#makoto too but i think he's more due for event ?

[yume-fanfare]

hmm if shinobu is the second half of the scout then maybe id like hiiro with tori 🤔 or senaizu of course but he's not going to be due for a while...... any ra*bit would be fun too of course and mao would be nice as well.............

[anonymousewrites]

A Not-So-Disastrous Romance (Book 1) Chapter Sixteen

Kusuo Saiki x Reader

Chapter Sixteen: Taking Teruhashi Out (on a Not-Date)

Summary: Makoto (ew) shows up, and Saiki has to take precautions for his own life to not have more trouble. Luckily, he has (Y/N) to help him.

            Saiki crossed his arms and contemplated throwing Makoto out the window for the hundredth time since he met him. Saiki had been looking forward to this event all week. (Y/N) had finally come over and was going to show him how to properly make coffee jelly at home, but as soon as they’d gotten set up, Makoto Teruhashi had barged his way in crying about how Teruhashi was angry at him (rightfully so, he was being perverted as usual). He had ruined the entire night, and Saiki’s sanity wasn’t certain it could take much more of Makoto’s rambling.

            A single glance at (Y/N)’s weirded-out face confirmed they felt the same way and wanted him gone as soon as possible.

            “So, that’s what happened, and Kokomi hasn’t said a word to me since then,” said Makoto, finally finishing.

            “Go home, you perv,” said Saiki.

            “Please, please, do.” (Y/N) nodded aggressively.

            Unfortunately, Makoto ignored them to wallow in his own sadness and decided to talk some more. “To think we’re having a lover’s quarrel—”

            “You’re really not,” said (Y/N).

            “—I’m in such a pickle,” said Makoto. “Oh, by the way, when I say ‘lovers’ quarrel,’ I mean between Kokomi and me.”

            “We wish you didn’t,” sighed (Y/N).

            “I’m the only one who can have a lovers’ quarrel with Kokomi,” said Makoto.

            “Get to the point so you can get out,” said Saiki.

            Makoto leaned forward. (Y/N) leaned back. “Tomorrow my drama will be filming in my neighborhood. A lot of industry people will be there, too. Once they notice Kokomi’s beauty, that’s it. What do you think will happen if they scout her?!”

            “Don’t care,” said Saiki.

            “She’d be very successful,” said (Y/N), knowing Teruhashi would do very well due to her beauty and people’s love of her.

            “Yes! Right after her debut, she’ll be cast as the heroine in a TV drama,” said Makoto. “She’ll be the heroine in plays and movies. She’ll be in many commercials! She’ll even be stealing work from other popular actresses.” He scoffed. “I won’t allow it! Kokomi has no interest in showbiz. So, I’ll give you permission to tell her to avoid the filming location at all costs. But don’t say anything else, four eyes. Don’t even make eye-contact. You can’t even get within ten meters of her!” Makoto glared at Saiki.

            “That’s unreasonable for anyone,” said Saiki.

            “Well, I’d prefer to tell her myself, but we’re having a lovers’ quarrel, so don’t screw this up.” Makoto rose and left the room.

            “I don’t usually dislike people, but he really creeps me out,” said (Y/N), shivering.

            “And now he’s gotten me involved,” said Saiki.

            “Hey, don’t worry, I’ll tell Kokomi so you don’t have to be more involved,” said (Y/N) brightly.

            “Thank you.” Saiki was so grateful to have (Y/N) in his life. They really were incredible.

l

            “My brother came to see you?” said Teruhashi. “Oh, I’m sorry he caused you trouble.”

            “That’s putting it lightly,” said Saiki.

            “It’s nothing,” lied (Y/N).

            “But, uhm, why is Saiki standing all the way over there?” said Teruhashi.

            (Y/N) looked behind them where, ten meters away, Saiki stood. “Your brother.”

            “What?” said Teruhashi. “Oh, my, I’m so sorry about him.” She smiled sweetly. Stupid big brother! He’s giving Saiki trouble! I have to offer a token of apology. Hmm Ah! She looked up to see (Y/N) and Saiki walking away since they’d given the message. “W-Wait, Saiki, are you free after school today?” That’s right, apology. Saiki, how luck you are to get this opportunity. I have to apologize, so my hands are tied.

            Why aren’t you considering (Y/N)? thought Saiki.

            “Would you like to…go out for some tea on our way home?” said Teruhashi, looking eagerly at Saiki. “Or go to a neighboring town since they’re filming here?”

            (Y/N) felt their heart drop since this was so much like a date, and no other guy in school would even think about saying no. They hoped Saiki would, though. It would hurt if Saiki wanted to date Teruhashi and not them. It really would.

            I’ll treat you for a date! Now feel honored! Even though this is only as a token of apology. Teruhashi glanced at (Y/N). And (Y/N), although I like you, you get a lot of attention from Saiki, and it’s my turn as the perfect pretty girl. Now, come on, and say “oh, wow.”

            Saiki, about to say no, paused and decided to say something else that would create problems for him, but it would make a point to Teruhashi about her thoughts about (Y/N)—that was one thing he didn’t let slide.

            “(Y/N) and I are free this afternoon. We’ll accept your apology.” Saiki turned and walked away.

            Teruhashi’s jaw nearly dropped open as Saiki, seemingly (and actually) unperturbed, invited someone else out with him and her when she had given him the chance to be alone with her.

            (Y/N) found themself grinning. “See you later, Kokomi!”

            “Right, yeah.” Teruhashi raised a hand, still in shock. But he should’ve said, “oh wow…”

            “Didn’t want to be alone with her?” asked (Y/N) teasingly.

            “If I said no, her followers would’ve hated me. I don’t want that attention,” said Saiki. And, in a more truthful sense, the rudeness would hopefully make Teruhashi stop liking him as much (which, apparently, he’d have to try some more). Also, Saiki got more time with (Y/N). He didn’t mind that.

l

            After school, Teruhashi, Saiki, and (Y/N) ended up at the next town over. Unfortunately for Saiki, attention was coming to their group as everyone watched the perfect pretty girl grace their streets with her mere presence. Additionally, Saiki was dealing with Teruhashi’s fantasies of him saying “Oh, wow” and how she believed he was totally in love with her and freaking out about the chance to be close to her.

            Luckily, Saiki had (Y/N) walking alongside him, and Saiki could put up with a lot to spend time with them.

            “What’s that guy near her doing?” whispered one guy.

            “I bet he’s her funding source,” sneered another.

            “I wanna punch him from behind,” said a third.

            I don’t want to deal with that, though, thought Saiki.

            “Kusuo, Kokomi, do you like sweets?” said (Y/N), saving the day (in Saiki’s mind) yet again. “I saw an ad for a café nearby that looks super good.”

            I’ll have some cake with (Y/N) before leaving.

l

            Closed. The café’s sign was turned around to say it was closed.

            (Y/N) sighed, disappointed. “I really thought it would be open. Sorry, Kusuo, Kokomi.” They really were sorry. They wanted to have a nice time with Saiki (and Teruhashi), but it hadn’t worked out.

            “Well, we can always go over to the shopping district,” suggested Teruhashi, eager to try to get some of her own ideas in to impress Saiki. “We came all this way. Let’s find some good new places. Let’s go!”

            Unfortunately for Teruhashi, an hour of walking at her direction passed, but they found zero restaurants. Teruhashi’s glowing smile had fallen into a sickly attempt at one due to exhaustion. (Y/N) was feeling peckish, and Saiki was also losing interest in continuing to follow Teruhashi. That being said, it was fairly fascinating to see everything not work out for Teruhashi.

            “E-Excuse me.” A boy nervously stepped forward and blushed. “May I help you with something?”

            “We’re looking for a place to get some tea,” said Teruhashi sweetly, her glow returning.

            “O-Oh, yeah, sure!” said the boy excitedly.

            “Hey, I saw her first!” shouted another.

            “I’ll show you the way,” offered another from the crowd.

            Never mind. Everything worked out for her.

            “The sun is harsh today. Please borrow this parasol,” offered a man.

            “Here’s a coupon to the café,” said the first boy again. “I’ll go ahead and reserve a table for you.”

            “Wow, thank you,” said Teruhashi, smiling.

            “Oh, wow!” said the entire crowd.

            “It’s amazing how everything works out for her,” said (Y/N). They laughed. “I need some of that charisma.”

            “I think you’re fine the way you are,” said Saiki. Besides, he’d watch out for them. As long as he was around, they’d be alright.

l

            At the café, Teruhashi continued to be surrounded by other men while (Y/N) and Saiki sat across from her eating cake and drinking tea. She was satisfied, though, for now, since she had a whole group of people going “oh, wow!”

            Saiki made me totally forget it, but now I remember. I’m a perfect pretty girl! Having recharged her confidence, she turned back towards (Y/N) and Saiki, eager for more “oh, wows.”

            Yare yare. Teruhashi really is tough. I’ll just get through this and hurry home with (Y/N). I wonder if they’re done filming.

            (Y/N) sighed happily as they finished their tea. This is nice. I’ll have to come back here at some point when there aren’t as many people crowded around. And I should bring Kusuo.

            Saiki straightened as he heard Makoto and his director thinking about how they were changing location. They’re coming this way?! He took another bite of his cupcake. I should really do something soon. He took his time savoring the sweets.

            “These were delicious, weren’t they, Saiki, (Y/N),” said Teruhashi.

            “Yeah, they were super good,” said (Y/N), smiling.

            We took our time, but this town is big. Hopefully we won’t run into him.

            Nothing worked out for Saiki, though, and due to the ground, Makoto and his assistant decided to stop at that café.

            Saiki stood. We better leave quickly.

            “Are you ready to go, Kusuo?” said (Y/N).

            Saiki stared at them and then out the window. (Y/N) observational skills paid off, and they saw the blue hair of Makoto Teruhashi in the van outside.

            “You’re right, it’s time to go,” said (Y/N), standing. “We finished everything, after all.”

            “Can we wait a bit?” said Teruhashi. “They want me to shake hands with them, so…” She smiled and let the line form, focusing on being the perfect pretty girl.

            “Kusuo, what do we do?” whispered (Y/N).

            “I’ll flip the sign.” His psychokinesis flipped the open sign to closed.

            They tensed, but the two men walked back to their van instead of walking in.

            “We did it,” said (Y/N).

            “We should still probably leave in case they return,” said Saiki.

            (Y/N) nodded vigorously. “Good idea.”

            “6,850 yen, please,” said a waiter.

            “Oh, I’m paying!” said Teruhashi, smiling and walking over. “How much is it?”

            “Oh, you are? Two hundred yen, I guess,” said the waiter, blushing.

            “Oh, that cheap? And I have coupons,” said Teruhashi happily.

            “Then it’s twenty yen,” said the waiter.

            “I hope I get reborn as a pretty girl in my next life,” said Saiki.

            “I think you’re fine the way you are,” teased (Y/N), smiling at Saiki.

l

            “I wonder if they’re done filming,” wondered Teruhashi. “But Saiki, (Y/N), what do you think?”

            “We’ll go straight home,” said Saiki.

            To support him—since (Y/N) knew at this point Saiki wanted to really go home, so they wouldn’t push his boundaries—(Y/N) nodded. “I should probably get my homework done sooner rather than later.”

            Saiki paused, his clairvoyance showing him that the film crew was at the train station. He nearly sighed. It appeared they’d be stuck here a while longer.

            Teruhashi perked up, deciding that Saiki must be fighting with his own insecurity about hanging out with her.

            (Y/N) tilted their head, understanding they were facing another obstacle.

            “Hey, if you’re not in a rush, you and I could hang out some more, Saiki,” said Teruhashi. She smiled. “Even if (Y/N) heads home, you don’t have to go.”

            “Well, Kusuo and I were going to do homework together, so I guess I have to wait,” said (Y/N).

            Teruhashi deflated slightly. I thought I’d get some alone time with Saiki. It’s almost as if (Y/N) knows to stick around.

            They are good at covering for me. Saiki liked that—yet another characteristic in a long list that he liked about them.

            “Oh, look, I haven’t been to a place like that for a long time!” said Teruhashi as she led them to an entertainment arcade. “There are so many choices!”

            This might actually be a fortunate turn of events in terms of making Teruhashi hate me, thought Saiki.

            “A karaoke place, so cool!” said Teruhashi, trying to hint to Saiki. I don’t feel like bowling. I wanna go karaoke.

            With that, it was decided.

l

            “Another split? I have no luck today,” laughed (Y/N) as they, once again, had a terrible turn in bowling.

            Since Teruhashi didn’t want to, Saiki had absolutely wanted to. This would help get her to lose interest in him.

            “Strike!” announced the computer screen after Saiki went.

            Teruhashi deflated.

            The entire game, Saiki made sure to humiliate (Y/N) and Teruhashi with his “skill” (psychic power). That way, Teruhashi would really lose her feelings for him. It was a little mean, but Saiki was eager to have her stop chasing him around. It caused him trouble. At least (Y/N) wasn’t embarrassed and just laughed at their own lack of bowling ability.

            Still, Teruhashi wasn’t done yet, but Saiki was up to every challenge.

            When she saw a claw machine with a gorillabbit, he instead won the strawberry stuffed animal and handed it to (Y/N). They turned red and fought to thank him normally, trying to rationalize that Saiki was just trying to frustrate Teruhashi. (Obviously he did it just to annoy Teruhashi, not because he saw them looking at it earlier and thought they’d like it). Teruhashi deflated once more.

            When she challenged Saiki to table tennis, he beat her terribly. History repeated itself in darts and video games. Soon, Teruhashi was just sitting on a bench with a blank look on her face, disinterested and disappointed in everything.

            Maybe we went a little far. “Is she going to be okay?” said (Y/N), looking at her faraway stare.

            “She’ll rebound once someone says ‘oh, wow’ to her,” said Saiki.

            “Let’s head home,” sighed Teruhashi.

            “Good idea,” said Saiki.

            “It is getting late,” said (Y/N).

            “I’m exhausted,” sighed a voice behind them on the bench facing the other direction.

            (Y/N) and Saiki’s eyes widened, and they whirled.

            It was Makoto and part of his team. Because of all the people, Saiki hadn’t differentiated Makoto’s thoughts from anyone else’s, and now they were right there near them and Teruhashi.

            “Four eyes?” said Makoto, blinking. “Other one?”

            I don’t even get a name?

            “Kokomi?!” cried Makoto, seeing his sister walking away. His surprised gaze turned to anger as he assumed Saiki was on a date with Teruhashi (which was bizarre since (Y/N) was also there, but Makoto doesn’t have a good head on his shoulders).

            “What’s wrong?” asked his assistant, walking over.

            “We have to go,” said Saiki, standing and grabbing (Y/N)’s hand. He pulled them behind him, and they followed quickly.

            “Hey, Kokomi, come on!” said (Y/N) brightly, and when she looked confused, Saiki made a drastic move and dragged her along by the hand.

            “They held her hand! Get those two!” shouted Makoto, and his people looked around wildly to try to spot them.

            I thought he didn’t want her to get attention! thought (Y/N) as Saiki pushed Teruhashi into a photo booth.

            “Hey, what—” The flash went off, and Teruhashi blinked before looking back at Saiki. In the haze of light, she drew her hand back. Oh, my! How dare he take my hand and push me into a photo booth. He wants photos of me that badly?! So selfish. And yet…why am I this excited? To know he was willing to be so confident, so forward…wow.

            Saiki nearly stared in astonishment as Teruhashi went back to liking him even more, but he just retreated to another photo booth to avoid the search party Makoto had instigated. He and (Y/N) stood silently as the men ran past and the photos flashed in the other booth to keep Teruhashi distracted (and, now, invested in her fantasy that Saiki wanted something to remember her by).

            Saiki sighed. “Yare yare. She likes me even more now.”

            “I’m sorry, Saiki,” said (Y/N), giving him a half-hearted smile. “But she does seem to really like you.” And although I think I like you for other reasons and am more aware of it, I can understand.

            “I should have let you take her hand,” said Saiki.

            (Y/N) shrugged. “Everyone makes a mistake.” They smiled and lifted their hands, still holding each other. “And my hand was already taken.” They spoke teasingly, but there was a warmth that, if Saiki knew their thoughts, he’d see as affection above that of friendship.

            Saiki looked down at their hands and contemplated it for a moment. Although he was not one for physical touch, he’d initiated this, and now that he was holding (Y/N)’s hand, he found he didn’t want to let go. They were warm, and it was comfortable. Just like talking with them or spending time with them, it felt natural to be this close to (Y/N).

            “Do you want to take a photo?” said Saiki.

            (Y/N) brightened and looked at him. “How did you know I wanted to?” They knew he couldn’t read their mind with their germandium earrings on (which they would never take off).

            He didn’t. He just knew that he suddenly wanted to capture this moment, to remember how nice it was to be with (Y/N), the person he had a crush on. “You mentioned you like having photographs to remember moments to Yumehara while we were Okinawa on the beach.” And I hope you had fun with me, even if I was focused on getting Teruhashi to stop liking me.

            (Y/N) smiled. “I’d love to, Kusuo.”

            Saiki really liked hearing the word love and his name in the same sentence when it came from (Y/N).

l

            Saiki looked at the photobooth pictures in his hand in his room. Carefully, he placed it on his desk, leaning against his plant, so he could see it clearly. He sat quietly and looked at it with a now-familiar warmth glowing in his chest.

            Three photos stared back at him.

            One had Saiki looking emotionless as usual while (Y/N) beamed and raised their hands—still entwined—like a superhero in the air.

            The second had (Y/N) making half a heart with their pointer and middle finger while Saiki looked at it.

            The third has Saiki completing the heart, still no expression, but his gaze was firmly on (Y/N)’s joyful face.

            As he looked at the pictures, Saiki smiled.

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[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Spoiler Blather Ahead So Be Warned! I personally feel the tragedy would lowkey strip a part of Makoto's identity/make him grow out of this part of himself faster than he would if the tragedy didn't happen. Basically, Makoto mentions how he's a trend follower. His interests are dictated by what's popular. However, with the tragedy, he would be physically incapable of being in tune with the times. As the Ultimate Hope, Makoto would be quite busy. Sure, maybe he could keep up with a few things going on in the world, but he's already far behind by the time he becomes the Ultimate Hope. All of the survivors are. Due to their memories being wiped, they dunno until they are basically face to face with the Mastermind that a year has already passed and they have forgotten that part of their lives. So, they're all be out of the loop both in the state of the world AND whatever hip thing's popular. Furthermore, as time progresses, they all will be busy, having minimal time to keep up with the kids! They got work to do. Not to say that all of them would be out of touch millennials. For Byakuya, I feel he would be very in tuned with the stocks and the state of both Japan and the world. He would already have no interest in the trends of the common people. Not saying he wouldn't learn some stuff from the others but he'd just be that guy that the others would have to explain this new commoner stuff too. There's Kyoko who doesn't care for trends either though being more in the loop than Byakuya. Since she's a detective, being informed of current events would be helpful. Say there was a new app on phones that was shrouded in controversy. By knowing of it's existence, it'd be an aid for any potential cases with it. Kyoko's got good foresight and all. She would by no means be an expert with the trends of course, she too being busy with other tasks, but she'd at least know some info. Meanwhile, I feel Aoi would be in tuned with some stuff but not all. I can see her really being in tuned with swimming related stuff, it being her Ultimate and all and something I don't think she'd drop. So, she'd be the one to update the others on sports news and content. Meanwhile, Hiro is the type I feel would be clueless regardless but also somehow know current trends perhaps via predictions or by chance. Then there's Toko as well who I feel would be a bit more in with the times with her writing, knowing what's in but also staying in her lane. So, she wouldn't know the latest game the kids are obsessed with but she'd know the current books that are out or who the newest rising authors are. For Makoto though, I feel that, once he has time to understand what's going on, he'd be lost a bit on what's trendy. Not saying he wouldn't know anything or wouldn't participate. I feel that he'd be the type of guy who'd go watch Barbie and Oppenheimer for instance but he'd have to be updated a bit since he's a busy man now and can't fully dedicate his time to seeing what's in and what's out. He's not an unemployed teen; he's the Headmaster of Hopes Peak! Though, I feel that he'd be a bit updated on stuff due to the students but still a tad confused simultaneously. Some specific ways I feel he'd turn out during this stage of his life are the following: A) Makoto likes what was popular back in the early 2000's-2010s maybe due to nostalgia, coping, or just out of familiarity. B) He learns of new media, gaining a new sense of taste, maybe becoming akin to new songs and movies from the other survivors or from his students like learning about Vocaloid, indie Internet shows, and kpop. C) He actually becomes akin to new stuff going on (it's just in his genes to be a trend follower) and abandons the old content. D) A mix of the A) and B) where he ends up liking a mix of things, Makoto still liking old content from the 2000's era he remembers enjoying and liking the newer media. This isn't a definitive thought though and I would be happy to see others interpretations on this concept!!! An older Makoto and company would navigate the world, trying their best!

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

Ultimate Talent Development Plan - Makoto Naegi Event Notes

fkamfkjan of course it starts with him getting hit by a soda can

Wait what why are you here Kiyo, also Makoto called him Kiyo. Also what the fuck kind of metaphor is that, what are you thinking about with Makoto Korekiyo-

Alright fine you have a point Korekiyo

Damn he's poignant at times

Have you considered simply getting taller?

Angie no!

Sayaka I love you but this is SUCH a strange conversation starter

Makoto looking at this luck singularity: ah well, this'll get weird

Celeste's character is so so so fascinating and i'm guilty of girlbossing her a bit too hard like many people, her views of luck were very much the foundation nagito was built on

Also if we're talking about the mahjong thing, my ranking of winner to loser is Nagito, Makoto, Celeste, Jin. Celeste gets lost because as she doesn't bet anything it's not gambling, her talent doesn't activate but her skills carry her enough to beat jin at least. Makoto almost wins but loses last minute with a super lucky move from nagito, which nagito views as unlucky as he wasn't supposed to win.

Ouma is such a fucking MENACE in this scene I fucking love him

Why the fuck did you say that like that Makoto I'm laughing why are you saying it like its some criminal nickname or something

Girl what do you MEAN you have friends

OH NO MAKOTO

Makoto this is going to be REALLY awkward!

This is the most awkward moment of his fucking life goddamn pitching nothing but strikes my dude

Too many ahoges.

Wait what huh

The fourth wall is in fucking tatters, truly the true mark of a protag isnt ahoge, its a gift giving love language

Who let you two be in a room

GET HIS ASS

Togami that's gay

Alright sum up

Makoto never really grows into his hope talent due to the lack of killing game, and as such tends to get pushed around a lot and dragged into things. However he's still very kind and quite perceptive on small details, able to push people to improve and open up.

He also stays somewhat hung up on his luck talent to the very end, while he does get a bit more confident, he never really embraces into being an ultimate. That doesn't mean he doesn't end up with a lot of friends and good memories with him and Kirigiri still managing to bond.

All and all a very average school life.

Outside of Makoto, Ouma keeps up his 'hardest difficulty' thing from v3 even in a not killing game scenario, Togami continues to hate everything going on ever, all the protags bonds over being protags and being gift givers, Shuichi still has self esteem issues, and Kirigiri keeps up a very stoic no emotion business relationship with her father. Also Usami apparently is working with the Reserve Course? Well can't get any worse then canon I suppose.

[rainbow-journalist]

Thoughts on any of the detectives in Chapter 0? Contains spoilers of what happened

Oh, that's an interesting question, ahem! Talking about spoilers here.

Like everyone else, we didn't have much screen time to really have any connection with the detectives in chapter 0, Well, I completely understand that some fans like Melami Goldmine, and even Aphex Logan, also the culprit of the case being likeable is understandable.

But if I had to choose one of them, I think I would go with Pucci Lavmin.

Even though her screen time was little like the others, her little interaction with Yuma was nice, The two blushing was cute, I think her appearance is cool, the fact that she has stuffed animals is really adorable, she's only 8 centimeters taller than Yuma, She being 158 cm. I still think she would make a good romantic partner for Yuma in terms of visuals, I think... I don't want to argue about ships, and I have nothing against Kurumi, I love Kurumi and Shinigami.

It's a shame that she died, and like, the killer killing her was so tragic, right? Like, the others were tragic too, but, look at her, she's too cute to be murdered in such a brutal way. (DAMN, FAKE ZILCH!)

Thinking about the narrative, I think her character development would be for her to open up more and not act so much like a robot, she is quite closed off and avoids communication. (I don't judge)

I imagine AUs where she could have survived the attack, or she could have taken another route to Kanai Ward and stayed with the Nocturnal Detective Agency, her interaction with the other detectives would be interesting to see....or even an AU where she switches places with Yuma, and she is the protagonist? Her story and motives would be changed, of course. I would like to see how Kurumi would behave with Pucci, or even Shinigami/Pucci. Imagine how funny it would be to have a little young woman as the protagonist like Pucci. Calm down guys, I love Yuma as the protagonist. :3

About her forte, I read people saying that the chapter 0 detectives' forte are not that useful compared to the Nocturnal Detective Agency' forte? I don't really know my opinion on this, but I think they would make a good pair, like, imagine Zilch and Halara together? Melami and Vivia... and so on.

I don't know who Pucci could pair up with, maybe with Desuhiko or with Yuma himself? I don't know.

It would be funny to see how Yakou would deal with her, Lol.

About her relationship with Makoto, would she probably be able to see through his lies with her forte? Just studying a little bit about each of the detectives' forte in chapter 0 would be useful in the cases in the game.

In short, the detectives in chapter 0 can be interesting, I have nothing against them, even though I have favorite characters like Yuma himself, I understand some fans liking them even with little interaction, and the culprit reappearing part of the end of the game due to his important role in the narrative (?)

I don't know if I'll do more drawings of her in the future, even though I like the character, I can make her as a little ghost in the background, or explore an alternative reality where she alive. I like Alive!Aus.

I also saw that on TikTok mainly, she is shipped with Makoto? Because of Number One's lore and such? I really don't know what to comment on this.

Nothing against it, I even think they could match together? The similar hair colors, the reserved and closed personalities, I think everyone, even the Japanese fanbase, that Makoto without a mask is closed, serious, with a neutral expression, who has difficulty talking to people? Maybe he could try to abandon the mask persona a little. Also, I thought of some drawing of an event, Like, a masquerade ball, where the characters dress elegantly and dance together, I could see Pucci/Makoto like that, With Yuma/Kurumi or Yuma/Shinigami? I don't know, I also wouldn't mind seeing Makoto dancing with Yuma dressed as a girl, Hehe, Yuma in a dress, the girls and Desuhiko could make him wear it. I'm sure you guys know what my favorite ship is, and some extra mentions. I avoid talking too much about ships, because not everyone likes them and I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable with my personal preference.

Anyway, these were my thoughts, I hope you guys can understand my writing well. 🩷🐰🎀🎧

I don't know which emoji could represent her.

[lovelopmon]

My take/version of the families/ships in the Adventure 02 Epilogue for my WIP: Part 1

Digimon was one of the many shows of my childhood. Despite the fact that none of my ships were "canon" in the epilogue (RIP Taiora, Takari, Daikari, Koumi, hell maybe Jyouora or Jyoumi), I still didn't mind it. My main issues were with many of the professions (mostly with the female characters, who all had ideal, stereotypical, feminine jobs).

Anyway, here's how I have the families play out for my WIP. Under the cut are the Adventure 01 kids (minus TK and Kari).

Tai and Meiko:

Okay, so don't kill me, but I thought/think they were/could be cute. There's potential here, and since Taiora didn't happen, why couldn't they? The stares and nods in the beginning of Tri were cute! Hot-heated leader x shy, new girl could learn a lot from one another. They both have a tendency to blame themselves for things out of their control, they both had their Digimon partners digivolve uncontrollably (on multiple occasions). Tri left crumbs for these two, they just weren't aware that the crumbs were stale lmao.

Tai would go pro in soccer, retire, and eventually become a Digiworld field agent for the National Data Processing Bureau; transporting back and forth and responding to Digimon related emergencies both in the Digiworld and the human world. He'd eventually move up and become a Special Agent in Charge in the Digiworld Enforcement division.

Meiko works at the Digital Center for Virus Control and Prevention as the Executive Assistant Director, to ensure other Digimon don't become infected like Meicoomon.

They have one son together, named Makoto.

Sora and Matt:

Again, don't kill me, but even as a Taiora shipper, Sorato could make sense.

Fashion design for Sora was definitely...a choice. I'm all for Sora becoming more in tuned with her femininity, just not at the cause of her actual character and interests. So instead, I'd have her go pro in Tennis. Afterwards, she'd help her mother run the flower shop. She would also be a volunteer agent for the NDPB, stepping in for emergencies when needed.

Matt manages to stick with a band and finds relative success, partly due to being one of the OG Digidestined. Afterwards, the band retires and Matt goes solo for a bit, he even releases a pop-rock collab with Mimi. He eventually throws in the towel and launches his own music label and opens a listening bar with live music from his own acts. He occasionally performs there if he's feeling nostalgic. Like his wife, he too is a volunteer agent for the NDPB.

Despite their stubbornness, which made their marriage a bit rockier than most, the two are still happily married with two kids; a daughter named Mizuki and a son named Shinji.

Izzy and Mimi:

Now, unlike the other two, these two would get together somewhat unconventionally (and angsty).

Initially, Mimi would marry Michael while Izzy married another woman. Mimi would be an idol, a worldwide celebrity with many ventures in the entertainment industry (a book biography on the events of Digimon Adventure from her POV, a cooking show where she invites celebrities, an occasional voice actress, performed in quite a few live theatre productions, owns a fashion line, etc.)! An actor and singer well known in both worlds, both in America and Japan, on top of being one of the Original 12 Digidestined who is a volunteer agent whenever an emergency strikes. She even became an ambassador, to meditate between the Digital World and the human world seeing as she was the one to rally allies toward the end of Adventure. Michael, being the son of a famous action star already, would eventually get tired of all the attention it came with being her husband (not to mention how busy her hectic schedule is). This would lead to Mimi and Michael bickering, which would lead to resentment, which would then lead to divorce.

All the while, Izzy and his unnamed wife, who he had met in college, would be happily married until her untimely death in a car accident. Umeko was only three years old. For a while, Izzy buried himself in his work as the new head of the Digital World Cybersecurity division at the NDPB, as well as being a scientist and researcher at the Digital Center for Virus Control and Prevention, being a television Digital Consultant, and giving an occasional lectures at universities. Mimi, in the midst of her divorce, would reach out to an overworked Izzy. While Izzy denied it, Mimi would offer a helping hand or just an ear for him to vent to. Izzy's cold and distant shell eventually cracked, and the two bonded over their tumultuous marriages and busy work schedules. The two officially started dating two years prior to the events of the Epilogue, and remarried when Umeko (Izzy's biological daughter, who he calls Mech for short) was 8 and Akihiko (Mimi and Michael's biological son) was 9, a year prior to the beginning of the WIP.

Both Umeko and Akihiko were fine with their parents remarrying, and accepted each other as siblings seeing as they were friends prior. Mimi and Michael are now civil (as are Michael and Izzy) and Akihiko and Michael speak almost every day. Occasionally, he visits his dad in America during the holidays.

Joe:

Joe's pretty easy. He married the girlfriend he was dating in Digimon Adventure Tri, the bike girl from the Digimon Adventure 02 movie. He and Chieko (the name I'm giving her) both become family doctors, while Joe also becomes one of the first human doctors with Digimon patients.

They have one son together, named Yuji.

[seth-burroughs]

I did rotate a NDA/Amaterasu swap au in my head a few months back but I just got reminded of it now again soooo, some notes:

(ended up going a bit more loose with the swapping, essentially yuma is the homunculus and makoto's got amnesia, the NDA is Seth/Guillaume/Dominic/Martina with chief Yomi, the (post-ch0) peacekeepers are halara/desuhiko/fubuki/yakou with director Vivia because I sincerely think Yakou is too cringe for that. And just for the hehehe, Huesca is now Makoto's terrible shinigami while Shinigami dumps acid on people in the lab)

Makoto and Yuma change places but their personalities stay pretty similiar. Makoto keeps his eccentricity to #Cope and doesn't really trust others due to the whole amnesia thing. Yuma on the other hand becomes a prey animal after the entire homunculus event

I'm not exactly sure about the other fortes of the NDA except for Guillaume (who can alter the future with the requirement of having to use a plausible horoscope format, though i guess it's good she's having fun with it?) and Dominic (who is like, it's less that he's having a forte and more that he's just a super OP augmented human that has been through surgeries that made him able to shoot lasers out his eyes or something. we can even call him somewhat of an artificially created forte haver. he feels.... a lot of things regarding the whole thing). I do have a few ideas for Seth that I cannot articulate properly, but my mind just draws a blank on Martina. Maybe she gets some persuasion powers? like, if she focuses long enough on unethically interrogating some person or even just trying to get information out of a peacekeeper, they just eventually start uncontrollably spilling the beans via her cool mind control psychic powers affecting their thoughts and judgment and shit. Since that was similiar to her regular hobby in canon. Anyway that's in the works for now

Yomi is the chief of the NDA (for the longest time though it wasn't an agency even he just literally worked alone. not because detectives got discriminated against back then like in canon, but because he thought everyone who applied was extremely annoying for not meeting his impossible standards), and like Yakou in canon he does not have a forte. However, he acts pretty proud of it and how he unlike those other gifteds, actually had to put in effort and work harder for that position. He really hates his coworkers for having it that easy and and never passes up an opportunity to act superior to them and undermine everything they ever do, and invents slurs for people with magic powers. Very visibly actions of somebody that is actually totally confident in their abilities and themselves all along

He wasn't at all prepared for getting new subordinates, the WDO just called him at literal last minute saying they're gonna be delivering detectives to his sub the same week, then just hung up. He spent the next two days furiously vacuuming the place and throwing darts at the picture of master detective wikipedia article he printed out to put on his wall

He's very proud of his incredibly cool, glorious submarine he got with his own money back in the Glory Days. He's a very "stop fucking touching that get your hands off that furniture don't pick that up DON'T MOVE THHSE FFFUCKING SOPOT TRIP MAGNETS if you knock that over im gonna kill you make any mess in my sub and im gonna waterboard you in the shower" type of guy with his belongings. He doesn't appreciate the NDA being there and touching stuff. Unless they wanna sweep the floors in which case put on the maid suit Makoto. But he's still gonna just sit there in his chair and watch him and yell at him every ten seconds that he's doing it wrong

His personal "dead wife moment" was when Dr. Shizuka (Shinigami) ran over his darling boytoy hitman Zilch Alexander with her truck and reversed on him over four times before driving off . it was the night of their wedding

Halara is the chief of the investigations team, and is actually mildly interested in actually investigating the cases themself. Used to have aspirations to become a detective in their younger days, but didn't think it would be more beneficial to them than, say, becoming a peacekeeper. With their cool immunity benefits and pay. They love money, definitely not above bribery either. Still love cats more than humans.

Extremely confident in their strength and superior intelligence, to the point of feeling simply untouchable. They never quite considered the possibility of actually finding out after fucking around for such a long time during the nail man killings, and when director Vivia plainly told them they're fired and going to the chopper for that, their mind just short circuited for a moment from the influx of this incomprehensible information. Of course, they did not let themself get taken away, but are from that point on the run.

They think they're the smartest person in the room, however they never actually went through any training in being a detective or anything like that, and thus can.... severely overestimate their ability to get away with things. Especially when Vivia's around. Oh well!

Director Vivia is. Well first of all are you familiar with dark era Dazai bsd just asking for no particular reason. He allows himself to get pretty silly with it every once in a while, but generally he's just. Personality of canon Vivia with the sadism of canon Yomi, but also Not Really

Doesn't really like shows of power that much, and prefers to stay out of public as much as he can; whenever he is called to take care of a case himself, he will make it very clear he's too pissed off to tolerate any Funny Stuff. Eerily aware of everything that happens in his city, he possesses a lot of knowledge that he realistically just shouldn't even have access to. His subordinates treat him as some sort of powerful eldritch god. He's pretty apathetic to it though.

Yomi acts really weird whenever he's mentioned for some reason.

Nowwww onto Yakou, Vivia's slutty slutty vice-director.... haha just kidding, he's just replacing his wife for the week. She's at home sick <3

Kind of really cringe and not evil enough for this, but Vivia still wants him to get a divorce eventually. He's kind of the only person that isn't batshit scared of Vivia, because they actually did bond over at some rooftop smoking cigarettes looking into each other's eyes one night a few years back. And also he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the many benefits of being the director's faaaaaavouriiite~ a bit.

He's not a good person by any means do not get fooled by his wet rat charm. None of the NDA-turned-peacekeepers are good people now, not even Fubuki who loves to explode things for fun or Desuhiko who's honestly really just an underqualified nepo baby in this au

If anyone is curious about this then my ask box is open. I just kinda got too sleepy right now and left the summary at just that, but there was probably more that I forgot........

[discord-and-the-blog-of-chaos]

When Worlds Collide

As the camera starts out staticky, you can hear a dark chuckle. Once the static clears out, a rather strange, mixmatched, dragon-like creatures comes into view.

"Hello, everypony! Should I say everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony!"

"Originally, I wasn't scheduled to make my Tumblr debut until much later, but a certain mod informed me that desperate times call for desperate measures. Something on the line of... 'notifications'?"

"Though as exciting as it is for me to show my face early, my only complaint would be the fact that I have to SHARE this blog with others. But I suppose this will have to do for now. Perhaps if things go well here, I'll be able to have my own personal blog down the line..."

"With that being said, let's get this show on the road! I've been sent here to summon several muses here that I'm sure you'll be happy to see! After all; a lot of them are people you've met before I assume?"

And with that, Discord snapped his fingers. Just like that, tons of people(and one pony), appear. They look around in confusion before turning to face the odd creature that was before them.

“UwaaaaaaAAAAAAHHH!!!”

The spikey-haired boy ran into hiding. Oddly enough, two of them looked and dressed exactly like him. One went after the more timid version to check of him, while the other had bandages, all over his torso, arms and legs(I have no sprites for that one! T_T)

"W-what that f&ck is that?!?!"

'Kyaaaaaaah! It's a monster!'

"I'm going to assume that this is the creature who brought us here. But... why?"

Discord was rather disappointed by certain reactions as he turned away.

"A simple 'thank you' would've sufficed! But I suppose most of you aren't much a fourth-wall breakers now aren't you...? How rude! To think I actually did this to help you all on your current predicament-"

Before the draconaquus could finish his sentence, a certain pink pony zoomed in and gave him a super tight hug from behind.

"GYAAAAAGH!!!"

"Discord! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you sooooooo much for bringing us all together! I'm so happy to finally be able meet all my neighbors at once! I thought it going to take like... foreeeverrr to meet a few of them at a time! And I SO thank our mod a bejillion times for this too! And that best part is... you now get to be a part of this too! This is the best! Decision! EVERRRRRRRR!!!"

"C-can someone... please give us a promo... before Pinkie Pie... breaks me in half...?"

(Hello everyone. Mod Princess here. So basically, this is a chaos blog mashing @ask-timid-makoto-naegi, @danganronpa-v3-demo-au, @your-pink-party-pony, and @sole-survivor-makoto-naegi altogether. This is being done due to the recent changes on tumblr regarding the notifications. I figured that I'd have some fun and add Discord from MLP into the blog as well.

So this is what's going to happen from here on out. Every event and starter I decide to do regarding any of my other blogs are going to start off here from now on. You also can also RP on the chaos blog if you'd like. It will just require me to use other blogs to respond depending one which of my muse(s) you are interacting with. I will also be using this blog for any and all RPs that I didn't get notified on.

Aster recommends this to me as an alternative option to constantly pinging, and so far it seems to have worked after @unofficialuserluser tested it out. So now I'm giving it a go. Fingers crossed this continues to work!

Edit 5/5/2023 - Okay so I wasn’t informed until like… just now the the problem has been fixed. REALLY wish someone would’ve told me this sooner before I went ahead and made this blog. Nonetheless, it’s here and people are already interacting. So I’ll need to figure out an alternative. If you still want to interact, go ahead and do so.

@unofficialuser(anyone you want), @werewolf-makoto-naegi @slimemakotonaegi @ask-ghost-boys @yui-samidare-reborn (anyone you want), @japanese-ultimateautism @special-encounters (surprise me), @laylayeh @tobys-multiverse-official @lre123 @ask-ultimate-personas @ask-the-ultimate-matchmaker @alizachan @coldwisped

As always, anyone who isn't tagged can also interact

[frauleinandry]

a persona 3 reload review

uuuuuuh so i was meant to post this like... two weeks ago, but then real life hit me in the head like a frying pan. now that i've had the time to edit this though, here are my thoughts on p3re! this is also a minato route review, as i played kotone's in P3P (i know it's not his canon name, but i don't want to use makoto due to P5 confusion).

on the whole, reload is a fantastic game. the gameplay easily rivals P5R, and surpasses it in some aspects. the new content is typically great. i also enjoyed minato as a character (well, as much of a character as persona protagonists are anyway), though that leads me to the main gripe i had with reload...

... and that's the lack of kotone's social links. to be precise, two of her social links, the absence of which greatly hurts the overall story.

don't get me wrong, i'd still rank reload a solid 8/10, but it could have been a 10/10 with the addition of those two links (plus one other spoiler thing), and I think that's a shame.

my in depth analysis is under the cut - note, it's very much not spoiler free.

okay, so, i'm gonna split this into 3.5 segments - the good, the mixed, and the bad (you'll find out what the 0.5 is later).

1. the good:

minato - while i'm still a kotone girlie at heart, he's not a bad protagonist at all! his dialogue options have a very distinct personality to them unlike joker and yu, and his character arc is one of the best of all of the persona main leads. an aloof, apathetic boy who learns to love the world/his friends so much he's willing to die for them... it's good!

koromaru - minor, but worth mentioning. you can pat him, and it's so cute. in fact, everything about him is perfect. from his all-out attack screen, to his animations, to... well, everything. no joke, if I needed to sell this game to a non-persona fan, i'd use him as the main draw.

hangout events - while I think being able to chat to everyone in the dorm already made SEES one of the more developed casts, having additional scenes really helped flesh out the party members who are less prominent in the plot (fuuka, pre-january aigis, ken). more things to do at night is also great, given there was nothing to do in the evening after maxing your social stats in the older versions. the perks they give you are great too, but i'll talk about that more later.

voice acting - not gonna lie, i generally don't like the persona dubs, and normally always play with the JP audio. given reload features some of my favourite voice actors though and was basically fully voiced, i decided to give it a chance this time. and i don't regret it! while some actors are definitely stronger than others, none of them were actively jarring, and quite frankly, they hard carried a lot of the social links. kudos to the cast!

strega - while they could have gone a bit further with it (jin needed a linked episode for sure), takaya finally got the development he sorely needed, and his and jin's final battles were actually interesting, instead of being annoying distractions from nyx. in fact, i'd say takaya's new content is easily the best of the new reload exclusive material. in portable, he made no impression on me whatsoever, but now, he finally gets to be the anti!minato he deserves to be.

1.5. the tartarus (aka good part 2, electric boogaloo):

i have so many things to gush about in terms of the new combat/exploration system, i decided it needed its own section! the glow-up tartarus got was massive. i was pretty disappointed when i heard they were keeping it randomly generated, but somehow, atlus pulled it off! i'll talk about individual things below.

collectables/monad doors - one issue with OG tartarus is that it's monotonous. breakable collectables make it much more entertaining to romp through though, as smashing things is Fun. the monad doors interspersed throughout are another good addition - if you want a break from roaming, you can challenge them, but if not, that's fine!

floor layout - another thing that makes tartatus more fresh to explore is that the HD graphics really make the differences between the blocks pop out. the generally smaller floors with more unique layouts really helps too.

shifting - it's baton pass, though without the ridiculous power/sp bonuses that made baton pass a little bit too gamebreaking in persona 5. in other words, perfect!

theurgy - out of all the battle-specific improvements, theurgy and the personality traits have got to be my favourites. showtimes were fun, but too random/gimmicky to be that useful, and ultimate skills tended to fluctuate between being absolutely gamebreaking or too SP intensive to be worth using. blending them into one feature with a content-specific gauge fixes all the problems with them while keeping everything that made showtimes/ultimate skills good.

ambush mechanics - this was one of the things i was most worried about before playing reload. ambushing in P5 is fun, but ambushing in the other persona games...? not so much. reload manages to fix this though by making the shadows less sensitive, which makes the early game a lot better, and but introducing dash-ambushes once the floors get bigger. if the persona 6 ambush system works like this, i'll be happy.

navigator skills - fuuka being retooled to work more like a playable character was an A+++ decision. making her skills player-activated but with an SP cost is so much more immersive than randomly getting a stat boost/enemy info.

unfortunately, while i think most of the tartarus additions were great, there were a few new mechanics which weren't... dreadful, per say, but could have been implemented better.

great clocks - they're better than nothing, but quite frankly, i would have preferred it if benched units got 50% exp instead. they incentivise you to drop two units for a period of time, which is annoying, given i want to use everyone on my first playthrough. late game, great clocks are also a pain to summon, for reasons i'll talk about below.

twilight fragments - i think they're a neat idea in theory, but they need to be easier/more reliable to farm. once you finish off the bulk of your social links/elizabeth's requests, replenishing them becomes a nightmare, which is annoying because you need them for great clocks.

2. the mixed:

while reload did a lot of things right, as per above, there were some things that didn't quite hit the mark.

linked episodes - i'm gonna be blunt. anyone who thinks these are better than social links is smoking something. one thing i like about party member social links is that it gives them a subplot outside of the main story, focusing more on their mundane struggles as opposed to their supernatural ones. half of the linked episodes just develop the main plot more though (and really should have just been included in it), meaning the linked episode exclusive subplots are underbaked.

another problem is that some of the linked episodes are just... kinda badly written. ryoji's completely lacks his existential dread, akihiko's comes off as a poor attempt to make his arena behaviour less OOC, while shinjiro's... it feels like persona 5 writing, in the worst way possible. it's like atlus completely forgot that subtext is a thing that's Good, actually.

while I have been fairly critical of them so far though, there are a couple of linked episodes i liked. koromaru's actually worked with the format, given he's a dog, but the real winner here was takaya. i loved all of his. if linked episodes appear again, i'd rather they be locked to antagonists like him.

art direction- i'll say right now - the UI is fabulous, the model shaders are great, and tartarus looks fantastic. the environmental design on the whole though is a bit iffy - a lot of the environments didn't translate to the super HD very well, and the lighting sucks in general. i needed to turn down the brightness it was so eye-searing. the animation of the 2D cutscenes is also pretty mediocre, and while the 3D cutscenes tend to look better, they're held back by some of the character models looking a bit goofy (mitsuru's is probably the biggest offender). i also think they were too scared of making the sprites 'ugly', and therefore on the whole they're slightly less emotive than the ones in the older versions of the game, which is a pity.

3. the bad:

minato's social links - the vast majority of the minato-exclusive social links are just flat-out not great. serious props to the voice actors here, since they hard carried them. quite frankly, they're just... bland, except for maya's and suemitsu's, which. uh. have problems. on the topic of social links, while i'm happy the romance isn't mandatory anymore, i don't like how half the girls explicitly confess to you. i much prefer the more subtle vibes of the P5/P4 romantic options, as yeah, most of them can lead naturally into romance, but they don't make the MC feel like a harem anime protagonist (derogatory). it kinda brings to mind this twitter post; sometimes, subtlety is simply better.

the absence of shinji and ryoji's social links - i can live without saori, rio, and most of the new and improved SEES member social links, but this is where i draw the line. while shinji dying is better storytelling, just like with chidori, having the option to save him is also important. lock it behind new game plus, yes... but keep it. also, him priming kotone to support akihiko one he's gone is far better than him just flat-out telling minato that he's dying. ryoji's missing social link though is infinitely worse. where is his slowly mounting horror as he starts poking holes in his backstory? his desperation to validate that he's actually real? that he exists?! like yeah, it's nice that the linked episode doubled down on his bisexuality, but i'd rather keep the psychological breakdown aspects of it, y'know?

the difficulty - i started playing reload normal - the level i'd typically use for a blind run of a persona game - aaaaand swapped to hard the second i unlocked theurgy. even then though, the game was a cakewalk until january hit. while i love theurgy, the game is absolutely not scaled around it, especially since you can charge/concentrate them. doing that, you can easily rack up thousands of damage without even going ham with fusion. unfortunately, reload is just... really easy.

the plot's too faithful to the original - while reload added new content, it pretty much left the story untouched outside of the beach scene. that's... not good, as persona 3's narrative had some pretty big problems. the biggest issue is the unchanged pacing - the strega storyline really needed to start a month earlier, and ryoji needed an extra month to integrate with the characters due to his lack of social link. this is one of the things i'm explicitly docking a point for - reload still doesn't kick off until the yakushima arc, which is well over a third into the game.

despite my criticisms, i do want to note that my experience with reload was predominately positive. it's (extremely) sad that you still need to play portable to experience the full persona 3 story, but p3re is still a fantastic game, and has a lot of gameplay features i'd be delighted to see in persona 6.

that's all i've got to say for now - until next time!

[almightyelectro]

eternal grief.

an introspection on ei from genshin impact, focusing on her concept of grief, life and human emotions.

sadly because reading old stories on genshin is hell, a lot of my information has to be pulled from the wiki, my own memory and some videos (i usually love to back up my thoughts with quotes but...genshin is way too tiring to dig up info for, i'm sorry)

will go into spoilers involving the inazuma archon quest and the sumeru archon quest (particularly involving wanderer/scaramouche).

everything mentioned is about ei's feelings on the matter, as i cannot speak for others and their characters!

the creation of the raiden shogun (who will be shortened to the shogun) and kunikuzushi (who will be shortened to kuni) and her treatment of them is something that gives us great insight on how ei processes her grief. for one, we need to talk about why ei is grieving-- and though i'm sure we do all know, i'm going to talk about it in detail anyway.

ei's source of grief is pretty well known: she lost her twin sister during the cataclysm. anyone losing a family member, especially one so close to them, would be torn... but there's a bit more to it than that. for one, ei and makoto have been together since the very beginning, and as far as we know they're the only family they had. second, the death of a god in this universe isn't really as simple as a mortal's death. while they're aware gods can die (based on the archon war, though we don't know exactly what went on during it), ei and makoto lived in relative peace for a very long time before the cataclysm occurred. i think it's safe to say that before this event they likely considered the possibility of the other dying.

i personally believe that makoto realized just how dangerous it was and this was why she went to khaenri'ah all on her own-- or perhaps she believed she could handle it on her own without involving her sister. either way, makoto's care for ei is why she went all by herself, eventually leading to her death and ei taking up the role of the raiden shogun.

so, what does this have to do with the shogun and kuni's creation? well, the biggest thing is what happened when she first created kuni in order to host the gnosis. once kuni was created he shed a tear, and ei deemed him unsuitable for his purpose. i think a lot of people misunderstand ei's motives when it comes to kuni, especially because the two of them have different views of what happened.

while it can be read that she saw him as weak, something to pity, i think there's a bit more to it than that. as mentioned before, makoto went into battle on her own, likely due to wanting to spare her sister's life. makoto's own emotions are what caused her death-- or at least, that's how ei views it. yes, she did pity him, but deep down i believe she was afraid that his emotions would get in the way...that they would put him in danger, just like makoto.

i think it's also important to note that...ei didn't create kuni with the intentions of him being a son, or a family member. if she met kuni (now our beloved wanderer) now and learned that was how he viewed her, i think she would be genuinely shocked. it probably never crossed her mind that to her creation she was more than just that-- a creator. she was a mother, gave him life and sentience, but in her eyes...she is simply a god crafting a puppet. i dont think she would even be against accepting him as family (especially since she gave him the golden feather so that he may return to her), but...can a god like herself really understand what it means to be a mother? it's a foreign concept to someone like her. all she knows is she is his creator, and she truly believed she would give him a better life by stripping him of his duties and allowing him to choose his own fate.

the shogun, meanwhile, was her final product. a (seemingly) emotionless puppet that would follow her ideals. but...the shogun and ei aren't even 1:1. i think this especially hammers home the idea that ei was not only afraid of erosion, but worried that her own emotions would result in her death. she spared them from knowing of her sister's fate, from having to mourn, but if she died there would be no way to shield them from it.

it's pretty common for people to see ei as just the shogun 2.0, but there are pretty noticeable differences. for one, the shogun is very matter of fact, capable of making decisions without hesitation if it means furthering her ideals...while ei's voice is much more soft, and she has a tendency to ask questions. even when it comes to apologizing for the shogun's actions ei hesitates. she believes the shogun should do so-- and though this could be read as her not wanting to take responsibility for her creation, i think it has more to do with the fact that ei is just...not used to being a leader. for most of her life she was an unseen shadow, makoto did all of the talking. even now she stands behind the shogun, acting as a shadow (until post sq2)

tldr: i dont thinkwe should be expecting gods to fit our morals when it comes to how they process things. nya

[pompadorbz]

*Insert Monkey Emoji*

OK SO IVE BEEN PUTTING THIS OFF FOR A WHILE SINCE I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF TAKA AND MONDO LINES THAT MAKE ME SO SO CRAZY. in other words, it'd be SO difficult to actually choose just ONE. So I'm gonna try and drop two lines per character! Some serious lines that make me think way too in-depth, and then some of my favorite, sillier lines (there are a lot of those). We'll start with Mondo for a change! Favorite serious line:

I ACTUALLY GOT SCREENSHOTS OF THIS ONE! This is the line I've been so so crazy about lately because where Mondo did obvious harm to Chihiro, Chihiro also caused harm to Mondo. If her OWN actions didn't hurt him, then he wouldn't have phrased it like this. While Chihiro obviously wouldn't know the specifics, she still absolutely knew that everybody was under the pressure of their secrets, and due to the severity of her own secret there was know way she couldn't have guessed that Mondo's may also carry a level of severity. This is Mondo at his literal breaking point. He has another line later where he describes his anxiety over his secret as "A rock in my stomach". This is a guy whose entire perception of himself is hanging on a thread, and I think the revelation that Chihiro is his definition of strong (AKA capable of violence) is what makes everything completely unfurl. The façade can't remain stable if it's lost all meaning.

Favorite silly line:

HES SO STUPID also there are so many lines in school mode about how he NEEDS TO GO OUTSIDE so fucking bad like he has GOT to get out of here. I think you have adhd queen OK now for la Smackas Favorite Serious Line: Ok so my favorite is less of a singular line and really just. The BULK of his final FTE. We learn SO much about Taka in that last event obviously, and it all contextualizes him as a person, but one thing I NEVER see people discuss is the implication that he and Makoto are direct OPPOSITES of eachother. Where Makoto feels ordinary and even somewhat wishes she could be put on a pedestal, Kiyotaka is put on a pedestal against his will by Hope's Peak, and DESPERATELY, more than ANYTHING, wants to be viewed as normal. A task that is made damn near IMPOSSIBLE because of his past with Toranosuke, as well as the path he decided to go down on his own accord. It's kinda like this self-fulfilling prophecy that he is destined to NEVER have the normal life that he so desperately wants. Meanwhile, here's Makoto, who is living his dream before he ever gets a CHANCE to realize it.

Favorite silly line:

Everyone likes to point to trial 1 or the endurance battle for the funny Kiyotaka lines but he spits out some fucking DIAMONDS in school mode. This guy has so much wrong with him its insane...

[twilightmalachite]

Machina - Epilogue 1

Author: Kino Seitaro (with Akira)

Characters: Mika, Shu, Sora, Makoto

Translator: Mika Enstars

"We’ve had a painful experience due to equipment troubles before… Oshi-san didn’t say anything, but he seemed to be worried."

Season: Winter

Location: ES Live Stage Backstage

A couple weeks later, backstage at the venue for Valkyrie’s live…

Sora: HaHa~, HiHi~, HuHu~!

There’s so many things backstars, it’s exciting looking at them~!

Makoto: It’s dangerous if you move around too much, Harukawa-kun!

There’s a lot of video equipment in the area, even the slightest touch can shift their positions. It might be best to sit tight for a while.

Sora: Ah, Sora didn’t mean to get so excited!

Sora never expected to be called to work backstage with everyone! It’s way different than the backstages for Switch, so it’s really interesting~! ♪

Makoto: Ahaha, I also thought “there’s no way” when I first heard, too! The theme for Valkyrie’s live here is the fusion of digital technology and art.

The game company had apologized for what happened in the Test World.

That led to a strange sequence of events that ended up with them requesting the game company to be in charge of the live video.

Sora: But thanks to it, now Sora and the others can also work with the latest technology! It’s a win-win!

There’s a lot of expensive equipment being lent that most people normally cannot get their hands on, so Sora’s looking forward to seeing what kind of live this will be~! ♪

Mika: Nnah, Sora-kun, Mako-kun, thanks for yer hard work! So the both of ya are backstage, huh? I thought ya had already returned to the reserved guest’s seats!

Thank ya fer helpin’ bring in all that equipment. The staff said that they couldn’t have done it without ya~!

Sora: Nah, Sora also feels bad for the trouble Sora caused Mika-chan-san. So it’s an apology~!

At the start it helped Mika-chan-san get out of his slump, but in the end it turned into something amazing!

Makoto: That seriously was a super-mega raid battle, wasn’t it~?

It was fun in it’s own way, but it’s undeniable your efforts haven’t been rewarded. So the least I can do is to help out a little.

…What can I say, I’m just an equipment geek interested in live performances that utilize the latest technology. So I’m sorry for mixing up my public and private life, I guess?

Mika: Nah, no worries, no worries. We’re a household of two, so any help we can get is greatly appreciated!

Besides, it’s all thanks to the Test World I got to become savvy with the digital. I’m glad I was able t’experience both the good and the bad! ♪

Sora: HeHe~, then Sora’s glad too~!

And it looks like Mika-chan-san’s all changed into his outfit for the performance too, everything’s all ready to go~! ♪

Mika: Mhm, and Oshi-san gave me perfect maintenance, so I’m all good to go!

If anythin’, I’m more worried ‘bout the equipment. We’ve had a painful experience due to equipment troubles before… Oshi-san didn’t say anything, but he seemed to be worried.

So I thought to do a final check before all preparations are finished. You can never be too sure ‘bout things like this, can ya?

Makoto: That’s right. It’s easy to get carried away with something new and not think about the risks involved.

…Wait, why am I saying that? I’m the guy in Trickstar who always feels like he’s gotta come up with new things!

Sora: Rest assured! Switch is always enthusiastic about new ventures!

As long as Sora and Yuuki-sense~ are here, all equipment troubles will be prevented from happening~! ☆

Mika: Ahaha, yer right, yer very reliable.

You’ve been a real help, no kiddin’. It’s thanks to the help of all sort’sa people that we Valkyrie are able to further our own pursuit in art.

If ya could watch our live to the very end, I’d be real happy. ♪

Shu: Kagehira, it’s about time to begin. Don’t go and relax, you must keep a sense of tenseness.

This live, Machina… Will be a live with a new song based on our experience of the virtual world.

The stage production involves a number of monitors, so this live will require more control than usual.

Mika: Ahaha, I’ll do my best, do dont’cha worry, Oshi-san!

Shu: Hmph. You’ll lose your footing if you’re able to talk lightheartedly like that.

Well, I shall trust your autonomy here. You are no longer someone who is constantly chasing me.

With autonomy comes responsibility. So you must work harder than ever.

Mika: Nnah~… That’s different than what ya usually say, Oshi-san.

Well, that makes it easier fer me too. With yer eyes shining, Oshi-san, I can stand up straight, y’know?

Let’s create a performance of wonderful art, Oshi-san! ♪

Shu: Yes, and I’ll be living up to the theme this time too.

To control, to direct, and to express all—Not even a god upon a machine shall be able to get in the way.

← prev | story directory | next →

[persona5anotherstory]

Oh hey... it's been a while since I haven't posted that much on this account since I have done the Morgana design for the AU itself, but since it is almost the end of 2023, it's the holidays and I recently started playing Persona 5 Tactica this month and with me thinking... Man I should make more AU designs on the characters again and well, I'm doing it again!

And it's not one, not two... but three character designs I have made for the AU as like a early Christmas present for you guys, so I hope you like my own take on them!

Do note that there are stuff that I might have to change for both the character designs, their codenames and their descriptions too!

Ryuji Sakamoto (Codename: Athlete)

Here's everyones favourite bro character that always likes to say "For Real?!?", which he is the AU swap version of Ann Takamaki, I wanted to keep "some" of the appearance of his original game counterpart, but giving him casual clothing.

Ryuji is a first year in Shujin Academy and is part of the track team, where he has been looking out for his childhood friend, Takeishi since they were kids (Yes, it's the same Takeishi that was seen in one of Ryuji's Confidant event in the game), but after what happened in the incident with Takeishi taking the very same fate like with Shiho in Persona 5, he has decided to join The Phantom Thieves to also help reform society itself!

Sumire Yoshizawa (Codename: Coach)

The character that was introduced in the re-release of Persona 5 in the form of Persona 5 Royal, and will be the AU swap version of Yusuke Kitagawa!

She's both a second year student and a sports coach at Shujin Academy that helps out the different students for sporting activities in the school's gym, Sumire really has been interested on the Phantom Thieves ever since they were being talked about in the school, but the reason for that is because she has requested them through the Phan-site all because of her own father forcing her on getting into fashion instead of sports.

Goro Akechi (Codename: Mysterious)

Now to finally end it off here is by showing off Goro Akechi in the AU itself where I have taken the whole "Detective" thing too seriously for him lol, but he's the AU Swap version of Makoto Niijima.

He's a third year in Shujin Academy and is also the prince detective that everyone has been awing for (especially his own fangirls on different Internet forms), he actually has been cousins with Futaba ever since his mom and Futaba’s mom, Wakaba are in good relations with each other due to them being researchers back when they were college students ages ago.

Akechi is quite suspicious on the whole Phantom Thieves thing since they were being spreaded around like wildfire and has been talked around in school, but after soon finding about his cousin is the leader of The Phantom Thieves after spying on Futaba, he has been wanting to join them is due to him currently on an investigation on a problem that has been going on with a new type of drug that has being secretly shared all around the school from some students.

I wanted to carry elements for Akechi in the AU with stuff like him being based on Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 and even wanting Akechi in the AU to be inspired by Sam from Sam & Max because I just find it a perfect fit for him in my take in this AU itself.

And that's about it, with next year in 2024 I do plan on wanting to draw the next few characters that I really wanted to try and do, which would be Ren, Yusuke, Makoto and Haru, but maybe I might draw the characters that we're in the Persona 5 spin-offs, and even the Persona Q games too!

So I hope you all have yourselves a Happy Holidays!

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Naegami Fluff and/or Shenanigans 9

Makoto and Byakuya are the type of people who get sick in drastically different ways. Makoto is the one who gets sick more often via colds and getting his nose all mucus-y while Byakuya rarely gets sick at all. When the heir does though, he's basically down for the count. Like, Byakuya has to stay cooped up in his bed for a couple days before he can recover. It can go longer though depending on how much energy he has to get up and ruin his sleep schedule by continuing to do work despite being sick. Honestly, both of these boys try and get stuff done regardless of if they're sick. Makoto's the type who'd try to do stuff for a friend or would try and still go to some place cus he doesn't wanna let anyone down. Or well, he tries. For instance, say Sayaka, Hina, Leon, Sakura, Mondo, and Yasuhiro (I just picked some of them randomly though one can theorize what they are all doing specifically together or something ehehehe) are all going on a get together some place and they all invited Makoto along. Despite the fact that Makoto is close to getting an actual fever though, he tries to still attend. All his buds send him home immediately though. Last thing they want is Makoto getting worse because he decided to chose the definitely smart option of limping his way to the event like a zombie that just freed it's leg that was previously caught in the confines of a fence. Meanwhile, Byakuya is adamantly work focused. Specifically, Byakuya would try his best to work on some sort of document or paper at 2am even though he should be both recovering from his illness and just asleep in general. Like, c'mon man! The assignment isn't due until 3 weeks from now. Yet, Byakuya consistently pushes on regardless of his condition. He's just REALLY good at taking care of himself. Basically, Byakuya only catches the hard hitters while Makoto gets all the weaker illnesses while avoiding the hard hitting flus and stomach bugs. The two manage this system that their bodies have though. This pattern for them can be detrimental for them if they both get sick though. Like, both are simultaneously telling the other to get some rest while also trying to get up themselves to do shit they are way too weak to do in this state. Ah, the hypocrites. That's not to say that they CAN'T get stuff done while they're both ill. It's just a bit of a shitshow for both of them though. Byakuya's complaining the whole time (tho, when ISN'T he hahah funny joke) cus he just HATES being super ill and unproductive. Like, the heir feels like he could be doing so many other things but his body is betraying him. He also just barely rests so being forced to makes him feel like he's lazy. Meanwhile, Makoto's more able and capable to do stuff in his state of sickness but he's still sick so he's way more prone to making minor mistakes and errors. Like, while trying to make soup for the both of them, he accidently puts too much salt in or accidently makes it too sweet by mistaking the sugar as salt instead. So yeah. Just a whole lotta sucky stuff. Everything gets much better once either one of them fully recovers or the both do. Byakuya's still gonna be complaining about the whole ordeal and will make fun of his boyfriend a bit for mixing up ingredients like "Tch. Were you actively TRYING to make us feel even WORSE?" sorta talk. Though, he's not THAT pissy about it. Just a little bit. Byakuya is built different and by different, I mean petty. All is well though at the end of the day! Also like, I just HAD to draw this. Like, a primal desire cus it's so goofy but also poor Byakuya is in the pains. He's not doing good at all. Think his tummy hurt. Poor guy. What a way to go T-T

[thenewfuture]

Sorry Kanon, but I think that's a flawed analogy. This "luck cycle" thing or curse or whatever the hell it is...we've seen enough to know that somehow it's real. Baseball players (for the most part) don't assault people with their bats. Nagito on the other hand, while he may not intend it, represents a risk to others around him. Especially in environments like a plane. And so it would be his moral responsibility to not go abroad. In fact I can't imagine why he decided to do so to begin with.

Hey let me ask you a question, if you fall off a bike and break your leg, do you stop riding bikes all together? Probably not, right?

If you eat some rice and get food poisoning do you stop eating rice all together? Maybe not, huh?

If you step outside and you get robbed? Do you just stop going outside all together?

Fuck no! That's horseshit!

Look, I get it. Most people would be scared or even frightened to try and do those sorts of things again right away. Understable.

But I also know it's not healthy to not try again. Hiding and running from what occurred in the past doesn't automatically make you feel better. It's puts you in a constant bubble of fear and anxiety, and that's not healthy.

Life's all about going out there and trying new things and doing the things you love. You may get hurt and you may not, but you'll never know unless you try.

And before you say something like, "Well those things are small compared to what Nagito has done due to his luck cycle"

That! That too! Holding someone accountable for something so stupid and out of control elements, like luck. People can live lives without the concept of "luck" holding them back! That's just not right!

Let's take another lucky boy for example; Makoto.

Do you know how many times he's lost his wallet, or his keys, or basically anything due to his inherent "luck" since I've been here? A lot. A lot of times.

Does that mean he should never have those things? Should Makoto never have keys? A wallet? Identification? Food? Anything? Since he's more than likely going to lose it within five seconds? Didn't think so.

And if you want a more extreme example; I heard Makoto got selected to attend Hope's Peak due to an incident when he took the bus. Even with that crazy event that happened there, I'm pretty Makoto still took the bus for days on end when he could and nothing else bad happened for the most part.

Or the fact that as soon as he entered Hope's Peak, he gets enclosed in a killing game. And as soon as got close to anybody, like say Sayaka, they betray him.

And looking at him now, that guy's got a bunch of friends who'd give him the jackets off their backs should he need it. Despite his luck and inherent betrayals, Makoto sure seems fine and they don't hold the killing game against him due to his luck.

Bottom line: Stop holding people accountable just for their luck. It's not healthy mentally and it's just plain stupid.

.......

Don't look at me like that...

[vgckwb]

P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 234: All Kinds of People

The Thieves returned to Leblanc, exhausted after the day’s events. Sojiro was behind the counter, while Sae was sitting at the counter. “You look a little more tired than usual,” Sojiro remarked.

“How did it go?” Sae asked.

“Well…” Makoto answered, “it…was ultimately successful in figuring out our plan of attack.”

“Hm,” Sae sighed. “I know that feeling. Still, good job. At least you didn’t end up pulling teeth and getting nowhere.”

“Um, teeth?” Ryuji wondered.

“It’s an expression, Ryuji,” Morgana chimed in. “It means ‘to do something that is difficult and frustrating’.”

“Oh,” Ryuji said.

“Well, have a seat,” Sojiro said.The Thieves did so. “You know, you have exemplary timing. I was just getting ready to make Miss Niijima here something.”

Just then, the door opened once again. Everyone turned to the door and froze. At the door was Officer Jin Hayashi, Ren’s new parole officer. “Hello,” he said. He walked up to the counter. “I’m feeling a little hungry, and so I thought I should try this curry.”

“Hmmmm,” Sojiro grunted. “I swear the sign said closed.”

“Did it?” Jin said. “I just saw a bunch of kids come in, so I thought it was open.”

“I see,” Sojiro replied.

Jin glanced over to see Sae. Sae was alarmed, as Jin took a second look at her. “Hey wait a second…” Sae gulped. “Aren’t you that Sae Niijima character that the news is saying killed the SIU director?”

“Crap!” Ryuji muttered.

“What do we do?” Makoto panicked.

Jin looked over at The Thieves. “So then, that means…you must be The Phantom Thieves.” There was a silence, as their whole effort to get Shido appeared to have stopped before it could start in earnest. In their panic, they froze completely. “That is AMAZING!” The Thieves broke out of the stunned state and now appeared to be confused. “I have to say, I’m a huge fan.”

“Wait,” Haru said, “you’re a police officer, right?”

Jin nodded. “That’s correct. But don’t let that fool you. I’ve been a supporter since day one.”

“May I ask why?” Sumire wondered.

“Well, it’s a few reasons,” Jin said. “Some of them personal, but I have to tell you one story. The day after Kamoshida confessed his crimes, the school of a daughter of a friend of mine had a copycat calling card calling out their school’s history teacher for similar conduct. There was an investigation, and he was soon arrested. You gave whoever put up that card the courage to speak out about that atrocity. From one purveyor of justice to another, that’s really something.”

“Woah…” Ann said, tears slowly streaming down her face. “That’s…amazing…”

“Forgive me for asking,” Yusuke said, “but how do we know this isn’t a ruse?”

Jin smirked. “Well, I can see why you might think that, but I have reason to doubt some of my fellow officers. For a start, I heard two of them talking about a plan to arrest someone to get them out of the way. When I took that to my captain, he told me that I was ‘working too much’ and ‘seeing things that weren’t there’, and so he took me off the beat and transferred me to being a parole officer.”

“I gotta say,” Ren interjected, “my last parole officer had a similar, but sort of the opposite story. He wanted to be part of that gang, but due to his incompetence, he was also relegated to parole officer.”

“Huh,” Jin said. “How interesting. Do you know who might be directing those officers to do all of that?”

“We just found out for ourselves,” Jose said. “But we’re working on it.”

“I see,” Jin responded.

“Wait!” Futaba said. “These people killed my mom! We’re just accepting that this isn’t a trick right away?! How can we be so sure?”

“It’s not,” Sae countered. "I know he's on the level."

Jin looked over at her. “Oh? Do tell.”

“Well for starters, I’m a trained prosecutor,” Sae said. “I know how to look for lies and inconsistencies. And while he might be a bit peculiar, he hasn’t told a lie so far. But also…I know what it feels like to be ostracized by your peers for having an independent streak. I was never the most popular person at the SIU. Part of that was my age, part of that was my gender, and part of that was my skill. But the thing that sets off people in that kind of work is working outside of the confines of the rest of the group. And I see that in you.”

Jin smiled. “Wow. It’s like you really get me.”

“Well, we have to make sure that we can unravel this conspiracy,” Sae said. “Otherwise I’ll still be wanted, and we’ll be under the thumb of a grade-A asshole! So I had to bring my A-game.”

“I see,” Jin said. He turned back to Futaba. “I apologize about your mother. I know it can be hard when a child loses their parent.”

Futaba was taken aback. “I, uh…thanks...”

“So,” Ren interjected, “what is going to happen if you aren’t turning us in?”

“Well, as your parole officer, I can keep all this under wraps,” Jin said.

“In case we fail, you’ll get dragged along down with us,” Ren reminded him.

Jin nodded. “I’d rather have you guys as company than some officers who distort what justice is.”

“Otherwise you wouldn’t be here now, would you,” Sae said.

“See, you get it,” Jin replied. “Although, I do have to ask…you didn’t kill the director, did you?”

“No,” Sae admitted. “He killed himself.”

“Oh,” Jin replied, surprised. “That is bold if I do say so myself.” He turned to Sojiro. “So, are we good on that curry? I can take it to go, if you want to keep things on the DL.”

Sojiro nodded. “Despite my appearance, I’m adept at telling when people are lying too. From what I can tell, you’re not a liar.”

“Thanks,” Jin said. “And I’ll pay for everyone else here as well.”

“Um,” Haru interjected. “We don’t us-”

“Thanks,” Futaba interrupted. She gestured to Haru to be quiet.

Sojiro nodded. “Thank you.” He began to cook.

“Mind if I help?” Ren asked.

“Sure,” Sojiro said. “I don’t mind, if you’re up for it.” Ren got behind the counter to help.

After getting his curry in a box, Jin said “Thanks. I’ll come by and tell you how it is.”

“You know, you do have my number,” Sojiro said.

“True,” Jin said. “But I think it’s rude not complimenting the chef personally.”

Sojiro smirked. “You are a strange, yet oddly refined man.”

“Well, I try,” Jin said. “Take care! And remember!” He tapped his nose twice. “Later!” He left.

Ren smirked, and then started to head back to help Sojiro prepare everyone else’s meals. However, she was interrupted by a loud sigh from Sae. She turned towards her. “Are you alright?”

Sae was stunned. “Oh, uh, well, I just find him fascinating. It’s interesting. I see a lot of myself in him. Being left out and relegated to work by yourself, feeling like everyone else is kind of against you. I get it. But at the same time, he and I took two different paths. I became stone cold, while he seems like the kind of person who can light up a room. I mean, I guess my job was more competitive than his, but I also feel like I lost a part of myself in that.”

Ren felt Sae’s words. “You know,” she began, “I feel that. Back in my hometown, people started turning on me for being ‘weird’ and ‘aggressive’ and ‘a freak’. So I pretended that it didn’t bother me. And then it stopped being pretend. And it was only when I came here that I realized how much it bothered me because I wasn’t bothered here as much.”

“Hm,” Sae responded. “What changed?”

“Well, I met people willing to be my friends,” Ren said. “And slowly over time, I learned to let go of things.”

“I bet being given supernatural powers helped with that,” Sae remarked.

“Well, yes and no,” Ren said. “I mean, it’s cool and all, but I had to get stronger myself to wield them effectively. I’m playing with people’s hearts. If my heart wasn’t strong enough to face an ever growing hatred and malaise, I’d fold like an omelet with a bad poker hand.”

“Huh,” Sae said. “You know, I think my job had me doing the opposite.”

“How do you figure?” Ren said.

“People would plead with me to hear them out,” Sae said. “It was one sob story after the next. My mother was a defense attorney, and she told me that people are human and just sometimes make mistakes. My father was like that too when it came to his work. And yet, I felt like I had to turn my emotions off and ignore people’s humanity just to stay ahead.”

She let out another sigh. “I tried my best to be lenient with people who I knew weren’t guilty, but it’s hard to convince the system that someone wasn’t guilty if all you have is an emotion. I had grand designs of a world where I could get in and change the system. But it just felt like the system was eating me alive. And now it’s out to get me.”

“Well…” Ren remarked, “I mean sometimes that’s just what you need.” Sae was confused. “I mean, look at me: I was arrested on false charges, and now I feel like I’m living my best life. Perhaps you just need a new lease on life to shake those emotions out of you again.”

Sae smirked. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.” She took a deep breath. “You know, I think once the dust has settled, I might become a defense attorney. Like my mom.”

Ren smiled back. “Well good luck with that.”

“You know,” Sae said, “I usually wasn’t one for luck before; it felt like getting wished ‘luck’ undermined my merit. But I’m feeling a little more loose and accepting.”

“I mean, flipping it on its head for a minute,” Ren said, “I’m sure you’re more than capable, so all that’s left is luck.”

“Hm,” Sae replied. “I see. That is an interesting way to look at it. Well then, I wish you luck in figuring this out.”

Ren giggled. Thanks.

Judgement-Sae Niijima: Rank 2

“I should get back to helping Sojiro,” Ren noted. Sae nodded, and Ren continued helping Sojiro.

Once their dinner was ready, The Thieves sat and discussed the day’s events. “So,” Sumire said, “it seems like this palace will just be a matter of finding the people Shido trusts and getting their letters of recommendation. Although that seems easier said than done.”

“I agree,” Morgana said. “Especially with a man like Shido. If he’s willing to kill people to achieve his goals, the people he trusts have to be really crafty.”

“I don’t know if he trusts them fully,” Jose said, “but he trusts them enough.”

“I think I agree,” Ann said. “I mean, all of his guests were wearing masks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had one too if we manage to spot him.”

“I don’t know if that will happen,” Haru warned. “I think he is on to us to some degree. Plus he’s generally paranoid. I think he’ll only come out if he absolutely has to.”

“I think Haru’s right,” Futaba said. “I mean, he has my mom’s research. He has some level of knowledge of what goes on on the other side. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see him.”

“Regardless, we have another obstacle to contend with,” Makoto reminded them. “Akechi is controlling this palace. And if it weren’t for Morgana, he’d be controlling us.”

“Yeah,” Ryuji said. “Thanks for that.”

“Hm hm. No problem,” Morgana replied.

“But how do we get Akechi to not hinder our infiltration?” Ryuji asked.

“Well, I assume if we put on a good enough show, he’ll let us do as we please,” Yusuke said.

“But what does that mean?” Jose said.

“Do you have any idea Lena?” Ren asked.

“Hmmmm,” Lena said. “I think he just wants to keep things interesting. He doesn’t like doing anything half-assed.”

“You know,” Ren said, “he told me something similar when we had our confrontation.”

“So, we just have to go above and beyond,” Morgana surmised.

“Ah yeah!” Ryuji cheered. “I can do that!”

“I think it’ll be kind of easy to do as well,” Haru said. “I mean, I don’t think Shido’s palace is going to be a walk in the park. There’s probably some form of devious trap that we need to figure out at some point.”

Makoto nodded. “Plus the shadows here will be tougher than ever before.”

“Not to mention those six people that he ‘trusts’,” Futaba added. “Getting their letters will be no simple task.”

“I see,” Yusuke siad. “In a way, this palace is an ouroboros. We have to keep things interesting, while at the same time, the palace itself will prove to be interesting.”

“That’s not to say that we should let the palace do the heavy lifting,” Sumire said. “Remember, we’re here to disrupt everything. We have to take everything that this palace has and one up it ourselves if we’re going to steal Shido’s heart.”

“Yeah!” Lena added. “And to break Goro out of this trance he’s in! I hate seeing him like this!”

“I think we all do,” Morgana said. “To some extent.”

“Yeah,” Ryuji said. “I get that he’s your boyfriend and all, but we all don’t want him to be like this.”

“I know,” Lena said. “Just like Goro should know that no matter how much Shido hurt him, he’s hurt other people as well. He’s not the only one who deserves revenge.”

“Well damn,” Ryuji replied.

Ann giggled. “You go girl!”

Ren smirked. “Well, it sounds like we have a plan. Of course, there are still complications, and we’re basically playing this by ear, but dammit if that’s not how we’ve always operated.” She raised her coffee cup. “To us!”

“To us!” Everyone else cheered. They then started eating.

Once they finished, as they were about to leave, Sumire stopped and said “Oh yeah. I wanted to ask Morgana something.”

“What is it?” Morgana asked.

“Well, when you introduced yourself to the crowd,” Sumire began, “you said you were The Left Hand of The Phantom Thieves.”

“Yeah?” Morgana said.

“Who’s the right hand?” Sumire asked.

“Oh yeah,” Makoto said. “That is a little peculiar.”

“Yeah, I’d thought you’d want to be the Right hand,” Ryuji said. “Or perhaps you’d rather I have it?”

“No way!” Ann said. “If anything, I’d get it! I was with her since the beginning.”

“Me too,” Ryuji countered.

“Not as much as I have,” Ann argued.

“Why don’t we ask Ren who it might be?” Jose interjected.

Everyone looked at Ren. She got a little flustered. “Well, to be honest, I kind of saw myself as being a first among equals.” She glanced at Morgana. “But I am curious to know who you think it is.”

Morgana shrugged. “When I said that, I was under the assumption Sumire was your Right Hand.”

“Huh?” Ryuji said.

“Oh, I get it!” Ann said.

“Is it not just because they’re dating?” Yusuke asked.

“Well, that is part of it,” Ann explained. “But it goes a little deeper. Like, in anime and television and stuff, someone’s right hand is the person that keeps the leader grounded. And Sumire always manages to help keep Ren…I was gonna say ‘straight’, but that might not be the optimal word here.”

“Focused?” Futaba suggested.

“Yeah,” Ann said. “That’s better.”

Haru giggled. “Well, I think it’s cute.”

Lena sighed. “It is. And I hope that Goro and I can get back there someday.”

Sumire consoled Lena. “I’m sure it’ll work out.”

Lena smiled. “Thanks.”

“Oh yeah…” Ryuji said. “I see what you mean now.”

“Glad you finally caught up,” Morgana teased.

“Well, better late than never, I suppose,” Ryuji replied.

Morgana was confused. “Why aren’t you flying off the handle?”

“Eh,” Ryuji shrugged. “I mean, you are right this time. If anyone were Ren’s right hand, it’d be Sumire. I can’t get mad at that.”

Morgana sighed. “Well, I can’t argue with that.”

Ann giggled. “It’s nice to see the two of you getting along.” Morgana and Ryuji smiled. Ren smirked. They then headed out to go home for the night.

As Ren entered her room, she closed the door. She started walking to her bed, but felt something. She turned back to see Eris standing before here. “Miss me?”

“What do you want?” Ren snided.

“Just to give you a fair warning,” Eris replied. “You’re on the precipice of taking down the people abusing the metaverse. Once that’s said and done, I won’t have anyone for you to go against.”

“Good,” Ren responded. “I don’t want to fight any more people you make into puppets. I’d rather take you down.”

Eris chuckled. “Famous last words.”

“Are you scared?” Ren said. “You keep wanting to talk me out of it, but you aren’t doing a good job.”

“Scared?” Eris scoffed. “Do you really think I have it in me to be scared? I’m aware of several thousand ways that everything could go wrong, and have seen it all play out. A devastating earthquake. A tsunami the size of Honshu. A conflict between gangs that catches everyone in the crossfire. Explosions at power plants. Every second everything has a chance to go wrong. I am not afraid of you fighting me. I think you’re afraid of fighting me. Because once you see the world for what it is, a tinderbox in which even the smallest ember can set the whole world on fire, you will not be able to handle what comes next.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “Well, seeing as I’ve faced complete ostracization in my home town, threats of sexual harassment, people abusing their power left and right, a little girl being framed for her mother’s death, a woman so badly pushed down by the world that she lashed out at the people she was supposed to help, the strings of a conspiracy that aims to take over this entire country, and several people me and my friends care about becoming shadows of their former selves at your hands, I will gladly step into that fire, because it won’t hurt half as bad as all of that.”

Eris leaned in. “You’re right. It’ll hurt ten times more.”

Ren was confused. “Why are you so sure?”

“I beg your pardon?” Eris replied.

“What makes you believe I cannot handle the truth?” Ren clarified. “The truth is everything I seek, be it good or bad. I mean, the bad stuff sucks, but I’d rather have it said to my face than hidden behind innuendo.”

“Hmmmmm,” Eris replied. “I still don’t know if you’re ready for the full truth, but I can give you another truth.”

Ren sighed. “I’ll take that, I suppose.”

Eris giggled. “It seems like you and Akechi were fated to fight.”

Ren was confused. “I’m not following.”

“You see,” Eris siad, “when it was Yaldabaoth’s game you were playing, he had plans on giving Akechi a persona too. His idea was that you and he would fight, with him representing order, and you representing chaos. Of course, when I took over, I saw no reason for him to have a persona. After all, if you and I are meant to spar, I don’t need to load the deck against you even more than it needed to be. 

However, his heart is strong. He was determined to get into Shido’s circle in order to exact the revenge he so desires. So even without a persona, he went into the lion’s den. And I knew that if Akechi were to execute his revenge, you and him would clash at some point. So even without his persona, he still wants to fight.”

“So, you just made him dependent on your power,” Ren retorted.

“You could say that,” Eris responded. “However, I think even without power, he still would have tried fighting you if you were going to go after Shido.”

“Maybe,” Ren said. “But we’ll never know. SInce you corrupted him and all.”

“Oh honey,” Eris said, condescendingly. “You know I always ask people if they want my power. They take it willingly. Well, except for you, of course.”

“So, you just prey on weak people,” Ren countered.

“Oh save it!” Eris said, annoyed. “Change doesn’t come from people who don’t want it.”

“But we don’t have to sink to your level to get it,” Ren replied.

“So, you’d rather play the game rules as written?” Eris siad. “Newsflash, that makes you no better than anyone at the top. It takes miracles to dislodge those people, not the rules.”

“Forgive me for not wanting to kill someone whenever something doesn’t go my way,” Ren remarked. “Yeah, some of those rules are dumb, but there are others that make sense. It’s a fine line, but ignoring everything and declaring yourself the new rulemaker makes you no better than anyone at the top.”

Eris sighed. “OK, you have to admit, this is getting old. Whether it’s true or not, do you have anything else?”

“My opinion of you is set in stone,” Ren said. “I’m sorry I don’t have any fresh criticism to offer. However, if you want something new, you can just tell me. You keep alluding to something big that’ll happen when we face off. Why not tell me now? If you want to shake things up, you can.”

Eris laughed. “Silly child. I keep telling you you’re not ready. But if you want me to pull back the curtain a little bit, I will agree with you that the truth is a powerful weapon. However, like most weapons, when it is pointed at you, you’ll do anything to get out of the way. And when I point the truth at you, you’ll be wishing for a lie to take it all away.”

“Hm,” Ren grunted. “You just don’t get it.” Eris was confused. “Truth is only a weapon if you’re afraid of it. I’m not afraid of the truth. If you pointed the truth at me right now, I wouldn’t flinch.”

“Heh heh heh,” Eris chuckled. “I see. I suppose you’ve always been intriguing. I’m still going to make you work to get to my truth, but I’ll pull back the curtain a little more: The human heart is nothing but chaos. Any sense of ‘order’ is just a chaos that got enforced enough times. I’m as bad as anyone of the palace rulers, but so are you. So is everyone. No one is pure. No one is righteous. We are all nothing but beings of impulse and fear.

The question never was ‘are you afraid of what’s inside of you if you let it out?’ The question has always been ‘are you more afraid of what’s inside you or what’s outside now?’ Because let’s face it, all the people that get ahead let it out. They focus their chaos and learn to control the world through the beast within. That’s all I want. I want everyone to unleash their beast within. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone started from equal footing? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all could take advantage of our inner strength?”

“Hm,” Ren smirked. “I’ve got to say, for being the emissary of chaos, that’s a weak answer.” Eris was confused.”The truth is a world like that would get boring. If the rules change every day because we’ve all let out our inner beast, then it wouldn’t be special. Variety is the spice of life. An idea is only crazy if we aren’t all insane. And yet, you come here with your false equivalence saying that everyone is bad just because they do stuff that is wrong.

Here’s my truth for you: The world we live in currently is already the embodiment of chaos. Everyone has different ideas and different reactions to everything. It’s a symphony of balancing between everyone’s wants and needs. Is it perfect? Of course not! But there are people who are willing to fight to make it better, and people fighting to make it worse. What you described is a world where everyone is a carbon copy of the next person. That sounds like mass order to me.” She grinned. “How’s it feel when the truth is pointed at you?”

Eris glared at her. She sighed. “Fine. You did tell me your opinion was set in stone anyway. I guess you can’t understand what is coming your way.”

“You could tell me,” Ren said.

“You’ll have to make things not fuzzy first,” Eris reminded her. “I could tell you, but it's still possible for you to fail here. And I don’t want to distract you further.” She pointed her blade at Ren. “Just a reminder: If you manage to unravel this conspiracy, it’ll just be you all versus me. I gave you plenty of chances to opt out. When I challenge you next time, I’ll bring my full force to bear, and I won’t let you wriggle out of this.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Ren countered.

Eris nodded. “You have been warned.”

Hunger-Eris: Rank 8

Eris disappeared. Ren sighed, exhausted from the day’s events. She got into her pajamas, and then into bed.