#i like cognition akira he's a silly funny guy who insta-kills your party for vibes lol

[strialternatives]

bonus:

(if atlus won't give akechi's mom a name i'll have to Do It Myself-)

Here's part 2 of the Akechi palace au with a bunch of character concepts :jazzhands: once again having a normal one lads

check out part 1 over here

some additional mechanics and a plot outline continued under the cut

The fifth and final area is the Imperial Box, this is where the Empress and the Treasure reside.

(Acceptance, Akechi must acknowledge that his old ambitions are long dead and buried so to speak. Thus, he must move forward, whatever that looks like for him personally now that all other legal avenues for redemption have been closed to him.)

The ‘treasure’ is with the Empress, a bound Hereward disguised as Mamakechi’s cognition; Goro, the Emperor, is locked within his own palace and must leave the courtroom a free man on his own two feet. Akira an’ Co have to wake him from his restful sleep and steal him from the palace while the Empress rampages. 

Boss fight includes continuously knocking Hereward down while fleeing the palace as it collapses area by area. Robin Hood and Loki help guide the Thieves out, having finally come together to share a stage.

Phase 1: The Empress will not rise from her throne, she reflects fire, physical, bless and curse attacks with a detached, disinterest as though the battle has nothing to do with her.

Phase 2: The Empress surges up in anger, using a hail of hellfire arrows on the party that must be ridden out.

Phase 3: She full heals the party and invites them to join in the palace’s festivities.

Phase 4: Her attacks start to grow lethargic and sloppy the closer the party gets to the palace entrance.

Phase 5: All of her shields are down, she can no longer reflect attacks, her facade shatters like a mirror, revealing the final palace ruler--Hereward.

Goro has a third awakening during this pursuit--Wilhelm Tell. A Swiss folk hero representing individual freedom and rebellion, a skilled hunter and father most known for shooting an apple from his son’s head at the behest of a tyrant who ultimately seeks retribution. A hero that kept to his convictions while taking control of his future, and protecting the person most important to him. 

(AKA Goro deep down craves a decent fraternal figure and alas, his own psyche and the sea of collective human consciousness decided to provide. And no, he is NOT talking about it Joker.)

Misc Palace rules/gen details:

Loki and Robin Hood hate each other which is honestly just Goro’s internal self-loathing running wild, it’s part of why they can’t exist on the same stage.

Hereward pulls Goro into the metaverse as a defense mechanism of sorts aka before Goro did something self-destructive deep down none of them wanted post-Shido’s trial.

Akechi’s palace is hostile to every intruder aside from Akira, his rival, whom he’ll always see as a threat but respects and trusts more than anyone else. This results in every enemy but his own shadows targeting the rest of the party. They also abide by the "Oracle is off limits" rule. Fights in general are easier with a smaller team as teammates in the back lineup will also take damage.

Jazz records instead of grief seeds, every time you get one the music in the area stops.

In the audience stands there’s a cognition of Wakaba in the VIP section, the party learns about Futaba being Goro’s half-sibling. Goro sees himself in Futaba and deep down wishes he hadn’t burned all bridges on that front.

Initial Infiltration Team: Joker, Sumire, Morgana, Futaba. Haru and Makoto are at uni, Yusuke has a patron in Kyoto, Ann is overseas until a month into the palace and Ryuji is also at uni on a track scholarship until around the same time. The other thieves slowly fill in the ranks as the palace progresses, until we have a full house in the Hall of Severance.

First Layer Philosophy Puzzle Quotes: 

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

“Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights.” ― Hegel

“The law is reason, free from passion.” ― Aristotle

“The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile.” ― Plato

“I shall not be present at my trial.” ― Leblanc

This is basically a loose fic outline, broad strokes, etc ;; ty to everyone who left replies and comments, they're all really sweet!

(had to get this au out or the mold would get me ya see :/)