#i think this is my first time drawing goro with more brown eyes than red eyes

[edenfire]

🌸💗 oh you're such a joker! 💗🌸

felt like coloring an old doodle of goro🥺💗 I was too lazy to add clothes so uhh just imagine they're in the bathhouse together XD

[shapeshifting-wildcard]

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon in late August. The heat outside was sweltering by all accounts, but Leblanc was considerably cooler. Standing right next to the kitchen didn't really help, though, as Joker could feel the residual heat at his back. The coffee makers to his right certainly didn't help matters, either.

Futaba sat in front of the coffee machines, with her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn't look directly at either Joker or Sojiro as they spoke, her gaze drifting around the room and only occasionally settling on them. But Joker could tell she was paying close attention as Sojiro regaled her about the disaster that was the fireworks festival.

"Not only did he get crushed in the crowd," he said, gesturing to Joker, "but he came home looking like some kinda drowned rat."

Joker rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff, the puff of air buffeting his bangs a bit. He half expected Futaba to laugh at his misfortune, but instead she adopted a thoughtful expression. She muttered something under her breath, before the conversation was interrupted by the chiming of the store's bell. Futaba quickly unfurled herself from her seat and dashed behind the counter, taking cover behind Joker.

He was surprised to see two familiar figures enter the cafe: one Goro Akechi and one Kotone Arisato. Akechi strode over to the counter, a briefcase in hand, wearing a smart sweatervest and button-down shirt combo that couldn't possibly have been comfortable in this heat. Kotone slipped in behind him, door chiming again as it swung closed. She had on a cute, orange-y sundress that seemed to match her sunny disposition (and the weather). Akechi stopped in front of one of the chairs and smiled brightly to the people behind the counter, offering them a friendly greeting. Joker felt the corners of his mouth twitch up, returning the gesture. He was pleasantly surprised to see the boy.

Kotone slipped past him and into her customary seat, coincidentally the one next to where Futaba had been sitting. Joker felt Futaba's hand on his arm and cast a quick glance over his shoulder to the girl. Her head was lowered, gaze focused on some spot on his back. He wanted to turn around and pat her on the head, but that would have taken some maneuvering to accomplish.

"Oh! You're..." Joker met Akechi's gaze as the spark of recognition hit. Joker's heart lurched in his chest as he realized that there were three people in this room who knew his real name, and one person who didn't. Any one of them could potentially give it away in casual conversation. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Hey," Kotone greeted, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Joker smiled and shook his head, while Sojiro tried to puzzle out where he'd seen Akechi before.

"Ah, right, the one on TV and stuff," he said as it finally slotted into place. "So what brings you here, Mr. Detective?"

Joker's attention returned to the other boy as he continued to stand in front of the counter. He looked around, taking in the cafe's interior. "This place is more than I imagined it to be. The atmosphere is wonderful."

"It's cozy, isn't it?" Kotone chimed in. Akechi's gaze settled on her and Joker felt a vague pang of jealousy rise up in his chest.

"It truly is," he said. "No wonder Sae-san recommended it so strongly."

Kotone opened her mouth to say something, but Sojiro interjected, his tone sharp and defensive. "I already told her everything I know. There's nothing more I got for you people."

"You people...?" Kotone repeated, looking confused. Akechi shook his head, a pleasant smile returning to his face.

"Oh no, that's not my intention. I just came to enjoy some coffee."

Joker could see Kotone's expression change out of the corner of his eye. She was glancing between Akechi and Sojiro, a slight frown on her face. Sojiro, having discovered the boy's actual reason for coming, relaxed noticeably. Akechi's gaze wandered to the girl taking cover behind Joker, undoubtedly still finding the spot on his back utterly fascinating.

"And she is...?"

Kotone leaned a little to the side, fixing Futaba with a friendly smile. "Futaba-chan, right? It's nice to finally meet you!"

"Futaba...?" Akechi repeated, his free hand reaching up to rest on his chin. "Oh, you must be Wakaba Isshiki's..."

Joker caught Kotone shooting Akechi a raised eyebrow before Sojiro interjected again. "What'll it be?"

"I'll have whatever you recommend," Akechi replied. Sojiro nodded, before casting a glance towards Kotone.

"And you?"

"I'll have the house blend, please," she said.

"Coming right up."

Sojiro scurried off to the far end of the counter, while Akechi took a seat. He sat one seat over from Kotone, setting his briefcase down in the chair between them. Kotone glanced at it and laughed softly, apparently finding the gesture amusing. She got out her tarot deck as they both waited for their orders, which didn't take too long. When Sojiro brought their cups over, Akechi murmured a soft thanks while Kotone's was much more cheery. Akechi seemed lost in his thoughts for a moment, before he finally lifted his head and glanced over Joker and Futaba.

"It seems I'm unwelcome no matter where I go."

"That won't be true forever," Kotone chimed in. Joker glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. She was busy shuffling her cards as she waited for her coffee to cool off a bit. Akechi didn't seem particularly convinced, shutting his eyes and letting out a soft sigh.

"I apologize for bothering you." Kotone glanced at him, her expression unreadable to Joker. "Apparently, my mother was in a relationship with some low-life of a man. She was swiftly discarded when he learned she was pregnant. That despair would lead to her death. Thanks to him, I was passed from foster home to foster home."

"You too, huh?"

Both Joker and Akechi turned their attention to Kotone. Kotone glanced between them, her face slowly growing red as she no doubt realized they were both staring at her. She absentmindedly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, gaze falling towards the counter.

"...My parents died in an accident when I was little. It's just been me and my brother since then."

There was a certain irony to Joker's sudden realization that he was the only kid in the room who still had parents. Part of him felt bad about still being angry at how they treated him; at least they were still alive to be angry at. Part of him felt that it didn't matter. They abandoned him and shoved him onto a relative stranger because they didn't want to deal with him anymore.

"At least you had each other." There was an icy tone to Akechi's voice. Jealousy, perhaps? At least Joker wasn't the only one with mixed feelings.

"Yeah," Kotone said, returning to shuffling her cards. "I would have been lost without him."

The laugh that followed sounded forced to Joker. He narrowed his eyes, studying her closely. There was more to it than what was said, that much he could tell. Anything other than that was lost on him, though. He had to admit he was surprised. Kotone had seemed very straightforward to him. He hadn't thought she was capable of hiding something like this.

The topic drifted to Medjed, and then to the Phantom Thieves' recent victory over them. Kotone continued to quietly shuffle her cards and sip at her coffee as Akechi talked, seemingly lost in her own world.

"Many kids your age seem to be fans of the Phantom Thieves," Akechi said, addressing Futaba. "Do you like them too?"

Futaba stayed silent, still hiding behind Joker. Akechi tilted his head, some of his shaggy brown hair falling over his shoulder in the process.

"What's the matter?"

Futaba was quiet for a beat longer. "You're popular too, Ace Detective Akechi."

Akechi laughed. "Thank you. Though I'd rather not be compared to people like the Phantom Thieves, if at all possible." He turned his attention to Kotone, who was still busily shuffling. "What about you? What do you think of them?"

Kotone glanced up at the question, looking confused, before her gaze dropped back to her hands. She was silent for a long moment.

"Is... something—"

"...I think... that's the wrong question."

Joker and Akechi shared a startled glance. Akechi leaned against the counter, resting his cheek against one hand. "The wrong question? What do you mean by that?"

Kotone hummed distractedly, clearly thinking her words over. She set her deck down and started flipping through the cards as she spoke. The first card she flipped over was the queen of pentacles. "I think it's the wrong thing to be focused on. Are the Phantom Thieves right or wrong? Are their methods good or bad? Shouldn't people be more worried about the crimes they've uncovered?"

Another card flipped over. The queen of wands this time.

"Mm... well, their first target was a teacher who was sexually harrassing and physically abusing his students. The second was an artist who plagiarized his students' work. The third was a mafia boss who exploited students..." Akechi counted the targets off on his fingers. Kotone nodded again, flipping over the four of pentacles this time.

"A bunch of adults in positions of power who exploited those below them. That's just three people, outed over the course of what, a few months?" This time the five of swords. "How many others like them are out there, lurking in the shadows?"

Silence fell over the four of them as the question sank in. Of course they all knew the answer was "far too many." Kotone continued to draw cards, this time turning over the Hermit.

"An adult I once trusted said, 'this world is rotten.'" Kotone grimaced, an expression that seemed both ill-fitting and all too fitting on her face all at once. "It was one of the few true things he said."

"He mistreated you, too." It wasn't a question. Akechi's tone was remarkably soft though, not unlike the tone he'd used with Futaba mere moments ago.

Kotone nodded quietly. "I think, instead of going around and around about whether the Phantom Thieves are right, people should be asking, 'why is the world rotten, and what can we do to fix that?'"

Akechi fell silent, looking thoughtful. Kotone fussed with her deck, shuffling the remaining cards again and staring at the pile she'd already laid down. After a moment, Akechi picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip from it.

"Mm, this is delicious." He glanced over the rim and met Joker's gaze. "You get to drink this coffee every day? I'm incredibly jealous. I would never have thought you'd be boarding at this cafe." He leaned over the counter, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "We seem to share some kind of bond."

Kotone snorted, turning away as she visibly suppressed a giggle. Joker pointedly ignored her and the little gremlin joining in on her gigglefit from behind him.

"I agree."

Kotone looked back to Joker, noticeably surprised to hear him speak. Thankfully, she didn't comment.

Akechi, meanwhile, just laughed and smiled. "Thank you." He glanced down at the cup again, idly tracing around the outside edge. "I believe that fate brings people together. It's strange, but talking to you," he glanced towards Kotone, "the both of you, is thought-provoking."

"Huh?" Kotone stared at Akechi wide-eyed for a moment, before frowning slightly. "Wait, you're not just saying that because you think I'm weird, right?"

Akechi half snorted as he laughed this time. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head. "Not until you said that, no."

Kotone huffed and stuck her tongue out at him, looking more like an elementary schooler than a third year high schooler. Futaba snickered again, clinging tightly to Joker's shirt as she leaned against his back. Akechi finished off his coffee and flashed Joker another brilliant grin. Joker hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt.

"Well, I think I found my go-to cafe."

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Im curious as to why you hate Makoto for ripping of p3pfemc's looks but consent to Royal-chan for the same thing? ( I know you hate Makoto for a lot of other reasons, like her personality and such, but it seemed like you disliked her since prereveal/release?) If Royal chan ended up being a completely unrelated character to femc, will your opinion of her change ? (no hate really, i jst wanna know. \V/m )

It's no prob! In all honesty I didn't even think about this kind of question, but the answer came right away, so I guess time for a not so deep reflection.

So like full stop, if Poniko isn't connected to the FeMC and it's just Atlus messing with me, yeah I'mma be PISSED. Will I rip on her looks like no tomorrow? Maybe, depends on how it’s handled (like how bad they burn me, and even then I might wait for a spinoff cause they might go into the connection there rather than Royal). I think it's obvious I went harder on Makoto because I don't like her for other reasons, and so any small thing about her annoys me (tbh Yusuke's design annoys me too, but not as bad cause....I kinda just don’t care about him and who he’s copying as much, but I'll get to that in a bit)

Anyway I think we need some historical context, because I think it’s important. When Makoto (and Yusuke) where first shown......FeMC had been ignored for A LONG time. We had a non-canon play (which no one really talked about), and that was it. No game related stuff, not even featured in the game where people were getting ripped out of timelines. FeMC were BURNED. I’ll be honest, when Yusuke appeared......While the parallels between P2 were obvious (not just with him) he reminded me of Minato as well. It annoyed me we had to have the token blue hair character since the rule had been made since the P3 era (kinda enforced with some black haired characters from P1/2, combining P2 games together that is, if you want to include them), Atlus said they’d be trying new things..... but like....whateves. But my association with him as Minato increased....when Makoto came along. 

Ngl I wasn’t pleased with the reveal of the last three girls (even didn’t like Haru, for ironically now what I love as an alt rewrite for her as, as I thought she’d be a mean and person full of herself due to calling herself ‘beauty thief’....Yeah all types of crazy here, I do love sweet Haru tho. And the reason for my opinion changing on the alt non-canon personality rewrite is just I.....see the appeal in it for the group dynamic now, while at the time I was afraid of disliking any of the characters or having them be disliked by the fandom.....which big laugh now haha :’D .....I want my happy P5 self back ;w;). Anyway back to the three girls, ngl one of the reasons I wasn’t happy was how they just dumped 3 more characters on us (too big a cast so can they handle it?, silly has to do more VA videos, I want the smaller cast back oh god don’t screw this up, and so on and so on). As for the characters, while Haru’s appearance in the trailer mislead me on her personality (for whatever reason)..... I just.....there was something about Futaba and Makoto I didn’t like. Futaba just rubs me all the wrong ways for reasons I can’t describe for back then (maybe the fact she looked like she’d be a troll and she kinda is), but Makoto it was clear...... She was ripping off FeMC’s look. The brown hair and red eyes.....the fact that Yusuke looked like Minato.....it felt like they were trying to draw them as expies of the P3MCs. And it pissed me off. I didn’t want an unrelated character look and remind me of the FeMC, I wanted FeMC herself! Why are you stealing her look????? And while some FeMC saw this and rolled with it as a joke (Hamu/Minty/Shin dressing up as Makoto/Yusuke/Goro to get into P5), other’s didn’t know who the FeMC was and thus.....didn’t see the blatant expy/rip off design. Seeing people be like “her character design is so original and cute and blah blah blah”.....it annoyed me....obviously (it didn’t help she grew in popularity doing absolutely nothing too, so initially it was all about her looks, and then I’ve been told a lot of her fans, at least male, has been mostly them saying the like her design and her hair and her eyes, and no everyone who likes Makoto is an FeMC fan so....yeah.....I mostly hear how it’s just about her design so I’m very focused on that in regards to her specifically BECAUSE of the fans). And yeah I know it was a bit petty/shallow reason, but I didn’t outright hate her atm, she was stepping on my toes badly but I was holding out till the game (where it finally cemented my hate for her, and now I legit hate her for petty, shallow, deep, and complex reasons). And lordy lord lord, it did not help Makoto’s name was Makoto, because that was a name some FeMC fans gave Hamuko (cause Makoto Yuki was the closest ‘canon’ name we’d get to P3MCs, and some people adopted it for both MCs cause it was gender neutral, so Niijima coming along and taking THAT away sucked ass, and I know different kanji, it still sucked tho). It just....felt like Atlus was spitting in FeMC fan’s face..... But anyway, I kept it in....for about....2ish years. Even when I was trying to stay positive.......and even when I was slowly starting to come out with negative opinions. I tried to keep it in. 

Finally I decided to make it framed as a joke, because I started to see Makoto ripping off more characters than just FeMC (FeMC, Aika, and Naoto in the detective novel to be precise, but what got the ball rolling was realizing that it was Aika who Makoto ripped the hair and motor vehicle from with the FeMC’s color scheme). That’s where my brain started going other places than just being restricted to FeMC, and I started being more critical of Makoto’s design outside the FeMC (tho that still burned me). Because, imo, it’s not original, it annoyed me people would say she was original when she was really just a Frankenstein rip off of other characters (other loved characters, FeMC and Aika were pretty popular in their own right). It only continued to cement in my mind that....anything ‘original’ about Makoto was a farce, she just copies while the original gets left behind.

Tldr; FeMC had been snubbed for years, along comes two design expies that remind you of P3MCs (3 if you wanna include Goro/Ken but Goro looks different enough imo), Makoto is named Makoto (a name some used for FeMC), and Makoto is praised for her design for being original and blah blah blah when it’s not (for multiple reasons besides the FeMC, kinda more the fans reactions fault but I was already having design issues so it just bugged me more when they’d say these things). So yeah it felt like Makoto stole aspects of the FeMC, and it’s not like FeMC has a lot for herself, which really just stepped on my toes. Combined that with legit hating the character when I finally get to see her in action (and it’s because of her actions and writing that I hate-hate the character, but prior to that it was just her stepping on my toes while trying to keep an open mind into liking her), the stuff said before gets amplified more than before.

But months later, after the first post of me ripping on Makoto for taking FeMC and Aika’s design (tho my later posts were in drafts I just didn’t post them till later), something amazing happened on Aug 4th. FeMC finally came back to us. And holy shit obviously I was happy, but it doesn’t dismiss the fact I was aware of how much of design rip off/expy Makoto was, and it wasn’t just FeMC anymore. But gdi if the fact that the FeMC wasn’t being ignored anymore didn’t change the outlook for me as an FeMC fan. FeMC was back, she’s loved, care was put into her character in PQ2, just.....skdfalf;a so happy ;w; But also so hopeful, she was acknowledged again, she had been cut from the 20th anniversary event in official art, and that hurt us, but now she’s back back. And she was a main character in PQ2.....which leads to you questioning, what next? 

Which brings us to Poniko, the one post hopeful outlook. Obviously she’s not starting in the same place as Makoto. Poniko has been revealed post-PQ2 FeMC....which means Atlus isn’t ignoring Hamuko (in fact a lot of the creators were stating they WANTED her back), we know the creators do love Hamuko. There’s also the fact.....Poniko looks less like an expy like Makoto (who imo looks like Soejima trying to emulate Kaneko’s art style, esp the eye shape, same with Yusuke too). Poniko? It goes beyond ripping off a design, she looks like she’s almost fully lifted from Hamuko, it just looks like Hamuko wearing a different outfit. Just straight up copy and paste. And would I have been pissed if she was revealed alongside Makoto? Maybe, or I might be theorizing that she is Hamuko herself like now (tho I think it’d get more push back due to Hamu being in Atlus’ basement for so long so it just being claimed as delusional and unlikely), or both (and then pissed when it’s revealed it’s not Hamuko). It’s just....she looks SO MUCH like Hamuko it can’t be a coincidence, and after PQ2 it feels less like one as well. Just.....the posture, the cinematic parallels, the hair color, the eye color, the eye shape, the eyelashes, the face structure, the way she stands.....Poniko just screams “I AM Hamuko” not “I just look like her because.” And it helps that other people in the fandom also see this too, some are hoping she’s a new person, but it seems people at least acknowledge that very obvious similarities between Hamuko and Poniko (while that didn’t really happen with P5 with Hamuko/Makoto). 

And....tbh I feel like I might sound like I’m splitting hairs (at least with the words I’m using). And it might sound weird that I think Makoto ripped off enough Hamuko it pissed me off, but Poniko just.....is a copy and paste of Hamuko, just straight up Hamuko in a different outfit and hairstyle but it doesn’t. But it’s the historical context I think that sheds that light. And the fact Poniko might just BE Hamuko, and so it’d make sense if that was the case for them to look like each other (while it doesn’t make sense for Makoto to look like Poniko). 

I guess it also helps that I personally had the headcanon Hamuko and Minato weren’t related (just strangers on the bridge in two separate cars), and they both survived the bridge accident but one became the leader of SEES and the other went on to live and do their own thing (until maybe a spinoff game pulls them back in). And while I.....well recalling it now I considered a reincarnation once in a hc scenario (opted for time travel forward cause that makes sense 8U I won’t go into it I had my reasons 8U), but looking at the 1st year symbol on Poniko (and reincarnation in other MegaTen works, I mean c’mon reincarnation is in the title) it feels plausible. And it works for Poniko because of the time the incident and the time to be reincarnated takes place (1999 being the accident and April 1 2000-April 2 2001 being the time frame she was born), which wouldn’t ever work for Makoto because she was born in 1998 (so even if I HAD considered Makoto it wouldn’t have worked, esp since they never tell us she jumped grades, it’s not possible....and while I’m all for hc and grey areas, this is something that WOULD be explicitly told because it’s not common in Japan and Atlus has been explicit about characters not in the ‘right’ grades before, just an fyi there 8U). 

I dunno I feel like there’s distinct clear reasons that I can fit them into separate categories. And yeah if Poniko isn’t Hamuko I’mma be burned too, BUT I’mma wait till a spinoff post-Royal before I get pissy.....cause I don’t expect clear answers to other past games in another game’s mainline entry (I only expect shallow shoutouts tbh). So yeah, just so you know where the deadline for my expectations are. 

[echoeblo]

Justices, randomly chosen Dare to Write prompts, Kei/Brown, Katsuya/Maya, Nanako and Teddie, Goro and Sae

37 - Keiue, “kiss like a punch”

“They started it,” Kei states simply, as if he hadn’t just broken a few bones of delinquent students. He rubs his nose and sneers, blood draining from it steadily.

“That doesn’t mean you...” Brown tries, but pauses. He knows Kei thinks things through, but he never starts physical fights. Getting on people’s bad sides was a habit of his, though. “Look, let’s just put this behind us, okay?”

Kei’s sneer grows and Brown watches, unsure of how to proceed. Pretending he hadn’t watched Kei’s nose get smashed in by an angry classmate was hard enough, but seeing Kei retaliate was something Brown hadn’t expected. “Look, we need to get your nose treated...”

“Those louts are probably in the nurse’s office,” Kei adds pointedly.

“Then we’ll get help elsewhere. Do any of your, uh, ‘servants’...? Can they help you?”

Kei turns away and doesn’t reply for a short time, and Brown wonders if he had said something offensive to the other.

“... my parents will be mad if I come home like this,” he answers lamely, “and the doctors around town wouldn’t hide this from them.”

“Eyes everywhere, huh?” Brown asks, laughing nervously. Kei doesn’t answer.

“... Yamaoka used to clean me up after fights.”

Brown freezes, unnerved. “Oh...” is all he can muster. Kei keeps looking to the side, refusing to meet Brown’s eyes. Brown hesitates before sitting next to Kei and putting a hand on his back, leaning forward to properly look at Kei’s face. “Hey, I’ll go buy a first aid kit. Maybe Reiji can help...? He probably knows a lot more about first aid than I do.”

Kei snorts. “He gets in fights daily! I’d be more concerned if he didn’t know anything about first aid! Though the buffoon probably doesn’t know anything else.”

Brown laughs again, feeling more at ease at Reiji’s expense. Kei turns to look at him and quirks his eyebrow.

Thoughtlessly, Brown pulls Kei into a kiss, startling him. They pull away soon and before Kei can complain, Brown pulls him into a hug and rubs his back.

“I know it’s rough with Yamaoka gone. I love you too, though, so please, let me take care of you.” He rubs circles into Kei’s back and nearly jumps when he feels fists ball at his back. Kei starts shaking and Brown holds him closer, closing his eyes and listening to Kei’s broken sobs.

A wet liquid touches his shoulder and he accepts it as tears before it starts pooling and dripping, and he becomes acutely aware of how wrong his guess was. Panic sets in quickly but Brown tries to force it down as he pulls out his phone.

“I’ll ask Reiji to pick up a first aid kit,” he says, and Kei tries to pull away. “I’ll tell him we’re in class 3-4.”

Kei scoffs. “Even though we’re in 3-1?”

“It’ll give us some time to put ourselves together,” he answers honestly, and Kei nods, leaning back against Brown.

150 - Katsumaya (sell my soul)

“She will never wake up again.”

The voice comes from behind him and Katsuya turns swiftly, putting himself between the two on the floor and the intruder. He gasps as he sees a mirage of the woman behind him, a perfect copy except for her confident stance and startling red eyes.

She smiles, much less candid than any of Maya’s smiles.

“Who are you?!” Katsuya demands, putting his hand on his gun and drawing it.

“I’m a shadow, the true self.”

“That’s not big sis!” comes a cry behind him, and Katsuya turns to meet the crazed eyes of his brother. His hand is holding Maya’s lifeless one and he’s kneeling beside her. “That’s Nyarlathotep, the god that tormented us on The Other Side!”

A laugh draws his attention back to the clone. She holds her hand to him, crystallized light dancing on her palm.

“This is her ideal energy,” she says. As if sensing the man’s confusion, she continues, “The part of her that drives her forward, her dreams and ambitions and energy.”

“Ideal energy...? Is it related to kegare?”

“It is the opposite of kegare. This is her persona and all of her willpower. She needs it in order to keep living.”

Katsuya tenses. “Give it back,” he says, unsure how she even would.

The mirage smiles at him, a mocking smile that sends a chill through Katsuya, and before he can react, she crushes the crystal in her hand. Tatsuya yells something behind him, but his distress is muted by the laughter of the monster in front of him and the dust falling from its palm.

He regains his senses and reaches for her, tries to grab her tie, but the world shifts around him and he finds himself standing in a floating room instead, surrounded by a sea of flickering lights.

“This is...” he starts, before jolting and turning around. “Tatsuya!” he yells, but the boy had already gone quiet, staring behind Katsuya and gripping Maya’s hand tighter.

Tatsuya’s shaking and pale.

“It seems she has lost her sense of self,” comes a voice to their side, and Katsuya turns to the calm being.

“Philemon, what’s the meaning of this?!” he yells, grabbing Philemon’s shirt and lifting him off the ground.

“She has lost her sense of self,” he repeats. “And without a self, one cannot exist. She will pass away soon.”

Katsuya’s hands grip into the fabric. “Isn’t there anything you can do about it?!”

The being watches him. “I am unable to do anything,” he repeats. “You, however...”

Philemon looks between the brothers and the unconscious woman. “Every person has a self. Without this self, their identity and motivation will crumble until they fade away into shadows.”

“What can I do?” Katsuya asks, and Philemon continues watching him.

“Every person has a self.”

Katsuya grips harder, knuckles becoming white, and he opens his mouth to yell before Tatsuya cuts him off with a quiet, “He means we can give up our own personas to her.”

“Our own...? Won’t we die?” he asks, lessening his grip.

Philemon nods and Katsuya feels another chill run through him.

He puts Philemon down and takes a step back, looking at the two on the floor.

“I’ll do it,” Tatsuya says, hand to his heart.

“No, you won’t!” Katsuya answers, and Tatsuya opens his mouth to protest before Katsuya puts a hand over his mouth. “I won’t let you get hurt. Not on my watch. Never again.”

Tatsuya’s eyes go wide for a moment before Katsuya removes his hand and turns back to Philemon. “Take mine,” he says simply, and Philemon nods. He puts a hand to Katsuya’s chest and a light forms under it, crystallizing and shining bright. His body becomes heavy and his mind foggy, but he continues to watch.

The light shatters and moves into the woman’s body, and her hand twitches. Tatsuya’s snapped out of his stupor by the action and he grips her hand tighter, unsure whether to look at Maya or Katsuya.

“Big sis...?” he asks tentatively, and Maya groans, bringing her hand to her forehead dramatically.

“Five more minutes,” she grumbles, and Katsuya lets out a breathy laugh as he walks over and kneels beside her, refusing to look at his brother.

135 - Teddie & Nanako (vantage point)

“I don’t know where I belong...”

The voice is uncharacteristically small, and Nanako pauses her piano practice to turn around.

“What’s wrong?” Nanako asks, and Teddie looks at her with vulnerable eyes.

“Ever since I moved in here, I’ve been living in his old room. It was comforting at first, but now the room is filled with my stuff.”

Nanako tilts her head. “Is that bad?”

“I feel like I’m just taking his place. If I make this place ‘mine’, then where will be ‘his’? I don’t want to take his place.”

Nanako hums, watching the boy thoughtfully. She turns back to her piano, playing a few chords in the silent room - a lullaby her mother used to sing, and one she had never forgotten.

“I can show you your place,” she offers, covering the piano and turning back around. He looks up at her with sparkling eyes.

“Really?” he asks, and she smiles and nods.

“Let’s get our shoes on,” she says, and Teddie hops off the couch.

It’s hot outside, a pleasant breeze in the air. Cicadas chirp from the trees as Nanako grabs Teddie’s sleeve and drags him across town.

“There’s only one place I can think of for you,” she says.

“Where’s that?” he asks, and she smiles at him before pulling to a run up a hill.

At the top and out of breath, Nanako pulls Teddie to the railing. She turns around and leans against the rail, gesturing for Teddie to follow her.

“This is my place?” he asks, clearly confused, and she giggles.

“No, silly!” she says and gestures to the town below. His eyes show confusion for a moment before understanding clicks, and tears well up in his eyes.

He hugs her close and she hugs back. “This town is your home,” she says, and he cries louder.

349 - Sae and Goro (petrifying)

“The ship’s collapsing!” comes the voice within his headphones, and Goro grits his teeth, biting back his sarcastic response.

She really doesn’t need to tell them, considering the dust and cracking all around.

“This way!” he yells instead, directing his attention to his partner. The rest of the team is waiting at the dock, safe, and Goro feels a short wave of relief at having his closest friend at his side.

“Got it!” she yells back, following close behind him. He jumps a table and pushes shadows and masked guests aside, refusing to let them slow him.

His mind starts to itch and the scenery around him blurs, as if his third eye is activating on his own, and he forces down images flooding his brain.

Focus on the now, he thinks, gritting his teeth. They approach a door and the fogginess tells him that it’s locked, that they need someone to go to the security room below.

He slows in front of the door enough to push its handle down and throw himself against it.

The metal doesn’t budge and he bites his tongue, trying to force down the buzzing and images. They’re memories, a distant part of him says, but what memories exist from the future?

Goro closes his eyes as tens of echoes pass through his mind, and he doesn’t even need to hear his fortune telling ally to know that the door’s locked, that—

“Someone needs to go to the security room!”

The room stills and Goro opens his eyes to the pitch black around him. He looks up and meets his own gaze.

“Are you going to let her die again?” he asks himself, and Goro stares as he remembers, remembers all those past lives and failures.

“She always dies because of you, you know. In every world she meets you, she dies far too early, leaving her sister to fend for herself.”

“I...”

“You know how this mission ends,” he says, and Goro takes a deep breath as he recalls the iron wall dripping in deep red blood, a broken body pinned against it by a sword as the water rises.

He takes a shallow breath. “I know,” he answers, his voice heavy. He closes his eyes as his reflection turns into a purple butterfly, and when he opens them again, he’s back at the door, unable to proceed.

“Let’s go,” Sae yells, grabbing his arm, but he brushes it off.

“I can run faster,” he says, and she looks at him incredulously. He gives her a reassuring smile, unsure for the first time in his life if it is fake or candid.

She seems just as confused as he is, but she nods. “I’ll wait for you,” she says, drawing her sword and preparing to guard the area.

He shakes his head. “Wait for me with the others,” he orders, then takes off to the security room, running as fast as his legs can go. His limbs protest the strain - climbing was always his forte, not running - but he ignores them, knowing full well that they wouldn’t have much more work to do after this.

He skids to a halt in front of the control panel, already knowing which buttons he needs to press. The doors unlock and water starts pooling around his feet.

He looks at the screen with Sae on it, quietly praying that she won’t wait for him. He grabs his mask and closes his eyes, focusing instead on the presence behind him.