#i think abt it A Lot. abt all the alternative timelines. so many missed opportunities...

[meowmeowmessi]

Always lowkey hated how he stepped back and didn’t go to man city in 2020.. but right this moment? I’m absolutely mad that he didn’t go. Because if he had pushed harder against barto and not been the sentimental guy, we wouldn’t be here right now.. moving to mls when he still has so much football in him. ugh. And i thought it couldn’t get worse than psg. Welp, he proved me wrong.

[dolgelo]

[ hello darkness my old friend. you should talk abt mitsurus thoughts and feelings on shinjiro. we've gone thru a little bit of that ic, and in chat but. never too much yknow. so basically, anything from first impression to their time together in SEES in the beginning, to the tragedy, to the time they were more distant, to when he joined again and yet again another tragedy. and anything additional if you wanna. also why she always goes (gasp) aragaki! in the cd dramas whenever he's brought up ]

♕ ♕THIRST  FOR  KNOWLEDGE||      always  accepting    

[ you asked for a book. you also get an actual encyclopedia (i wish ahahaha!) ]

[ you asked the questions of the century, congratulations. also get ready, this talk will have lots of trio feelings, which are, by now, one of our primary causes of heartache and screams and distress and ahhhngst and other lovely things of that kind !  

i always say how both Akihiko and Shinjiro were the first real friends she ever had  ( after Kikuno, which has become a maid and that occasionally tried to protect her in all the wrong ways possible, like adding drugs into her tea to make her sleep the whole next day, while SEES was going to be killed by some guards– so yeah ), and I seriously doubt anything or anyone will ever make me rethink of that at this point. since  atl us  is an as s??? as we all know already, we have discussed some problems of years and timeline, sure, but that doesn’t change a bit what those three lived through together and what brought them closer.  it’s funny to think both the orphans  ( Akihiko more than the other though, perhaps )  were probably followed around by the Group or even Mitsuru herself, in an attempt to find their potential and recruit them. not to mention those three all attended the same junior high, they must have met once or twice in the hallways - not to mention they’re all of the year 1991, it only raises possibilities.

i think chances of first recruiting one first, instead of the other, were basically the same. 50 : 50. maybe the boxer was first proposed to join because of his afternoon clubs and activities, aka sports club. we can’t be sure of it, but we know for certain that after Akihiko accepted to join the newly born SEES, he told his best friend / basically twin brother ahah. Shinjiro, as you said multiple times, might have felt entitled to protect and keep an eye on him. something that might have also affected his power of heart, persona or resolution to fight such supernatural enemies. and i can’t see Mitsuru be displeased by this fact. the more the merrier !  especially if you want to climb up a tower full of Shadows. yet she grew closer to both of them, way more quickly than how she did in the game for example with Yukari, Junpei or the protagonist itself… and I think it was, indeed, for friendship. a genuine sentiment she might have never felt before !  the boys were already closer for all the years spent together, she was the stranger in there. but again, she had offered them a mission and a new reason to be useful and powerful.

bound by their powers, it was inevitable for her to get curious. she must have yearned for friends since forever, yet she was seen as the spoiled and powerful daughter of Kirijo, an heiress, a brilliant student, “lonely throne” – as naive as she appears during that time, she might not even be able to recognise evil intentions from apparently good ones, when relating to people or trying to approach them  ( she tried to hit on some yakuza thugs on the beach, he saved her ), maybe because of her upbringing. she might have at first seen Shinjiro as the nosey guy, the one asking to join to stay with Akihiko… but nothing actually negative or that would have made the girl take her distance actually. trust is eventually built, and with trust, then, also respect, admiration and way lighter feelings. controlling as she wants to appear, she might have tried to get the upper hand of the situation of the dorm, sometimes, acting all mighty and firm. even with bad results, ahah, but she was the leader back then. it was her job. he’s always been kind to her, strict at times – but it’s their nature. their. they are similar, under that specific light; they often try to act like the older one of the situation, try to help when needed. he might be a little bit calmer than her - he doesn’t strain himself too much, when fighting inside of Tartarus and gets worried when the other sound tired after a battle - suggesting vacations even !  and I’m sure she saw that, in him. positive vibes, good impressions. he might have been a bit rough or direct while talking or while scolding her or anyone else actually, but I can’t imagine mitsuru being scared/irritated/annoyed/frightened by such a thing. again, because that’s pretty similar to what she sometimes inspires too, in people, and she’s aware of it. 

the rest goes under a cut or I’ll break tumble.

often, mitsuru recalls how she was the one often stopping the boys from fighting like children throwing a stupid tantrum at their age. to devolve into four-years-old, ready to turn every small thing into a hugely important challenge and fight. that’s her merely trying to be the older sister of the situation, an opportunity she never had - but then you also have the girl getting into trouble at the beach and presenting herself on the sand and under the hot summer sun with complete uniform and high heeled boots, and poor Shinjiro thinks maybe she’s not that brilliant and perfect as people depict her. it’s a complicated and interesting kind of friendship, and that makes it even better. i am positively sure they had started, at some point, considering SEES their second family. and its members their dear brothers and sisters. it might not have taken them a lot of time, because of their age, their stories and the will of fighting together for something special, something that made them special !  not to mention those years are the most important years of mental and emotional development, too; that could have only helped the bond grow stronger than a common one between two or three students of their age. yes, because they also attended the same school, the influence they had on each other and the impression of unity they might have given, even unintentionally, with the formation and hidden truth of the Extracurricular Squad, on other boys and girls must have been very important and hard to ignore. not to mention Mitsuru is, basically, the daughter of the one basically founding the school. the prestigious name and possibly influence might have also helped the two boys, as well. which can only be positive. 

and so times pass, and responsibilities only pile up for those gifted kids, y’know. and this double life they got keeps on repeating itself as day and night alternate each time; they don’t get the attention and recognitions they might deserve but at least their power is used for good purposes and to save more innocents from Apathy. I do think this reality would have continued anyway, with no complications if the infamous accident of Ken’s mother hadn’t actually happened. although having described by her POV many times what her feelings for the horrible things happened that night are. confusion, depression (the birth of her bangs on the eye) and fault. as she blames herself for the many things that happen to the protagonist and the other members of SEES in the game, she can’t help to find herself to blame for their situations, like it happened when accepting, for example, Yukari’s accusations with little intentions of defending herself, in July 2009. same goes for Shinjiro: they could have read some signs - they were certainly there, with Akihiko too and prevented, in some way, that a life was lost because of a Persona – the mean that allows them to fight and the entities she personally needs to eliminate the Hour and atone for her family sins. and so, SEES fault, too. after all, he was a Persona user, part of the group backed up from the Kirijo Corporation as a whole. 

once it happens, it’s over. we discussed this too, she’d give up at some point. forcing people to make something that important for her is not in her style: she’d prefer filling the void and missing presence on her own. distant, yes, I believe they’d still be friends but of course with no more frequent contacts at one time. maybe he kept on going to school, given Akihiko mentions Shinjiro to be in his last year of high school but not atteding it anymore, in 2009. on her part, an attempt to reenstablish dialogue might have happened but I believe Akihiko to certainly be the one that would have gotten closer to him during that diffciult time. first, because they’re way closer than Mitsuru and Shinjiro might have ever been before – second, due to, as always, the sense of guilt they complete trio, one way or another, had the misfortune to taste and experience more than one time. they keep the room for him though, untouched if not just cleaned up for necessities and hygiene, and years pass.

given i still know not a lot about the novel Owari no kakera I’ll refrain from saying a lot about the years that separate the tragedy of Ken’s mother to the arrival of the protagonist in Iwatodai. except that Mitsuru and Akihiko can’t keep fighting alone. not only 2 kids and their personae in Tartarus, fighting against flocks of Shadows already sounds like a suicide mission, but the arrival of Yukari doesn’t really help given she still has doubts summonning Io by the start of the game. force is required and they don’t have it anymore. I still doubt Mitsuru would feel something comparable to hate in the boy’s regards,though; maybe regret, hard feelings of minor importance. she’d still see him a friend and ex member - she’d give him support if he asked for it. and so, of course, she’s happy, glad and relieved on having him back in the ranks, to fight Shadows. but can you imagine the pain Akihiko and her had to endure, in knowing they had dismissed completely the matter of the anniversary of the tragedy? in the movies, it’s still very clear that they DO NOT want Ken to join SEES; they give in under the pressure of the other members. they look not convinced. and have no peace when, on Oct 4 they remember of the fact happened 2 years prior. I guess that, whatever might have heppened, even with Shinjiro returning back in shape the next spring, it would have been still pretty hard to forget the mistake, the fact they hadn’t ONCE AGAIN read the signs that could have stopped, let me say this, drama from happening once again.

The gasp! In the cd drama, all we we get is some playful moments… telling us just how close close and special they were and still are for each oth–A FEMINIST!! ]