#i wanted to do this with akechi and shido but i think this made more sense

[akeyochi]

joker, as he bleeds out from punctured organs: please i'm dying

takemi, saying as she throws him out of the ambulance: MINORS DNI.

[megaderping]

A while ago, I made a post going into parts of the missable Sae Palace arc text messages, such as these:

However, that post neglected to include a full transcript. I have since transcribed all of these texts, which occur on 10/30, 11/3, 11/7, and 11/11. You must not infiltrate Sae's Palace until after these dates in order to get these.

Transcripts below the cut! Crossposted to the P5 sub.

The first of these texts takes place on 10/30. You will miss this text if you infiltrate the Palace on the first available day.

--

Ryuji: Yo, Akechi.

Akechi: What is it?

Ryuji: You got any idea who the true culprit might be?

Futaba: Oh yeah! You said you saw a masked guy, right?

Haru: I wanted to ask about that too.

Futaba: Did you really see him? The masked guy's gotta be the true culprit, right?

Akechi: If this so-called true culprit is acting alone, then there can be no mistake about it.

Futaba: I see.

Yusuke: The next question is, who is that masked man?

Akechi: Unfortunately, I do not know that much.

Futaba: Ugh, you're useless.

Akechi: That is quite harsh.

Futaba: Aw, you're making me blush!

Ann: That wasn't a compliment...

Akechi: At this point, I have yet to even grasp any clues. But once this is dealt with, I will surely capture him. I promise you that.

We'll be counting on you.

Akechi: Perfect. Leave it to me. It may sound somewhat odd for me to say this, but I am an exceptional detective. I assure you, I will catch this culprit. Look forward to it.

Can you do it?

Akechi: Hm? Do you not trust me?

[The rest plays out the same as the other option.]

--

What's funny about this exchange is how the Thieves know Akechi's deal and are just playing along. It makes some of the reactions (especially from Haru and Futaba) read as comically passive aggressive. However, the more interesting texts start coming on 11/03, 11/07, and 11/11.

Starting with 11/03.

--

Ryuji: Goddamit. People're acting like we were the ones who killed 'em.

Yusuke: I have even heard them say we are assassins hired to deal with psychotic breakdown victims.

Ann: Ugh, that's obviously not what we're trying to do.

Akechi: This must be part of the plan to shift blame onto the Phantom Thieves. After all, the true culprit is the one killing the people on that ranking list.

This is unforgivable

Akechi: Indeed. I have no intentions of letting this slide.

This is total BS

Akechi: But that is the truth for the general public at the moment.

[Both lead to...]

Futaba: Man, this culprit guy really won't let up. I don't remember ever doing anything that'd make someone hate us THIS much.

Haru: He used my father as well...

Akechi: I cannot fathom what his motive may be... We will just have to capture and interrogate him.

Makoto: But before that, we need to change my sister's heart. That's our first step toward stopping him.

Akechi: I must agree. The true culprit will be caught, but before that we must deal with Sae-san. If ranking is being taken into consideration, perhaps I will be targeted too... Just kidding.

--

This tells us that Shido is deliberately having Akechi target high ranking targets on the PhanSite in order to terrify the public with abhorrent acts of violence, much like he did in April. It's a way to make people feel scared and more reliant on Shido to be the change that Japan needs. But if you secure the treasure as quickly as possible, you will miss this added information that really deepens how cruel he truly is by ordering hits just to paint a convenient narrative.

And this is definitely Shido's idea, because on 11/7 we get this gem...

--

Haru: Do you think the culprit could be someone at our school?

Yusuke: That seems somewhat sudden.

Haru: I mean, didn't they find a calling card in Principal Kobayakawa's office? I thought you had suggested that idea yourself, Yusuke.

Yusuke: That was just a generalization.

Haru: But if Mako-chan noticed what was going on with you guys, somebody else might have too.

Ann: So you think that "somebody else" is trying to frame us? What's gotten into you so suddenly?

Haru: Nothing has gotten into me. I just think there's a chance the culprit is related to Shujin...

You might be right. / There's no way.

[Both get the same response:]

Yusuke: What is all of this about? It's too soon to be jumping to conclusions like this.

Haru: Well, I was hoping to hear a professional opinion on the matter... What are your thoughts, Akechi-kun?

Akechi: The possibility is not zero, but it does seem a bit unlikely.

Haru: Why do you ask?

Akechi: A normal person would never do such a thing. They would have no reason to callously murder your principal.

Haru: And what if they weren't normal?

Akechi: Are you implying they kill for the sheer pleasure of it?

Haru: No, not like that. What I mean is, you need certain special abilities to navigate through that world, yes?

Akechi: Ah, so you're saying the culprit is a Persona-user.

Haru: Yes.

Akehci: I see... How perceptive. Truthfully, I was considering that possibility myself. But it is difficult to think they have ties to Shujin Academy.

Haru: Why?

Akechi: There would be no motive for them to carry out such a cruel plot. Clearly our culprit is acting behind the scenes to accomplish some grand objective. He likely has accomplices. It is even possible that he is being controlled by someone.

Makoto: Controlled? By whom?

Akechi: If I knew that, I do not think we would be in this much trouble.

Haru: I see... So even someone like you doesn't know, Akechi-kun.

Futaba: Looks like our genius detective's not so much of a genius after all.

Akechi: Haha, harsh as always. If there is one thing I know, it is that the culprit behind all of this is extremely shrewd. But don't worry. I will catch him, no matter what it takes.

I'm looking forward to that. / I wonder if you can do it.

Akechi: More importantly, we need to focus on changing Sae-san's heart for the time being. If we cannot do that, everything we have done will be for naught. We absolutely must succeed here.

--

There is so much to unpack here. By far, it's my favorite of these texts because of the light it sheds on Akechi's motivations and intentions. First, we have Haru pressing the subject. She clearly wants to squeeze answers out of Akechi. She's subtly putting him on the spot because she knows...

But Akechi lets slip that no, actually, he doesn't do this for pleasure. That actually, he is being controlled and that the true mastermind is someone shrewd that he intends to take down. Amidst all of Akechi's lies and platitudes during this part of the story, we see a crack in his perfectly prepared mask. In a way, this is the most honest we've seen Akechi outside of his Royal confidant and on 8/28 and 9/3. In a way, he's sharing little slivers of himself with the rest of the team (either begrudgingly or for reasons he doesn't fully understand) the way he already has with Joker.

And it actually explains a few things that happen later. Namely, the way he downplays the need to kill the other Phantom Thieves until after the election (keep in mind, he does intend to knock Shido down from his pedestal) as well as treating Morgana as "just a cat." Obviously, this doesn't absolve Akechi of his guilt, but it does make it clear that he isn't as remorseless as a lot of people believe, even if no amount of sunk cost fallacy is gonna undo the damage he's done.

Hell, when combined with his lamentation that he didn't meet Joker years ago in the engine room and his reaction to Morgana explaining changes of heart, these texts further solidify that his feelings toward both Joker and the Thieves are extremely complex and absurdly messy.

Plus we get Haru and Futaba both taking shots at him, which is fun and also extremely deserved. :p

Moving on, there's one final missable November text on 11/11. It goes as follows:

--

Akechi: So, about the investigation... It seems they have no evidence that can truly be called as such.

Ryuji: Well duh.

Akechi: However, it seems they have no intentions of changing their plans.

Ann: They're going to investigate at both Shujin Academy and Leblanc, right?

Akechi: Indeed.

Makoto: Hm. I can understand Shujin... But why Leblanc?

Akechi: The key is Wakaba Isshiki.

Futaba: Is it cause of my mom's research?

Akechi: Correct. Her study of cognitive psience is closely connected to this case. Of that, there can be no doubt.

Futaba: Then this guy's really the mastermind behind all of this?

Akechi: That would be the case. There can be no mistake... The one who erased cognitive psience from this world is surely the culprit behind everything.

Makoto: And getting rid of the research was the only way they could use its powers?

Akechi: How perceptive of you. Yes, that is the only logical conclusion. Both Sae-san and I were searching for clues about that research. But just as we were about to deepen our investigation, this commotion began. And to make things even more troublesome... There was only one person with strong connections to both Shujin Academy and Leblanc. And that person turned out to be the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

Yusuke: So the culprit had calculated all of this in advance?

Akechi: Heavens no. That would be impossible. This was a miracle created by the coinciding of multiple chance situations.

Ryuji: Dude, you hear that? He says you got miraculously bad luck. Don't that make you feel good?

I'm so lucky.

Ryuji: Y'know, shitty luck is still luck.

That's not funny.

Ryuji: C'mon, you gotta be able to laugh it off at this point.

Haru: Yes, your luck really is impressive.

Akechi: At any rate, that's the current state of things. And that's why we must obstruct the investigation at all costs.

Makoto: Yes, that's our intention.

--

Once again, we have Akechi laying it on thick that Shido is the one behind everything, as he was the one who ordered the hit on Wakaba, stole her research, and had his own research team develop it further. And keep in mind, Shido's own words, first on 11/21...

"Those who get in the way must be eliminated at times—that's the correct way to use the Metaverse."

And later, his Shadow states, "Moreover, it was thanks to me that Akechi was able to properly use his power to begin with."

So we know that even the idea of inducing mental shutdowns came from him, even if Akechi offered his Metaverse abilities as part of his stupid revenge plan.

What this shows is Akechi wants to hint that there is this bigger puppet master, even if he's going to betray the Thieves, and this is actually really consistent with his Royal confidant. In Rank 7, he uses a billiard games as a metaphor for the upcoming betrayal kill and gives Joker an out, even if he's much happier if you assert your rivalry instead. This makes his warnings about the connections to Wakaba carry a very similar feeling, and since these texts were in Vanilla, it's likely that the Royal confidant built on this foundation.

But then there's the fact that the Thieves are fully in the know that Akechi is going to betray them, so it recontextualizes all these texts where they are genuinely trying to squeeze as much info out of him as they can and likely having to restrain themselves hard (especially Futaba and Haru).

And all of this you will never see unless you delay the infiltration until 11/12. So, the next time you play Persona 5 Royal, it might be worthwhile to delay Sae's Palace to see these in-game! They're really cool and it's a shame they aren't scripted events.

[thedaythatwas]

something I appreciate about akechi as a character is that he never seems to think hmm, maybe I should emotionally distance myself from joker, because being invested in him could end up being bad for me when I need to kill him. the vengeance-oriented character goro is made out to be at first glance ought to think like this, but NO! goro akechi is NOT (just) that guy!

from the beginning, akechi goes above and beyond the minimum requirements of getting intel on joker and gaining his trust. he says, I’ll go the extra mile! I’m going to follow him around, inside and outside the metaverse. we’re going to talk about my dead mom. I’m going to insist that we’re RIVALS! I’ll spend so long thinking about all the reasons I hate him that it’ll become obvious to everyone around me— even joker’s (not a) cat— that what I feel isn’t really hate but something much more complex. obviously, this will make killing him that much more gratifying, because our lives are now intertwined! HA! take that joker! I WIN!

I believe this… interesting… thought process has something to do with akechi’s central motivation being more than just a desire for vengeance. he also desperately craves approval and recognition. akechi is not actually all that pragmatic. he’s highly driven by emotion, sometimes at the cost of logic (I mean… his revenge plot isn’t all that mature or well-thought through. it’s basically suicidal).

this considered, it seems that becoming akiren’s rival would be second nature to goro. it gives him a veritable cornucopia of things he craves. winning their “game” allows him to feel recognized for his worth. just playing it gives him opportunities to feel seen and known. being a rival is addictive. he gets the chance to embrace the anger he cultivates towards akiren and the rush of putting him at the center of his thoughts. their rivalry is by far the most intimate relationship akechi has. and so, he gets more and more tangled up with joker— and in his feelings about joker— regardless of any risk that poses to his plans. distancing himself would go against goro’s every instinct.

being akiren’s rival is tied to akechi’s vengeance, but somewhere along the line, “besting joker” evolves to be about more than plotting against shido. this is probably for similar reasons as to why akechi’s desire for vengeance against his father was never purely about “vengeance” at all.

of course, this comes with the pesky, entirely predictable side effect of akechi getting a bit obsessed. oh well! it doesn’t end up stopping him from trying to carry out his order to kill akiren.

regardless of how events actually unfold, akechi’s feelings are a clean-cut liability to his revenge plot. a rational character would probably want to avoid such an obvious crack in his armor. this to say, as intelligent as akechi is, he’s not really all that rational. there’s a difference! he’s not who he appears to be at first glance, or even second or third glance. he’s not the detective prince, or an assassin with tunnel vision for vengeance, or even just plain angry. akechi wants to be needed, and he’ll do anything to chase that feeling.

so yeah, it would’ve been nice if he had found a homoerotic rival before the shido revenge plot debacle happened! alas.

[vashtijoy]

Just in case you, like me, missed this, here's a quick Akechi callback in the third semester, where the sea-urchin spikes are fully on, er, point.

This is when they strike their deal on 1/2, just after Akechi has arrived at Leblanc to explain it all some of it. Just before they leave, his voice pitches up mockingly, he strikes a variant of his little side-on I-will-murder-you pose, and he says this:

Akechi 今さら断ったりしないよね? ima sara kotowattari shinai yo ne? Now that we've made ourselves a new deal, you wouldn't turn me down, would you? After everything that's happened, you won't say no, will you?

... and for some reason Joker doesn't punch him in the face.

So what is that supreme bit of asshattery a callback to, exactly? Yeah:

Akechi 代わりに、取引だ⋯まさか、断ったり⋯しない、よな⋯? kawari ni, torihiki da... masaka, kotowattari... shinai, yo na...? Let's make a deal, okay? You won't say no, will you?

I'm not giving a translation for this one because the official translation is the point, but look at that kawari ni at the start—"in exchange, instead, as a substitute"—"because I did this for you". Akechi's "deal", his torihiki, is an exchange—Joker is to change Shido's heart in exchange for Akechi's sacrifice.

Speculation: this is interesting because Joker is on his way to change Shido's heart anyway—there's no need to bargain for it. So it's almost like Akechi is offering him a way out of his guilt for what's happening—or, as Akechi would see it, a way to cancel the debt.

Obviously, as eny fule kno, this is not super effective.

in which akechi is a dick

Here are the two transliterated lines side-by-side, so you can see that they're essentially the same:

ima sara kotowattari shinai yo ne? kawari ni, torihiki da... masaka, kotowattari... shinai, yo na...?

There are a couple of points on 1/2 when Akechi gets shamelessly in Joker's face with his lack of repentance and his emotional denial about the engine room. "Oh, did you think you changed my heart? Cute. Let me show you that you didn't, and haven't, and can't. Let me show you, before you can think about bringing it up, that I'm still just who I was, that none of that shit that happened meant anything to me."

This is the first: "we did not have a moment just before I definitely didn't die. in fact, so little did we have a moment that I'm going to rub it in your face and use it to manipulate you." It's convincing, except that we all saw the scene, we know what was said, we know Akechi's motives and what he always wanted, and we all know what Akechi at least tried to do.

It's a funny moment, and it's an immense dick move, taking their relationship from the one they had at the end, where they were irrevocably intertwined and where Akechi was exposed, back to a place Akechi is more comfortable in. And that place is at an emotional orbit of ten thousand kilometres, of course.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

The whole "Is Akechi still alive" is a bit of a mess.

First thing first Atlus is TERRIFIED of spoilers, expecially Royal, but vanilla too. To the point all new spin offs that came after Royal barelly mention the events of the game

(Strikers was made as a sequel for vanilla, Tactica has one (1) line about their 'crazy therapist' but thats all, and the dlc with playable Sumire and Prince!Akechi is set in november and they magically forget about it once its over, and seems like they are doing the exactly same thing in the gacha)

So Akechi's fate its in a limbo.

WHATEVER, remember when all maxed joker's confidant help him to get out of jail? There is a very unfinished removed cutscene of Akechi also helping, and its reveled he is alive and now working at what is possibily a safe house for women victim of abuse, as two ladies chat he used to live there with his mom as a kid. Plus he has a couple of cut thieves den conversation where the thieves are slighty more nicer to him, for example Ryuji playing pool with him or Sumire poking fun at Robin Hood's look

Set in November??? They magically forget??? So, does Sumire think she's Kasumi the whole way through the dlc? That's painful, honestly, I would have so much difficulty with that...

Sucks that Akechi's in limbo because he has so much interesting potential for what could happen to him in future if he is alive. It would not be an easy road for him and that interests me. At the same time, Akechi's Royal arc is so good and there's so much complexity to his character that I'd be worried about whether or not the quality would keep up if they tried to continue his story... so idk I have mixed feelings because on one hand, it would be nice for him to come back, but on the other, I get... nervous, haha.

"its reveled he is alive and now working at what is possibily a safe house for women victim of abuse, as two ladies chat he used to live there with his mom as a kid" Ohhhhh that hurts and heals me in the best way... I do like the ambiguity surrounding him at the end, but there is something that really gets me about him helping Joker while returning to a place associated with his past and his mother. I imagined he was aiming to clean up the last of Shido's conspiracy in the background, but I kind of like the idea that he truly gets a chance to breathe away from anything to do with Shido for at least a little bit, and maybe take a step back to reconnect with some parts of himself and his past before he became the Black Mask.

Honestly though, I really can't imagine that Akechi isn't alive at the end of Royal for one very particular reason: Morgana's confidant. I commented in a previous post on how Morgana is a thief that has quite a few similar story beats to him (worth defined by contributions, egotistical tendencies masking insecurity, etc.; if only this part of the story had tighter writing...). At the end of his confidant, Morgana finds that even if he isn't able to contribute the way he wants to, even if he isn't who he's been declaring himself to be, he still has a place to belong with the Thieves - and this belonging is what saves him from disappearing along with the Metaverse. Morgana returns because the Thieves' cognitions, and Ren's especially, made it so he had a place with them.

A friend of mine told me that Akechi's final words change depending on whether or not you max out his confidant. If you don't, he appraises that his final enemy is a puppet version of himself with a "not bad". If you do max his confidant, he says "I...", and cuts off. Shortly before this, Ren asks that he keep his promise for their rematch - again, I've already expressed how implicitly this is a way of saying "you have to make it out of here alive". "Not bad" is Akechi accepting his fate. "I..." means he doesn't want this. He wants to make it out.

Is it enough for a fully maxed out bond - where Ren wants Akechi to be alive and fulfill his promise, and where Akechi similarly wants to keep said promise to the point of hesitating and failing to fully accept his own impending death - to save his life? Given that Ren and Akechi are somewhat unique Persona users and the available evidence we have, I'd say yes.

Also I don't get why the scene would slow and a particular mysterious sound cue would play when the figure in Akechi's typical outfit walks by the train at the end if that... wasn't supposed to be him? My friend also told me that he only shows up there if you max his bond too so... lol.

"Ryuji playing pool with him or Sumire poking fun at Robin Hood's look" Oh my gosh I need to see these. That's so funny. I think Ryuji and Akechi interacting is the funniest thing ever and I have legitimately no idea how a game of pool would go with them. Sumire poking fun at Robin Hood though?! LMAO get him. I kind of like the idea that since Akechi's such a petty asshole, Sumire feels comfortable teasing and poking at him a little.

Well, thank you so much for the information! I'm always happy to hear about cool trivia or little details or things like cut content, so really, thanks for sharing. :)

[narumika]

Howdy dear friend ! I came hare with a merely entreaty :)

May I ask for Headcaones for Akechi and Joker with girlfriend who have a white snake as a pet ?

(if it made ya that slightly uncomfortable dear author-san no need to write it!)

(I hope this help little bit when writing the HC: The snake name is Lotus, Lotus doesn't like to be away for her owner for to long always like to hang around her owner, like morgana Lotus always hides in that bag wanting to go with her owner everywhere she gose to, if Lotus sense any danger or a creepy won't stop bothering her owner she makes her apprench to be known with her wrapping herself around her owner neck and hissing at sort of danger that is bothering these two, if ever going to that mementos she becomes like Mona a chibi that talks she and her owner will no stop talking to each other because they finally could communicate with there own comfort being<3)

I'm sorry if this is to much for you, You can always decline this request if you want

Have Nice Day/Night!!

notes: this is so cute actually wait.... give her a little phantom thief outfit that would be so adorable

goro akechi/fem reader, joker/fem reader, fluff, spoiler warning!

JOKER/AKIRA KURUSU

you both bond over having a pet animals. mona and lotus. mona and lotus became friends because of how much you two would hang around each other.

in the metaverse, you and akira are the best duo. you're both able to gather intel stealthily and efficiently. the other phantom thieves would give lotus nicknames, and grow to become more calm around her.

at first, he would be a little worried due to the fact she was a snake, and could possibly kill you at any second, but when he saw how calm lotus was he wasn't as worried anymore. (still a little worried tho cause he has no idea if hes fair game or not. whoopsies!)

GORO AKECHI

thinks its cool. definitely the type of guy to look at it with a little smile like "hello there :)" and then lotus just starts hissing.

if you're working with the phantom thieves, he's kinda surprised but also expected it. he encourages you to "do the right thing and tell him who the leader is" and if you don't budge he just gives up. he will be back the next day to ask about it.

once he "joins", he's acts surprised at how lotus talks to him, but says a snarky response that sounds a little crueler than normal. before, he had to take the remarks he could hear and pretend he couldn't understand (assuming lotus can talk like morgana), but now he could talk back. he becomes so petty ugh i hate sassy men

when joker gets caught, you're just as worried as the rest of them but also a little hurt knowing your boyfriend was going to be the one to kill your best friend.

engine room scene is absolutely devastating. lotus tries to comfort you, but it's still difficult to move on even with the endless support you get. that just fuels your drive even more to bring shido to justice.

[lacystar]

The shido exposee recording is so funny to me. Futaba has been preparing this for a while yet the rest of the PTs had no idea. But the entire plan is the video which is voiced over and recording of the PTs?? Unless what she was doing behind their backs was figuring out how to hack the broadcasts, which, ok maybe? But it really seems like she’s saying she’s prepared the video so I like to think she made AIs of their voices and made them do AI covers of her script like ppl do with characters and songs. But there’s elaborate animations and to prove they’re all alive they all stand in silhouette INCLUDING morgana and nobody asks about the tiny catshaped monster thing?? JOKER SHOWS HIS ENTIRE FACE TO PROVE HES ALIVE BUT NOBODY KNOWS HES THE LEADER OF THE PTS SO WHATS THE POINT?? THEY COULDVE HAD ANYONE DO IT AND LIED AND SAID THEY WERE THE LEADER?? THE ONLY THING THAT WOJLD DO IS SHOW AKECHI SPECIFICALLY JOKER IS ALIVE TO MAKE HIM INTERVENE AHAIN?? WAS THAT ON PURPOSE??? BC NOBODY ELSE WJO WOULD RECOGNIZE JOKER CPULD GET INTO THE METABERSE EXCEPT HIM. DID HE WANT HIM TO COME AFTER HIM,,? “HEY FUTABA DURING THIS PART LETS HAVE ME COME INTO THE LIFHT AND TALK SO MY GAY BF WILL KNOW IM OK”??? BUT SLSO IT JUST DOXXES HIM SO HE COJLD EASILY GET RECOGNIZED IN PUBLIC AFTER THIS?? HOW IS HIS LIFE NOT RUINED??? HIS GOICE ISNT PITCHED UP OR DOWN LIKE THE OTHERS?? YUSUKE SOUNDS SO WEIRD?? I CANNOT TELL IF RYUJI OR ANN IS THE FIRST ONE WHO TALKS. HOW DID FUTABA START MAKING THIS. THE SINGLE TIME JOKER STRINGS MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE TOGETHER IS HERE AND THE RESR OF THE GAME ITS JUST LIKE A WORD OR TWO. HOW DID FUTABA MAKE THIS .

[monochromaticblue]

Today I bring you, shuake spiderverse au

Tomorrow? Who knows.

Adding a break bc I’m going to RAMBLE

Ren is the one who gets bit by the spider obv

Have yet to decide on a name for him, Joker doesn’t feel spidery enough and Phantom Spider seems too on the nose but.

Goro is a detective working on hunting down said spider person, who keeps flirting with him.

Ren was a former member of spider society before quitting bc Miguel sucks. But he did make some friends in the form of his pre-existing friends from other universes who are spider people too.

That sounded rlly confusing hang on.

The PTs in Rens universe all help him out behind the scenes but then there’s also universes where each of them is the spider in that universe, so Ren has two sets of friends who are the same people. One of the Futabas made an app that lets them travel between dimensions without alerting spider society.

I have ideas to make each of the palace people (-Futaba probably) a big villain that Ren has to face all while dodging the really pretty detective who wants to arrest him.

Until Ren isn’t the only spider in his own dimension. Enter Akechi once again, now working alongside Ren as his own maybe spider themed alter ego that I also haven’t named…

except he wasn’t bit by a radioactive spider, his suit is entirely tech made to mimic Rens abilities (Goros ass cannot do whatever a spider can) featuring a very fun little ai named Robin Hood who keeps commented on Goro’s elevated heart rate when he looks at Ren. Wonder why.

The two continue to work together alongside the other spider thieves up until Ren and Goro wind up on a mission alone together in a lab, the very same lab Rens spider came from, where everything goes wrong, they get separated for a bit but manage to make it out in once piece.

Goro starts acting different after this though, becoming more snappy and never seeming to be available, always spacing out too. Also, there’s a new terror said to be attacking people at night, leaving its victims without heads. (If you can guess where this is going ily)

Ren, worried about his partner in stopping crime, goes to visit Goros apartment one night only to find it entirely a mess, unfortunately he can’t stay for long since there’s screaming down the street. Upon investigating, Ren comes face to face with the very creature he was hoping he wouldn’t have to see.

A thing a whole foot taller than him with a black and white striped body that almost resembled his suit in a way. Ren honestly would have thought it was a suit if not for the giant fucking mouth full of teeth and the horns. After promptly beating the shit out of Ren, the creature proudly announces itself as Loki.

Haven’t exactly figured out how the reveal happens yet but I do very much enjoy the idea of Goro having his own version of the iconic “we are venom” scene from the movie.

But basically Goro joining up with Loki was always the plan. His reasoning for teaming up with Ren is the same as in the game and he yeaa he’s been working with Shido, the mayor, this entire time :D the lab was entirely planned aswell. What wasn’t planned was how much of an impact Loki would have on Goros mental state, but he’s fine. Totally.

Blah blah shit happens, Shido becomes a major threat and Goro finally teams up with the Inter-Dimensional Spider Team for real to help take him down. Things don’t go according to plan, there’s a lot of fire, Goro can’t use Loki and Ren fails to save him! Tada! Canon event!!! *cue Miguel’s theme or whatever*

I want to include third semester because I think it would be cool but I just. Can’t think of how to make it work. But it would result in Goro coming back and finally learning how to get along with Loki.

This has been haunting my mind for weeks every since my friend sent me a design of spider Akiren.

Alsooo since there’s an alternate universe where each of the thieves got spider powers

This also means there’s a universe where it’s Goro.

Why have I strictly been using Ren this entire time? Because Akira is the one in Spider Goro’s world, with his symbiot Arsene

He’s uh. A little fucked up.

Thank you for listening to the deranged ramblings of a mad man, see you next millennium

[somethingpersonarelated]

On how Futaba views Akechi

A piece of fanon I've noticed that comes up a lot is how supportive Futaba is of anything that involves Akechi. I don't want to go "Oh she just hates him and any interpretation otherwise is WRONG!!>!" or like she'd totally be cool if he randomly waltzed back into their lives.

It's not something that particularly annoys me or anything. It's just something I've noticed and wanted to comment on because I feel like Futaba's character gets overly simplified. I think it's an interesting dynamic that should be explored more! NOTE THIS IS LONG SORRY LMFAO. Also, I should clarify this isn't a ship post. (don't make this weird)

At the beginning:

We all know the infamous "wait why are you telling me about your trauma, this is a wendy's" scene but it gives us our first insight into her perspective.

When he talks about his mother, it's a fairly similar scenario to Futaba's own. So much so that she has her own cut-in looking sad/sympathetic towards him.

But she's still defensive when he asks about the Phantom Thieves' and their popularity by deflecting sarcastically with,

"...You're popular too, Ace Detective Akechi."

They definitely don't start off on the right foot, much like his relationship with pretty much all the Phantom Thieves, for obvious reasons. Although at this point they don't fully know the extent of his suspicious behavior, just that he is generally sus.

During the Casino + Shido Arcs:

Futaba cannot stand Akechi at this point, but as a part of the plan, she has to act naive even though arguably she probably knows the most about all the mechanics of the plan. She does get to mess with him though (making the newbie do stuff, the whole cognitive akechi part of the plan, bugging his phone). Her perspective is probably still similar to the others and it shows how much she was able to improve by being able to face him without cracking at all.

Shido's Arc and Third Semester is when it actually gets interesting though:

Futaba: You know... sometimes I think about that fake Medjed that you guys made up... Futaba: That was the worst trap... but if not for that, I don't think I'd be here right now. Futaba: Uhhh, basically... it doesn't matter where you start over!

This one gets me, I think this line is where her perspective begins to shuffle a bit (and it will be important later). She's trying her best to sympathize with him, as this is before the black mask part of the breakdown, and get him to see that there was some amount of good that came from his actions. It doesn't work, and I kind of think she doesn't really believe it, but they are all trying anything to get him to come to his senses. But I do think she means the part about him starting over, in a "I did it, so could you" kind of way.

And of course this engine room dialogue which is peak (even if it may be an incorrect description of his abilities):

Futaba: But you trusted no one, so you only got two Personas: one for your lies, and one for your hate. Futaba: Still, you thought that was enough, right? That part I totally get.

Okay the first part of the dialogue may not be accurate to how his Personas work but I don't want to talk about that (there's some good posts on that though). But the point isn't being accurate, she's throwing back what he's done in attempt to get through to him. Like this is where you went wrong and here's why I can relate to that. The second line confuses me and I had to sit on it.

One point she makes is that he's operating on his own without teammates (the translation is a bit different), "playing in single player mode." I think this refers to how she thought she could manage her situation on her own, but wasn't able to. Additional note, it could also be referring to the way she attempted to push people out of her life (like how she tries to stop the PTs when they say they need to meet her to change her heart). That she needed the help of the Phantom Thieves (I think, even beyond the change of heart) and those bonds proved her wrong. So even though she initially thought no one needed her and that her life was meaningless, she did something Akechi couldn't conceive of doing, reaching out for help. This is her way of extending a branch even though there's no reason for her to.

Third Semester

Source:

An additional line I can't screenshot:

"So please let me get back to navigating! I wanna navigate so hard that I won't be able to think about anything else."

When this happens, I think it's pretty clear that there's a strong inner conflict for her when it comes to forgiving Akechi. Even though they reasoned it out by saying they needed him on the team due to Maruki's abilities, she's still trying to look for a better reason to work with him. And she just can't find one. I wouldn't say it's necessarily out of pity, but it shows that she does on some level still feel bad for him. I guess the word I'm looking for is compassion? A thought that comes into my head is that she does want him to start over, just not with the team. If it was only Shido, then it would have been justified, but the circumstances are different here. Knowing that he might be alive changes the way all the thieves interact with him (they aren't trying to get through to him anymore, and some dialogues are just awkward- you can tell no one knows what to say to him now that he's acting 'normal').

A counterpoint to this dialogue would be her dialogue in the engine room and Mementos. She's pretty open to talking to him in these dialogues. In Akechi's section there are some really interesting interactions imo:

Akechi: You may not like working with me, but I'm counting on your assistance until our goal is achieved. Futaba: You better appreciate just how open-minded I am.

The fact they don't play together in Tycoon but they still get Mementos dialogues confuses me a bit but eh. Without Haru and Futaba's approval it's pretty clear the others wouldn't be on board with Akechi on the team. The delivery kind of makes it sound like she's forcing herself to be open minded about it, and that's what the safe room dialogue implies too. She doesn't want to be around him.

Akechi: Do you prefer my previous outfit or this one? Moving around's become much easier for me. Futaba: They both work fine. Just wear whatever you want.

Akechi: You think I'm frightening when I fight? Well, I'm afraid you're just going to have to accept it. Futaba: I was pretty shocked at first, but now I'm used to it.

I think these are pretty clear. She hasn't forgiven him, hell she probably doesn't like him, but she's come to accept him for who he is. But she isn't scared anymore, nor is she trying to reason with him, he just exists.

Conclusion/TLDR: She goes from actively disliking him at the beginning of the story to still disliking him but it's complicated™. She understands what he went through to get to that point, and wanted him (like the others) to face Shido with them. But when it comes to third semester, the circumstances are far different, complicating it further. She doesn't need to forgive him at all, she knows that, but after everything that happened wants to find a reason to forgive him. But she can't. At the very least, she's begrudgingly accepting of his existence, and can deal with it only for the sake of the team. She doesn't hate him, at all, actually, but to say she's okay with him is also a stretch.

edit: some edits for clarity/demonstration.

[cookiecomics]

(warning from future me: this is very long, soz)

heyy!! i'm about to start another reread of atott but although im trying to get better at this, im bad at leaving comments (i get too invested in the action & dont mark down my thoughts... so when i get to the comment part i don't remember all or anything i wanted to talk abt + i'm ruminating on what just happened. that's true for the updates i've been following and doubly so for binge-reading sessions) so i just wanted to say some things directly to you, right now, before i forget - i adore the colosseum to this day. i was invested from moment one and the way you described everything was so impactful. to this day i also remember the way ren was panicked & aiming to return home despite his concussion, it felt very visceral and real. also the entirety heresy ring, akechi finding out he was in the fraud ring (this cracked me up iirc. that boy read you akechi), the toy grandma wanted to give ren & akechi managed to get to him (and ren/arsene crying bc of it....), the river, the hanged man game.... gods, you captivated me so much even within those first chapters.

another moment that is very present in my memory is the whole section where ren is in shido's palace, hiding from akechi w/o knowing it's him, finding out he was the "birdman" and then the aftermath, akechi's high fever, the way ren did his best to take care of him, how he told him he'd do the hit on the principal for him. it was all so good!! like i found ur fics from the accomplice tag iirc so i wasn't surprised when it happened, but it was all so exciting still! my memory sucks so i can't even paraphrase what ren told akechi before leaving to do it, but i do remember how akechi was still convinced (and kinda hoped) ren wouldn't actually get involved & he'd just end up dead. then ren came back, with new glasses to boot! lol

ohh also that moment where ren crossdressed and akechi was definitely attracted but ofc he can't Say It so he just critiques his makeup capabilities instead....... i was like. of course. of couse you would.

and i found atott shortly after finding out i'm arospec despite being very interested in making fictional characters kiss & romantic scenes in general, so it was very interesting to read akechi believe he was aromantic & have to deal with Actually Having Romantic Feelings Fuck This lmaoooo tho tbf i'd actually react similarly if i found out i was demisexual instead of completely ace like i think i am, so i also identified with it in that sense, since i've know about that part of my identity much longer than being arospec lol

ah. this is very long but i have more i want to say... so im gonna keep talking lol. ren realizing he was cluster-b helped me realize & come to terms with my low empathy. i remember when first reading akechi suggest ren get himself checked for sociopathy i was a bit skeptical bc i worried it'd be just edgy stuff, but i'd been trusting your writing & decisions so i decided to be optimistic & i rlly liked how you handled it, and, again, it helped me come to terms with the parts of me that also wouldn't be seen favourably by some of these ppl who insist they're mental health advocates lol

also, i rlly like akesumi so when sumi realized he was munin i was giddy. her own smile about it made me happy too.... oh this makes me remember the scene of futaba finding out ren is her online friend too gods such good scenes!!!! and finding the palace keywords. which made me remember the bad ending chapter in maruki's reality which i only managed to read on my 3rd read of the fic & then was immediately invested into too.....

anyway, what i want to say is, thank you so much for writing atott. it is almost constantly running through the like, background of my thoughts, and the story has been very important & dear to me. i hope you know it is genuinely engraved within me at this point. i love it so much. ♡

GOSH what a beautiful thing to come back to ;3; thank you so so much for your kind words and for trusting me as well dsfkjhsdfjk as someone who is cluster b AND on the a-spec merrygoround, I'm glad my handling of the topics have been great for you ;3; thank you for telling me all that you love about the fic ;3; hoping to get an update soon for Goro's birthday <3

Again, any and all love for Ren's palace makes me giddy since it is by far the aspect of the fic that took the longest to plan ;3; and there's no such thing as "too long" comments or asks for me by the way please know this is very sweet to read, i hope you have a great day! and look forward to people having a hashtagbadtime next chapter sdkjfhjkf

[palmtreehero]

I had to play persona 5 royal twice to get the third semester because I didn't even know it was a thing lol and ngl I didn't like akechi at first because I felt like his character tried too hard and once he died on shido's ship, pretty much that's all about him. Once I found out about third semester, I did everything to unlock it and I was surprised how Akechi went from not even in the top ten to my second favourite character (Akira is the 1st!). His characterization in third semester is so so so good and I loved him so much, one of persona's best complex characters and it made me realize all the more why Akira's existence in Akechi's life is absolutely important and pivotal to Akechi's growth. Lmao the way akechi went from hello it's nice to meet you to your daughter (Akira) calls me daddy too adafsgahajaah

I'm actually surprised it could be missed. I guess I thought the conditions for it were things you would have wanted to do naturally, but maybe that's the stand point of someone who played vanilla initially.

I get that people might not have cared for Maruki and treated him just like any other confidant. I'm glad you played it again so you could experience it though, it's definitely the best part of Royal!

I think funnily enough you went through the vanilla experience that I went through because I had no feelings for Goro, I was really lukewarm about him. Now he's often confused as my favorite character and as each day goes by I find it harder to deny so I just say I love the Goro Akechi that loves Akira Kurusu therefore I am also in love with Akira Kurusu.

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 236: Honest Conversation

The next day, Ren got a message on her phone.

Lena: Say, since we don’t have school today, do you mind if I stop over?

Lena: I could use some advice.

Ren: Sure!

Ren: What’s this about?

Lena: Goro.

Ren: Ah.

Lena: Yeah…

Ren: Well, I’m sure we can figure something out.

Lena: Thanks.

Ren: No problem.

Lena: Seeya soon!

Ren: Seeya!

Ren put her phone down, and waited for Lena to show up.

Once she did, seemed kind of listless. She sighed. “Sooooo, what’s on your mind?” Ren asked.

“Well…” Lena began. “You know how I scheduled a talk with my family about potentially staying here?” Ren nodded. “Well, I invited Goro to help. But that was before…all of this…”

“Ho boy…” Ren replied.

“Yeah…” Lena said. “And now I don’t know if he’s still up for it, or if he’s busy with his grand plan, or even if he’s still himself!”

“Well…” Ren began. “That is tricky. Um, this might be a little odd, but have you tried talking to him?”

Lena was surprised. “Well…noooooo…maybe I should? But I don’t know if he’s up to being a boyfriend right now. Or maybe I’m not up to being a girlfriend.”

“Well, I kind of think you might have to?” Ren said. Lena was confused. “I mean, a lot of the issues I’ve had with Sumire, we worked it out by talking things out.”

“Huh,” Lena said.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong,” Ren said, “this is more complex. But I think it’s worth talking it through, even if the end result is…well…worst case scenario…”

Lena frowned. “I see…” She smiled sadly. “As you know, things weren’t exactly rosy when I first came here. Goro was the only thing that made me believe I had made the right choice. And now, I’m on the verge of losing that.”

“Are you thinking of going back to America?” Ren wondered.

“Honestly, I don’t know at this point,” Lena said. “I don’t really want to, but if I get too hurt I might have to.”

Ren sighed. “I see…”

Lena noticed Ren’s reaction. She panicked slightly. “Not that you and everyone else are terrible. Far from it! But with him, it’s different. He and I share a connection that I don’t even know if I can replicate with another person ever. And now I feel like it’s falling apart before my very eyes.”

Ren heard the desperation in Lena’s voice. “Well, you heard him in the palace, right? He still seems fond of you, despite everything.”

“Hm,” Lena reacted.

Ren continued trying to help. “Plus, if I know Akechi, he’s not the type of person to just ruin things. He likes to think things through. I think it makes sense to at least reach out to him. In fact, why don’t you call him here, so that I can be here if you need it.”

Lena pondered Ren’s suggestion. “I suppose it won't hurt too much.” She got out her phone, and messaged Akechi.

Within the hour, Akechi had arrived at the Sakura residence. He made his way to Ren’s room, where she and Lena were waiting. “Hi…” He said, awkwardly.

“Hi…” Lena replied in kind.

“Do you mind me asking what this is about?” Akechi wondered.

Ren looked at Lena. “Well?”

Lena sighed. “Are we…still good?”

Akechi was surprised. “Well that’s…a loaded question if I ever heard it.”

“I know,” Lena said. “But I think it’s worth asking.” She grew more erratic. “I mean, this whole Eris situation putting us on opposite ends of a battle, it throws a lot in the air. I mean, I don’t want to lose you, but you’re so dead set on your revenge that I can’t even break you away from it. And that’s on top of everything else! I don’t know if you just forgot, but we had a deal to tell my parents I want to stay in Japan! Did that not occur to you when you were accepting gifts from a deranged figure calling themselves a god?! Were you thinking of me at all?!”

“Of course I was thinking of you!” Akechi snapped back.

“Oh boy…” Ren reacted, as if she were watching a trainwreck.

“Ever since we started dating, I’ve been thinking about how you and I would benefit from the world I intend to create,” Akechi continued. “It’s not easy working with a horrid man like Shido, but if it meant I could give you everything you want and more, it would be worth it!”

“All I want is you!” Lena shouted back.

Akechi rolled his eyes. “I did say ‘and more’...”

“Don’t get technical with me!” Lena argued back.

Akechi pouted. “Well, what about you?” Lena was confused. “I may have hidden my intentions from you, but you were also hiding the fact that you were a Phantom Thief from me!” Lena averted her gaze. “That was also on my mind when I made that deal with Eris. If I didn’t take that deal, you’d be dealing with someone who might be less hesitant to kill you! I’m not going to kill you. I’m not going to kill ANY of The Phantom Thieves! I just want you to understand me. We don’t have to fight.”

“Well…” Lena said, still angry, “...if you were worried, you could have joined us as well.” Akechi was perplexed. “I mean, I agree to some extent that your goal and that of The Phantom Thieves isn’t too dissimilar. Yet you got wrapped up in your own delusions that you felt like you needed to do this elaborate revenge plot! We could be working together if you were willing to let us in! To let ME in!”

Akechi glared at her. “If that was the case, why not tell me right away? I might have been willing to listen if you were at the forefront of negotiations for The Phantom Thieves.”

“Well…” Lena said, starting to get nervous. “You seemed so dead set against the idea. I don’t think it would have made sense to tell you. But hindsight is always 20/20.” Akechi tried to speak up, but was interrupted by Lena. “The OTHER reason is that I had just spent a lot of time trying to get my host mom to break out of her trance! I finally mended that relationship! I didn’t want to lose another instantly! …I guess I was just scared.”

Akechi sighed. “Well…I can’t say I don’t understand.” He sighed. “I guess we were both blind.”

“You’re still blind,” Lena said.

“I beg your pardon?” Akechi responded. “I have complete clarity!”

“No you don’t!” Lena snapped back. “I have lived with someone who’s guilt and sorrow was eating away at their consciousness! And I know you better than anyone else! And I can see the pain and emptiness in you. I don’t want to have to force it out of you. But I will!”

Akechi nodded. “I understand your position. But I’m afraid we’re at an impasse. I cannot stop. I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to say ‘you don’t understand’, because that seems like an insult to your intelligence. But this isn’t a battle of intelligence at this point. It’s about conviction.”

“OK!” Lena said. “I get it! Trust me. I do. I’ve seen people corrupted by Eris. I know you think you’re doing the right thing, and I and the rest of The Phantom Thieves have to prove you wrong.”

She grabbed Akechi’s hand. “But where does that leave us?” Akechi was stunned. “I know we are at odds right now, but are we still a thing? Do we still go on dates and act like nothing’s going on? Do we tell my parents together that I want to stay?”

Akechi was stunned. “...I see.  To be frank, I’m not sure we can.” Lena was surprised. “I mean, look at us now.  Even if we wanted to, I don’t think we could ignore the elephant in the room. So, as much as I would want to help explain things to your family, I’m afraid we might need to make a raincheck on that.”

“Oh, I’m still doing it,” Lena said. “I just wanted to know if you were going to be there or not.”

“Oh…” Akechi said. “Well then, I suppose-”

“No,” Lena said. “You’re absolutely right. As much as I still love you, I don’t think we can be a productive couple as long as this is wedged between us.” Akechi nodded. “But I’m still going to tell my parents I want to stay in Japan. Because I do. I didn’t want to stay just for you.

It was a rocky start, but over time I’ve come to love living here. It’s different than I expected, but I still love it. You were a big part of why I wanted to stay, but you weren’t the only part. That’s the difference between us right now. My life doesn’t revolve around you. But right now, your life revolves around Shido’s. And if you’ll allow me one more chance to convince you, there are times where you need to cut the line before the thing on the other side drags you down.”

Akechi looked down. “I’m sorry. But I’m afraid it has already pulled me down. I’ve been pulled down from the moment of my conception.”

Lena nodded. “Well then, I’ll be sure to drag you up.” Akechi nodded back. “I think we’re done here.”

“I agree,” Akechi said. “Good luck.” He left the room, and in his absence fell an awkward silence.

Once they heard Akechi leave the front door, Ren remarked “Soooooooooooo, that was a lot, huh.”

Lena nervously chuckled. “Sorry. We probably should have done this elsewhere.”

“No no, it’s fine,” Ren said. “I offered.” They shared a giggle. “Still, it sounds like you’ve figured a lot out.”

“Yeah,” Lena said. She smiled. “Despite everything, I still like that it seems like Goro is the key to figuring things out.” She sighed. “We will get through to him. I’d like to believe that if we don’t things will be alright anyway, but I don’t know if I could think that’s true. It’ll hurt for a while at the very least.”

Ren got up and gave Lena a hug. “Well, come what may, we’ll be here for you.”

Lena smiled, but cried. She took off her glasses to wipe her tears. She put them back on, and then hugged Ren back. “Thank you.”

Adjustment-Lena Minamoto: Rank 7

Once they let go. “I’m gonna go home and doodle,” Lena said. “I just need to relieve some stress.”

Ren nodded. “Fair enough.”

Lena waved. “Thanks again.” She left.

Ren collapsed on her bed. “That was a lot.” She then got a text.

Ohya: Hey kid! Do you mind stopping by?

Ohya: I need to talk to you about something.

Ren sighed.

Ren: Yeah.

Ren: I could use some time to clear my head.

Ohya: Well, I dunno about that.

Ohya: But suit yourself.

Ohya: Anyway, I’ll seeya soon!

Ren: Seeya!

Ren put her phone away, and then headed up to Shinjuku.

Once Ren walked through the door to Crossroads, Ohya turned around and shouted “HEY! How’s it goin’?”

Ren sighed. “I need a drink.”

Ohya chuckled. “Well then, you heard her Lala-chan!”

“No,” Lala said. “Why did you say that?”

“I…” Ren began, “I just third wheeled some relationship drama.”

“Yeesh!” Lala replied. “That sounds awful.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ren replied.

“Well, I still can’t sell you booze,” Lala said. “But you have my sympathies.”

“Thanks,” Ren said. “She sat down next to Ohya. She looked over at her. “So, what do you want now?”

Ohya grew serious. “I…I did end up watching the video. It was…a LOT more harrowing than I had anticipated. But it gets us one step closer to the end of all of this! And it was a huge step!”

“Heh,” Lala chuckled. “Now THERE’S the Ichiko I know!”

“So, how are things going with your job?” Ren asked. “Do you still need information on The Phantom Thieves? Or are you going to be working on this?”

“Both,” Ohya smiled. “And my boss has been excellent at giving me the leeway I need to do so.”

Ren was pleasantly surprised. “Well then. Sounds like a resounding success.”

“Mhm hm,” Ohya nodded. “This is something worth celebrating! Lala-chan!~  I’ll take a Dom Perignon.”

Lala sighed. “We don’t have anything that fancy here. You know that.”

Ohya giggled. “Of course I do! But I purchased a bottle myself, and I was wondering if you could go pick it up for me!” She handed Lala a note. “I already paid for it.”

“Hmph. Well, so long as I don’t need to pay for it,” Lala said. She studied the note, and then left.

Ohya giggled slightly, and then looked at Ren intently. “So, now that Lala’s not here, we can get into it.”

Ren was confused. “Into what?”

Ohya sighed. “I’m not stupid, kid. You’re a Phantom Thief, aren’t you?”

Ren was surprised. “I beg your pardon?”

Ohya sighed. “I got Lala out of here to keep your identity a secret. But I’ve known pretty much since you began offering me information. I mean, I don’t think an organization like that would have a random face.” Ren was slightly nervous. “Relax. I know how to keep a secret.”

Ren sighed. “So, if you knew this whole time, why did you go along with it?”

“Well, I needed the information,” Ohya said, bluntly. “That was my intention at first. But over time, I’ve come to really enjoy your company. Plus, you and the other Phantom Thieves helped me out a lot. Like, a lot a lot.” She sighed. “I wasn’t sure I could rely on anyone but myself anymore after what happened to Kayo. But you swooped in and restored my faith.”

“Huh,” Ren reacted. “Well, for what it’s worth, I enjoy your company too. And you've been more helpful than you think.”

Ohay chuckled. “Thanks kid.”

“So, what now?” Ren wondered.

“Well, in case you need a lead,” Ohya replied, “that Shido guy I mentioned? He’s one bad dude. I’ve been looking into him after watching Kayo’s video, and if you scratch under the surface, it is nothing but the most vitriolic, disgusting bile I’ve seen from a politician. And trust me, I’ve seen A LOT of disgusting behavior from a politician.”

Ren chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint, but we’re already on it.”

“Heh,” Ohya chuckled. “Don’t be sorry. Just make sure to get the job done.”

Ren giggled. “Will do. Although, perhaps you can do a little more digging. If we expose Shido, you having the scoop the next day will certainly boost sales and credibility.”

“Interesting,” Ohya said. “And if you fail?”

“Well, I guess we’ll go down together,” Ren answered.

“You know what?” Ohya said. “I kinda like the sounds of that. In for a penny, in for a pound. But I know you won’t fail. I’ve seen it time and time again.”

“Thanks,” Ren said. “Do you want some more Shido dirt to work with?”

“Please,” Ohya said.

“Turns out, he’s the guy that got me arrested on false pretenses,” Ren informed her.

“You don’t say,” Ohya said. “Hm. All the more reason to expose him.”

Ren chuckled. She sighed. “Thanks for believing in us.”

“Thank you for making me believe again,” Ohya replied.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of the Devil, thee infinite power…

Devil-Ichiko Ohya: Rank 10

Lala came back, holding Ohya’s Dom Perignon. “Alright, I’m back,” she said. She handed the bottle to Ohya.

“Thanks Lala-chan!” she replied. She turned to Ren. “As much as I’d like to share this with you, Lala won’t let me. So I’m going to savor this bottle. But tomorrow: What we talked about.”

Ren chuckled. “Very well. I trust you.” Ohya chuckled back. “I’ll take a soda, and then I’ll head out.”

“Coming right up,” Lala said. She made Ren a soda.

After her first sip, Ren noted “I needed something like this. Thanks.”

“Of course,” Ohya said. “And if you need anything else, don’t be a stranger.”

Lala nodded. “I enjoy having you around. You somehow manage to keep Ohya in check.”

“I thought that was your job,” Ohya responded.

“No,” Lala said. “My job is to keep you alive.”

Ohya laughed. “Fair.”

Ren giggled. She finished her drink, and set the glass down. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Ohya said.

“Seeya!” Ren said.

“Bye!” Ohya replied.

“Come again!” Lala called out. Ren left the bar, and headed home for the night.

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

*jingling keys in front of you* you wanna tell us more about the gorobot au sooooooo bad (please lol i'm obsessed w it. ur brain is huge)

*bats at keys* oh all right you got me

soooo remember what i said about gorobot having forgotten a lot of stuff because of his long coma? well, basically, he's forgotten nearly everything to do with akira. he's also forgotten everything to do with third sem, but that's for other reasons. (the trauma of his personas being split from his body made hereward split back into loki and robin hood, so now he's forgotten everything associated with hereward. his memories end with his death in shido's palace even though he did experience third sem.)

so, goro's memories have a big akira-sized hole in them, with one exception because he does have one singular memory of akira, though the details of it are sparse and it has an almost dream-like quality to it. it's a memory of the two of them in the jazz club, where akira invites goro to dance, and despite his reservations, he says yes. this memory is goro's one respite in the hell that is shady group. he replays this memory over and over again, always trying to recall more details, and always failing. he becomes obsessed with the boy in this memory, the one thing that seemed to make him happy in his previous life. though of course he also hates himself for this obsession, since he has no right to akechi prime's lover, since he isn't really akechi.

still, that memory of akira is the singular thing that keeps goro anchored to some kind of sanity during his time under shady group.

like i mentioned in the previous post, eventually akira does find goro (probably through also joining shadow ops or smth idk) and their reunion is so funny/dramatic bc they're like on opposite sides of the room when their eyes meet and akira is like. is that goro??? it can't be he's dead it's been years i've accepted that he's dead but that looks like goro. and meanwhile goro's system is getting quite literally overloaded with memories that are being triggered by seeing akira and it triggers an emergency shutdown to avoid his systems overheating AKA he passes out in the middle of everyone.

and so goro gets carted away all dramatically and akira is like oh my fucking god that's goro and he's dying in front of me right when we're able to reunite he's going to die. and he's trying to get to him and asking them if goro's going to be okay barely keeping it together enough to be coherent and they're like "oh yeah im sure he's fine he's a robot" and akira is like... "he's a WHAT???"

anyway akira obviously is right at goro's side until he wakes up and goro is still remembering everything (it's still not everything but it's a lot to handle still. it's a bit much to remember oh, the guy im lowkey obsessed with, which I have this really sweet jazz jin dancing memory with, i also tried to kill him. multiple times. that's fun and cool for him to deal with. but he doesn't remember everything yet, for example, he still does not remember the glove. ;-;).

akira is like "i was so sure you were going to die don't scare me like that" and goro is like "don't be stupid i'm a robot i can't die they'd just repair me" and akira is like "speaking of oh my god i can't believe you're a robot-" and goro is like "i know i'm an affront to humanity it must disgust you to look at this laughable copy of the man you once loved" and akira's like "-that's SO FREAKING COOL" and goro's like. "what."

cue soooo much arguing over whether gorobot is the real deal, whether akira gives a shit, and whether goro is deserving of love, etc. because of course akira thinks gorobot deserves the entire world and more and also he thinks goro becoming a robot is the coolest shit ever.

(but also akira isn't very validating of goro's feelings and doesn't want to accept that he *has* changed quite a bit and if he wants to love this version of him he's going to have to accept that.)

so they both have a lot of growth to go through....

[rattled-shadow]

Do you remember the notorious 11/21 exposition scene?

Would you like to hear it without background music?

My friend @ocean-stuck was kind enough to give me the isolated vocals, so I combined them into one track

And yes, I wrote a transcript for it under the cut:

Shido: I finally made it this far... It's already been two and a half years since we met.

Akechi: Back then, you were in the media's attention as a young politician who could rise up against bureaucracy. Because of that, those who wanted to preemptively deal with problems tried to tie you up in scandal.

Shido: To think I would fall for the ruse schemed by those decrepit fools in power. I recall that's when you came to me. You promoted yourself, saying that you had "special powers". If it wasn't for the research in cognition that I dabbled in, I would have thought you insane.

Akechi: I made those troublesome opponents psychotic, and erased any trace of that scandal.

Shido: Who'd think that tampering with a person's heart could trigger a psychotic lapse or mental shutdown? And when someone like that said he'd support me, I had suspected that there'd be an ulterior motive.

Akechi: It's because I sympathized with your aspiring ideology. I believed that your ideals needed to be achieved for the sake of the country's future.

Shido: Well, my faith in you is precisely why I pulled the plug on that research. I only need you using that power. It'd be troublesome if someone else uncovered how it works.

Akechi: ...Wakaba Isshiki, was it? That researcher, she wouldn't have had to have died if she just complied.

Shido: Any suspicions should be snubbed out. Even the smallest doubt must be severed at the root. After all, we had an active Public Prosecutors Office director on our side until recently.

Akechi: Astounding, isn't it? To think the director himself would often forge evidence to secure his promotion. He was quite surprised when you confronted him about it. He didn't know who leaked that information. Well, I got that out of his Shadow, so technically speaking, he did it himself.

Shido: This country's affairs have become stagnant. The political world is filled with old men who only act to preserve their own vested interests. The general public has forsaken such political affairs and don't even bother. Only ruin awaits us.

Akechi: I must agree.

Shido: There's no need to be ruined with such incompetent fools. I will lead this country to its revival. Those who get in the way must be eliminated at times - that's the correct way to use the Metaverse.

Akechi: Still, it would stand out if there were continuous deaths and scandals with your political rivals. Which is why I made them "suspects." Prosecute the targets that I turned psychotic... and solve them as cases unrelated to you. And thus, the charismatic ace detective was born.

Shido: Thanks to your efforts, my clean image remains untarnished, and I monopolized public opinion. Once I gained public sentiment, collaborators from all sectors began approaching me on their own. The police were no exception. With their management in my pocket, keeping them in check was easy.

Akechi: When the Phantom Thieves emerged, I thought things might become somewhat troublesome.

Shido: They were just brats once we looked into it. All we needed to do was to lay the blame on them...

Akechi: When you told me that, I knew then that you were the better man.

Shido: Their popularity was a bit beyond my expectations but flipping it made the negative press stronger. After that, all I had to do was openly berate them. I've been gaining more supporters since. The current administration is dead with ongoing scandals... never mind the fact that they're my doing. Even the government parties have begun splitting up... and they're dissolving just as planned.

[Shido laughs]

Shido: The time has finally come... Just a little more and I'll take the seat of prime minister. However, inauguration isn't my goal. That's when everything truly begins. I'll make this country rich for the sake of its selfish and ignorant masses who can only rely on others.

Akechi: In other words, you're creating a powerful country that can compete with the world.

Shido: The public resonates with my ideals and follows me. And for that, some "sacrifices" can't be avoided. That is my duty as the chosen one. Your assistance has been very influential in making my plan run smoothly. When I become prime minister, I'll grant whatever wish you want.

Akechi: With this most recent case, my name has become known across the country, perhaps even the world. Surely my story will be passed down as a hero who won against monsters that could control people's hearts. I believe I'll lay low and devote myself to my studies.

Shido: ...I suppose with your age, you wouldn't come up with debauched desires.

Akechi: ...I am thinking about the future though.

[astronomical-bagel]

have you finished p5r 👀 if so what'd you think :3

I haven’t finished yet bc I want my twin to watch when I do (he is equally obsessed but doesn’t like playing it) so I gotta wait until we both have free time (hopefully tonight🙏🙏🙏) I think I’m on like 12/10 or smth so literally I’m just hanging out until shido does his thing.

that being said, I am obsessed with Akechi, may he rest in heaven (unlikely), that whole villain speech was so hot. I am not easily flustered because I am aroace but good lord my twin took a picture of me doing a slightly more contorted version of this

On a side note, akechi really, really reminds me of L from death note so I guess I just have watch it. I’ve already listed to the musical and have made plans to binge the whole thing on Thursday. So thanks akechi.

[arcplaysgames]

There's a montage of the rest of the crew playing it cool as news hits that the leader of the Thieves has been apprehended, and then further news breaks: he's committed suicide in custody.

And.... this was apparently part of the plan.

Contacting Sae via Reverie's phone, Futaba tells Sae that Reverie is about to be assassinated and she's the only one who can save him, so she has to go now.

As she walks down the hallway, there's a purple fizzle that indicates something is going on with the Metaverse, but at this point I didn't understand what the fuck was going on, so.

Okay. So. The game takes no joke about 20 minutes explaining what the fuck happened so I'm gonna try to sum up and see how I feel after.

The Palace never fell apart because Sae's Treasure was never stolen. There was never a change of heart instigated. The team had a dummy suitcase made and stashed to be the decoy.

(How'd they know it was a suitcase? Don't worry about it, handwave.)

A bunch more shadows appeared as well as real police because Akechi set things up for the Thieves to be apprehended after the Heist. He was willing to bring as many people as necessary into the Metaverse as needed to get the crew.

Reverie was always intended to be caught because the whole charade was intended to fake his death to get Akechi and the police off their backs for a bit. So Reverie was caught and hauled in and laid everything out for Sae. Instead of changing her heart manually, he was trying to change her heart the non-cheaty way, by making her see the truth.

Futaba had control of both Reverie and Akechi's phones and could thus track movement with each. When Akechi left Sae and went to kill Reverie, Futaba activated the MetaNav so Akechi would be in the Palace instead of the real world. When he walked into the room, killed a guard and then Reverie, that was a cognitive copy of Reverie in Sae's Palace. Boom, death faked.

Futaba reached out to Sae and implored her to save Reverie. Sae retrieved the real Reverie and got him to the cafe before anyone was the wiser.

/READS ALL THAT BACK

I think that sums it up and covers everything. There's a lot of little details involved like Reverie's cause of death was already signed by a coroner without the body even being examined because the government is so determined to put this case to bed. /waves hand

The whole team was in on the plan after Morgana explained that Akechi was crooked. With his phone bugged, they now know the person masterminding all this is Shido, the bald dude running for Prime Minister who also got Reverie the trumped up assault charge in the backstory.

I love you, Reverie Vantas the Fifth.

Meanwhile, Shido and Akechi are high fiving and poppin bottle over their victory, but this little moment really caught me. The closed eye smile of Fake Ass Bitchery is raising some questions with me. I don't think Akechi admires anyone, and his remark from a while ago, that his sense of justice was instilled by someone who disgusted him.... bells are ringing.

INTERESTING TO NOTE: Akechi does not divulge what he wants here and shifts the subject instead.

Uh huh.

I think it'd be funny if Akechi wanted to kill Shido for some reason, manages to do so, and then dusts off his hands like, "Alright, cool, it's been real everyone. See you for billiards next weekend? Reverie, I'm still going to kill you one day. Laterz!"

["Problem" by Natalia Kills plays in the distance, first muffled and then with increasing volume]