#no one talks about how lonely yosuke was

[junesprince]

wanna remind everyone of this scene in pq2 again

[adachimoe]

If this guy had just been a magician then we wouldn't be dealing with this shit

During one of his Social Link rank ups, Adachi implies some things about his career. I know, I know, he said "I became a cop because GUNS". But also: he's a dumbass.

Thus far, the player has only seen Adachi being a bumbling moron running away from a little old lady at Junes. But we see a side of him we haven't seen before: It turns out that he has sleight of hand and he's quite good at performing magic tricks.

He doesn't think he could have made a living if he had gone into a profession working with his hands, even if he does demonstrate that he's good at it. He does acknowledge that his life might have been different. And when fiction does things like this, we in the audience know that the unspoken implication is that he would be a lot happier this way.

Adachi doesn't exactly try to hide how much he hates his life. But, at the same time, it's not like he tries to do much to change it. Part of it we see in his rank 6 social link when he talks about how "I'm lonely, but it's easier that way". But another part of it is that by being a police officer instead of a magician or something else, he gets to work at a government job. Job security certainly contributes to one's quality of life.

But I think there is something else worth noting about this, and it's based entirely off the year Adachi was born - 1984. (Insert the "literally 1984" calendar meme image here.)

Adachi was born when Japan's economy was flourishing and the Yen was quite strong. Based on the timing, I think his parents had a kid under the assumption that, "Japan is prosperous, the Yen is powerful, things are great, everyone has money, or other valuable assets (stock/land)". If you've played Yakuza 0, this might vaguely sound familiar when it comes to Kiryu's story and his adventures in real estate.

This is a hilariously bad and overly simplified explanation, but it wasn't until the year after Adachi was born when the country and the bank began having economic issues. This eventually lead to the big blow up in the early 90s, stock and real estate nosedived, and the whole country went into a period of economic stagnation called the Lost Decades.

During Japan's period of growth, the country was seen as a powerhouse. My dad remembers when Japanese tourists were traveling all over due to strong yen - really a reversal of how it is now with people flocking to Japan due to how weak it is. People there would get a job and be set for life. While this was thanks to their economy and the assumption that "Wow, we have a lot of $$ in land and/or stocks, things are great", the "hired for life" thing can also be seen as being tied to Japanese labor laws. This changed after the economy exploded, and some companies began taking on temp workers who had less rights and less protections.

If you start to compare Adachi's situation and birth year to the main cast, it's really no wonder they make him so damn mad and frustrated lol.

Yukiko and Kanji can inherit their family businesses. Their families aren't wealthy, but they have stable businesses they operate out of their family homes. They can inherit both land and jobs.

In Yukiko's Social Link, she talks about getting licensed as an interior coordinator as a backup in case the ryokan doesn't work out... Hm, I think learning that she even has options would piss Adachi off further lol.

Naoto I am under the impression is doing well since she already has a career as a detective, plus the backing of her grandfather.

Yosuke's family doesn't own Junes, but his dad is the manager at the Inaba store, and nepotism is a thing. But it seems that he too has options, as in Ultimax, he's going to cram school so he can go to university.

Rise already has a career. Unfortunately, it's part of Japan's terrible and exploitive idol industry.

Even Marie has a career, it seems.

One can assume that if Adachi's parents got on his ass if his grades dropped, then Adachi does not stand to inherit something from his parents (or perhaps their assets lost value?), nor is he already successful.

Chie feels like the outlier here. From what we know about her, her parents don't have a business she can inherit, no famous grandfather, she's not a popular idol, and she doesn't have Main Character privilege. We also know from her Social Link that she wants to become an officer like Adachi.

Really, I think Adachi is too young to have grown up on promises of some kind of prosperous future thanks to Japan's strong economy, merely to have the rug pulled out from under him and have his dreams crushed in 1991 (he'd only be 7, after all). So where Chie might optimistically see the ability to help and protect people as an officer, Adachi might see stability and survival because of his parents and how they raised him and the economic situation.

"Don't be a magician, get a secure job" is something our parents would tell us in the west too, so maybe it doesn't seem that special or related to their economic situation at all. Pretty sure his folks would say it to him even if he was born some 10-15 years earlier. But I think it does help illustrate why he would pick security (or why his parents picked security for him), his failure case (have fun being a replaceable temp worker while waiting for your big break as a magician), and what some of his ire towards the Investigation Team is about (he had to study; why do they get to go kill god after school???). In some ways, he feels like an American millennial whose life was affected by economic circumstance, but everything that comes out of his mouth makes him sound a boomer lol. Get off my dungeon lawn, you damn kids.

[thebearme]

Here's a redraw depicting of Yu's parents

The second worst parents in p4. The first goes to Rise's parents but again I'm not in the mental state to unpack her child actor trauma to all of you.

I haven't given these two a name yet but we'll get to that later...

Anyway TW childhood neglect, Physical abuse

I don't have much of them being genuine people with their own life, only the shit parenting but there one.

Yu's mom works as a lawyer. My og idea for the dad is to be a train conductor but idk might change it.

Yu's parents when together tend to like a one brain unit, a professional partnership. But they're never seen being lovingly to each other because of the fact that they don't have time to be together.

They both have hard and demanding jobs where they're rarely at home to take care of Yu. And when they are home, they just give Yu a expensive gift to make it up. Never actually spending time with them.

Yu's parents tend to get Yu into extracurricular activity to keep him busy and be a well rounded person. Yu is now great at athleticism, paper crafts and piano. But he really hates playing piano. (brightside, he can now make a origami pile when stressed)

Yu's parents rarely call but when they do it's for grades. (which is canon! They only called once in the whole game and it was to Dojima not Yu and ONLY for HIS FUCKING GRADES?!)

Yu's dad usually handles the physical punishment while Yu's mom has most "normal" punishment. (like no dinner, groundings and yellings) but because how cold she could be the punishment emotionally hurt as well. So when Yu does something he wasn't supposed to, he prefer dad to know than mom.

They tend to not notice much when it comes to Yu but once he came back from Inaba, they noticed that Yu was more vibrant in his personality and feelings. But it started getting minimizes as Yu remembered that he can't really be talkative and open to his parents. (Yu's parents don't like him being happy.)

Dojima doesn't really understand the full extent of how Yu is being raised or how his sister acts much now. He knows that when growing up she was always the most serious and pretty much only cared about getting out of their home town. He could never blame her for that, there really isn't much opportunity in middle of nowhere town. They are both tough, workaholics, but the difference is that Dojima is soft at heart. He wants to take care of his child and is willing to change for that.

Luckily when Yu was younger he had a babysitter/nanny taking care of him. But sadly it didn't last long, soon Yu had to learn to take care of himself. In Which he did pretty well besides the bizarre eating from time to time.

And you would think with having a neglectful and lonely homelife with absence parents Yu would get friends for a distraction? RIGHT?? NO! Yu doesn't talk to kids his age so they don't get attach when he eventually moves away again. A lesson he inertly got taught by his parents...

Back when Yu and Yosuke first became friends, Yu would try to make him laugh with dark humor. (it didn't work and it just made Yosuke concerned in his homelife.)

When Yu first realized Nanako is using to being alone and taking care of herself something clicked into place. "I know how that feels, I don't want Nanako to be alone like I was. It isn't right."

As of the time of p4, Yu doesn't know that his parents are abusive. But they'll realize later in life, and that's when Yu spends more time in Inaba than his homecity.

Idk but when writing about Yu's parents it makes me feel like I nothing and everything to say about them. I tried to not think about them much because I pulled things from my own childhood for this, I literally was unpacking my own stuff of my mom as I was first writing them.

So if you have any questions like "how was Yu's parents when ___?" I'll try to answer.

[emeyuko]

Okay, already posted on Twitter in a long ass thread but lemme talk about Yosuke's confession again, the "i never knew i had such a heat inside" or this depending of the traslation

It's SO important cuz It really empathizes their relathionship pretty fucking well. Yosuke loved Saki bc she was the first person that saw him as something outside of the Junes kid who's parents are gonna ruin the shopping distritc (even if the way she feels about him was more complicated than that), she accepted who she was, talked to him, was nice to him

we know Yosuke is a person who gets interested in people easily considering his flirty behaviour, but i am pretty sure his feelings for Saki were genuine and that there's a pattern, Yosuke is a lonely kid that is used to be treated like trash most of the time, seeing someone saying this stuff to him, makes him embarrased and...happy, and it makes believe that he's into people who are genuinely caring and kind to others, including a random loser like him. if Yosuke loved Saki for that empathic and kind nature, who's the person that fits perfectly those two terms? Is basically the whole point of their character considering that he's a protagonists and how it mix with the message of the game? That's right, Yu.

There are some parallels with Saki and Yu, in lots of ways, Saki and Yu both has this kind behaviour, can be teaseful around Yosuke and they both are big siblings that really love their little siblings more than anything, but despite their cool easygoing and kind behaviour, they are implied to be really deppresed individuals, for Yu/Souji more specificed in the manga about his parents("i wish all could dissapear" is a very suicidal thought, that Saki's shadow herself mentioned, like if she has thought about killing herself before)

Saki made Yosuke feel slighty better with himself, how he shouldn't worry about what the others are saying around the town, because he knows that isn't true

Yu made him realize how nothing would change for him if he doesn't do something about himself, how he isn't alone and has everyone else and i would say he did more than Saki did.

Yosuke wasn't ready for a relathionship yes, but he slowly realized how much Yu mattered to him, how much he is "special" to him, Yosuke finds himself comfortable in Yu's presence, smth he didn't felt until Saki came in, so i think that's what "i never knew i had such a heat inside" means

he's a perceptive person that knew that his relathionship with Saki wasn't mutual ("i knew all they said was right, i was just too embarassed to admit it...") and afterwards he saw how much he had going on in her head "i wish everything could just dissapear", Yu actually reasurred him, his kidness was more in a "i do like you as a person" instead of "i am kind to you bc i would be a ass if i weren't", Yosuke probably fell even harder than he fell for Saki, he finally found a genuine connection, the most genuine one he could ever have, that changed his life for better.

And i think It really fits his character, he is really someone who desires a genuine connection due to loneliness, people who genuinely liked him, instead of treating him as someone they need from time to time, thanks to Yu he's closer to the team.

And no, some people may believe Yu was like a """remplacement""" of Saki but i do believe this is just a natural course, you cannot control who you get feelings for, and slowly, you get to know them and fall for them, i do know people who broke up/lost their ex before and some weeks later, they fell for someone else, and there's nothing wrong about it, time passes, feelings changes, some people faster or slower than others but it's natural, and Yosuke should allow himself to love someone else when the other already passed away

So yeah, i do believe he got to experience, even an stronger feeling than before and it makes sense, (Yosuke also realized how life slowly changes in his SL, fitting EVEN MORE with his character arc)

Saki is special, Yu is special, and that wouldn't change in any way, not even how he sees himself, bc thanks to this experiencie, he could finally say he's special in his own way.

[sillypiratelife]

When I say that the scene of Mihawk cutting Zoro felt empty, I was talking about this:

So much love and noise for Zoro, even from total strangers. He was a celebrity on the East Blue!!!!! The praise? The nicknames? The respect that his name carried? It all came from other people who heard of him and admired him. There's no silence while he falls— on the contrary, the world around him is in anguish.

The manga panels give you a feeling that Zoro had a life outside of the straw hats. He also had an important reputation, he was someone before he found Luffy. Those little reminders make it even better to see Zoro swear he would make his dream come true to make Luffy proud too. He's leaving all of that behind for his crew!!! Through the story we're told several times just how amazing Zoro is and how he picked Luffy over all the chances he had to reach for greatness!!!

Luffy started screaming like a madman because that is the first to join his crew!!! That's his first mate!!! Usopp was calling Zoro's name. The Zoro he knew was bold and impossible to bring down just like that... and yet... Yosuke and Johnny were completely desperate, watching their hero going down. Even Sanji was moved, shocked to realize Zoro hadn't been lying when he said he had put his life on the line the minute he resolved to try and become the best swordman in the world. The scene marks Zoro's resolution: he's made of the stuff that inspires others to raise and follow their own dreams, just like Luffy.

For me, the live action scene is colder, lonely in a way I can't explain. Zoro does what he does not only for Kuina, but for the people who know and respect him (like Yosuke and Johnny) and for the ones he has made a promise to (Luffy). Zoro has a singular goal, but not a singular dream. Becoming the best swordman in the world is thee step, but not the end of the line. He needs to live to reach there and then, he needs to live to fight alongside Luffy and the straw hats.

The live action showed barely the basics of what went on during the first Zoro and Mihawk fight...

That's so far my only complaint about opla.

[lolo3h]

So I finally finished that shadow souyo fic idea. It has a few differences from the original idea but is overall the same in story. This is all so crazy to me because I haven't written a fic in nearly a year, so my witting/grammar may be a little odd but I had fun with it.

Summary: Shadow Yu loves his friends, and wanders around the TV world looking for their shadows. He runs into Shadow Yosuke, who is none too pleased to see him.

Word Count: 1108

Yu Narukami’s friends are everything to him. And that’s the truth.

They’re his happiness, his purpose, his reason for facing each day. Without them, he is nothing. An empty shell flitting from place to place without meaning. And even if may refuse to acknowledge that fact, his shadow is very much aware of it. Especially when he’s in the TV world, foggy and alone. 

It’s not abnormal for shadows to stick to themselves, but Yu’s shadow can’t help but feel lonely. His friends are a part of him after all, but what can he do? While his real self may be able to hang out with his friends freely, Yu’s shadow has a feeling that the shadows of his friends won’t be happy to see him. From his perspective, it’s easy to see why. Yu always strives to be the perfect friend, the perfect leader. To be perfection. But the shadow’s existence proves that isn’t true. He’s weak. Sad. Pathetic. And if his friends are too polite to say it out loud, he is certain that their shadows will. 

But even if he knows that his friends can’t stand him, he can’t help but be drawn to them. Wandering the TV world, he found himself at the entrance to the facsimile of Junes. Perhaps the happy memories enticing him inside, or maybe the familiarity. But whatever the reason, his feet carried him inside.

Half of the lights were off, causing the remaining lights inside to cast long shadows down the aisles. The store was silent, except for the constant buzzing of fluorescent lights throughout the store. It would have been eerie, seeing the normally bustling department store filled with people, but the TV world was usually devoid of people so the stark emptiness was just normality for him. Yu’s shadow aimlessly meandered through the store, absentmindedly glancing at the items on the shelves and on the displays. He didn’t know how long he was there for, maybe a few minutes, a few hours, but he suddenly stopped when a certain item caught his eye. 

He had wandered into the electronics section and was standing in front of a TV.

The TV. A replica of the real one that his real self and their friends would go through to enter the TV world. 

The thought of his friends caused Yu’s shadow a great ache within his chest. 

What were the shadows of his friends doing? Were they hanging out without him? Did they forget about him? Did they just not care? Would they all just leave him? 

“What the hell are YOU doing here?”

A boy’s shout snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts. He turned around to the source of the voice and came face to face with Yosuke’s shadow.

He was wearing a black jumpsuit with a long red cape around his neck, and a pair of large yellow four-pointed shurikens on opposite sides of his waist. Yu’s shadow would have been glad to see the other, if not for the expression of irritation on their face. 

“I…”

Yu’s shadow really didn’t have a good answer. He knew his friend’s shadow would be displeased at his presence, but he couldn’t deny his intentions. 

“I came…to see you.”

“Really? Well I don’t want you here, partner. Get out.”

He was hurt by the use of his nickname, but Yu’s shadow didn’t want to just get up and leave already. He had finally found one of his friends, maybe they could talk and-

“Why are you still standing there for? Are you going to say something? Let me guess, come to gloat about yourself?” 

 “...What?” 

Yosuke’s shadow started approaching closer to him, his face shifting from annoyance into anger and pointing an accusatory finger. 

“Oh please, everyone knows that you’re superior. You’re not going to shove the fact in my face that you’re better than me? That you are the better student, the better fighter, the better hero?”

“That’s not-”

“Shut up! I can’t stand looking at your pretty face anymore! Get out of my sight!”

The boy pulls out a pair of kunai from behind his back and starts sprinting down the aisle. 

Shadow Yu barely has time to dive out of the way before having to step back and dodge another swipe of the kunai.

“What, are you not going to fight back? Are you trying to prove something?”

It seemed like the other shadow wasn’t going to back down. With a sigh, Yu’s shadow drew his sword and  stood in a fighting stance. He didn’t want to fight his friend, but if he wasn't going to stop then…

Yosuke’s shadow dashed at him again, and just before the kunai slashed at his chest, Yu’s shadow stepped to the side and kicked his feet out. This caused the other shadow to trip and stumble, and in the brief window of opportunity, Yu’s shadow channeled electrical energy into his sword and fired a bolt of lightning.

“ARGHHHHHHH!”

Hearing the other shadow’s visceral scream of pain made him flinch, but it eventually stopped and Yosuke’s shadow collapsed on his stomach. He hadn’t meant to hit him that hard, just enough to make him back away. 

Yu’s shadow hesitantly approached the collapsed shadow. 

“Are you-”

“Dammit, it’s not FAIR!” Shadow Yosuke slammed his fist onto the ground, causing shadow Yu to stop in his tracks.

“Why are YOU always the stronger one?! It’s not fair, none of it is fair!”

Yu had no idea this was how he thought. He was the reason why Yosuke was in such anguish, suffering, pain.

“Yosuke, I’m sorry…I never meant to hurt you.”

The other shadow sat up in response to his words, glaring at him with such fury behind his eyes that shook Yu’s shadow to the core.

“I can never win when it comes to you! Every time I look at you I’m reminded of how complete and utter SHIT I am! No matter what I do I can never be anything else than your hideous second place!”

“That’s not true at all!”

Shadow Yu kneeled at the other shadow’s side and clasped their hand in his.

“You’re so much more than you claim to be. You’re witty and charming. You saved me from being alone. You’re my friend, my partner.”

Shadow Yu embraced the other shadow and held him tight. He whispered into the other shadow’s ear. 

“You’re my hero.”

Yosuke’s shadow was stunned into silence, just sitting unmoving for several seconds. He mulled over the words in his head.

“Your hero huh? Coming from you that may almost be enough for me.”

Yosuke’s shadow hugged back with a content smile.

[taldigi]

I see you are also hoping on the "Ren's hometown is Inaba" train. Any interactions between him and the P4 cast you think would be especially fun? Also, would you want them to hear Morgana or not?

So like, genuinely- I know it's not Inaba. It's not yellow enough to be Inaba. BUT on a like.. story level? It's a fun concept.

So I know that p1 and p2 tend to get a little overlooked, but from what I understand- it's established in one of those that the form that the metaverse/shadow realm takes is entirely dependent on the community and it's rumors. So if, theoretically... Ren were to enter the TV world, he wouldn't become Joker- and if someone from the investigation team were to enter the metaverse, they would get hero costumes. That's how I like to understand it.

It's.. I think p4 is 2011 and p5 is 2016-17? Rise turns 20 yeah? The latest I assume Ren returning would be 2018. Nanako is 7-8 in p4.. so... 14 at most, but using fiction magic and pushing her to 15 would make her a new High school student. Inaba is small & tight knit, so everyone is going to be suspicious of Ren.. except a handful of genuinely good-hearted people, and Nanako deffo ranks up there.

I think their friendship could be really fun. People who kinda had to raise themselves in a way and feel profoundly lonely with the people that mean most to them being far away. Piano and Coffee? Basically a walking jazz club already LMAO.

At least half the team would be away from inaba. Yu, Naoto and Rise for sure. I doubt Yukiko, Kanji or Yosuke would leave, since their families have established businesses.

Same with Teddie, who prolly would be happy still working at Junes.. tho, I can also see him with the gag that he has 100 small jobs and is everywhere all the time. Walk into a store? The cashier is Teddie. At the park? Who's cleaning but Teddie..? Maid Cafe? you know it's T- I also think other than Teddie they'd be too busy having to adult or university to be super involved.

I think I recall Chie is working with Dojima to become a detective/cop. I think Ren would kind of hate them, or at least would be insanely distrustful or wary. Which would be a great dichotomy considering that "worlds goodest girl Nanko" is hanging out with "phantom thief and serial mysterious theater kid Ren". Just a lot of odd little moments that could be really fun.

Nanako meets Ryuji when he's visiting (cause you can't seperate Ren and Ryuji for too long they'll die prolly) and keeps thinking of Kanji... Teddie calling him Kanji 2 and annoying him about it. ("Gah! I didn't think anyone could be more annoying than the cat!")

Anime and Game Yu are crazy different, but I can see an event where he's visiting for some reason or another and it goes from "What do you MEAN nanako is hanging out with some delinquent guy several years her senior-" that results in the worlds most intense wildcard-to-wildcard staredown and ends with, "He's good but if she so much as frowns I'll find you and kill you myself "

Cultural exchange program but they go to Shujin. I think Ryuji moves to be closer to therapy I think, so it might just be Ann and Sumi they meet there, but it's a good excuse for a "return to tokyo" thing- and Ann gets to gush over Ren's Yasogami uniform (he wears it like Yu too- at least in the DLC, which is funny tbh.) IDK where Yu is from originally, but in the anime- at least, he has bags from Tokyo- and the wiki & online discussion come to a similar conclusion. It would be neat if they met up with him there too. bonus bonus points if he's aware of what happened in some capacity.

I know technically it's someone seeing Morgana talk and establishing that concept in their cognition which enables him to communicate, but also as long as someone's entered the TV world/Metaverse is a good enough reason. If not, at least Teddie- as a fellow Shadow-adjacent creature, should be able to understand him.

IDK those are my thouughhtsss. I only got into the anime so far, so I'm absolutely missing context and depth. I'd like to play P3 before P4- especially if they make a p4 "reload"

[arcplaysgames]

kanji. is. fucking. adorable. like, there is genuinely not a bad VA performance in this game but kanji is just giving me everything. he's bashful and cute and swings into being a punk who wants to fight then right back on a dime, his big intro scene with the investigation team (not as catchy as SEES, that one) is like the game showing off his character like "LOOK! SEE?"

Yeah Chie, to a guy, you are picking up what we're talking about, right? oh shit i forgot that chie only learned gayness existed in the first month of the game, she's probably still percolating. she'll get there. i look forward to Chie chasing Yukiko to the train station when Yukiko finally flees town and professes her love as the music swells.

squints at yosuke

I've only had Kanji in my party for ten minutes but if anything happened to him, I'd kill everyone in this room and then myself, etc etc, he even stops to go "MAN what is with me, i never talk this much" its so patently obviously he's a passionate but lonely guy and I'm going to take him under my wing. i though Yosuke was going to be my new Junpei but it's Kanji. I will guide and protect him. He is dear to me.

and not JUST because he's troy baker okay, he's also just really great. finally we have a party member i would put toe-to-toe with a member of SEES in the battle for my heart.

yukiko it's the food court yukiko. Costco cannot be a secret headquarters. i don't care how cheap the rotisserie chickens are.

(I like yukiko a lot actually, she's in the top of the leaderboard)

he fucking chases them off just like that

you ever just grin so hard your face kinda hurts? yep

WOW LIKE

AS SOON AS THEY SAID IT IT SUDDENLY MADE SO MUCH SENSE

like obviously the characters who show up on the news before the next Midnight Channel show are the ones who get taken, but my brain was stuck in "out of universe story structure" mode, in which the game just wants to MAKE SURE i know the character before they're taken

but IN UNIVERSE it also makes sense

however: it still doesn't explain why they show up on the Midnight Channel and then get taken. at the moment, I am... not suspicious of Teddie, but of other entities similar to Teddie. someone created in the TV World who is tied to it who somehow got into the real world and is throwing people back into it for Reasons, perhaps to build the shadow population.

basically: i really need an explanation of the what/why of that initial Channel showing that predicates the person being thrown into the TV.

beloved!!!!!! also i love and appreciate people who ask. excellent.

THEY JUST

COME OUT AND SAY IT

Sorry I didn't screencap the first bit, but Kanji is like "Oh, Yukiko-senpai, you were saved from the TV too?" AND THEN THIS

HE'S.... JUST QUEER. HE'S A QUEER KID. HE'S USING THE LANGUAGE AND IS P OPEN ABOUT IT.

.... i just felt a tingle of Fear in my spine. /squints at Atlus this time

anyway his TV glasses are shades and i love him more than everyone, good night

[scarletwritesshit]

persona [all games] fanfic masterlist

Yosuke Hanamura x F!Reader ❀ Town of Blossoms

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Souji Seta x Yosuke Hanamura ☂ A River Through a Foggy Land

Souji and Yosuke have always been rather close friends, spending time with each other and talking up a storm whenever possible. With a very vague phone call received from Yosuke one morning, paired with his sudden silence throughout the school day, Souji couldn't help but wonder if something other than the murder cases has been bothering him as of late.

Alternate title: The Yosuke Romance Route that Atlus was too Cowardly to Give Us

☂Cross Posted on AO3☂

☂Afterword☂

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Yosuke Hanamura x Naoto Shirogane ⊟ Reminiscent of the Days Gone By

⊟Cross posted on AO3⊟

Of course Naoto got dragged into more detective work. And it just so happened to be on Valentine's Day, too. With daunting police documents holding none of her interest, she gets lost in her thoughts of the time that has passed ever since she first met Yosuke Hanamura. It was a terrible way to spend the holiday, though Yosuke wasn't one for leaving those close to him forgotten.

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Makoto Niijima x Goro Akechi ☪ They Hate to see a Girlboss Winning

⋆☪ Cross posted on AO3! ☪⋆

Makoto has always felt quite inferior to her older sister. She would constantly put in extra effort to at least try and gain her approval, which has all been for nothing considering how she's never home. The new mission to outsmart Akechi's plan has proven to be the perfect opportunity for Makoto to prove her worth. She was going to watch every single one of his TV appearances, from his own shows to special interview appearances. She was constantly going to keep tabs on Akechi's whereabouts to make sure he does not end up taking down a few targets behind the scenes. Makoto will even go as far as to have direct conversations with the man himself. Surely, she will finally be able to at least compare to Sae. But why do all of her plans involve Akechi?

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Goro Akechi x Sumire Yoshizawa 〆Who am I, if Not a Shell of my Former Self?

〆Cross posted on AO3〆

identity i·den·ti·ty noun 1. the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

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Goro Akechi x Ren Amamiya ⌛ Takuto Maruki's Shuake Fanfiction

⌛Cross posted on AO3⌛

What good is a blank notebook if you don't use it to write your own story? This new reality of Maruki's was just that, and he was going to make sure to fill in every little space on its pages with as much control as he could reach. Directing the relationship of Ren and Akechi was no exception. In fact, it felt as if there were too many ideas for him to expand upon…

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Kotone Shiomi x Shinjiro Aragaki 🍣 The Dreadful Secret of Shinjiro Aragaki

🍣Cross posted on AO3🍣

The members of S.E.E.S. all have their own secrets, with some being of greater degree than others. Shinjiro was no exception, especially as he wasn't exactly known for talking about himself. What's the worst he could be hiding? A secret about his Persona? Unforgivable sins from the past? Or a secret love for fluffy little creatures?

-

Kotone Shiomi x Akihiko Sanada 🌸March 6th, 2010

🌸Cross posted on AO3🌸

That blindingly brilliant moment when we were all together Those precious times I didn't realize I should cherish Now all I can do is remember, I will embrace the feeling

-

Kotone Shiomi x Theodore 🧋 Bubbled Tea

🧋Cross posted on AO3🧋

Boba is a rather simple concept to normal inhabitants of this world, like Kotone, for example. Theo, however, could not piece together the logic of this treat for the life of his. Was it comprised of bubbles? Tea? Tea bubbles? He couldn't wrap his head around the concept, so Kotone resorted to giving into his request and taking him to the cafe to try the mysterious beverage for himself.

-

Kotone Shiomi x Shinjiro Aragaki🍲Soup for All, in the Name of One

🍲Cross posted on AO3🍲

A good pot of soup can fix just about anything. For some, it's a cure for hunger. For others, it soothes a lonely heart.

-

Kotone Shiomi x Jin Shirato🔫Death Won't Answer Every Call

🔫Cross posted on AO3🔫

You are only given one chance at life, and you must make the best of it regardless of the hand that you are dealt. Kotone wanted to forfeit, yet Jin wanted his opponent to see things through until the very end, for he wasn't quite lucky himself.

-

Kotone Shiomi x Shinjiro Aragaki 💭 Snitch of the S.E.E.S. Table

💭Cross posted on AO3💭

Koromaru's a dog. Aigis speaks dog. One would think that would make Koromaru a rather poor keeper of secrets, especially when he bears no punishment for the words he spills.

-

Kotone Shiomi x Shinjiro Aragaki 💊 Pain In My (Our) Ass

💊Cross posted on AO3💊

Shinjiro's feelings for his leader were proving to be quite a burden, in more ways than one. Unbeknownst to him, his attachment to Kotone seemed to proving to be quite the nuisance for other, less fortunate acquaintances of his.

-

Kotone Shiomi x Shinjiro Aragaki 🍜 Beef Ramen

🍜Cross posted on AO3🍜

One of Shinjiro's many not-so-hidden talents is making sure nobody is S.E.E.S. ever goes hungry. Especially not Kotone. When he takes notice that her health has been less than optimal as of late, he feels as if he must fulfill his duty as not only the S.E.E.S. cook, but as her boyfriend.

-

Kotone Shiomi x Shinjiro Aragaki 🏥 Unfulfulling Rest

🏥Cross posted on AO3🏥

After the worst nap of his life, Shinjiro wakes up in a hospital bed, deprived of energy. He hardly has any recollection of the events occurring the night before, but he must've taken a hit given that he woke in such a state. Better make sure that Kotone knows he's fine.

[blue-bird-lamentation]

yosuke for the character opinion bingo? 👉👈

 #1 blorbo at the moment. i think if i don’t see a picture of him daily i’ll explode.

I think i’ve never read so many fanfic before lol (however for other pairs i had been interested before, there isn’t that many content, so it’s difficult to compare). i do love reading the various interpretations of Yosuke (and Yu/Souji) in those.

Although I had some knowledge about the game and it’s story beforehand (i even found a post from a person who seemed to actively disliked him, but i didn’t pay much attention to it at the time), i had no idea i would get so attached to him but it happened right from the beginning - falling into trash cans is truly remarkable.

I loved his initiative to start the investigation, the immediate chemistry with the Yu/Souji, and I was super hyped with the og trio: Yu/Souji, Yosuke and Chie.

I loved his Shadow arc (although it works, it’s sad we don’t get an actual dungeon for that like the others (same for Chie)) and his SL <3<3<3 (also his appearance in Marie's and Naoki's SL, although, for Naoki I prefer the manga adaptation, since in game it revolves more around Yu/Souji).

The game starts pretty harsh on him: learning that the girl he was interested in (and one of the only people that seemed to understang him at the time) has died and the last words he hears from her are not the ones he expected to hear. And learning about how lonely he feels in that town, and how his happy silly self is a facade, it was ... sad and depressing. It really made me get really attached to him.

And yet he keeps being the guy who takes a lot of initiative inside and outside the investigation.

I love how he is so silly, and smart, and he also looks really cute tbh (extra hella moe in the dancing game and super cute chibi in the q games. Him and Naoto are super gender, especially looking at them in the dancing game ;;).

Seriously, I love how he is such an idiot sometimes (derogatory and affectionate), how he talks without thinking, sometimes... it's part of his charm.

But i also love how smart he is, and also dedicated (not only in the investigation, but for example he does show, with the motorcycle license scene, that he can put effort in goals he intends to achieve, and if he is motivated, but it also shows how anxious he is and how he is afraid of failing or staying behind).

I also love how he can say such beautiful things sometimes (SL!!!), but sucks at texting (i can't read that fr).

It made me so happy whenever i could just select the nice dialogue options for him (like right at the beginning when Saki mentions he can be a bit nosy sometimes and you can tell her he seems to be a nice person) and how you can choose to hug him in the SL :'')) (btw i didn't know you needed to unlock something in a previous rank to get the hug option, so i was very proud that i got it right at first without knowing it).

Even though i can’t relate 100% to him, there are a lot of aspects that feel kinda relatable, even more if i think of myself when i was his age, in game. Mainly the anxiety, loneliness and sometimes being just silly to hide true emotions/feelings. However he is totally a more outgoing person than i could ever be.

( Whoever sent this, i'm so sorry for taking so much time replying ( ༎ຶ ◡︎༎ຶ) )

I know he is a somehow controversial character (i mean, the game itself is) but i actually try to avoid the mean comments towards my faves so i rarely see those. i’m just aware there are. i love seeing the content from other people who like him though c: and there is lot of good content, i’m always well fed.

I think it’s fine if people don’t like a character or make thoughtful critics if something upsets them about a media they are consuming, critical thinking is always good, and we do not need to like the same things. As long as people are respectful, I am just fine and that’s it.

I just wanted to write a minimal text before simply posting the board and didn't find the right time to do it before ;_;  pls accept a smoll Yosuke plushie drawing to compensate)

[mini--muffin]

You know what I always find super weird in persona 4 fanfics? When the writers either imply or have someone outright say that Yu/Souji didn't have any friends or was kind of a loner before coming to Inaba. Like in the opening cutscene we see him on the train thinking back to when his teacher announced his transfer and was met with students outright upset and surprised and Yu/Souji looking upset.

Yu/Souji is a pretty likeable guy, I mean he managed to get all of yasogami high to like him in a matter of months, I can't believe that he was a loner—especially not that he had no friends.

What I can believe though is that he struggled to form genuine connections, and that maybe Inaba was the first time he's managed to not just be like-able, but form deeper bonds with others and come out the other end with not just "friends" that talked after class, but people who loved him.

(Is this just projecting as someone who also struggles to not just be liked by others, but have real, genuine friendships? Maybe a little, but I think it's fitting for his character.)

Yu/Souji has never been a loner, but that doesn't mean he wasn't lonely. He was someone who maybe wanted something more and just didn't know how to have those types of friendships, but at some point became complacent with it and found comfort in at least knowing people liked him even if no one really knew him. And so starting all over, losing even that little comfort would be scary and upsetting. It would explain why he seems uneasy about it too. He's scared of having to go through that again and come out the other side just as lonely or even worse off than before. He feared the isolation he already felt would only grow especially now that he wasn't just a somewhat awkward guy who no one ever takes the time to get to know, but now he's the outsider—the city boy moved to Inaba.

And that's also why Yosuke's first gesture of friendship is also so important and why their bond as "partners" is equally as meaningful to Yu/Souji as it is to Yosuke. Even if Yosuke reached out for his own reasons, he felt just as isolated and alone as Yu/Souji probably did when arriving and connected with him through it. It was probably the first time someone understood the way he felt. Yosuke was the first person to not just talk to him, but actually spend time with him and get to know him. Same could be said of Chie and Yukiko as they invited him to walk home together and showed interest in him as a person.

Yu/Souji isn't a guy who never had friends. In a kinda heartbreaking way, he would probably have told you he had lots of friends, it's just none of them were all that deep. Bringing in unrelated characters into the story would be stupid on any writer's part, but we never even hear in passing about any of his old friends trying to stay in touch. They were nothing more than friendships of convenience.



[room215]

you know what because it’s his birthday i get to do a little yosukeposting as a treat. i saw a post not too long back that was like “out of all the interesting things that they could have done with yosuke’s shadow they made him just be bored” and???? i’m aware that this is just one person but also that in-jokes have been built around persona 4 for over a decade now and that they might have actually damaged peoples’ ability to analyze and talk about the game. anyway it baffles me because i really don’t know how else you’re supposed to interpret shadow yosuke’s arrogance as anything other than a self-defense mechanism. yosuke is lonely and awkward and doesn’t really understand who he is yet and it makes him insecure as hell. he moves to inaba, everyone is predisposed to disliking him and he doesn’t have much of a say in either matter. his newfound boredom and supposed hatred of inaba isn’t entirely genuine i would say but rather a way of him justifying why it’s all okay. he doesn’t need this stupid town or anyone in it; why should he care? it’s fine if he’s lonely because he’s above all of this. if he were to play “hero”, if he were to feel better about himself to boot, would that make this justification absolute? y’know? not to mention how this loneliness feeds into his need to conform and some of the nastier things he says as a result (because the subtext is still there even if the conclusion isn’t; not to excuse any what he does say OR atlus’s shitty writing) in the real world, but that’s a different topic.

[adachimoe]

A long and meandering post about Adachi and the Investigation Team

I have no idea what to title or describe this as. This is a long ass rambling 2.5k+ word post that consists of like 5 drafts I had sitting around that all felt somewhat related. It starts with the part where the Investigation Team tells Adachi to get over himself, then devolves into talking about Adachi punching himself in the face repeatedly (metaphorically), before ending by exploring the idea of Adachi as the Investigation Team's collective Shadow. it rly is tl;dr.

Adachi will remember that

At one point in Magatsu Inaba, the Investigation Team takes turns responding to Adachi in verbal turn-based combat. They all have varying responses and levels of understanding of him.

Chie doesn't understand why Adachi even became a cop, Rise thinks he's full of shit, Kanji tells him a 2008 version of "go kys" (tbf, he's never been eloquent with words), Yukiko tells Adachi that he sounds like a kid, Naoto calls him out for finding life annoying while being a damn annoyance, and Yosuke tells him he's just a criminal.

What Yukiko says to him in particular appears to sting Adachi, evident by how he "!" emotes in reaction to her. Or idk maybe he's secretly into getting bullied by women. I think Yukiko has Adachi's number here, and he knows that. After all, part of his schtick is that, "Oh, you stupid fuckin' kids, you don't know what I've been through or how I feel! Get off my dungeon lawn!!!" And yet, one of those stupid kids is able to tl;dr his life. He later even repeats what she said back at Sho during P4U2.

What Yukiko says here, I think, stands out in particular not just because of Adachi's reaction but also because it resembles a sentiment found in other media: The contradiction of being alive while not "truly" being alive. This often goes like so: A character can be alive in that they are most certainly physically living and breathing, but they are largely closed off from the rest of the world and going through the motions. Thus they are said to not truly be alive.

In the context of Persona 4, I believe Adachi fits in with this trope. As Yukiko has assessed, life sucks, but it's not like he's in any hurry to die. From what we see of Adachi in the plot, he's going through the motions. He wakes up, goes to his job, goes to Junes to bum free air conditioning, and sometimes gets dragged over to Dojima's house.

I don't think it's bad that people fall into these routines by default. Some find them comforting, some appreciate the simplicity, and some make up for the monotony of adult life with the more fascinating things they do outside of work.

But this doesn't apply to Adachi, who openly groans about his life and job. He seems to want to live and fit in with society, but he wants to do with more than what he has right now, yet he also seems unwilling or unable to put in the effort to get what he wants. He tells us he's lonely and wants a girlfriend, but when the old woman from his Social Link tries to hook him up with a girl, he finds it all annoying. He thinks of himself as an elite detective who is above Inaba, but he is regularly made out to be incompetent, sloppy, and careless.

It's like he's stuck but not doing anything to become unstuck. Following the tropes, Adachi would move from being a character who is "alive without really being alive" to "Truly Living" once he figures out how to get himself un-stuck. If he truly wants to be a hotshot detective in the big city with a smokin' hot wife, then something needs to change because he won't get those things as he is now. But how does Adachi approach the subject of "change"?

Maybe the world really is just a shitshow?

Adachi being exposed as the murderer is a major turning point for the murder investigation. And after the Investigation Team chases him into the TV, one of the many things he talks about is "change", or rather a lack of change.

As far as Adachi is concerned, the world can't / won't / doesn't change. He criticizes the world and its inability to change, how society works, and how people will latch to whatever you tell them as the truth.

Some things he says might resonate with us, especially nowadays with the spread of social media and misinformation. However, despite these criticisms, it sounds like he still desires to be part of society. He has been trying to blend in as a normal guy since April despite being a murderer. I think it's worth reiterating that his complaints about his life weren't anarchist but more like, "I don't have a cute girlfriend who cooks for me." Furthermore, he was trying to take advantage of misinformation to get away with murder by pinning it on Namatame.

Adachi doesn't like the current world and doesn't think it will change. Thus, he is forcing it to change in a completely catastrophic way. He really is throwing a tantrum: Like, what, you can't get away with murder? All right, throw the whole world away. With this approach, it is not Adachi who must change to fit in with the world, but rather the world that must change to fit Adachi.

Change isn't a good subject with him, which, honestly, is relatable. Change is easier said than done. Even within Persona 4 itself, after getting Magical TV Powers, an event that feasibly might add spice to one's life!!, the same old routine still runs Adachi's life. What has changed is that he's now waiting for Namatame to kill someone. Showing up looking for a dead body in the shopping district is simply a new part of his routine.

This topic of Adachi and change gets wrapped up after the fight against Amenosagiri. Adachi challenges the Investigation Team: >>>If<<< they think they have the power to change the future, then do it.

After entering the TV World, Amenosagiri responds to Adachi's wish and makes his wish come true as the dungeon deadline bad ending shows. That was Adachi's own so-called power to change the future. So what is the Investigation Team's?

Yosuke then replies that everyone has the power to change their future. As in, you don't need special powers from a gigantic disco eyeball inside of a TV to do that. In context, Yosuke is telling Adachi, "This is a 'you' problem," or "Skill issue." And tbh, I think Yosuke is more or less correct here.

In which we revisit the topic of "dumbass" and effort

In some ways, this topic might seem odd to approach. Everyone on the Investigation Team - besides Chie - seems to have a better life situation than Adachi had when he was their age. Are they punching down? Perhaps it feels like a hollow reflection of the collectivist culture that the solution to these antagonists who go "BUT SOCIETY IS WHAT IS WRONG" is always to beat them up and force them to conform--

…..but hold on. That line of thought would be giving in to what Adachi says before his boss battle. And, based on how he quits talking about how "waaah society is unfair" afterward, I find it difficult to think that is what he genuinely believes about his situation.

When I suggest that Yosuke is correct, I don't mean this in a "You aren't special, Adachi, everyone else's life sucks too, just deal with it" kind of way. What I have in mind is how the game seems to support that this is an Adachi problem, not an everyone else problem. Throughout Adachi's Social Link, his other interactions, and what Atlus has said as meta / Word of God answers, you get the idea that people were trying with Adachi, but he wasn't meeting them halfway.

For example:

This entire post is about the effort the MC puts in just to get called a dumbass (though I'd bet that the protag considers Adachi calling him a dumbass to be like a Badge of Honor). Even their gay ass Fever Time in P4D tells the story of Yu trying to reach out and Adachi going, "No!!!"

The old woman in his Social Link is trying to wingwoman for him and hook him up with women in Inaba, but Adachi seems unwilling. Instead, he tells Nanako and the protagonist that he's never getting married. Despite his loneliness, he justifies himself by saying, "Marriage is the graveyard of a man's life."

The Dojima family and Adachi interact briefly throughout the game, both in the story scenes and in his Social Link. As his letter at the end of the game shows, Adachi felt lukewarm about their interactions because he wasn't quite aware of what he had with them until he no longer has their company.

The way I see it, when Adachi rants about the world not changing, he is not actually bitching about the world. Rather, this feels more like a form of projection. He says the world doesn't change, but perhaps he is talking about himself and his own inability to change. Which would reframe it as more like… He knows he's the issue that holds himself back - his own worst enemy, perhaps - but he says the world is wrong to justify himself.

You learn a bit about Adachi through his Social Link. During rank 6, in dialogue that can tragically be missed, Adachi will admit that he is lonely, but he also thinks it's easier that way. And really, easier is just another way of saying "less effort".

On one hand, this might show Adachi's annoyance with other people. But at the same time, for him to call the protagonist a dumbass for investing so much in him and their relationship, I think the unspoken bit here is that Adachi does not think he is worth the time or effort, to begin with. His lack of effort isn't just him being annoyed with people or not giving a shit about things. I'm no expert, but I think the majority of us would wager that this is depression.

As the game's timeline unfolds, we really only know Adachi as the pathetic, silly murder guy. Did he start distancing himself from people because of the "oops, I murdered someone" part? Or was he like this even before then? When he talks more about his past, he doesn't go into a great amount of detail.

Going with my gut here, but I get the feeling that Adachi's obsession with Mayumi - something from before he became a murderer - suggests his distance from people is not a new thing for him. Consider: Meeting people? Forming relationships? Even before we talk about romance, how the hell do you even make friends as an adult? (The answer is BL btw. Go find some girlies who ship the same pairing.) I think Adachi said fuck it to all that bullshit. It'd be easier - less effort - for him to just be alone.

But… What if the magical TV just tells you exactly who your soulmate is? Well, shit, that's easy. For the lonely guy who just got transferred to Inaba and generally keeps his distance from people, I imagine it would be quite convenient to just be told, "This is who your soulmate is".

And that wouldn't be the last time Adachi gets a freebie from the TV. It happens again in December, as Adachi finds an again "easy" solution that does not involve changing himself or doing something annoying that requires effort from him. Having been enabled by the magical TV, Adachi is something of a static character.

Adachi is the Investigation Team's Shadow

In the P4G Premium Fan/Fun/Fsomething book, Atlus defines the Shadow by the Jungian definition, then talks about how the Shadows in-game represent "alternate possibilities" for the characters. The specific example it gives is how Chie's Shadow holds a great deal of animosity towards Yukiko. The real Chie doesn't feel this way towards Yukiko; in fact, she treasures her. Thus, Chie's Shadow is an alternate possibility.

When you look at Chie and what she says about accepting her Shadow, her Shadow seems to be born from a real insecurity (her jealousy of Yukiko) and part of it really does resemble Chie. But part of her Shadow is also this… caricature-esque thing. Hence why Atlus calls it the "alternate possibility". In turn, Chie accepts that she is jealous of Yukiko, but she does not accept the Banana Hat Dominatrix trying to exert control over Yukiko. She even realizes that rather than Yukiko needing her, it was actually her who needed Yukiko.

(I refuse to carry on with this train of thought further than talking about Atlus's own example with Chie because it would inevitably mean having to talk about how Atlus sees Kanji and Naoto's issues/Shadows/dungeons, and I'd need like bottles of wine to get in the mood to even type a paragraph of that.)

During her P4G winter Social Link scene, where her Persona evolves, Chie brings up Adachi and how she could have become him. She continues that anyone could have turned out like him.

Indeed, Adachi very much feels like a, "this could happen to anyone" character. He is an everyday normal guy who accidentally gets involved in something beyond him: a Like a Dragon side story NPC stuck in a game about high schoolers and friendship. Based on how you see these characters, you can correlate many of their issues to Adachi's own issues.

Really, in some ways, he feels like he was written to be the sum of the Investigation Team's insecurities, all bundled into one guy. As Chie's Shadow twisted her jealousy of Yukiko into a desire to control Yukiko and showed an alternate possibility for who Chie could have become if she had let jealousy consume her, perhaps Adachi shows an alternate possibility for who all of them could become.

As Amenosagiri later reveals, the truth torments the Shadows. Your party identifies that is what causes the Shadows to attack people.

When we consider how the game has gone until now, then those moments where the Investigation Team told their Shadows, "You're not me!" must be the moment that Amenosagiri was describing. The members of the Investigation Team come face to face with a being who claims to be them and seems aware of the same issues that gnaw at them. But these beings pervert their issues issues in a direction that doesn't reflect who the Investigation Team really are. And so they challenge that this being is truly them. They, sigh, "reach out to the truth", and it causes their Shadows to go nutso and attack.

And, of course, these repeated scenes where they tell their Shadows all lead up to the last time we see this kind of sequence...

Just as the Investigation Team had to face themselves and pick apart the truths from the caricature, they, too, come to face Adachi and can cut through the bullshit, rejecting his attempts to justify why it's okay for him to merge the TV World into reality and screw everyone over.

That said, though, if we are to compare him to their Shadows, then we must acknowledge that, much like how the Investigation Team's Shadows come from their own real insecurities, Adachi's frustrations with the Investigation Team and with the world at large must also come from something real.

On this screenshotted line in particular, he even uses the more masculine "ore" as his pronoun in Japanese. He usually uses the more boyish "boku", but he seems to swap to "ore" to indicate that he is speaking quite genuinely--or perhaps speaking from the heart.

While he is a whiny murderer throwing an apocalyptic tantrum, I'm sure there are circumstances that made him the person that he is as an adult. Tbh, I've already made a lot of posts talking about the factors that might have contributed to *why* he feels like this, so I won't drag this out further.

By Arena Ultimax, Adachi has come to accept the murder case as the inciting incident that causes him to change as he finds himself finally owning up to his actions from the previous year. He's no role model lol, but life now has more meaning to him than just something you go through every day. Perhaps it's at this moment that he can be said to have gone from merely being alive to living.

(Let's be real tho, jail gives you 3 non-cup noodle meals per day? Damn. It's like he's living his best life. Speaking of which, food feels like such a fitting metaphor for his emotional nourishment.)

In the aftermath of the dungeon and the almost-end-of-the-world, Adachi agreed to start playing by the rules, and became more of a dynamic character. At the beginning of Ultimax, Adachi's commitment to this gets questioned as Yu, Yosuke, and Chie find him allied with Sho (like 5 cutscenes after Yu is so confidant he's behaving himself too, tsk tsk). But Yu reaches the roof, hears Adachi's cringe ass dialogue (I'm pretty sure that Adachi would not have said half that shit if he had known Yu was standing around the corner), and reaffirms his belief that Adachi was genuine about his promise to play by the rules.

The Investigation Team are not on the best of terms with Adachi. Regardless, they went into his dungeon, called him out on his bullshit that had been mixed in with his own real shortcomings and insecurities, punched him, and as we can tell by Ultimax, came to accept him in their own ways as they did their individual Shadows. As Yu says, perhaps they have strangely enough decided to trust in Adachi.

[klvbxlove]

lunch (yosuke x introverted! gn! reader)

a/n: damn, i’m really out here with ANOTHER yosuke fic, aren’t i? not that i hate it, i have some fun writing for him! but i still can’t get over that one anon calling me a “subconscious yosuke kin” (to whoever sent me that, thanks LMAO). now, a bit off topic, i really wanna try to write for the investigation team girls as well, but i’m having a bit difficulty. so please note that it’s not like i hate the girls (if anything, they’re cool! i especially love naoto. i may or may not have a crush on her). it might take awhile for me to put out another fanfic for one of them that i actually like. 

reader type: gender neutral

reader specification(s): reader is an introvert (**)

genre(s): fluff

trigger warning(s): none

summary: yosuke noticed that you haven’t made the effort to make friends, let alone talk to at least one person, since the day you transferred to his class. he decided he would change that and invite you to lunch.

word count: 1.6k words

(**) i know i could’ve written this in the a/n above, but i felt like i had to point it this right BEFORE the drabble starts. for some people, the reader might not sound like an introvert. i understand. however, being an introvert myself, i did base the reader a little bit off of me and how i act around new people talking to me. 

♡ ♡ ♡ (ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*) ♡ ♡ ♡

key:

(l/n) = last name

♡ ♡ ♡ (ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*) ♡ ♡ ♡

   Yosuke knew that sometimes it would be considered rude (and creepy) to stare at a person for an extended period. 

   But was that enough to stop him from staring at you, though? No.

   Whenever he got a chance during class, Yosuke would gaze his brown eyes upon you. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you would be sitting alone at your desk and not paying attention to anyone around you. And either you would be reading a book or going on your phone. You were always so focused, as well. Yosuke swore the whole class could be extremely high on drugs, and you would pay no mind to it whatsoever. 

   It had only been a few days since you had transferred to his class, but as far as he knew, you still had not made any friends. Although, it did look like you did not care about it. He had never seen you trying to talk to one person in class before, either. 

   Yosuke knew himself as a bit of an extravert who has no problem making friends most of the time. So if anything, he expected himself to have gone up to you and at least introduced himself. But no, instead, all he has been doing was staring at you. Yosuke was conflicted on whether to talk to you or leave you alone. For all he knew, you probably did not like socializing with anyone. 

   At the moment you looked up to make eye contact, Yosuke immediately turned around in his seat. Oh God, he could only hope he did not look awkward or creepy doing that. The last thing he wanted was for a new classmate to have a negative impression on him. 

   Okay, he thought to himself. Maybe I can talk to the new student during lunch later. Maybe I could even invite them to eat with me! Well, unless they don’t want to. I mean, I hope they accept my offer.

-

   Holy crap, I did it! Yosuke felt like he was going stiff for the billionth time. He was currently sitting next to you on the rooftop after you had (surprisingly) accepted his invitation. Although, there was a bit of awkwardness in the air during this time. Yosuke felt too awkward to start eating as he could not help but steal a few more glances at you. Meanwhile, you were eating your lunch in silence while you looked off in the distance. 

   You gotta say at least one thing to (L/N), you know.

   “So, um, what do you think about Yasogami High so far? Is it alright?” Well, it was a bit of an unusual question, but Yosuke figured that he would start with that. “Or, what about Inaba?” 

   You hummed, thinking of how to answer as you chewed your food. “It’s alright. I mean, I haven’t gotten the chance to explore Inaba yet after moving in, so I can’t say how I feel about it so far.”

   Yosuke nodded in understanding. As much as he enjoyed living in Inaba, it was not comparable to big cities in Japan like Tokyo and Osaka. 

   And now that he thought about it, today was also the first time he got to hear your voice again. The last time Yosuke heard you talk was when you had to introduce yourself in front of your new classmates. Since then, you remained quiet amongst the class. 

   But then again, it already sent strange beatings to his heart for no reason. 

   “Is there a reason why you moved here?”

   “Oh, one of my guardians just got a new job in Inaba, so we had to relocate so they could be closer,” you explained. “Well, actually, they also got another job offer in Kyoto, but they wanted to settle with the one here in Inaba. So I was just like, ‘Alright,’”

   For some reason, this intrigued Yosuke. “Interesting,” he commented as he took a bite of his food. “So I assume your family is the quiet type, right?” 

   “Not exactly,” you shrugged. “I mean, I got some extraverted family members. But for a few months, my family began thinking maybe moving somewhere quieter would be a nice change. Not that they hated the city or anything, you know?” 

   “No worries, I get it,” Yosuke smiled at you. “Inaba might not be a big and interesting place, but you learn to like it over time,” 

   But at this moment, Yosuke felt a weird feeling in him when you chuckled, “Yeah, hopefully, I will,” you noted.

   Yosuke had no idea why he suddenly felt a bold of confidence. Just a moment ago, he was hesitant to invite you up to the rooftop for lunch! But he figured he would go through with it. 

   “If you want, I could show you around Inaba during the weekend! I can even bring along my friends, who are all not at school at the moment.”

   You pondered for a bit before you smiled. “That would be nice. I’ll consider it.” Then you tilted your head “And your friends are absent? Like, all of them?” 

   Yosuke chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, literally all of them. All I know is that Yukiko is on vacation with her family, Chie got sick yesterday, and Yu lives in Tokyo. Not sure about Rise, Kanji, and Naoto. So I’m pretty much alone for the day.”

   Wait, he just caught himself. “Oh. Well, I guess ‘alone’ would be the wrong word now that I’m hanging out with you. Haha, oops!” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 

   The awkwardness was rubbing off on Yosuke, and he hated it. Why can he not ever be awesome? He was almost glad when you spoke up. Although, he was scared of your answer.

    “You’re all good,” you smiled as you closed your bento box and put it aside. “I mean, yeah. It honestly sucks when almost all your friends are absent from school. For me, I just sit in class and at lunch alone like, ‘This sucks. Why did you guys have to leave me?!’  

   “It’s kinda weird. Being an introvert, you would think I love lonely and having little to no friends. But no, I still need my small group of friends with me to make it through the school day, or else it will get boring as hell.” 

   Yosuke smiled. “Same here! My friends are great, even though sometimes they can be a pain in the ass. I can feel lonely when I’m not with them for long periods. It was why I wanted to invite you to eat lunch with me. And I also wanted to get a chance to get to know you after you arrived here a few days ago. 

   “Although, I gotta be honest. I was a bit worried that you would decline me. I dunno. I assumed you were the type of person who hated it when someone tries to talk to you. I-Is that a bit weird?” 

   Why are you asking if it's weird? OF COURSE, IT IS!

   Stop making this more awkward for yourself! For all you know, you’re probably making (L/N) uncomfortable!!

   OR HOW ABOUT YOU STOP OVERREACTING?!

   “Hanamura, it’s fine. Not weird at all!” you let out a light laugh. “Listen, it’s not necessarily a thing where I loathe people talking to me. But only if if they come up to me first. Other than that, I would much rather be quiet. If I’m with my close friends, then I can be a bit more talkative. 

   “But I mean, it’s so funny,” you continued, smiling. “My guardians say I’m such an extravert around my close friends and cousins. I talk so much around them, yet with strangers or people I barely know, I’m dead silent. I guess if I become more comfortable around a person, I won’t be as shy.” 

   God damn it, Yosuke knew this might be weird to ask. But he just had to know. “So…I assume you’re slowly becoming comfortable around me? I mean, you are talking a lot!”

   “I guess I am!” you said.

   Well, that was one hell of a quick answer. Eh, not that he minded! 

   Moments passed, but before Yosuke knew it, the both of you continued to talk more. It was not as if he had been around you for the longest time, but he felt like he knew more about you. He felt proud of himself for getting you to open up to him.

   And at this point, Yosuke looked up. He noticed how many of the students who were also on the rooftop were beginning to head inside.

   “Well, class is starting soon. We should probably get going before we’re late,” Yosuke suggested. You nodded in agreement, and both of you stood up. 

   “Hey, Hanamura,” you spoke up. In turn, Yosuke turned to face you and saw a soft smile on your lips (and a blush on his cheeks! Wait, no—).

    “Thanks for inviting me to lunch today, I enjoyed it a lot,” you thanked him, “And I appreciated you talking to me. You were the first person at school to have done that so far. Even though I like being alone, I still liked hanging out with someone after days of barely knowing anyone here.”

   Yosuke knew this for sure. He was proud of himself for offering you the invitation. If he had not, high chances were that you would have continued being quiet, and he would have no clue about who you were. So smiling back at you, Yosuke said, “It’s no problem at all, (L/N)! I enjoyed it, too. Wait, give me just a sec.”

   You tilted your head in confusion when Yosuke pulled out his phone and gave it to you. In a matter of seconds, you realized what the brown-haired boy wanted, judging by the screen showing. But still, you wanted to hear him say it. 

   “Put your phone number in here. And I can text you after school!” 

   With a soft chuckle, you did as Yosuke did. You especially loved seeing his eyes glisten with excitement after handing his phone back.

   And the both of you eventually went back to your classroom, feeling bliss in the air. 

[emeyuko]

Not to rant about a very flawed game but Yosuke Hanamura's struggle is more than just "i am bored", his boredom isn't just bc he was stucked in a town in the middle of the nowhere, but bc he felt lonely and treated like trash by lots of people. In his social link number 9, he starts talking about how he felt about Inaba and how he loves It now "this town i hated so much? Now i love It, there's still nothing in here but i have family, friends and you" making it more clear, and another thing is when he talks about Konishi.

The reason why he got attached to her was bc he made him feel like he had someone and realize he should care less about what people think of him, and even if It wasn't genuine, she never openly judged him, like if he didn't felt fully lonely thanks to her, he always wanted to be "special" to someone, that's why he wanted her to give him a chance, to know her better, all of this was more like finding a place where he could feel a sense of belonging, he couldn't feel a sense of belonging at first in inaba bc he felt *lonely*.

His attachement towards Yu/Souji, is smth extremely similar to his relathionship with Konishi, i would say he did even more for Yosuke than Konishi did, he didn't only saw his real struggles and did everything to keep him safe from them but he also actually finds him likeable and the only one in the team (except maybe Teddie?) That tolerates him, he feels safe and comfortable with him, and it's shown multiple, how he tells him he doesn't need to be the funny clown of the group when he's alone with him, he can be just Yosuke (and then some people say him liking Yu would make no sense smh).

And my issue with Yosuke's character is similar to what happends to how the girls treats Naoto or how Yosuke himself treats Kanji, the team barely tolerates him, he's only truly close to Yu and he barely opens up, as well as getting constanly insulted, you may say he can be an ass too and you are right, but this doesn't justificate some of your friends (ehemCH*Eehem) telling to your face how unlikeable you are and how no one would likes you, when your character main conflict is about how you act happy and carefree bc you are afraid of being alone, that people would abandon you for your personality. Persona 4 has the tendency of not taking seriously his entire main cast after they accepted their shadows and that's a big problem

[ohlookashinysquirrel]

“If... it’s not too rude, sir... can I ask how your wife died?”

Dojima sucked in a breath, the question’s suddenness enough to replace the familiar pain he usually feels with simple surprise, at least for a moment. “It is rude” is on the tip of his tongue - it’s not a topic he’s comfortable talking about - but as he takes a look at the brunette sitting at the other end of the riverside bench, looking at his feet, and the words die.

He remembers the frail blonde figure they’d recovered, just a few days after the first murder, remembers seeing her at Junes whenever he’d take Nanako - and remembers seeing the same brunette dancing attendance around the blonde, a much brighter expression on his face than the one he wears now.

I see.

It’s not easy for him, it never has been. The last time he’d mentioned it was to Souji, and even though it had been good - now that he and Nanako had finally had time to sort through their growing pains - he hadn’t expected to have it come up again so soon. Taking a deep breath, he recounts the story again; as he finishes he looks up to see Yosuke no longer looking at his feet, but instead at him with the oh-so-familiar look of horror and pity that he’s long since grown used to.

“That’s- that’s horrible. How do you manage? Does it ever just... go away?”

The lonely, broken tone of voice with which these questions are asked takes the sting away from the pity and Dojima’s voice softens as he shakes his head. "It doesn’t. That’s the horrible secret about loss... you’re never going to forget, and you’re never going to stop grieving.”

Beside him, Yosuke’s expression crumples slightly and Dojima feels his heart squeeze in sympathy. “But... that’s also how you manage. You never get over it, but you do learn to live with it. It’s a part of you, and some day - it may not feel like it now, or even any time soon, but it will - you’ll remember it and you’ll think more about the good times than about the bad times. But... you have to let it. And you have to learn to let people in again - locking yourself away with the pain will never help it get any better.”

There’s silence for a moment, each of them alone with their thoughts even though they’re sitting on the same bench; the silence is soon broken, however, by a faint shout. They both look up together to see Nanako, skipping happily down the riverside path, with Souji walking behind her, a smile on his face. 

“Dad! Yosuke-nii! Hi! We’re back!”

Beside him, Dojima sees Yosuke straighten up, looking at the two figures approaching; there’s no time, really, to say anything, but he doesn’t figure it’s necessary. As Nanako hops onto the bench next to him and Yosuke stands up to greet Souji, he finds himself thinking about the conversation he’d just had.

Life finds a way, and so does the heart.