#major persona 5 royal spoilers

[mazu-art]

Persona 3-5R Social Link/Confidant Character Arcana Chart or something

@39tn39 @beezonia

I made these for myself while on the toilet. I wanted to remember everyone’s names from these 3 games. You all can use it if you want to if it helps lol.

[rin-solo]

I DECIDE THE TRUTH // 2/2/20XX; Goro Akechi

Just a little something that I wrote on 2/2/2023 because I couldn’t stop thinking about Akechi and how he spent that night alone, and because I have many thoughts on what he may have been thinking that deserve to be shared and heard.

This will also eventually go into my log fanfiction “To decide the Truth” that is essentially a retelling of the 3rd semester in form of personal log entries by Akechi, it will be the last chapter/log in the book (I pre-wrote it now because of aforementioned reasons.) The beginning of this fanfiction is already available to read on Ao3 and Quotev, if you’re interested.

Click “keep reading” to read an originally handwritten log entry by Goro Akechi, written on the night between 2/2 and 2/3/20XX.

Major spoilers, a bit of cussing, and dark themes warning :)

***

2/2; Night

I want to matter but I don’t.

I already told him that I don’t matter but I want to

I don’t matter because I can’t matter. Because if I matter, that makes it harder, for them, for me, for every fucking person involved but I want to matter I want to

No, I don’t want to matter. That’s why I haven’t told anyone. That’s why I didn’t want anyone to know because if I matter, if this turns into a decision about me, then I’m the one blackmailing them with my life, forcing them to weigh it against the weight of the entire world.

I don’t fucking want any of it. I don’t want that decision to be influenced by such factors. I don’t want this reality. There’s nothing here but fakeness. Manipulated, fabricated, false fakeness that isn’t worth even a second thought. That’s what I decided, no? I decided. I DECIDED.

Why am I even sitting here in this alley? I should go back to my apartment and rest, prepare... I’ll need the strength for tomorrow.

He said he’d go through with the fight.

He promised he would.

He said it like that’s HIS decision to make. Like he’s the one with the most to lose. But every decision is his, isn't it? THE SHEER AUDACITY TO ASSUME

I do wonder sometimes, even if only fleetingly, what would happen if I told them... their whole little righteous hero team. If I asked them to not do it, to let me have what Maruki is promising... a new chance, a new life... could they still do it, I wonder? If I'd be begging.

Obviously, that’s all bullshit because I don’t matter and I am sick of people acting like I do.

I’ll die disappear.

So what?

SO WHAT?!

It’s a single shitty, miserable existence that’s already long beyond the hope of saving, against your entire, precious humanity. What’ll it be? That choice is easy.

It’s a lie. There is no chance anyway. I don’t want this fucking chance. It’s not even a chance. It’s only one more miserable piece of oh-so enticing manipulation.

I’M DONE BEING MANIPULATED.

I don’t know why I’m here and not in my apartment. I don’t know why I’m writing by hand either. I can’t type this, I have to write it with my bare hands. I don’t feel like sleeping, but I should. If I can’t give it my all tomorrow, I won’t forgive myself.

I don’t matter because so what if I have nothing to go back to? EVERYONE FUCKING ELSE DOES. Their fates are theirs as well. Their paths are theirs. They’ll live, they’ll thrive, and they’ll face the consequences of their own actions as well. They deserve nothing less... but nothing more either. IT’S JUSTICE.

The world belongs to humanity, not to Maruki. Their lives belong to them. AND MINE IS MINE. So what if I want to feel like I matter? That desire is meaningless compared to what needs to be done. What I want to do. WHAT I NEED TO DO.

I want to strangle Maruki for what he’s done to me. For what he’s still doing to me.

FOR MAKING ME FEEL LIKE I MATTER BECAUSE I DON’T.

FOR GIVING ME A CHANCE THAT ISN’T A CHANCE AT ALL.

The worst part is, I think that he honestly believes it. That he’s giving me a chance. That this is an option I could ever seriously consider. What kind of chance is this, to be unfree yet again? To live in a reality that is created and maintained by forces outside of my control?

I sometimes do imagine what it’d be like. What I could have here, what he’d give to me if I submitted. Would it be anything like what the last month's been like? Like a second chance. A LIFE. A life worth living? But that’s not how the world works. If you live in a reality where all your sins can be erased with the snap of a finger, no consequences, no repercussions... where is the incentive to not keep sinning? I don’t want my sins erased. They’re mine, I chose to commit them, and I have no regrets. I am who I am because of the choices I made, and you cannot force me to refrain from suffering their consequences, Maruki.

I’M DEAD.

Stop making me feel like I’m not. Stop. STOP.

I will keep resisting. It’s not an unprovable theory anymore, it’s confirmed and real, but I won’t be made to stop resisting. I’ll resist until I physically can’t anymore. Until I’m finally dead, as I should be.

It wouldn’t even work, I sometimes think. A reality where everyone is happy, according to their individual desires. What if an individual’s happiness doesn’t align with the group’s? What if their happiness hinges on the group’s unhappiness? For example, what if this individual wants something, but the group doesn’t? Are their desires weighed against each other, and the stronger desire wins? If the individual’s desire is stronger than the group’s, wouldn’t he be forcing his wish on the group? Wouldn’t he be forcing himself on

Could this reality even satisfy me? I won’t live in a reality that was created to satisfy someone else any longer. Sometimes I feel like I’ve never lived in a reality that was all my own. Like some malignant god was pulling the strings behind the scenes, in someone else’s favor, and there was never any chance of winning from the start.

But isn't saying something like that just a pathetic attempt to make an excuse for my own failures?

Point is, I won’t allow my fate to be in the hands of others for a second longer. No human and no god can tell me that I matter. That I am to die or to live.

I DECIDE MY PATH.

I’m not your PAWN or your PUZZLE PIECE to fall into place wherever you see fit. I’m not playing your game.

I WON’T PLAY YOUR GAME ANY LONGER.

Want me alive, invisible force trying to pull my strings? Too bad.

It’s your own fault, really, for deciding for yourself that I am supposed to matter. Go care about someone actually worth the effort.

I WON’T LIVE JUST FOR YOUR SATISFACTION.

I don’t matter. I always wanted to matter but I also don’t think this is my story or my happy ending. But I’ll be damned if I don’t make it into something fate won’t see coming.

THIS ISN’T OVER YET.

Maybe that’s why I am here... why am I fighting this false god with them all tomorrow... I want to do this on my own terms. I want to do something that matters. There is no second chance that will last for me, but there was a choice, nonetheless. To DIE or to FIGHT. I could've easily given in and ended myself on the spot... left all this to the Thieves and don’t even give Maruki the satisfaction of seeing me trapped here.

But I chose to face him together with the rest of them, and do something that matters. SOMETHING TO PROVE FATE WRONG. I won’t miss this chance. It’s the only true chance he’s given me and I hope he’s unaware of it.

Is that selfish? To resist my given role and refuse to fall into place? I don’t even know if I’d care if it were. But the world will go to fucking shit if I don’t do something about it. THERE’S SOMETHING I CAN DO. There’s something fucking correct that I can do here and THAT IS THE PATH I CHOSE.

Just try and stop me.

YOU CAN’T TAKE THIS FROM ME.

But even with all that, I don’t know why I’m still here. It’s cold as fuck and it just started snowing. I can barely write. I should probably get these pages covered before they are drenched. Then again, nobody will ever read this, it will be gone tomorrow, just like this entire fucked up reality, so why not? Let it be smudged and washed away by the snow, it’s probably for the best.

I can’t see Leblanc from here but maybe that’s for the best too. If I went back, I could delude myself that I matter one last time, maybe. Would there be any leftover coffee? Or just... something warm. Something like home.

I’M NOT GOING BACK.

I want to feel alive. I want to look inside myself and see a power that I can wear proudly, but all I feel is indifference. It’s all come together, there is no separation, no lies, and no hate. There is anger and determination, and fear. So much fucking fear. I’m no longer lies or hate. Not even both combined.

I AM RESOLVE.

That is all that matters. It matters that I do not fold. I WILL NOT FOLD.

I will take back MY reality, with my own hands. It’s empty and lonely, so fucking lonely all over again, and whatever else death will entail, but it’s MINE.

I don’t matter because I’m not the hero of this story, but the world needs saving, and even though I’m not even remotely going to be anyone’s first choice for the job, I’ll be damned if I don’t do it properly.

Someone has to do it. Someone has to decide.

AND I DECIDE THE TRUTH.

[sicklyjelly]

​Brewed coffee with a shot of espresso on top, also known as ‘a shot in the dark.’ 

Red Eye Coffee, a 99 page collection of shuake comics from 2020 to 2023 (with 60+ of those pages being brand new) is available now for $10!

Enjoy comics about masks, dreams, death, washing hair, dates (?) and incredibly gay feelings towards a supposed rival. ☕️💖

content warnings: Major spoilers for Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal Minor spoilers for Persona 5 Strikers blood, violent imagery, slight gore, death, eye strain, suggestive themes

[theotherseapancakes]

Psssst. You mentioned no one cares about Philemon, but now I'm curious if you have any thoughts about his role in the games after he disappeared. And for sillies sake, does he have anything to do with the Dance games?

I have been waiting my entire life for this. Anon do you realize how verbose I'm going to get. DO YOU REALIZE? I hope you like read mores. Let me preface this with I am aware and have seen some popular theories, so I'm going to sidestep a lot of them and present one I've built since... well, I became a Persona fan as a teenager. MAJOR PERSONA SERIES SPOILERS LIKE THE ENTIRE THING OK? OK. yes even royal.

The P2 PSP additional scenario is so incredibly important and I think everyone missed the point of it. THE PERSONA 2 PSP ADDITIONAL TATSUYA SCENARIO!!!! It's beyond important, because it reveals to us Philemon can have more than one Avatar we know about, just like Nyarly. (Casual reminder he's like half the shopkeeps in P2. Time Count, anyone? Why was the Time Count so hot. Anyway.) Disclaimer: I'm just a casual fan who has played a LOT of Persona and SMT. I haven't gotten around to all of them, but I've played/finished both paths of 1, 2, 3 (and p3p) as well as 4 and 5. Didn't manage to get my hands on Golden but I've seen enough of it. (It's funny you ask about the dance games, they're the only ones I don't have right now! But my roommate does, and will be gone for a few months soon, perhaps I will take the time to start with p4DAN. I'm atrocious at rhythm games though so more than likely I'll find a video. Anyway.) WHAT is Philemon? If we can't define that, we can't talk about The Positivity Guy Ever.

So let's talk about Phil. He's a fascinating character. His Persona is just a form of Himself, But Cooler. And he seems to HAVE no set shape, not unlike Nyarlathotep. People have various theories about Shadows and their origins etc., but Phil is more like that vote of confidence in people. I think, personally, that after the end of Innocent Sin, Phil's been pretty weak. We see in Eternal Punishment he's fading pretty roughly, and has a hard time talking to the party. Presumably ending Nyarly might to some degree fix things when Deja-vu Boy goes home, but... the problem is, we don't know how fixed they truly ended up being, or the full depth of how much he could/did expend!

In fact, the first time we even see Phil without the dumb mask is when Tatsuya decks him. Pay close attention to that fact. To the mask motifs here. I want you to really soak in Phil's everything. He's a leader. A kind soul. He's the good of people. He wants to believe the best.

Anyway, most of these things overlook what I find really interesting as we've gotten more games worth of lore: he and Nyarly aren't the only eldritch entities walking around like that. Yes, Nyx is one too. Yes, it's probable she may even be their 'mom'. It's possible they all came from Nyx initially, but it's also possible (and should be considered) they too may have been outsiders at one point. We need to ask ourselves how far the human collective unsconsciousness can go. Is that sea infinite? Could it affect other worlds? Think about Aion in Devil Summoner Soul Hackers 2. Yes, I am asking you to think about Soul Hackers 2. Deal with it, I don't care. They're sister series. They share many things. SO! Did the shape of the human mind change a bunch of eldritch creatures and make them interact with us even more after Nyx smacked the moon a gazillion years ago? Is there multiple worlds? Weird bullshit? Just the two? Hmm. Well... I, personally, think so. I think he was touched by humanity just like Nyarlathotep, but in the other way. The reason I bring this up is two-fold. The first is Nodens. Now, we don't know much about the actual Nodens, unfortunately, just some speculation. Which is a shame. (If anyone has more info I'd love to have it, ngl. As a pagan this shit fascinates me.) But what we do get on him in Lovecraftian lore can provide us some intriguing possibilities about Phil's everything, which the games love to keep really rather vague. (And this is putting aside that his human Persona is based off the obviously bogus Jungian Spirit Guide, but we love an old guy in a mask anyway. He probably felt that was more 'friendly' for humans, hah.) I believe that Nodens, and Phil by extension, are just as responsible for nurturing and keeping the collective unconsciousness alive and positive. We see the butterfly symbol everywhere. We see it with Lavenza, too. "This is truly an unjust game." So was the bet Phil made with Nyarly, a game he rigged. Phil made the mistake of thinking the Crawling Chaos wouldn't cheat, a mistake he is never making again, I assume, if he can help it. Shit, you could view his boss fight in P2EP as him trying to train the EP crew to beat the snot out of Nyarly, even. But off topic. If Nyarly is basically the father of all Shadows, and they and Personas are the same coin, it makes me wonder a lot of things. The two have always been portrayed as simultaneously diametrically opposed, but also not? They have identical halls in P2. They have similar powers and talents... I think after Persona 3, Phil's remnants sank into the Collective Unconsciousness, to attempt to rehabilitate humanity from what it lost, from what he himself lost. I think Igor took over the room, because he took a backseat to recover. It would go a long, long way towards explaining why only SOME characters have the tier of the Wild Card, which is similar to the 'original' Persona power. (Having multiple.) He was took weak to remain in his Spirit Guide (Philemon) form, and had to abandon it to return to the depths as Nodens... So. Let me go back to Nodens and make some notes about design.

Nodens, as seen here, sort of resembles an iron maiden. It really brings to mind the idea of maybe Tatsuya or someone's humanoid form sleeping within it, doesn't it? Fitting for an aspect of Philemon! ... You probably can see where I'm going with this, but let me pull up some screens to finish the point:

That's right! It's Azathoth, Baby! I believe that unlike mythology, he's yet another aspect of Philemon. Eldritch positivity, in too much force, could be used for accidental bad, too. (Reasons Maruki is my favorite Law Hero, haha.) Let me explain. I think Philemon always existed in... let's call it parts. Azathoth is said to be a dreaming god in whom's universe we all just happen to be alive inside, right? "Dream of butterfly" (Philemon) "Or is life a dream? Don't wanna wake up. Cuz I'm happy here." That sure is thematic to what Maki goes through in Persona 1, and what Maruki's beloved suffers, isn't it? ISN'T IT. The "true reality" he creates... would help Maruki create in the additional Semester--would be something most humans would never pass the muster to even try to control. But we have seen Phil test a few people and find them worth passing before! However, that seems like ages ago. Why has he been so quiet? I think because he was spending time conserving his energy. He believed in humanity enough to give Makoto a push when it was needed in p3 (or femc, if you play her), but otherwise trusted Igor while he restored what needed it. But in Persona 5 Royal, he hand-picked Maruki, didn't he? At first, when I played Persona 5 Royal, I really thought it was some part of Nyarly, but I no longer believe this to be the case. The coloration and symbolism in the background (the golds, the whole garden of eden themes, the way his Palace was laid out), the whole sea of soul motifs in P3Re later... mmm. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but this post is already way too long for one simple ask. So let's wrap up by going one step further and looking finally at Nodens' dialogue to the party in the Extra Scenario in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP). The following is a transcript, you can find a video here:

Nodens: This is the memory of the lost child whom you all seek. Nodens: Memory occasionally brings about much distress and suffering, but it is absolutely vital to distinguish oneself from others and manufacture one's own psyche. Nodens: Ever since it began, life's memory has accumulated unbroken, passing through individual experiences and spanning several generations. Nodens: And so it has given shape to Kadath and the Collective Unconsciousness, thereby becoming a foundation for the next generation. Nodens: Even if the roots of the world are directed by fear and anxiety, never forget that the true essence of life is brimming with joy. Nodens: You must not stop seeking the answer for why life was born in a cosmos progressing towards absurdity and chaos. Nodens: Life brims with joy, bringing about balance in a universe predestined to heat death, and that allows the world to live a long time.

So to answer your question, I think he's taken a much subtler role. I think he's influencing people by pretending to be a Persona for Maruki, because he believes it will help them grow. I don't think he was intending a forever-control vice grip, but rather to prove a point. No matter what, the primordial chaos of humanity will rise up for chaotic good, lawful good, whatever "good" is needed. Azathoth is... interesting. Adam Kadmon is also interesting. But mostly I HIGHLY suspect we may see him again in Persona 6, or at least I'm hoping so. It's my personal pet theory by then he'll be less faded and come back to us in a new form of some kind. He's never had a set one, after all. Now for funsies about the dancing game, well, he's a positive guy, he wanted to just make sure everyone had their fitness regimen checked off. Obviously. (This is a joke.) Did the devs intend this? I'm honestly not sure? Like there's a lot of nods to older Personas in 5 and now 3RE especially, but it's definitely worth chewing on. I could go on and on about things I think he's connected to, but ultimately they have the final say lol. I'm just a crackpot conspiracy theorist on tumblr who really likes Philemon. He and the Room are my favorites. :) Ask me about attendants for additional dumb, sometime, I guess lol.

[dot-persona5royal]

RAAAH - hello everyone i am here to share the worms in my poor poor brain - featuring my special interest (Persona 5: Royal) mixed with everyones favourite horror story (Alice in Wonderland) !! MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 ROYAL --- the main character parallels floating around in my neuron soup are as follows; Alice : Akechi Cheshire Cat : Akiren White Rabbit : Sumire March Hare : Ann The Mad Hatter : Ryuji The Doormouse : Mona/Morgana Tweedledee & Tweedledum : Makoto & Haru The Caterpillar : Yusuke The Queen of Hearts : Maruki Sumire being the White Rabbit is akin to Maruki's reality, where she is apart of his palace and leads Akechi to him Akiren being the Cheshire Cat is very important - the Cheshire Cat (in this AU) will be present from the start and will be sort of "leading" Alice to the exit of Wonderland, Wonderland being Maruki's Reality & what it contains in regards to Akechi's demise & death - the journey will be Akechi learning to forgive himself for the crimes he committed, lead by someone who has both worked for and against him, his perfect equal --- i'll be going off of the 1951 movie (as its the adaptation most dear to me) BUT i will be reading both of the books & rewatching the live action versions (the ones with Johnny Depp) to better world build and create a proper AU !! any questions & asks are appreciated, i will be stirring the soup some more later

[nkn0va]

Could we please get general relationship headcanons for Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, (and maybe Sumire if you feel like throwing her in here but you don't have to) from Persona 5? Thank you!

Hell yeah I can put Sumi in there, redhead supremacy. Tsubaki Yayoi best girl

Blazblue asks when

Content Warning: MAJOR spoilers for Persona 5 Royal. Ann Takamaki:

-If you manage to get with Ann of all people, fuckin' major props to you. You got yourself a literal model, nevermind the trauma/nervousness she probably has when it comes to relationships thanks to Kamoshida.

-Hope you're not one who sunburns easily, because you got yourself a ray of sunshine. Delete that joke, that was stupid.

-Ann has officially decided to make it her life's mission to make every day she can brighter for you and it will be your problem.

-Favorite dates of hers include going to Odaiba, mostly for the ferris wheel, going to the underground mall, whether for actual shopping or window shopping, and of course hitting up whatever sweets store you two can find. She'll usually pay due to her modelling giving her more money than the average high school student, and she insists because of this.

-Ann is all for physical affection, she is all over you every chance she gets. Cuddles, kisses, spooning, you name it. You MIGHT get some PDA out of her but not a lot, unless she just gets one of those sudden bursts of confidence out of seemingly nowhere.

-At home dates work for her too. She's totally on board with snuggling up on the couch absolutely drowning in blankets to watch a movie. Bonus points if the two of you fall asleep together just like that.

-As for the more...explicit parts of a relationship, the kind that hormonal teenagers get the most excited over...yeah Kamoshida did some serious damage on that front. If you wanna do that with her, it's going to take a while before she builds up the confidence to wanna explore that. You'll have to bring it up in conversation first, though.

-It is not an uncommon occurrence for you to find some sort of sweet treat on your desk as you go into school in the morning. Nothing big, just a little something Ann found while out in town that made her think of you.

Makoto Niijima

-Ahh, the student council president. Calm, composed, put together, and has zero idea what in God's green Earth she's doing when it comes to an S/O.

-If she was being completely honest she barely has any idea how she managed to even get an S/O in the first place, but she certainly won't be caught complaining. It's nice to know she has someone she knows she can count on for a change. At least anyone that's not just her sister.

-Makoto is the type to show affection in subtler ways, namely through worrying about you. Your grades, your health, your diet, she makes sure you're on top of it. It could come off as overbearing at times, but she does it to show she cares about you.

-She's much more of the shy type when it comes to more direct displays of affection. The subtle brushing of her hand against yours before it eventually rests on or holds it, her head on your shoulder as you two are sitting together. It'll take a bit before she becomes more confident to show how she really feels, but however she does it, watching the normally cold, professional student council president unwind like that is always quite cute.

-Take her to see an action movie, particularly a Yazuka movie, and she's super engrossed in it, no matter how much she blushes and stutters as she tries to initially deny it. If you're a fan of those movies too, that's even better for her.

-Study dates are a regular occurrence. If your grades aren't looking the best, Makoto is about to come in clutch and save you, whether you like it or not. She won't really be mad though, as long as you show you're at least trying your best.

-Outside of that though, she much prefers dates at your place or hers. Watching a movie, making dinner together, and just in general talking about whatever comes to mind. It's a very cozy, homely atmosphere.

Futaba Sakura

-The social shut-in neet. The only shot you're having at a relationship with Futaba is if you're a Phantom Thief. Otherwise you will have no idea she exists.

-You thought Makoto was nervous going into a relationship? Yeah you haven't seen shit yet.

-Your first order of business in this relationship would pretty obviously be getting Sojiro's approval. Being a Phantom Thief and helping her get out of her room is a nice start, at the very least. Once you've proved yourself to him though, you've secured yourself the ultimate wingman.

-It's going to take quite a bit of convincing to take Futaba out somewhere. Your best bet would be Akihabara too look at all the tech stuff, video game/anime merch, and other general nerd things. All the while she's attached to you at the hip of course. If you leave her sight for even a second she'll never forgive you. At least that's what she says, anyway.

-Most dates are obviously going to be indoors, whether in her room or at Leblanc. Watching anime, playing video games, just about what you'd expect. All the while she'll nerd out about lore/story and teach you anything you're confused on or show some super cool tech in whatever video game you're playing, after thoroughly trouncing you, of course. Will probably make jokes about being your sensei and stuff like that.

-A fun little trick to do is to peck her cheek when you're playing something together to catch her off guard. She'll go red as a beet as her brain completely stops working, after which she'll accuse you of cheating. She'll try to eventually show affection herself in similar ways though she'll get super shy about it and act like it didn't happen. It's pretty freaking cute.

-Also she will 100 percent borrow your clothes without your permission, no matter how oversized they are. She has commandeered your entire wardrobe.

Haru Okumura

-What. A. Sweetie.

-If you're aiming for a relationship with this heiress, you're gonna have to play the long game for a bit. When you were about to be married to Sugimura you'd probably need a break from anything romance related for a while as well. Once Haru does feel ready enough to give relationships a try again with someone she actually cares about it's really something.

-Haru is the soft kind of girlfriend, both figuratively and literally. She treats you with nothing but patience and kindness, and trusts you more than anyone else. She does anything she can for you and will push aside anything and everything if you're ever in need.

-Cuddles with her are soft, fluffy, and warm. It's almost like a sheep, you could stay like that with her for hours.

-Her favorite type of date is naturally anything involving gardening. If you're inexperienced with this sort of thing, Haru is more than happy to teach you everything you need to know. Ask her to do so and the smile on her face could replace the sun.

-The easiest way for her to show affection is through gifts. She's the heiress of one of the largest companies in the world, she has more than enough to spend on you and then some. If you say anything about something cool you want when in her general vicinity you'll be getting that same thing not even a week later. To be frank, you'll probably need to be careful when talking about that sort of stuff, she will have zero inhibitions when it comes to gift giving.

-And don't even get me started when things like Valentine's Day, Christmas, and god forbid your birthday roll around lmfao.

-Whether it's at home baking sweets, spending time a cozy cafe out in Shinjuku, or at a restaurant so fancy that you feel underdressed no matter what you wear, Haru is down for all of it. The only detail that matters to her on a date, and her life in general is that you're there.

-And for the love of God do not let this woman drive, you are gambling with your fucking life.

Sumire Yoshizawa

-A relationship with Sumire would probably start out...awkward. Especially if you knew her while she was posing as Kasumi.

-A lot of guilt and low self-esteem will make the relationship a work in progress to begin with. An S/O of hers will need to be there for her and assure her that she is enough. They're in love with Sumire, not the image and identity of Kasumi she placed upon herself.

-It won't be forever, though. She'll eventually bounce back, knowing that she needs to be there for you like you are for her.

-Sumire is loyal above all else. You showed your loyalty when your stuck by her through such a strange, confusing and difficult time in her life, and she's damn well gonna make sure she returns the favor.

-It'll take a while for her to warm up to it, but she is all in for physical and verbal affection. Anything to show just how much she loves you. Just not in public...

-Sumire would definitely work best with an S/O that praises her for everything she does. It gives her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and makes her feel satisfied.

-She'd definitely be the type to want to push you to be your best self, physically and mentally. She knows what the latter is like more than anything else and doesn't want you to fall into the same trap. Physically active dates are her forte. A jog around the park in the morning followed by a good breakfast at a restaurant somewhere and she's in Heaven.

-Speaking of which, you better have a good amount of money on hand whenever you go out on a date, lest you run the risk of her draining it dry on food. She'll at least have the decency to know when it's better to stop most of the time but when she gets going, she really gets going, especially if you have a hearty appetite yourself.

-You're naturally sure to catch her gymnastics competitions, whether online or in person. It serves as a motivator for Sumire. Knowing you're watching from somewhere really gives her that extra drive to do her best. You're the reason she's gotten this far, she won't let you down as long as she has something to say about it. Not just in her dreams to be a world class gymnast, but in her entire life.

First headcanon post. Hope these are up to expectations, I really tried with these.

[qiangweirosa]

Hello rose :)! I saw ur request was open and that you might be writing for xReader and I was hoping for you doing my request ^^

I would like to request Shuake x F! Reader dating HC

(it's ok to decline since I don't know if you do ploy relationship if not could you do the separate HC ?)

Have a pleasant day/night<33

ShuAke x F!Reader (poly)

relationships: akira/reader/akechi tws: persona 5 royal major spoilers!! wc: 186 extra: protag is referred to as akira! // this was so... so hard to write... it's a little short unfortunately, but i hope you'll like it still! thank you for the request!

Dating them during the game’s timeline is definitely an experience. 

Whether their partner is a phantom thief or not, they can’t help but watch their “debates” about the topic with interest. 

(They also could probably tell their feelings for each other before even they did)

The end of the year was… difficult, to say the least. 

Assuming their partner is a phantom thief, they probably went through a similar rollercoaster of emotions that Akira did. 

Still, at least they share a similar pain, and Akira and them can help support each other through it. 

The beginning of the next year, too, was hard. 

Still, Goro’s new personality is definitely not unwelcome. It does make for even funnier dates. 

In the possibility that Goro survives post-canon, I’d say the relationship dynamic would be definitely different from how it was before. 

More vulnerability, mostly. There are a lot of issues these two need to work through (and their partner too, probably), and their partner’s definitely here to help. 

In general, dating Akira and Goro is not the easiest relationship ever. Still, the three of them make it work. 

[every-character-ever-poll]

TAKUTO MARUKI - Persona 5 Royal

PROPAGANDA (UNDER THE CUT):

The Persona fandom might pounce on me for this one, but Takuto is such a sweetheart! He's a cringefail malewife high school counselor! He's awkward, naive, and clumsy, he's the "how do you do, fellow kids?" meme. He's a great cook and he's always taking little sippy sips from his little apply juice box during his counseling sessions. That man sure loves his apples!

Takuto is the only adult in the game that's willing to support the teenage protagonist fully and enthusiastically from the get-go, no questions asked. He's tired and horribly traumatized but that won't stop him from trying to be a ray of sunshine for his students, all while repressing his own pain. He also goes out of his way to help total strangers. Basically he really thinks he needs to be the one giving and giving but never taking.

HOWEVER, he is not a pushover and this is important! He WILL speak up if he considers someone is being treated unfairly. He supports changing the system and believes in restorative justice for literally everyone except his One (1) sworn enemy which I think is funny.

Anyways, he might be a lovable dumbass but he is incredibly passionate about his research into cognitive psience. He could ramble on and on about it all day and I swear his eyes light up whenever you talk to him about it or show the slightest interest in it. You cannot convince me that man is neurotypical. Either way he seriously believes in his research's power to change the world for the better and will do ANYTHING to achieve it.

:)

[MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS] Sooooo if the protagonist helps Takuto with his research, he's eventually bestowed the power to rewrite the very fabric of reality with no warning! Of course, being who he is, Takuto decides to use this power to rid the world of pain, to erase everyone's memories of their trauma and bring their loved ones back from the dead, and create a reality that's easier for everyone according to himself!

My favorite thing about Takuto's writing as an antagonist is that his motivations never change. Yes, he goes to some fun and cool extremes to achieve his goal, but he never does anything for himself even now that he has the power of a god, and he still really believes he's only sacrificing himself for everyone else's happiness. He's a great example of thinking "the ends justify the means," and "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Even if the protagonist chooses to confront him, they both still respect and care about each other like they did before. Takuto is genuinely distraught when he hears the protagonist doesn't approve of his vision for the world, because he really does think this is all for the best. He's just brainwashing people to make them happy! He also has some cool religious symbolism going on. He's convinced that the universe chose him specifically to guide humanity into a better, happier world. He misses his wife, Tails. He is perfect.

[gamequoteshowdown]

Quote 1: “You’re mistaken. My name is Hershel Layton. I need no other name.” - Hershel Layton, Professor Layton

Quote 2: "I'll hold on to your glove." - Joker, Persona 5 Royal

Propaganda

Quote 1: (Huge major spoilers for Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy) TL;DR Layton tells his evil biological father that his real family is the one that adopted him Okay so first you need to know that the name Hershel Layton was given at birth was actually Theodore Bronev, and his older brother’s name was Hershel Bronev. Their parents were kidnapped by Targent, a villainous organization, and the Laytons decided to adopt the child named Hershel. Hershel swapped names with Theodore so that his little brother would be the one to get adopted. Fast forward a few decades to the end of Azran Legacy, and Professor Layton finds out within the span of a few hours that the villain Descole is his long-lost brother, and Leon Bronev, the leader of Targent, is their father. Bronev tells Layton that his real name is Theodore Bronev, and Layton responds with this quote because Theodore Bronev is not who he is, Hershel Layton is. Layton also tells Bronev that Roland and Lucille Layton are his parents, not Bronev. It’s such a powerful and significant moment

Quote 2: How dare Atlus take my heart and shatter it into a million pieces with this quote. There's so much tragedy in this line. You've tried to befriend Akechi over and over again and despite his insistence that you are enemies (rivals, even) you've still formed a bond with him. He's still important to you even after he tried to kill you several times. You tell him there's still a chance. That you can go back to the way things were before. That you want to see him again, when all of this is over. It's the closest thing to "I love you" Akechi's heard in years, and it might be the last thing you ever say to him.

@maybeamiles

[justdarklr]

Persona 5 Royal: Keeping Your Promise

A story about keeping a promise between two rivals, one which was thought to be impossible. That is, until they finally reunite.

MAJOR PERSONA 5 ROYAL SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!!

Chapter 1: The Justice

Ren sits awake, lying in bed in the dusty attic of Leblanc, staring up at the ceiling. It was the day after he had gotten out of jail. About two weeks after they faced Maruki in his palace… and denied his reality.

He can’t help but think about him. Goro Akechi. He takes his glove out of his pocket, with a soft sigh as he does. He nearly begins crying. But he can’t. Akechi chose this fate. He knew what he was getting into. He chose this path for himself, and… Ren had to respect that. He admired it, honestly… being able to choose one’s fate so easily. Even though he… he knew he was going to…

… He chokes back a sob. He holds Akechi’s glove tightly in his hand, clasping his hands around it. He brings it close to his chest… breathing deeply.

He’s going to keep the promise they made. Together. Even if he isn’t… he isn’t here to keep it with him. Even if they aren’t together. He knows that isn’t exactly… possible, but… he’s going to try, either way. No matter what.

… He’s going to be going home soon. Back to his hometown. He won’t be there with his friends… he doesn’t know how he’ll take it. But they’ll keep in touch, at least.

He only wishes he could keep in touch with Akechi.

… Dammit! Why does he keep thinking about him?! He’s gone, Ren! GONE! So you should stop thinking about him! No matter what you think about him!! Nothing is going to bring him back!!! No matter how much you want it…!!

… Deep breaths, in and out, Ren. Deep breaths. Morgana notices that he’s hyperventilating, and hops up on the bed next to him.

“Hey. Are you doing okay?” Morgana crawls across his chest, laying next to his head.

Ren has to take a deep breath before he responds. “… I’m… I’m fine. Just… thinking about Akechi.” Morgana’s expression shifts to one of understanding.

“… I know. But what’s done is done. He chose his path, and walked it with confidence. He knew what he was doing.” Ren clasps the glove tighter.

“I know… I’m just… I miss him, Mona… I miss him so much. Why did he have to die…?” Morgana sits up.

“… I don’t know. The world isn’t fair sometimes, y’know. It really isn’t. But all we can do is move forward. We chose this path. We have to walk it, Ren. Or would you rather we stayed in Maruki’s reality?”

Ren’s breath hitches. “… No. I… I’m confident in our choice. But… but if he was able to live his life, then… maybe…!”

Morgana looks down on Ren. “… Ren… would he have wanted that?”

“N… No. He would’ve hated me for it, haha… He really would have. He’s just like that, haha…!” He wraps his arms around himself, nearly sobbing.

“Then stick with your choice, Ren. It’s what he would’ve wanted. He wouldn’t have wanted you to mourn him like this, either. He wants you to live your life, no matter if it’s with him or without him.” Ren looks at Morgana— sitting up in bed, and slowly wrapping his arms around Morgana. He squirms a bit.

“Wh— hey!! Ren!!! Lemme go!!!” Ren laughs slightly, letting him go as he asks. He leaves the hug with a smile on his face.

“Thank you, Morgana. I really needed that…” Morgana smiles, laying back down.

“I’m glad I could help. Now— we should get some sleep. Alright? We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Ren nods. “Right. Everyone’s finally together again. We should savor that before I have to go home.”

“You’re right. Now— go to sleep!!” Ren laughs slightly as he closes his eyes, a single tear dropping down his cheek onto the pillow as he does, glove still clasped in his hands.

/\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/\

A few weeks later, Ren approaches the train station after a ride with Maruki in a taxi and saying farewell to his friends. It’s time to go home. Morgana pops out of his bag with a meow, and purrs slightly as he rubs against Ren.

“You better not be planning to get rid of me! I’m comin’ home with you, y’know!” Ren laughs slightly.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it— I was planning on taking you home, anyways. Though… I just hope my parents allow me to keep you. They were never big fans of cats…” Ren bites his fingernails slightly. It’s a bad habit he’s picked up ever since they faced Maruki— ever since he lost Akechi.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure it’ll be fine. And if they don’t, we’ll find a way, heheh!” Morgana slyly grins as Ren looks back at him.

“… Right. Okay, we have to get on— otherwise, we’ll miss the train.” He says, entering the train car and finding his seat. He sits down, resting his head in his hand as he leans against the window, Morgana sitting on the chair next to him.

He can’t help but start thinking. If Akechi was still alive… he wouldn’t even be able to come across him anymore, because he’s leaving. Not that… he is alive. He’s texted him so much since then, and yet, not a single response— or even being left on read.

He’s gone. And yet… he wants to hope. He really wants to hope. He hates thinking about the possibility that Akechi is dead. Or even that he’s alive. Because if he’s alive… that means he’s ignoring Ren. And that would hurt him.

An announcement comes over the train speaker. “The train will begin its route in 5 minutes. The train will begin its route in 5 minutes. Please remain seated. Thank you.”

… Well, if he had any last regrets, now would be the time to get off the train. But… he couldn’t. Not unless…

…

He spots someone out of the window. A familiar coat. A familiar, beige-colored coat.

No. No, it couldn’t be, right? It’s impossible. But he has to make sure. He immediately grabs his bag, leaping out of his seat and rushing towards the train doors. Morgana startles as he does, leaping up and running after him.

“Ren!! What are you doing?!” Ren doesn’t respond. He’s too focused on this. He bolts out the train doors, looking around frantically as he does. Until…

He spots someone walking away in the crowd. A familiar, brown-haired man, wearing a beige coat. He immediately sprints towards him. Morgana has to dodge and weave through the crowd to chase after Ren.

“Ren!! Where are you going?! Wait up!” He calls out. Ren doesn’t answer once again, too laser-focused.

As he reaches the man— he grabs their hand, breathing heavily as he does so. The man turns around, annoyed and confused— until the two lock eyes.

It’s him. Goro Akechi. The Detective Prince. The man who should be dead.

Ren begins to tear up. Akechi looks at him with surprise. “Is… is it really you? Akechi?” He asks— holding back a sob.

“… Ren. It’s been a while.” Ren immediately wraps his arms around Akechi, nearly sobbing his eyes out. Akechi jumps— and doesn’t return the hug. But that’s fine. He’s alive. He’s here. And he’s in his arms. That’s all that matters.

Once Morgana finally reaches the two, panting, he looks up at Ren— and gasps. “… Akechi? But— we thought you were…!”

Akechi sighs. “Why don’t we talk about this somewhere else, hm? There’s a cafe nearby. Why not there?”

Ren lets go, immediately nodding. He picks Morgana up and places him in the bag. Morgana protests. “But… we’re going to miss the train! Ren, what about—?!”

Ren immediately shakes his head. “This is more important. There’s other trains. It’s fine.” Morgana nods, and they head to a nearby cafe. As they sit down, Ren leans over the table, and Morgana hops up onto the table. Mona asks the question they’re both wondering.

“Akechi. What happened to you? We thought you were…”

Akechi sighs. “Dead, yes. I did, as well. And yet… Here I am. A dead man walking.” Ren wipes his eyes before speaking.

“But… if you’re alive, then why aren’t you in prison? Wouldn’t the police come after you? Would… wouldn’t you be arrested? You caused the mental shutdowns, after all. Even if it was under Shido…” … Yet, Ren never did testify against Akechi. He testified against Shido, yes, but he made sure not to bring up Akechi’s name directly. Even though… he probably should have. It made things harder in the long run, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“… It seems that Shido didn’t bring up my name during his confession. He admitted to causing the mental shutdowns himself. I was never brought into the conversation. And I assume… you did not bring up my name, either.” He grimaces.

Morgana speaks up. “But why? If he admitted everything, why wouldn’t he have brought your name up?”

“To my knowledge, he pinned the blame on another one of his associates, who, for some reason… took all the blame for himself.” Ren raises an eyebrow.

“But… Why would he do that? There’d be no reason to…”

Akechi looks away. “My best guess? It’s a parting gift from that bastard Maruki. He used the last of his influence to make sure I had a chance to atone… a manipulator to the end, it seems.”

Ren’s eyes tear up. “But… but isn’t this a good thing?! You’re here! You’re alive! You… you get a second chance, Akechi…!”

Akechi sighs. “… In your eyes, yes. It’s an amazing thing. But I was prepared to walk my path, and face death head-on. I was prepared to accept my fate. And yet, here I am! Aimlessly wandering on as I search for a purpose. I’m supposed to be dead, Ren. I should not be alive. And my being here violates the rules of this world. I despise it.”

Ren grabs Akechi’s hand, holding it tightly. “But… it can’t be all bad, Akechi…! You… we can keep our promise now. Isn’t that what you wanted? You promised, Akechi!” Akechi looks surprised. He can’t look Ren in the eyes.

“… Of course you would say that. Even after all this time, you still find ways to surprise me, Ren.” Amamiya can’t help but let out a soft laugh.

“… Akechi. I’ve been waiting for you this whole time. I don’t know… what I’d do without you. I even kept your glove, Akechi. It’s precious to me. You’re precious to me…!” Akechi lets out a laugh in return.

“I see. Well— I can tell you held onto my glove. You’re wearing it, after all. You truly are special, Ren…”

“It’s only because you’re special to me, Akechi. There’s… there’s so many things I still need to tell you. So many things I need you to hear. And we still need to keep our promise. You promised me, after all��� and you’re not one to break a promise, are you?”

Akechi removes his hand from Ren’s, crossing his arms. “I am not. Though… you were supposed to be leaving town today, am I correct? We won’t be seeing each other either way.”

Ren shakes his head. “Not anymore. I don’t care about that anymore. You’re here. I need to catch up with you. Spend time with you. You’re… you’re alive, and I’m going to savor the time I have with you. — Oh! How about we go to Leblanc?! I can treat you to some coffee, we can catch up, and…”

Akechi cuts Ren off before he can go any further. “I suppose we could, yes. It doesn’t sound horrible. Only if Sakura-san is okay with it, of course. And… Morgana there.”

Morgana protests, yelling out. “I am NOT a Cat!! ... I mean, I guess I am, but still!!!"

Ren laughs, taking Akechi’s gloved hand in his own. “Well, what are we waiting for?! There’s so much I need to tell you…!”

Akechi nods, a small smile forming on his face. Despite everything… They've reunited.

[violetstrations]

[ID: a fully rendered digital comic featuring various characters from persona 5 royal narrated by Azathoth. Panel 1 & 2: A birds-eye view of Takuto Maruki visiting Rumi in a hospital. Azazoth says "I have a deep fondness for human desires. When they fulfil their desires," the statement finishes in the next panel, "then I, too, feel a great sense of fulfilment." with a close-up shot of Maruki placing his fist near to Rumi's, both grasping one of Azazoth's tendrils. A third tendril lies in between their hands as if to separate them. 3: A speech bubble against a black background shouts "But there are far too many limitations on my ability to do that here!!" 4 & 5: Sumire Yoshizawa ties up her hair with a ribbon as it says "Once a wish is granted, it vanishes." During a scene where Goro Akechi and Joker happily hang out in the Jazz Jin, it says "Or by fulfilling the desires of one person," above Joker, then "it becomes impossible to fulfil the desires of another." above Akechi. 6: Azathoth's skeleton glows inside Maruki's silhouette, as well as the tendrils wrapping around his arms. During this, it says "That's why I want to swallow the entire world. If I can do that, then within me," 7: It finishes, "I can fulfil your desires for all eternity." End ID]

Azathoth's stake.

or: I redrew a page from dunmeshi and set it in the third semester. sorry the low quality I have no idea what happened here 😭

og page below. MAJOR dungeon meshi spoilers if you wanna avoid that

[ID: a page from the dungeon meshi manga narrated by The Winged Lion.

Panel 1: A panel showing a person looking at a bookshelf, a person caressing their skin, and a person preaching to a crowd. The Winged Lion says "I have a deep fondness for human desires. When they fulfill (sic) their desires, then I, too, feel a sense of fulfillment (sic). I want to grant the desires of every human in the entire world."

2: He shouts "But there are far too many limitations on my ability to do that here!!l

3 & 4: Over Thistle's unconscious form, he says "Once someone's wish is granted, then it vanishes..." Over Mithrun holding his partner's cheek in front of a heartbroken witness, he finishes "Or by fulfilling (sic) the desires of one person... It becomes impossible to fulfill (sic) the desires of another."

5: The Winged Lion mimics the motion of eating something between his fingers as he says "That's why I want to swallow the entire world. If I can do that, then within me... I can fulfill (sic) your desires for all eternity."

End ID]

[fictionkinfessions]

[WARNING: Has major, MAJOR spoilers for «“Persona 5 Royal”», please continue scrolling if you do NOT wish to see them!!]

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or whatever time it is for you right now!

Um. I know that you might not want to hear anything from me, I can understand that, but even so..

I wanted to say "I'm sorry", I guess? You might wonder: "sorry for what?", and to be honest.. I don't know either, I just know that I feel awful that I couldn't really do much more for you. Maybe I should have tried to help you since the very start, as I noticed something was.. kind of off about you. Not that I meant anything was wrong, it's just that.. you always seemed more like you tried to fit an ideal or as if you were merely playing an act rather than being yourself most of the time? Ah, the more I think about stuff I could have done, the worse it makes me feel about everything, but this isn't about that.

I'm sorry for not being there for you more, and I'm sorry for how everything ended with us. I'm sorry about how the only thing I have left of you is your glove, and I'm sorry for pretty much everything I could be sorry for.

I know what you're gonna say: "are you an idiot or something? What are you even apologizing about?", but still, I feel as though there's a lot of things left unsaid in between us, so I might aswell just use this chance to properly tell everything..?

I'm aware, that you probably do not think of me this way, and that's why I never really tried to say anything, but I always felt like you were somehow more special than anyone else? I don't know, but the second we met I just.. I guess something clicked and I grew to like you a lot more than I thought I could. More than I thought a person was supposed to.

Even knowing that, I never really knew how to explain this feeling without making everything awkward, and it's not really like I'm an expert about love or something, but I guess that whenever I tried to look more into it, that was always the word that fit better than the rest? So I'm gonna be honest, I believe I may have fallen in love with you the exact second I saw you. I didn't really believe in love at first sight, as I thought it was unnatural, unrealistic and only happened in movies or fictional stuff, so this is actually a shocker for me.. and maybe also for you if you actually never noticed anything 😞

I could tell you that in three languages, actually, but isn't that more of a brag than something romantic..?? Oh, whatever, not like it will matter now or ever.

But, back to what I was saying..

I'm sorry. I was willing to just give up on our reality and to live in a perfect utopia world just because I was afraid of losing you again. I didn't want to let go of you, the person that I believe is the most important to me. Of course, I really care about the others, please don't get me wrong, but even so, I still cared too much about you like to just.. let you go, knowing you'd be dead and that I'd never get to see you again outside of a casket, if anyone even bothered to make one for you after you.. well.. died. Wouldn't it have been easier to live in a world where you and everyone else was happy? Sorry, this was and still is selfish of me, but I really just wished we could have been.. you know, friends, without all of the trauma.

I hope you have never questioned how much I loved and treasured you, though, since I tried to make it as clear as I could without making it weird..?? Anyways, I truly love you, te amo muchísimo, so please don't think that because you're not just some sort of real life prince charming I won't love you, because I do, I genuinely do. You're a super nice and uncanningly perfect person? I love you. You're actually resentful, full of hatred and actually were plotting to murder me? I love you. You're both? I love you. You're neither? I love you. It doesn't matter, whatever your true persona-lity (pun intended!!) may be, I will always love you, so don't worry about me hating you, since as long as I'm alive, you'll always have someone who wants to hangout with you, or maybe to just sit somewhere in pure, comfortable silence with you. You get it, right?

And, even if I'm not entirely sure about the idea of reincarnation..

maybe we're together in every universe, somehow?

Sorry, I'm pondering about this whole message and I'm realizing how cheesy it sounds, but I hope that, regardless, it will reach you, Akechi Goro.

(ily!! 愛してるよ！！ te amo!!) (but remember to actually take care of yourself and to sleep well or else I'm sending Mona to haunt your thoughts 😒)

— #❂🥞🐈‍⬛✮ (OH GOD I ALMOST FORGOT TO SAY WHO I AM 😭 hi, hello, I am Ren Amamiya / Akira Kurusu / “Joker” from «“Persona 5”». I'm not sure if this is allowed, but could you please tag as both fictive and kin?? Sankyuu!!) (oh, also, yeah the tag isn't taken)

(futaba, ILYY!! I miss u and the rest of the phantom thieves a TON :( you're in charge of them if you reunite with the rest and I'm still not with you all by then btw 💥💥 will forever be grateful that Mafia Caillou [Shido] is not in this universe, though.. I think. 😥) (also to sumire, ilyyyyy!!!!!)

"I love you!! I love you!!"

[thebigpapilio]

so everyone knows my ASAU of Persona 5 Royal, A Righteous Rebellion. right? And we're all also aware of @scruffyturtles' Adult Confidant AU?

well I sorta fused them? tldr: i made a (mostly) Adult Confidant AU for ARR! Details below, if you're interested - and if you have any questions about it, please ask @rollthedice-playthecards or this blog here!

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ARR! CANON-STANDARD TRIGGER WARNINGS!

The Fool and Strength (i.e. Igor & Caroline/Justine/Lavenza) are the same. Otherwise, everyone's changed.

The World (i.e. Protagonist) is Tae Takemi!

Her parents were abusive shitheads to her, and she got into a program that helped her escape for Tokyo.

Her first Persona is Merit-Ptah, a fictitious woman purported to be a chief physician of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh and thus one of the oldest known women in medicine and science.

The Magician is Sadamu Niijima (transmasc!Sae)!

The home invasion that killed Mr. Niijima also led to his death, but Igor came upon his soul and reincarnated him into a hound (because of Shadow Sae's tattoos) for The Yaldabaoth Game™.

His first Persona is Turiddu, a Sicilian bandit whose gang was "legally held responsible" for a massacre, although the entirely of their role in it is disputed.

The Priestess is Sadayo Kawakami!

She was a member of Student Council, but when she brought up Kamoshida's abuse to Principal Omon "Bael" Kobayakawa, she lost her seat. Kobayakawa actually replaces Kaneshiro as the third major target.

Her first Persona is Elissa, legendary founder and queen of Carthage... oh, and I will be shipping her with Tae for my Kawakemi agenda. :)

The Empress is Chihaya Fukurai (Mifune)!

Yuichi "Mammon" Fukurai, her adoptive father, runs Fukurai Foods (Big Bang Burger's owner and more). Chihaya was setting up to inherit the business when Yuichi "changed his mind" and prepared to sell her off in an arranged marriage to Rikio Sugimura.

Her first Persona is Lakshmibai, an Indian rani who rebelled against the Bri'ish.

The Emperor is Sojiro Sakura!

He's a culinary prodigy studying under his adoptive parent (I haven't decided who yet, but they're Azazel) - a TV chef who runs a kids' competition a la Chopped Junior. They definitely abuse some of those kids.

His Initial Persona is Hamlet, the famous Shakespearean Prince of Denmark.

The Hierophant is Makoto Niijima, owner of Cafe Bianca.

She's been looking for her estranged younger "sister" for years now.

The Lovers is Munehisa Iwai!

Munehisa is Shujin’s star athlete. Excels in every sport in Shujin except volleyball, from which he was banned after standing up to Suguru "Asmodeus" Kamoshida.

Kaoru, his younger brother here, takes the role of Shiho, and Akimitsu Tsuda and Masa replace Nakaoka and Takeishi.

His Initial Persona is Barrow, a Great Depression-era criminal who robbed small stores, funeral homes and banks with his partner Ms. Parker.

The Chariot is Ichiko Ohya!

Leader of the photography club. She caught photos of Kamoshida’s dirty deeds in the past and is trying to find a way to expose them anonymously. Oh, and she has a long-distance girlfriend named Kayo.

Her Initial Persona is O'Malley, an Irish pirate queen so violent Elizabeth I considered sending the Royal Fleet after.

Justice is Toranosuke Yoshida!

I sort of split Goro's two roles in this AU. Toranosuke plays the Detective Prince trying to solve the case of mental shutdowns (+ the Phantom Thief case), but his brother-by-choice Benzo Kuramoto plays assassin and mental-shutdown-inducer for Masao Kuramoto, his grandfather. Tora joins the team in Oda's Palace, and they fight Benzo in Kuramoto's Palace - that's where Toranosuke achieves his Second Persona.

Speaking of Personas, his Initial one is Greenlefe, Robin Hood's second-in-command and the only one present at his death.

The Hermit is Takuto Niijima (Maruki)!

Makoto had a brief stint as a police officer, but after a influential asshole (Kuramoto) drove drunk and killed one Tomoyo Rumi, she attempted to dig into the situation and was dishonorably discharged. Soon after, she met Rumi's boyfriend, Takuto (an orphan with one shitty relative), and took him in.

He would be a third-year if he was still in school. He’s wasting away as he grieves Rumi's death. He can’t bring himself to kill himself, but he also doesn't want to be alive anymore.

His Initial Persona is Popol Vuh, a religious text of the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ Guatemalans.

The Fortune is Hifumi Hibino (Togo)!

After Mitsuyo disowned Hifumi for coming out as lesbian, Hifumi moved in with her wife Haru (they both end up with Makoto later). Hifumi took up busking/street shogi, not wanting to be reliant on Haru.

The Hanged Man is Akira Kurusu!

Not much for this guy right now - like Canon!Munehisa, he's an ex-yakuza who runs Indomptable, an airsoft store. Ren is his adoptive son.

Death is Sumire Yoshizawa!

A medical misdiagnosis (by her biological mother Yui, not that she knows it) left Sumire's sister in a coma. Ever since, Sumire can't see anyone unconscious without thinking of Kasumi.

Temperance is Ryuji Sakamoto!

An orphaned man who teaches PE at Shujin and moonlights in an escort service to take care of himself and his son Morgana.

Just after his college years, his mom's ex-husband killed her and then killed himself to escape the police, so he has no support system. Thus, he got himself into trouble with a duo of loan sharks so he could look presentable enough to replace Kamoshida.

He, Ann and Shiho were friends in high-school, but he never saw them again after graduating.

The Devil is Ann Takamaki!

An up-and-coming actress working hard to make it big. She's keeping her sexuality (and her girlfriends Shiho Suzui and Mika Abe) under wraps from everyone, including her manager.

At the end of the Confidant, she moves in with her old friend (and future boyfriend) Ryuji after Tae mentions him.

The Tower is Goro Shido (Akechi)!

Goro is a very temperamental young man with no methods of healthily and safely letting out his anger at the world and his shitty, abusive father.

After Shido's heart is changed, Ryuji (and Ann and Shiho) take Goro in.

The Star is Zenkichi Hasegawa!

Even if Zen doesn't know it, he's the best player in the shogi club at Kosei. It's discovered their "team" has been fixing matches, and Zenkichi is determined to find out who's cheating.

Jyun Owada, his senpai and club president, is jealous, and is trying to cause strife between him and his girlfriend Aoi to weaken him.

The Moon is Sophia Ichinose!

Sophia is a Greek immigrant who moved to Japan for work opportunities. She's Tae's science teacher, so Tae really likes her. Her daughter Kuon, however, has fallen in with a HORRIBLY nasty crowd - a bigoted group who hates (among other groups of people) Kuon's adoptive mother. Kuon, naturally, is conflicted, and this leads to conflict between her and Sophia.

The Sun is Haru Hibino!

A young politician whose bold eat-the-wealthy mentality does not sit well with older generations - for example, her father Kunikazu, who disowned her and silently smeared her campaigns so she'd waste her inheritance and never expose his criminality.

In the end of the whole story, Haru legalizes polyamorous marriage!

Judgement is Shinya Oda!

Uses they/them pronouns here.

After Shinya's mother Hanae was killed in cold blood, they joined the SIU to find the killer. She did something to piss off Kuramoto, though, so he and the director do everything they can to keep Shinya away from that.

The Faith is Wakaba Isshiki!

Daughter of Shujin's new counselor. A science prodigy.

I don't have much ideas for her yet, never mind her Personas.

The Councillor is Futaba Isshiki!

Shujin's aforementioned new counselor in the wake of Kamoshida's arrest. Believing the world to be "without life" without her deceased fiancee Kana, her Palace becomes a Graveyard, where she "raises the dead" by fixing their problems.

She only has one Persona - Chac Chel, an important Maya goddess of many things, most prominently both creation and destruction.

The Hope is Yuuki (Mishima)!

His ranged weapon is eye lasers. They use both he/him and they/them.

An A.I. made by Katsuo Akiyama, a regretful high-school bully who caused one of his victims to commit suicide.

Their first Persona is Thyrsus - a giant fennel staff that Yuuki uses like a weapon alongside the Persona aspect of it.

The Apostle is Yusuke Kitagawa!

The only original Phantom Thief to keep the power of Persona.

Ordered by Madarame Ichitaro (the killer of his mother and Police Commissioner) to investigate the Phantom Thieves after a series of mass heart-changings occur again.

Akane has a brother, Natsuhiko, and they share the Jail. Their mother, Takayo (Yusuke's beard) is still dead.

His Persona is Enjolras, and he later gets with Akira.

Lastly, a unique Arcana - The Actor, Morgana Sakamoto!

A theater prodigy at his school (not Shujin or Kosei) and Ryuji's son. He has no clues to his past before Ryuji, and he wants to know, but he also wants his dad to be happy. At the end of the Strikers arc, Lavenza becomes human, and he and Goro get the Sakamotos to adopt her as well.

Reminder once again to post any questions about this AU to @rollthedice-playthecards!

[abstract962]

how i see all of the persona 5 royal characters (MAJOR spoilers!!!!!) . . .

chart idea and help from @ablekable​

[saikolikes]

I Played Persona 5 Tactica, Here Is What I Think About It

I have long awaited Tactica since the first announcement trailer (yes, the one that got "accidentally" published by Atlus). After playing through the main story + DLC I needed to sort my thoughts & have decided to subject every other person on the internet to it.

First of all a few disclaimers: Did someone ask me to write this? No Do I care? No Do I need to sort out my thoughts out loud? Yes :D There will be spoilers for the entire game + DLC so read this post knowing that! Lastly, this post is highly critical but it comes from a place of enjoyment of the game and love for the series. If that hadn't been the case, I would've never spent literal days collecting all these words in one place.

So.

Let's start by: have I enjoyed my experience? Yes, most of the time. Would I recommend the game to someone else? Now that is a good question. Let's start from the theory.

What does Tactica want to achieve?

According to this interview by Business Producer Nomura, Director Maeda, and Composer Konishi, P5T had -- extremely summarized -- three main goals:

Maintaining the Persona 5 allure and imagery despite having a different gameplay and visual style

Making a strategy rpg accessible even to non-fans of the genre and non-navigated trpg players

Capturing "the straightforward and highly passionate feelings of the high school students, along with a slightly precarious, fleeting danger inherent in their straightforwardness" (Maeda, quoting from the Persona Central article previously cited)

If we hold what it said into this interview as our sole criteria for judging the game, Persona 5 Tactica aces most of it. I will go into each section deeper as this post goes on, but this game was clearly made with passion by people who have very clear in their minds what Persona 5 means, sounds, and feels like.

There is only one problem: it's not as clear who this game was made for.

Who's Tactica targeted at?

At its core, despite being a game that most likely only the more passionate P5 fans will buy, especially so far from P5's original release and so close to both P3:RE and the (plausible?) announcement of P6, Tactica's main story is so clearly made with the intent of being enjoyed by every possible P5 fan that the hardcore fanbase would probably be the last segment of players I would suggest that should play this game. Right from the start, it supplies you with practical notes about who is who, what key places you need to know, and other recap information from the previous game -- a nice feature, and very helpful... but clearly targeted at people who haven't touched P5 since 2017, or at least haven't been participating in some form of fandom in the past 6 years.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing bad with wanting to appeal to every possible player -- Strikers, too, was purposefully designed to be enjoyed no matter your starting point for the series, the game, the anime, or the manga (or none of these things, actually). I find some form of contradiction, however, in the fact that not only the DLC, which acts as a prequel to Tactica's main story, technically has light spoilers for Royal, but also... of all the people I know -- irl, on the internet, among gaming creators -- who played P5 the majority of them still has only played P5. They haven't been interested in the slightest in all these spinoffs that have come out in the meantime, not even in Royal. (more about this on Reddit)

My point is: at this point in time, with the infamous cow-milking reputation Atlus has especially regarding P5, the people who have bought and are going to buy the spinoffs no matter what are the hardcore fans. But this game isn't made for them for the most part -- and that is something that can sour the whole experience.

I won't get into the debate about the canonicity of the P5 timeline, but Tactica seems to have a few ideas and well-confused about the whole thing. Because the DLC is Royal compliant, even touches upon "Kasumi"'s bond with her sister, and is technically set parallel to Sae's Palace. Which sort of makes sense since Royal and Tactica share their producer (Wada). But then there is no mention of Royal canon whatsoever in the main story (01.29.24 EDIT: I stand slightly corrected, as Maruki does get hinted at... but I also stand by the fact he's not mentioned in a way that truly matters, and my point about the Third Kingdom I talk about later on is still valid). Sure, much like Strikers, Tactica does not contradict Royal. But between not contradicting and actively enforcing there is a world of difference.

During the game, specific events of P5 are referenced, much more heavily than what happens in Strikers, with Shido and the political scandal being addressed more than once -- to the point where the December calling card is what prompted Toshiro out of his subservient attitude towards his father. Even Yaldabaoth is mentioned and compared to Salmael, the Big Baddie of Tactica, something that in Strikers was left much vaguer ("it's been x months since we fought a god"). And this does not happen for any of the Royal content. Despite the DLC, the Royal-compliant DLC, very clearly linking its story with the main one. Even more, the Third Kingdom and Salmael have an unmissable resemblance with the themes of the Third Semester and what Maruki was planning, parallels so apparent that you would expect someone to at least hint at what happened between January and February at some point.

Instead, there is silence. The themes are loudly there (and I don't know if it's just me, but the Hideout -VT- ost has interesting similarities to Ideal and the Real - End Version -) yet not once, not in the slightest does Maruki ever get mentioned or referenced or hinted at. (01.29.24 EDIT: as I added before, Maruki does get hinted during a conversation that takes place in the Thrid Kingdom... but it's no where near how deeply interwowen Tactica's story is with the ending of vanilla P5. This is what I meant in the following sentence where I say there is a disparity of treatment because there absolutely is.) It's clear to me, given the disparity of treatment, that Tactica's main story doesn't want to contradict Royal in the same way that Strikers didn't, but Persona 5 vanilla is clearly the game you're supposed to have played before starting this one. Which, of course, is also reinforced by Akechi and "Kasumi" being locked behind the DLC. And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that, if you're a hardcore fan (= most likely to buy Tactica), this probably isn't what you would have wanted from this game.

What Tactica does best

Tactica is a good game for the most part. As I was saying in my introduction, 2 out of the 3 main goals for this game have been not only achieved but aced.

Gameplay-wise, the loop can become quite addicting, especially between the last portion of the First Kingdom and the first half of the Second Kingdom, where imho the story peaks. The development team has done a damn well good job in reducing the structure of a trpg to its core and mixing it with what makes Persona 5... Persona 5. Much like the base game, for example, getting the upper hand through chains of One Mores and All-Out Attacks is basically how you progress through maps. Each Thief has his own Persona + 1 equippable sub-Persona -- even Joker can only use Arsène -- but they made sure to translate each different element into a different mechanic. I adored that, exactly like it happens in the first game, despite the combat being turn-based the characters seem to dance on the battlefield, with each action flowing into the next one as the hype builds up and either Lyn's voice or catchy drums accompany you turn after turn. Don't expect something too complex, as the game is designed to be accessible even to non-strategy players -- and surely I was disappointed by having to play with only 3 characters at a time -- but the fun is there, and to an extent, you can build each character how you most like them through a minimal but very efficient skill tree.

The music is another thing Tactica does very well. By now (Strikers, Royal, and Tactica) it's clear that Konishi favors aggressive guitars over groovy basslines and I didn't mind it one bit, as this became kind of his personal signature. The first portion of the game especially is full of banger hits that get later reprised and remixed as you progress through the Kingdoms. Some of my favorites:

Maxim, like many tracks, has an excellent use of percussions that resemble war drums

Tension, with clear Life Will Change influences

Infiltrate, back at it with the Life Will Change vibes and an exceptional use of strings that resemble horse hooves running on the cobblestones of a medieval city

Master of the Castle, which plays during the Marie bossfight, is an excellent mixture of the Tension theme with the addition of a more aggressive guitar and... bells! Because she's about to get married!

Amusement Park of Trauma, a strong detachment from the general mood of the Second Kingdom that perfectly serves its purpose

Recollection, a melancholic theme that through its notes perfectly sets the mood for what the player is about to go through as soon as they set foot in the Third Kingdom, much like Gentle Madman before it

01.29.24 EDIT: as the beta version of Last Surprise was discovered, I was able to catch a bunch of notes between 0.18 and 0.30 that I am fairly sure are present, rearranged/with guitars only, inside one of Tactica's OSTs too. I just can't seem to find it so I will add the specific one as soon as I spot it lol

Along the new tracks, some very neat rearrangements like Beneath the Mask (which somehow they managed to make it sound even more lo-fi than it already was) and Disquiet make their apperance, as well as a version of Prison Labor.

Also, contrary to what happens in the hellscape of info dumping that is the first hours of Strikers, tutorials are actually paced wonderfully here, and you get to be introduced to each bit of gameplay with little steps, and nothing gets shoved down your throat leaving you with so many information you actually have no idea how to play.

Additionally, the story is quite captivating, especially if you pay attention to what can seem to be minor details. Right from the start, the sheer need to understand what the hell is going on is what drives you forward, and by the end of the First Kingdom and Marie's reveal as Toshiro's fiance, you start to understand that the scope of the entire thing is much more limited and personal -- which is something I appreciated a lot. Toshiro is a good character, his cowardice at the start isn't just a funny trait for the laugh, but a flaw that is deeply connected with his personal history and, much like with Zenkichi and Sophia, the team did a good job in tracing parallels with the other Phantom Thieves in order to quickly build empathy towards him -- with Haru and Futaba being the absolute best matches. The same thing happens with Erina, who shares the rebellious fire of the Phantom Thieves and leads the rebellion against Marie. What I loved about her is her goofiness, I was afraid she would be the nth Strong Female Character -- seeing as Kasumi was very much your Manic Pixie Dream Girl -- instead I found a lady with a sharp tongue and a strong heart, who's deeply loyal but doesn't hesitate to fool around. She's really valid, I admit I wouldn't have bet on her character to be like this but I'm happy they took this direction with her.

So... all is good, right? Why do I say that the game "is good... for the most part"?

Tactica's recycling problem

Fundamentally, and believe me it pains me very much to say this... Tactica doesn't have a lot to say, despite what its developers declared.

The game's themes, characters, morals, and climax are all heavily derivative of themes, characters, morals, and climaxes that have already been more than explored within the various iterations of P5. Past the final portion of the Third Kingdom, the repetitiveness of it all became seriously unbearable. No thing, big or small, gets spared: this is how you find yourself with Toshiro mathematically relating to all the Phantom Thieves, even when it feels forced; how you have the battle against Shadow Toshiro and then Eri that is 1:1 what we saw in Futaba's Palace with the fight against Wakaba; how you have the nth Deity Wished By Mankind that wants to rule over Free Will; how the "Fourth" Kingdom is nothing more than a recycling, reskinning, recoloring of what you already played through the previous Kingdoms -- mobs and bossfights included.

It really does a disservice to the game, the fact that so many of its final portions are stretched out to the point of exhaustion, I imagine only for the sake of justifying the cost of the game with more playtime, something that is deeply wrong, especially if we take into consideration that the game is actually sold at (less) than the current average market price (60€/$, compared to PS4/Switch games being 60-70 and next-gen games being 70-80). It kills the climax that Tactica so painfully had built up to that point, and it made me feel like completing the story was more of a chore I had to do in order to get to the final cutscene (which... is fine, I guess) than something I did with heartfelt conviction.

Moreover, the deeply derivative nature of this game causes more than some issues, character-wise. Because this is a game with the Phantom Thieves... but narratively speaking, they aren't the protagonists: Toshiro and Erina are. This leads to a weird situation where the group, who has by now 2 god killings under their belt, remains stagnant throughout the whole game, as they have nothing to learn or improve about them, and too often they become nothing more than the mask (ah-ah) of themselves, with characters acting just like their archetype -- Yusuke, the starving artist; Morgana, who gets angry when he's called a cat; Ryuji, the dumb guy who's the butt of the joke. Incredibly speaking, the one who feels less like herself is Makoto: in P5 she can be tough and confrontational, sure, but you have to provoke her, first -- she's usually kind and collected, with a sort of mom-friend attitude. Strikers played a bit more into her punk side, and Royal gave us her wonderful Showtimes with Haru and Ryuji... but in Tactica, she's straight-up aggressive and quick to violence, often excessively, often for no reason. I have no idea what happened with her honestly, the day of the wedding in the imaginary vignette she even accuses you, unprompted, of cheating on her. Are the writers Makoto haters?

Anyway. My point is, as much as Toshiro and Erina hit home and do their job as characters, and as much as it's heartwarming to have the whole gang together again... sometimes, especially near the end, it sure feels like everything is just an excuse to have more Phantom Thieves content. Which would not be bad! But it is the moment Royal gets ignored and all the progress and maturity they gained is erased.

Overall, I think Tactica has a great cast and great premises, but the final portion of the story has really been dragged for too long, and the amount of recycling between ideas, assets, plot points, and maps is... not great.

Tactica's mysterious mysteries

There is a whole lot that is never given clarification in this game, and well beyond the realm of plausible fan speculations.

So many things went unexplained or even unaddressed. The Metaverse should by all means be gone at this point -- yet it's still working, and the only comment you get on the matter is "I guess it can't be erased completely" which is fine seeing how it's so tied to the human subconscious but an element so important to the worldbuilding really is treated like Just A Thing That Is Said and never given more consideration. Additionally, it is said that Kingdoms aren't Palaces... but functionally speaking, we explore Toshiro's Palace. There are cognitive versions of his family and acquaintances, there are memories locked inside the maps, there is his Shadow... there is no formal reason for it not to be Toshiro's Palace! Except that they needed to market it like an Entirely Different Thing somehow! On this front, Strikers did a really better job in connecting to the canon worldbuilding of P5.

Another thing that goes entirely unaddressed is how exactly the Phantom Thieves have been summoned inside Toshiro's cognition. The game explains that Shido's calling card was what roused Toshiro from his complacency, and what generated Erina as the spark of his rebellion... but it's never explained how the Thieves got in, especially given that it's explicitly stated that they entered in a different manner than Toshiro, who was kidnapped by Salmael, Persona 4 style. All the weirdness of this new world, Personas not working as usual, the Velvet Room changing form... everything is addressed merely in passing, diverted back to Salmael's doing, or even straight up commented by Lavenza with "I have no explanations for this behavior."

Again, lastly, some things are brought up and never addressed again, like the fact Erina can plant the Flag of Freedom but the Flag itself, as a mechanic, only has relevance in the First Kingdom; or the fact that doors with a projectile on it are used to traverse Kingdoms and are what evoked the Phantom Thieves, but no one will ever explain to you what those are or why the Phantom Thieves don't traverse one back to return to the real world, instead they simply... *fades to white*

But what about the DLC?

The DLC is enjoyable but has, on a smaller scale, the exact same problems the rest of the game has.

Some bits of dialogue and character interactions sent me flying, like the way Joker can tease Akechi in a way he doesn't do with any other character or the fact that whether or not Akechi is a Phantom Thief is treated as a complicated matter, and you can trigger some interesting remarks about the whole situation going on outside of Tactica.

Aside from this, the DLC most than anything else suffers from being set in a pocket of time that needs to be wiped from memory, firstly because these three characters aren't exactly a trio yet and only had one interaction together before this moment yet they act like they're closer than that... and secondly because the whole Guernica situation is a parallel to Kasumi and Sumire's story. So it really hits the wrong way, and it even verges on horror if you have the hindsight, that Akechi, Joker and Violet have to save a girl that lost her sister and is being brainwashed to forget her... while Sumire is still "Kasumi."

I liked the setting and I liked the paint mechanic and I liked how frankly brutal and visceral some scenes are. That is exactly my jam! But I couldn't enjoy them to the fullest because I knew they would have amounted to nothing in the grand scheme of things. The memory wipe solution was in store, of course, I saw that coming, nonetheless I found it deeply unelegant, seeing as they didn't even try to offer an explanation as to why or how the trio had their memory erased.

Also, it makes no sense for Guernica to be active in the real world at that scale if only because there would be no reason for her to never be mentioned anywhere after, and I quote, "pulling a stunt like the ones from the Phantom Thieves."

On a final note, since I mentioned the base game's price... contrary to that, Tactica's DLC isn't worth the 20€/$ you pay it. Not only because it's very short (4-5 hours if you rush, 6-8 if you take some more time to maybe restart some maps or replay some dialogues and gush like I did) but because the experience is overall nothing memorable, and the additional maps aren't enough to cover that. I stand by the fact you shouldn't judge a game's price by its length, but length isn't Repaint Your Heart's sole problem, sadly.

My final thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed playing Tactica (save for the final part) and it gave me some really stellar content, like the fake wedding scenes, Ann's best characterization across the entire series, Erina as a character, and overall a new occasion to spend time with my favorite band of outlaws teens.

I'm glad I had more P5 content... but I still feel I could've gone by with no problems without Tactica. Which is a sad thing to say, but it's true. Because I loved Strikers and I would never want to live without having played that game. Tactica, well... despite me being hyped for it a ton, it made me come to the conclusion that I am done with P5 content, especially if it has to be like this. If I feel nostalgic, I'll just boot my PS5 and replay Royal for the second time. And for everything else, there is fandom.

Thank you for reading this far if you have. You can find me on Twitter, Ao3 and BlueSky!

[dot-persona5royal]

brain worms version two back at it again in crispy kreme (my trauma filled self project) ONCE AGAIN MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 ROYAL --- I REALISED i forgot futaba when i originally posted, so updated cast list ; Alice : Akechi Cheshire Cat : Akiren White Rabbit : Sumire March Hare : Ann The Mad Hatter : Ryuji The Doormouse : Mona/Morgana Tweedledee & Tweedledum : Makoto & Haru The Caterpillar : Yusuke The Dodo : Futaba The Queen of Hearts : Maruki -

beginning of story snippet: "the last thing Akechi remembered before he died was fighting Maruki. the pain on his joints, the overwhelming need to silence the counsellor, everything boiling down to the muted grey of Akira's eyes" - the timeline idea is that this reality is Akechi's "afterlife" as he heals in the metaverse. i'm one to believe Akechi is a wildcard, with having two personae - this would lead to him being able to maybe wield the personae of his friends in Wonderland 👀- Wonderland is a dangerous place afterall, to escape you need a friend or two i fear - let me know if anyone wants to hear my insanity about Akechi being a wildcard cause OH BOY do i have some THEORIES - also this story will be Shuake/Akeshu if . you haven't noticed LMAO as well, if anyone is particularly interested, i'm thinking of making an Alien Stage x Persona 5 crossover !! i may post about it but , for now , enjoy my projections :3