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vgckwb · 9 months ago

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P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 199: Bittersweet

There was no school the following day, so Ren decided to go and check in on Shinya. He was at the arcade, and sure enough, he was fired up. “That THAT!” he shouted.

“Hey, Ren said, approaching.

“Gah!” Shinya said. He panicked, and it caused him to lose focus a little. He bounced back, but he looked exhausted. “Don’t do that!” he screamed. “I almost lost because of you!”

“Sorry…” Ren said.

Shinya sighed. “It’s fine…Sorry for yelling at ya.”

Ren giggled. “It’s fine.”

“So, you wanna do some practice today?” Shinya asked.

“Of course!” Ren said.

“Great!” Shinya said.

“But, um,” Ren interjected, “how are things going with you and your ‘war’?”

Shinya raised his eyebrow. He shrugged. “It’s going OK. Things haven’t been too bad.”

“Well that’s good to hear,” Ren said.

Shinya indeed. “Now let’s go!” Ren nodded back. They began playing Gun About. Ren was getting the hang of it more, but she still kept making mistakes. Shinya was getting frustrated by Ren’s mistakes, especially at this level, but he controlled his outbursts. After a bit, they took a break. “Well…you are getting better…” Shinya remarked.

“Well that’s good to hear,” Ren said. “I know I’ve still got a ways to go, but it’s nice to hear that you are improving.” Shinya looked down. “Hey!” Shinya looked at her. “You’re getting better too. I know you get frustrated, but you’re keeping a cooler head about things.” Shinya smiled.

Just then, a mysterious voice said “So, the rumors WERE true,” causing Shinya’s heart to sink.

He turned around and saw the source of the voice. He grew disgruntled. “So, it’s you. Champion Takekuma. What do you want?”

Ren looked at Takekuma. She saw him as this cocky figure who may be a little too full of himself. “Hm,” Takekuma said. “I just wanted to see if you’re as good as they say.”

Shinya was confused. “You want to face off against me?”

“That’s right,” Takekuma said. He noticed Ren. “Is she your big sister?”

Shinya got embarrassed. Ren tried to clear the air. “Well-

“So what if she is?!” Shinya said.

Takekuma chuckled. “It’s nothing. I just think she may be my type.”

Ren rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I’m not.”

“Oh!” Takekuma said. “I see a saucy mouth runs in the family.”

“Hey!” Shinya called out. “I thought you were here for me!”

Takekuma looked back down at Shinya. At this point, a crowd had gathered. “Hm. Sure. A battle against titans. I hope you bring your A game. After all, we don’t want to disappoint everyone here, do we?”

Shinya glared at him. “I always bring my A game.”

“Very well,” Takekuma chuckled. “Let’s begin the game.” The two giants lined up, ready to compete. They grabbed their plastic pistols, and began.

Both of them were doing incredibly. After all, Shinya was The King, and Takekuma was the Champion. The competition was neck and neck for a little while. However, all of a sudden, Takekuma had practically an insurmountable lead. “What the?!” Shinya said.

“Hm hm,” Takekuma chuckled. He went on to win the competition. “Well, I can see why you have your reputation,” he said, “but you’re still no match for me.”

“You cheated!” Shinya yelled.

“You tell that asshole,” Ren whispered.

“Cheated? How?” Takekuma taunted.

“You had special armor!” Shinay said.

“Hm,” Takekuma scoffed. “Well, even if I was cheating, which I wasn’t, I thought you would be good enough to stop it.”

“Grrrrr!”

Takekuma walked over to Ren. “So,” he said, “now that I’ve dethroned that twerp, why don’t I show you what it’s like to be with a real king?”

Ren looked at him, and smirked. “Sorry,” she said. “I only hang around one king. And his crown says ‘Get Smoked’.” The crowd gasped, as Ren rejected Takekuma.

Needless to say, he was not pleased. “You wanna be like that?” He raised his hand.

“HEY!” Shinya yelled, before pushing him to the ground.

The crowd was shook. Takekuma chuckled. He got up. “Well, I knew you were a sore loser, but I didn’t think it was THAT bad.”

“This has nothing to do with the game, and you know it!” Shinya countered. “You were going to hit my sister!”

“You can’t prove that,” Takekuma said, dusting himself off. “Just like you can’t prove I cheated.”

“Um, I hate to burst your bubble,” Ren remarked, “but…” she pointed at the crowd, most of whom had their phones out.

Takekuma got annoyed. “Tch. Whatever.” He started to leave. He glanced at Shinya. “Maybe when you get better, we can face off again.” He glanced at Ren. And maybe next time, you’ll take me up on my offer.”

“Fat chance,” Ren said. Takekuma shrugged and left.

Ren looked down at Shinya. “You OK?”

Shinya calmed down a little, but was still kind of pale. “...Yeah.”

“Wanna get some fresh air?” Ren wondered. Shinya nodded. The two of them went outside. After getting some drinks from the vending machine, Ren asked “So, uh, what was with that whole ‘sister’ thing?”

Shinya got embarrassed. “Well, uh, I figured it’d be easier to explain. And after all this time, I, uh, do see you as kind of a big sister, you know? You’re the only one I can talk to about all sorts of things. And I’ve been learning not to get so angry because of you. I’m sorry.”

Ren smiled. She pulled him in for a hug. “It’s alright. In fact, I kind of like it. Hm hm.”

“Uh, right…” Shinya said, getting more embarrassed. “Um, you can stop hugging me now.”

“Oh. Sorry,” Ren said, letting go.

“Don’t worry,” Shinya said. He skulked a little. “Do girls have to put up with guys like that often?”

Ren sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“Mm,” Shinya grunted. “Well then, I just have to get stronger to ward off people like that!”

“Well,” Ren said, “maybe take it down a notch. But I appreciate your enthusiasm.”

“But he was rude to you,” Shinya countered. “And he was cheating. I can’t forgive a guy like that!”

“I know how you feel,” Ren said, “but just try to think before you act, OK? I know you pushed him to save me, but I don’t want you doing stuff like that unless you absolutely need to, OK?”

“Hmmm, OK,” Shinya said. He smiled. “Thanks.”

Tower-Shinya Oda-Rank 4

They played together some more, before Shinya had to head home for the evening.

Later, Ren got a message.

Hifumi: Today’s my first shogi match since the news came out about my mother.

Hifumi: I know it’s last minute, but I was wondering if you would like to come watch.

Ren: Sure.

Ren: Where is it?

Hifumi: Just meet me at the church in Kanda, and we’ll go together.

Ren: Alright. See you soon.

Ren hopped a train to Kanda, before heading to the match with Hifumi.

At the venue where the match was taking place, Hifumi was helping Ren set up the pad to watch her match. “Now, you can’t watch the match in person, but you can watch it through this device. Just make sure it’s set up correctly, and you’ll be good to go!”

“Alright, I think I got it,” Ren said. “But how about you? How are you doing?”

Hifumi glanced away. “Well, I can’t say I’m not nervous. But there are times where one has to face the music, so to speak.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re choosing to face it,” Ren said.

“Me too,” Hifumi said. “My mother avoided it for so long that it caused numerous problems. I have to take charge, even if it means losing.”

“Well, here’s hoping you don’t,” Ren said.

Hifumi giggled. “Thanks.” She stood up. “Well, I’m off.” She went into the area to face off against her opponent.

As the match went on, things were getting tense. “It looks like Hifumi Togo is holding her own! Perhaps her skills ARE real!”

Of course they are! Ren thought.

“But will it be enough?!” the announcer wondered. The match continued.

Ren kept observing the match. It looks like Hifumi is in a precarious position… she pondered. But whenever they cut to her, she seems to have the biggest smile. What’s going on?

A little while later, after Hifumi exhausted all her skills, she stood up, bowed, and announced “I concede.” The crowd was shocked.

“Well there you have it, folks!” the announcer said. “It looks like The Cheating Princess isn’t all she’s cracked up to be.”

Ren was frustrated. “I hope they fire you,” she said to the screen in the vain attempt that he’d hear it.

Hifumi joined Ren soon after. “You watched the match, right?”

Ren nodded. “You did well.”

Hifumi smiled. “I thought so too.” She frowned. “But I guess I’m not as great as I thought I was.”

“Don't say that,” Ren said, trying to comfort her.

“It’s fine,” Hifumi said. “Actually, I like knowing that.”

“Yeah, whenever I saw you, you were smiling from ear to ear,” Ren noted.

“It’s because for the first time in a long time, my opponent treated me as an equal. Not someone who they were paid to lose to. It reminded me of playing with my father.”

“I see,” Ren said.

“I have a long way to go, and a lot of work to do, before I can get back to where I thought I was,” Hifumi remarked. “But the road ahead is looking brighter than ever.”

“Well, you know I’ll be there to assist every step of the way,” Ren reminded.

“Hm hm. Thank you,” Hifumi replied.

Star-Hifumi Togo: Rank 9

Both their stomachs growled. “Do you want to get something to eat?” Hifui asked.

“Sure,” Ren said. The two of them went to grab dinner, and then headed home for the night.

Meanwhile, Makoto and Eiko had spent all day moving Eiko into the Niijima household. As they finished, Makoto remarked “Whew! That’s the last of it.”

“Hm hm,” Eiko giggled. “Thanks.”

“I’m surprised we managed to get everything in here,” Makoto said. “I mean, there’s still some boxes here and there, but for the most part, everything seems to be in place.”

“Well, to be fair,” Eiko remarked, “we had all day, since we didn’t have school. Plus, I didn’t have too much to begin with.”

“Right,” Makoto said, reflecting on how little Eiko’s family cared for her that they didn’t get her too much for her. “Well, starting today, you’re here with me.”

Eiko smiled. “Thanks.” She sat on her new bed, looking away. “Um, to be honest, when you asked me to move in, I probably could have moved in straight away. But I chose to wait it out.”

Makoto sat down next to her. “How come?”

Eiko got a little embarrassed. She smiled. “Well, um, today’s my birthday!”

Makoto’s eyes widened. “Really?! Ugh! How did I not know? What should I do?”

“Shhhhh,” Eiko said, grabbing hold of her girlfriend’s hand. “It’s OK This is exactly what I wanted for my birthday. Besides, it’s more than I’ve gotten in a while anyway.”

“Eiko…” Makoto said, still stunned about how her family was treating her.

Eiko grasped Makoto’s face. “I have a new home, a new lease on life, and I have you. I don’t think I could ask for any more.”

“Eiko…” Makoto said, breathlessly, now stunned at her girlfriend, and her resilience. She went in for a kiss. Then another. And another. Soon, they were embracing each other, and would continue doing so though the night.

#p5 #p5r #persona 5 #persona fanfiction #persona 5 royal #p5 rework #p5r rework #p5 femc #femc #female ren #ren amamiya #shinya #hifumi togo #makoto niijima #Eiko

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auncyen · 2 years ago

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I believe I'm about 3/4s of the way through Persona 5 Royal: The Beginning: The Movie, can't wait until I get Ann and closer to actual free Palace exploration

I do like Yoshizawa's character, at least conceptually, but both her in media res introduction and the actual chronological first meeting are like whyyyyy. who gd throws their melee weapon at the enemy farthest from them and closest to the person they're trying to help. why do the writers try to make it sound like Oh When They Last Fought Together Is A Big Deal when they know it's going to make it a let down later. the whole "ahhh senpai I have to thank you for the train on which nothing really happened". "oh my gosh people are talking about her except why would we care about that gossip when Ryuji, Ren, Ann and even at times Shiho are getting much harsher things said about them than 'wah wah she's so thin I'm jealous'"

it's not just Yoshizawa's introductions, it feels like so many little things Royal added at the very beginning are not improvements. they're just distracting clutter. "Kawakami brings her maid fliers to school where they could get her fired, haha" "let's have a pointless extra scene so Akechi and Sae can walk by" There are improvements later (and the bullets reloading is the first definite "oh thank god") but. augh.

#me looking at fandom: please appreciate sumi more #me playing the beginning of p5r: she's not that bad she's not that bad she's not--#Ann please join my team and free me from tutorial hell

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a-mel-tomelts · 2 years ago

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IN THE CASE OF CENDRILLON.

I think I won't be the first to say that Cendrillon is not the ideal primal Persona for Sumire. And I mean exactly Sumire after her true awakening post-rank 5.

Yet, Cendrillon is perfect for the Kasumi. The awakening was painless without blood, shot by shot, copying the magical girl's transformation. And she had no problems accepting her Persona, proudly shouting her name to the unknown danger. You couldn't find the more ideal folktale heroine for a character like that.

In addition, Cinderella is known for her hard work something that Kasumi has been putting on in her gymnastics, keeping her positivity and smile. And we have Maruki as the fairy godmother that can make Cinderella's wishes come true. Besides that, Kasumi is the type of girl that easily appease a crowd, or in her case, The Prince.

Now, for Sumire. The game's explanation for Cendrillon is that the true reality for Sumire is essentially living in the cinders; when she was nothing but a servant at her own house. And... That's it? While I am sorry, I haven't played Royal yet by myself, I tried to find as much about Sumire and I saw a lot of people having problems with Cendrillon not changing to a different Persona.

The idea of her sister becoming a Persona (a thing that you could witness in the Megami Ibunroku Persona - and honestly, the whole third semester is the plot of P1) - just, doesn't add a lot to Sumire.

I like Vanadis for her design and idea that fits to demons and mythological figures.

Ella doesn't add anything special as well. People interpret it as a new and happy beginning, but having Persona be basically a bride? It feels very surface level. No offence to Shigenori Soejima (artist and designer for P5) you made a cool design. I just have several questions to a person that is very keen on creating waifus for the sake of waifus.

THAT'S WHERE I END I PRELUDE AND MOVE TO THE IDEA OF THIS POST:

I found an interesting comment on YouTube about "a Tumblr post that talks about Odette being the better Persona for Sumire" <- Which I reblogged just earlier. It wasn't the size I was expecting. … But still, upon hearing that idea, I went:

HELL YES THAT'S COOL!!!

But, instead of Odette, I think Odile is our ideal TRICKSTER Persona.

Okay, so, hear me out:

Odette and Odile in the original ballet were played by the same ballerina because Odile was the daughter of the bad guy, and he turned her to look like Odette to fool the prince and yada-yada.

BUT!!! Odile is like a dark side of the same character that wants to be her perfect self - Odette - but fails, which could only be fixed by "the magic" or in our case, Maruki's actualization (aka Von Rothbart's magic in original).

YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IS GREAT? Here is Rothbart description from the wiki:

While Maruki is not so vicious, having the Messiah complex. His ideal reality is based on how HE sees fits. So, people had questions. If someone wants to be famous, but another person's desire contradicts that wish, what will happen?

Maruki can: 1) Erase that desire, 2) Change it, 3) Let that come true if all contradiction are eliminated.

Let's forget for a minute about Odile being Rothbart's daughter. In the scenario of P5R, Maruki would do whatever in his power to make that girl wish come true.

WHICH WHAT HAPPENS. MARUKI MAKES SUMIRE'S WISH COME TRUE BY TURNING HER INTO ODETTE. LIKE IN THE ORIGINAL.

Now. Imagine, as her fake awakening, Kasumi has Odette. Her perfect, kind, courages self, who is not afraid to speak her mind, has the swan princess. And you know what swans symbolize? The meaning of a swan is grace, beauty, love, trust, and loyalty. Swan symbolism is also linked to inner beauty and self-love.

(Smth that Sumire thinks she lacks)

The swan curse can be interpreted as Maruki's powers over Sumire's memory and conscious. She is a swan while living under Maruki's thumb. But when she remembers - she realizes she is not a white swan, not even a swan, not Princess Odette.

She is Odile. A trickster with changed appearance and behaviour to make her dream come true without grief on her mind. Does it remind you of someone? Someone who has TWO persona and TWO personalities that goes with the outfit? What a great way to help us understand Sumire more by associating with another character! They are not identical, but they both were kinda manipulated into their positions. Why have a boring love triangle when we could have a strong friendship bond between characters that share some unique experience? Like with the Thieves!

[And I just love how it feels like the types of movies that show us the events from the point of view of a "villain". Someone, give me a play where Rothbart is the manipulative parent who uses Odile for his wishes to become a king or smth, like this guy:

Now back to Cendrillon. Leaving her as Sumire's Persona, we still think that Maruki is her fairy godmother, when in actuality Maruki is someone who made her someone completely different to become her perfect self. Like a father that would do anything for his kids' wishes, no matter the cost.

Second and Third Awakenings:

Vanadis fits quite nicely with the Swan Lake theme with her black feathers. Freyja is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, etc.

And for our third awakening, we could have someone like Nina Sayers (?) because I love this description.

"…and put herself through emotional torment to become perfect."

But honestly, idk who could be Sumire's third awakening in this context. Too many ballerinas. Too little knowledge :c

BUT!!! BALLERINA. WHICH IS PERFECT FOR A GYMNAST. IT JUST FITS ON SO MANY LEVELS, ISTG.

tl;dr Basically, I propose for Sumire to have:

Odile (Swan Lake) > Vanadis > A ballerina.

Kasumi as Odette Persona and Sumire with actual Odile Persona. Cendrillon feels surface levelled.

Sidenote: For AkeShuSumi/ShuShumi/AkeSumi shippers. You can have a SWAN, a CROW and a demon with WINGS lolololo

Official birb trio. :p

#persona 5 royal #sumire yoshizawa #kasumi yoshizawa #persona 5 royal spoilers #takuto maruki #p5r violet #p5r #p5

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starfirexuchiha · 4 years ago

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The Flower Meanings behind each P5R Flower Keychain Merch

After pre-ordering the P5R flower keychain merch, I decided delve into the flower meanings that each PT character is associated with in the new flower keychain merch.

I’m going to research into the Hanakotoba (花言葉) meaning of these flowers, the English meanings, and the relevant flower essences to hopefully get the right information. Then I’ll try to connect how they relate to the characters. Understand that what I’ll say may not be 100% right, because this is my own interpretation.

The flower meanings I gotten are based on the Japanese websites and English websites that I looked into. THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY LONG POST so please excuse any potential grammar mistakes I may have made.

If I ever have time, I might make separate posts for each Phantom Thief regarding the history, folklore and meta of their flowers.

Ren Amamiya - Red China Asters & White Daisies

China Asters are called 蝦夷菊 (Ezogiku) or in Katakana, エゾギク in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) China Asters in general mean:

追憶 (Recollection)

私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)

変化 (Change / Shapeshift)

信じる恋 (Believing in Love)

貞節 (Fidelity)

And Red China Asters in particular mean:

変化を好む (I prefer change)

The English meaning of these Asters are:

Patience

Elegance

Daintiness (Gentle and Kind personality)

Afterthought (Remembering someone who is no longer with you / Thinking if things should have happened differently)

Love of variety

And the Red color in an Aster is the color of passion that expresses strong emotions towards these meanings.

So basically China Asters mean Change and Recollection (Remembering something/someone), and “私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)”.

Note: There are 2 different classifications of Aster flowers. One is the Shion (シオン) Aster. The other is the China (エゾギク) Aster. There is no such thing as a red Shion Aster. China Asters on the other hand, comes with a variety of colors including red. Therefore, the red asters are China Asters.

Shion Asters tend to have the meaning: “君を忘れない (I won’t forget you)”. China Asters tend to have a similar meaning which is: "私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)”. This indicates remembering someone who is no longer with you, or when they are far away and separated from you. It seems that Asters in general involve remembering someone and not wanting to forget them.

How this connects to Ren:

Since Red Asters in particular mean “change”, I think this refers to how Ren is a “shapeshifter” (from the Beneath the Mask song), since he is a WildCard user who uses different personas and masks. I think the “変化を好む (I prefer change) ” meaning refers to how Ren wanted to reform society as a Phantom Thief.

China Asters in general also mean “recollection”, I think this refers to what happened between Ren and Akechi. Ren deeply regretted how he wasn’t able to save Akechi in the engine room and wanted things to happen differently between them (Like peacefully playing chess with Akechi in his room in the “Bad Ending”). For Akechi to be present and by his side...that was his wish in the dream world. This can also refer to how Akechi said “If only we had met a few years earlier...”. Recollection is also connected to the "私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)” meaning. Ren still remembers his promise with Akechi, even after the dream world ended. Akechi was separated from him twice but Ren still carries Akechi’s glove with him, thinking of him.

The meaning of these flowers are probably connected to the meaning of Akechi’s Forget-Me-Nots that I will mention later in this post.

Daisies are called 雛菊 (Hinagiku) or just デイジー (Daisy) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Daisies in general mean:

純潔 (Innocence / Purity)

美人 (Beautiful person)

平和 (Peace / Harmony)

希望 (Hope)

And White Daisies in particular mean:

無邪気 (Innocent)

The English meanings of these Daisies are:

Innocence

New Beginnings

Purity

Harmony

If the Daisy color is White then that specifically means “Innocence” and “Purity”.

How this connects to Ren:

Ren has his own sense of justice and righteousness, and he believes that what he’s doing is for the greater good. He is the Trickster who brings hope and drives away ruin. Shido falsely accused Ren of assault even though Ren’s innocent. He gotten a criminal record even though he is innocent. Ren started off as a misunderstood hero... and yeah I guess Ren is pretty good-looking too “美人 (Beautiful person)” lol.

Ryuji Sakamoto - Sunflowers & Red Ace Hydrangeas

Sunflowers are called 向日葵 (Himawari) or in katakana ヒマワリ in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Sunflowers mean:

私はあなただけを見つめる (I only have my eyes on you)

あなたを幸福にする (I will make you happy)

崇拝 (Admiration / Adoration)

光輝 (Brightness)

あなたは素晴らしい (You are amazing)

偽りの富 (False Riches)

The English meanings of these Sunflowers are:

Adoration

Faithfulness

Loyalty

Joy & Happiness

So basically Sunflowers mean admiring someone or adoring someone and it also means happiness.

How this connects to Ryuji:

Ryuji is Ren’s best friend, and he also greatly admires Ren for being the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji is also the type of guy who is loud, cheerful, and optimistic. This can connect to brightness and happiness.

Hydrangeas are called 紫陽花 (Ajisai) or in katakana アジサイ in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Hydrangeas mean:

高慢 (Boastfulness / Arrogance)

冷酷 (Ruthlessness / Cold-Hearted)

謝罪 (Apology)

The English meanings of Hydrangeas are:

Gratitude

Honest Emotions

Vanity

Boastfulness

Desire for forgiveness

Regret

In Japan, Hydrangeas are usually used to express apology for bad behavior. That’s why negative words like 冷酷 (Ruthlessness / Cold-Hearted) and 高慢 (Boastfulness / Arrogance) are associated with it. It’s to apologize for behaving like that.

How this connects to Ryuji:

Ryuji is a delinquent and a troublemaker. However, he’s also the type to apologize for the things he messed up on. One example is Ryuji feeling sorry for his mother because attacking Kamoshida ruined his chances of making things easier for her (like getting an athletic scholarship). Another example is the 3rd Semester where he deeply apologizes to Ren for abandoning him to enjoy the dream world. For 高慢 (Boastfulness / Arrogance), Ryuji wanted to have more fame and recognition as the Phantom Thieves were becoming more popular, but that was until the Okumura incident.

Ann Takamaki - Red Roses & Strawberry Blossoms

“A Beautiful Rose has thorns!” - Ann

Roses are called 薔薇 (Bara) or they can be just called ローズ (Rose) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Roses in general mean:

愛 (Love)

美 (Beauty)

And Red Roses in particular mean:

あなたを愛してます (I love you)

愛情 (Love / Affection)

美 (Beauty)

情熱 (Passion)

熱烈な恋 (Passionate Love)

The English meanings of Red Roses are pretty much the same: Passionate Love, Romance, and Beauty. Roses are the most well-known flowers across the world.

How this connects to Ann:

Ann is associated with the Lovers Arcana. Ann’s phantom thief attire is also associated around the themes of beauty, lust, and love. This is because her Persona is Carmen, who is a Femme Fatale (An attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her). Like what Ann said in battle: “A Beautiful Rose has thorns!“

Strawberries are called 苺 (Ichigo) in Japan.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Strawberry Blossoms mean:

尊重と愛情 (Love and Respect)

幸福な家庭 (Happy Family)

あなたは私を喜ばせる (You please me)

先見の明 (Foresight)

完全なる善 (Perfect Goodness)

The English meanings of Strawberry Blossoms are:

Perfection

Righteousness

Spring / Rebirth

So basically Strawberry Blossoms mean perfection, love, and righteousness.

The essence of a Strawberry Blossom can help those who are going through a mental loop of fear and anxiety. For people who are worrying themselves to exhaustion and tears.

How this connects to Ann:

Ann is very kind, compassionate, and also cheerful when she’s with the Phantom Thieves. When it comes to “righteousness“, Ann has moral values and tends to reflect on whether her’s or the PT’s actions are right or wrong. She also has a strong desire to help those in need. I think “perfection” connects to how Ann is confidant about her physical appearance, but she also wants to be mentally strong and confidant like the female villains she watched.

The essence of a Strawberry Blossom (a mental loop of fear and anxiety) could connect to what Ann was going through during the Kamoshida arc. She worries a lot about Shiho, and was unfortunately put into a situation where she had to deal with Kamoshida’s threats and sexual harassment. This is because she feared that Shiho would lose her position in the volleyball team. This situation was so stressful that she suddenly had to talk to Ren about it at the station.

Yusuke Kitagawa - Nemophilas & Lily of the Valleys

Nemophilas (aka Baby Blue Eyes) are called 瑠璃唐草 (Rurikarakusa) or just ネモフィラ (Nemophila) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Nemophilas mean:

どこでも成功 (Success everywhere)

あなたを許す (I forgive you)

可憐 (Sweet)

The English meanings of Nemophilas are pretty much the same: Victory and Success.

However...

Nemophilas have essences for anyone who during their childhood, had lack of support from their father figure or had issues with their father figure.

How this connects to Yusuke:

Sure the “success” meaning could probably connect to Yusuke trying to succeed his art career, but I think the Nemophila essence meaning connects to him more. Yusuke did have a father figure in his childhood who is Madarame. Madarame adopted him shortly after his mother’s death. He became corrupted by his distorted desires and treated Yusuke as a tool to help bolster his fame and riches. Yusuke had issues with Madarame‘s abuse and eventually fought against him in the Metaverse.

However Yusuke still have this conflicting case of Stockholm Syndrome towards Madarame and it shows during the 3rd semester. In the dream world, part of Yusuke’s wish was to have Madarame be a supporting and sincere father figure towards him. This can connect to the Nemophila meaning of “feeling supported and loved, especially by male figures”.

One of the birth flower dates for Nemophilas is January 28th, which is Yusuke’s birthday. So these flowers are REALLY for Yusuke!

Lily of the Valleys are called 鈴蘭 (Suzuran) or in katakana スズラン in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Lily of the Valleys mean:

再び幸せが訪れる (Return of Happiness)

純粋 (Purity)

謙遜 (Modesty)

優しさ (Kindness)

The English meanings of Lily of the Valleys are:

Motherhood

Womanhood

Purity

Sweetness

Return of Happiness

You made my life complete

So basically the Lily of the Valley flowers mean “Return of Happiness” but it could also mean “Motherhood”, because this flower is considered to be the perfect flower for the month of May, and Mother’s Day takes place in May. On May 1st, it is a custom to give a loved one Lily of the Valleys.

Lily of the Valley also has essences for those who are yearning or desiring relationships that are unattainable.

How this connects to Yusuke:

The “再び幸せが訪れる (Return of Happiness)“ meaning could refer to Yusuke becoming part of the Phantom Thieves and obtaining new friends. The PTs saved him from Madarame. Note that Yusuke first met the Phantom Thieves on the month of May, and Lily of the Valleys are heavily associated with that month.

I think this also relates to the Sayuri painting. The true form of the Sayuri painting expresses motherhood. The woman in the painting is holding a baby. Yusuke’s mother created this painting of herself happily holding her newborn son in her arms. “Yearning for relationships that are unattainable” could probably refer to how Yusuke deep down yearn for parental love. His biological parents aren’t present in his life and Madarame is a corrupted father figure. I mentioned before that part of Yusuke’s wish in the dream world was to have Madarame be a supporting and sincere father figure towards him.

Makoto Niijima - Canterbury Bells & Pink Tree Peonies

Canterbury Bells (aka Bellflowers), are called カンパニュラ (Campanula) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Canterbury Bells mean:

感謝 (Gratitude)

誠実 (Sincerity)

節操 (Loyalty)

思いを告げる (Telling your Thoughts)

共感 (Sympathy)

The English meanings of Canterbury Bells are:

Gratitude

Humility

Everlasting Love

So basically Canterbury bells mean “Gratitude” and “Telling your Thoughts”.

The essence of Canterbury Bells are for those who are stressed and cannot think for themselves. Canterbury Bells can help clear their minds so that they can stand up for themselves and make their own decisions.

How this connects to Makoto:

Before she joined the Phantom Thieves, Makoto was considered to be an obedient “good girl type of pushover” who followed the rules and couldn’t make her own decisions. During the Kaneshiro arc, so many things were happening to her at once such as the Principal giving her a difficult task, Sae getting angry at her during dinner, and Goro calling her a pushover. All of this really stressed her because her obedience is suffocating her. This connects to the “思いを告げる (Telling your Thoughts)“ meaning because it wasn’t until she entered Kaneshiro’s palace that she was finally able to speak her mind and stand up for herself.

One of the birth flower dates for Canterbury Bells is April 23rd, which is Makoto’s birthday. So these flowers are REALLY for Makoto!

Tree Peonies are called 牡丹 (Botan) or in katakana ボタン in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Tree Peonies mean:

王者の風格 (Personality of a King)

富貴 (Wealth and Honor)

はにかみ (Bashfulness)

恥じらい (Shyness)

思いやり (Compassion)

The English meanings of Tree Peonies are:

Good Fortune

Bravery

Honor

Nobility

In Japan, Tree Peonies are well-respected and known to be called the “King of Flowers” (花の王様) or the “King of a Hundred Flowers” (百花の王). The reason why they’re called that is because back in history, Tree Peonies were used to decorate throne rooms and royal palaces. That’s why Tree Peonies tend to have meanings relating to royalty and honor.

The essence of Peonies are for those who are overworking themselves and trying to work hard for everything.

How this connects to Makoto:

Makoto’s code name is “Queen”, because of her bossy and strict personality. This also connects to the “王者の風格 (Personality of a King)“ meaning. Makoto’s bossy personality can be a King-like trait. Also a Queen is just a royal female version of a King. Makoto also worked hard to keep her grades in check and studied a lot in order to go to a good college. This could connect to the Peony essence for trying to work hard for everything. Makoto also drove a lot in P5 Strikers and exhausted herself from it. This could mean that Makoto is also the type to overwork herself.

The “はにかみ (Bashfulness)” meaning could probably connect to how Makoto has vulnerable or cute sides to her. She is scared of paranormal activity and have cute buchimaru merch in her room.

Futaba Sakura - Dandelions & Red Carnations

Dandelions are called 蒲公英 (Tanpopo) or in katakana タンポポ in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Dandelions mean:

愛の神託 (Oracle of Love)

神託 (Oracle)

真心の愛 (Sincere Love)

幸福 (Happiness)

別離 (Separation)

The English meanings of Dandelions are:

Happiness

Joy

Youthful Thoughts

Dandelions are known to be a fortune-telling flower which is why words like “神託 (Oracle)” are associated with it. It seems like Dandelions also mean “Happiness” but also “Separation”.

How this connects to Futaba:

Obviously Futaba’s code name is “Oracle”, so all of the “神託 (Oracle)” and “愛の神託 (Oracle of Love)“ meanings of this flower connects to her. The “別離 (Separation)“ meaning could refer to how Futaba is separated from her mother because her mother died. The “幸福 (Happiness)“ meaning probably refers to how Futaba became happy again and gained new friends after the Phantom Thieves saved her.

One of the birth flower dates for Dandelions is February 19th, which is Futaba’s birthday. So these flowers are REALLY for Futaba!

Carnations are called カーネーション (Carnation) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Carnations in general mean:

無垢で深い愛 (Innocent and Deep Love)

魅惑 (Fascination)

愛情 (Affection)

And Red Carnations in particular mean:

母への愛 (A Mother’s Love)

The English meanings of Carnations are:

Admiration

Love and Affection

Fascination

Distinction

Carnations are known to symbolize Mother’s Day which is why “母への愛 (A Mother’s Love)“ is associated with it. The Red color of that flower in particular are used the most for Mother’s Day.

How this connects to Futaba:

Futaba loves her mother (Wakaba) a lot and she also misses her mother a lot. The whole Futaba Palace arc was about Futaba struggling to overcome her mother’s death. She later realized in her Palace that her mother doesn’t hate her and still loves her. This connects to the “母への愛 (A Mother’s Love)“ meaning. Futaba deep down still hasn’t overcome her mother’s death and it shows in the 3rd semester. Futaba’s wish in the dream world was to have Wakaba still alive. Futaba knew it wasn’t real early on, but she still rolled with it anyway because “If I got to see my mom again, then it was okay...”. She eventually apologized to Ren for this though.

Haru Okumura - Pink Roses & Hypericum Berries

As you already know, in Hanakotoba (花言葉) Roses in general mean:

愛 (Love)

美 (Beauty)

But Pink Roses in particular mean:

しとやか (Graceful / Ladylike)

��品 (Elegant)

可愛い人 (Cute person)

美しい少女 (Beautiful Girl)

誓い (Oath of Love)

感銘 (Deep Impression)

The English meanings of Pink Roses are:

Gratitude

Grace

Joy

Gentleness

Ann’s Red Roses represent passionate love and romance. Haru’s Pink Roses on the other hand, have a different meaning. Pink Roses are more associated with beauty and grace.

How this connects to Haru:

Haru is the “Beauty Thief”, and is associated with the themes of classy elegance, beauty and grace. This is because her Persona is Milady, who is a sophisticated and elegant woman. It’s also because Haru is rich. Haru is familiar with what it’s like to live in a high-class lifestyle.

Hypericum are called ヒペリカム (Hypericum) in Japanese

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Hypericums mean:

きらめき (Sparkle)

悲しみは続かない (Sadness that doesn’t last)

The English meanings of Hypericums are:

Cheerfulness

Inspiration

Antidepressant

Hypericums are usually given to those who are grieving or lost a loved one. They are also known to relieve depression, because the medicine that uses this plant are antidepressants. Hypericums are also used to drive away devils, witches, sorcery, and misfortune. This is the reason why Hypericums have “悲しみは続かない (Sadness that doesn’t last)" as its meaning.

How this connects to Haru:

I think this is connected to how Haru lost her father and she was really sad about it. Hypericums are for those “who are grieving or lost a loved one“. The meaning of “driving away devils, witches, sorcery, and misfortune�� could refer to how Haru had to fight against her father in the Metaverse in order to stop his corruption and save anyone (and herself) who were affected by his distorted desires. Even after the Okumura arc, she still grieved about her father to the point that her wish in the dream world was to have her father alive again.

The “悲しみは続かない (Sadness that doesn’t last)" meaning could refer to Haru joining the Phantom Thieves and not being sad anymore. Her new friends relieved her depression.

Sumire Yoshizawa - Baby’s Breaths & Blue Star Milkweeds

Baby’s Breaths (aka Gypsophilas) are called かすみ草 (Kasumisou) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Baby’s Breaths mean:

清らかな心 (Pure Heart)

無邪気 (Innocence)

親切 (Kindness)

幸福 (Happiness)

永遠の愛 (Everlasting Love)

The English meanings of Baby’s Breaths are:

Everlasting Love

Newborn babies

Innocence

Holy Spirit

Unity

So basically Baby’s Breath mean “Innocence”, “Purity”, and “Everlasting Love”.

How this connects to Sumire:

The name of the flower. In Japanese, Baby’s Breaths are called “Kasumi” (かすみ) in hiragana. The name of Sumire’s twin sister is also in hiragana: かすみ芳澤 (Kasumi Yoshizawa). It appears that Kasumi is named after the Baby’s Breath flower. Sumire on the other hand, is named after Violets, and Violets are called すみれ草 (Sumiresou). What is the Hanakotoba meaning of Violets? “白昼夢 (Daydreaming)” and “あなたのことで頭がいっぱい (You Occupy my Thoughts)”.

Kasumi = Baby’s Breaths (Innocence, Pure Heart)

Sumire = Violets (Daydreaming, You Occupy my Thoughts)

Sumire was the first to be affected by Maruki’s power. Her cognition was changed, causing her to believe that she’s Kasumi. This is connected to the “白昼夢 (Daydreaming)” meaning. During her time being Kasumi, she was completely oblivious that she’s not Kasumi. This could connect to the “Innocence” meaning.

It’s also the reason why the Sumire keychain have Baby’s Breaths flowers instead of Violets. This is the Sumire that thinks she’s Kasumi.

The “永遠の愛 (Everlasting Love)“ meaning could probably refer to the bond between the two sisters.

The Blue Star Milkweeds (aka Tweedias) are called ブルースター (BlueStars) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) BlueStars mean:

幸福な愛 (Happy Love)

虹あう心 (Rainbow Hearts)

信じあう心 (Hearts that believe in each other)

The English meaning of BlueStars are:

Faithful Affection

BlueStars are one of the common flowers that are used in weddings in a bride’s bouquet. I guess that’s why meanings like “幸福な愛 (Happy Love)“ and “信じあう心 (Hearts that believe in each other)” are associated with it.

The essence of BlueStars are associated with dream and reality. It helps balance the ability to daydream with the need to keep one foot fully grounded in reality.

How this connects to Sumire:

Sumire’s 3rd tier Persona Ella, represents Cinderella during her wedding day. The blue color of the BlueStars could also refer to the color of Sumire’s 1st Persona, Cendrillon.

But the essence of BlueStars seem to connect to her more. Regarding the Inharmonious Expression, Sumire wasn’t able to accept reality at first, and wanted to stay being Kasumi in the dream world. This could connect to her lack of ability to move forward and her inability to travel to another dimension (Reality). Then during her time in the 3rd semester with the Phantom Thieves and Akechi, Sumire eventually gained the courage to accept herself. She was finally able to keep one foot fully grounded in reality.

Goro Akechi - Lobelias & Pink Forget-Me-Nots

Lobelias are called ロベリア (Lobelia) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Lobelias mean:

悪意 (Malevolence / Evil Intentions)

謙遜 (Modesty)

いつも愛らしい (Always Charming)

嫌い (Hate)

The English meanings of Lobelias are:

Distinction

Malevolence

Arrogance

So basically Lobelias symbolizes “Malevolence”. The reason why Lobelias have these negative meanings is because even though these flowers look pretty, they are really toxic flowers that can kill you.

How this connects to Goro:

Goro’s true nature is full of malevolence and hate. He had caused psychotic breakdowns, had killed some people, and had attempted to betray the Phantom Thieves and kill Ren. His hatred comes from his desire for revenge against Shido, because Shido is the one who ruined his life as well as his mother’s. The 3rd semester showed this side of him even more. He is more ruthless, vulgar, aggressive, and wildly feral especially towards shadows. He takes great pleasure in killing them. Goro can also make himself go berserk by using “Call of Chaos” on himself.

Goro being a murderer and taking pleasure in killing things can connect to how the Lobelia flowers are really toxic and can kill you.

The “いつも愛らしい (Always Charming)” meaning could refer to how Goro is still pretty and charming despite showing is feral side. Like come on, look at this baby face:

Forget-Me-Nots are called 忘れな草 (Wasurenakusa) in Japanese.

In Hanakotoba (花言葉) Forget-Me-Nots in general mean:

真実の愛 (True Love)

私を忘れないで (Don’t forget me)

思い出 (Memories)

And Pink Forget-Me-Nots in particular mean:

真実の友情 (True Friendship)

The English meanings of Forget-Me-Nots are:

Don’t forget me

Remembrance

True Love

Eternal Love

Desperate Love

Memory of a dead person

The meanings of “True Love” and “Don’t Forget Me” came from legends of tragic romances in medieval times.

The essence of Forget-Me-Nots are for those who never fully resolved their isolation and abandonment issues after experiencing the death of an important family member or friend during childhood.

How this connects to Goro:

The “私を忘れないで (Don’t forget me)” and “Remembrance” meanings refers to what happened between Goro and Ren. Goro made a promise with Ren and gave Ren one of his gloves. But then Goro “died” in the Engine Room and Ren was devastated about it. Ren still kept the glove that Goro gave him and remembers him from it. This can also relate to the meaning of the China Asters that Ren is associated with: "私はあなたを想うでしょう (I will think of you)”, and also relates to “Memory of a dead person”.

The “真実の友情 (True Friendship)” meaning from the Pink Forget-Me-Nots in particular could refer to how in P5R, Goro now has a manual confidant. Ren is able to have an “open and honest relationship” with Goro because of this.

The essence of Forget-Me-Nots also relates to Goro. Goro does indeed have isolation and abandonment issues. He mentioned how he’s an unwanted bastard child, and in the engine room he mentioned how he wanted to be loved. He also deep down wanted to be acknowledged by Shido since Shido is his only biological link. Shido of course took advantage of that. All of this is because during Goro’s childhood, his mother committed suicide, leaving him feeling alone and unwanted. The death of an important family member.

For the ShuAke fans:

Since Forget-Me-Nots gotten their name from tragic romances, this can connect to how ShuAke is a tragic and angsty romance as well. Since they have an “open and honest relationship”, their “真実の友情 (True Friendship)” can turn into “真実の愛 (True Love)” as the story progresses. Also… their flowers communicated to each other like:

Goro: 私を忘れないで (Don’t forget me)

Ren: 私はあなたを想うでしょう。君を忘れない (I will think of you. I won’t forget you)

---------------------------------------------

Whew.... I gotta say, making this post has made me learn a lot about flowers and the flower language. Thanks to this new knowledge, I will consider using the meaning of flowers in my future video projects from now on. Making this post also made me delve into the meta of the other Phantom Thieves and I began to like them more because of it.

Like I said, my interpretations aren’t 100% correct, so make what you will with this knowledge.

You’re welcome 👋

#p5r #persona 5 royal #p5 royal #merch #flower language #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #ryuji sakamoto #ann takamaki #yusuke kitagawa #makoto niijima #futaba sakura #haru okumura #sumire yoshizawa #kasumi yoshizawa #goro akechi #shuake #akeshu #meta

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lesbienbys · 2 years ago

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After watching a playthrough of p5r and finally playing through the game myself a year later (I've reached the last palace in royal ;-;) I think I have my final thoughts about each of the characters established at this point and I thought I'd share them here instead of twitter because of the character limit. Obvious spoilers for royal and I also mention a p3 and p4 character personality trait but that's about it! TLDR at the bottom

Morgana: akira loves him so I love him :)

Ann: ann is my favorite female pt member and I've only grown to love her more after playing the game myself and seeing how powerful she is, allowing me to keep her in my party the whole game. The writing does her so dirty as a character and her confidant isn't my favorite. Although I did like her rank 9 with shiho, I thought that was v cute (if we skip the fact that you can say you like her while she's emotionally vulnerable). But yeah ann is so great and she really feels like the glue of the group to me!

Ryuji: best boy. Heart of gold, dumb of ass. I really don't mind the whole liking girls thing because he's a teenager, but the writing takes it too far sometimes which I don't contribute to his character at all. But I think I realized how much I loved him as a character when all the pt members are stuck in the velvet room jails and he starts his monologue by talking about his memories of the first palace, and I started tearing up? His was the only one to make me do that because that's when I realized he's been with me since the beginning 🥺

Yusuke: due to atlus' writing once again, I didn't really like yusuke at all in the beginning. I grew to like him more after the palace was over because I really did like his whole story arc. However, the incident that made me really love him though was when I was watching a playthrough and the streamer hadn't romanced anyone yet so they automatically got the beach trip with the bros. This scene is of course a slog to go through because I guess we're supposed to think harassing women is funny idk??? But then fucking yusuke shows up with his stupid lobsters and made me laugh SO hard during a scene where I wasn't having fun. And that's when I was like, okay I love him and his weirdness. His confidant was also excellent and I love him and akira together platonically/romantically.

Makoto: this is where my opinion on a character seems to be... unpopular. When I first got to know makoto I wasn't really feeling her as a character and hoped she would grab me after she awakened. And when she did I was SO excited because her outfit and her persona (johanna my beloved) were so cool and badass. But then after her palace finished I just. Never thought about her again. And I think most of this does attribute to the writing, because her palace and confidant are so Bad, I just couldn't connect with her at all through them. Also her becoming a cop was also one of the worst decisions I've ever seen and makes absolutely no sense. So she's definitely my least favorite member sadly.

Futaba: SHE!!! Oh my god I love her to bits, her palace and confidant are some of the best ones in the game. I'm also such a sucker for found family tropes and so of course I immediately adopted her as ren's sister (shipping her with the protag makes me very uncomfortable fyi). There's not much to say other than she's the best gremlin and I relate to her a lot with her nerd energy. Her palace is up there as the more interesting one in the game.

Haru: I know haru's character can be pretty hit or miss because of how late she comes into the game. I will say that I was pretty neutral on haru's character because of this, until I experienced strikers and went back to royal. I loved her a lot more a second time around, her sweet personality contrasted with her heavy weapon and twisted thoughts when talking about killing shadows makes her such an interesting character for me. I think her weakest point would be the writing surrounding her father's death, I really wished we had seen more of her emotions surrounding it (I also wanted there to be more conflict between her and akechi because that would have made some great group conflict, definitely better than when morgana leaves). But other than that, I think she's excellent and wonderful.

Sumire: My first experience with the game, I felt neutral with her in vanilla because she was just There. Then royal came along and seeing her arc mixed with maruki's really made me love her character a lot more. And while I really loved how she went from depending on akira's opinion for her own self-worth to trying to grow on her own, I don't think it's executed well in the game. I see her saying she wants to be more independent, but then you can also romance her which actually makes it worse for her imo (her constantly looking for the protag's approval after having us learn about her extreme self hatred is not cute to me). I do think her issues make her a more compelling character, the romance thing just bugs me personally (I could have written a much better romance for them tbh but anyways). Her persona is *chefs kiss* and her outfit is one of my favorites. She's also very fun to play as.

Akechi: saved this one for last because I could write a whole essay on this character, but I will try to refrain lmao. I immediately liked his character because you can just Tell he's being two-faced. And you start to see a glimpse of that when he tells akira that he hates him. I knew he was the traitor of the group obviously, but the game surprised me by having him go as far as to shoot the protagonist. I will never forget experiencing that moment for the first time, because that's when I was like oh he's really fucked up. Which of course made me much more interested in his character. I was devastated after the engine room and then elated at the start of royal when I thought he was "alive." Speaking of, akechi's character was already my favorite in vanilla but royal pushed his character to be one of my favorites ever in fiction. 2/2 was one of the most emotionally devastating things I've ever experienced, and it just made his character even more interesting which I thought wasn't possible. I can never stop thinking about how he tells akira to go back to their own reality and how much of an affect akechi's life has on akira's decision. He has so much conviction in his beliefs that he would rather choose to go back to a reality where he is dead than live in a false reality where he is being controlled by someone again. I just want to study him in a lab. I do have a hang-up on his character though. I really dislike that atlus doesn't give him a proper ending to his arc and toys the audience on whether or not he's alive because something something fanservice. The writer in me really wishes they would have left him off as being dead because it would have made his story hit a lot more. Finally, I personally feel like shuake are soulmates on both a platonic and romantic sense, but I think my unpopular opinion is that I don't wish they had a romance route in the game. Tbh I'd rather they confirm he was gay rather than have a romance arc because I'm afraid atlus would obliterate his character knowing their track record on romances and lgbt topic in general. But that'll never happen so!

TLDR tier list:

Akechi

Akira (yes he's his own character)

Yusuke

Ann

Futaba

Ryuji

Haru

Sumire

Morgana

Makoto

#persona 5 #character thoughts #long post #I have gripes about the game but it is dear to me

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abbacchiosbelt · 4 years ago

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here, it’s 3 AM and i’m feeling wild so have a 10k word unfinished fic. key word is UNFINISHED, so don’t go in expecting a proofread work. some things will literally just say ‘ADD MORE’, lmao, but i thought i’d share this because i did put a lot of work into it, i just don’t think i’ll ever finish it...

it’s Goro Akechi / F!Reader. rated M for violence, some sexual content, and unhealthy relationships. i have not finished P5R and it wasn’t even out when i was playing this, so... yeah. with that in hand, enjoy i guess

Cancelled WIP [Goro Akechi x F! Reader ] 10k words, not proofed and not complete.

A familiar and delicious aroma filled the air as you entered Café Leblanc. Ren nodded at you from behind the counter as you walked in, hastily working to whip up several different blends of coffee. It was a lazy Sunday morning, and the ex-Phantom Thieves had decided to have a chill day, as Ryuji affectionately called it. An opportunity to spend time together was rare. Even if it just meant relaxing, being together would be worth it.

Ryuji and Futaba were already there. Futaba was tucked away in her usual corner, typing away at her laptop. She gave you a short wave from behind the screen. Evidently Ryuji had spent the night, still clad in a pair of pajamas while he flipped through a manga. He lifted his hand for a high-five as you took a seat next to him at the counter, which you gladly obliged. Morgana popped his head up from the seat next to you and stretched. You reached a hand over and gave him a chin scratch, eliciting a purr from him.

Between purrs, he spoke. “This still doesn’t mean I’m a cat.” “Yeah, yeah…” you replied, giving him one final pat. Morgana seemed satisfied and curled back up, keeping his head titled towards the door. “Morning.” Ren said, sliding a cup of coffee in front of you. You closed your eyes for a moment and leaned your head down, taking in the aroma. Perfection. You took a sip and grinned. “This is perfect. As always.” You took another sip of the perfectly iced coffee, which was sweet with a slight hint of bitterness. Just how you liked it. “You and Ryuji are the only ones who take it iced, so I’m glad I could perfect it.” Ren said. “Of course you could. Don’t tell anyone, but I think you make it better than Sojiro.” You winked in response and Akira chuckled. “Plus, you like us the best.” Ren laughed again before moving back down the counter to continue working on making coffee for the rest of your friends. Yusuke arrived next, a sketch book tucked neatly underneath his arm. He sat at the end of the counter and surveyed the scene for a moment.

“Ryuji,” he stated, opening up his sketchbook. “Don’t move. You don’t move either.” Yusuke said, pointing at you. You pointed at yourself, looking confused.

“I’d like to get a sketch of all of you today.” Yusuke replied, eyes already flitting back and forth between the sketchbook and the scene in front of him. “Hm, looks like I’ll have Morgana too. Ren will have to be later…” His voice trailed off and you could tell he was already in his own world. There was nothing else to do, so you intended to stay still for Yusuke’s sake.

A moment later Haru and Makoto arrived, arms linked together. They looked happy. They were the first of the Phantom Thieves to pair off, though you had noticed their glances and subtle hints of affection before they would admit to it. You had seen the same actions between Ryuji and Ren, though they were much more coy about it.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by Ann bursting through the door shortly after, arms stacked full of all sorts of sweet tweets.

“Can I get some help?” Ann cried out as a box of sweets wobbled on top of the stack. You jumped out of your seat to help, eliciting a loud groan from Yusuke and a snicker from Ren and Ryuji in the corner. You helped Ann set the sweets down and she gave you a quick hug before heading to the end of the counter to sit with Makoto and Haru.

“Sorry, Yusuke…” You mumbled, and he waved his hand in the air.

“No matter, I can start a new one. Would you care to sit there again?” He said, flipping to a new page. You nodded in response, ready to head back over before the door chimed again. You felt your heart jump. Akechi was invited today, of course, but he often showed up late. He looked nervous as he walked in the door. There was a noticeable silence before Ren finally broke it.

“Glad you’re here, Akechi.” Ren said, nodding towards him. The rest of the group greeted him as well, and you could see the tension drop from his shoulders. Akechi’s face lit up when he saw you, his stride quick as he made his way to greet you. Out of sight of the others, he lightly grazed your hand. You smiled at the affection.

“Sorry again Yusuke, but I think we’re going to sit in a booth for now.” You said sheepishly, feeling guilty about stopping his progress again.

“That’s quite all right. I think I’ve got a new idea anyways.” Yusuke replied, not taking his eyes of his sketchbook. You could tell he wasn’t angry, but you still felt bad. Akechi’s light touch on your hand again brought you out of your thought. You picked the booth closest to the stairs to sit together, Ren and Ryuji not far from the two of you. Ren gave you a curious look when he noticed Akechi was sitting on the same side of the booth as you, your face flushing. He had always known about the two of you. He was too observant sometimes.

You turned your focus away from Ren’s gaze and towards Akechi.

“I’m glad you decided to come today.” You said, smiling at him. He smiled in return, and you felt his hand lightly graze your thigh. Much to your surprise, he kept it there, fingers light against your leg. You were no stranger to affection from him, but he was usually reserved in the presence of others.

“I’m glad as well. I wanted to talk to you about something later…” Akechi said, his face turned towards you. It often seemed like he was in his own world. “Privately. But we can spend time here now, of course.”

“Sure.” You said, glancing over at Ren again. He had returned to making coffee for everyone, but you saw him give you a smirk. You stuck your tongue out at him and you saw him laugh as he turned away. You turned your attention back to Akechi, who hadn’t said anything more.

Akechi’s fingers began to tap out a rhythmic pattern on your leg under the table. Akechi was more nervous than usual today. You reached your hand beneath the table and wrapped your hand around his, giving it a light squeeze. He seemed to visibly relax next to you.

Sometimes you wished that he was more open with his affection. Before his change of heart, he had been possessive, desperate for your affection and attention. Akechi was careful now, treating you as if you were a precious treasure that could break any moment. Still, he made his affection known. A knowing glance. A whisper so quiet you could barely hear it. His fingers ghosting across your back. They were moments you cherished. Moments that you wanted, needed, more of. Stripped away from his charismatic persona was someone who was hesitant but wished so deeply to be loved. To be needed. The past few months with him had been wonderful, but things hadn’t always been easy.

[ It had been months since the Phantom Thieves had succeeded in their goal of saving the hearts of the public. To most, you were just a regular college student traveling the world. To those closest to you, you were an ex member of the Phantom Thieves. After stumbling your way (happily) into the group, your life had changed.

Goro Akechi was one of those changes. You had found something special with him – a bond so deep that you found it impossible to live without him. A bond so deep that even his betrayal against you and your friends hadn’t been able to split you apart. A bond so deep that he couldn’t swallow his betrayal, leaving him to break away from the bonds of his old life to return to you. And yet, the bond was frayed now, in desperate need of repair.

That’s how you ended up back at your apartment, Akechi standing nervously in your doorway after stopping you on your way back from class. It was a bit intimate, your bedroom and living room being the same area. It wasn’t new to you two – but it felt as if he was afraid to cross that boundary now. Your communication had been limited since the disbandment. You were afraid of being broken again, and he was terrified to lose you.

Akechi eventually came in and settled at one of the seats on your kitchen island. You noticed he was tapping his fingers on the counter.

“I have a question for you.” Akechi finally stated. You plopped down on one of the chairs in your living room, giving him a pointed look. “A question?” You repeated. He nodded before continuing.

“Do you trust me?” Akechi said, eye contact unbreaking. He was intense, as always.

You didn’t want to lie. It’s not that you didn’t want to trust him… but he had attempted to betray all of you before his heart got the better of him. It wasn’t a simple thing to forgive. He carried sins on his back that he would spend his whole life atoning for. And yet, if Haru had managed to forgive him for ruining her father’s life, the rest of the thieves knew they should try too. Your feelings for him made it even harder. You knew better than anyone not to give it away yet.

“No.”

He let out a sigh in response, pushing his hand through his hair. “I suspected as much.”

It wasn’t easy to reject him like this. The moments you had shared, still tender in your mind. The way he smiled at you. The way he looked at you with such adoration. The way he had broken your heart. The moments you had shared together bonded you for life. Akechi’s reveal, and subsequent change of heart made you wary. You weren’t sure how to begin trusting him again. And yet, you still loved him so deeply that you couldn’t imagine life without him.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m incapable.” You said. Akechi looked surprised. “Of trusting you, I mean.”

He didn’t say anything in response, choosing to look down at his hands instead. His fingers were still tapping.

“Let’s start over.” You got up as you spoke and crossed the short distance, stepping in front of him. You put your hand out. “Nice to meet you, Goro Akechi.”

He looked startled. You watched him hesitate, unsure of whether he should touch you. He paused for another moment before reaching his hand out and grasping yours. You had missed his touch, and by the look on his face, he had missed yours as well.

“Nice to meet you too.” He said quietly, letting go of your hand. You smiled.

It was a start. ]

“Goro,” You said softly, squeezing his hand again. “Are you okay?”

He paused before responding, his thumb brushing against your hand while he thought. “I am... I’m just troubled by my thoughts today.”

You squeezed his hand again. Akechi often had unwelcome thoughts, as you had quickly learned. He was conditioned to be that way – to automatically assume the worst. To assume that no one loved him or cared for him.

“I love you, Goro.” You said, leaning into him. He relaxed into your side and placed a chaste kiss on your head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked.

“Ah, I’m okay. Besides,” Akechi said, giving you a small smile. “We’re here to enjoy ourselves, hm?”

“If you’re sure.” You replied, smiling back at him. It was hard to get him to open up. He was guarded – your questions always deflected easily with his signature smile. When you had learned the truth from the mouth of the cognitive Akechi, you understood why he hidden himself away. When the two of you had begun your relationship, officially this time, he finally let his walls down.

[ The first time you went on a date with Akechi, you made a trip to Odaiba Seaside Park. It had been raining on and off, so you figured it’d be a quiet day. With the events of the past still fresh, you wanted to keep things simple.

Akechi had always seemed different with you. His voice was soft and sweet, free of anxieties. When he was with you, he took off the mask. It was a subtle change, but one you’d begun to pick up on. Before, he had hidden so much from you, his secrets and pain pulling him away from life. Now was a chance for both of you to start over, to experience each other as a whole.

The day had started off pleasant – a peaceful walk down the boardwalk with plenty of conversation. You could tell he was feeling at ease, and you were too.

As the sun began to go down, you and Akechi had decided to grab a bite to eat. The only stand still open was serving ice cream, which delighted you. After grabbing your cones, you made your way back down the boardwalk, hoping to find somewhere to sit. Akechi had started another conversation while you walked.

“Are you enjoying it?” He said, smiling at you.

“It’s delicious!” You replied, grinning at him.

Before you could ask him the same, a loud voice interrupted you.

“Oi, aren’t you that shitty detective?”

You looked up to see a group of people, now leering in your and Akechi’s direction. You looked to Akechi, his face still unchanged, but hand gripping his ice cream cone harder.

“Yes. Can I help you with something?” Akechi replied, his voice sharp. It was a stark contrast from his voice with you.

“We’re just wondering why you think it’s okay to show your face around here.” One of the young women in the group said, stepping closer to the two of you. “You’re real fucked up!”

You reached out to grip Akechi’s hand, tugging it gently. He didn’t move.

One of the men piped up next. “Yeah, and now you’ve tricked this dumb little bitch too! She must be real stupid to be with you.”

“Don’t you dare talk about her.” Akechi said, breaking free of your hand and taking a step forward. His face was contorted, eyes angry.

The group laughed, and Akechi tensed. Another member of the group spoke up. “What are you gonna do, little boy detective? You don’t know how to do anything!”

You watched Akechi’s hand ball into a fist. You took another step towards him, and glared at the group.

“Just leave. Please.” You said, trying to be polite, though you wanted to scream at them. You had hoped it would make them go away faster.

One of the women laughed. “Oooh, can’t even defend himself, he’s got his little girlfriend to stand up for him instead!”

“Why don’t you come with us, baby? We’re a lot of fun!” One of the men said. You could feel Akechi shaking now, trying to control his anger. You didn’t know what to do.

“L-let’s just leave, Goro.” You said, tugging at his shirt. He hesitated before he turned back to you, his face still laced with anger. The group leered and chanted at you, but thankfully they didn’t follow as you walked further down the boardwalk.

Akechi was silent as you walked, and you weren’t sure quite what to say either. You found a more secluded area and led him to it, turning to face him.

“Goro? Are you okay?” You said.

Akechi’s hands were shaking. “You think I’m weak. A coward.”

He kept his eyes downcast, nor daring to look at you.

“That’s not true.”

“But I couldn’t even say anything.” He replied, still looking away from you. “I’ve ruined things. This whole day.”

“Goro, please. It’s okay. Talk to me.” You said. He was still looking away.

You took a step towards him and he looked up at you, his eyes watery. “I failed you. Again. And I’m going to keep failing you, and you’ll leave like all the rest, and I’ll be miserable just like I deserve.”

“Goro…” You said softly. “Can I hug you?”

He paused for a moment. In times like these, he was usually berated or screamed at, told that he was better off not being in this world. But you had changed things for him, responding to his bursts of emotion with kindness and care.

He nodded, and you stepped forward, wrapping your arms around him. He was taller than you, but you felt him crumple in your touch, his face buried in your neck. You felt him shaking in your touch, his hands gripping the back of your shirt tightly.

“Shh… It’s okay.” You said. You were glad no one seemed to be around. The intimacy of this moment was something to be cherished. “You have me, Goro. I’m not going anywhere.”

You heard a sob choke out of him, muffled by your shoulder. He was still shaking. You led him to bench behind you.

“Let’s sit down for a minute, okay?” You said quietly. He nodded, and the two of you made your way to the bench and sat down. Akechi had been hesitant to touch you, afraid to let himself feel comfort.

“We could… We could still be close to each other?” Akechi said, sounding very unsure. You weren’t even sure if he asked a question. “If that’s okay…”

“Of course.” You replied, scooting next to him. His body was still shaking. You felt him slowly put his arm out, hesitating to wrap it around you. You looked up to find him studying your face. His eyes were still puffy, but the tears had stopped. “Do you want to talk more?”

He wrapped his arm around you. His touch was still light, but it made you happy. “Not right now. It’s just… you just look very nice right now. You’re just calming to look at.”

It was your turn to blush. You laid your head on his shoulder and heard him take a sharp intake of breath.

“Ah, I’m sorry Goro, I did that without thinking.” You said, quickly lifting your head. He was still looking at you.

“No, please… It felt nice.” Akechi said. “It’s just… I’ve missed you. So much.”

You laid your head back down and felt him squeeze his arm around you tighter. He leaned his head down towards yours.

“I don’t want to lose you again.” He said, lips lightly brushing your forehead. “Let’s stay like this. Just for a bit.”

You stayed there for an hour, bodies comfortably pressed together, silent. You didn’t have to use words to know that the both of you were making up for lost time. ]

Since that day at the park, you had made an effort to always communicate with him. To really understand how he was feeling, and to help him as best as you could. You couldn’t fix a person. No, that wasn’t possible. But you were doing your best to help guide Akechi through life now, encouraging him to seek help and begin healing.

“Are you okay?” Akechi said, startling you. You had been lost in your own thoughts.

“Just thinking about you.” You replied, leaning over to whisper in his ear. “And how much I want to kiss you.”

Akechi’s cheeks turned pink. He still became flustered from praise and affection, having gone so long in his life without it. You delighted in making him happy.

You wanted to fluster him more, but an exclamation from Futaba interrupted you.

“It’s movie time!” She said, picking up her laptop triumphantly.

“Wait, we’re not watching it on that, are we?” Ann said. Futaba had a fancy gaming laptop, but the screen was too small for all ten of you.

“No, no, Ren has a fancy surprise upstairs for us.” Futaba replied. Ren just hummed in agreement before taking his apron off, having finished making drinks for the group. Futaba rushed ahead of you, Morgana trailing right behind her. The rest of the group followed suit, leaving you and Akechi to follow behind. Akechi reluctantly let go of your hand and got up, but extended it again to help you up.

“Why thank you, my prince.” You said, giggling and taking his hand.

“Anything for my princess.” He replied, stifling his own laugh. It was silly, but you two had found pleasure in calling each other pet names.

When you reached Ren’s room you were surprised to see the changes – twinkle lights adorned all the rafters, and what used to be an old CRT had been replaced by a large flat screen TV. There was some sort of blanket pile set up in the middle, most of your friends already sprawled out. A salt rock was letting off a gentle glow in the corner.

“Wow, Ren, this looks nice!” You said. Ren shrugged, but you saw him smile.

“He wanted to make it fancy n’ all for you guys. Both of us pitched in to buy this awesome TV!” Ryuji said, giving Ren a slap on the back. Ren just rolled his eyes, but you could tell he liked the attention. Both of them sat back down together, Ryuji’s arm slinging around Ren’s shoulder. Not so subtle anymore, you thought.

Akechi sat down near the back of the room, patting for you to sit down next to him. You had other ideas as you plopped yourself in-between his legs, resting your back on his chest. You heard him inhale sharply. He leaned his head towards you, lips brushing the top of your ear.

“In front of the others?” He said, resting his lips on your ear.

“Mm. It’s fine with me. Are you okay with it?” You said.

“Y-yes. Very much so.” He replied. You twisted around to look at him and gave him a soft smile.

“It makes me feel safe.” You said. He hummed in satisfaction, snaking his arms around your waist.

Futaba stood at the front of the room and clapped her hands. You were happy that she felt so confident now.

“Alright, it’s time for our feature film. For today’s pick, we’ll be watching ZAW 2!” Futaba said, hitting play on her laptop and scrambling to sit down.

Oh no. You weren’t exactly a fan of horror movies, especially ones with lots of blood and guts. You shifted uncomfortably, already nervous. Akechi gave you a gentle squeeze. He didn’t know about your dislike of horror movies, and now wasn’t the best time to let him know.

The beginning of the movie wasn’t even safe – the screen was immediately filled by the image of a mutilated body and the sound of a loud scream. Why the hell had Futaba picked this movie? You looked around the room, finding some eyes glued to the TV and some joining you in averting their eyes. Makoto was stress-eating some of the chocolate Ann had brought with her. You glanced up and saw Akechi was watching. You didn’t want to ruin the movie for him.

The next scenes were even worse, somehow increasingly violent. You were staring at the floor now, your heart racing. You could have tried to tolerate it if there was a plot, but it just seemed like a cheap movie for shock value. You shifted your body so you could rest some of your face on Akechi’s chest, curling as close to him as possible.

He lifted an arm from your body to reach your head, his hand gently stroking your hair.

“Not a fan?” He whispered. You shook your head. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

It was just a movie, but you felt reassured. He was always so gentle with you, his words never hiding malice behind them. He had always been gentle with you.

[ The first time you realized you and Akechi loved each other involved a grievous injury.

The Phantom Thieves had been in Mementos for most of the day, training and trying out different combinations of party members. Ren and Makoto had come up with an exhaustive list of combinations to try against different enemies, ranking them as they went.

You and Akechi had been in the party together multiple times today, both of you working together quite well. Though you tended to work well with everyone, something just clicked with him. Though the circumstances of his membership to the Phantom Thieves weren’t what you would call ideal, you and Akechi had made fast friends. He was always there to help you out, and you were always there to encourage him, inside and outside of battle.

And though you kept it hidden away from the others, you would often find yourself messaging Akechi late into the night, both of you unable to sleep. On hard days, you’d find him waiting for you after classes with your favorite drink, a dazzling smile on his face. Sometimes you’d even meet up and stroll through the darkness together, talking about whatever came to mind. You wondered if perhaps your bonding outside of battle is what made you two work so well together.

Ren had finally called for the last fight of the day, calling forth the two of you along with Ann. You were exhausted, but you knew everyone else was too. A few minutes later your party encountered a particularly tough group of enemies, Ren immediately calling out orders.

You had been hit a couple times, but not hard enough that you thought you needed healing. Akechi had insisted you heal yourself, but you reminded him of the limited rations the group had left. He reluctantly left the subject alone. The first two enemies went down thanks to Ann and Akechi. The last enemy left was enraged, its attacks suddenly hitting much harder.

“Just a little more!” Ren yelled. You watched as Akechi readied his Persona for a final attack and felt your heart jump when you saw the enemy suddenly rushing him, eyes ablaze.

“CROW!” You screamed, jumping in front of him without a second thought. You felt your body fly back, back slamming into the ground with enough force to crack it. The pain was immediate, searing and all-consuming.

Your vision was hazy, eyes heavy. You tried to move, to raise your hand, but nothing happened. You couldn’t even speak, a low groan leaving your throat instead. Pain bloomed from your chest, warm blood starting to seep from your injury. You tried to move again and your body burned, blood suddenly bursting from your mouth as you coughed.

You heard screaming, both your teammate’s and the scream of the shadow who had been destroyed. It was getting harder to see. Someone had come to your side, hands fluttering over your body.

“Hurry! HURRY!” You recognized Akechi’s voice, now strained and desperate. Someone else was beside you now, using whatever SP they had left to cast Recarm. You felt arms under you now, lifting you from the destroyed ground and cradling you to their chest.

“Oh god, please hold on. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Akechi said from above you, voice quiet and shaky. You felt something warm hit your face and realized he was crying. Ren quickly set a plan in motion to get you to the team’s doctor quickly, your body needing extra healing after how much damage you had taken. You wanted to reach up, to assure him you’d be okay, but you were weak. You felt your body start to go limp, Akechi’s voice above you again.

“Please, please stay with us—" He was saying more, but all you felt was endless darkness.

You woke up, body still aching. You wondered where you were, unfamiliar sounds and smells overwhelming you. It smelled… sterile. Your eyes were still heavy, fluttering as you tried to open them. You blinked, looking down at your body covered in bandages and hooked up to an IV. You remembered the screaming, the crack of your back as you had hit the ground and the feeling of the warm blood that covered your body.

It must have been bad, you thought. None of you had ended up in the hospital yet. Your thoughts were broken by a sudden voice.

“She’s awake!” You recognized Futaba’s voice, looking over to see her and Ren sitting next to your bed.

You tried to sit up, wincing as your body rejected the movement.

“Ah, don’t hurt yourself more! We were so worried.” Futaba said, she and Ren standing from their seats to move closer to you. You heard her sniff, watching as tears ran down her face.

“We thought we lost you.” Ren said, placing his hand over yours gently. You smiled at both of them, grateful they were here.

“I’m going to let everyone know.” Futaba said, digging her phone out of her pocket. Ren was running his thumb over your hand, his eyes downcast. You didn’t have any concerns about the gesture – his feelings for Ryuji were obvious. Instead, he seemed troubled.

“I’m sorry.” Ren said, looking back up at you. “I pushed us too hard.”

You simply looked at him, too tired to speak. You didn’t blame him. You squeezed his hand in response, trying to communicate your feelings. You sighed, your body urging you to go back to sleep.

“Rest, we’ll be here when you wake up.” His voice was reassuring, his hand still gently touching yours as you closed your eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

You were awoken this time by the sound of bickering.

“Shut up, Ryuji! You’re going to wake her up!”

“You’re going to wake her up with your loud mouth!”

“The both of you, quiet down.”

Ryuji and Ann, you thought. Morgana too. A quiet giggle left your mouth, followed by sudden silence.

You opened your eyes to find all your friends staring at you, eyes wide.

Haru spoke first, rushing to your side and grabbing your hand. “Oh my goodness, it’s so good to see you!”

You smiled at her and gently squeezed her hand back. Makoto joined her, placing her hand on your shoulder.

“We’re so glad you’re okay.” Her voice was soft, not as confident as usual.

“You idiots, you woke her up!” Morgana said, hopping up on the end of your bed. You could hear him purring. “Sorry about those two.”

Ryuji and Ann ignored him, walking over to greet you. Ann reached down to hug you gently and you leaned into her embrace as best you could, happy to see them.

Ryuji looked more awkward, his hand behind his head. “Thought you bit the dust for a minute.”

“Ryuji!” Ann said, standing and smacking him on the back of the head. “Not the time.”

Ryuji grumbled, pushing Ann over to wrap you in a hug. “Oi, she knows I’m joking.”

You weakly laughed and winced slightly under Ryuji’s hug, slightly too tight. Ryuji let go and you saw Yusuke hovering at the end of your bed.

“It’s good to see you’re okay.” He rummaged through a bag for a second, pulling out a small sketchbook. “I’ve worked on some things for you to look at while you recover. I know you’ll enjoy them.”

You smiled at Yusuke’s show of affection. Ren and Futaba were still there too, both of them coming to greet you once more. You heard a soft knock at the door, everyone’s head turning at the noise. Akechi stepped into the frame, his hands clenched tightly. You thought you saw a hint of anger on some of their faces. For what, you weren’t sure.

“Could I… come in?” Akechi said, his voice hesitant.

“Of course.” You replied, your voice hoarse. It was the first time you had spoken since you had woken up. Akechi stepped in, clearing his throat before he spoke again.

“May I have a moment with her? Alone?” He said. You saw Ryuji shoot Ren a look. Ren seemed hesitant, but finally grumbled a noise of approval.

Haru and Makoto reluctantly left your bedside, Haru squeezing your hand one more time. Everyone left the room save for Ren. He turned to look at you, placing his hand on yours again.

“Are you okay with this?” He said, looking intently at you. It felt strange. Why were they acting like this?

You nodded at him and he let go. He went to leave, pausing to look at Akechi. You couldn’t see Ren’s gaze, but the look on Akechi’s face told you it wasn’t friendly. Ren looked back at you one more time before leaving, gently sliding the door shut behind him.

Akechi stared at you for a moment before walking towards the side of your bed, eyes downcast. You eyed him curiously. All of this was so strange.

“Hi.” You said, smiling. He looked up at you, the hint of a smile on his face.

“Hello.” He replied. His hand hovered over yours, unsure. You moved your hand to touch his gloved fingertips, watching as his body relaxed. He laid his hand on the bed, fingertips still carefully pressed against yours.

Akechi was staring at you now.

“Do I have something on my face?” You said, weakly laughing. He didn’t laugh.

“You… I’m… I’m so sorry.” Akechi said quietly. You looked at him and watched as a tear slid down his face.

You were confused. You had no idea what had happened, other than the memory of the pain. “Sorry? What for?”

He looked startled at your response, body stiffening, his fingertips pulling away from yours. You missed the touch already.

“You don’t… remember?” He said, giving you an incredulous look.

“Not at all.” You replied. You heard him sigh. His hand was gripping your bedsheet tightly. “What happened?”

Akechi was silent, looking into your eyes again. He looked pained. “You took a fatal hit for me.”

Oh. You remembered it vaguely now, the fear in your heart when you saw Akechi was about to be hit. You suddenly understood why your teammates had looked angry – they weren’t exactly warming up to Akechi the way you were.

“I’m sorry. I should have been doing better, it’s my fault that you’re like this—”

“Akechi.” You said, interrupting him. You pushed your hand forward, fingertips touching his again. He didn’t pull away.

“It was my choice. I made a vow to protect my teammates. My friends.” You said. You were starting to get tired again. He opened and closed his mouth, unable to form a response. He just looked at you.

“I… I should have protected you, though.” He said, another tear rolling down his face. “You are the most precious thing in this world to me.”

His face suddenly turned pink at the realization of what he had said. You felt your heart flutter.

“Akechi… You’re important to me too.” You said, smiling at him. He smiled back this time, small and unsure. “You do owe me one though.”

Akechi chuckled. You felt warmth blooming in your chest, ebbing just a bit of the pain.

“Will you stay with me while I sleep?” You said. He nodded and reached to brush a piece of your hair back. The gesture was intimate, his touch light. You closed your eyes, letting your body relax as you tried to go back to sleep.

You felt Akechi slip his hand under yours, fingers gently sliding in-between your own. His skin was warm against yours. You realized he had taken his glove off.

You felt the warmth in your chest again before falling back asleep. ]

Another chorus of screams came from the TV and you curled even tighter into him. The movie was silent for a moment before a loud gunshot came from the screen, causing both of you to jump. You felt your skin begin to prickle, the familiar feeling of anxiety rushing over your skin. It was too much. You had to get out of here. You crawled out of Akechi’s lap and quickly went down the stairs, relief washing over you when the sounds of the TV were no longer loud. You sat in the furthest booth to drown out the sounds completely.

You had never liked guns. You didn’t find them appealing the way a lot of people did, and you had winced upon seeing your teammate’s during your first excursion to the Metaverse. What had sealed the deal for your feel was coming face to face with Akechi’s shadow, and the feeling of his gun pressed harshly against your cheek.

[ You wondered if your friends were going to have to drag your broken and bloody body out of the palace. You wondered if he would be able to handle it, watching himself splatter your brains against the floor. Maybe your thoughts should have been more urgent with the barrel of a gun pressed into your cheek, but hey, no one said looking death in the face had to be rational.

It could have been worse. Akechi could have ambushed you instead of joining you. Akechi’s help had given you the heads up on the majority of Shido’s palace. You didn’t blame him for not expecting to see himself there, twisted and full of malice. Even more, you didn’t blame him for not knowing how cognizant his shadow self would be – all the love he felt for you had seemed to turn to vile hatred in the mind of the other Akechi.

You hadn’t forgiven him, of course. But when he had texted you days after the betrayal in the Casino Palace, you couldn’t ignore the fact that he could help Ren. You couldn’t ignore the sobbing on the phone when you finally picked up, his voice panicky and desperate. And so, with Akechi’s intel and willingness, the plan the Phantom Thieves had set-up went into motion with one exception – the supposed suicide of Ren was not carried out violently by Akechi. Careful planning let the idea spread in the news.

Akechi had groveled at your feet when he finally saw you in person again. It wasn’t easy to accept his help – you would have refused if Ren had rejected him. Akechi had been eager to give every detail he knew, telling the Phantom Thieves the truth about Shido and his manipulation. Thus, the infiltration of the palace had gone smoothly, until you had reached the engine room.

All of you had split up to look around for clues. Everything was normal, until you found yourself on the floor, someone’s shoe digging into your back.

“Ah, the pet.” You recognized the voice – it was Akechi’s. But it wasn’t normal, no, this voice was laced with venom. Your struggling against the floor alerted the rest of the group, horrified gasps resounding throughout the room, something close to a growl leaving Ren’s throat. A moment later you were dragged up by your hair, a hard and cold object suddenly digging into your cheek.

“I thought you would have given up this vice by now.” Cognitive Akechi said, clicking his tongue. You felt the gun dig further into your cheek.

“The fuck is this, Crow?” Ryuji yelled. You saw him take step towards Akechi, who looked horrified.

“I don’t, god, I didn’t know this would happen.” Akechi stuttered out, panic laced in his words.

The cognitive Akechi tugged on your hair harshly, hot pain flaring in your scalp. A sick laugh bubbled out of his throat, and you saw your Akechi tense.

“You know, you were just a tool for him.” The cognitive Akechi said, pulling your face up to look at his. An awful grin was plastered on his face, eyes shining bright red. “Until he got too attached.”

“That’s not true—” You heard Akechi say, the cognitive Akechi interrupting him.

“What a fool you were.” His voice was practically a hiss now as he spoke. “You did all those awful things, and for what? To give it up for this?”

He kicked you in the side, and you cried out in pain. Akechi made a loud noise of protest, and you felt the gun press into your cheek harder.

“Shido was going to get rid of this, anyways.” He said, his faced distorted in a smirk. “And you, too. You meant nothing to him.”

“That’s enough.” Ren said, his voice low and dangerous. “Let her go.”

The cognitive Akechi laughed again, pressing the gun into your cheek again. “One move, and I shoot.”

You could feel your heartbeat pounding in your chest, chest heaving from panic. You were going to die, and there was nothing you could do about it.

“Oh dear, are you frightened?” He said, sneering at you. “I know. Let’s make it personal.”

The cognitive Akechi shot a devilish smile at your Akechi. “Come, then. Do it yourself.”

Akechi looked at you, eyes wide with fear. And then you looked up at your friends, some of their faces stained with tears. Makoto, though, had a look you recognized – determination. You were going to take your chance.

“Please.” You rasped out. You saw Akechi clench his hands into fists. “Please, Goro.”

“I can’t.” He said, his voice shaky. You met his eyes and gave him a hard look, glancing to Makoto next to him. You saw as he bit his lip – he understood.

“Hm, then perhaps I’ll make this drawn out?” You heard the Cognitive Akechi laugh and saw how Akechi tensed again. Akechi met your eyes, fear evident on his face. He took a slow step forward, and again, until he was within shooting range. He summoned his gun, identical to the one in the cognitive Akechi’s, and shakily lifted it, eyes meeting yours again.

The cognitive Akechi made a hum of satisfaction, lowering his gun from your face. A loud shot rang out and you saw the cognitive Akechi stumble backwards, groaning angrily. Makoto’s gun was in the air, smoke flowing from the end of it. The gamble had worked – the cognitive Akechi had been too self-assured, a trait he shared with your Akechi.

You scrambled away as fast as you could and heard another shot ring out, another horrible groan emerging from the cognitive Akechi. You turned back, looking between the two. Your Akechi’s gun was smoking, his hands shaking. The cognitive Akechi was on the floor, eyes wide and staring at you as he died.

It made you feel sick, stomach twisting in disgust as you watched the cognitive Akechi fade into black smoke, your Akechi collapsing to his knees. Your friends rushed over to you, smothering you in hugs and “Are you okays”, each of them talking over the other.

But it was Akechi you were concerned about. You silently got up and kneeled in front of him. A moment later you wrapped around him. He was sobbing, telling you again how sorry he was, how he didn’t want to be like this.

You knew he was carrying around years of pain and hurt, the sting of rejection from everyone in his life that was supposed to love him. He swallowed that bitter pill for years, poison seeping through his veins. He had to account for his own choices – you knew that. But you also knew that despite everything, he was worthy of more.

There was so much you wanted to say. Your heart was still broken – you knew this well. But in this moment, there was only one thing you could say to him.

“I love you.” ]

That day played in your head often, the memory of the cold metal against your cheek vivid and unsettling. It was only a few seconds later that you heard someone descending the steps, then a familiar voice softly calling your name. Akechi came to sit next to you in the booth, his arm wrapping around you.

“I don’t think I was enjoying that movie either.” He murmured, gently rubbing your shoulder. “Do you want to leave?”

Leaving would make you sad – but you had been unaware that today’s movie choice would bother you so much. Besides, on a lucky break, your group would be able to hang out next weekend as well. Time alone with Akechi sounded more appealing.

“Yeah. Let me just text Ren.” You replied. You sent a text saying you weren’t feeling well, but to tell the group you loved them and would see them next weekend. You heard Akechi groan when he saw Ren’s reply, which was simply a winky face emoji.

“Do you want to go on a walk before we go home?” Akechi asked, squeezing your shoulder. You nodded, and Akechi got up and repeated his actions from earlier. You exited the shop, locking the door behind you on your way out.

Akechi’s hand slipped into yours like it had a hundred times before.

Before, when you and Akechi had danced around the nature of your relationship, the idea of no one knowing what the two of you had troubled him deeply. Things were better now, as Akechi had taken the initiative to work on his unhealthy behaviors. Sometimes you’d still notice the way his jaw would clench when a stranger acted a little too friendly, or how his arm would wrap around you just a bit too tight.

[ It didn’t take you long to realize that Akechi was a little bit… possessive. You had been friends with Akechi for a couple months now – your late-night conversations now a norm, his presence besides you during fights a given. He was always checking if you were okay, and always wanted to be around you. You’d seen the slight grimace on his face when you talked to one of the boys in the group, especially if it was Ren.

You didn’t miss the way how sometimes he would say “my” before sweetly calling your name, or how he’d always take you to uncrowded areas to spend time together.

Still, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t you enjoyed his company. You saw through him the second you met – his artificial happiness was hiding a deeply lonely person. So, for the time being, you’d brushed it off as Akechi being insecure.

Once, Yusuke had asked you to model for an outfit he had seen in front of Akechi. By the look on his face, you’d of thought Yusuke had asked you to come over and fuck him. There was no romantic intent in Yusuke’s question – but Akechi was jealous. You accepted Yusuke’s request; you had no reason not to.

It had been a perfectly normal day with Yusuke. The outfit was an elegant, flowing white gown. Yusuke had you pull one sleeve down, exposing your shoulder. The dress hugged your hips and showed the curve of your chest, but in a way that you found sensual. It wasn’t anything you were uncomfortable with. In fact, you had felt beautiful, Yusuke’s small hums while he worked confirming that he was pleased.

During a break, you had sent a silly picture of you making a face in your group chat. Everyone had responded by saying how cute you looked, even with the silly expression. Akechi, however, had responded with something that slightly embarrassed you, a sweeping text of how you were the definition of beauty. The attention did make you feel good, even if his message had been cheesy.

You bit your lip, considering a risky move. Maybe you could send him a personal picture. Nothing too crazy – just a little more… personalized. The next picture you sent was just for him, a selfie of yourself in Yusuke’s pose. Your lips were parted, your hair wrapped delicately around your shoulders, bare skin peeking through. The picture cut off so you could see just the hint of your chest. It didn’t take long for a response.

Akechi: You look ravishing.

Akechi: But I am at work, you know. I can’t be looking at things like this, what would they think?

Akechi: Let me know when you’ll be done. I’ll pick you up. Be safe.

You smiled to yourself, knowing that you had riled him up a little. A moment later Yusuke came back, and you resumed the painting, having to fight to keep the smile off your face.

A few hours later you messaged Akechi to let him know you finished. You and Yusuke exchanged pleasantries before you went to wait outside, still dressed in the gown. The night air felt refreshing on your skin, the beautiful stars above you making it even better.

Akechi’s familiar black car rolled up a few minutes later. Akechi came out to greet you before you even reached the door. You noticed how his eyes had hovered at your chest before meeting your eyes. He opened the car door for you like he always did, and then climbed back in himself.

“Thank you so much.” You said, turning to give him a smile.

“Always. Someone as beautiful as you can’t be walking alone at night.” He said, smiling back at you. You just rolled your eyes, blush creeping over your face. A few minutes passed in silence as he drove, your eyes almost drifting shut to the soft music playing over the radio.

“Are you okay? He didn’t do anything weird, did he?” Akechi said, making you jump. His voice sounded a little off.

“Oh no, I’m fine. Just tired.” You replied. “Yusuke was the same as always.”

Akechi nodded at your response, turning his attention back to the road. A few minutes later you pulled up to your apartment, Akechi seeming reluctant to leave. Well… maybe you could invite him in.

“Do you want to come in and have a drink?” You asked. His face brightened immediately. Once you made it inside, you turned to find Akechi giving you a strange look.

“Is something wrong?” You asked. Before you could say anything else, Akechi had gently pushed you back into the door and captured your mouth in a kiss. When you didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss, his tongue running along your lower lip. A small moan left your mouth, and you felt Akechi press further into you.

His hand had found its way into your hair, pulling you closer to him. He broke off the kiss for a moment, meeting your eyes. “You don’t know what you do to me.” He said. You recognized the lust in his, face flushed pink. His lips met your again in another fevered kiss, tongues exploring each other’s mouths. He pulled away again and you let out a whine of frustration, low chuckle coming from his throat.

“I can’t believe Yusuke had you all to himself today.” He rasped, voice low. He placed a soft kiss on your lips before continuing.

He trailed his tongue down your jawline until he reached your neck and started placing gentle kisses on it. You wrapped yours arms around him now, pushing his hips flush to yours. He pulled away again. “No one should see you like this. You’re too beautiful.” He whispered before returning to your neck. You could feel the noticeable bulge in his work pants, and you shifted yourself even closer to him. His lips pulled off for you a moment as he let out a strained moan before returning to his ministrations, lips now sucking and nipping at your skin.

He deepened his efforts, his bites making you shudder now. You knew you would have marks tomorrow. Really, you didn’t even know Akechi had it in him to do things like this.

“Goro,” You whined, and you felt his mouth leave your neck. “You’ll cover me in marks.”

He stood up and looked you into eyes, his free hand coming to rest under your chin.

“That’s the point, my dear.” He said, giving you one of those dazzling smiles. “Everyone will know that you’re mine.”

He pulled away, leaving you dazed. His words should have bothered you, but you were still in a state of bliss.

“Now,” he said, gently grabbing your hand. “I’ll get us those drinks. I’m sure you must be tired.” ]

But now, when you would remind him that you loved him and that you weren’t going to leave him, he’d apologize. You had helped him reroute his unhealthy behaviors to other outlets, reminding him that he needed to take care of himself too.

When his hand met yours now, it was a gesture of love.

ADD MORE

[ The first time you felt your heart break, it was because of him.

You didn’t want to believe it. No. NO. They were wrong. You pleaded with them, begged them. He would never do this to them. To you. Ren had put his hand on your shoulder, and told you that he was sorry, so sorry, but this is how things were. How things would have to be for the greater good. How the Phantom Thieves were going to be betrayed. You wanted to scream. But still, you held on, waiting with hope that they were wrong.

You held yourself together when you met up before the Casino infiltration. Your heart pounded when you looked at Akechi. He was acting normal, so normal that you wanted to shake him and ask him what he was doing. Was he really going to do this? Why? You jumped when you felt his hand graze your back, his voice soft.

“Don’t worry.”

You couldn’t even look at him, and he didn’t press you further. Did he know what you knew? No, of course not. He had been outsmarted, and he didn’t even know it.

Akechi had insisted on being on the team, and Ren conceded. You volunteered as well, much to Ren’s concern. Makoto had joined as well. He was right to be concerned – your fighting was off, your mind frazzled. He took you to the side and asked if you wanted to sit out for a bit, but you refused. Your nails dug into your skin as you spoke in hushed tones with Ren, pleading. Akechi gave you two a curious look.

If Akechi had wanted to say something, he didn’t. Instead, you watched as he took hit after hit for you during battle. You felt his gaze on you as you explored the palace, his hand occasionally brushing yours. Every touch felt like another dagger in your heart. How could he do this?

It didn’t take long to complete the palace. The calling card was sent as planned, and the dread in your heart felt even heavier.

The battle was tough, Akechi still taking hits for you, fighting as if it were his sworn duty to protect you. You wanted to cry.

When the treasure emerged, you allowed yourself a smidgen of hope, that maybe it wasn’t true. The group had to split, Ren giving you a knowing look as you insisted on going with Akechi. A look that told you it was true, that this was hopeless. You just grit your teeth and followed Akechi, his emotions still not betraying him.

He stopped, turning to face you. He looked sad.

“It’s true, then.” You said flatly, looking at him. His expression didn’t change.

“I’m sorry.” Akechi said, stepping close to you and wrapping his arms around you. You felt his heartbeat, quick and erratic. You wanted to scream, to hit him, but you couldn’t. You just stepped away, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“Why?” Your voice was hoarse, your eyes now on the verge of tears.

He was silent for a moment. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Of course.” Your heart was pounding now, every muscle in your body telling you to run.

“If you come with me, I can still protect you.” He said, his voice sounding weak now.

“Never.” You replied. You looked at him, fire burning in your eyes. You loved him, you hated him. “You lied to us. To me.”

“I—” He started, but you interrupted him.

“No. No.” You were crying now, starting to fall apart. “Fuck. Was everything a lie?”

He tried to step towards you again, but you pushed back against him. He winced at your rejection.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but you couldn’t bear to hear it.

“Just stop. STOP.” You cried out. You turned to leave and felt his hand grab your wrist, his grip tight.

“Please.” He said, his voice cracking. “Don’t leave.”

You turned to look at him, his hand still tight on your wrist. You looked at him, anger coursing through your veins. You loved him. You hated him. You couldn’t say anything.

“I need you.” He pleaded, trying to pull you closer. You dug your heels in, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “Only I can protect you.”

“You already failed, Goro.” You hissed at him, his hand finally releasing your wrist. You looked at him one last time before turning and running, his desperate shouts echoing behind you.

It didn’t matter anymore. ]

ADD A LOT MORE OOPS SKIPPING A BUNCH BUT I HAD AN IDEA FOR THE LAST PART

“Is this okay?” He murmured, fingers playing with the hem of your shirt. His lips were close to your ear, breath tickling your ear lobe. You nodded, but Akechi didn’t move yet. “Please, tell me what you want.”

You could feel his lips curl into a smirk against your ear. Devious bastard.

“Goro, please… t-touch me.” You said, voice wavering. He made a hum of satisfaction in response, his fingers dipping under your shirt now and hand running gently over your chest. Your breath hitched in your throat as he maneuvered his other hand under, his soft hands running freely over you now. His fingertips played with the edge of your bra.

“Do you want me to keep going?” He said. You nodded again. He didn’t press you for an answer this time as his hands slid underneath your bra, giving you an experimental squeeze. His fingers brushed across your nipples, thumb lingering over them. You felt him shift underneath you.

“Could I take this off?” He said, lips against your neck now. You felt safe like this, his body surrounding you.

“Yes.” You replied. His hands left your bra and moved to take off your shirt, gently pulling it over your head and placing it neatly to the side. He brushed your hair to one side, placing a kiss on the back of your neck.

“Ah, you’re wearing my favorite.” He said, pressing another kiss to your neck. “It’s almost a shame to take it off.”

“add more” You replied, twisting in his lap to face him. He was watching you with rapt attention as you moved your hands behind your back, unhooking your bra. You slowly slid it off, placing it on top of your shirt. He was speechless for a moment, taking time to watch your chest rise and fall.

“add more” You said, smirking at him. You turned back around, pressing your back against him again. He was warm against your back.

“You’re stunning.” He said, hands wandering back up your exposed body to caress you. There was no pretense with him in private. He said what he meant. For this, you appreciated him. He gently grabbed both your breasts again, fingers taking the time to play with your nipples. A squeak came out of you as he rolled your right nipple between his fingers, testing. You pressed your back into him, his hardness even more evident now.

“Do you like this?” He said, voice low. His other hand began to play with your left nipple, shiver jumping through your spine. You moaned quietly in response, and you felt his chest rumble as he chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes, hm?”

#misc.txt #wip #persona 5 #violence cw #not sfw #goro akechi #UNFINISHED

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radiantresplendence · 4 years ago

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Doctor Takuto Maruki Was Right

Maruki is the Councillor Arcana in Persona 5 Royal and is a fantastic character that the original game was sorely lacking. I’ll be talking some spoilers here. Be warned.

We can talk about how Demiurge/Yaldabaoth/Yagor/Jägermeister (or whatever you want to call him) is straight trash and shouldn’t be the overarching antagonist of Persona 5 another time, but that’s not what’s important here.

What’s important here is that Maruki wasn’t in the original game and that does a disservice to everyone who played it.

For the vast majority of P5R, Maruki is just the high school counselor who was brought in to the school in the aftermath of the Kamoshida incident as a means of damage control. He’s kind, emphatic and insightful and genuinely wants to help anyone seeking his services.

The Phantom Thieves, due to their involvement in the Kamoshida incident are mandated by the school to talk to him; as the game progresses, most of the team members form some sort of connection to him, save for Akechi and Futaba (I believe) as Akechi is only a Phantom Thief when his goals align with the team and Futaba isn’t a student.

Even Yoshizawa and Yusuke interact with Maruki, as Yusuke goes out of his way to do so after hearing about him from the other thieves and he was Yoshizawa’s counselor after the death of her sister.

Over the course of his confidant, Joker gives Maruki his perspective on some of Maruki’s research, which is later revealed to be Cognitive Psience. At the end of his confidant arc, Maruki reveals that he’s known that Joker’s group were the Phantom Thieves since he saw them exit the Cognitive world during the first heist. He says he supports the thieves and their justice but he has to go a separate way. He then exits the story until after the defeat of the God of Control.

If you finish Maruki’s Confidant Arc by the time that he leaves the school, Maruki completes a belated Cognitive Psience paper that he was working on with funding from a college in Toyko and winds up applying his theory when Mementos merges with the real world.

In short, Maruki fully awakens to his persona with the special ability to rewrite cognition. When the cognitive world and the real world are merged, however this power becomes absurdly potent, and Maruki begins to warp reality in order to make a world where no one suffers.

Maruki’s machinations affect all of the Phantom Thieves positively: Joker doesn’t go to prison because... Akechi is alive and confesses to his crimes in Joker’s stead. Akechi is let off the hook for his crimes. Morgana is a human. Ryuji was never injured and is still the star of the track team. Ann’s friend Shiho never attempted suicide. Yusuke was never exploited by Madarame, who instead acts as a passable father figure to him. Makoto and Sae’s dad was never assassinated. Futaba’s mother is alive and is presumably in some sort of relationship with Sojiro. Finally, Haru’s father wasn’t executed after his bossfight and he was never an exploitative egoist.

There’s a lone exception to this: the girl who the game refused to let join the Phantom Thieves; a girl who had been receiving therapy from Dr. Maruki since before the start of the game due to her trauma from the death of her sister, Sumire Yoshizawa.

In a way, “Kasumi” was Maruki’s prototype for the world he wanted to create. She couldn’t process the guilt she felt for surviving the crash that killed her allegedly more talented sister and consequently wished that she was her late sibling.

Now the world that Maruki creates is essentially a utopia, where no one suffers and crippling psychological harm is unable to befall anyone. Now we can consider the value of free will that Maruki is removing by becoming a new “God of Control”, but as a card carrying deterministic nihilist, I see it as more or less as trading the whims of an uncaring chaotic universe for those of a benevolent eccentric. The game frames this as a stagnation of humanity, something I don’t entirely agree with. Maruki understands that physical wounds (aka hardship) are inescapable (and can provide adversity to fuel growth) and his big theory revolves around altering cognition to inoculate against mental illness. Any issue with Maruki’s world revolves more around his personal flaws and lack of moderation than it does with his theoretical framework. Regardless, Maruki’s world is more ethical than what it replaces.

In the third semester, if we ignore some of the alterations like reviving the dead as they’re more of a condition of the world than an effect of it, many people who would otherwise be sick or destitute are not, and the natural conclusion of Maruki gaining full control (as evidenced in the bad ending where you side with the doctor) is a world where no one is. Essentially, the Phantom Thieves in the third semester who fight against Maruki are condemning these people to poverty, despair and a miserable death. Ethically, for the sake of their own morality, the Phantom Thieves are the bad guys.

Maruki’s motivations need to be examined closer. He is someone who has been largely unable to move past his own trauma (as evidenced by the entire third semester and foreshadowed in the scene where he runs into a college friend) so he has come to the conclusion that he should dedicate himself to moving others past theirs. I mean, mind-wiping your fiance of most of her life with you to cure her of her PTSD and having your life’s work stolen by Shido as you try to pick up the pieces would probably leave a guy feeling pretty empty. Essentially Maruki has resigned himself to his own sorrow after repeatedly being dealt a bad hand, so to speak.

I think we can safely say that at the very least, Maruki has been emotionally displaced (if not worse) since the incident with Rumi and having his life's work defunded has led him to a place where his only real desire is the pursuit of a singular goal: obliterating sadness. Not his mind you, but everyone else's.

Basically, Maruki is not well, emotionally or mentally, despite him being able to function as a productive member of society. Completing his contract with a cosmic entity and taking the throne of the god of control, enables him to pursue his goal far beyond what he was capable as a mere doctor with a special power. He infests the human subconscious to further his goal and relentlessly tightens his grip on the world. Despite having augmented physiology in the fused metaverse as a persona user, I feel that he's a mentally ill man who's burning the candle at both ends, so to speak. I think, if anything, fully awakening to Azathoth’s power exacerbated his preexisting mental state.

To evidence my claim of Maruki’s declining illness, allow me to cite: putting a friend and confidant into a vegetative state because he couldn’t solve a moral dilemma in a month’s time, tentacling a teenage girl and brainwashing her because her dissent is a rejection of your life’s work, picking a fistfight with a high schooler while screaming about stuff unrelated to him, choosing to martyr yourself in resignation to your own suffering when you have the power to avert it.

Imagine a world where Maruki became the new ruler of the Cognitive World, but acted in a more limited capacity that is more in line with his original research, than the extreme conclusion of it. Consider him acting more like the collective subconscious's guardian angel than the god of control, possibly with the blessing of the Phantom Thieves. I think that’s more what a sane Maruki would settle on, feeling responsible to use the powers he was granted by his contract with an outer god.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss the way that Maruki implements his agenda.

While working at Shujin, Maruki isn't anything particularly special as a counselor, as it's neither something that he's particularly skilled at, nor is it something that he's passionate for. It's more or less a case of his job being something that he is qualified to do.

We know that his real passion was cognitive psience research. In essence, he's a scientist over a health professional, even though the funding for his area of expertise was slashed to bits forcing him to take an alternate career path. Especially early on, the way he’d approach his job would certainly be influenced by his passion. To that end, I think you need to analyze his session with Yoshizawa from a research perspective. He rewrote her cognition to be that of her sister’s because he thought it would help her move on. His actions here were absolutely unethical, as he was experimenting on a minor without guardian consent or full disclosure of information, but initial results of his cognition rewrite were positive (especially in the short-term, despite Yoshizawa struggling more in the long term than she otherwise may have).

"Kasumi" in a lot of ways is a proof of concept for the world he creates in the third semester, even if she isn't necessarily an optimally-functioning prototype. Now, I think Maruki was definitely acting as a bad counselor, and a "mad psientist", if you'll allow my pun, in the flashback. In the third semester however, there's no validity in examining him as a counselor, as he's not actively doing counseling. You can't even really examine him under the lens of ethical science, as he's essentially beyond morality. The man has the power to massively warp reality, raise the dead and alter memories. Essentially, his powers are such that only the end result of any action he takes really matters. If Maruki were to harm or kill someone, regardless of intent, he could make it never happen. So, only the ends of his actions can really be taken into account.

The ends of his actions are, of course, to obliterate human misery, and he proved effective at this. The exceptions being Sumire Yoshizawa (albeit before the full implementation of his agenda) and himself (his palace is the Laboratory of Sorrow after all.) I guess what I'm getting at here is that, Maruki has to be judged as a god for all of his actions in the third semester, as that’s really the only lens applicable to his role there.

With that in mind, the questionable actions that he takes in the third semester are basically just holding Akechi’s life hostage and forcing Yoshizawa to be Kasumi. He avoids physical altercation with the Phantom Thieves until they literally approach him with a mutual agreement of force. The Akechi situation is one that Maruki claims to be unintentional, and I do believe him. I think the awkwardness of that reveal is more due to Maruki’s social ineptitude and difficulty revealing that sensitive piece of information than it is anything nefarious. As for the Kasumi situation, Maruki has every ability to revive the real Kasumi and adjust Sumire’s life to become one more satisfying to her. In the end I think that that unfortunate situation has more to do with an ill man with unlimited power unable to distance Yoshizawa’s rejection of his initial gift as a personal sleight to everything he’s spent his life working towards. With his work being pretty much the only thing he’s currently attributed meaning to in his life his swift rejection of dissent makes a little more sense.

This leads to something I consider mandatory, Yoshizawa needs to rebel against the fate Maruki assigned to her, or every member of the Phantom Thieves would be working against their and all of humanity’s best interests.

I think no one would disagree with me when I say that his role in the third semester is that of a god antithetical to the themes of Persona 5, and thus narratively has to be deposed for a satisfying conclusion. Looking objectively at his grand plan however, even with his hiccups, I can’t really say he’s wrong, even if his implementation isn’t as clean as I (or even himself in a better frame of mind) would like.

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #takuto maruki #review #not really a review but this is how I tag stuff like this to keep it organized #media analysis #kasumi yoshizawa #sumire yoshizawa #azathoth

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p5youllneverseeitcoming · 5 years ago

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So I finished Persona 5 Royal

And once again I was a crying mess when the ending credits rolled.

Now, I’d like to share my thoughts about this game but I also respect the fact that not everyone had the chance to finish it yet so anything that is a spoiler will be talked about under the cut.

Anyways, let’s begin.

From the very beginning... I love the new title screen, the fact that you can see each member just hanging out in the streets of Tokyo is so cute and I love it. It’s so easy to get a platinum trophy for Persona 5 Royal which at first I thought was somewhat disappointing as it doesn’t require you to play through it again but then I found out there’s a bunch of challenges in the Thieves Den so I was really glad I had a reason to play it again.

Speaking of the Thieves Den, it’s really nice to see your team members just chat about the decorations you put in there, like for example Yusuke and Ann casually chatting in front of a Reaper statue like it’s no big deal. On a small sidenote, my mum really likes the fact that you can play Tycoon in the Thieves Den and I’m not gonna lie she spent hours playing with them which means I now have thousands of tokens but nothing to spend them on :’)

Much of P5R is very similar to the vanilla P5 except of course the fact that there’s 2 new characters being introduced to the story. You still get sent to Tokyo for ‘assaulting’ the drunk man however, the first change that you really notice is Sojiro’s conversation with you when he is taking you home on the Sunday you visit the school. Of course, by this point you know that there have been many psychotic breakdowns and a lot of accidents but what Sojiro tells you is... Interesting to say the least. I didn’t think of it much at first but then again I went into Royal completely spoiler free (except of course with the knowledge of how Persona 5 plays out) but eventually you find out that what he said was actually really important.

Another thing I really loved that they put in Royal is the fact that they managed to make the battle system even better. I always thought it was pretty amazing but they somehow managed to make it even better. First off, you can Baton Pass right off the bat. No need to establish a social link with the party members or anything, which honestly makes everything so much easier, especially in the early game. They also decided, you know what this nasty crime boy needs? Unlimited bullets... Well sorta. Remember how in Persona 5 you only had a limited amount of bullets per infiltration? Well, now they replenish every battle which of course means I did the only rational thing:

You also get the grappling hook in Royal and honestly? Just watching Joker do flips all over the place is really aesthetically pleasing. I love that they reworked the Palaces so that the grappling hook plays a big part in getting around and as I said, it’s just so fun to see Joker zooming through the air.

They added new Shadows/Personas to Royal which I think is fantastic as it makes returning players not bored of the battles but they also changed some weaknesses/removed weaknesses for some shadows which means you gotta strategise a little bit more. They also changed up the Palace Ruler Bosses but I found them... A lot more easier than the original? I don’t know if it’s due to the fact that I love to grind a lot before finishing a Palace or if I just had the perfect Personas for the occasion but yeah... That’s not to say the changes are bad! I still really liked them but it was just... Really easy for me lol.

Another major change is the fact that Morgana decided that you may be a tired boi after going to the Metaverse but you still have enough energy to do some things in the cafe. That makes it like a ton easier to max out your social stats which means you can max out your confidants a lot faster, I managed to max out everyone and still had days where I literally had nothing to do which just shows how much time you actually save now.

Along with the fact that they fixed some translation errors, they also improved the sprites and added a lot more voice lines which was really nice in my opinion, it was a lot better when a character was expressing a certain emotion and their sprite actually matched it instead of just them facing one way and occasionally changing the facial expression.

I’ll mention this briefly seeing as this is sort of spoilery but I really loved the new confidants. The fact that you can actually hang out with Akechi and get to know him instead of being forced to level him up automatically was so good. The scenes where you would automatically rank up are still there but they kinda act as a filler of sorts now which in all honesty I didn’t mind.

Ummm... That’s about all I can think of that doesn’t contain spoilers so... The section below will have spoilers so please only read this when you finish the game!

I’m going to talk about Akechi’s Confidant for a bit because I just really loved it okay? You learn so much about him, even things that seem trivial like the fact that he’s left handed become... Well rather important near the end. The more time you spend with him, the more you see how much Akira actually means to him. When you defeat him in his Rank 8 event, I actually loved it when he said he hated Akira. That was pure Akechi right there, no lies, no fake smiles just pure, honest truth. Also, I love how he decided to be extra and dramatic by throwing his glove as a challenge. It’s also really significant, at least to me, mainly because you never see him without gloves, in a way, this sort of showed that he fully exposed his true self to Akira. Their exchange in Shido’s Palace when you remind him that you still have his glove... That was really sad. I really wish there was some way you could help him, but alas, you can’t always have happy endings.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really confused when I got to 12/24 and we still went to Mementos. You discover a Palace and explore it for a bit but then it’s kind of... Forgotten? Like Morgana is genuinely like: Lmao this doesn’t concern us atm so you know, killed God with the power of friendship, was ready to stop being a Phantom Thief and surrender myself to the police but then... Mr. Sketchy himself just appears out of nowhere and decides that he’ll take Akira’s place for him

When I first saw him I was like: Omg? How is this even possible? Can I hug him? But then weird things started happening in the story

Reality becomes distorted after New Years and you see that right away when your cat, is no longer a cat. But that’s not all, Futaba’s mother is alive and well as well as Haru’s father and supposedly they were never dead in the first place. I was really confused but then guess who turns up to clear some things up... Mr. Pankechi.

This post is already long as hecc so I won’t go into details but I really like the new Palace. It’s so different to the other Palaces and for once the Palace Ruler is not some evil adult... He’s actually quite the opposite.

I’m going to quickly talk about Kasumi for a second now, or rather Sumire. Honestly when you learn the truth, I was really shocked. Remember when I said what Sojiro tells you becomes important near the end? Yeah well it’s like the game was telling you from the start that she’s not really who she says she is. Just like Akechi, I was fully convinced that the New Palace was hers but I was kind of relieved to find out that wasn’t the case. As a party member, I really like her, she’s really cute and her Persona abilities are helpful in the new Palace. As a confidant... Again, she’s just so cute. When you help her pick out the glasses for her dad... Bruh I just wanted to give her headpats all day. Once you unlock the rest of her confidant, it’s really nice to see her grow and accept the fact that she doesn’t have to be Kasumi appreciated, and once she accepts that she’s Sumire but she’ll still do everything to make Kasumi’s dream come true it was honestly so satisfying.

I think the thing I loved the most though is the fact that Akechi becomes your navigator for a little while and honestly? I wish I had the option to keep him as the navigator. His lines are so funny because they’re helpful but at the same time they’re so passive aggressive! ALSO his Showtime with Joker is by far my favourite Showtime. I love how he’s able to just be himself and literally rip enemies apart and Joker’s just there like: Yeah I’ll play along why not. Whenever they finish and Akechi is just there like: “Don’t waste my time.” ... Big mood, me when I’m driving around Mementos trying to find the stamps.

One more thing I gotta talk about... The ending. I love it so much. I think it’s a lot better than the original Persona 5 ending and here’s why. First of all, the fact that you see the Thieves still being themselves is just so sweet I love these funky kids, that fact that Maruki gives you a lift to the station and he accepts that this is the world that you have to live in? Amazing, thank you Atlus. The fact that Morgana is just snoozing in your bag? Beautiful, let me pet my cat plz. But most importantly... The edgy pancake loving detective LIVES, granted Akira doesn’t actually see him but I DID. I burst into tears when I saw him walk by, I’m so glad he got to live in a reality where he isn’t anyone’s puppet anymore. He can finally fix the mistakes he did, don’t get me wrong, Akechi is still a bad person, I mean he literally killed people but he still deserved a second chance, and seeing him alive means that he finally has a chance to do that... Bruh I was crying so much.

Anyway, I could talk about this game for hours but here are just some of my thoughts that I wanted to share, I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to say later on but for now... Have this mess I call a post!

#p5r #p5 #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5r spoilers #persona 5 spoilers

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kareofbears · 5 years ago

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persona 5 royal: my thoughts after finishing it five minutes ago

disclaimer: the only reason im writing this is because 1) i have a lot of thoughts and feelings that i need to write down and if i dont ill explode and 2) i want to be able to find this when p5s eventually drops so i can compare my thought processes. if you do not agree with what i’m going to say, that’s cool! just block me or ignore this post.

now for the sake of sanity, i’m going to try and narrow down this entire list into chunks because this’ll probably be very very long and very much about me just screaming about stuff that i liked, loved, and don’t like. i will be spoiling both the original persona 5 and persona 5 royal, obviously, so i hope you finished both!

1) Akechi

so yes. Goro Akechi. Everyone’s favorite murderer. I’m going to by spewing a lot of hot takes, and this is probably going to be the spiciest: i am in the most intense love-hate relationship with this brown haired antagonist because jesus christ is he a complicated son of a bitch. I know i’ve complained in the past about how much Atlus often struggles with utilizing a character well, but that does not at all relate to Akechi in any way, shape, or form.

I’ll say this now: He is a character I genuinely, truly hate, yet he is the one I want to hear from the most. He is someone who is a bad person (yes, he is a bad person) but whenever he comes on screen he makes me sit up, he makes me pay attention to him because that’s just the aura he exudes. He is a character who i would never, ever waste my time defending or justifying his actions, but every minute joker spends with him is a minute i want to stretch out as long as possible because he is just that good of a character. He is interesting, he is well defined, he is smart, he is clever, he is sassy, he’s a motherfucking asshole who’s never had a vibe check in my life and i still hate him. Goro Akechi is what Star Wars wanted Kylo Ren to be, and that allegory may not make sense to many people but it works for me so i’m saying it. It’s to the point where writing akechi in a fanfic makes me sweat because in my opinon capturing the essence of akechi is near impossible unless you know what you are talking about (i do not mean that in anyway to discourage people from writing him, im just saying that I am a coward because i will never be able to write a good akechi). Anyway, bottom line is: i despise him but my eyes are always glued to him at all times.

back to the main point-- Atlus absolutely nailed this character and every single addition they put in for Akechi. I’m so damn thrilled that you actually have confidant hangouts with him because every single time you talk to him, it services not only the plot, but it perfectly does what it is supposed to do: it makes you like him, but also leaves the player slightly unnerved. they do it so casually that I might have trouble explaining it, but bear with me: everytime you hangout with him, he always does or say something that unhinges you just a little bit, it leaves you asking ‘wait why?’ or ‘but how did you know that’ or ‘why are you saying that?’. akechi is constantly playing mind games with you. and not only that, adding backstory to akechi (moreso than in the original) is just fucking fantastic. he’s always been a fully fleshed out character but after playing royal, goro akechi actually exists in my mind, and i still hate him (but also i dont. but also i do. anyway)

2) the ending

just finished the game and this is the point where i am at odds with p5r for the first time. the ending to p5, in my opinion, was flawless; everything was perfect and had meaning. from the shot of akira being shown to not wearing glasses anymore because he no longer feels the need to wear a mask (character development: he was very unhappy at the beginning of the game and now he’s happy with his friends--i love it), to his friends being the one to drive him home (amazing, he left his home town and came to shibuya alone via transit, and one year later he’s now leaving with all of his best friends in a van they rented just so they could stay with him as long as they can--it’s perfect, i love it), and also all of them seeing how large and infinite the ocean is (because now there’s unlimited options for them because they all have a new perspective on life).

But....none of that is there in p5r. it feels impersonal. no one drops him off at his hometown, he was still wearing glasses, and there’s no grand metaphor about what they all achieved.

Now, i am not a (complete) moron. I know why they had to change it: it’s because of persona 5 scramble (i think). they wanted to set up a plot for the next game and i feel like thats the reason why persona 5 royal’s ending suffered for it: they were too focused on the next plot that they forgot to focus on the sentimental ending for p5r. don’t get me wrong, seeing akechi in the train station absolutely made me lose my shit and made me scream at one in the morning, but i think they lost the core meaning in doing the other stuff. i did not like the focus on maruki and kasumi (will be talking about them later), cause i feel like it took away from the ending, and i also didn’t like the fact that the whole joker outfit in the reflection thing (but i will be letting it slide since it was during the after credits anyway). So while i do love one (1) new aspect of the final cut scene, i still adore and stan the one from persona 5.

3) the entire last semester

i’ll be quick: the final palace? the best palace. fight me. it’s fantastic, it’s innovative, it’s interesting, and most of all, the palace ruler is actually the best one in the entire game and i know i wont be the only one to say this. maruki is not a villain: i know for a godamn fact that im not the only one to say that i almost agreed with his deal of allowing the reality (damn i almost agreed twice) because why wouldnt you?? it’s literally a perfect reality! the only reason i didnt agree is because i knew the game wouldnt want me to agree and would force me to have the bad ending! anyway, i love the last section so much. the palace design is interesting, the antagonist is brilliant (who doesn’t love a morally gray antagonist?), and finally, the payoff of kasumi happened and it made me silent for ten minutes. the entire reveal of her being sumire and kasumi being dead is just so genuinely shocking to me that it nearly broke my neck.

what actually broke my neck was the initial incident for the third semester. seeing everyone in this wild alternate reality made me so unsettled that i literally got a stomach ache. i saw morgana as a human and nearly passed out. shiho in the underground? wig. ryuji saying he’s on the national pedastal for running? literally my eyebrows just popped off my head. fucking WAKABA? FLATLINED. brilliantly executed and i love the initial akechi and akira buddy cop movie vibes in the beginning it was just so fun.

one huge part of the third semester for me though, was of course, akechi. seeing him completely throw away his ‘charming ace detective’ speil was the most refreshing and interesting and not to mention, hilarious part of the game. he does not give a fuck about anyone and he is not afraid to let you know. he is the biggest savage and the most insane person on the phantom thieves group. he’ll roast you, he’ll roast your boyfriend, he’ll roast fuckin anyone and it’s fantastic. not to mention his dialogue is killer: he says the most bat shit insults ever and my favorite example is when you go up to him near the end of the game, you know, to hangout with him and be a nice guy, he just does not hesitate to say ‘what, you came just to see me? just the sort of brainless sentimentality i’d expect from you.’ i LOVE IT because why the hell would he try to be nice? the jig is up, he’s got nothing to hide. and he owns it. atlus seriously nailed akechi in this last semester and it’s brilliant and i love it.

4) everything else

- one small thing that pissed me off in both games (but especially this one) is how many godamn fake out deaths there are. Morgana has one, Akira has one, Ryuji has one, Sojiro has one, Maruki has one, motherfucking Akechi has two. it just hurts me!

- sumire is an amazing character who has depth and she is lovely and my biggest complaint is that it feels like atlus shoved her in. like, she feels like a new addition to the game, you know what i mean? maybe its because ive played the original p5 first, but you know, it’s not a big deal. but i love her so much

- on the topic of sumire, i cant say that im completely super duper happy with how different she felt from the other thieves? im sure that’ll be explained in p5s but she just got so much screen time that it just truly made me confused?? maybe im just a horrible person, or that’s just a really hot take. but anyway, yeah maybe im bitter because i really wanted to see extra hangouts/school trips during royal, but didn’t really.

-baton pass? literally orgasmic. it made turn base battles so damn fun and the addition of darts and billiards made me foam at the mouth it was SO SMART AND INNOVATIVE AND I LOVE IT ATLUS I LOVE YOU ATLUS YOURE SO SMART SWEETIE

-small thing, but making spells like ‘dormina’ actually useful just made the game so much more fun and dungeon crawling became something i truly, genuinely looked forward to

-being able to give gifts to my bros? absolutely incredible. thank you. side note: seeing akechi happy from giving him a multi vitamin cracked me up. side side note: giving ryuji a fuck ton of weights and him just smiling made my heart so happy i love that boy so much

- ah this game just looked so GOOD! i thought the original looked good but they really went all out. im not kidding, the smallest details in everyday life or even just normal cut scenes were out of this world. especially stuff from the third semester its just OOF good JOB atlus i love you buddy

-ahhh thieves den! how can i forget? i love it. at first i was a bit iffy with it since it really felt like persona 5 (undoubtedly the biggest game atlus has created) was just jacking itself off. but as time goes on, it became a huge addition to the game and seeing characters’ insights and extra lines of dialogue became super duper interesting and a highlight of the game for me. and don’t even get me started on how much i love love love the photos they added of them hanging out! so lovely, a bunch of them made me tear up

- i know it’s literally impossible, but i feel like the game just forgot that akechi is a person who can wield multiple persona and i just wish that could’ve been messed around with during Palaces

- showtimes are so, so crazy and i get so embarassed whenever they play on my tv because they are just outlandish and unashamed but i love them so so much it just defines persona’s personality

-because i love ryuji: i prefer the final conversation you have with him aka ‘whaddya mean? you’re there’ but there’s still a lot of really tender and sweet moments like akira genuinely telling him that he’ll miss him, and also the fact that ryuji wants you both to send each other your times through the exercise watch so you can still race ahhhh i love him so much yall

so, overall, this game is better than the original p5 because of the extra content we get. if persona 5 was the perfect dinner, persona 5 royal is that same dinner and you get to enter the dessert buffet. it’s brilliant, it’s smart, it’s hilarious, it’s heartwarming, and it’s undoubtedly my favorite game of all time without exaggeration. while i do prefer the final cut scene (and final dialogues with some characters) in the original persona 5, in the overall experience, persona 5 royal is superior in my mind. i would willingly get amnesia to play this game again.

I didn’t get to cover everything, but this is definitely most of what i wanted to say. if you actually get to reading all the way to the end, thanks! it means a lot. i hope we can all enjoy persona and look forward to persona 5 scramble together :-)

#p5 #persona 5 #p5r #persona 5 royal #mine #such a long post but totally worth it

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 4 years ago

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p5 spoiler ask: so lately i've been seeing "Futaba's mom performed human experimentation in her research on cognitive psience so Goro was justified in killing her! She experimented on him!!" and I'm like "wait wtf?? where did you get THAT from?" so like, since you're persona lore savvy, is there anything like that regarding wakaba or goro? Am I missing some context?

Sorry for the late response, I know what you are talking about but it’s been awhile since I read the posts (and I dunno who made them so rip). I tried looking for them but.....eh.....yeah (having a hard time finding the ones I recall).....I think it came from P5R, there’s hints at it and at most it’s a theory. I mean one of the hints is the featherman game (which I don’t think I’ve played yet). There’s also this Person’s timeline (it’s a game tho so like....yeah), the issue I have with it is saying Wakaba had a Palace and she experimented on people and it’s stated in the artbook. So I have the artbook, I guess I’ll need to re-read it, but going to Wakaba’s section I don’t see any of that info.....I do see a concept art of what looks like her experimenting on something (might be a shadow, it’s not 100% human looking), but it’s a concept sketch.....not an actual lore bit......but maybe there’s something written in a small portion of the book I’ll have to look for (unless it’s a different artbook then I’m a bit SOL atm lfkdsajf;j)

I’ll have to do my own research, cause I dunno I don’t really like this theory, takes some agency away from Goro imo. But here’s just some bullet points of info to save time:

It’s just a theory atm from what I can tell, nothing really confirmed but people are taking it as canon I guess? (anything to justify Goro I guess >.>). Anyway lord knows this might bite me in the ass cause I’m using Vanilla over Royal translations looking at the scene (but it’s the first thing that shows up so I don’t care). But here’s an issue with the timeline:

Wakaba has possibly been researching prior to Goro meeting with Shido

Shido has already been dabbling in cognition (probably cause of Wakaba, not stated tho)

Goro approaches Shido with his powers......BY MAKING SHIDO’S OPPRESSORS GO PSYCHOTIC!

iirc if she really did that to Goro he’d have mentioned it. Apparently he speaks with familiarity to her and not to Okumura (but that could be chalked up to him reading her research).

So some people say Shido/Wakaba taught Goro to do Psychotic Breakdowns and it’s like????? No Goro had that power to begin with, and I don’t think we have enough evidence or reason that he can do PB without fully summoning his Persona (since it seems tied to Loki).

Also things to keep in mind:

Having a Palace doesn’t mean you are a bad person, Futaba proved that

If Wakaba did “experiments” A) it might not have been Goro, B) experiments doesn’t automatically mean something illegal and inhumane lksdjaf;jfj She could’ve had volunteers. Not everything has to be a copy of Sho/Strega/Labby (a bit reason I don’t like this theory tbh).

Concept art isn’t 100% canon, same can be said about cut content found in the game. While it can explain some things, it’s not in the final product so it’s possible that the creators had that idea and decided not to go with it. Always take it with a grain of salt.

I need to look into it more (and find more of these posts, if y’all wanna send them to me I’ll read them). But yeah sorry I couldn’t go into more detail, I need to refresh again and do more research (it doesn’t help that when I first read this stuff I filed it under “theory but I debunked/found contradictions it in my mind already and thus I shall forget it”

Edit: I should note while I don’t like the theory (and/if people are toting it as fact, and if it someone is retconned as fact later I still don’t like it for reason fdsklafja;fj but atm it’s not fact yet), I do find it is 100% fine to hc for fun and explore it klfjsdalfkjaf

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vgckwb · 4 years ago

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P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 25: Girl Talk

Monday morning, the student council president, Makoto Nijima, was called to the principal’s office. “You wanted to see me sir?”

“Ah, Nijima-san” Kobayakawa said. “I have a very important job for you.”

“Really? But midterms are coming up” Makoto replied.

“I’ve seen your grades,” Kobayakawa said. “You don’t need to worry about that. Besides, this assignment will probably extend beyond that.”

“Really?” Makoto asked. “Well, what is this assignment?”

Kobayakawa pulled up a copy of Kamoshida’s calling card. “You’re familiar with this, correct?”

Makoto was shocked. “That was the calling card sent to Mr. Kamoshida by those rumored Phantom Thieves.”

“Exactly,” Kobayakawa said. “I want you to investigate to see if there is any truth to these Phantom Thieves.”

Makoto was confused. “But sir, why?”

Kobayakawa glared. “As you know, this school has a reputation to uphold. If it were overrun with criminals, well, I honestly wouldn’t know what would happen.”

“What about Kamoshida?” Makoto retorted. “Wasn’t he a criminal?”

“Well…” Kobayakawa stammered, “what happened with Mr. Kamoshida was unfortunate, but we had no idea what was happening.” Makoto was still hesitant. “You know, your sister is very prestigious. And I can write you a letter of recommendation to any college you want so you can be just like that. All I’m asking you to do is this.”

Makoto was concerned about Mr. Kobayakawa’s tone, but she had questions of her own about the Phantom Thieves. As much as she was concerned, she looked at Principal Kobayakawa and said “Very well, I will give it a shot.”

“Thank you Nijima-san” Kobayakawa said, smiling. “I’m expecting great things from you.” Makoto nervously walked out. Kobayakawa got a call. “Yes... I’m on it. I have my most trusted person on it. If these Phantom Thieves do exist, I will flush them out for sure… Of course. You will hear from me right away… Thank you sir.”

Meanwhile, just outside, Makoto was wondering to herself. “How am I supposed to find them? They’re called ‘Phantom Thieves’ not ‘Here We Are Now Thieves.’” She sighed. “Well, I do want to figure this out for myself. If Principal Kobayakawa is allowing me the go-ahead, I might as well take advantage of it.” She started walking. “Now, how to begin this investigation.”

After school, Ren was gathering her things to leave. “Hey” Ann said, approaching her. “Um, can we go to the park? Just the two of us?”

Ren nodded. “Sure. But, uh, you’re going to need to lead the way.”

Ann giggled. “Right. Follow me.” The two of them left for the park. They found themselves sitting in front of a lustrous body of water. “It’s amazing, right?” Ann noted. Ren looked at her. “I mean, Tokyo is the dictionary definition of a modern city, but it still has places like this where you can admire nature.”

Ren smiled at that notion. “While I appreciate that, I’m guessing you didn’t call me out here to admire nature.”

“Heh. You got me” Ann said. “It’s just, last night when you asked us if we’d still be your friend if none of this had happened, well… I’m kind of wondering the same thing.” Ren was confused and concerned.

Ann continued. “On your first day of school, when we met at that crosswalk, and Kamoshida asked us both if we’d like a ride; back then I felt like I had no choice to do what he said. My best friend’s future was at his whim.

But you? You had no reason to jump in his car like you did. I should have stopped you. I should have told you after we got out. But then he...he…” Ann was tearing up.

Ren looked at her. “Are you worried about that?” she asked. Ann looked up. “Truth is, I jumped in his car because I was worried about you. I sensed you were nervous, so I came in to make sure nothing happened. And even if I hadn’t, Kamoshida knew about my past. He probably thought that made me an easy target.”

Ren looked at the water. “He might have been right. I wasn’t sure what to do in that moment. But I didn’t need to be.” She looked back to Ann. “Because I had you.”

Ann was shocked. Tears were still streaming down her face, but she started smiling. “Jerk” she said, shoving Ren, “Don’t make me cry like that.”

“Sorry,” Ren said, laughing a little.

Ann wiped her tears. “And you were worried about if we’d be friends if this whole metaverse thing hadn’t happened. You got into a stranger's car because you were worried about another stranger. I mean, I at least have to respect that.”

“Yeah, well, not everyone would,” Ren said. “I learned that first hand…”

Ann placed her hand on Ren’s back. “It’s OK. Once we sort out this metaverse thing, I’ll help you clear your name. And I’m sure everyone else will too.”

Ren smiled. “Thanks. But even before that, people still didn’t like me all that much in my hometown.”

“Is that what brought this up?” Ann asked.

“Kinda” Ren responded. “Last night as I got home, Sojiro told me my parents gave a description of my behavior to help him help me. They basically said I was anti-social, and thinking about it, they were right.”

“Man, that sucks” Ann said. “But I get that. Even in middle school, people only noticed me for my looks. Until one day in art class, Shiho came up to me and said ‘that painting is awful.’”

“Was it?” Ren asked.

“No!” Ann defended. “Well, I didn’t think so. But I barely managed to pass art that year, so who knows.” Ann smiled. “But it was the first time anyone had said anything to me that wasn’t about my looks. We got to talking, and quickly became friends.

Soon after, I met Ryuji. You should have seen him in middle school. His hair was still black. It’s kinda funny now. It was the three of us for a while, but then, well, you know…”

“Yeah,” Ren said. “Pardon me for asking, but if you don’t like people seeing you just for your looks, then why are you a model?”

“No, that’s a fair question,” Ann said. “Truth is, my parents are part of the company. I started because they wanted me to, but now… I don’t know. I’d hate to disappoint them, but at the same time,” she sighed, “I dunno, I guess I’m a little disinterested.”

“I see,” Ren said. “You know, people see people like us and make assumptions, but in reality we’re a lot more than that. To be fair, I guess everyone has a bit more depth than what we see. Heck, most people didn’t really see who Kamoshida was until we stepped in.”

Ann had a sudden realization. “You’re right!”

“I am?” Ren asked.

“Yeah!” Ann said, standing up. “If I want people to look at me differently, I have to change how they see me myself!” She stood for a second. She sat back down. “Although I have no idea how to do that…”

Ren chuckled. “Well, that in it of itself is a good place to start”

“Well, I wouldn’t have thought of it if we weren’t friends” Ann reminded her. “Ever since Kamoshida confessed, I’ve been feeling better. I remembered that I don’t need everyone to like me. I just need the people who see the real me to.” She looked at Ren. “I’m glad you see the real me.”

Ren smiled back at her. “I’m glad you see the real me as well.”

Lovers-Ann Takamaki: Rank 3

The two girls left the park. They promised each other to study, but one had an easier time keeping that promise than the other.

The next day after school as Ren was leaving class, Shiho walked up to her. “Hey” she said. “Do you have a bit of time? I mean, I know midterms start tomorrow, but I’d like to chat.”

Ren smiled. “Sure.”

“Great,” Shiho said. Shiho started walking, and Ren followed. They ended up in the gym. “So, um, I know this is a little sudden, but how good are you at volleyball?” Ren gave her a confused look. “It’s just, you know I want to bring the volleyball team back, but I can’t remember how good I am without Kamoshida breathing down my neck. So…”

Ren smiled. “I understand. Well, to be honest, basketball is more my sport, but I don’t think I’m particularly bad at volleyball.”

“Great,” Shiho said. “Can you help me set things up?” Ren nodded. The two of them changed into their gym clothes and set up a small volleyball court. They played some one on one volleyball. While Ren did manage to get some points in, it was evident that Shiho was the victor.

“Wow,” said Ren. “That was excellent Shiho. I’ve played against some pretty serious people before, but you’re second to none.” Ren looked over at Shiho, only to be surprised to find her crying.

Shiho glanced at Ren. “Huh? Oh, I’m sorry.” She wiped her tears. “It’s just… It’s been so long since I’ve felt this good after playing volleyball. I’d almost forgotten the feeling.” She sat down. Ren sat down next to her.

Shiho continued. “When Mr. Kamoshida came into the picture, I thought for sure things would get better. I mean, he was an Olympic medalist. I thought that meant he’d love the sport as much as I do. But no. Volleyball was just a means to an end for him.”

Shiho sighed. “I guess I went along with it for as long as I did because I felt like I had no other choice. But in hindsight, I guess I could have just left. I guess I could have told someone. I could have done… well, anything. But I fell in with some temptress saying I could make him pay…”

Ren looked her over. “Well, you know hindsight is 20/20” she began. “And especially in moments like that where you’re stressed out and can’t think straight, it can be hard to see all of the options in front of you.” Shiho listened, but didn’t quite believe Ren.

Ren noticed this, and continued. “Remember when Mr. Kamoshida called me into his office. He was pressuring me into, well, you know… If you and Ann hadn’t shown up, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Shiho’s interest was piqued. “Really? But you seem so sure of yourself.”

Ren smiled. “Believe me, all of us have moments of doubt. But the fact that you wanted to practice today means that Kamoshida didn’t extinguish that fire in you completely.”

Shiho smiled. “You’re right. I’ve never once doubted my love of volleyball, or my love of my friends. Despite Kamoshida fighting tooth and nail to destroy that, I still love them all.” She looked up at the ceiling. “It feels really good not to be running on empty.”

She stood up. “If I can convince everyone else of my passion, then I’m SURE I can bring the volleyball team back.” She offered her hand to Ren to help her up. Ren accepted. “Thank you for today. I can’t tell you how much I needed it.”

Hope-Shiho Suzui: Rank 2.

The girls put away the volleyball gear, changed back into their clothes, and parted ways. The next day was the beginning of midterms, so they decided to do some last minute studying.

#persona 5 #persona fanfiction #persona 5 royal #p5r #p5 femc #p5r rework #p5 rework #p5 #FeMC #female ren #ren amamiya #makoto niijima #kobayakawa #ann takamaki #shiho suzui

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afterreign · 5 years ago

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lovers is plural pairing: implied akeshu/shuake, background ann/shiho & ann/mika beta reader: @jubilantscribbler a/n: no p5r spoilers summary: The Phantom Thieves, an infamous name that empowers the young and instills fear in the corrupt, hold their most important meeting yet. Just who is Takamaki Ann, code name Panther, dating?

Today, Akira is not nervous. There are no battle strategies to discuss, no infiltration route to go over. He is free, not having to relentlessly plan out solutions for all of the potentially bad outcomes that could come to fruition in their next palace escapade.

(Although, he should do that, Morgana’s incessant pleas to sleep be damned.)

No, today is a day he can breathe easy. Today, he is confident.

Akira slides a 100 yen coin.

“Ann is definitely going out with Shiho.”

The response between the Phantom Thieves—sans Ann, of course—is mixed.

“Dude,” Ryuji deadpans, “for real? We’re makin’ bank, yet you’re only gonna bet, like, a coin?”

The weight, or lack thereof, to Akira’s wallet disagrees completely. “It’s fair,” he reasons, internally stomping away at the compulsion to present how truly empty his wallet is to everyone else. “Plus, we’re still high schoolers. College funds and stuff.”

The word “college” attracts the local student body president like a moth to a debt-filled flame. Ugh, third years. “While I would agree that saving up for college is admirable,” Makoto says with a laugh, “I believe we need to backtrack a little.”

Akira sucks in a breath when the brunette places an unwrinkled 1000 yen bill on the table. Makoto’s eyes shine a little. “I am placing my bets on… Mika-san.”

“Thank you!” Futaba, the resident shut-in, erupts, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m glad there’s some common sense here.”

This, of course, ensues verbal chaos. Ryuji, lovely Ryuji with a heart of gold, slams his hands down on the table, protesting all of Futaba’s points. (“Have you seen her look at Shiho?!” the blond exclaims. “Hell, I want someone to look at me like that!”) Futaba spouts something about common media tropes and otome games and other concepts that fly right over top student Akira’s head. Makoto is somehow the mediator and instigator in all of this, proudly showing the group a selfie Ann and Mika took not too long ago. Haru smiles, looking a little too apologetic for wear, before presenting an even more recent photo of Shiho and Ann going on a stroll at the nearby park. And Yusuke, passionate as ever, presents their close-knit group a highly detailed pencil drawing of Ann and Mika looking deep into each other’s sparkling eyes, and okay, this is getting weird. Possibly bordering creepy, and—

Akechi is sitting there with a pained expression masked poorly. He is sipping his coffee cup. It has been empty for the past ten minutes.

“—I feel inspired gazing upon two colleagues enraptured with one another,” Yusuke finishes confessing. Akira, admittedly, hadn’t caught the earlier half. A none the wiser Yusuke nods sagely, eyes closed. “There is no doubt in my mind… Ann and Mika-san must be together.”

“But,” Haru starts, “I can’t help but see Ann and Suzui-san in a relationship. Is that odd? I haven’t had any time to talk to Suzui-san lately, but when she attended Shujin, the two seemed close.” A fond smile crosses the third year’s face. “I can’t help but be a little jealous actually!”

Akechi politely raises his hand. His laugh sounds like it’s being played straight from his TV interviews. “Aha, well. I see everyone is getting along today. But… considering we are not discussing anything Phantom Thieves related, do you mind if I go along my way and head home?”

Everyone rightfully ignores him. Akechi remains stuck in the table booth, likely resenting the fact he came in the first place.

(Akira almost feels bad for him. Almost.)

“Well, that’s that,” determines Akira. He’s not sure what he’s actually determining, though. There is a tone of finality in his voice, and Akira simply goes along with it. He glances at both sides of the booth they’re huddled in and surmises his thoughts aloud. “Me, Ryuji, and Haru think Ann is dating Shiho. Makoto, Yusuke, and Futaba believe she’s dating Mika.”

Ryuji looks pumped. “We need a tie-breaker!”

Makoto frowns. “You… are aware that we’re taking individual bets, correct? It doesn’t matter if one ‘team’ has more people than the other.”

“Matters to me,” grumbles Ryuji, and Akira pats him on the back.

Out of the corner of Akira’s eye, he catches Haru’s glossed lips making a perfect little “o.” If the thieves were in some classic cartoon, Akira has no doubt in his mind that one of those thinking light bulbs would be flickering just above a bed of curly locks, a stubborn screw you to the laws of gravity. “Oh, Akechi-kun!” Haru turns to the detective, a curious look on her face. The light bulb is all aglow. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”

Call it a hunch, but Akira is sure that Akechi is swimming in many thoughts by now. Just… not anything helpful. Instead of voicing out the worst of the worst, the brunet smiles a pleasant smile. It’s strained all the same. “Well,” he begins, “before I give you my answer, mind if I express my own questions?”

Futaba minds, apparently. She groans and dives her head between the safe space of her arms. Some of the others restrain themselves to do the same.

“Is it not strange that all of you are placing bets on Takamaki-san’s love life? Does this not feel all a bit too personal?” inquires Akechi, arms crossed. Despite how light his tone is, his stare bores straight into Makoto’s eyes, judging. “I’m especially surprised that you are participating in this as well.”

Akira always felt that there was some camaraderie between Makoto and Akechi. Hair color and motivations aside, both are at the top of their grades, high marks on all of their exams. The two teens are cunning and have a similar interest in law and speak softly when it matters most. They’re arguably the most mature of their group, but… they slip.

Right now is not one of those times.

Makoto doesn’t flinch. “You… must not know me well then, Akechi-kun,” she states. “I admit that once the rest of the Phantom Thieves proposed—” Makoto quickly waves a hand at everyone. “—this, I thought it was… immature, at first. But I soon came to understand that we do this because we care about Ann.”

“And it’s fun!” adds Ryuji. Yusuke is beside the blond, humming in agreement.

“Ann is always looking out for our feelings,” Haru explains, smoothing out her skirt. “Think of this as if… we’re looking out for hers. Ann is one of my dear friends, so of course, I want to support her in a happy and healthy relationship.” Graciously, she covers a giggle behind her hand. “Although, I do think we get carried away.”

Murmurs of agreement surface between the team. And of course, Akira knows this isn’t about money. This isn’t about who’s right or wrong. It’s about Ann’s infectious laugh, about her overflowing sympathy for other people. It’s about Ann because Akira cares about his friends, and he wants the best for her—

“But are we not certain that Ann is dating Mika?” Yusuke asks, pure confusion in his voice.

—but he can still think his friends are factually wrong.

Before the debate has a chance to start up again, Akechi cuts in with a clean, “First, let’s get that tie-breaker vote in, shall we?”

“Oh, now he cares,” Ryuji scoffs.

Suddenly, Akira hears a small gasp. He turns his head to the not-so-mysterious source and finds a shocked Futaba gaping at no one in particular. “We forgot to ask Mona!” she yelps, startling everyone else from the calm. The shut-in whips her head away from everyone and begins shouting at the staircase. “Hey, Mona! Mona!”

For once, Akira is glad Sojiro decided not to stay and make the gang lunch.

It takes a few moments before Akira hears the creak of Leblanc’s wooden stairs. Slowly, Morgana’s nose peeks out from behind the rails before his head and his furry body follow suit. He moves down each step, one careful paw after the other, before dragging his dark tail across the white tile floor and hopping onto the table.

Oh, the bespectacled boy thinks belatedly.

Morgana is sulking.

Triangular ears are flat against his head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” the feline-but-not-really says with a sigh.

Ryuji makes a low whistle and leans back into his seat. The booth does not bother to budge. “Damn, and I thought you liked talkin’ about your ‘Lady Ann,’ Mona.”

Akira does not miss Morgana’s withering look. In an effort to placate him, the teen reaches over and strokes Morgana’s favorite spot on his head despite the not-cat’s silent protests. Akira then leans over and speaks low into Morgana’s ears. “You don’t need to be here if you don’t want to. I know you wanted to skip out since…”

The silence speaks for itself. Morgana looks at him, and the former appears deep in thought, tail swaying as if searching for answers. Eventually, the tail comes to a halt. “Thanks,” he purrs, and Akira isn’t entirely convinced if it’s intentional or not. “But I got this.”

Akira feels a tug at the corners of his mouth. Satisfied, he leans back, watching Morgana take center stage.

“As someone who knows Lady Ann the best,” Morgana declares, chin held high, “I think it’s important that we consider other options. What if she isn’t dating any of them?”

Leblanc’s resident dyed blond groans. “You’re only saying that ‘cause you like her!”

“Am not!”

“Uh,” Futaba butts in, “are we gonna ignore the fact that none of us updated Mona on what we’re talking about, yet he still responds like he’s been here?”

Morgana seethes out an impatient “I live here,” while Akira says effectively the same thing, only with a switch of the pronouns. Okay, that didn’t work. Clearly, Akira needs a new plan—one that involves less bickering with an animal so they don’t all look insane when an innocent customer decides to walk in and witnesses the incarnate of chaos and more… amicable relations. More bets, perhaps.

Curiously enough, it’s Haru who takes the reins, sending Akira a small smile before speaking up. “Maybe if Mona-chan understands why we think Ann has a significant other, he can decide for himself.”

Akira may be a heathen, but God bless Haru.

As Akira is internally singing his praises, the conversation thankfully segues back to Ann and a hyper analysis of her love life. Futaba mentions how she first found out about Ann’s secret romance after forgetting to debug the café. (Akechi then sends Akira an alarmed look the latter chooses to dutifully ignore.) Haru continues that line of thought, recalling Ann’s inquiries regarding the language of flowers and the like, and Akira makes sure to ignore that tinge of jealousy stirring in his stomach even though he knows that Ann knows his hard work in memorizing a bunch of flower symbolism for his job in the underground mall.

He sighs and mentally sweeps his slight envy under the rug. Priorities, Akira.

It’s not until Makoto clears her throat and poses the daunting question of “So, do you believe us?” to Morgana that all eyes fall back on the not-cat, waiting patiently.

The sway of his tail falters. “... Yes,” he bites out. Morgana’s face contorts like he’s devoured a lemon. “Guess this is what you unrequited love, huh?”

Luckily, Ryuji has the decency to stay quiet as Haru breathes an apologetic “Oh, Mona-chan…” and pets the not-cat’s torso.

The group falls into an almost comfortable silence, save for Morgana’s drooping ears that nearly makes Akira leap forward and shower him with many affectionate head pats. Akira otherwise lets his mind wander. He drifts between the scent of Sojiro’s curry ingrained in the dark walls of Leblanc and his daydream of a flustered Ann grasping the hands of a faceless lover, rotating from Mika to Shiho to a mixture of the two’s features. The arch of the rival model’s groomed eyebrows and the doe eyes of the ex-Shujin student are rolled into one.

Features, Akira absently thinks, and for some reason, his eyes linger on the jaunt of a certain detective’s chin, the curve of his lithe neck, the way he carefully tucks a chestnut-colored lock behind his ear. His eyebrows, not unlike Mika’s, are furrowed. Dark, gloved hands hold a gray smartphone that is definitely not bugged by someone that rhymes with Fakura Sutaba, and hazel eyes—red, if you catch them when the glint of the sunlight hits them just right—are fixated on the screen.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise when Akechi of all people, the same Akechi who never dares to back away from a challenge, continues the conversation, not bothering to look up from his phone.

(But it does come as a surprise, oddly enough. Because Akira, jolted out of his daydream and thrusted into reality, is looking, and he feels like he shouldn’t be.)

“Have we come to a conclusion about our findings then?” Akechi questions, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Pardon me,” Yusuke voices, “but I assumed you held no interest in Ann’s love life like the rest of us.”

Akechi, lo and behold, bears another classic (read: fake) smile of his. “I don’t particularly. However, it seems like you all are stumped, and I do enjoy a good mystery. After all, I am a detective, aren’t I?”

Akira resists the urge to point out how the unknown identity of Ann’s girlfriend is a far cry from a good mystery, much less anything more than petty gossip when not discussed amongst friends. Instead, he motions the brunet to continue with a flick of the wrist.

Finally, Akechi looks up. “Have any of you considered the antithesis to Morgana’s hypothesis?”

Ryuji frowns. “The… what?”

“I believe Akechi-kun is talking about the opposite of what Morgana initially thought,” clarifies Makoto. “Which means…”

The gears in Akira’s head turn by the end of Makoto’s unfinished remark. His mind swims around antithesis and Ann and the underlying yet unknown connection between the two, trying to grasp at a lost thread he’s determined to find. (Anntithesis! his brain unhelpfully supplies a beat later before he dismisses it completely.) He thinks back to what the group assessed before: selfies, flowers, the like. Selfies, flowers, the like.

Selfies.

… Were they selfies?

Akira is backtracking now, attempting to recreate the images Makoto and Haru had shown the rest of the group earlier in his head. He closes his eyes and thinks. Mika and Ann’s picture can be excused as a selfie, sure. The two were pressed close together in the photograph, shoulders bumping and heads tilting inward to stay in frame. A part of Ann’s arm was cut off from where they took the picture. Sly smirks on both of their photogenic faces.

By all means, it’s a regular, old photo. A selfie, likely.

Then, what about Ann and Shiho’s? Akira recalls Inokashira Park as the backdrop of the image, an abundance of green flooding his vision. He’s quite familiar with the area, too; jogging with the former track star there whenever his body can endure the brutality of cardio is one form of torture Akira will never forget.

If he recalls correctly, the photo was awfully similar to its counterpart. Heads inclined towards one another, shared smiles, and⁠—

Ann and Shiho were holding up peace signs, both pairs of arms visible in frame.

It’s a cliché to gasp. Akira knows this and does it anyway because one, he is surprised and two, he loves being dramatic. The act earns a rather bemused look from Akechi that’s immediately disguised as a roll of the eyes.

The rest of the thieves follow suit as realization dawns on them. Makoto nods. Futaba blinks. Ryuji’s jaw drops. Haru, polite as ever, raises a hand to mask the shock evident on her face. Morgana’s eyes go and widen to the size of Kamoshida’s golden medal, round and shimmering and unbelievable.

Yusuke is the last one to come around, and he barely manages to gather his bearings in time to ask, “Can it truly be…?”

A delightful ping rings in the still air.

“See for yourself,” Akechi says, voice breezy, and slides his phone down on the table.

“Do you think they’ve seen your Instagram post?”

Shiho asks this while peering over Ann’s shoulder, watching the likes accumulate at a rapid speed. The end of her ponytail brushes against the blonde’s nape. Ann struggles to suppress a giggle.

“Oh, maybe?” It comes out unsure, reluctant. Ann taps her chin. ”But my phone hasn’t blown up with text messages yet. And trust me, I would know when my friends saw it.”

The other model waves it off, nonchalant. “They’ll figure out soon enough anyway." A pause. Then, Mika sighs. “Looks like the entire population of Tokyo will, too. I don’t know why you wanted to do this, but I’m sure our agency is going to love capitalizing on it…”

“Ugh, agency shmagency!” Ann, who has no concept of personal space when it comes to these two, gathers both of the girls in her arms and gives them a tight squeeze. “How can I hide away my two amazing girlfriends from the world?”

Mika rolls her eyes, but the dust of pink coloring her cheeks gives her away. “Is she always this corny?”

Shiho snickers. “Oh, one hundred percent.”

#persona 5 #p5 #akira kurusu #ren amamiya #goro akechi #ann takamaki #makoto niijima #ryuji sakamoto #fanfiction #fic #fanfic #��栖暁 #雨宮蓮 #高巻杏 #新島真 #坂本竜司

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