#i want to see a version where akira convinced akechi to talk and they can make up and get together and stuff

[sketchy--akechi]

November 20 interrogation but they had a long talk

[dawn-the-rithmatist]

The Phantom Thieves and their weapons

One thing that’s really bugged me lately is the fact that the phantom thieves just,, have weapons. In real life. And they buy them irl so they don’t just disappear when they leave the Metaverse. So here are some headcanons about how the heck they deal with that.

Akira

Akira is lucky because he just has knives. Those are pretty easy to hide in his bag, so he usually goes with that.

He’s gotten a lot more careful over the course of the year. A kid seeing a random dagger in his bag within the first week of being at Shujin lead to some rumors about him being a psycho knife wielding killer, and ever since that knife stays very buried until they’re in the metaverse.

Ryuji

Ryuji starts out with excuses. A baseball bat? Yeah he’s been trying to get better at the batting cages ever since the track team ended. A crowbar? His mom needed help with something that got stuck.

Unfortunately, as his weapons get stronger they also get harder to explain. Everyone already thinks he’s a delinquent though, so a lot of the time they just kind of shake their heads.

“At least he’s not hurting anyone?” “He’s just kind of a weird guy.” “Don’t mess with Sakamoto I guess”

Ann

Ann. Poor Ann. Because when high school boys see a pretty girl with a whip, their minds go to exactly one place, and honestly the rumors about her were already pretty bad.

She’s pretty mortified, honestly. The first time someone asks about the whip and alludes to some. *cough*. Interesting hobbies, she turns bright red and snaps at them. This, of course, leads to some more comments along the same lines

By the end of the year, people are pretty much convinced she’s a dominatrix, and at some point she stops trying to shut down the rumors. It never worked with Kamoshida, and now people are just a little intimidated by her. Let them think what they want.

Yusuke

Absolutely no one questions that Yusuke has an ever-growing katana collection. Anyone who sees him carrying around his weapon just kinda shrugs and goes “yeah that checks out, he’s weird”

Makoto

At first, Makoto has an easy time hiding her weapons, and explaining them when she can’t. After all, she takes self defense classes. It’s her version of pepper spray, she explains. A little extreme, but everyone accepts it and talks about how badass the student council prez is.

Then the brass knuckles get spikier, and then they turn into gauntlets and thats, uh,, harder to explain.

She starts pretending that she’s a cosplayer, and those are different armor and weapon styles she’s trying out. Of course, this prompts people at ask questions about it, and she gets Futaba to teach her about cosplay so she can lie a little easier

Sae would like to know where this hobby came from. Is she really not home so much that she missed this new hobby entirely?

Haru

Hiding an axe is a massive problem in the beginning. How is she going to explain that to her dad when they’re literally in the process of changing his heart?

She ends up leaving it at school whenever she can, because at least it’s a little less weird for the gardening club to have an axe. Not by much, but a little bit.

Makoto is the one who has the idea to put it in an instrument case. It takes a while to find a case that’s big enough, but eventually the sight of Haru walking around with a case for an upright base is a common sight.

Unfortunately, the band kids want to know how long she’s been playing, and then they want her to join the school band, and there’s really no explanation for why she can’t… so Haru ends up learning how to play the upright bass as a cover.

Bonus: Akechi

This boy uses a literal lightsaber, so I have to imagine it just looks like a lightsaber hilt in the real world. Easy enough to stash in a bag or even a coat pocket.

He’s secretly a big nerd so anyone close enough to notice a collection of lightsabers just assumes it’s a featherman thing and doesn’t ask about it. He’s touchy about people calling him out on his nerdiness.

[kationella]

Can you do Persona Q3 plot with P1 and P2 characters what Labyrinth theme is to be Art museum or a Library? what you favorite conversation for your idea, What your story plot for PQ3 and Can you make New Character(s) in this story? NOTE: Can you Fanfic PQ

Oh, wow! I'm not sure I have the focus to write a PQ3 fanfic. The Batman one I'm writing is updated every two months 😅

I don't mind sharing my ideas, though.

First, it would be necessary to find a point in the story where every cast is taken from.

The P1 gang would be taken after they realize they had been with the Ideal Maki all this time but before they save the real one.

The Tatsuya Squad (Tatsuya, Michel, Lisa and Jun) would be taken after they recover the crystal skulls but before they confront Nyarly.

The Maya Squad (Maya, Katsuya, Baofu and Ulala) is taken before the Other Tatsuya joins them.

SEES would be taken after Ikutsuki's betrayal (I also want Minako and Shinjiro to make an aapearance, so those two will be from the FeMC timeline).

The Scooby Gang would be from before Nanako is kidnapped.

The PTs (including Sumire and Akechi) would appear before the final fight with Maruki.

Everyone finds themselves in a deserted theme park Disneyland Destinyland style. This place will serve as the labyrinth and provider of games/shenanigans for the social interactions.

Suddenly, shadows/demons start to appear in waves, but a cute girl called Erity takes them to safety in a funhouse. She says she doesn't remember who she is or where she came from (in true Persona Q tradition). Minor conflict and confusion over the whole situation arises but is quickly cleared up. Introductions take place.

The smart ones quickly figure out that talking about the events that take place in the future would wreak havoc in the time-space continuum, so talking about their games becomes a no-no.

Erity shows them that the gates of the theme park are closed and they can't get out.

Erity says that she remembers that in each ride (there are five of them) there is hidden a key. If they find the five keys they will be able to unlock the park's gates and leave back to where they came from.

The only problem is that each ride is infested by shadows/demons with a mini boss guarding each key, so the heroes split up into teams from mixed games to cover more ground quicker (and for interaction purposes).

With a new journey started, the Velvet siblings (sent by Phil) appear to aid our heroes, accompained by the Demon Painter (for game mechanics), Belladonna and Nameless (for social interaction). The Velvet gang takes residence in the funhouse, where the party can rest after a fight.

As they clear the theme park from enemies the heroes will constantly encounter an underwhelming guy in weirdly colored clothing who calls himself their "Ultimate Foe". He has a funny mustache. He doesn't do much apart from minor inconveniences and trash talking each party member he encounters (he calls it constructive criticism) before disappearing via colorful smoke.

The Ultimate Foe turns out to be the god Momus, who claims to have created the theme park for his own amusement and gathered the strongest warriors for a "fun adventure for the whole family". This angers some people in the party. They fight Momus for the final key.

In a predictable twist, Erity turns out to be the true mastermind. Her real identity is Achlys, goddess of the death-mist, misery and sadness. She convinced Momus to create the theme park and let shadows/demons roam free in it. Why? Due to the heroes fighting the evil in the world, she has grown weak. This is bad news for her. To prevent this, Achlys chose to kidnap everyone where they would either die by shadows/demons or remain trapped forever.

Obviously the heroes defeat her (with some help from an offended Momus) and retrieve the final key. Final goodbyes take place and everyone goes back to their timelines with no memores of the events.

This whole thing needs polishing but that's the basic plot. Now, for some of the interactions I would show in the game:

The obligatory talk between the protagonists. Naoya, Tatsuya, Minato, Minako, Yu and Akira talk in a way that makes no sense for everyone else. Maya acts as their translator.

Yuka, Ulala and Yu share cooking tips.

Everyone pets Koromaru.

Some people pet Morgana (aka Katsuya).

Kei, Tatsuya, Mitsuru and Makoto talk about motorcycles (Makoto also shows off Johanna). Yosuke stares from a distance.

Revenge and its merits is discussed by Reiji, Jun, Ken and Akechi. Eveyone agrees that its better things ended the way they did.

Jun and Akira bond over the single fact that they're both Jokers. Clown to clown conversation takes place.

Katsuya, Naoto and Makoto talk about the law system. Dabbles on philosophical grounds.

Gardening time with Jun and Haru.

The Lovers girls (+Eriko) have a talk about the entertainment industry.

Eikichi convinces Rise to join his band (or at least perform together at least once). Naoya offers to sing but he is dismissed.

Kei, Mitsuru and Haru talk business.

Hidehiko, Junpei, Yosuke and Ryuji get into a mess.

Teddie tries to "score" what else is new. He freaks some people when he comes out of the suit.

Maki, Masao and Yusuke have an artistic conversation.

Baofu and Futaba realize they have the same Persona. They become besties from then on and talk hacker nonsense. Everyone fears this duo.

Lisa and Chie bond over kung fu.

The P2 cast freak out after meeting the younger versions of their P1 friends.

Tatsuya and Makoto talk about siblings. Yu gives a speech about family somewhere in there.

Maya freaks out when Tatsuya, Lisa, Eikichi and Jun talk to her like they know her. Remember this is her EP version.

Likewise, Tatsuya gets weirded out when Ulala and Baofu (people he barely knows) approach him in a similar fashion.

Katsuya almost arrests someone.

Fuuka, Rise and Futaba talk about the importance of the navigator in a fight.

I also have other interactions in mind but this post is getting too long.

[mysticdragon3md3]

Trying to make sense of my OTP record from “badass pairs” to “moronsexual for this himbo”.  lol  

I was tagging a previous Tumblr post "#sassy akira is best akira".  I don't necessarily believe that.  I just like sassy Akira.  I don't know if he's the best version of Akira, but "[version] [character] is best [character]" is a common meme, and I wanted to use that shorthand as a tag.  

Sometimes I worry that "sassy Akira" wouldn't love Ryuji.  After all, my first big OTP was Zel/Lina, wherein I often cited that I preferred how their equally sharp minds played off and seamlessly complimented each other.  In contrast to Lina/Gourry which was moronsexuality.  Since then, I've always personally preferred couples who were equals.  Like IchiRuki, which was my next big OTP obsession after Zel/Lina.  I even preferred couples like in FAKE by Sanami Matoh, who were of equal height and age.  In contrast to most BL manga which often had troublesome age differences and went to great lengths to highly contrast the couple's character designs, in height, color schemes, hard vs soft lines, "masculine" vs "feminine", etc.  And I know that contrasting character designs for couples or any pair of characters who are often in the same composition together, is recommended design, but in BL it was starting to be unequal in extreme ways that I couldn't support with my romantic values.  And of course, I'm not going to read/watch a romance story that doesn't appeal to my personal ideals about romance.  So if I'm not into himbos, then why am I staunchly, jealously biased towards AkiRyu/Pegoryu, and not say, ShuAke?  

I was going to write about how tastes change.  "I used to be totally into the gutsy tomboys, but by the time of Code Geass, I had bewilderingly passed over the super cool Kallen for dead-inside Universal Mother Goddess archetypes like C.C.".  

But when I look back at my recorded OTP cycle, I've always liked himbos.  I just wouldn't admit they were himbos, because I didn't think they were stupid.  They were often oblivious to some social norms and overtly silly, but I remember getting mad when people would call Sanada Yukimura dumb. And I'd rant about "how dare people demean such rare and pure earnestness!  It takes great emotional strength---True Strength to be so emotionally honest! That’s wisdom!"  But even before my DateSana obsession, I was into USUK, and US was _definitely_ stupid.  That was part of his charm!  Hetalia was a comedy show, after all.  Maybe that's why it was easier for me to admit he was a dumb git.  Also, it was cute fanon whenever England teasingly called him a "git".  ^.^  Looking back made me realize that an affinity for himbos and moronsexuality wasn't really against my ideals and my AkiRyu obsession isn't even a sign of my tastes changing.  I've always loved the really earnest, sincere, silly, loud, emotionally-honest, pure-hearted Shonen Protagonist type.  Where their instances of “stupidity” became just signs of their pure innocence (at least in their ideals/values).  I guess Gourry Gabriev just didn't really quite breach that threshold for me, but Ryuji Sakamoto did.

So AkiRyu doesn't contradict my previous ideals and personal tastes.  Akechi just doesn't meet my requirement for OTP fodder.  I mean, even IchiRuki and Zel/Lina, though equals and both sharp and tough, were individually compassionate people on top of their impressive cleverness.  Vanilla Persona 5 introduced/portrayed Akechi as an unnecessarily malicious bully, and that is one of my highest pet peeves.  So of course, it doesn't matter if he can mentally spar with Akira and be his rival in battle.  I won't ship anyone with a jerk.  That's not my pastime, let alone a ship that I'd want to obsess over.  

The thing I like about the idea of "sassy Akira" choosing himbo Ryuji, is that as seemingly uncatchable, unphasable as Joker may seem, flipping and dodging entrapments with all the agility and confidence in the world, we've seen that's just his mask, his Jungian persona.  Akira was really hurt by his false arrest and no one believing in him.  He was ready to give in to the world, maybe even start believing he was wrong to help that woman (until Arsene questioned him about it during his Awakening).  The best story that I personally want to see (or the story that I need right now) is when that broken Disillusionment meets the Shonen Protagonist type, who still persists in believing in good, in justice and people, and foolishly continues to risk being kind and emotionally vulnerable, and all those things that the cynical, seemingly mature character has been scared off from risking again, like a frightened child, that they won't admit they’ve become.  Because, at least in my headcanon, my fanon's version of Akira doesn't need a sparring partner; he needs renewed hope in the world.  Ryuji would never be insincere, abandon Akira, be unsupportive, play mind games, or casually entrap anyone in daily life (I'm not talking about spying on the new track advisor, but everyday interactions that more clever people turn into endless mind games and playful teasing entrapments).  And then on top of that, he's also so positive and enthusiastic about pretty much everything.  Heck, even when he's negative about stuff, he's usually expressing the same emotion Akira is having in reaction to a situation, but is afraid to outwardly express; but Ryuji has no fear.  Yet, he'll turn around from barking guard dog, to instantly cuddly puppy.  He's a good boy.  ;u;  And then on top of *that*, Ryuji _proactively_ tries to protect people, constantly and regardless of how the world has hurt him.  I mean, he's a himbo, but goddamn, what a catch.  *o*

I shouldn't have to convince myself to stop feeling guilty over whatever OTP I'm having fun with.  But it sure is nice to re-live all the good reasons through the analysis.  ^-^  

[cosmiciaria]

Persona 5 Review! (Spoiler Free)

Ok, so I’ve played it twice, I’ve platinumed it, I’ve been through every f*cking rage quit, I died many times right before getting to the safe room, I’ve never seen it coming like a thousand times, and now, I can safely say, I love this game so much.

No joke. Persona 5 was everything I expected and more, much more. It surpassed my expectations in every aspect. And yes, this is gonna be anything but praise, and you can already guess which is going to be my final verdict on this, but still, I have to talk about this game.

So, like in its two predecessors, you play as a nameless protagonist, whom we’ll call Akira Kurusu (‘cause that’s his name in the manga and I like it very much) and who’s been falsely accused and now is under probation in Tokyo, the big city. Here, he’ll be taken under custody by Sojiro Sakura, the owner of the café Leblanc, and he’ll attend to this school with a very particular sense of fashion when it comes to its uniforms, Shujin Academy. Soon enough, Akira will discover that a strange app has been installed into his cellphone without his consent, and despite the many times he tried to delete it, it won’t go away.

From here on out, you can guess what will happen if you’ve played another Persona game before: he’ll discover he can summon creatures from hell itself and that there’s a world inside of the world where shadows live, he’ll come across other people who can summon things as well, and they’ll fight demons and stuff, and at the end, they’ll save the world with the power of friendship because if not, this is definitely not a jrpg. Pretty much the same concept from previous games.

But at the same time is completely different, new and fresh.

Persona 5 revolves around the themes of ’freedom’, and ’being slaved by society’. The topic of corrupt and rotten adults is also brought up many times. And it does it perfectly. From the beginning, you get absorbed by the prejudice they throw upon Akira for being a ‘delinquent’ under probation. You can feel how they speak behind his back, how they look away while he walks past them. You put yourself in his shoes, and you sympathize with his bad luck. That’s a very special moment for the player and the protagonist, for it hadn’t happened in previous Personas: this is the very first Persona game in which the main character has the heaviest story pre-game and you feel it. And with ‘heavy’ I mean, seen, clear, present, because yes, the P3 Protagonist had a very sad past, but the game barely touched upon the death of his/her parents, and regarding Yu Narukami… well… yeah, he comes from the city and… yeah, that’s it.

Akira is a character already stablished, the responses you can choose for him have a tendency to seem rebellious, the way he smirks, taunts his enemies and acts proudly of himself… He is, in every way, a character on his own, and not a chance a representation of what the player want him to be. And that’s GREAT!

And not just him. The friends you come across in this path – The Phantom Thieves – may all seem a copycat of previous characters from previous games, but there’s always something that make them unique and original. The way Ryuji speaks and stands against everyone; Ann’s ideals of becoming an inspiration and her passionate love and care for her friend Shiho; Makoto’s concern about her sister and her own future and the pigeon-hole that chained her down for so many years; Futaba’s case of agoraphobia, with her tearful fears and her own demons; Yusuke’s hidden past shaped in a painting and his eccentric ideas; Haru’s heavy burden in following her father’s footsteps while at the same time realizing what she wants for herself; Akechi’s intrusive appearances, with a sad motive and a real self-centered issue; Morgana’s pursuit for his own past, and his devotion for the team. Yes, we already had that best friend who follows women in swimsuits (and actually buys a swimsuit for them cof cof Yosuke I’m looking at you cof cof), we already had the genius detective, the rich heiress to a big enterprise, the talking animal (stop it, Teddie, this is un-bear-able), the popular girl… but they all bring something new to the table. They’re all relatable at some point, and it’s hard to choose a favorite, for they all make you want to be part of that group of friends.

The story is so well thought that it makes me want to cry tears of joy. The main concept is to change the hearts of corrupt people: a sexual assaulter, an artist who plagiarizes his pupil’s work, a mafia leader… you get the idea. The Phantom Thieves risk their lives by entering Palaces, these people’s manifestation of their distorted desires, and they steal their 'treasure’ – in other words, they take away from the villain’s cognition that specific thing that made them corrupt in the first place. It can be a memento from their childhoods, it can be a very naïve object that, with time, created in them this sinful desire to abuse of others with their power. F*ck these guys, really.

And yeah, one thing leads to another… and… there’s like a wheel thing, things that happened at the beginning have repercussion later down the line… and… if I speak a little more I’ll be banned by Atlus 'cause spoilers. But, let me just say that if you believe that Persona 4’s story was clever and surprising, trust me, your jaw will fall to the floor many, maaaaany times in Persona 5. Like, really. You’ll envy these kids’ minds. You’ll never see it co- sorry, it just never gets old.

The gameplay remains true to Persona roots, and brings back the Shadow Negotiation, a mechanic that hadn’t been present since the Persona 2 duology. Before, you gained Personas at the end of the battle thanks to cards shufflin’ (the Shuffle Time Oh My God), but now, it’s up to you to convince the shadows you fight against to join your cause. The Velvet Room is also back, with a very grave-voiced Igor (and Oh, I wanna comment on this, but I can’t), and with two new assistants: Caroline and Justine, the twin wardens. You’ll be able to fuse Personas, just like in old times, but in this occasion you’ll have to decapitate the Personas you want to fuse to create a new one. Nice! There’s also an electric chair, a cell for lockdown and a hanging spot! Cute! All of these things bring new mechanics to the Velvet Room, that you’ll be taking advantage of. There are over 200 Personas to create, and there are some new ones, but don’t worry, we’ll be seeing the same old faces again (hee, hoo, Jack Frost is there too!).

As always, the Social Lin- pardon me, the ’confidants’ (f*ck it, they’re still Social Links, don’t bother me), will enchant the player and take your heart, no pun intended. Aside from fighting darkness itself inside the Palaces (which you should finish as fast as possible), you’ll be spending time with your party members and people from school and from around the city. It’s always good to see Akira interacting with his peers, but it was refreshing for me to see him with adults: in a society in which adults are all rotten and only think about themselves, he comes across some grown-ups that are worthy, that are still clean, and this goes to show that not all of the adults are corrupt, and not all of the teenagers are stupid and immature.

Akira grows close to the people around him, and you can sense his affection and theirs. There’s a big change as to how they regard our favorite delinquent: they slowly realize that he’s not a troublemaker as they made them believe, that he’s actually a noble fighter, and that he’s also worth fighting for. All their love, all their support, is seen and felt during the course of the game, and even more during the final hours. You’ll be grateful to have been close to all these people (I fully recommend to do a playthrough with all the Social Links maximized, it’ll give you, apart from a sense of satisfaction, the whole picture of what I’m talking about).

Social Links are now useful to the actual gameplay. Not only the party members learn new skills as in Persona 4 and passive skills as in Persona 3, but also the confidants outside of the party will give you perks and bonuses during the fights. For example, Mishima’s Social Link (Arcana Moon) will give you extra experience points for those playable characters that are on the reserves (you know, the ones you don’t like and don’t use), so now all of your characters level up at the same time, not just the four you choose. And it’s helpful as hell, believe me. Another Social Link, Hifumi Togo’s (Arcana Star), lets you exchange the characters in battle for those who are on the reserves as well, so in a middle of a boss, if a character is low on hp or sp, you can change them for one who is fresh and ready to fight. And so on. That’s why it is advisable to maximize as many Social Links as you can (but don’t forget to boost your social stats from time to time!).

So, the story is great, the gameplay is addictive… and the music is downright REBELLIOUS. It’s so good that it makes you wanna put on a mask and go out to reform society in a costume. There are songs that you’ll never see – alright, I’ll stop. It’s just… I love 'Last Surprise’ so much. And 'Rivers in the Desert’. And 'With the Stars and Us’, especially the piano version, my goodness, is that a tear in my eye…?

At the end of the game, I found myself whispering how good it was. It was beautiful, and I cried, although it’s not a sad story. I cried because of how good, how joyful it was, because of how many laughs it gave me; I cried because it conveyed many feelings, it made me feel rage, sadness, pity, happiness, rage again, betrayal, surprise… I was amazed by how clever the story went, by how well implemented each mechanic was. I really don’t know how Atlus can top this game, but I’m sure they will, and Persona 5 won’t be the 'last surprise’, I hope.

I really am glad that this game exists. I waited for it not so much, because I entered the Persona world (and I’ve been sucked into it forever now) last year, but still, a few months of delay felt like an eternity, and by the end of March, I was yearning for this to finally be released.

I do have one complaint. Tiny. I really wished there were more easter eggs and references to past Persona games. I know you can see Rise’s poster, and also Kanami’s (which makes, unfortunately, Persona 4 Dancing All Night canon), and that they mention the other 'ace detective’, referring to Naoto Shirogane. I’ve read but not found that they also mention another detective with red sunglasses, making an allusion to Katsuya Suou, older brother of Tatsuya from Persona 2. But still, I was waiting for that trip to Inaba, or to Tatsumi Port Island, or to come across at least Yu Narukami. Something… more. But I guess we’ll see Akira interacting with previous wild card wielders in the not so far away future (yeah, you guessed it, most probably Persona 5 Arena is being developed right now). I just wished they put something more obvious into the game.

But that’s it. I want Atlus to keep on creating games, to keep on surprising me. If you’re a fan of the series, this game will blow your mind, because it brings everything from past games and make it better. If you’re new to the series, this game will blow your mind as well, but you’ll have a difficult time adjusting to the previous ones, if you ever wish to play them (I recommend it though, even Persona 2 Innocent Sin). All in all, it’s an excellent, EXCELLENT, jrpg, and everything we’ve been waiting for.

Persona 5 doesn’t disappoint.