#hes not so much an akechi fan and i think as he watches him…. behavior during third semester i will be getting a lot of concerned glances

[walleeli]

In case it hasnt been super super obvious im back in my persona save (about 120 hours in and just kicked off third semester lets fucking gooooo) and um. Im insane.

[icespur]

DadGoro Navigator Quotes Help

5/2: update: replaced some paragraphs with the originals in my Google Doc, Including some example quotes I came up with

originally I had a concept I was going to post about "Teen Akeshu Daughter from the future gets sent to the past during P5R", but I got preoccupied.

She tries to play matchmaker to get Akiren and Akechi on the right path. But she also can't risk revealing who she is, Akechi and Akiren don't know what to think of her. To them, she comes across as an unhinged Akechi fan that ships him with the Phantom Thief Leader for some reason, and is from the future, and looks like a mix of both of them if they squint real hard.

Akechi especially finds her irritating, and finds her very selective sharing of who she is very suspicious, and isn't buying her surname being “Akagi”. His detective senses are ringing like sirens that “🚨 THIS FUTURISTIC BITCH IS SUSPICIOUS AS FUCK! SHE’S CLEARLY NOT BEING TRUTHFUL IN THE SLIGHTEST, DO NOT TRUST, ALSO HIGHLY ANNOYING AND EVASIVE, MUST KEEP WATCH OF SUSPICIOUS TEENAGER! 🚨

So when Komari joins the Phantom Thieves in battle, and the rare instance where Akechi briefly takes over as Navigator, he especially makes his irritation of her known and just how much he doesn't give a shit what happens to her in battle.

("Akagi" is her "undercover" surname)

“Akagi-san’s health is down. Heal her I guess~” 

“What a tragedy, Akagi-san has perished.” 

“Oh, Akagi-san is fully healed and ready to continue to grace us with her presence~”

“Akagi-san has been incapacitated. Can't say I'm surprised.” 

But once he finds out she's his future daughter—-

Granted,the fact that he’s destined to eventually have intercourse that leads to knocking up his rival is—-alot to take in—-. but this is his daughter. His future flesh and blood, he—oh he feels like such a piece of shit 🤦. Curse his trust issues and natural skepticism, he was a fucking dick, how is he going to fix this? 

The “Daughter Reveal” makes him take a 180 in his behavior towards her. Something just clicks and “Fuck this annoying suspicious little shit.” Turns into “I've only known Komari for a couple of months, but if anything were to happen to her, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.” With zero warning. 

I am thou,

thou art I, 

Protective Dad Akechi has awakened! 

Komari becomes number 1 priority in battle, and he’ll freak out if she gets injured or inflicted with an ailment. He demands Joker to immediately help her like the whole world will implode in on itself if he doesn't. Other teammates or enemy strengths and weaknesses be damned, Komari is important. 

and this shows especially in battle.

The first time Komari gets severely injured in battle, Akechi practically teleports to her side and catches her in his arms. “JOKER, YOU BETTER HAVE A FULL HEAL ITEM ON HAND, USE ONE OF THOSE WEIRD DRUGS FROM TAKEMI-SENSEI YOU BOUGHT, HURRY! YOU'RE NOT LOOKING FAST ENOUGH YOU ONLY HAVE TWO POCKETS IN THAT COAT, HOW COULD YOU MISPLACE IT?! THE LONGER YOU TAKE FAILING TO FIND IT THE CLOSER MARI-CHAN GETS TO THE AFTERLIFE, ARE YOU THIS UNPREPARED AND USELESS WHEN THE REST OF YOUR TEAM IS IN DANGER?!” 

“You stay with me, don't you dare close those eyes, you are not dying on us. You're strong, you can get through this—-JOKER, HURRY THE FUCK UP!” 

Tears streaming down face while still yelling “PAPA’S HERE, I’M NOT LEAVING YOU, once your IDIOTIC FATHER finally heals you you’ll be all better.” 

In the scenario where Komari and another party member is low on health, Akechi ignores them. 

Ryuji speaks up faintly “Uh, hey. Hate to interrupt your guys' very understandable panic–but any chance you could throw me a full heal too?” 

Akechi growls back “Walk it off, Sakamoto-kun, this isn’t about you!” 

Just----the complete 180 from:

"Oh, what an absolute tragedy, Akagi-San has died, tip your masks in respect everyone. She will be sorely missed, if only we had a revival on hand~"

To:

!

"MY BABY!

JOKER, GET THE REVIVAL ITEM, HEAL HER, HURRY HURRY, GET IT OUT FASTER, OUR PRINCESS IS FADING, ARE YOU THIS USELESS WHEN YOUR OTHER TEAMMATES ARE IN NEED OF HEALING?!

when infected with ailment, Akechi and Joker immediately tag team her with the feather fans to bitch slap the ailment away.

Akechi or Joker always perform a followup attack when she's having her turn in battle.

After a successful battle and if Komari's Persona levels up and gains a new ability, the in-game dialogue would be Proud Dad Akechi complimenting and drawing attention to it. Pretty much a more aggressive version of Prince attire Akechi leveling up. “Everyone, look! I gained a new ability. :) “ 

A couple example dialogues I came up with:

“Hey, everyone pay attention, what, were you all raised in a barn? Mari-chan gained a new ability.” 

“JOKER LOOK!---” Physically forces Joker's head to face Komari and her Persona (Even though he was already looking). “MARI GAINED A NEW ABILITY! HER STATS WENT UP AND EVERYTHING, SHE’S GETTING SO STRONG, MAYBE EVEN STRONGER THAN US, WE CREATED SUCH  AN UNSTOPPABLE BADASS YOUNG LADY AIIISTRHGHGJFGHSSGNSKJS.”

“I’m already looking.”

“THEN FUCKING SAY SOMETHING, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE SELECTIVELY MUTE!”

.............

“My future princess is turning more and more into a powerful badass with every new ability 🥲🥹. Ahem I mean—-oh, Komari-chan earned a new skill, ooo, that’s a good one.” 

..............

“AHAHA! NOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR ENEMIES QUIVER BEFORE YOU EVEN MORE! MAKE US PROUD.” 

................

Then, a friend mentioned dialogue for other battle actions like Baton Pass and Ailments that I didn't even think of!

So I'm going to have you fellow Akeshu fans participate because I'm having trouble coming up with more Proud Dad Akechi dialogue.

Write some dialogue reactions for Akechi if his and Akiren's daughter was a playable party member.

(you don't have to fill out all these sections. Just, if you come up with a line for one of the below actions, reply or reblog with it and once I get enough participants I'll make another post.

Akechi/Crow: passes Baton to Komari: 

Crow/Black Mask response to Komari Attack Quotes:

Komari Dodges Attack: 

Komari Downs an enemy: 

Double Enemy Down: 

Down all enemies: 

Defeats an enemy: 

Defeats two enemies:

Defeats last Enemy:

Attack miss or Skill miss:

HP at 25% at start of turn:

Affected by Tarunda/Attack Decrease:

Affected by Rakunda/Defense Decrease:

Affected by Sukunda/Speed Decrease: 

Suffering from Shock:

Suffering from Freeze:

Suffering from Brainwash:

Suffering from Despair:

Suffering from Forget:

Suffering from Confuse:

Suffering from Rage:

Downed:

Recovers from being downed:

Incapacitated:

[ikeromantic]

Following Orders

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfiction, approx. 2200 words. This scene occurs between Ch. 12 and 13 of the romantic route - featuring Kyubei! And Motonari! Spoilers Ahead!

P.S. I took some liberties with this chapter ^_^

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Siege

Kyubei rubbed a hand over the skin of his head. It felt cold in the pre-dawn breeze, unused to being exposed. Shaving a receding hair line was a necessary sacrifice to ensure he wasn’t recognized. Between that and the scraggly beginnings of a beard, his own mother would have trouble picking him out from the other guards.

For his patrol, he’d picked a spot near enough to the shogun’s chamber to overhear most of what went on within, but out of Ashikaga’s line of sight. Perfect to keep a low profile and gather intelligence. Mitsuhide already had the bulk of what Kyubei knew - all written in cipher and left in the cache in the orchard. Things were going as planned. Or . . . they had been.

This morning he could tell something was amiss. Instead of the usual morning routine of servants going in to prepare the shogun’s clothes and food, to bathe and dress Ashikaga, the hall was eerily still and silent. Yoshiaki sat alone in the audience hall, his eyes red from lack of sleep, his face set in hard, angry lines.

Kyubei expected more activity, especially after the discovery yesterday that the estate was surrounded by enemies, isolated from help. This stillness was troubling. It meant he’d missed something. He didn’t have long to wonder what.

A man hurried into the hall from one of the secret doors nearby. This one let out near the guardhouse, but the man wasn’t a guard. He was Yoshiaki’s messenger - a man Kyubei felt certain was ninja. His presence here had not been a pleasant discovery, and it seemed Kyubei’s fears were now realized.

The messenger carried a woman slung over his shoulder. Though her face was badly bruised, and hair hid her features, Kyubei recognized her. The chatelaine, and his lord’s fiancee.

It was difficult to resist his first urge to disembowel Yoshiaki’s man, take the girl, and run. His orders were to infiltrate and inform - if he acted now, he’d be no use to his lord. He had to be smart about this. Kyubei followed the messenger into the shogun’s chamber.

The chatelaine was tossed to the floor like a sack of rice. Her hands were tied tight at the wrist, anchored by rope to her feet. Kyubei could see where she’d begun to bleed. He wanted to tell her he was here, that she would be alright. But instead he knelt beside her, quickly checking her for weapons just as a guard would do.

Ashikaga’s eyes went wide as he took in his prize. He didn’t even seem to see the messenger or Kyubei. “Well done.” He stood and walked from the dais. He stopped at her feet, an unpleasant smile curling his lips. “Leave me.”

“Yes, excellency.” The messenger bowed low, and backed away.

Kyubei knew he would be expected to go to, but he couldn’t simply leave her here. Not like this. Not with the shogun ready to visit every humiliation on her, flesh and spirit. He backed away to the door, but stayed beside it, as if he would protect the shogun from intrusion.

The chatelaine glared up at him from one eye. The other was swelled shut, bruised the color of overripe plums. She struggled up to sit on her knees, never taking her eye from the shogun. Had she not been gagged, she would have spoken. Or spit at him.

Yoshiaki regarded her with disdain. “Keep your head down! How dare you raise your eyes to me without my permission.” His voice was a strained hiss.

“Mmf-ing mmll,” she growled back at him. She didn’t look down either. Somehow, Kyubei didn’t think that was an apology. He couldn’t help a small burst of pride at how she held her own, even now.

“What insolence!” Yoshiaki slapped her with his fan. Her cheek reddened from the blow, as much from humiliation as the slap. “Even animals have better manners.” He stared down at her and shook his head. “To think this pitiful creature is the result of lax rule under Nobunaga.”

The chatelaine tried to reach for Ashikaga - to do what, Kyubei could only imagine - but she couldn’t even come close.

Yoshiaki pushed her with one slippered foot and she fell back, smacking her head on the floor. “Peasants exist to serve their betters with good behavior. You are proof I am needed to lead this land back onto the right path.”

Kyubei held himself rigidly still. He dared not act unless absolutely necessary, but this was harder than he expected. All he could do was watch Ashikaga for now. But if he looked like he might kill the chatelaine, then he would die.

“As the traitor’s fiancee, I am certain you are aware he has this castle surrounded?” Yoshiaki paced slowly around the fallen girl, circling her.

“Ahh mmoe mme mlls uuh,” she said around the gag.

The shogun laughed, his pitch high and false. “You should hope that he cares for you enough not to get you killed, if you hope for anything.” He squatted down, staring intently at her face. “For each day he keeps me under siege, I will send him a piece of you. Should we start here?” He brushed a hand over her lips.

“Ah, excellency? Fingers or - or ears are traditional,” Kyubei stuttered. Not that he wanted her to lose those either. But he felt he had to intervene.

Ashikaga glanced up, his expression one of annoyance. “You must belong to the daimyo here. My men know when to keep silent.”

Kyubei bowed low and stepped back to his position. Every muscle in his body was taut and ready to spring into action at the first sign of violence from the shogun. He didn’t think his chances were good if he was forced to act now, but there was no way he was going to stand and watch Yoshiaki cut a piece from the chatelaine.

Whatever the shogun planned to do next, the chatelaine changed his mind. She brought her bound hands up to slam into his chest, rocking him back a step.

Yoshiaki straightened, his face crimson with rage. “You touched me! You . . .” He snarled incoherently, unable to speak an insult great enough for this affront.

Kyubei saw his opening. It was a risk, but worth it. He lunged forward and grabbed the chatelaine by the shoulders, slipping her onto her belly. He set a knee on her back, though he kept his weight off her. “Shall I kill her, excellency?”

“No.” Yoshiaki was literally shaking with rage. “I need her alive until that kitsune arrives.”

“Then let me humble her for you.” Kyubei leered down at the captive girl and licked his lips suggestively.

After a moment, Yoshiaki nodded. Though his face was still red, a slight smile returned to his lips. “Yes. Take her and let the men use her. You may do whatever you want, so long as she lives.”

Kyubei bowed. “It will be my pleasure.” Then he picked her up and put her over his shoulder.

The chatelaine kicked at him, cursing from under her gag. Beneath her show of anger, she trembled too. With fear.

It was a long way to the storage sheds, but Kyubei hurried there as fast as he could. It wasn’t that fast, not with a squirming chatelaine on his shoulder. He passed a few of the castle servants and one sleepy guard, but no one seemed to take note or care that he had a bound woman with him. When he got to one of the empty buildings, he pulled open the door and stepped inside.

The chatelaine had quieted down by now, but she was glaring at him like an angry snake. Kyubei set her gently against the back wall. He tore her kimono, baring one of her shoulders. The skin there was bruised too, he thought darkly. And he removed her gag.

“Mitsuhide will kill you too,” she said hoarsely. Her lips and tongue were swollen.

“I’m sure he will.” Kyubei gave her a drink of water, which she accepted reluctantly. Then he reached for her bound hands.

“Don’t touch me,” she yelped and tried to push him away.

Kyubei stepped back and frowned. He didn’t want to reveal himself to her - not when there was still danger for both of them. But he needed to get those bonds off her too. “Look - I’m just going to untie you. Nothing else. For now.” He gave an evil smile. “I’m on duty until noon. After that . . .”

The chatelaine spat at him. “I would die first.”

“And you might.” Kyubei grabbed her arms and held her still while he cut the binds from them and from her feet.

She rubbed her wrists, hurt and angry and clearly exhausted. Despite that, he was fairly sure she was planning to try to escape. Already figuring out how to get past him, and whether she thought she could run.

“You will stay here. Quietly,” Kyubei told her.

“Or what?”

“Or I . . . I follow my orders.” He narrowed his eyes and slowly looked her over. “I follow them right now. And when I finish with you, I have a lot of friends.” Kyubei felt disgusted with himself and how well he was playing this role. But he had to keep her quiet, even if it meant terrifying her.

The chatelaine pulled her knees up to her chest. Fear and anger played across her mouth as she tried to decide how to respond. “I’m not . . . not afraid of you. Or your friends. Mitsuhide will come and he will stop you and your disgusting lord.”

Kyubei smirked. “We’ll see.” Then he set down his water gourd and went out the door. He closed it and tied it shut. Then he carried some heavy crates to set in front of the door too. Just enough to dissuade anyone from trying to go in. “Girl, you should stay very quiet now. I am leaving. If someone else finds you before I come back, it will be worse for you.”

The chatelaine was silent.

***

Motonari sprawled against a tree trunk, listening with half an ear to the day’s reports from his scouts.

“I thought I heard a woman just before sunrise. Might o’ been a rabbit . . .” He was saying.

“Ya can’t tell the difference between a rabbit and a girl?”

The scout gave a half-hearted shrug. “Well . . . it sounded like a woman. But there ain’t women out here so it couldn’t be.”

With a look of disgust, Motonari motioned the scout away. It seemed someone managed to get through their barricade. Though he had no proof to speak of, the pirate knew without a doubt the little Oda princess was involved. But he needed more to go on than his gut. The abbot and the kitsune wouldn’t act on that alone.

He was about to go looking when Kennyo walked into camp. The abbot’s frown was deep, his jaw set in hard lines.

“Mitsuhide!” Kennyo called in his low, grumbling voice.

The kitsune stirred from his tent after a moment. Despite his wrinkled clothes and mussed hair, he managed to look elegant. “What has happened?”

The abbot tossed him a sandal.

Mitsuhide caught it, his expression turning from annoyance to unhappy surprise.

Motonari tilted his head, curiosity peaked. “What is that?”

“A woman’s sandal, with a broken strap.” Kennyo replied. “It was discovered near the castle late this morning. It was not there earlier.”

This was about the location Motonari’s man had heard the ‘rabbit.’ He tried hard not to grin. If anything would get this battle started, this was it. Finally.

“There’s no doubt,” Mitsuhide said softly, turning the small shoe over in his hands. “This is . . . it belongs to my little mouse.”

“Huh. So Ashikaga’s got somebody with enough skill to get past us, carrying a hostage even.” He couldn’t keep the admiration out of his voice. “Be real fun to kill that one.”

Kennyo ignored Motonari. “Will he negotiate for peace in exchange for her life?”

“Negotiate? The shogun?” Mouri laughed. The idea of that man asking for anything was hilarious. Ashikaga didn’t ask - he simply took. “More like he’ll use her as a human shield.”

“What is your plan, Mitsuhide?” The abbot waited to see what the kitsune warlord would say.

Motonari waited as well, if less patiently.

“I believe our enemy has just given us a reason to stop playing nice with him.” Mitsuhide’s golden eyes glowed with the heat of his anger. They fixed on Mouri. “It appears your boredom is at an end.”

“Finally!” Motonari didn’t wait for him to change his mind. He turned on his heel, giving his men the signal to arm up and get moving.

Kennyo looked surprised. “You would abandon strategy and attack now?”

“We cannot delay. Not even for dawn. I won’t keep my darling little one waiting for me.” His mouth turned up at the edges in a sharp smile.

“You don’t sound as desperate as I thought you would,” Kennyo replied. It was impossible to know what he thought about that.

Mitsuhide nodded once. “I have never been calmer. Now come. We must use whatever means necessary to rescue her - and to make the shogun regret his actions.”

The abbot turned to rally his men. There was nothing more that needed to be said.

Motonari didn’t worry too much about Mitsuhide’s state of mind, or the abbot’s judgement. He rushed into the orchard and toward the fortress, eager for the bloodshed to begin. This was going to be fun.

Next: Base Villains

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Semi-formal critique/rant about a lack of  P1/P5 comparisons

When the first Persona 5 PV came out, there was a general agreed consensus that Persona 5 was going to be the Persona 2 duology (with Innocent Sin being the most compared Persona 2 game) of the modern games. This consensus grew more and more as more playable characters were introduced, character info was released, and certain gameplay elements were introduced, like demon negotiation and GUNS as a secondary ranged weapon.

That last one is more of a Persona 1/SMT gameplay element but whatever.

By the time of the game’s release, and with more people playing the game/watching let’s play and walkthroughs (and the anime, and the seemingly slow release of the official manga I can only occasionally find ~not Mementos Missions btw~), this consensus was and is still around. It’s not as strong as before, but it’s there. There are also some people that like to say the two games were handle the same way (with Innocent Sin once again being the most compared Persona 2 game) via characters and certain plot points. I actually made an old post about it, right here.

With the Japanese Release of Persona 5 Royal, these claims exponentially rose again to strong levels to where I literally wanted to go into Tim Barry’s Royal Stream chat and type ‘please stop talking about persona 2 and nyary please stop talking about persona 2 and nyary.’ Why? Because after watching much of Royal to the best of my ability, I come to the realize that, Persona 5 Royal at least, is trying to be the Persona 1 of the modern games. And fair warning, I will go into major spoilers for Royal in depths, based off what is known.

We have Reiji Kido and Goro Akechi, bastard children who revenge over their father is their main goal. Yet due to one factor being present (or absent), they show the different outcomes of their fates, one being able to move on after his revenge for thirst and live a normal life with his own family, while the other who fate is unknown (in Original Persona 5; Royal will be touch upon under the read more) as his revenge possibly costed his life.

We have Masao ‘Mark’ Inaba and Ryuji Sakamoto, two good teenagers who are momma’s boys and delinquents at their school. Yet the title of delinquent is either truthfully earn because of actual delinquent-like behavior that will lead to a future career, or a title gradually earned after an accident that costed a possible future career had it never happened at all.

We have Eriko ‘Elly’ Kirishima and Ann(e) Takamaki, both who are in fact one-fourth American models. Yet given how they appear so differently, it must have factor into how are treated by other student, with one looking more of the typical Japanese person she is deem odd mostly due to her ‘eccentricities’, the other appearing more foreign with blonde hair and blue eyes due to a chance of genetics she is treated unfairly due to rumors and enforcing negative stereotypes.

Once you get into the Royal Third Semester, the comparisons grow into new levels that took me by surprise.

For one, we have Kasumi Yoshizawa. Kasumi can be best describe as the love child/clone of Maki (with that red ribbon and some parts of her personality) and Naoya (P1′s Manga Protag’s background of sorts). For you see, Kasumi is not Kasumi. She is Sumire Yoshizawa, twin of Kasumi Yoshizawa. Sumire loves the real Kasumi, but the poor girl is envious of her older and much more talented sister. It grew and grew until Sumire is full with such negativity and hate with her life as how it is and how she is, Sumire couldn’t handle it anymore and decides to go into traffic to possibility kill herself.

And the real Kasumi dies trying to save her younger. Needing counselling for her depression and guilt of what happened, Sumire’s cognitive of herself change into her believing (with someone’s help, who I will discuss) she is Kasumi and lives her life as Kasumi. It’s only until the Third Semester does Sumire remembers the truth. It took awhile, but Sumire was able to overcome everything and awaken fully, with what appears to be Kasumi herself -that’s right a dead person- becoming Cendrillon. 

So one is wondering who the heck made Sumire believe she is Kasumi? It’s none other than Takuto Maruki! Everyone figured this man shouldn’t be trust, but oh boy. We weren’t expecting any of this sorts! For one, Takuto is a Persona User. Now, adult Persona Users are canon since the first game with Takahisa Kandori, but it’s Kandori we ought to focus on (and only Kandori in Persona 1).

Kandori is nothing like Takuto. Kandori is a business man through and through, being the head president of the Sebec Branch in Mikage-Cho. Both men believe it or not, have the same goal of sorts of imposing their ideal version of the world over reality with their own means, Takuto with his Persona Powers that sort became supercharge after Yabadadoo’s defeat by the PT, Kandori with the Deva System Sebec build.

Takuto honestly has good intentions, wanting a world where people can be happy without heartache and pain, which started when his former girlfriend had to go to the hospital after her parents died (in what I think was a burglary gone wrong). In fact, Takuto’s status as an antagonist is interesting. He knows the PT and has a Co-op/Confidant with Joker. While exploiting them for his research, he does so in his belief he is going to help them and everyone else because his way is the best. In fact, Takuto believes himself so much, he wants to make sure his ideal world will happen by trying stop Joker from sending a calling call by using Goro as one weird last resort.

Because according to Takuto, the real Goro is dead. The real Goro was taken hostage on Shido’s ship, but the destruction of the Palace pretty much doom Goro to a watery grave. Because of Joker’s unknowing wish to see Goro again (if you pick the right option), Takuto was able to use his powers to start the Third Semester on 12/24, the day where Joker canonically has to turn himself in. The Goro here is in effect, Dream!Goro who is eerily just like the real Goro. When Joker decides to listen to Dream!Goro of not accept the dream world and to accept reality as it is, that’s when Takuto takes out the big guns (aka, use his Persona). After losing to the PT via Personas, Takuto makes another go at it by almost became GOD by fusing with his Persona. When he goes back to his human self, Takuto fucking fights Joker in a fist fight and you pretty much ask yourself:  how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man? But at the end, Takuto accepts it, and is given a second chance at life.

Kandori is just a selfish prick who only cares for himself. How much of a selfish prick? When the Deva System got attached to Maki’s subconscious and her Ideal World, Kandori decides to exploits Maki’s powers (via Aki, aka, Girl in Black) as a mean to his own end of becoming GOD. He also couldn’t give a shit about the P1 crew, hating them all and likes taunting them. Kandori couldn’t care less about his half bastard brother’s revenge goal, but comments Reiji does have that Kandori blood lol. 

And believe or not, Kandori is one of the few Persona villains to win. He actually achieves his dream of being God of a new world...and feels unfilled by it. By the time the Persona 1 crew confronts him, the man is particularly wishing for death because he has nothing else to live for since who knows how long his world can last. Kandori would have probably at surrender to them if Nanjo didn’t push Kandori into one last fight. Like Takuto, Kandori fuses with his Persona (though it’s not like he planned it), but he dies in this battle, pretty much as a empty man and as a possible warning of a wrong future.

Though Kandori gets the last word by revealing to the P1 crew that he isn’t the real person they should be focusing on. That goes to the real Maki, who is still sick in her bed (as it turns out, the Maki everyone is with is the Ideal Maki of real Maki’s dream, who is nothing like her).

(I forgot to mention it, but there’s also a brief moment on 12/31 when Joker dreams of an empty and dark Shujin Academy. It’s really similar to St. Hermelin during the parts the P1 crew have get lost travel through the school.)

With that being said about Royal, one can see what Persona 1 elements show up, how it works in both the original based game and Royal re-released, and the understand how Royal is trying to be the Persona 1 of modern Persona games. Yet people are still only taking about Persona 5 and how it’s like the Persona 2 duology (mainly Persona 2 Innocent Sin; I seen way too many people discuss in the Tim Barry chat how getting posses by your Persona came from IS but it was there since the first game).

And so I finally has to ask the question I thought I would never ask:  Why do Persona fans tend to not make P1/P5 comparisons? 

Is there something about Persona 1 that makes it easy to not make these comparisons? Like, I know the earlier games aren’t easy to play (especially one; I actually can’t play in First Person games in general because I get headaches from the format after half an hour or so of gameplay). That’s why the option to watch a let play walkthrough, reading the manga, listening to the audio drama, or do a combination of all the above exist. 

But is there’s something in Persona 1 in all of its materials, that makes it unworthy of talk like Persona 2 to be worthy of a comparison to Persona 5? I am in no means bashing the Persona 2 duology at all but I genuine want to know, without the need to cause discourse.We already have enough as it is. 

[arnaultdorothea]

That was me when I dropped out of watching Hannibal but my friend loved the show, so I’d listen to her talk about it and how much she loved him and Will Graham. I didn’t mind though, I liked them too, I just stopped caring about the show. And same with Seteth in that seeing the fanart made me like him a little more, but only a tiny bit. I follow a few artists who really like Byleth/Seteth and the art is lovely, so I like to reblog it anyway even if I personally don’t care for them as a pairing (that’s how I feel on a few pairings, to be honest). I think they’re okay I just don’t care about or for them as a pairing.

See, the whole “Akechi is a Good Boy!” mentality turns me off from him more and I’m sure that contributes to part of the reason of why I don’t care about him. From what I’ve seen of him in the game I was like, “Oh, okay, he’s neat. A terrible person, but cool character.” And now I’m just like, “Akechi, huh.” While I was reading the wiki (and saw others comment on too) I did notice he joins really late in the game. That’s always a risk dev teams take when they have a large cast (like FE Fates, yikes), so that also would probably not help me out with liking him more. I try hard not to let fans ruin a character/show/game/etc. for me, but sometimes they really do influence my opinion on said thing although I don’t let their opinion be the deciding factor of what I think of something either. I know not all fans are like this, but I don’t like the ones that completely overlook and excuse the bad behavior of characters just because they love said character. You can still like them while acknowledging their faults.

[ikesenhell]

Darkness and Diners

This is the Professional Integrity series, part two. For all other parts and additional IkeSen works by me, see here. 

She bought an RV the next day. It wasn’t a large thing, nor top of the line, but it was convenient and easy. A small kitchen, a shower in the bathroom, a loft bed over the driver’s cab, an extension to make the living room larger when parked, a pull out bed in the couch, and a fold down bed over that. 

“Are you going to christen it?” Mitsuhide joked. 

“What?” Her eyes were wide. “What do you mean?”

“Like a boat before a maiden voyage. You know.” He mimicked breaking a bottle of champagne against the side. “It’s bad luck if it doesn’t have a name.” 

“Hm.” The Princess patted her hand along the sides, obviously fond of it already. “I don’t know yet. I think it’ll name itself.” 

What a cute sentiment. He shrugged. “Your choice. Where are we going?”

At that, she laughed. “You’re going to hate me.”

“It doesn’t matter much to me, Princess, I’m in contract to you for the next eight months either way.”

“Aw.” A long silence passed between them. “Well, I was thinking I’d just... find out where I’m going.”

Laughing, he rubbed back some of his pale hair. “You’re not much for planning, are you?”

“I am, but...” Her voice trailed off into nothing and finally, she eased her head to the side. “I dunno, I just think I’ll find out where I’m going.”

Well, at least one of them had faith in more abstract things. 

Sasuke volunteered to come with them for the first leg of the journey. “We could drive out to Arizona. I have a friend in Tuscon, Yukimura.”

“Yuki? From college?” Teasingly, the Princess hip checked him, dragging a duffle bag into the RV around the men. “That ass?”

“He’s a good guy.”

“I know, I’m just making fun. He’s just not good at coming off like a good guy is all.”

Sasuke didn’t argue that, just shoved his glasses back up his nose. “And from Phoenix, I can fly back in to Los Angeles and get back to work.”

“I wish you could come the whole time.” The Princess settled down into the driver’s seat, adjusting it to her specifications. “That would be a kick.”

“From what I understand, you mean to be on the road a few months.”

She sighed, smiling sweet and sad and gentle at Sasuke, and Mitsuhide wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that himself. “Yeah. It just would be fun is all, if it were possible.”

“We’ll make the most of it.” Sasuke’s face didn’t exactly move, but his enthusiasm was palpable nonetheless. “I think Yuki wants to throw a bit of a party when we get there.”

“Oh, god.” She laughed. “He’s gonna get me tanked, isn’t he?”

“Sounds like my kind of a party,” Mitsuhide chuckled. 

“Jesus, I’m sorry if you see me like that. I’m a mess when drunk.” 

He grinned lopsided at her, settling into the passenger seat. “That only makes me the more intrigued.”

“Tsk.” She settled a hand over his shoulder and squeezed it affectionately, and his heart thumped painfully. What the hell was that reaction? He did his best to shove it from his mind. “Don’t be awful. Are we ready back there, Sasuke?”

“All clear.” 

They pulled out of the driveway into the sinking sun, beeping the horn to part the throng of fans from the gate. As it rattled shut behind them and they set onto the road, she flipped on Running On Empty by Jackson Browne. 

“You know what we need? A Cracker Barrel.”

“A what?” Mitsuhide settled into the diner booth only after scanning the whole area with his eyes, and even then, he settled on the very edge of the seat next to her, ready to take action at a second’s notice. They were on the border of California, the small hours of the morning pale and grey in the windows. A few sleepy patrons scuffled around the old fashioned bar, sipping coffee. 

“A Cracker Barrel.” The Princess unfolded her menu, eyeing the breakfast food. Her eyes were tired and swollen, but it was no worse than it had been of late, and she seemed at least in slightly better spirits. 

“It’s sort of a themed restaurant,” Sasuke explained. “They’re common in the southeast. They’re supposed to be ‘Old Fashioned’ and serve good breakfast.”

“I mean, the breakfast isn’t even all that great, it’s really the biscuits. But it’s kind of a road trip tradition for me, so to speak. I don’t know.” At least she was smiling. “What are you going to have, Mitsuhide?”

“Let’s see.” He flipped open the menu, absently scanning for anything that looked both filling and cheap, and... “Dear Lord, am I going to have to say that out loud? I’ll just point to it.”

She wriggled over by him, her cheek rested against his shoulder to see the title, and laughed aloud. “Oh my god. Please.”

“Oh, ‘please’?” On a habit, he shot her a broad, slithery grin. “And what are you begging me so nicely for?”

“I have to hear you say that.”

He hummed in amusement. “Why’s that?”

“Cause you have such a great, deep voice, and I’m tickled just imagining you saying that seriously.”

“You do have a very Shakespearean delivery to your sentences,” Sasuke noted, and Mitsuhide figured that was a compliment. 

“Can I get you all something?” The waitress emerged by his elbow, pad at the ready and stifling a yawn. 

“Could I get the western omelet, please?” She asked. 

“An egg, over easy, with a side of toast,” Sasuke added, “If it’s no trouble, please.”

Mitsuhide shot his eyes sideways at the Princess, who was biting down on her lip to keep down the laughter, and he decided in the moment it was worth it. Clearing his throat, he announced--as smoothly and deeply as he could, lending every inch of theatrical gravitas he could muster-- “I’ll take the ‘Hungry Hombre’.”

And that--that broke her. She clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling the laughter that spilled forward, and suddenly she was laughing so hard that she wasn’t making any sound at all. The waitress just cast a bemused stare and walked off to punch in their order. Clutching his arm, the Princess struggled for breath, petering back into laughter, then giggles, then hugging him tight around his shoulders. 

It was the most he’d ever seen her laugh. 

“Oh my god,” she managed, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“You must be tired, if that made you laugh that much,” he commented lightly. Something warm stirred in his stomach, wrapping tight around him. “Perhaps I should drive from here on out.”

“Ahh, if that’s what you want to do.” But she smiled at him, brighter than he’d ever seen, and he told himself he’d say a thousand ridiculous platter titles if it made her that happy. 

God knew she deserved it.

Yukimura lived in a rancher on a small subdivision squarely between Tuscon and Phoenix--which, in Arizona parlance, meant ‘in the middle of the goddamn desert’. Apparently he’d been expecting them, because when the RV rolled up at his driveway around dinnertime, he emerged in the doorway, holding back the leash of a large, excitable German Shepherd. 

“Down, boy!” He grunted, wrestling his dog back into good behavior. “Hey, Sasuke! Princess!” 

“Yuki, hi!” She bounded from the RV and stretched hard, rushing to the dog. “Awww, who is this cutie?” 

“I call him Kuro.” The man--man? He looked younger than Sasuke--fixed his bright eyes on Mitsuhide. “And you’re the bodyguard?”

“Mitsuhide Akechi.”

“Yukimura Sanada. Come on in. Guess who else came?”

“Do tell.” The Princess followed him in, glancing around the narrow hallway, and--“Oh my god, Shingen?”

“You say that like I wouldn’t have crossed heaven and earth to see you.” A huge, huge beast of a man emerged from the living room, heading straight for her. On reflex, Mitsuhide wedged himself between the two of them. 

“Mitsu,” she laughed, patting his arm. “It’s okay, you’re kind of off the clock.”

“Who is this?” The redhead was a little less massive closer up, but he was still a veritable tree. 

“Mitsuhide, he’s my bodyguard.”

“Fancy.” Another voice drawled in the living room, satin and sour all at once. Perched on the couch was another man, blue and green mismatched eyes vibrant in the setting desert sun. “I take it that’s just a result of your new, high-flying lifestyle.”

“Hi, Kenshin.” She smiled at him, picking at her sweatshirt that read VIRGINIA BEACH across the chest. “I’m sure I look like the best of Hollywood right now.”

The blonde just sniffed, his eyes flitting between them, and lifted the glass he was holding in his hands. “I’ve already started drinking. You’re late.”

“I told you to wait,” Yuki huffed, finally letting Kuro off the leash. “Sasuke, without you to handle him, Kenshin’s getting downright stir crazy.”

Kenshin frowned. “I do not need handling.” 

“Of course you don’t,” Sasuke soothed expertly, joining the other men in the living room. “Well, I suppose we need to catch up on the drinks, then.”

Mitsuhide was thankful, not for the first time, for his incredibly high alcohol tolerance, because it seemed like Kenshin had an impossible one. 

“You’re the only one keeping up with me,” he huffed, taking another shot and trying to shuffle a completely soused Sasuke off his shoulder. “What was your name again?”

“Mitsuhide.” 

Either Kenshin hadn’t really cared about his name, or he had a short attention span, because he turned almost immediately to the Princess. “How was James in the end?”

She paused where she sat in the floor, petting Kuro’s soft ears and waiting for Shingen and Yuki to return with Cards Against Humanity, and Mitsuhide watched the faint smile she’d been holding slip from her mouth. 

“He...” She sighed. “He was comfortable.”

“Hm.”

A long, long silence. The Princess swayed where she sat, tipsy from vodka and sprite, and cupped her face in her hands, meeting Kenshin’s gaze. “I mean, what can I say? He was in hospice a few weeks. I slept by his bed and got him food he liked, told him stories, read him books. We listened to The Adventure Zone like, four times.”

“But?” Kenshin prodded. Mitsuhide had heard it too, the unspoken end of a sentence she hadn’t begun. 

“But... I don’t know, Kenshin.” She sighed, tracing circles in the carpet with her finger. “I just wish I could go back and stop him from being diagnosed that late. He’d been having issues with his stomach for years, I... I dunno.” 

The blonde was silent a long, long, long time. Finally, he got up. “Give me your cup. What were you drinking?”

“Uh, vodka and sprite?” She handed it to him, confused. Crossing to the counter, Kenshin fixed the drink with calm precision, presenting it to her. “Hey. Thank you.”

“You did what you could.” He settled back in on the couch as the other two barged back in the room, card game in hand. “You cannot be faulted for it not being enough.”

At last, only he and Kenshin were sober, and the rest were passed out. Yuki was splayed out on the ground, wrapped around Kuro. Shingen had claimed the only arm chair to kick back in. The Princess and Sasuke had formed a little cuddle pyramid against each other, each bolstering the other up on the couch. 

Mitsuhide wondered what the hell was wrong with the weird surge of affection and jealousy swirling around in his stomach. Best to blame it on the alcohol. 

Still--he picked up the blanket from the side of the couch and draped it gently over her body, tucking it in around where he felt her arms were chill and bare. She stirred, but didn’t move, thoroughly wasted. 

“Bodyguard, hm?”

Mitsuhide straightened and fixed his eyes back on the other man, sitting like a statue on the couch still. 

“You must have the constitution of Bacchus,” Mitsuhide joked thinly. “Yes. Bodyguard.”

Kenshin stared at him so long and hard that he wondered if he were being intimidated, so he fixed a smile on his lips and just stared right back. 

“Can I help you?”

“Do you think she’ll find relief from grief on a road trip?” His voice was so tired and raw and angry that Mitsuhide sensed the pulsing edge of something personal. 

“Who can say?” 

“I’m asking you.”

“That’s my answer.” He settled in along the kitchen counter and delved his hands in his jean pockets, watching her sleep. It was the most deeply she’d slept in months, and it settled his soul. “It’s an awfully loaded question to ask me. Maybe she’s not looking for relief.”

“What else would it be?”

Mitsuhide shrugged. “I’m a man with simple and few attachments, simply dedication. If I had to take a hard guess, I’d say she’s the kind of woman with the spirit and bravery to lean into that tide, not out of it.”

Kenshin fell silent at last. Behind them, the sun rose like a melt of fire. 

[midnightkolrath]

Christmas gift HCs with Akechi and the PT’s

For Christmas, Akechi gets the usual random gifts from his fans/admirers that tend to be pretty generic that he has to either toss out or try and store away because he gets SO MANY that he can’t keep them all.

Its only the Phantom Thieves that get him gifts he absolutely cherishes but he wouldn’t admit that out loud

Long text of Gift HC’s under the cut...

Akira/Ren makes him special Christmas themed curry that has “Merry Christmas” carefully spelled out in rice along with a Christmas sweater with pancakes on them that he actually imported from America Did y’all know IHop sold some cause I sure didn’t that causes Akechi to cringe abit but he appreciates it nonetheless. Akira/Ren also helps to pitch in some money for each gift the other PT’s get for him, but he refuses to take credit for it and instead innocently tilts his glasses while sipping hot chocolate whenever asked.

Futaba hears he has a thing for Featherman R Akira/Ren slipped it out and Futaba basically lost her shit and practically screeched at him to help her get some of her gifts for Akechi that he of course agreed to and gets him a limited edition set of Holiday-themed Featherman R figures along with a DVD box set of the complete series and makes him promise to watch it with her they probably spend alot of time geeking out and tossing debates at each other about their favorite characters...sometimes they end up arguing abit and Akira/Ren has to break them up but they end up fine in the end and later on in the night both Akechi and her are passed out asleep from trying to binge watch the series in its entirety and Akira/Ren just wraps them both in a warm blanket because he doesn’t have the heart to wake them both up When given those gifts though, you could practically see Akechi’s eyes light up in that bit of childish behavior he still has inside him his weapons ARE based on children’s toys after all, and Robin Hood’s design takes some things from a Super Sentai/Featherman perspective... and he has to force himself to hold back from fanboying...though a few excited sounds do escape and he gives Futaba the biggest hug he can give...which is cut short because he remembers how Futaba can be about her personal space.

Haru gives him a little Crow plush with a Santa hat custom sown onto its head that leaves Akechi speechless for awhile because of how cute it is (Think, like this) but he eventually snaps out of it and also gives Haru a nice hug and thanks her for the gift that he sleeps curled up with all the time now but he wouldn’t let anyone know about that...

Yusuke give him a self portrait he painted himself that also leaves Akechi completely speechless because of how stunning it is. Akechi would frame it as quickly as possible and even ask Yusuke to sign it if he didn’t already bcause artist signatures while always keeping it hanged up on his wall of his apartment. Sometimes, while working at home, he looks up and stares at it, admiring all the details and how Yusuke managed to capture some “details” in the art piece that he never really paid attention to himself. From that point on, he’d even ask for more art pieces from Yusuke to frame and hang up.

Makoto gets him a few Mystery/Detective books that recently came out and even has the author of his favorite series sign the latest book that Akira/Ren also let slip out but shh that released for the holiday season since they happened to be signing them around that time. Akechi is pretty much ecstatic about it and eventually the two end up discussing and recommending books to each other and even promise to lend each other books should they be interested in a series the other has yet to read.

Ann gets him a bag of candy and sweets that he carries around with him from that day onward, stealing from it every so often to eat when he thinks no one’s looking. She also steals him for alittle bit to take him clothes shopping which he doesn’t mind one bit and when they both come back, Akechi practically looks like a model and it even takes everyone else awhile to recognize him and mistake him for one of Ann’s other model accomplices. He’s also carrying many bags of clothes that Ann couldn’t resist buying for both herself and him but he doesn’t mind it too much since he helped her pick them out.

Ryuji practically gives him a whole stack of coupons to some place he found that sells the best pancakes and food because he found out how Akechi is with food and his food blog that Futaba and Akira/Ren told the other PT’s about and even takes him out for some ramen later on that leads to the other PT’s tagging along for a group dinner RIP Ryuji’s wallet, tho everyone eventually decides to split the bill for his sake.

Morgana, who is a cat and is actually unable to get a gift himself, eventually shows up to the gift giving party with a dead mouse in his mouth before dropping it at Akechi’s foot thanks cat instincts....its actually not dead and jumps up before scurrying around and causing all hell to break loose...though eventually they manage to catch the poor mouse and instead of letting it go, Akechi decides to make it a personal pet because of how it jokingly reminds him of how they got turned into mice sometimes in the Metaverse. He even wants to make a little Crow mask for it to wear but with how energetic and mischievous the mouse is, he decides against it because of how much trouble it would end up being...

In the end, Akechi would excuse himself for awhile to go to the bathroom...in actuality, he has to excuse himself to go sob in happiness because of all the gifts the Phantom Thieves actually took the time and effort to get for him while he couldn’t get them all much of anything, especially with all the things he did and regretted doing. When he comes back out, the Phantom thieves practically swarm with with a group hug because they very much heard his sobs and his still red eyes from crying gave it away and wanted to give him a wonderful Christmas with actual friends he could spend time with.

And the next year? Akechi shows up with a mountain of presents for them to pay them back for the gifts and kindness they’ve given him that very special previous Christmas day.

[mysticdragon3md3]

I'm not ready to stop hating Akechi, but I like seeing people get over their hatred of Akechi.  I like seeing more positivity in the world.   And I would say that "it gives me hope that maybe I too will stop hating a character and maybe will like Akechi when I play P5R, or at least not be enraged by Akechi so that I will be ABLE to be play P5R"

[Hey, Tumblr. Why aren’t you showing my cut?  There’s supposed to be a cut here.  I don’t want to traumatize people who love Akechi!  Don’t show them my Akechi-hate under this cut!  Damn it!  Let his fans go unhindered by my madness!  BTW Akechi has 2 Figma and 1 Nendoroid, if you guys could go buy them, GoodSmileCompany might be encouraged to make more P5 figures, and I’d really like that. ^.~]

...But truthfully, when I remember WHY I hate Akechi, that he hits one of my biggest pet peeves, that he's a bully, that he's unnecessarily malicious, and I remember HOW MUCH that behavior out of any character instantaneously ENRAGES me, I can't wish to stop hating Akechi.  He acts like an asshole, so he is an asshole, and I don't want to get to like him.  ...But I also want to someday play P5R.  Maybe not on the Western release date.  Maybe not even after I buy it during the following Black Friday sales.  Maybe I'll wait 2 or even 3 years to buy P5R on a Black Friay sale.  That's how little my excitement for P5R became when I learned the story changed to mostly be about Akechi.  (And I just wasn't hyped for Kasumi and she was just taking over all the promo for P5R, and addmittedly, I was getting jealous of the spotlight being taken away from Joker.)  

But sometimes I think about what it would have been like if my introduction to Akechi was not him bullying Makoto for no reason, if it wasn’t his presence constantly threatening and endangering Joker’s friends with his suspicions.  I wonder what my experience of his character would have been like if he had only the introduction from the anime adaptation of P5. Would the me in that parallel universe only focus on how much I love Soichiro Hoshi, since he voiced my favorite character from my previous OTP before P5's AkiRyu?  Would I have gone so far as to ship Akechi with anyone????  I honestly can't extricate Akechi's personality from his introductory scenes.  And those scenes were all about him being a bully and a threat to my friends (I mean, after establishing that he's high school prodigy consulting for Sae).  To me, his personality was established as being a malicious little bully, and every word out of his mouth was just so fake and plastic (thank you, Robbie Daymond, for so perfectly conveying that with every line), that WHO Akechi is is nothing but terrible to me.  Why would I ever want to like a character and personality like that?????  

Maybe the best I can hope for is to just keep cheering on the Akechi fans to enjoy their character and enjoy their ships.  Naw, I also wish, on top of that, to be able to play P5R without feeling icky.  

And I know that some fan of his is going to come up to me and say that “No, once you get to see his sad sad backstory full of angst, you’ll totally be on his side!”  And I’m sorry, but I’m firmly in the camp of “Cool motive; still murder.”  (Which is ironic for me, since I’m ok with characters who murder. I’m just not ok with bullies and people who make the hell that is living, additionally unnecessarily horrifying for people.)  A cool, sympathetic backstory isn’t a reason to get on someone’s side for me.  That is a SUPERVILLAIN’S backstory.  Practically every Batman The Animated Series villain was someone clearly sympathetic and unjustly wronged.  It was a reason for Batman to show them kindness, and I fully believe in the idea of Compassion that Batman TAS embodied (in those first 2 seasons), but it doesn’t mean I’m now cheering on the villain and they’re my favorite character(s) now.  I love martial arts and samurai anime, and there’s this concept of still showing kindness to someone, even while you’re killing the on the battlefield. You can still show sympathetic understanding to a character and not want bad things to happen to them, while continuing to dislike them.  And I save my empathy for real people in real life.  But a fictional character, if I hate their personality and every moment on screen they do something to make the moments more unkind and more horrible, then I don’t care what kind of backstory they’ve got.  Tug at all my heartstrings that you want; if you’re still choosing to act like an asshole, then you’re an asshole.  There are plenty of characters who have equally tragic backstories, who choose to do good and be kind people in “retaliation”:  Batman, Natsume Takashi, Ryuji Sakamoto---hell, ALL THE PHANTOM THIEVES EXCEPT AKECHI.  

Here's an interesting case study.  I used to fucking hate Tsukishima Kei from Haikyuu.  He's a bully and that is my pet peeve.  I mean, I'm maybe 7 episodes into the 4th season of Haikyuu, and I still don't like Tsukishima, but he doesn't bother me so much that I can't watch Haikyuu.  Tsukishima isn't a series-dropper, like Bakugo was for me and Boku no Hero Acaemia.  I can tolerate Tsukishima.  And it really helps that the series put him in his place.  It not only made the underdog that Tsukishima was picking on, into the star of the team and the series, propping Hinata up on a pedestal of his own skills in his own right, but aside from the directing/framing of the series itself, Tsukishima himself learned his place.  Season 2 has him state several times himself that he recognizes that Hinata out-shines him and even intimidates him.  Maybe I'm not so bothered by Tsukishima anymore, because his fangs have been ripped out.  He's not a constant threat of bullying.  More often than not, he's just inconspicuously making snide, but objective comments in the sidelines.  I think that objectivity was key.   It's something I could agree with, even if it was coming out of Tsukishima.  And especially in season 3, when Tsukishima was MVP, I could cheer for him, because his tactics were objectively good and benefited the group.  I didn't grow affinity for him as a person, but as a tool to advance/help the characters I did care about.  But though my tolerance for Tsukishima was growing in terms of utilizing him as a valuable tool, vs liking him as a person, still, my tolerance for him was growing.  And though he was introduced as bullying, _enjoying_ his malice, and often speaking with a superior, condescending tone, after he learned his place, his tone more often became just subdued.  Every word out of his mouth was not jabbing at everyone's weaknesses.  And even when they were, it was now framed with so much comedy, that even in the season 4 ep I watched yesterday, Hinata immediately shut him down.  ---It was pretty funny!  Tsukishima jabbed at Kageyama's weak point, then Hinata immediately jabbed at Tsukishima's weak point.  And maybe that was part of why Tsukishima became tolerable.  He was no longer attacking characters that could be truly emotionally debilitated by his bullying.  Now he mostly pokes at Kageyama, and though Kageyama can angst, I feel like his insides are less fragile than Hinata.  Hinata is Feeling and Emotion at 100%...Kageyama meanwhile, is a little too stupid for that level (which is part of why we love him).  It makes Kageyama more resilient than Hinata.  So for most of the scenes after Tsukishima's character introduction, he bullies Kageyama instead of Hinata, who he bullied during his introduction.  Now, for most of the series, when Tsukishima bullies, he's got equal chance of being bitten back, because his target is Kageyama, not the more vulnerable, "don't you dare hurt my cinnamon roll sunshine child" Hinata.  And Kageyama is more resilient and equally dangerous to Tsukishima.  Nowadays, Tsukishima is just that tall brat off to the side, who is useful sometimes, and I don't resent so much anymore being forced to have bought his Nendoroid out of obligation just to get a full set of the Karasuno team.  

I wonder if I could ever feel that way about Akechi.  (Because I certainly don't want to ever see him as a person enough to ship him or make him an OTP.)  But I wonder if I could ever tolerate Akechi enough, to not be scared-off from playing P5R.  Could P5R even make Akechi tolerable for me?  o.o?????