Crow looks like he’s trying very hard to be a good, straight-laced detective who doesn’t say “fuck” and also doesn’t panic. Crow is taking deep breaths, like he’s the one who go punched in the chest twice by a two-thousand pound elephant. “That was incredibly foolhardy of you.”

“It was just a bit of fun.”

“Pardon me for saying so, but what part about getting the shit kicked out of you was fun?”

Joker has the stupidest, goofiest smile on his face, he knows, because he’s half-drunk on all his wounds and, in his defense, there is a very pretty murderer with a sharp, sharp sword and gun that never misses staring down at him, their masks close enough to touch, Crow’s hands close enough to strangle him to death right there on the casino floor. Joker wants to see what would happen if Crow tried. “It’s not fun if it can’t at least kill you,” he says, more sincerely than he meant to. 

Crow’s throat works and swallows hard. His hands are tight around Joker’s chest. “I–think I have some medicine in my pocket,” he says suddenly, and tears his eyes away. It turns out that he actually does, surprisingly, in the form of one of Takemi’s pill packets and a crushed protein bar. Crow watches Joker carefully to make sure that Joker actually takes them both. He keeps watching everything Joker does, really, from the way Joker pulls the packet apart, to the tiny bites he takes, to his careful swallows. When Joker spits a wad of blood out to clear his throat, Crow stares at it like he’s never seen the color red before.

“Let’s go back to the others,” Crow says, when Joker’s finished regaining whatever strength he can. “We can hardly have the illustruous leader of the Phantom Thieves dying here.” And all the way back, Crow refuses to leave Joker’s side.

For Joker’s to-be murderer, Crow seems to care an awful lot about whether or not Joker lives or dies, Joker thinks. 

***

(i love procrastinating. send a prompt)

[jestdrabbles]

I hate silent protags, but especially for the persona series because it robs us of genuine character interaction between our main character and the others. Playing the game at face value, you can assume Akira is a guy who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty if it means saving someone in need, but he’s also more of an observer than an active participant in his daily life. He eavesdrops a lot, doesn’t get involved in club activities like past persona protagonists, and a lot of his body language indicates that he’s a bit awkward despite his confidence in the metaverse. Take away his party members, and the victory screen no longer shows him strutting and confidently calling everyone along but instead shows him shyly rubbing the back of his neck and averting eye contact with the camera.

But then you have to pay attention for the rest of it. Morgana mentioning that his hands shake when he writes his name, the fact that he repressed the memory of being arrested even though it’s glaringly obvious to the player who Shido is from the very beginning, Morgana mentioning that Akira doesn’t eat well, really factoring in how many part-time jobs he has as well as how many tasks keep him busy from morning to night as the leader (seriously, it’s no wonder Morgana’s always nagging the poor kid to Stop and Sleep), his competitive spirit that comes out when you really take a look at his dialogue choices, the fact that he sleeps on a thin mattress on top of crates, etc. etc.

Spin-off material like the manga and anime offer more insight to his actual characterization, but I just wish we had that in the base game. It wasn’t really until looking into those other sources that I started to genuinely feel something other than “oh, this is my son” for the character and really got invested in his story as an individual who goes from being seen as a dangerous burden for everyone around him to the legendary trickster that shoots the god who dealt him this hand in the face.

Royal did give us something that the base game never did, and that was further exploration of his personal regret in not being able to save Akechi. It’s not up to the player to decide if Akira cares about him because Akira will wish for Akechi’s life no matter what. He carries his glove with him in his pocket every day, as implied that he still has it in his pocket months after it was given to him. The game never tells you outright “Akira is still grieving,” but if you care enough to pay attention, you can start to understand just how heavily this weighed on him, likely in the original version of the game, as well. And who could he have spoken to about any of it? His friends didn’t like him, there was no body, no funeral, no grave, and no professional available to him had any idea what the metaverse was, so he could never be entirely honest about what he’d been through.

And speaking of professional, Royal also introduced Maruki as the school’s counselor who should have been able to notice Akira’s troubles throughout the school year but decided to accept Akira’s mask of stability and write him off as being stable enough to instead listen to his own problems. I love that disaster man, but he really failed this kid. I still don’t quite understand how he found out about what happened to Akechi considering he was no longer working at the school at that time, nor had he been in contact with Akira at all, but the fact remains that he could see the grief in Akira enough to know what his wish would be had he ever spoken it aloud, and still there was no real effort to reach out and help him truly process any of it. Obviously Maruki was the antagonist at that point and rather than help anyone through their trauma, his answer was to let everyone forget their pain in favor of a happy dreamscape, so there’s no reason for him to offer any helpful advice. But still. He’s the only adult with knowledge of the metaverse and at least a root desire to help others, and even he couldn’t help Akira.

This has gotten away from me, but my point is that Akira went through a lot that year. Even if the game paints it as a fun thrillride, it’s also obvious these experiences were traumatic, and there’s no way he won’t be affected by the things he did and saw for years. Especially since he has no one looking out for him, and he has no reason to feel as though he can actually open up about anything. But we don’t get to really see that. We don’t get to see the cracks in his mask in favor of mostly silence and the occasional dialogue option that’s only a few words. It’s implied that he can hold lengthy conversations (seriously, how many times does Akechi mention how meaningful their talks are and how insightful Akira is), but we don’t get to experience it. It’s a shame, and I wish we’d stop with the silent protag/self-insert approach to games like this because it doesn’t make it more immersive. If anything, it disconnects you from the actual events taking place.