#p5 azathoth

[texeoghea]

royal should have ended like this btw

[kazeillustrations]

Day 7: Alternate Universe

“Would you rather I take that for you? You’re all friends, right?”

I love the complexities of the false ending. There’s a lot of debate as to whether it’s a “good” ending or a “bad” ending, but one thing’s certain—it’s an alternate universe that undermines all of the struggles the heroes went through.

[blunky]

maruki doodles

[emmajh97-mumaji]

So I've been thinking about it/looking into it myself, and I just now realized that these questions open the flood gates to the can of worms that is-- 'How the frick did Maruki unlock his Persona and THEN get a Palace?!'

[theorizing below the cut]

Shadow Maruki cannot exist because his shadow should have transformed into Azathoth when he gained access to his persona powers.

Lore-wise, the event of the laboratory being cut happened AFTER Maruki used his Persona powers on Rumi. Ergo Maruki no longer has a Shadow, and thus he shouldn't have a Palace - because Palaces are formed from the Shadow self.

[Side note--

Why isn't there a scene of Joker and Aketchi stopping for a moment to be like, "Wait- Why is Maruki himself ruling this Palace and not his Shadow?? ....oh. Oh no."

Is there one and I missed it? Because I feel like that should definitely be a thing.]

So... how the heck do we reconcile this??!

A popular fan theory I've seen explaining this is that Azathoth isn't just Maruki's persona-- it is literally some sort of Eldritch God, and it wormed itself into Maruki's consciousness to influence his fate.

If that's the case... I suppose Azathoth itself would be the 'ruler' of Maruki's palace, if the Phantom Thieves got in earlier.

(Now I'm just imagining Maruki's Shadow Self being grotesquely possessed or puppeted by Azathoth. Simultaneously cool af and unnervingly terrifying.)

That being said... while that theory is backed by the narrative, Lovecraft inspiration, and greater Persona lore... I have my own crack theory about wtf is happening with Maruki.

Maruki was studying Cognitive Psience when he started having these inexplicable headaches, right?

I think, in true mad-scientist/tragic-SciFi-protagonist fashion, Maruki experimented on himself.

While trying to understand the Cognitive world, he did something to his own consciousness in order to study the effects. It seemed to him like it didn't do anything, but what actually happened is that he unintentionally juiced up his cognitive abilities beyond what should have been possible.

That's why he gained such a powerful reality-altering Persona. And also why he is able to manifest a Persona AND a Palace at the same time.

...this isn't backed up by the text in any way, but I personally think it would really fit the character. Feel free to roast me in the reblogs agsjdhd

Anyway, thanks for reading my rambling! Do feel free to add to the discussion.

What would Dr. Maruki's palace have been like if the Phantom Thieves somehow took it on before the final battle against Yaldabaoth / Maruki unlocking his persona?

Obviously, they would be facing Shadow Maruki instead of actual Maruki... What would Shadow Maruki be like? Would he just look like how Maruki looks in his final boss fight (with the ridiculous gold outfit), or would he be different?

How the heck would the deal with Kasumi/Sumire go down??

If anyone has fanfic or art of this concept, do share

[glassrednoshozo]

yapping session. just wanted to draw em together

[leelreallylikespersona]

Made IM icons for Yaldabaoth and Azathoth specifically so I could make this:

Wasn't sure where to put Joker so he's in a transparent png void. Also why he's in a group chat with two gods I don't know

Nefarious OOC Azathoth alt:

[adam-sadmon]

So I was thinking about Maruki (as I do 23 hours and 48 minutes a day, leaving 10 minutes for existential dread and 2 for sleep) and I was reminded of that Robert Caro quote (shout out to Lindsay Ellis' Game of Thrones videos), 'Power doesn't always corrupt, but it always reveals', to paraphrase, the idea that there are such people who are incorruptible and those we believe in power who've let it control them didn't need much corrupting to begin with.

I think about all the people who've wronged Maruki like the robbers, the guy who pulled all funding from Maruki's research etc. And how the very notion of revenge never even occurred to him, he had god-like power to rewrite their lives but, because Maruki was always a good person going about his quest wrong, he didn't let the power get to him because therr was nothing there to get.

[hotcuppacocoa]

if I had a nickel for every reality warping doctor with a Persona who was based on Lovecraftian gods I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice

[violetstrations]

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

Azathoth's stake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

End ID]

[dogs-with-lightsabers]

Some quick sketch pages of Yosuke and Akira before bed (that I had to retake like 7 times because of the fucking apple camera on my phone)

@verysexyseagull here u go 🩵🩵

[extinct-fish]

YOU'RE TOO LATE, LEEL!

Your Yaldabaoth and Azathoth designs have already been splatoonified!

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

Jokes aside, what do you think, @leelreallylikespersona?

[smolstarthief]

I swear to god my thoughts on Azathoth after playing Royal can consist of:

Me: Azathoth is creepy and sus sometimes!

Also me after playing Royal: Hehe, goofy eldritch squid go brrrr...

I am not kidding here! XD

[dragonofeternal]

Months later and yeah I'm still totally on the "Azathoth is totally not a real Persona and is 100% Nyarlathotep back on his bullshit" headcanon train. Azathoth actually being a Nyarly completely solves the "Persona users can't have palaces" dilemma, his methods (seemingly give people what they want to lure them into inaction and complacency) line up well, and the design aesthetics (especially those grasping black with electric blue/green hands....) are close enough for me! Nyarly loves playing fake persona, and I'm glad he got to have some fun in P5R.

This will never be touched on in future games or be proven canon, but *I* will always know in my heart of hearts that I'm 100% correct LOLLL

[swordsfaires]

a deal with the devil

rating: T

characters: Takuto Maruki, Azathoth, Rumi (mentioned), Sumire Yoshizawa | Kasumi Yoshizawa (mentioned)

tags: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Cognitive Dissonance, Emotional Manipulation, Azathoth is a parasite, Maruki is its unwitting host, post-Rumi hospital scene, pre-Royal timeline, Sumire counseling scene, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm(very briefly) - Freeform, Vomiting(also very briefly), you ever realize you made a deal with an eldritch being to save the love of your life and now it won’t go away, the Takuto Maruki experience

In his grief, Takuto Maruki screamed into the void for help. He wasn’t prepared for it to answer.

Or: Takuto Maruki awakens to his power and initially rejects it, not realizing the parasite who gave it to him wasn’t going away that easily.

—

“What did I do? Oh god, what did I do?” He sank his hands into his hair and curled into himself as much as the cramped interior of the car would allow. “That voice, it had to be that voice, I mean I couldn’t—how could I—”

That voice. It felt as though it came from inside of him, though it certainly wasn’t his own. He was so desperate to help her he latched onto it, not knowing whether it was demon or angel or something different altogether. But now that he was faced with its consequences, he feared that he gave into something dangerous.

[hauntingmiser]

Stop being a babygirl ! you're getting too silly!

//P5r Spoilers

Maruki when he looks into your cognition

[adam-sadmon]

So I think the general consensus among most people is that Maruki has a martyr complex, and while I agree to an extent I don't agree that it's a self-serving, vanity thing and that Maruki believes, as is usually the case with the syndrome, that only he is capable and everyone else is incapable.

At least in my reading I think that Maruki acknowledges the Thieves' potential for changing the world for the better (even if he disagrees with the scale), what I think drives him to try and stop them is that, undeniably, their methodology is risky and leads to them getting hurt, which Maruki cannot allow, because as far as Maruki is concerned only he's allowed to get hurt.