#i dont like editing i think u can tell

[terrorsbeauty]

Truly

notes: geto x f!reader, possible sukuna x f!reader ;college au!!!! everyone is kinda the same age???? reader and shoko are med school buddies; everyone is slightly ooc

part 1

“Anatomy is crucial in medicine. Why? Because it is a language. How can you treat the body, without understanding it first?” he started, pacing around the room, his lips in a straight line.

“ I’ll save you some time. You can’t. That’s your only job, as medicine students. Learn the body’s language, learnt its intricacies, and you’ll find that everything is connected, and everything has meaning.”

Professor Yaga had this somberness to him, that made everything sound like a verdict. It was either this, or that, never grey. You supposed he would need to be so sure of himself in his line of work. Being a surgeon leaves little room for uncertainty, and it certainly requires a deep knowledge of the human body, that could be seen in the way he spoke about the subject. He was clearly fluent in this language, and you had the chance of learning it from the best. That only meant you had better get on it.

The class was over, but there was a stillness in the air, like everyone just now realized what they were getting in to. Oh well. You took your bag and swiftly made your way out to the back of the Anatomy building, to the smoking area, and lit a cigarette, sighing at the fact that there was only one left. You just got here yesterday, and the pack was already finished, how the fuck did that happen? Clearly there was some damage control that needed to be done.

“ You have a lighter?”

You raised your eyebrows, startled by the voice, and hand her your brand new clipper, bought at the gas station not too long ago.

The girl just nodded her head in sign of appreciation, and stood besides you, neither wanting to start any kind of conversation. The silence was eventually too much to bear, so she started speaking, but you didn’t quite register it, because you kept looking at her eyes. They were so peculiarly bright, not in color, but there was something… unusual.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

She looked at you funny and laughed. “Parliament. Aqua Blue. You have good taste.”

It was your turn to laugh. “I suppose. Better than those Lucky Strikes you’re smoking.”

“They’re the real deal, not those Vogue bullshits.” she said, her mohth corner slightly dropping in disgust.

“ Yeah, but by the end of college we’re both gonna need new lungs.”

You both smile, a small cloud of smoke forming over you.

“I’m Shoko. I think you’ll be my new cig partner.” she says finishing her cigarette and stepping on it.

“Y/N. You in Dorm B?”

“Yeah, don’t tell me we’re on the same floor, cause that would be some freaky fucking shit.”

“Last floor. I have to climb all the fucking stairs cause the stupid elevator doesn’t work.” you said rolling your eyes. What a pain in the ass.

Shoko nods her head understandingly, pursing her lips and slightly squinting their eyes.

“Makes sense. I bet those fuckers put all of us first years there.”

You throw her an amused look, fiddling with the lace of your hoodie, thinking maybe this wasn’t going to be as hard as you thought it would. Yeah, you had to climb seven floors just so you could crash in your bed, but having someone to share that torture with would make it bearable. You liked her. She was blunt, but also reserved, the real embodiment of not giving a fuck, something you clearly lacked but desperately tried to achieve; she was the kind of girl you could sit in silence without being awkward, not needing to make useless conversation just to fill the air with words.

The day flew by extremely fast, and when you finally got back to your dorm at 8 pm and realized you hadnn’t eaten anything but half a cookie Shoko gave you, you sighed. How were you going to keep up with med school if the first day already has you in shambles? You didn’t even want to think about having a social life, going to the gym, and maybe taking up some extracurricular activities, no, you couldn’t think about that because you didn’t even unpack. The stacks of boxes seemed to stare at you in disappointment, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. You stared at the stained ceiling- how did that stain even get there- your eyelids starting to slowly close, when your phone started ringing. Shoko’s contact appeared on the screen and you contemplated letting it ring, but ultimately decided do answer, because college was supposed to be about making new friends, trying new things, having life-changing experiences, and staring at the duck-shaped stain on the ceiling only brought you closer to wanting to sink into the mattress and hibernate for a couple months.

“Are you in your room?” she asked with a curious tone. You answered her and suddenly saw your door open large, your guest making herself at home.

“ You look like you’re having an existential crisis, get up.” she said not even sparing you a glance and immediately opening your closet, sighing at the emptiness of it. Not even a second later she started rummaging through your boxes, opening every single one and groaning for a reason you couldn’t figure out.

“ Hello to you too, of course you can come in, yeah , sure, have a look around, it’s not like I care about my privacy or whatever.” you said , standing up and stretching with a yawn.

Shoko squealed happily upon finding a pink box - fuck, you thought, not the party box - and bringing it to your bed.

“ That’s the way things are going to be from now on, so you better get used to it.” she raised her shoulders, smiling and wiggling her eyebrows. “I love this box, by the way. We’re going to be very good friends, I can tell just from looking at it.”

“ You can tell that by the fact that I have a box full of alcohol and skimpy clothes?” you said incredulously.

“ Yup. You should wear this top tonight, it’s perfect, classy and slutty at the same time.” she huffed out and then threw it in your face.

“ You can’t be seriously thinking about going to that stupid freshman party.” you whined.

“ We,” she said while pointing at the two of you, “are going to the party. You can start getting dressed, I’ll make the drinks, we’re meeting my friends in an hour.” she explained casually, as if it was the most obvious thing, and you couldn’t do anything but comply. Even though you were more than tired, the truth was, you could never say no to going out - you were only human - and it seemed like Shoko read you perfectly. You liked her, and more than that, you liked that she acted as if you were best friends since birth.

“ We have to do shots then, because I am not going anywhere sober.” you added, while reaching for the tequila bottle in your box. Shoko gave you a big smile and the fun began. It took more than an hour, but it was to be expected, because getting ready for a party makes up for more than half of the fun. A couple shots and cigarette breaks later, Shoko knew the story of your life, you knew hers, you were planning matching tattoos and moving in together- it came naturally, as if the two of you were always meant to be friends, and the universe only now put you in the same place.

After successfully walking in the cold for 20 minutes, you reached the designated party place and calling it overcrowded would be an understatement - even the sidewalk was full of people. Shoko simply grabbed your hand and guided you through the house, which she seemed to know perfectly (you were definitely asking her about it the next day), and after bumping into countless sweaty people, you reached a closed black door. What the fuck was this?

“It’s a long story.” she said looking at your confused face, then knocking.

“ How could they hear over the fucking music?” you asked her and for a moment she just stared at you, and then quickly got out her phone. You couldn’t hear what she was saying while talking on the phone, partly due to the loud music, and partly due to the fact that just maybe, you were a little tipsy.

The door suddenly opens and this tall, white-haired guy looks at you grinning just like the Cheshire Cat. He was freakishly tall, and he had these weird round glasses on- what was going on? You enter the room, and took a look around, seeing way fewer people than you expected. What was this?

“So you are Shoko’s friend!” the white haired guy said almost screaming at you. “I’m Gojo, Shoko’s love of her life, nice to meet you, sweets.” he continued while putting his hand over your shoulder. You couldn’t even answer because Shoko snorted loudly and slapped his hand away.

“ Call yourself that again and I will use your cadaver as a learning tool for my anatomy class. I can’t stress this enough Toru, you are the reason I have so few girl friends. Just shut up.” she said half smiling at him.

“ What’s up with the glasses? You have some sort of disease or what?” you asked, studying his glasses. He gasped and flashed you a boyish grin.

“Why? You want to study me or what, sweetheart?” he said mimicking you.

“Yeah, I’m just dying to, sweetheart” you laugh, taking a sip from the drink Shoko just shoved into your hand and then get dragged away by her.

“ Don’t get too flirty with him, we don’t want his ego getting bigger than it is - if it’s even possible. ” Shoko whispers to you and you both giggle like little schoolgirls.

“What’s up with this room? Is this the VIP section or what?” you ask as you go sit on a kitchen counter.

“Gojo’s father basically owns the whole uni, so everyone will kiss his ass so they’ll get on his good side. We’ve all been coming here since high-school, and we decided the kitchen is our safe space - sort of.” she explained while lighting up a cigarette.

“And he lives here or what?”

“ No, he said he wanted to have the “full college experience” ” she said while rolling her eyes, “ so he lives in the dorms. ”

“ Not to be mean, cause he’s your friend and all, but that’s typical rich people bullshit.” you answered, shaking your head.

“ Yeah, he may be a little peculiar but he’s a good friend. Don’t tell him I said that though.” she muttered through the smoke.

You brought your own cigarette to your lips when a spark appeared in front of you. You looked up in front of you, only to see another freakishly tall guy.

“Damn, everyone here is so tall.” you thought out loud, making the guy in front of you raise his brow, while getting a laugh out of Shoko.

“ You’re welcome.” he said, calmly while also lighting his cigarette - the same brand as yours. You nodded, feeling a rush of blood in your cheeks and mentally thanking whoever it was that turned off the lights, leaving on only the red neon sign on the wall. You took a drag and looked at him through your lashes - broad shoulders, gorgeous black hair and cold, dark eyes. Shoko had good taste in friends, for sure. If the other one was Gojo, this had to be Geto, which made Shoko right - they truly were the embodiment of Yin and Yang.

“This is Suguru, Satoru’s husband.” Shoko chuckled and he slightly rolled his eyes while fake punching her shoulder.

“This is Y/N, my future wife.” she presented you, and you blew her a kiss.

“ Don’t you think we’re moving a bit too fast?” you asked her pouting.

“Not at all. I told you we were meant to be from the start.”

Geto scoffs. “You’ve been hanging out with Satoru so much you start to sound like him.” he said and Shoko’s eyes widen.

“ Take that back!”

He put his arms in the air and cracked a tiny smile, and as his shirt rolled up just the tiniest amount, you couldn’t help but notice some tattoos going down his abdomen. You didn’t let your eyes wander for too long, because you felt an arm on your shoulder - Gojo.

“ Shoko, you mind if I steal your beautiful gorgeous fellow doctor-to-be for some shots?” he lolled his words while squeezing you.

“ My darling handsome whatever you are going to be, if my wife doesn’t come then I won’t either.” you added, and Shoko sighed.

“ Enough with this talk, you’re making us all sick. Let’s just go.” Shoko deadpans, making a disgusted look.

“ You and I are going to get along perfectly.” Gojo exclaimed, looking at you through his glasses, revealing a concerning shade of blue. That definitely had to be some disease, you thought, not giving voice to your said thought and just smiling at him.

You looked at Geto who had a completely flat face - frankly, he didn’t look happy to be here. You flashed him an awkward smile that he didn’t return - what a dick - and made your way through the crowd, guided by Gojo.

The huge living room smelled awful, the floor was sticky, and there were so many people you could barely breathe, but you were in a perfect state of inebriation, not completely drunk off your mind, but close enough so that you didn’t care. You became extra social, as you usually did in this state, flashing smiles left and right, talking to everyone about everything. You and Gojo seemed to make an unstoppable duo when drunk, that couldn’t be stopped when there were shots involved, leaving Shoko surprised.

All the dancing and the smoke started to make you dizzy so you made your way outside, leaving Shoko talking to a very pretty girl from your class, Utahime you thought was her name, knowing you’ll definitely tease her about it in the morning - fuck, morning.

Tomorrow was tuesday, it was currently 2:37 am and you were on your way to being seriously drunk - so much for being responsible in college. You took out your phone, setting an alarm at 7 am, and looked for your cigarette pack, only to come to the pained conclusion that you must have lost it somewhere inside. You sat down on the wet grass, thinking about how annoyed you’ll be when you’ll have to wash your jeans, and put your head on the wall behind you, sighing.

“You lost your pack.” you heard a deep voice to your right, only to see Shoko’s brunette friend throw you your pack.

“ Holy shit, thanks.” you said, confused and grateful at the same time, while taking out a well-deserved ( or so you told yourself) cigarette. Realizing you had no lighter, you looked at the man with the best puppy eyes you could muster, only for him to roll his eyes.

“You sure looked like you were having fun with Satoru.” he said coldly, almost accusatory.

“ What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” you asked annoyed at his tone. Was he jealous that his friend was actually having fun instead of sulking around like a loser? “Thanks for the lighter.” you added curtly.

“ Nothing.” he stated, lighting his own cigarette, continuing stand at an awkward distance - close enough so you could hear what he was saying, but still far, like you were in first grade all over again and he didn’t want to get caught talking to a girl.

“If you’re not having fun , why are you here?” you said taking a drag and turning towards him.

He laughs - a short, almost bitter laugh. “Who says I’m not having fun?”

You scoff. “Please, you look like you’re one inconvenience away from killing yourself and everyone here.”

“You know, that’s kind of rude to say to someone you’ve just met.” he replied, still not looking at you.

“I have a feeling you’ll get over it pretty fast.” You thought you saw a small smile in the corner of his lips, but it quickly went away. As you finished your cigarette, you looked at the time again, groaned and got up.

“ Thank you for rescuing my pack, Geto. It was nice to meet you.” you uttered, giving him a forced smile and leaving him outside. As you entered the house, Shoko latched onto you.

“ We have class in 4 hours.” she murmured in your year. “We’re fucked.” Exactly your thoughts. You intertwined your hand with hers and exhaled.

“ Let’s go sleep.” you said, mentally preparing yourself for walking drunk and cold back to your dorm. Shoko just hummed and followed your lead, as if you were in a better state than her.

The bed felt like heaven and you quickly drifted away to sleep, with the room slightly spinning, thinking that maybe this wasn’t such a bad start to college.

let me know if you like it!!!!! <333333

[umbrvx]

[lokh]

what do you think toshiro's version of laios would've been like if he was still with the group during the shapeshifter shenanigans

there have been a few speculations in the tag and among the fans and they are all very good SO i am going to take this opportunity to insert a bit of my shipping bias as i like in my interpretation LMAO agdsfgdfgv

i noted that in actuality shuro seems to have a very good grasp on laios' character??? this is most obvious in the manga later on but even seeing how he criticises laios in their fight... iirc nothing he says is actually untrue or wildly exaggerated, and while he does express frustration over something he feels like laios Should have control over (noticing his cues), he is also aware that laios isnt being malicious and that hes Just Like That. what i mean to say is that while i think his version of laios may seem more pushy and in-your-face, i dont think it will be overwhelmingly so. if its post-fight, i think the idea of laios (and marcille) being willing to do anything to get falin back made a big impression on him, as well as the idea that they need to eat and rest in order to succeed in their goals, so those aspects would be prominent in his version. he seems pretty observant, so i think for the most part the physical traits would line up, but i think there would be specific things that stand out to him that would appear strangely striking on his version of laios (like. idk something about his eye colour or the subtle contrast of his armour and chainmail. he seems to have a weird sense of aesthetics if extras are anything to go by lmao). if hed actually been paying attention all those times laios had gone on about what the hell ever, then it might be even MORE hard to tell apart his version since he would also have a good grasp on what laios should know. so either his version of laios is pretty difficult to pick out, OR despite the character being accurate his appearance is too. stylised lmao (exaggerated features or something) OR!! they just get him to pull out his monster gourmet guide thing and are able to tell from there. iirc everyone was surprised at its appearance so its possible toshiro had also never seen it before

IN MY IMAGINARY SHIPPING SCENARIO............ lets say that his laios isnt able to be picked out immediately and that the monster guide thing also doesnt immediately occur to anyone. what the real laios Specifically notices is how close this other laios keeps getting to shuro. and hes like. ??? why is he getting so close to him, theres no way i get that close to him??? but no one else seems to be picking up on it as weird, so hes having a small crisis like do i REALLY get that close to him???? and now that hes on the outside he notices shuro subtly leaning away and he feels both a wave of shame and..... protectiveness??? (JEALOUSY??????) and he immediately steps in and grabs him like Hey!!! cant you see hes uncomfortable???? weve been through this already!!! and like. ok i cant believe im doing this again but i need to separate this into different endings

a) the whump route: i dont think shuro ever envisioned Actually Telling laios about his frustrations outside of being basically cornered into it. has he ever spoken up against what was expected of him?? has he ever been confrontational???? i think part of what held him back from expressing his frustrations, along with the cultural norms, could be fear of what the reaction would be. if he had done the same in any other aspect of his life (his family, his inheritance), i think he would expect disappointment, disapproval, more proof that he doesnt add up to expectation. to be honest i dont think he Truly believes that laios is the type of person to react like this. but it was strong enough to prevent him from acting and i think would be projected onto his image of laios. maybe fake!laios says something dismissive like Well if it really bothered him hed say something right? what, he cant even stand up for himself? cmon, shuro, prove that you cant handle it just like everything else. and thats pretty much the fastest giveaway that it isnt really laios. of course this would be a HUGE tonal departure from what the actual episode/chapter was, so:

b) the dumbass route: both laioses break into fisticuffs, and, yes.... barking. and so they speedrun the entire encounter as the shapeshifters true form appears and, after laios points out that thinking too hard about others versions of you can tear apart groups and peace of mind, they pointedly do not speak of it again. they think about it though. a LOT

c) the normal route: both laioses argue normal like and the group ends up being able to tell them apart because the fake laios goes on a little too long about how theyre all here for falin and everyones like ok its not like he DOESNT love his sister but.......... the rest of the scenario probably goes like canon, though then i would want to see what everyone Else thought of shuro

[bonetrousledbones]

HERE SHE IS my angel the love of my life the woman of my dreams she has So Many Issues

the extra little thingies under the cut:

i wanted to show a bit of my process in this so i left in the lil mini undynes that helped me work out the colors :> also some details u wouldnt normally see and some expressions!

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[bonestrouslingbones]

btw one of the things i want to do when i really rap up atbb for real is spontaneously get the energy at will to do actual updated fullbodies of the main 4 since now i actually have the ability to draw them the way they look in my head & have the skills to put some more variety in their shapes. basically i wanna

[nyaskitten]

thinking about. about Krag. how he's the last of his kind. how his family was ruthlessly murdered by Zane's soldiers, and he had to bury them all and create tiny burial grounds for them and no one talks about just how fucked up it is that the show just NEVER addresses that Zane was responsible for LITERAL genocide like and they never even explain why the yeti's were all fucking killed so this dude lost his whole fucking family and its never explained as to WHY he had to fucking lose them all and AUGH SCREAMING SOBBING TEARS TEARS TEARS

[morganpdf]

unironically all the takes ive been seeing irt laios have been sooooo 😬😬😬 that if/when i catch up reading and/or watching i simply shant interact w anyone outside of my trusted mutuals bc holy shit yall

[starlooove]

Racist white ppl who don’t realize they’re racist getting mad about gojo is so funny

[britneyshakespeare]

I can't believe the Younger Brother (1689) by Aphra Behn has the only one bed trope

[beesorcery]

google how do i tell my dad that the reason i keep bringing up elon musk's transphobia isn't that i've got gen z political tunnel vision that makes me blind to his "innovation" in electric cars but because i am desperately crying out for you as the father of a trans child to feel just as outraged and angry as i am that that man has so much power

[firstofficerkittycat]

hey. hi hello. what gave u the right to make the most gut wrenching video ive ever seen in my entire life (star trek is about the sixties). how dare you. you changed my life.

Okay !💖yay

[ghostbonezzz]

Guyysss look at I made ::3c

Flash warning ⚠️

[kkuline]

epiph✧ny  ⋆ˊ-

[boxwinebaddie]

nina do you ever plan on posting the remainder of pep?

this is nonsensical but this is how i feel ig

[samarecharm]

thank you for the long response! it was geniunely a very interesting read!! also i did not want to imply that you have to 100% like something or else drop it, that was not my intention (/_;)/~~ i just wanted to know what were the pros that outweighed the cons for you to continue the game!! i definitely have my own rant about the persona 5, as much as i love it.

i'm someone who has sunk hundreds of hours (i think about 400) into persona 5 royal, i have played the original as well and,,,,, i don't remember every bit of it as i got much more into royal, but your response definitely dug up some memories of my own gripes with the game as it was then. i bought strikers once i had a switch!! i was super excited to see ryuji and the rest of the gang again, but due to life stuff and me generally not being a fan of button smashers/combo games, i only got like 3 hours into it before i left it alone. also the lack of akechi was disheartening since after royal giving him more story i was wanting /still want more of him as royal, while not fully fixing his confidant, still improved majorly on his character in my opinion. but i trust your judgment, so do you have any tips to get back into strikers? it's really the gameplay that sticks out like a sore thumb to me, i'm not very dexterous with a controler and i get the hang of things quite slowly,,,, but again, thank you geniunely for responding so kindly and elaborating!! (*^ω^)

You are welcome 😊 I try to give the botd for questions like this, bc I have seen and received some very silly comments wrt to complaints of this game (and others people hold in high regard). Not that I am happy to see that you remembered some gripes w a game you liked, but it is easy to become a bit rosetinted about media you enjoy, and its good to go back and say ‘hey actually, theres some stuff i DO wish couldve been changed to make the experience better.’ At least u were polite about asking lmao

I think I am going to have the same problem I had before, so im going to preemptively put my strikers tips under the cut to stop it from bloating up dashboards 😭

I am aware that the warriors style gameplay is not for everyone; its very repetitive by its nature and it can be really bad on the hands if youre not used to it, so I unfortunately dont have a suggestion for making the combat portion of the game easier. But I am halfway through a ng+ of that game, so I at least have tips on how to make the combat less confusing, and how to spend less time on the actual combat itself.

Stick to one character and ignore literally anyone else in the beginning. I am so serious about this. The upgrades you get for ranking up teammates is used to enhance their combos, and that can be confusing in the beginning of the game. I had to fall back onto normal difficulty until i got the hang of everyones combos, so i suggest you do the same.

The ai for your teammates is surprisingly well done, and they will target enemy weaknesses and heal you before you NEED to be healed, which is always better than them simply forgetting to do so. They buff often, but they are a bit lax about debuffing without manual input (ann has Tarunda as a spell AND as a combo finisher, but she refuses to do either unless its targeting a tough enemy). You should prioritize builds that buff your entire team (so the competent team ai rips enemies to shreds) and debuffing enemies.

Combos are almost entirely optional if youre willing to jump in and out of Jails to replenish SP constantly. Spam spells, and switch teammates to spam their spells as well, then leave the Jail and return. Unlike the mainline games, leaving the metaverse does not pass time; only hitting important plot points like getting to the treasure and fighting the jailer counts towards progressing time, so you should abuse it as often as possible.

Due to [REDACTED] spoilers, you WILL need to at least master or understand three characters and their movesets. I obviously suggest Akira as one, but pick two more characters that work well with your playstyle. Ryuji was personally the easiest to understand; hes resistant to flinching, and his finishers are ‘hold X to kill everything around you’. Haru has a wide aoe for her combo finishers, letting her spin and shred through enemies or spam her grenade launcher infinitely. She has the added benefit of gaining more armor and reduced flinching during her hold finishers, so shes good for fighting bosses.

DONT fight those super hard burning enemies. They arent worth it 😭😭 you need to be at least 3-4 jails deep before u can even fight the one in shibuya jail 😭😭 theyre very easy to avoid, so just shimmy past them or ignore the area theyre in outright.

If you focus on understanding Akira, know that each persona has a unique set of finishers (yes, literally each one). If you are thinking of learning combos instead of just spamming spells, I suggest learning the pattern for executing his combos before focusing on what the finishers actually do. From there, you can test out finishers for each persona, and decide which ones are worth keeping based on that. I will say though, that the finishers kinda dont mean anything until you get to the end game, where high leveled personas will have spells like Concentrate or Debilitate as Finishers; but always know that a finisher spell is ALWAYS a spell that you can just as easily cast with SP. Dont make the game more stressful or complicated than you need it to be.

(As an addon, if you can understand Akiras moveset, then learning the other ones will be WAY easier since they are all virtually the same. The only thing you need to memorize is exactly what spell is used on their finishers; it took me forever to realize that Yusukes last finisher is…a combo enhancer…that makes his finishers last forever… and you would NOT know that unless u started learning his moveset since his ai never uses it)

If youre someone who wants to farm and level up to gain access to more personas, you should find the strong enemies around a map instead of constantly reclearing the entire jail. Unlike the mainline games, enemies do not respawn after leaving a floor; you gotta leave the jail and come back to make them respawn. If you are okay w the repetition, it is easier to memorize the spawns of strong enemies (not the minibosses that are burning) and beat them up for good exp and money, esp since all spawns are static. Silky in the Shibuya jail is the first one that comes to mind, since Ann is able to stunlock her w Agis, AND she spawns very close to one of the checkpoints (its before the underground section of shibuya but i cannot remember the name of it) making it easy to jump in and jump out to replenish SP, and continue farming.

And finally, despite what I just said, dont take the bosses of this game too seriously. They arent easy but they are absolutely doable without insane builds and optimization. Bosses have aids in the form of interactables of their respective weaknesses (Shibuya has party poppers with wind affinitiy thats eventually used on the boss to stun them.) Stock up on healing personas, Stock up on Items from Sophias shop, and target weaknesses whenever you can to force an allout attack as fast as possible. The combat can be overwhelming, but at the end of the day, the combat is really just ‘run around from attacks and spam spells or combos until the thing dies’. I hope that helps a little bit, and if push comes to shove, i will always recommend watching a playthrough instead of fighting through a game that feels like a slog to get through. Most of the story comes from the cutscenes and city interactions, so you arent missing much by watching someone beat up shadows for u lol and bc i genuinely LOVE the characters they introduce, its worth it to learn about them.

It sucks that Goro isnt in the game, but it was made prior to Royal iirc (the japanese release was the only one available for some time). I will say though, the themes of this game fit him so perfectly, and if youre of the mind to speculate and make aus, then you will be joining me in the obsession of making Goro interactions w the team. Palaces were about corrupted peoples desires distorting the world around them, and they were always someone so reprehensible, you were not intended to sympathize w them and even debate if what the thieves were doing was wrong. But Jails serve an entirely different purpose, and the end result is having Rulers with depth to them, and the overarching theme of ‘if you fuck up your life and others over the decisions you thought were correct, can you recover?’ And the answer is always ‘yes. No matter what, you can always start over if you intend to do better and be better’, and I think thats a good reason to see the entire story through :)