#persona 3 reload my one true love

[gio-cosmo]

My jaw dropped to the floor when I listened to the full version of Color Your Night while playing p3r. It’s actually so heavenly fr

[crescentfool]

having the hc that minato is ace is incredibly funny sometimes when you think about how ryoji is oh so very bi because it's like. "ah. death stole my ability to be attracted to people," in the same way that ryoji stole minato's eye color and energy level. like wow, thanks ryoji, you just keep finding things to steal from minato!

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

How about an jealous furina, or drunk furina?

Furina being jealous

characters: Furina x gn!reader

warnings: none

a/n: I have returned from my brief trip to get the milk. I'd love to say there were some AO3 author levels of tragic events that made me vanish for a month, but the reality is that I've been playing Persona 3 Reload and now Persona 5 Royal again.... yeah.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Furina

While Furina loved to pretend she was above the whole “being jealous” thing, you knew better than to trust her with that. She was human after all, and if there was one emotion more human than anything, even compassion and love, it was jealousy.

And yet, her jealousness would surface quite differently from others’, the former Archon suddenly growing very talkative as she began trying to show off, donning a smug while getting into a pose only akin in confidence and pride to the great orators of old before directly or indirectly talking about how great she was. Whether it was to impress you or to make the source of her jealousy back away, you weren’t too sure. What you were sure of however, was that it was a sight to behold. More entertaining than an award winning theater play and pretty endearing.

But while you would have loved to commend her for being able to handle her negative feelings without harming anyone, you had witnessed her dig herself into a metaphorical hole far too often for that to be the truth…

When you had completely halted to a grind during one of your walks, only to stare off into the distance, a wave of confusion washed over Furina, the former Archon quickly following your gaze before her eyes landed on a woman not too far away. For a moment, she wanted to ask you about her, but when the woman spotted you, started waving and approaching the two of you, her voice got stuck in her throat.

What followed was the two of you cheerfully talking to each other, reminiscing of days gone by, leaving Furina no choice but to simply listen...

While she felt confident in saying that she had known you for quite a while now, your chat about your school days made Furina's time with you seem quite insignificant. And yet, when it finally became time for you to introduced the two to each other, describing the other person as “a former upperclassman that helped you through school”, any doubts and hesitations Furina felt seemed to vanish within an instance, her stance as proud and confident as during a speech, as she talked with a wide smug on her face.

“It is an honor meeting you. I’ve actually been a huge admirer of your works”, the other woman said, and judging from the sparkle in her eyes it made no sense to question her in the slightest, and yet, because of her pride as an artist and definitely not for any ulterior reasons whatsoever, Furina still felt the need to make sure all three of you were well aware of how fantastic she was.

“Ha, my deepest apologies. I did not expect to run into a fan today. I should have brought a pen with me, after all this happens quite frequently as well. How careless of me”, she ‘apologized’ in a voice that made it difficult to miss what her true intentions were, and yet, all you could do was smile at her act. Something the director didn’t seem to miss as her smug quickly disappeared into thin air and a faint blush settled on her cheeks. That brief moment of embarrassed silence quickly vanished however, as Furina turned her attention back towards your acquaintance. 

“Well, I’m glad to hear you like them. I’m actually working on my next play, one that will for sure become known as my magnum opus”, she proudly announced with a big smile on her face, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them however, both of your expressions could not have been more different. While the woman looked as excited as a small child, your eyes had widened in surprise.

And you had every right to. Her? Writing a new play? Where did that come from?? She hadn’t even started thinking about what it was supposed to be about! Forget “Magnum Opus”, she could count herself lucky if she even managed to finish a draft in the next year.

“Really?? That sounds wonderful! I know I shouldn’t pry and that pinpointing a date should only be done once you feel confident in it, but may I ask when we can expect the premier?”, your friend asked, eyes filled with as much excitement as those of a dog seeing its owner for the first time in a while as her voice threatened to crack any moment. And so, before Furina had the chance to stop herself, her mouth had already begun to talk once again.

“I cannot tell you a date, but considering the script is as good as done, it shouldn’t take longer than a year. If the casting and everything else goes smoothly, at least.” A YEAR?? WHAT WAS SHE SAYING?? “Well, more like nine months.” NINE MON- Furina’s knees suddenly grew weak, threatening to give way and send the rest of her body on a one way trip to the pavement.

Luckily, before Furina had any chance to dig herself an even deeper grave, your friend said her goodbyes before going on her merry way, leaving the two of you in complete silence for a few moments.

“You never mentioned working on anything. Didn’t your last play just release?”, you asked, clearly concerned for her, something only made worse when she began to lean on you to keep herself standing.

Nothing. Not a single noise came out of Furina in response, instead, you were greeted with the sight of small tears threatening to form on the corners of her eyes as she silently grinded her teeth.

“Let’s get you some coffee, I get the feeling you might need it these next few days.”

[pinkelotjeart]

you are making me consider learning more about persona

* starts vibrating violently *

Okay, cool, amazing, I’ll try to be normal, and keep this ‘short’ (<- persona has been my special intrests since I was 15 allow me to indulge myself.)

General first pitch: it’s an amazing light hearted series with so many lovable characters that you’ll for sure end up loving atleast one of them. Often the games will tackle heavy themes but is always uplifting and inherently about the indomitable human spirit. The sound tracks go so hard, and the style is so so good. Like I could gush about the menu’s for hours-THE MENU’s!!

And I need you to understand, these games have so much content, and so many AMAZING things, you get into it, YOU GET INTO IT.

Only disclaimer: this is an anime franchise, there will be anime fuckery (it’s manageable but I feel like it needs to be said.) and the newer games are pretty expensive- But ya know 🏴‍☠️🗣️

Short guide to what games to play:

This franchise has existed since 1996, you DO NOT need to play them in order to get into it. When we talk about persona people usually mean the ‘modern trilogy’ so that’s what we’ll focus on. (Which pains me a little because p2 is so dear to me, but it’s kinda inaccessible. I’ll yell about them tho if you want)

The modern trilogy are: persona 3 reload, persona 4 golden, persona 5 royal (I’d recommend starting with p5 or p3) you can start with any of the main line ones, as they are stand alone stories (don’t worry about the MASSIVE amounts of spin offs, it’s fine.)

But what are the games even like?:

Persona has a unique game loop of being half social life simulator and half rpg. Half of the time you’ll be managing your time and going through the highs and lows of Japanese highschool, and the other half fighting demons. These aspects of the game are super interconnected and the way you strengthen your persona’s is by strengthening your friendships. (Power of friendship is a game mechanic baby and it actually makes sense🗣️) you’ll basically be playing through a whole year of someone’s life, which is super immersive.

The general themes are rooted in Jungian psychology (which is where the persona stuff comes in) identity, the human subconscious and What it’s like growing up as a teenager and trying to face yourself. Every game has themes next to that, fitting with its story.

Persona 5 royal is about rebellion and finding your place in the world when you don’t fit into societal norms. (It’s autism the game.) it also has one of the best toxic yaoi rival dynamics you’ll ever experience (and it’s my favourite:3)

The games intro for fibes

Persona 4 golden is a small town murder mystery about the parts of ourself we hide and trying to find your true self (it’s kinda like, scooby doo if it was an anime.)

The games intro for fibes

Persona 3 reload is about the inevitably of death and allowing yourself to enjoy the time with those around you while you’re still alive. (This is depression the game, you will leave this with a atleast week long depressive episode /pos.)

The games intro for fibes

My apologies for making this SO LONG, but it’s multiple games and I wanne do the explonation justice, I feel like I’ve not even scratched the surface. Do ask if you have qeustions and enjoy <33

[p3ta]

gotta send Ryoji Mochizuki

Thanks for the ask! Hope your day's going well, fellow Ryoji enjoyer.

Spoilers below for P2, P3, P4, and P5R.

Send me one of these here!

First, I want to give some thoughts on his character as a whole. For the certain type of character he is (doomed, remorseful harbinger), Ryoji Mochizuki is perfect. I don't think there's a better Persona twist than his reveal as the the Appriser/Death, the thirteenth Arcana Shadow. Just because a twist is easy to see coming doesn't make it less impactful, and I particularly enjoy the way Persona 3 distills information to the player in allotments. Even knowing that, Ryoji managed to surprise me with how much more he was. And fittingly, a lot of Ryoji's characterization bounces back to the P3 Hero, and vice versa.

On top of that, Nyx Avatar is my favorite final boss in the entire Persona series and unsettled me out the first time. I'd still say that Nyx Avatar causes me more fear than the Reaper, who I'd comparatively describe as inciting panic rather than fear.

Ryoji is frequently compared to Kaworu from Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE), and, well. Yeah. I believe I read that in a developer interview that the P3 dev team deliberately took inspiration from NGE but I'm unable to find a source at hand, so don't quote me on that. Between the two, I prefer Ryoji. He is the strongest out of the character type for me.

favorite thing about them

His layers! Ryoji is one of those late game characters who comes in and recontextualizes all the information you've learned thus far. It's why I love watching the Dictionary update throughout a playthrough. I understand why people are put off by the way he's introduced as a serial flirt, but Reload made it much more textually clear that this isn't his true personality, nor his intentions. Ryoji is proto-Teddie (Japanese Teddie, anyway); a fully formed individual who sprang into existence seeking connection. However, where Teddie's isolation and lack of identity are his defining characteristics, Ryoji's are moored in how connected he is with P3 Hero.

Ryoji ultimately only exists because of that connection, that little bit of humanity he's been given, but that's also what prevents him from being fully human. He's had a role to play since his inception, and he can't avoid that even with his newfound connections.

Ryoji's present throughout the entire story. You've got Pharos at the very beginning with the contract running errands for the Velvet Room (I like it more and more that I think about it. Picture Elizabeth or Igor having to explain to this terrifying child what he has to say. Or maybe he knew what to say all along! He has been waiting ten years), Thanatos tearing himself out of Orpheus (by far the best Persona awakening in the series and a textual highlight for what an alien force he is), and a crucial lynchpin event for Yukari's backstory, Mitsuru's backstory, as well as the crucial event for Aigis and P3 Hero.

There is no version of Persona 3 without Ryoji and I'm all the happier for it. Genuinely, if something's confusing with P3's story, there's 90% chance the answer is Ryoji or one of his many numerous forms. The remaining 10% is the Kirijo Group. That said, we don't get a lot of time with Ryoji. Ultimately, he's a part of P3 Hero and you're left to extrapolate exactly how much of each other you believe they've influenced.

Sogabe, the P3 & P4 mangaka, chose to highlight how similar Ryoji and P3 Hero look. I consider it an essential element of their relationship together.

least favorite thing about them

It'd be cheating to say nothing, wouldn't it? I'd say that his design is easy to mock and hard to get right in fanart. Between Ryoji's forehead and very Axel Kingdom Hearts approach towards long limbs – and legs in specific – the movies did not help with this. I've read reviews saying how the higher budget allowed for the characters to be more consistently on model, and thus look better, but I fervently disagree. That boy is mostly leg. Late 00s and early 10s anime art Looked Like That, though. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a soft spot for some of it.

But I love how Ryoji looks and wouldn't change it for the world. Silly slick-backed hair boy. It is funny how whenever Persona wants a villain with sympathetic qualities, they slick back the protagonist's hair (Philemon and Maruki come to mind).

Reload fixed ("fixed") this anyway but making him much fluffier in his portraits and giving his skin some color! He's achingly soft in that game.

favorite line

There's many iconic ones I could pick but I'm going to go with a new one from Reload:

It's so small, it's so playful! I like that if you choose to start an exchange he finishes the bit. It says a lot about him in such a succinct way.

Even more so when you consider the reason he came here was for Junpei's sake. Being able to balance joking around while keeping a touch of concern endears me beyond belief. Thank you, Reload.

brOTP

Junpei & Ryoji. It's not even close. This was the one element I was hoping Reload would show more and I was not disappointed! The dynamic is good for a variety of reasons, but chief among them is that despite Junpei's Persona being Magician Arcana, he is not the P3 Hero's Magician Social Link. Junpei is not the male protagonist's best friend. He clearly wants to be, but his frustration is palpable. The P3 Hero is cool, charming, and everything that Junpei plays second fiddle to, but he won't even acknowledge him. But what if there were a more likeable version of the Hero?

Instant friendship. Those two are besties from day one, where Ryoji has all the qualities but none of the knowledge, and so their dynamic is a much more even one. To me, it indicates how well Junpei and the P3 Hero might have gotten along had he not carried Death inside him for ten years. It's a brief window into another world.

There's also the fact that Ryoji, Death, befriends Junpei so close to when Takaya shoots him and he perishes. His character arc is defined by change, this act being what radically transforms his soul, and what's one of the meanings of the Death Tarot? It's like universal foreshadowing. It's funny to me too that the Magician Arcana Shadow is the one Thanatos tore to pieces. Growth for Ryoji too.

As an aside, I miss the dynamic movements from the PS2 cutscenes. Junpei being so quick to drown Ryoji is nowhere comparable to him covering Ryoji's mouth.

OTP

Hmm. This might take a second. I wonder what pairing I might like with Ryoji. Here's an unrelated picture of Messiah:

You know, Messiah is one of those Personas that has only grown on me more as time passes. My favorite of the final protagonist ones, due in part to how you have to fuse him yourself. Orpheus, the starting Persona, combined with the power of Thanatos, the penultimate manifestation of the Death Arcana. They compliment each other beautifully, and regardless of if you the player create him, he is always the true final Persona, the final result of the Judgement Arcana.

They are inevitable.

Of course it's Ryoji and P3 Hero. How could it be anything else? These two make me sick with joy. Death has a clear favorite and in the end, gets to keep him forever.

nOTP

It's funny, because I can't think of any serious pairing with Ryoji that I wouldn't view as a crack ship? I can't see any version of Ryoji with anyone but the P3 Hero nor can I take that relationship seriously. The only other being Ryoji has an established relationship with is Aigis, and that ship comes across as black comedy. I mean, there's also Ryoji and the P3 Heroine, who he is undoubtedly head over heels for, but I see her as heavily preferring Aigis. Oops.

Wait, I did remember one! Ryoji and Junpei! I'll admit, maybe it's the sheer "dudebro" vibe of their relationship, but people pairing these two was not an outcome I expected from Reload. I've seen it enough to know those who like it aren't joking, either.

It's funny, because they're both soul-taken at the tail end of their friendship (Ryoji with P3 Hero and Junpei with Chidori) so I guess I wasn't looking for it? Then again I can't see Junpei Iori kissing a man in general. If there's a Ryoji pairing that isn't my thing, these two are the Most not my thing.

random headcanon

Ryoji memory backfill!

I've seen multiple interpretations for how Ryoji's sudden transfer, housing, and parental situations were never questioned. I like exploring this for myself, especially from Ryoji's perspective. Ryoji fully believes himself to be human until 12/2's Dark Hour. So, how does he reconcile his own situation?

This headcanon states that whenever Ryoji is prompted to answer on where he lives, what he likes, or where he went to school before, he'll often "backfill" what memories he think should be there. If it's something he should reasonably know, it'll be there.

In-game you can see a couple instances of Ryoji being stumped at simple questions, like where his class trip was going to be, but excelling at others, such as when he asks Mitsuru out to a restaurant date. According to the headcanon, he failed the class trip question because it wasn't something he anticipated, but he knew a date location because it was essential to his personality. Ryoji Mochizuki is a hearthrob, it wouldn't make sense if he didn't. So he does.

I like to think Reload Ryoji's phone is another example of this backfill, though this one spills over into material items. Ryoji thinks he should have a phone and knows he should ask for others' numbers, but when he reaches for it on his first day it isn't there.

His inconsistencies are fun.

Rapid fire small ones: his favorite color is blue, he likes sunrises but not sunsets, and he's good with children.

unpopular opinion

This may be the most unpopular opinion I have in general, but I don't believe Ryoji is bisexual. Or rather, I don't necessarily believe he must be bisexual. It's not like I'm trying to shirk representation, but I think there are so many fascinating ways that you can analyze orientation for a character. Same with gender.

Ryoji, through my interpretation, is someone who could only love the protagonist. And it doesn't have to be a sexual kind of love. There's an entire spectrum of identities in our culture that we've labeled for what Ryoji's experiences could be. It brings me joy to be able to think about how – even if Ryoji knew about these identities – he'd define himself. On top of that, would how he define himself be accurate? Would he have misunderstandings about his own identity?

There tends to be a large backlash when someone even suggests a different label for a character with one widely agreed upon, which means my gender and sexuality thoughts stay hidden away. I'm more than aware of those that insist any hint of same-sex attraction is obviously platonic and fans are reading too much into things. I'd never want to take away from an individual identifying with a character for what a fandom settles on calling them.

Though one note: it's interesting to me that from the collective opinion I've seen, people have latched onto bisexual as a label rather than pansexual despite them ostensibly meaning the same thing. Something something changing social climate. Anyway. Play around with character gender and sexuality. It's good for you.

song i associate with them

Auld Lang Syne.

For old acquaintance be forgot

And ne'er brought to mind

Should old acquaintance be forgot

In the days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

We'll drink a cup of kindness yet

For the sake of auld lang syne

-

It's a traditional New Year's celebration song. Auld Lang Syne essentially means "for old time's sake". It originates from a precursor to Scottish, and exists as a fossil word inside this otherwise Standard English prose. I find it sweet how this little, historic piece gets to survive through something that redefines it.

favorite picture of them

Well, that was a lot. If you have a keen eye, you might've already noticed I've been dropping in pictures so I'll keep this part concise.

My favorite pictures of Ryoji are his portraits:

Sweet. Fluffy. Endlessly endeared by the way his hair flairs out. A much clearer heart shape for his face. Perfection. Special mention to his startled expression. His eyes get small and I get happy, simple as that.

Although, I'll never forgive Reload for dropping his Messiah pose:

There's an element to this portrait that's a little more unearthly, but earnest. Visually, his eyes are also a clearer parallel to Aigis's in this version.

Thank you for reading all the way through! And thank you again for the ask. I'm not sure if you were expecting an essay, but I think that about sums it up.

Have a picture of Ryoji nui + charm!

[heroisk]

In Case You Don't Live Forever by Ben Platt is such a Ryoji song, I just want to write about it to explore the meanings I have connected for practice. Thought I would share. Contains spoilers for Persona 3.

Youtube link | Spotify link

You put all your faith in my dreams You gave me the world that I wanted What did I do to deserve you? I follow your steps with my feet I walk on the road that you started I need you to know that I heard you, every word

Ryoji is the part of Death that appeared after Pharos formed from being inside the main character (Going to use Minato for this writing). The difference between Pharos and Ryoji is a big in the since that Ryoji is Pharos' desire to learn more about bonds, most importantly love.

This all started because we know that Ryoji is Minato's foil in the since of his view on the world. Ryoji is the part, or is the part that Minato lacks in the beginning, that loves the world. As someone who has experienced depression, and once saw the world in a nihilistic view. I subconsciously did not want to view the world that way, nor be that depressed. That is why sometimes I will see Ryoji as the subconscious part of Minato that wanted to live. Deep down Ryoji knew that Minato wanted to view the world in a better light, and walked down that path that Minato believed he no longer had.

I've waited way too long to say Everything you mean to me

This lyric is simple, throughout the whole game that Ryoji was there. He wanted to tell Minato how much he meant to him. At first Ryoji didn't know that it was love, as he was trying to figure out the steps of love himself. But when he did, he struggled multiple times to tell Minato those true words. (Though, it is clear that this is due to the fact that they share the same genders, as Ryoji has a romance route with Kotone)

In case you don’t live forever, let me tell you now I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth I’m everything that I am because of you

Another simple part to explain. The human part of Death, Ryoji, loves Minato. Ryoji is human because of Minato. Without being trapped within the main protag, Ryoji wouldn't exist. The other, non bolded parts fits but I am going to explain that part later on.

I, I've carried this song in my mind Listen, it's echoing in me But I haven't helped you to hear it We, we've only got so much time I'm pretty sure it would kill me If you didn't know the pieces of me are pieces of you

There are multiple parts of the first few lines. In Reload, Ryoji literally has a song in his mind that he wished for Minato to hear. At first the song wasn't much (first visit), but later (12/1) on he called Minato over to show him the completed song, because he wanted him to hear it. He wanted to show Minato the song because he had a feeling that he didn't have much time left. That he needed to tell Minato something.

"How do I put this...? I suddenly just got this feeling that I'm running out of time... And... I felt like I had to see you. I had to talk to you."

Ryoji desperately wanted to tell Minato that he loved him, and the easiest way was to tell him through song. As he only started to learn what love was, the words were not able to come out of his mouth in time.

I've waited way too long to say Everything you mean to me

In case you don’t live forever, let me tell you now I love you more than you’ll ever wrap your head around In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth I’m everything that I am because of you

Repeated lyrics.

I have a hero whenever I need one I just look up to you and I see one I'm a man 'cause you taught me to be one

First, I am gonna talk about the last line, I mentioned this before, in the first part, but Death was taught to be a human because of Minato. Second, Minato continues to make Ryoji feel human. While Ryoji attempts to escape this looming threat he knows is subconsciously there, he attempts to escape it through forming bonds with the main cast. Junpei, and mainly Minato. Maybe if he is human, he wouldn't have to be the harbinger of the end. A fate that he cannot escape.

As well, at 12/3, while Ryoji doesn't believe they can win against Nyx. He still tells Minato that if anyone can do the unthinkable, it is them.

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you now I love you more than you’ll ever wrap your head around In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth I'm everything that I am

Repeated lyrics (Mostly), but I wanted to talk about the difference between Ryoji not knowing there is going to be the end of the world, VS when he did. This part I imagined him knowing that the world is going to end.

This part is focused on 12/31, when Ryoji visited Minato in his room for the decision to kill him or not. Ryoji knows (well really believes) that the world will end no matter what. He believes killing him is the right decision because "More than anything, I don't want to see you suffer. After all, you're someone very special to me" Ryoji loves Minato, and extension Death loves Minato. He loves Minato in a way that Minato would never be able to wrap his head around.

The part that makes it clear to me that Death loved Minato as well, because a part of Death wanted to return as Ryoji. "I have this feeling like... I always wanted to see you again." Death cannot go back to just being death, Ryoji (and Pharos) is now a permanent part of Death because of Minato.

Whoa, whoa In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth As long as I'm here as I am, so are you

In the end, Minato does not live forever. He sacrifices his soul to seal away Nyx. Yet. Yet a part of him lives on within Ryoji, lives within Death itself. The very part of him that made Death human. A part that Death cannot get rid of. They live on forever, together.

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

Anyways, I could probably go back and recheck things but I just want to make it clear that I haven't done that and this was something just for fun. My pure feelings on this all. I love connecting songs to characters, and I really do love Ryoji along with the ships with him and the main protags. If you read I hope you enjoyed!

Also I would love to hear what songs people connect to these characters (Doesn't have to be Ryoji or Ryomina)

[greetings-inferiors]

So I absolutely love “want to be close” because it’s probably the most unique school theme in the series. Persona 3 is notable also because it has two school themes, as "want to be close" is replaced by "changing seasons". And while changing seasons is phenomenal in its own right, the reload version especially (imo best glow up from original to reload), it's a lot more normal. I want to discuss what makes want to be close unique, and how it plays into persona 3's themes and even does a little foreshadowing.

So. Persona 3's school themes are most obviously representation of Makoto's outlook on life. He starts the game apathetic, cynical and nihilistic. He’s an orphan who has no friends and life has no point. Want to be close’s lyrics reflect this, describing people who crave affection and connection with others. But then, once Makoto starts connecting with others, he starts to value his own life, and starts to truly enjoy it. This can be seen in the (reload, because it’s the definitive version of it) lyrics for changing seasons, which is unabashedly a celebration of living and being alive. This makes the ending all the more poignant, as the only one who knew life’s true value was the only one who could be willing to let it go.

But I’m getting away from my point. Why am I saying that want to be close is the most unique school theme in the series? Well, it all has to do with how it loops.

Video game music has to be designed around loops. Your player could speed run the game, or could stand around for ten minutes as they eat food and listen to the background music. The only time you are afforded the privilege of not having to loop a track is during cutscenes, but even then, if a player has input on the cutscnes then you’ve got to structure the track so individual parts can loop while they make their decision. Now, how the track loops is very important. The final boss theme for persona 4 is one of my favourite tracks in the series, but it’s a full orchestral piece with a well defined ending. As a boss theme, it’s not the best, as it doesn’t match up to the action at all, because it’s not designed to loop, it’s composed as a standalone piece. A majority of persona tracks similarly just go back to the beginning once they’re done.

But not want to be close. It starts out with its verse, but once the first “want to be close” is sung, that’s it. It will never loop back to the beginning again. You’ll get the odd echo of “…to be close~” but other than that, it’s just a loop of the outro.

I say this is FANTASTIC.

Bear with me for a second as I be a bit pretentious, but the song can represent life and death. The verse, the best part of the song, is splendid and fleeting like the bubbles he conjured (sorry I had to), but once it ends, you only get the lingering memory of the “to be close”. Memories of you perhaps? It’s such a lovely feeling whenever you hear the echo, but then you realise that the verse is never going to play again. Idk it’s just such an effective way of portraying the feeling of remembering someone who used to be a part of your life, distilled into a 2 minute long song. Am I reading into it too much? Absolutely. But ever since I first heard it I’ve been positively captivated by it and I had to put into words what makes it tickle my mind so much.

[philistiniphagottini]

Okay since I have yapped about my fave male characters before, I shall now yap about some of fave female characters, for anyone interested. And trust me, when you read this list, you'll start to notice a pattern.

First up, Genshin Impact. I will pick my top 3 favourite girls. Yelan. I love her a lot. She's strong, she's cool, she's confident, got an air of mystery about her. She could step on me and I'd thank her for the experience. Such a good voice too. Top tier.

Shenhe. I adore her character design. Another woman who is so strong that she could pick me up no effort and carry me around bridal style. My dream. I love her backstory and I think she's interesting. Also zero tact when she talks, she's so damn blunt I find it hilarious.

Arlecchino. I will admit, recency bias is probably playing a big part in this but I love her. Strong, capable woman. Not completely a good guy either which is nice for a change. Completely dominating aura, I would fall on my knees for Father :) I love how one of her idle animations is her just glitching out of reality. Can relate.

Honkai Star Rail. Fave three women again. I'll start with Kafka. She scares me but I also like her. She arouses me but I'm also terrified of her. She could ask anything of me and I'll probably do it. Another woman with an air of mystery to her. Would love to get to know her, I think she would wine and dine me and I would appreciate it.

Black Swan. Oh my god I love her. Great character design. Looks like a massive flirt and tease and I have the distinct feeling she would like chubby girls and tease them so much god please let it be true I like her so much. I can't wait until her banner comes back around I had to skip her for my stupid, dragon husband I'm so sorry babe I'll come back for you I swear.

Acheron. I just wanna hold her hand. She's been through so much. I wanna stay up and have late night conversations with her. She doesn't even have to talk, just listen to me ramble I can fill the silence with my yapping. Very pretty woman, so strong I'm so glad I got her she has helped me clear harder stuff in swarm disaster and golden gears.

And now, some rapid fire fandoms and girls. My favorutie Yugioh girl is Aki Izayoi from 5ds. She has a sad backstory. She has a cool design. I love her Black Rose Dragon. Psychic Duellist are cool. She's scary at first because she pushes people away but once she starts to trust she is so sweet and caring.

Nico Robin from One Piece. Oh my god, favourite strawhat and woman of the show. I love her so much. Her backstory made me so sad. That one scene from Enies Lobby had me in fucking tears. I cannot watch that scene without crying. Such a caring woman. And strong too. And I love watching her get passionate about her hobbies. She's also a little weird too and I like them a little weird as well.

Android 21 from Dragon Ball franchise. Yeah, who would of guessed? I like the hot, Android milf. Android 18 is cool too but I really like Android 21. The fact that she has a ridiculous sweet tooth is something I relate to because girl, same. She would indulge my sweet tooth and I would appreciate it.

Persona Series. I don't know why but apparently I must have a thing for the girls of the Priestess Arcana because I romanced Mokoto in Persona 5 and then I romanced Fuuka of Persona 3 reload. I'll let you guys figure that one out lol.

If there are any other series or girls you are curious on, please let me know and I will tell you my opinion of them. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

[euphausia]

🎶 💛!!!!!

^fav sng and fav dynamic^

asking for a singular favorite sng is kind of like pttng me through a meat grinder so i chose one frm each.. which was still rly hrd. i love the personer trcks :bandage p1 - saeko senseis theme p2is - kashihara (specifically the psp version) p2ep - the round sun (specifically the psx version) p3 - changing seasons reload p4 - pursuing my true self p5 - life will change

as for the fav dynamic. well sorry i cldnt choose. the p2is cast..... theyre childhood frnds its the sweetest. all of thm are close w each other separately. like eikichi and lisa constantly fighting but thn eikichi being the mst defensive of her... or tatsu and jun hvng personas based on their keepsakes frm each other... jun and eikichi going to the same school and jun cllng him michelle. all of thm looking up to maya and calling her big sis. and theyre even closer whn its all 5. whn 1 of thm vents all the others cry guhhh THEY LOVE EACH OTHER THEYRE BEST FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!! thm reuniting was so sweet and god thm hvng to prt again alkmoist made me die irl..doomed family. ughhhh p2is was sooo good at mkng thm actually feel like besties they make me feel ill. BUT ALSO.. yeah SEES persona 3. they wrnt close at frst and some of thm had beef w each other. like yukari and mitsuru or junpei and the protag for example. but they grw closer throughout the story and once again it jst seemed so real. comparing their dynamics at the strt vs at the end is jst crazy theyre so protective of each other they get each other theyre closer thn family i cnt typoe any mor ecuz im gttng dizzy jst thnkng abt it. the scene of thm all crying whn the protag comes bck after sealing nyx????? so good. and once againtheyre close separately too jfybtghjnmksdzdsbdwim gona thrw up I LOVE THEM HANGING OUT OFF SCREEN AND HAVING HISTORY INDEPENDENT OF THE PROTAGONIST!!!! AND I LOVE THEM STUDYIGN TOGETHER AND GOING ON WALKS AND TALKING ABOUT DUMB HIGH SCHOOL SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alexandrite-dragoness]

My Final Thoughts on Persona 3 Reload :)

Hello all! ^^

I just happened to finish Persona 3 Reload recently and wanted to give my own personal thoughts on it. Of course I won't go into many specific details and make this into an essay, so I'll just put in what I enjoyed, what I didn't like and what I'm looking forward to in a potential DLC.

Also on that note a good chunk of my thoughts will be regarding Strega (Jin and Takaya in particular), since they are personally my favorite villains from the game and I was looking forward to seeing any additional scenes they were given.

So let us begin (this does contain spoilers so be wary)

What I did Enjoy (or Absolutely Loved):

☑ Social Link Episodes (& the Full-On Voice Acting)

First off, I want to express my gratitude for Atlus in taking the time to apply some TLC to the less appreciated characters in P3. This is especially true for Shinjiro, who I felt was the least fleshed out among the rest of SEES (and, you know, for valid reasons). He did have more moments of his own specifically in Persona 3 Portable if you play as the female protagonist, but unfortunately that even had its limit. That also gave us a moment with Mitsuru to explain about her past with Shinjiro and Akihiko, giving us a bit of a flashback which I think is a neat touch! Strega also was given some decent amount of treatment in the remake as well, showing two (or was it three?) exclusive scenes with Jin and Takaya and lifting some of their mysterious past midway through the game rather than shoving all of it to the end (however I do my complaints regarding that still, but I digress).

The additional voice overs for the social links is an incredible touch, it made me even appreciate some of the characters even more (or even starting to like the ones I didn't care about before). Yuko after spending some time with her became one of my favorite SLs in the game, she has such a neat and endearing attitude in her voice and I dig it a lot! Hidetoshi came close to my second fave, when switching from a uptight attitude to some occasions a more softening/somber approach was when I started appreciating him a little more.

ʚїɞ

☑ Additional Evening Activities (+Kitchen & Rooftop)

To be honest during my first and early experience in Persona 3 (FES) the evenings were a bit of a drag. There was no part-time jobs during that point (part-times didn't happen until P3P) and there were only two social links that appeared at night. So more often than not I'd be studying away at my desk or kill some time at the mall some other way (and I wasn't enjoying half the time).

Fortunately Reload (for the most part) fixed that issue by giving us the opportunity to hang out with our teammates in the dorm/lounge room in the evenings. This also added a new mechanic to give these team members a gauge/characteristic for battle. During those times too, even if they didn't raise their battle perk at the moment, they may either give you a useful item for battles or raise one of your social stats in the meanwhile.

ʚїɞ

☑ QoL Additions (+Theurgy)

Trying to keep this part brief but I do enjoy the additional quality of life content they added to the same, some even adapted from P3P itself (this includes the part time jobs). As much as I enjoyed Theurgy and the perks it came with it, I was hoping they were going to do a "Showtime" gig with the team (having a Akihiko and Shinjiro duo attack would've been awesome ngl), but I'm pretty satisfied with what we have too. Also the fact they gave Fuuka abilities is all I ever wanted!! :D She's now more useful than ever, thank goodness.

Regarding outside-of-battle changes; one of them I noticed is how you were able to revive Chidori. Originally you had to talk to Junpei on four separate days on September just to convince him to visit her in the hospital. In Reload they completely changed it so you just had to buy the white flowers. It's a little more straight-forward and I actually enjoyed that change. One change I was indifferent on was Yukari's SL where, when reversing the arcana, they made the choice more obvious where you would say she is a girl rather than hugging her in hopes to make her feel better. While I wasn't the most thrilled on the change I can see why it was made.

ʚїɞ

☑ More Strega >:)

Oh hell yeah!! I was super ecstatic when I saw the new scenes when I played through the game >:D not only was I ready to kick their ass again, but seeing what else is in store regarding their tasks and potential additional backstory.

We already know Chidori got enough screentime as is, so I was looking forward to seeing what Atlus has given to the male duo of the antagonizing group. A lot of them are the same, but some of the others definitely more focused on Takaya when he went to interact with the protagonist. Originally the protagonist never mingled with the villains (in fact it felt mostly ignored in every encountered they had), so when Takaya shows keen interest on the protagonist and how he wields multiple Personas, it gave Takaya his own moment of development as he tries to convince the protagonist to "not throw his gift away" and embrace the Dark Hour as is. Takaya already shows to have no interest or attachment with anyone (rip Jin), but the fact he did end up questioning himself whether or not he was feeling any attachment for the Wild Card, it was indeed a new look on how we see him as a villain.

ALSO BDJKVBJDS THEIR WHOLE FINAL BATTLES WERE WILD!! Jin stabbing himself with those enhancement drugs went raw, and Takaya having an unbelievable Thuergy attack surely took me by surprise!!! This is not without my own complaints for them, ofc...

ʚїɞ

☑ T h e B u i l d - u p (& The Cinematic Experience overall)

When first jumping into the game it already gives a creepy-and-almost-horror vibe to the introduction of the game. You finally got off at your stop, making your way to the student dormitory only for the sky to turn green and the puddles of blood to appear all of the sudden. It's a real nice way to showing what the Dark Hour is, without telling you right away what (which makes it even more unnerving).

And then jumping to 3/5 being the final day of the game, the whole entire scene with you laying on Aigis's lap gives you time to get hit in the feels once the android gets to say what she finds in her meaning of life. Love that it was more of a cinematic experience, since I didn't have to click "X" to continue any sort of dialogue and therefore get to sit back and relax and watch everything happening. And the dialogue choices you choose... damn, the layout for that does a lot with the timing given too. I really enjoyed the ending a lot more than the original for sure, and seeing the cast running up the stairs to find you was such a great addition (That's how it went for the 2014 P3 movie as well).

Regarding the Social Links:

Another note I've taken is with the addition of voice acting, talking to everyone on the 4th day of March adds a lot more emotion to their dialogues, as you get to find out what some of them wanted to do with their life after school. The little details they added definitely adds a whole layer of accomplishment and knowing what you did to save the world was very much worth it, and being able to secure all your friends' futures. I love that emotional feeling when I went to talk all the SLs I maxed :')

ʚїɞ

now unto...

My If's and But's:

⍉ The Voice Cast

I gotta admit: Since the start of my playthrough I wasn't a huge fan of few of the voice cast for certain characters (Akihiko and Ikutsuki were some of the big ones). Some of those however did grow on me, and I started to appreciate them more the farther I got into the game. Junpei and Mitsuru in my opinion were perfect on their own 👌 no complaints with them. Fuuka is also perfect, gives me Fluttershy vibes LOL. Yukari and Aigis took only a little time to get used to and I think they're almost perfect for their roles as well. Aleks Le as the protagonist was also a great choice!

Akihiko in particular took me a lot longer in getting used to- I've always thought Liam O Brian was perfect as the original VA for Akihiko. After some time getting used to it, he started to grow on me. Same for Takaya too, as I wasn't so sure what I thought of him at first but his evil laughs surely did him justice. Speaking of Justice- Ken also took some getting used to, since at first he didn't exactly sound like a kid to me at the start (there's a difference between sounding like a kid, or sounding like a woman trying to sound like a kid).

The ones I'm more 'eh' about is Ikutsuki and Jin. Ikutsuki sounds a bit too mature for my liking, as his lighthearted jokes doesn't match with his voice at all to me. And while Jin did sound like his snarky self in the Strega introduction and while facing off against SEES... he also has a shift of tone in other scenes?? It was a weird mix to me when I first notice it, I wasn't sure what that was about (could be me being very particular about it as a Jin fan myself). Best guess is he chooses to drop his act when he's around Takaya, revealing how he actually talks (also can we talk about the fact that Jin actually shows care for Chidori?? Like? This is amazing on so many levels??)

ʚїɞ

⍉ Some Dialogue Changes

It was to be expected that the Reloaded script isn't going to be 1:1 ratio with the original (especially if it's a little outdated and out of touch), but I can't help but some difference in dialogue that I feel is odd or seen as unnecessary.

One of the first things I noticed is how much they toned down some of Yukari's dialogues in regards to her attitude. I get that some of her lines can come off as rude or maybe even uncalled for, but I feel like that adds a bit to her character. To only soften her up makes some of her conflicts with the other characters not as... compelling.

Another irk I had was when they have Akihiko say random outbursts of "What?" or "What was that?", which I don't recall hearing him say that many times- Huh? Oh, you thought I would be complaining about the protein mentions lol. Tho tbf the random 'protein' lines was indeed a bit much, but it wasn't as over the top as some hardcore fans put it as. It was tolerable, at worst, but it was the random 'what' lines he had that threw me off the most.

ʚїɞ

⍉ No FeMC:

Now I'm not really down about the lack of FeMC in the game, since Reload is supposed to go off of the original games to start with. As much as I would love a female protagonist in Reload, I can live without one. Chances are, who knows, maybe there will be a potential DLC content with her in the future? Could be a long stretch.

ʚїɞ

What I feel the Game Lacked (or no likey):

☒ The Iconic Animated Cutscene (Specifically: MC's Awakening)

Now this game isn't without some flaws, that's for sure!

When we got to the cutscene at the rooftop when Yukari and the protagonist were about to face the Magician Arcana boss, I thought the awakening scene would've been 2D animated- just how it was for the original (the P3 movie did this scene extremely well; in fact my favorite so far). While the cutscene we were given wasn't bad at all (I'm not trying to say it is), but I feel like giving that same scene the 2D Anime treatment would've looked a lot better! The animators could really push for some dynamic angles or animation movements that would've sold to be more epic than it being in 3D.

I would definitely understand if they wanted to balance out between doing two-dimensional and doing three-dimensional throughout the entire game, but in my personally bias the 2D animated scenes have a unique charm to their looks and I almost always prefer that over the typical in-game scenes (after all I did feel like there wasn't many 2D animated scenes throughout).

ʚїɞ

☒ The Change of the Heart Items

Now this is more of a personal nitpick for me, playing FES as my first P3 game (techically I started Portable first, but then I fully switched over to FES), but I missed the original heart items I'd get by leveling up my Personas. From what I recall: The heart items you'd get would be accessories you'd give to your teammates that can indeed block certain elemental attacks. It was extremely useful to block certain weaknesses my team would have and it helped out pretty well. Speaking of, are they still in the game? Mhe, I may have to go through my NG+ to see if they do exist, cuz chances are I must've missed it.

ʚїɞ

And now for my final nitpick...

☒ Lack of Jin/other Strega content (& his development in Reload)

Now personally, I like Jin.

Actually that's a lie: I love Jin! Both design-wise and as a character! So you can expect me to go off on why I believed Atlus wasted their potential to build his character up based on very little development he received from the games. First off: You only ever see him around Takaya 99% of the time (only time by himself is at the top of Tartarus, tho that's different given he's there for Takaya's wish). Second of all: Atlus really made it sound like they'd do Strega some good by giving them their much needed backstory that they lacked since the existence of P3. But instead, most of that effort went to Takaya, leaving Jin in the dust once more.

While I did feel I put my expectations a little too high for them to work with Jin on that matter, I believe it would've done some good if they chose to flesh him out as an actual character, starting by seeing him outside the Dark Hour and on his own typing away on his laptop or something...

And while I did mention already that Jin did show actual concern for Chidori in the game (that I'm very much happy about), I felt that quickly went away as soon as the two went to 'rescue' Chidori from the hospital (and Jin's "hurry up already" doesn't really help with that either). And when Chidori gave her life up for Junpei during that scene, Jin... didn't really show much reaction at all, which was very much a downer.

Meanwhile I also relaized they cut back on some of Jin's usual battle animations during the fight, which was extremely disappointing. So there was no backflips, no breakdancing out of a Knock Down, none of that. And he doesn't even toss his grenade in his walk cycle anymore (perhaps that was for the best if he's out in public). And after beating Jin at the top of Tartarus and leaving him behind with a bunch of Shadows that just appeared (now this is just me), they didn't even bother making an animation of him pulling out a grenade or whatever. Just a cut in at the team running off and hearing an explosion after that, leaving it to you to use your imagination how it went. I also realized Fuuka didn't turn her head to look at Jin before leaving off-screen, which is a shame too.

So yeah, tldr; real lack of effort put into Jin as he gets the short end of the stick like usual.

ʚїɞ

Conclusion: What I'm Looking Forward to...

Now with my praises and rants out of the way, I do have some hopes for any later content Atlus may give for Reload in the upcoming future. Specifically any DLCs they may make, since I feel it has been hinted at (or rumored?) there will be new content in the future.

One of my hopes is for The Answer DLC. Given we've already taken a look at the Senpai Trio's past already in Reload and Aigis, after losing her beloved leader, would be going through a rough patch of phase of existential crisis. And the original Answer had some problems, as it became somewhat controversial within the fandom (particularly with Yukari). At this point it would give Atlus a good opportunity to fix some of the issues within the game (especially regarding the bosses and battles, like jesus christ!) and flesh it out better. And after playing through the game and seeing subtle hints that Aigis would be given future development post-Journey, I have no doubt The Answer will come out in a timely manner.

My other hope (which is more of a self-indulgent request, but whatev), if possible, that after expressing my issues and concerns with villains already, Atlus may take up the opportunity to create an exclusive Strega DLC! For that to be happening can indeed be very unlikely (I know), but if there's ever a possibility that they can perhaps take inspiration or rip a page out of the Shadow Cry novel that is about Strega, it would definitely help flesh them out and show what their routines are like day-to-day. They can even make it a short and cheap type of content, I wouldn't care, I'll take whatever they would have!

On that note: Some more Strega merch would be nice...

Anyways, thanks to anyone who took the time to read this (this took me a couple hours to write up), and have a good rest of your day :)

[rainyraisin]

Rai help do you know the persona lore can you tell me help

OMG OMG OMG OMG ARE YOU THINKING OF GETTING INTO PERSONA OR DID YOU JUST GET INTO IT???

Either way you have caught me at the right time because my long running Persona hyperfixation is in full swing babyyyyy

The Persona games are pretty disconnected other than a few elements here and there so I can tell you a bit of general persona lore but you’d have to specify a specific game if you wanted more info!!! (That would also be pretty general though to avoid spoilers!)

1. Persona games tend to follow the Fools Journey of the major tarot arcana with the protagonist always being the Fool! This is utilised differently throughout each of the games. One of the main aspects of the Fool is that they have limitless potential, which leads to one of the other main things shared between all persona protags: the Wild Card! The Wild Card leads you to be able to take on multiple different personas when usually a person can only have one. The protagonist grows and changes a lot as a person throughout the story, shown partially through systems like social stats but through other means as well, and both the personas they undertake through regular gameplay and also story related reasons reflect this!

2. The Velvet Room is a place between time and space ran by a man called Igor and usually at least one Velvet assistant (Persona 5 has two whilst the Q spin-off games have all the Velvet assistants from 3 and 4 or 3-5 depending on if you’re playing Q or Q2). It’s a place only accessible to those who hold the Wild Card within them and its form changes to reflect their heart and the challenges they’re facing. Persona 3’s is an elevator, Persona 4’s is a limo, and Persona 5’s is a prison! (I’m unsure what Persona 1 and 2’s look like as I haven’t played those two yet, apologies!). It doesn’t really have much lore beyond that as far as I know? But it is one of the only things shared across all the games.

3. The central themes of each game tend to be about accepting yourself and growing as a person (aka strengthening your heart, therefore strengthening your persona). I haven’t completed Persona 3 yet so I can’t exactly say how that’s utilised in that game just yet but in Persona 4 and 5 accepting the bad parts of yourself and going against others in order to follow your heart are one of the main parts and themes of the game.

4. Persona lore follows the Jungian psychology and takes it incredibly literally. Jungian psychology describes a persona as: “a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and on the other to conceal the true nature of the individual." This is taken most literally in Persona 5 as they have to rip off the mask imposed upon them by society in order to access their true nature, aka their Persona, but it’s also somewhat similar in the previous two mainline games as well.

There’s certainly more to it than that but that’s what I can think of off the top of my head!!! If you wanna know more about the lore of a specific Persona Game just ask! Although I don’t know much about 3 at the moment as I’m only halfway through July in Reload- if you ever wanna talk about Persona just ask hehe I’d love to talk about it!!! Especially Persona 5, if you haven’t played the series yet and you’re trying to decide which one to start with is definetly recommend 5, specifically Royal but the original version is good too, Royal just has way more content and is better overall HDKSVXKSHXJ- it’s the one I started off with personally and I think it’s definitely the best intro to the series if you’re attempting to get into it. With the release of Reload, P3 is also a good way to get into the series and if you want a darker story that’s definitely the way to go but both are amazing options! Persona 5’s story is by no means worse than Persona 3’s though, I absolutely adore that game’s story and themes (there’s a reason I’ve played it 6 times HCKSGDKWBCKH-). If you want I can tell you more about both! The only game I wouldn’t recommend starting with is Persona 4, it’s not bad by any means but honestly if I wasn’t already hooked on Persona by the time I played it I probably would’ve dropped it, the dungeon crawling and battle systems of the older versions of 3 and both versions of 4 have uh… a few issues bcksgcksbckhs

[petorahs]

☀️ i am so sad, i heared that they wont include anything from fes or portable, so no femc, no answer or the like. I hate it here, why this disrespect to my girl Minako i will fight somebody at atlus HQ

oh. well i will say it straight (the only thing straight about me i fear lol) but thats likely not entirely true, ☀️ anon. idk if youve seen this post but it sums it up pretty well https://www.tumblr.com/petorahs/719925542729695232

and the full article published a while later:

bad ign reporting aside, i was also pretty upset at first since no femc and the answer! but then i saw a good point someone made about the femc case:

persona 3 reload has reportedly been in development for four years. and in that four years thats standard time to build a game from the ground up, maybe even too little – anyone who's been in game dev can tell us that. p3re doesnt reuse assets, too, it's completely from scratch. so having femc isnt simply a matter of model swap. they'd also have to program the UIs and make everything pink - sure, that could be "easy", but there's also the changed social links and team dynamics (more writing to be done), weapon system and all that (more coding)? so its like... i'd be actually surprised if they managed a femc during those 4 years. its quite a lot of work to re-adapt base p3 as is i feel and modernizing it. also i feel like atlus themselves wouldnt want to do their character and her fanbase wrong so of course they wouldnt fkn slap on a few pink menus and call it a day. they surely want to rewrite the s links and everything too in accordance to her. art takes time.

(with all that being said bullying atlus for femc is warranted actually maybe then her inevitable dlc might come faster lmao )

similarly, im fine with no "the answer" now despite being its #1 defender. theyd have to completely rework the 30:2 hour grinding to story ratio which is just not sustainable on a modern gameplay perspective. that also takes time.

its why i made this post actually. i somehow trust them, and i feel like most of us can stand to chill a little and have healthier expectations. as in not overbloated and not have the bar set in hell either (altho we should also do that too)

and i know, like anyone who's played this game, it means so much to so many people. and thats why its maybe impossible to please everyone, because its so many different things: a game that saved their life, a funny goofy lighthearted one where you catch demons, the most depressing persona game ever (altho i feel like p2 would beg to differ on that one-), or for me personally, a game that just made me cry man.

and because it means so much, everyone wants to see it be the best it can be!! and that means having hamuchan. i get that all of this riot energy is out of love for the game, really. but. yeah.

a remake seems like it's "less work to do" since the foundation's "already there" and i dont know how many people worked on p3re but like. i highly doubt theyre just sitting on their asses pissing off fans on purpose lol. (or maybe they are and im just too optimistic damn 😭)

[mycomicbox]

Random Thoughts on Persona 4 Golden - Part 2

(for context, I'm up to 11/13 and I just rescued [SPOILER])

<<< Part 1

I like how there are a lot of moments where the Investigation Team hangs out together outside of the context of the main story, like the fireworks scene and the concert performance. It really makes them feel like true friends.

Not my favorite fishing minigame in the world, but it's serviceable.

You ever drink coffee so good it knocks you the fuck out?

The Death Social Link may be in my personal running for one of the best Social Links that isn't a party member or side character.

I was honestly kinda blindsided by Mr. Morooka's murder.

They did it. They made a character who's both a bear and a twink.

Mitsuo's dungeon and boss fight were cool as fuck, especially with the 8-bit remix of I'll Face Myself. I'm a sucker for that retro aesthetic.

Since I played Persona 3 Portable immediately before this game, I loved the Tatsumi Port Island field trip. It was really nice to see something familiar. Chihiro shows up and briefly mentions Mitsuru, Club Escapade plays the opening song for Persona 3 FES, and the gang even stays in the hotel where SEES fought one of the boss Shadows. Wonderful.

Speaking of Club Escapade, how did Rise and Yukiko get drunk again? Naoto mentions that the drinks were non-alcoholic, so were they just acting drunk?

...They did Naoto so dirty. That part where she said that she "shouldn't strive to live as a man" gave me the ick. Her dungeon literally has a Transition Surgery Machine, and she continuously wishes that she was born a guy. Like I said in my last post, the story feels like if a queerphobe and a queer person were fighting over who got to write it. It would've been nice if Naoto's arc revolved around accepting that she was transmasc, or better yet, rejecting the concept of gender entirely.

Speaking of Naoto, she's honestly kinda OP. I heard that she was buffed from the original Persona 4.

The Cultural Festival was... holy shit, where do I begin. The whole beauty pageant segment was incredibly awkward (except for the bit where Teddie stole the show, that was pretty based of him), and the hot springs scene was even worse than the one in Persona 3. And don't even get me started on the scene immediately after.

The scene on the night of 11/1 was awesome. The suspense of Nanako's kidnapping was elevated by how likable she is, especially if you finished her Social Link beforehand (which I did). I was also wondering when Dojima would find out about the protagonist's involvement.

It's probably been said many times before, but WE WERE FUCKING ROBBED. As I found out, there were unused voice lines for Yosuke (in both Japanese and English) which imply that he was going to be a romance option, but it was cut in late development. Not only would it have been nice to have an actual bromance in a Persona game, this would've been a great character moment for Yosuke; it would've recontextualized his homophobic remarks as the result of denying his own feelings, fitting perfectly with the game's intended themes.

(Also, happy launch day to Persona 3 Reload. This is a Persona 4 post, but it feels weird not to acknowledge it.)

[drac-onion]

Finished P5R

Bunch of words under the cut, honestly I'm just ranting. Figured I'd spare your timelines of a massive wall of text.

Real talk, though. I cried for like 2 hours. From 2/2 all the way to the end. I would cry for a little while, and then stop for a bit. Then I would get to a cutscene or something and the waterworks would start back up again.

Man, I just...6 years ago, I played the original Persona 5. I finished it on May 27th, 2017, a little over a month after it released. I'm kind of impressed as to how I was able to marathon the whole thing in a month while balancing college and work (although I didn't have a whole lot of time dedicated to either at the time, so whatever).

It took me nearly three years to get around to finishing Royal. I got it on launch on PS4, played it for two weeks solid, and then...sort of fell off. I blame quarantine and going a little hard in the paint on playing it every day since I had nothing else better to do, but that doesn't really matter. I was also dealing with quite a bit on my plate at the time. From my car dying (and it being entirely my fault), to losing my job, to...well, I'm not going to make this about that. I could, but I'd be here for ages if I went over everything that's happened in my life.

I just want to say how special this game is to me. The characters, the story, the music, everything just sticks with me. Even after all this time. Even after I dropped the game for three years and picked it back up on PC after transferring my save (worth the money I spent on getting my saves decrypted, if I'm honest), I never stopped loving it. I just...had some other stuff going on. Between Royal coming out and now, since I've finished it, so much has happened. It's wild to think about how much life can change in three years. Hell, how much life can change in the 6 and a half years since I finished the original. So much has happened.

Perhaps it's a little "cringe" to think so fondly of a piece of media like this (enough to shed tears). A piece of fiction. Something, at its very core, not real. Fake. Made up. But there is something about it that's real, and I can't even put it into words. But, you're just going to have to take my word for it. If you know, then you know. If that makes me cringe, then so be it. I think any piece of media can have a message, and I've always found the messages in the games I enjoy motivating. "Time never waits, so find your own meaning to life's struggle, with your heart as your guide", "Be true to yourself, no matter how painful it may be", "Stick to your values, no matter how tough things are, and change the world for the better in your own way", "Once you're at rock bottom, the only way to go is up". I wish I could apply some of these messages in my own life. I suppose the only thing stopping me is me, right? That's how that works.

God, I can feel myself wanting to cry again, but I just don't have any more tears. I think this was the emotional release I've been looking for during the last couple months. Things aren't so good for me right now, and they're about to get a lot worse now that the holidays are coming up. I...don't like this time of year, to put it simply. This will likely come up in my writing in one form or another. (Write what you know, I guess?)

Persona, as a series, has always been so special to me. I hope that the series continues to grow in the best possible way. Can't wait to cry like a bitch when I eventually finish Persona 3 Reload!

Anyway, I had more stuff I wrote here, but I got waaaaaayyyy off track and into some personal places, so I'll stop myself here.

Aaaaahhh...yeah, that one is gonna be rough, even when I know it's coming. Yep.

Well...all that said...my journey with The Phantom Thieves of Hearts isn't over quite yet...I get to ride out yet another journey with these guys...not to mention P5T coming out in around a month. I'm glad to be able to spend more time with these characters. Now, then...

[monstersflashlight]

Well in order to show images I can't use anon so here goes nothing! I have a good few "Hear me out"s, including:

Spider Queen, Ubume, and Crow Tengu from Okami, one of my favorite games of all time. Felix from drawtectives SPECIFICALLY in his uniform as the Ticket Taker (regular Felix is just a cat-headed humanoid animatronic with a cat's soul in it who wears a bowtie and suspenders. Adorable, not sexy imo)

Izanami (pictured in Battle and True forms) from Persona 4/Golden (my first Persona game and when I saw her as the final boss my FIRST reaction was "oh SHIT SHE'S HOT), Nyx Avatar from Persona 3/Portable/Reload, and Vicar Amelia from Bloodborne

And final mention, some that I have actually talked about before, I think: Eaters from Digimon Cyber Sleuth (pictured here are Purebreed and Humanoid forms)

Would love to hear your thoughts and ALSO one of your "hear me out"'s! 💚💚💚

Hi there! Many options, I see... Love that for you. I don't know about the first four, but dude the weird and dragon like? Yes. And the one from Digimon? DUDE YES. I def hear you on that, they look fucking great.

[pantasticjae]

Looking For Moots/Friends!!

Introduction

Hey there! I'm Pantastic Jae. (He/They) I'm a 20 year old artist who makes videos for my very small channel. Id like to make friends/moots with others who create videos, as I would love to record some with other people. Despite this also having moots and friends who share my interest would be amazing. I only really require that you must be 18 or over because I am an Adult. (editing to add that i'm not really comfy with NSFW stuff, so if you've already added me expecting to be moots i may not follow back or interact much because of that, i'm sorry for not stating it here originally)(editing again to say that I realized that by putting 18+ in my interest bingo without reading the description I was unknowingly saying that oops-)

To help get a better understanding of me, I've made this interest Bingo. I'll add a blank version at the end of the post if you would like to make one yourself)

18+ means you are 18 or over I am not okay with NSFW!!!

18+ means you are 18 or over I am not okay with NSFW!!!

Here is a text list (with some explanation) of everything from left to right, top to bottom. (1st row 1 2 3 4 5, 2nd row 6 7 8 9 10)

Zubo for DS

Scott Pilgrim (I have not watched the animated show, but have watched the movie and read all of the comics)

Battle for Dream Island (All Seasons, Can act as an umbrella for other Object Shows)

Power Rangers / Super Sentai (I have not fully watched either of these, I've watched PR the most, but enjoy both)

Music (I like a lot of music, and I also enjoy singing)

Dungeons and Dragons (Currently in a campaign, and sadly I'm not looking to join any more atm)

Pokémon

Drawing (I'm not really good, but enjoy doing so anyway)

Archipelago Randomizer (I sadly have not done a multiworld myself, and would love to do so for a video myself, please lmk if you wanna record one with me)

The Owl House

Disventure Camp

Madoka Magica (I'm Currently on Season 2 of Magia Record)

18+ (if you end up fulling this out to show overlapping interest this is ofc the requirement, so it's the free space)

Vocaloid

Persona (Specifically 3 Reloaded, the game i'm currently watching my GF play and the only one in the series i've seen gameplay of)

YT Content Creator (I make videos, idk the true correct wording to use)

Five Nights at Freddy's

Total Drama (I have not yet watched either of the reboot seasons)

The Amazing Digital Circus

Jujutsu Kaisen (I've only finished the Hidden Inventory Arc in the Anime)

Rhythm Heaven

EWOW (Current Contestant, can be used for TWOW as well)

Steven Universe

Spider-man (All versions, anyone can wear the mask)

Inanimate Insanity (All Seasons, Can act as an umbrella for other object shows)

So yea, that's just a bit about me. If you do wanna be moots just message me and lmk. I will try my best to be social, but as it may be a bit obvious here my anxiety causes me to over explain myself. Please also feel free to ask me questions if you have any.