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p5youllneverseeitcoming · 4 years ago

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Persona 5 Strikers/Scramble

So! I finished the story of Persona 5 Strikers and I wanted to share my thoughts as I have soooo much to say but cannot share with my friends due to spoilers :’) I am currently playing on a New Game+ as, ya girl wants the Platinum Trophy :o

I will talk about some of the things that I really liked here (Spoiler free don’t worry) AND include spoilery things under the cut so I won’t ruin the experience for anyone else!

The Plot

Obviously this takes place after the original Persona 5 story finishes and as opposed to a whole year, you just get 1 month with the Phantom Thieves. I really liked exploring all the cities you travel to and the character interactions were so cute!! I really like the two new characters introduced (Sophia and Zenkichi Hasegawa). Both of them fit the story so well and their interactions with the other Thieves are honestly so good and pure! Also?? Their outfits? Amazing T_T It was such a nice change seeing everyone in casual outfits as opposed to their school uniforms!

I also loved the fact that you could choose to play with characters that get introduced late game like Haru for example straight away. I for one, always have her in my party as soon as she’s available so having her for the whole game was like a dream come true haha. I’ll talk about Sophia and Zenkichi a bit more under the cut but I will say that it’s so fun to play as them! I personally prefer Sophia more as she has healing skills which are always really useful and she uses yo-yo’s for her weapons which are so fun to use. Zenkichi uses a great sword which is very Final Fantasy of him and I am loving it. I love their Phantom Thief outfits! Sophia looks super cute in her floofy coat and boots and Zenkichi just looks so cool! His hat is goals, I want one T_T

The anime cutscenes in the game are also... Omg... I just can’t help but fangirl over how everyone looks... ESPECIALLY SOPHIA OML, she’s so... Bby... And of course, the dialogue options you can choose are so funny, then again what else can you expect from a game that had the option to say “you jelly?” to Ryuji.

I won’t spoil the main plot but this game works similarly to Persona 5 in the sense of, you still go into dungeons but these ones are a lot shorter and when you leave the dungeon, the days don’t actually move forward, only specific story points advance the days. So essentially if you wished, you can stay and grind for as long as you like!

The Gameplay

I won’t lie, as expected from a hack-and-slash it gets quite chaotic at first if you don’t fully know what’s going on but you get used to it pretty quickly! The game gives you tutorials whenever anything new appears and you get the hang of it pretty well by the first dungeon. You still only have 4 characters in your party and Akira must always be present but here you can actually run around as the other party members when the battles are over! Also? Morgana gets comical sound effects when he does things like jumping and running and I was LIVING for it.

The other thing that changed is, obviously it’s not turn based so if you were like me and wore the SP restoring accessories to get 7SP back each turn, you’re in for a last surprise! In this game you actually use your items quite a lot as there isn’t a limit to how much you can use as you access them mid battle by pausing. Later on you get specific skills that restore your SP after each battle or by performing All Out Attacks and 1 More’s so honestly, SP isn’t really a problem for regular battles. I mainly found it running out quickly when I was fighting some of the optional bosses but I always had SP restoring items so it was all good hehe.

You still do things like All Out Attacks and 1 More’s in this game but you also do something called ‘Showtime’ which is very similar to the ones introduced in Royal only in Strikers it’s for one character, you basically build up the showtime gauge as you battle enemies and, once activated, you deal significant damage to stronger enemies like bosses as well as all of the enemies in the area. The All Out Attacks also have their own little animation with your party posing and just looking really good!

Yusuke being so extra is honestly such a mood omg... Also Mona T_T So smol.

Every party member has their own special quirks such as Ann and Makoto applying Fire and Nuclear affinity respectively to their regular weapons, Morgana turning into the Mona car and so on. I personally always had Haru and Yusuke in my party and kept switching between the other Thieves to see what I like best. Personally, I really like having Morgana or Sophia as they’re really good healers, Morgana obviously having the more powerful skills such as Mediaharan and Salvation.

Also... The menus... Omg... If you thought the Persona 5 menu was stylish then you will LOVE the Strikers menus. They’re so stylish! And I love that all the Phantom Thieves are there too, it’s so cute T_T

The only thing I don’t like is the game doesn’t pause when your controller dies so uh... I may or may not have died during a boss battle when I was like 2 hits away from winning and then just... Stopped moving letting the boss hit me with a killing combo :)

To be honest though the party that I had pretty much all the time was:

But as I said, I liked to change Morgana and Sophia around every now and then.

The Music

Omg the music. Atlus really just said: Hey what if we made Persona 5 music again but like... More epic?

The song that plays right as soon as you have control of Joker is SO. GOOD. I legit had to pause for like 5 mins just to jam out. I don’t think it will come as much of a surprise but in my opinion, Persona 5 definitely has one of the best video game soundtracks, I absolutely love all the songs!

I will discuss some of the dungeon themes in the spoilers but I absolutely love the soundtrack for this game. Every dungeon theme is so fitting for said dungeon, I genuinely listen to them all the time, especially when doing my research for my essays!

The battle music is really energetic as opposed to the jazzy feel from the original Persona 5 soundtrack but it’s very fitting for the actual battle as you often fly all around the area instead of standing in one spot. I will say, Last Surprise made an excellent comeback despite being an already amazing song which is just, amazing, incredible, fantastic...

Other things

Well, I can’t go into detail due to spoilers but they deadass put a JoJo reference as well as a character in the game :’) The moment I saw them I was fangirling so hard!!! Also? The villain designs in this game??? Amazing. Beautiful. Very creative!

The Phantom Thieves interacting with each other is also really cute! I ESPECIALLY liked the fact that Morgana and Ryuji got along a lot better! They still had small fights here and there but they pretty much apologised to one another straight away which I really liked! Also? Ryuji protecting his friends, especially the girls? Amazing. Wonderful. Cannot help but stan.

Well, that concludes the non-spoiler section which.... Is kinda long haha, Below the cut I will talk about the spoilery things so I advise looking at it AFTER you finish the game!

The Plot

The plot of this game is really fun if you ask me. You travel around Japan defeating Monarchs in Jails AND you get to experience the joys of summer vacation with your friends and your new Persona dad. I really like the fact that you don’t advance time when you leave the Jails because this gives you the chance to grind as much as you want before tackling harder fights like some of the optional bosses. The boss designs themselves were so good! Especially Alice?! My God? She’s beautiful?? Look at her!

Persona 5 Strikers said you can be horny on main... Just this once o_o. She literally steps on Joker in the Jail which o_o Ma’am... Plz but she ALSO steps on her manager in the real world.

I really liked all the bosses in this game because they felt so... Real? Obviously I don’t agree with them for brainwashing people into worshipping them, but I really like how the game gave them backstories that showed why they strayed away from the right path. The fact that the Thieves tell them that they understand their struggles because they themselves went through the same thing (Like Ann and Yusuke) honestly made me appreciate the story that much more. I really liked Haru’s little arc in Sapporo because not only did she help Mariko Hyodo and show her that despite mistakes you can always stand up and start again, but she also got to have more screentime, like that cute fountain scene she has with Akira! ALSO? The Hee-Horde?! I was laughing for a solid 5 minutes when I saw it! It was so cute how Haru, Sophia, Ryuji and Yusuke were so into it while Futaba was just there like: ????

I think my favourite Jail out of all of them will definitely have to be the Kyoto one, a.k.a. the Jail controlled by Zenkichi’s daughter, Akane. Despite how short it is, you can learn so much about her. The overall aesthetic of the jail shows her love to the Phantom Thieves and in the actual Jail theme you can hear fragments of ‘Life Will Change’ and ‘Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There’ which I think is absolutely amazing! The boss fight for this jail honestly took me 3 tries to beat as the first time, I died due to not fully getting how Shadow Joker worked, and the second time, I was about 2 hits from beating him but then... My controller died :’) By the time it turned back on I was already c-c-c-c-comboed to death so :’) This is also the jail where Zenkichi awakens to his Persona and honestly? I found the little segment where he has to sneak around in his usual everyday attire so cute, bless him, he really did adopt 7 teenagers, their cat and an AI daughter.

ALSO?! They deadass put Dio in this game? Like when I first saw Natsume’s shadow I was like: Hm looks kinda familiar...

BUT THEN?!

Needless to say I was fangirling pretty hard.

I liked Akira Konoe, very much vibing with his Power Ranger aesthetic however, I have to say, his boss fights was surprisingly... Easy? At least it felt easy to me which was kind of... Disappointing I suppose for him supposedly being “the final boss” HOWEVER, I very much liked how his calling card was delivered, and the fact that Zenkichi could finally get his revenge was very satisfying!

Now, let’s talk about the end game, mainly the Abyss Jail. I did NOT see it coming (haha) that it was Ichinose all along! As I’m currently replaying the game, the fact that she doesn’t want to look at Sophia despite specialising in AI technology should have been my first clue that something is not quite right here!

When she forces Sophia to attack the Thieves, it honestly broke my heart. The fact that she recognised Joker and Skull... And she threw herself off the ledge just so she can’t hurt them anymore... Yo, I love her so much T_T That’s why her awakening to her Persona (her true Persona) was such a satisfying scene! Her Persona (Pandora) has a really cool design, I especially like the fact that she represents the Hope Arcana (as there was hope left at the bottom of Pandora’s box) and that Pandora herself kept the box-y design from her original “Persona” Pithos. I found it quite funny that all the skills Pithos has ended with a “?”. Anyway, the scene where she tells Ichinose all the things she learnt, and that Ichinose herself has a heart despite believing that she doesn’t for so long was so touching. It showed that Sophia deeply cares for her, despite the fact that she literally said she’s the reason so many people are getting mind controlled by EMMA. The ending scene with the two of them laughing and holding hands... My heart T_T

Now then, let’s talk about EMMA.

I. Loved. The. Final. Boss. Fight.

The fact that the game makes you use ALL the characters for the final fight! As I usually switched out characters here and there, my reserve party members weren’t severely under-levelled which made the fight pretty okay! I had quite... Strange groups I would say as I had Makoto and Zenkichi being a team, Morgana, Ann and Ryuji being a team, and Akira, Haru, Yusuke and Sophia being the final team. The final boss itself, has an absolutely beautiful design. I especially loved the angel like wings because it really showed that EMMA saw herself as a saviour. The cutscene that plays after with all the Thieves dealing the final blows before watching all the desires fall around them was honestly so pretty... Man, this game series is just so aesthetic!

When the credits rolled and all the photos started appearing I couldn’t help but start crying. It really felt like you were actually there, living through all the memories and the fact that Sophia called the photo of all of them together “Treasure”... T_T

The Gameplay

I already pretty much said all I wanted for the gameplay in the non-spoiler section but I will say, the Showtimes and the Master Skills each character learns are so good! I love that once you master all of them you’re bascially unstoppable, I especially love Haru’s and Akira’s as it allows them to deal damage even if they’re a safe distance away from the enemy. The fact that you can learn Bond skills that restore SP with every All Out Attack and One More is honestly so helpful because it saves you going back and forth between the real world but then again, by this point you probably have way too many HP and SP restoring items!

I really liked that Zenkichi has no weaknesses and uses Almighty damage but I find the whole Fury/HP consumption combination a bit weird. After a while you get used to it and obviously you don’t have to activate fury at all but as I said before, I prefer playing as Sophia. Although, I will say that gun wise, I think Zenkichi’s are a lot more fun to use than Sophia’s blasters, but then again that’s just my personal opinion!

The Music

As I said, the music was so fitting for each Jail, I absolutely love it.

The first Jail, you honestly can’t help but bop your head to the beat. It really gives you the impression that you’re in some kind of twisted theme park which really fit the overall aesthetic of the Jail. I loved the vibrant neon colour scheme in such a dark looking place.

The Okinawa Jail... My God that theme was so good. I can’t really explain it but the song really made you feel like you were... Alone, like the place was truly abandoned and forgotten. As soon as the violin started playing I couldn’t help but just stop and listen to it. The overall jail was just so... Creepy. The Shadows there resemebled the shadows you would usually find in the previous Persona games, just this black mass slithering around. I think it was very fitting that they put the Reaper in this Jail.

As I mentioned before, the Kyoto Jail theme is my absolute favourite. The fact that it has elements of other Persona 5 songs due to Akane being a big Phantom Thieves fan was such a good choice! I love how when you take a closer look, you can see the Phantom Thieves logo on the lanterns and the fact that Shadow Akane herself made a Phantom Thief outfit for herself... Big mood. I loved how all the Thieves encouraged her to try and get along with her dad better AND that they taught Zenkichi how to cook just so he can make curry for her, especially when you remember just how much curry means to someone like Futaba.

I really liked the remix of Rivers in a Desert, then again what did I expect from a Persona game? The battle music is ALWAYS amazing. I really liked how this played when you fight Konoe as it parallels when you fight Shido in the original, supposedly the final fight, only to find out that there is something MUCH bigger than them.

Other things

This post is already way too long and if you read all of this... Thank you so much. Sadly, I cannot share this with any of my friends as it’s spoilers so I hope you guys don’t mind me sharing this here! I would love to see your opinion of this game!!!

Also? Yusuke and Akira are now canonically dating and I think that’s beautiful

And then that scene later on

Why do you think we came here with Yusuke, Morgana?

TL;DR: I love this game

#p5s #persona 5 #p5 #persona 5 strikers #persona 5 scramble #p5s spoilers #persona 5 scramble spoilers #persona 5 strikers spoilers

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takirasu · 5 years ago

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Why I cannot understand how a huge majority of the Persona 5 fandom ships Akira/Protagonist with Akechi if you’ve played the game and what is possibly wrong about it

First and foremost: I do not mean to offend or hurt anyone personally with this. This is purely analytical from the viewpoint of someone who is interested in analysing characters and character dynamics. The group of people mentioned that I dislike regarding this ship is targeted to certain types of people in the fandom that will be explained at the end, meaning if you ship this No, I don’t automatically dislike you and even if I would, who cares? It’s just me. I don’t know you and it shouldn’t matter to you. I also want to mention that obviously Persona 5 will get spoiled in this analysis as well as slight mentions and spoilers of Royal, especially the third semester. Read at your own risk! Without further ado, let’s jump into a very interesting dynamic between two characters that had potential, but – in my opinion – leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth due to what fans did and do with it most of the time and how Atlus ends it in both Orginal and Royal. I will try to be about this as neutral as possible, since an analysis shouldn’t take a side and then put my opinion about it at the end, because the aspects and whys about this matter more than one person’s opinion alone. Also, the analysis will help form an opinion and back it up. There is nothing worse to me than giving an opinion, but not having anything to back it up with.

To analyse the relationship between the two I will be taking important parts of the story in this dynamic and analyse it as well as analyse the characters briefly according to the situation and towards each other. I will be taking the Anime and Manga into this for certain parts as well. I would like to do a whole character analysis one day if I find the time and fans are interested, but since the main focus of this is a ship and what is up with it I will only analyse the moments that they either have together or that further underlines the topic.

Starting with Akira, it is clear from the very first hour on that he has a strong want of helping other people – in need or not - and cannot stand injustice. To underline how important it is to him you have to understand that in Japan’s society it is considered incredibly rude to interfere between two adults in whatever situation given. It is not your business, like Sojiro Sakura – his guardian in Tokyo during his probation – explains to him and much more the player at the beginning of the game. In short, Akira knew what he might possibly get himself into. Even if Shido wouldn’t have tripped and hurt himself. Even if Shido wouldn’t have threatened the women to tell the upcoming police Akira apparently assaulted him. The only thing important to those who found out about the incident and know that he did not push him was still this: You do not interfere between two adults, keep your business. People who do that are considered delinquents and you really do not want this stamp on your forehead in Japan. Further, I assume Akira might be suffering from a Saviour complex. In all three media – game, manga and anime – he puts other people’s needs over himself and gets incredibly upset if he is not able to help someone or better, in Akechi’s case, save them. As helpful and kind a someone can be by nature, you have to understand that not everyone will either want your help or will be able to accept it. Not everyone can be saved and you do not have to save everyone. People who have trouble with accepting this suffer from a Saviour complex. A moment to justify both this and my first point is during the beginning of Madarame’s Palace, with one of my favourite quotes of Akira being,

“I want to help. I just want to be sure what we're doing is right. Trust me I'm not saying we should turn a blind eye and do nothing...”

After this event, Ann and Ryuji call him out for being both too timid and yet in haste at the same time. They’re barely out of the Metaverse and obviously have a private life that they need to care about when he already wants everyone to gather information on if Yusuke is really being abused and used by his teacher as fast as possible; on the same day. Again, he puts others over himself. While of course Ryuji and Ann aren’t any less concerned, to him someone might be getting hurt and there is no time to waste on matters like this. When they do find out through Nakanohara, a former student of Madarame, that he steals his pupil’s art, threatens everyone that leaves him and makes students even hurt themselves, Akira as the Phantom Thieves leader decide on saving Yusuke. Said complex also feeds his need of wanting to protect others, shown and explored more in two major scenes in the anime. When Phantom Thieves meet Akechi for their finale encounter they captured it very well. Akechi reveals he has the power of the Wild card, being able to handle more than one Persona, like Akira does. When the Thieves try to either talk to Akechi or attempt to walk up to him and handle it, Akira as Joker takes his role seriously. He tells the others, “He’s mine. Hold. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” knowing full well that nobody else would be able to take him on other than another Wild card. Another scene is when he protects Sojiro from a few police men. He knows he shouldn’t step in between two adults and he is still on probation, but the want of protecting the person that offers him shelter and that warms up to him is stronger than his own desires. He stands in front of Sojiro and shields him.

Akechi on the other hand is one of the most interesting and misunderstood characters I have seen in a long time. While not outright admitting it himself, Akechi has this immense and unfulfilled need of being loved since his past was pretty much empty of it. His resentment towards Akira is fuelled by this since he sees how said one has a lot of supportive friends when he’s nothing special in particular. This possibly means that in Akechi’s eyes you have to have a certain standard to achieve to be special and lovable, which would explain the way he made himself for the public. He further insults Akira as a criminal who lives in an attic during their last meeting and asks himself what he has that Akechi lacks, not knowing that it is something he never grew up learning. He hates Akira, but deep down he does not. It pains him to see the exact opposite of himself and how out of place it is for him. Akira is nothing yet loved, while Akechi build up this perfect self that is special, but not actually loved. It messes with him whenever Akira is in front of him and does better than him. He is the reason he gets reminded of the things he hates the most about himself. Similar to Akira he is an outcast to society – just carefully sealed and hidden behind his Ace detective mask. Shido, who is actually his father and he only works with to get revenge on, did not care that he got someone pregnant and left, which lead to Akechi’s mother giving him away and committing suicide. In Japan these kind of families are frowned upon on, being the kid of a possible one-night stand gives no meaning to your life and only tarnishes the mother, which is most probably the reason why the women took her life. It wasn’t bearable for her in this society and she couldn’t life with Akechi’s existence. He was given from foster home to foster home, never had any parents that would give him love and that he could look up to as well as forming actual bonds with people. You see him both struggling to form an actual friendship with Sae, an adult, as well as adapt to people his age, for example the Phantom Thieves. He feels odd and has this unpleasant aura of superiority around him, since he has never learned anything regarding love and how to work and be with other people. So Akechi decides he needs to build his mask to be lovable to the public since his actual self, in his eyes, is not. He’s smart and basically reforms himself completely new for the public. His public self is near to perfect for the role of a student detective. Justice driven, charming, funny and smart. During the game while he is on stage it slips his thoughts during the moment everyone cheers for him and adores him, that none of these people know he’s an unwanted bastard child, which means that he does not think as highly of himself as the player tends to think at the beginning of the game. He is sure nobody would like him and he would never be able to become a detective if it was him as his true self that is worthy of nothing. These two things lead to him being able to be cold-blooded and cause the mental shutdowns, as well as try to kill Akira. First, he has never gotten love and affection. These things are needed for a child to grow and learn empathy, which Akechi lacks. It might almost sound mean, but from a neutral viewpoint this is why it was so easy for him. He does not feel for other people as openly as others do. Also, you have to keep in mind that every shutdown being demanded by Shido would eventually bring him closer to his goal. His father to acknowledged his existence in the perfect moment, the apex of his power, and to take revenge on him for the life he has to live and most possibly for his mother to be driven to suicide. Lastly important for this analysis, Akechi knew what he did when he decided to let himself get killed by his cognitive self, Shido’s so-called security system. First, it would have either been him and the Phantom Thieves who were the only ones able to use the Metaverse next to him and change Shido’s heart, or only him which means that there was a possibility to at least ruin his life and not make him the new Prime minister of Japan. He knows that they won’t kill Shido, but taking everything from him that is important to him, his only desire, and the reason Akechi had to live life like this to begin with seems enough in the moment he faces death. Second, he does not believe in second chances and he does not believe in forgiveness. Akechi’s believes that are present during the whole game aren’t just towards others, but also himself. He hates his true self the same way he dislikes Akira. Both his true self and Akira are nothing in society therefore neither worthy of love or forgiveness. To him, there is no other way to atone for his sins. When the Phantom Thieves defeat Akechi he states,

“You (Akira) are so lucky to be surrounded by teammates who acknowledge you. Once Shido confesses his crimes, you’ll all be heroes. As for me, people will find out my past deductions were just charade. My fame and trust will vanish. In the end, I couldn’t be special…”

The only place he could eventually feel loved was when he faked those crimes and fake investigated them, since they were his own the public didn’t know about. He could feel important and respected, have a place in Japan’s society while working on his goal of his father’s downfall. The moment the Phantom Thieves won over him, he knew this would be taken away from him since to him the only possible outcome of this is the Phantom Thieves winning over Shido and either turning Akechi in or Shido spilling during his change of heart. People relying on him and trusting him, people acknowledging him. That is what the trust and fame was about to him. The moment they meet in Shido’s palace and Akechi is defeated, it would all be taken away from him. Putting this together is the reason he decides to trap himself with the summoned shadows and his cognitive self. His father would lose everything that was important to him if he saves the Phantom Thieves and he has no reason to live in a world where he has no fame and trust from the public, since in his distorted mind he will not be worth of love and worth of existence. He wouldn’t be special. When the Phantom Thieves do reach out and tell him all the things they admire about him and give him a chance to join them against Shido, he laughs about them. His true self is out and to him, it is not lovable or special no matter what they say.

From the reasons shippers bring up for these two, Akira being devastated about Akechi’s death and wanting it revoked is a big one and the first one I want to analyse and explain. As analysed earlier, it is important to Akira to save others and help them, especially when they cannot help themselves. In certain parts, the two aren’t far from each other yet polar opposites. Akira knows that and despite everything feels empathy for Akechi after said ones tells the whole story. Witnessing someone’s death whether it is hearing or seeing it is traumatizing and it’s normal to think about it later back at home in the real world how Akira does, but taking his character analysis into consideration it probably messed with him more than it would with other people, like the other Phantom Thieves. In the anime, Akechi throws a chess piece with Akira catching it. Akira, who is not someone to have emotional outbursts, gets so worked up and angry that he hits the wall that came down in front of them with his fist before he quickly catches himself back in the role as the leader who always had and has to stay calm and collected. If you look at it, Akechi is the only one Akira couldn’t save when he knew he needed it and, to Akira, deserved it. Because throughout the whole game with so many different cases of people not being able to save themselves or being in unjust situations not once does he care about how the people are or if there is any certain character trait etc. to them in particular. Akira probably shares the same belief like his friends. Everyone is special in their own way and so was Akechi deserving of a better life like everyone else is. It messes with him so much, that in Persona 5: Royal, a game that came out 3 years after the original game and it is still tightly being fought about if it is canon or an alternative reality to which the developers have yet to make an official statement to, he tells Maruki, the school’s therapist who is interested in cognitive science, that if he could change reality, his wish wouldn’t be that all of this had never happened, but that Akechi would still be alive. While this is the number one situation people who ship the two use ever since Royal has come out, it just further underlines Akira’s character and my suggestion of him having a Saviour complex. He cannot live with the fact that he couldn’t save Akechi, when this is what the Phantom Thieves stood for. It pains him so much that his wish is actually beneficial to someone else. We know nothing about Akira’s past, but it is impossible that there isn’t something he wishes wouldn’t have happened that is outside of the game. Instead, he chose something that helps someone else and puts himself back to ease. He knows, this is what pains him the most and will for quite some time. Having Akechi back would ease his complex and give a person he thinks that deserve a second chance another tries. This is once more better shown in the anime during the last confrontation when Akira tries to talk to Akechi multiple times during Akechi’s small monologue, but eventually realizes it will be of no use. Akechi is too far gone and Akira tells the group to finish it.

Second are the moments we got early in the anime. While the game doesn’t allow this, the anime explores Akechi’s detective side a bit earlier and more for the viewer. In game, we only see Akechi working on the cases he created while he is actually really good at “real” cases as well and able to solve them. During Yusuke’s arc, Akira and Akechi work together on a few of those and Akechi teaches him how not to be fooled by rotten adults. This all goes quite wholesome, but at that point the interrogation nor the black mask reveal had happened yet. The story is early and fresh, not even having picked up the pace. It almost feels like Akechi either tried learning how Akira’s mind works, or honestly just wanted to spend time with someone he felt like was similar to him. All of this gets revoked though when he massively insults him at the end of the game, making it hard to put this in canon. It might be that Akechi was trying to give himself a chance, because Akira was probably the first person who could handle Akechi just like how he is and also accepted him just like that - since that is what Akira does with everyone throughout the game and also gets complimented and aknowleged for - but instead Akechi couldn’t stop himself and pulled through with the rest of his plans. Looking at it from another side, taking this from the anime into consideration makes the next thing and points even worse.

Last is the interrogation, probably one of the most well-known scenes in the whole game, that I want to analyse further. To begin with, Akira finds himself getting arrested due to Akechi’s betrayal. While it is not exactly explained how, it is obvious that Akechi lead the police in since only Metaverse app users can enter the Metaverse. If you have a non-user nearby, you can pull them into it. Akechi probably did this beforehand, told them to hide and gave them either a time limit or symbol. After the fight against Sae Futaba picks up enemy readings, so many that they’re being surrounded. Akira and the Phantom Thieves part ways and the leader makes all the attention go to himself so that the others can escape. In the end he gets ambushed, cuffed up and knocked out by drugs. What the player does not know is that the group had known about Akechi’s plan all along and they had to play along. All throughout Sae’s palace, Akira knew he would most probably be cuffed up by the end, but it was necessary to let it happen. Otherwise they would never be able to defeat Akechi. I would like to add that this in particular sounds pretty traumatizing and stressful as well. Moving forward and the Phantom Thieves’ plan succeeding, Akechi is unknowingly being dragged into the Metaverse. He outright plans to kill Akira, which reveals his true motive on why he worked with them on Sae’s palace in the first place. The Phantom Thieves are blocking his path of the mental shutdowns and destroying his father. It is so soon that he cannot lose due to them. He is smart about it and wants to kill their leader. Once again and as stated earlier, Akechi doesn’t feel empathy and he has killed before. He gets things done so that they are beneficial to what he needs to do further, just like how it was beneficial for him to work with the Thieves together for at least a while. Be that figuring out how they work, or just messing with them. What he doesn’t know is the person in the interrogation room is the cognitive version of Akira. He is only in there, because he just entered Sae’s palace and in her cognition Akira is in the interrogation room, which she does not have much control of. Therefore, it keeps being the interrogation room instead of anything Casino related. Akechi proceeds to shoot an innocent guard and then Akira. While doing so, he seems like on a high, fully enjoying it getting rid of him and it is almost uncomfortable to watch that is how good it is made. It is Akechi’s first time he kills someone in the real world, but it doesn’t seem to be much different for him. He shoots Akira right in the head when he has nowhere to go, tied up and completely drugged to a point that both in the game and anime he can’t talk properly and even passes out. The state Akira is in is portrayed very well and just underlines the atmosphere further. A murderer just aiming at their helpless victim. Akechi puts the gun in his hand to report it as a suicide and leaves. He never shows any remorse when they meet again, only throwing in that the two might possibly would have become friends if having met earlier. He does not mention the faked death, because there is nothing to say. It might be, because both know Akechi wanted to do it. It was necessary for his path and nobody, especially not someone like Akira, would be standing in his way. Shippers defend this situation, saying Akechi had to kill Akira. To some extent, I would analysis this as true and say that it was a possibly way of getting rid of the Phantom Thieves and continuing his plan, but is your first idea really murder to this? In such a special way? Concealing it as a suicide and not have any respect to the person you just killed? It is unlikely as smart as Akechi is that this was the only possible option he had regarding on how he would get rid of the Phantom Thieves or their leader. Killing the person is just probably the most convenient one to Akechi and again, he does not feel for others properly, since he has never learned how to. This is why he is able to plan this, kill someone he acted like a friend with, saw multiple times for weeks and just walk away. In conclusion that means it is not because he had to and also not because he wanted to in particular, but because Akechi did not care and therefore made it possible to just shot him and continue with his life. It is one of the most important scenes in the whole game and does a lot to the development for all three characters involved (Sae, Akechi and Akira) yet shippers throw it under a bus with the sole statement that he had to.

Putting everything above together, the major moments these two had, shipping Akira and Akechi is complicated and probably not the best.

To finally conclude my opinion to this. In another world, Akechi could learn a lot from Akira. He has a lot of empathy for others and wants to help, which Akechi lacks. It would have been good for him and the part where Akechi mentioned that they might have become friends if met earlier made me emotional as someone who does not support it in a romantic way. In this moment, I thought of them as friends. I thought myself thinking of what would have been if they had met one or two years earlier. Two people who get better through each other and learn from each other. As much as I love this character trait from Akira, I have had my personal fair shares that having this can be negative at times. It would be good for him to have someone that shows him the opposite or at least a middle path. Both characters go All-Out on this. It is either full on empathy or complete lack of empathy. Either you want to save everyone or you’re okay with killing whoever as long as you obtain your ultimate goals.

Many people have stated already that the ship is quite abusive. Anything that comes out of Akechi’s mouth towards Akira in both game and anime (I’m only referencing the anime since the last two times because the manga is barely at Futaba’s arc yet) after revealing his true motives, is negative. Either he insults him directly or the way he lives, just because he found someone that reminds him of himself deep inside if he wants to or not. That gives him no right to act like this, even when psychology is complex. And if you want to defend this, it gives him no right to shoot him and actually visibly enjoy it – which you cannot deny and a lot of people in the fandom stated as well. He didn’t have to, but he did. He wasn’t forced to, but he did it. I wonder if Akechi tells Akira he hates him for the fact that he did make him feel something. Not in a romantic way, again, but more in a way of empathy and this feeling of friendship and he knew he had to stop this.

There are a lot of good people in the fandom fan of his complex character. I don’t necessary like Akechi as a character, but I find him interesting and good to talk about. As for liking or hating him…the interrogation scene happened the way it happened let’s just leave it at that. Sadly, there are also a lot of people in the fandom who will shove this ship down your throat. Somehow, it is superior to them and it should be canon. I have seen so many tweets and Tumblr posts, especially with Royal and its’ third semester that genuinely leave me concerned. What started as 3AM ramble to my friend ended up being this 5000 words essay on why the situations and character traits stated above get taken out of context or misunderstood by shippers. It goes further when you find out that some people ship it because it is abusive to begin with. They acknowledge it and love it and while there are more important things in life than this, I just found it too concerning and also very annoying at one point, I had to make an analysis about it and clear some things up. I have blocked a lot of tags regarding this ship and I still see it every day in the fandom and get attacked if I say something against it, so I just made this post, knowing that people will eventually get mad at it. But, I honestly really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed writing about Akechi’s character. He is interesting, complex and there is so much to talk about him, but do I ship him with my favourite video game character? Hell nah.

If you want to add something to this, feel free to. I also enjoy respectful and normal discussion about this! I researched a lot for this, re-watched a few anime and game scenes and wrote for a total of 7 hours. If you enjoyed it or it made you think a little, it would be kind to let me know. I haven’t written anything in a while and my last character analysis was years ago, so this was quite a challenge, but knowing how popular this ship is and how much worse it got with Royal’s existence, I had to put this out. I’m going to be honest here. If they would’ve met a few years earlier, who knows if this wouldn’t have become one of my ships (I don’t interact in a lot of shipping to begin with so), because the basis of it is nice. But then the actual plot happens. All this stuff from the interrogation until the end happens and shippers just dismiss it or try to make it sound less bad. Like it’s the actual plot. It’s there. This is how P5 goes down. Akira’s one of the most traumatized characters I’ve come across in fiction and Akechi does a fair share to that. Don’t just dismiss that so your ship can be cute. It won’t, I’m sorry. And if you want to come at me for shipping in general, I as well ship something with complex and interesting dynamics within this game. It’s appealing, but not like this.

Thank you for reading this if you got through all of it! I seriously appreciate it and my non-existent sleep does to! - May

#persona 5 #p5 #persona #akira kurusu #ren amamiya #goro akechi #video game #analysis #persona 5 analysis

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shadow-scenarios · 5 years ago

Note

Omggg how you wrote out my request certainly surprised me but I totally enjoyed what you did with it!! And you said that you'd love to write a second part? Well, may I perhaps request that? 👀👀 (P.S.: I'm really relieved that you liked the idea haha, I've been sitting on it for awhile)

Hey again, simulationone!! I’m happy you like the direction I look it in. I was going to have the Reader become Akechi’s Navigator but I think that was a better direction to take it. Also, I tried a different style with this one, so I hope you like it!!

I loved the idea, it was so unique! If you have anything else that you want to request, you’re more than welcome to. By the way, this is suuuper angsty. If you don’t like that kind of thing, skip this post!!

Link to Part 1 here!!

- Nexus.

Trigger Warning: Major Character Death ;; Blood ;; Violence ;; Injuries ;; Swearing

Dance With Justice [2] | Goro Akechi

Perhaps there was a reality where she never had to hurt anyone. A world in which the Phantom Thieves never existed & justice was never an issue. Everyone could simply be happy without any concerns. However, thus was not her current fate.

This was never supposed to happen. She was going to die here, stuck in Mementos until she bled out.

{ Sat, 23 / 10 / 20XX }

Akechi had laid the plan out to her on this day: He had been given an opportunity to meet with the Phantom Thieves at the Shujin Academy. In particular, there was a panel in which a Q&A style show was being held. All they had to do was attend & imply they knew the identities of the Phantom Thieves before he ‘ inconveniently received a phone call ’. Afterwards, the group would be forcibly assembled in the Faculty Room & there they would unfurl the evidence. The photos the both of them had gathered & the video of them disappearing into the Metaverse.

As a result, they would be forced to stop committing their crimes after they took down the Palace of one individual in particular: Sae Niijima. He did admit that he was afraid for the life of his colleague because she was investigating the Phantom Thieves. If they were the perpetrators behind the metal shutdowns, she might be targeted next because she was seen as a threat.

However, there was one thing they were not to be informed about. The additional plan to arrest their leader as a warning of sorts. Additional police forces were to be sent out into the Metaverse & they would corner him when he was alone. It was quite simple but effective. All they had to do was cooperate with them.

This was all communicated to her over lunch in the school rooftop & she nodded, steeling her resolve.

{ Wed, 26 / 10 / 20XX }

Alas, the school festival came too quickly. The first day was ‘ unimportant ’, according to Akechi { although he did look rather embarrassed when she asked what happened with the Phantom Thieves... }.

It was about 20 minutes before the panel was due to start & she had already taken a seat somewhere near the centre. People were already gathered at this point because the Famous Ace Detective: Goro Akechi was going to be answering questions. Frankly, she found it quite creepy the levels most fans went to in order to see him.

Eventually the debate began. Makoto Niijima, student Council President, was hosting & essentially demanded answers related to his detective work reguarding the Phantom Theives. It was immensely impressive how he managed to dance around the answers, giving something vague yet satisfying. Was this is the life of a celebrity?

The question about the identity of the mysterious group soon came up. As her cue came, she texted him & there was the sound of Akechi’s ringtone going off. Silence spread through the auditorium in a strange mix of disappointment & comedic timing. After making a remark along the lines of not wanting to be trolled online, he quickly requested that a break be tacked on.

Quietly, she moved her way across the row & slipped out before the crowd could congest any corridors. The PE Faculty Office was easy enough to find, with many students easily offering directions. Slipping in before anyone else, there he stood.

“ Akechi. Are you ready for this? There’s no going back after we present the evidence. ”

“ Of course. The Phantom Thieves are a menace to society & by getting rid of them, people will finally feel safe in Japan. That’s what you want as well, right? ”

“ Yeah. Murderers aren’t welcome. ”

Once they had all entered, she presented the photographic evidence & introduced herself. Ryuji was in shock. Makoto seemed to be struggling to process the information. Explaining how both herself & Akechi had met, she pressed onto the point: Sae Niijima. She had to be saved from the mental shutdown culprits. An agreement of sorts was made by their rather stoic leader Akira. They would all work together to solve the cases.

{ Wed, 16 / 10 / 20XX & Thurs 17 / 11 / 20XX }

After the initial investigation into Sae’s Palace, keywords & location, these were the days of infiltration, so to speak. The Casino of Jealousy was vibrant & full of money. Coins were messily spread around on every single surface, posters containing snappy tag lines about how winning was key to survival. It was all so decadent. Cognitive shadows lined up for a chance to participate in the game known as the legal system. What a sick way to look at justice.

Despite the crimes they had committed, the Phantom Theives were very casual. They showed no symptoms of guilt nor doubt & insisted on these strangely flashy moves such as the All-Out Attack or the Showtime, in which they would defeat a bundle of enemies all at once. Although they were powerful, did they really feel the need to show off that much?

The other problem was their leader, Joker. He was tenaciously gripping onto both herself & Akechi { or Crow, was it? She never understood the need for the ridiculous code names... } to remain on the front lines to see what they could both do. Despite having bounds of energy at the beginning & regular breaks, it was quite tiring to keep having to constantly battle. Perhaps that was why she ended up being held captive by a Shadow.

It demanded Yen & safety. It was not a substantial amount of money & the Palace’s supposed ‘ Security Level ’ was not particularly high. She had seen how Akira had been picking through remains of the corpses of these beings, as they contained Yen. For some unknown reason during the negotiation, he simply refused to part. Apparently Joker, the supposed leader of the just Phantom Thieves believed some money more important than an ally.

Even as the shadow tore through skin & left almost fatal wounds, it hurt more to reaffirm her belief that the Phantom Theives were merciless.

Waking up was a surprise to be sure. To be greeted by Akechi in the nearest Safe Room asking if she was okay? It was very much a shock. He offered to patch up the wounds that were unreadable by her own hands & scolded her for being so reckless on that battlefield. It was good that both Queen & Mona were on hand, otherwise she would have died. Despite the presence of the other members of the group, this felt like a rather intimate moment.

The two of them kept having these strange moments: Delicately & intimate but as though something was missing.

A touch that lingered for longer than it needed to; Comforting words on a cool evening when she felt upset; Sitting within close proximity despite there being more space for the two of them than needed. Small signs that seemed to be hesitantly trying to convey something.

Even now as she paused to take in his appearance, it was startling. Dressed up in his princely regalia that was his Metaverse outfit, he looked rather charming. With golden tassels & a red cape, something about him seemed to just ooze noble. Though at times he could be slightly extra with the poses he pulled, Akechi was kind.

That was why she never saw it coming.

{ Thurs, 18 / 10 / 20XX }

Signaling for a meeting, Akira explained that they were going to write & send the Calling Card today. The debate about where to send it was long, strenuous & boring. After they eventually decided to be direct by mailing it to the Niijima residence, everyone disbanded for the day.

Aside for Akechi, who invited her to play Darts in Kichijoji. What a strange request.

The atmosphere was actually rather calming. At night, there were few around to disturb them. Handing over 800 Yen to play, the game began. It was nice to simply be able to talk about something unrelated to the Phantom Thieves for the both of them & although Akechi’s aim was unerring, she found it rather difficult to hit the tiny target, let alone land it in a specific place to score as many points as possible. After a while & with some expert advice, there was definitely some improvement.

By the time night struck, she had barely noticed until he had pointed it out. Everything was moving so swiftly. Offering to walk her to the train station, he was ever so polite. Until it rained.

It absolutely poured down with rain as the two of them descended the stairs of Penguin Sniper. Luckily, she had packed an umbrella into a crevice in her bag. The detective next to her? Not quite as fortunate as he sighed. Feeling bad, she offered to share & he accepted with reluctance after realising that it was better than the alternative of running home in the rain.

Being this close was both enthralling & embarrassing. Something about being forced this close to him was killing her. Akechi seemed to be doing alright, staying underneath to avoid both his hair & briefcase from becoming drenched by the cascading water. After a while that was in some respects a long time but in others not long at all, they reached the train station, parting ways when they had a difference in train line.

She knew exactly what she was feeling: There was no use in denial. Repressing such feelings would be more painful in the end. However, now was not the time to tell him. Catching the Phantom Thieves & saving Japan was more important than a high school romance. Filing the secret away for later, it was kept close to her heart.

{ Fri, 19 / 10 / 20XX }

It was almost too easy how quick everything was to fall into place. Putting on her best acting face was difficult but it was a believable lie, especially when most of the stress was based around getting Joker out alive. All their valiant efforts were for nothing. Similar to a spider spinning a web to catch prey, they had fallen victim.

After facing down the shadow of Sae Niijima herself on this strange roulette like battlefield, her desperate desire to achieve victory at all costs was her downfall & as she fell to her knees, clearly defeated, Queen went over to comfort her. Skull took Fox with him to steal the Treasure & once they discovered the numerous police forces that had made their way into the Metaverse, everything was taken up a notch.

Whilst Joker agreed to take the Treasure, thus becoming a distraction, everyone else would take the time to escape back to reality. A makeshift plan but one that would work in both her own & Akechi’s favour. Dashing along the protruding walls of the casino was thrilling as the group moved in sync, grappling along & weaving through like a natural born instinct.

Inevitably, he was captured. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, put behind bars. People would be safe from the mental shutdowns, they would no longer have to worry about having a psychotic breakdown. Without the branch that held them all together, there were no roots. As to not arouse suspicions, everyone parted ways until Akechi stopped her.

“ I... Know it’s rather late & we’ve just been to the Palace but there’s something I need to warn you about in the Metaverse. Will you join me in Mementos tomorrow morning? Preferably before school, if that’s okay with you, ” was all he requested with a ghost of a smile.

“ Sure, I don’t mind. Is there something else dangerous I should be worrying about? ”

“ It’s nothing too urgent but I thought I’d bring it to your attention since we are working on this case with the Phantom Thieves together. After all, we still need to hold the others accountable for their actions. ”

With that, she left. Akechi had always been a reliable source of information, so why would he lie?

{ Sat, 20 / 10 / 20XX }

It was the early morning. Despite the cold, she was in warm spirits as she approached the Shibuya line. Waiting there for her was the Detective Prince himself. Overnight, there was a decision made that once Akechi broke this bad news to her that she would change the mood by confessing. After all, it would be difficult to keep under lock & key.

Fading into the background as other students filtered in, they talked for a short period of time before getting down to business. Typing in ‘ Mementos ’ to the MetaNav was easy enough & there they were, standing at the dusty entrance.

Together, they fought their way down into a few floors below the surface. Although it took longer for them to traverse these levels due to not having a method of transportation such as the Mona Car, the Shadows were easy pickings for the two of them. At least, that is what she thought until two laser blasts from a ray gun burnt into her back.

Standing over her was a very different Goro Akechi to the person she had preciously known. What was once a charismatic smile that could charm anyone become a psychotic grin that looks unnaturally wide. Though she had once thought of his eyes as a storm of emotions, worries about the future & the safety of Japan, they were most definitely a typhoon, pulling victims in to tear them apart without a trace of mercy. Even as he called her a blind fool for trusting him & berated her sense of justice, the burning pain of the wounds that burnt through the Metaverse outfit were clouding her vision. She could have sworn there was the sound of someone walking away but there was too many sensations for her to clearly tell.

No one was going to find a dead body in the depths of Mementos. She found it morbidly ironic that her last thought was that she would never be able to tell Akechi how she truly felt.

Word Count: 2.3k

Publish Date: 06.10.20

#{ crow }#{ oh boy did I want to name this Dance With Justice 2: Electric Boogaloo }#goro akechi x reader #akechi x reader #goro akechi #persona 5 royal x reader #persona 5 x reader #persona 5 imagines #persona #p5r #tw: death #tw: blood #tw: injuries #tw: swearing #tw: violence #{ why is this my longest work what the heck }

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antman-56 · 5 years ago

Text

I Know

“Ah Joker.”

“I know.”

Right now both Mona and Akira were being followed by a very nosy Makoto Niijima.

Right now she was behind them reading this weeks manga release.

They had noticed her following them after the Madarame incident. He will admit he didn’t notice her until Mona said he felt uneasy. It wasn’t until they were near Untouchable that Akira felt the same feeling and quickly turned around to see a familiar face duck behind the corner of the alley.

This has been going on for a week now. and he figured out her pattern. She would wait until he left his last class and follow him until 8 pm.

Sometimes longer when he’s with Iwai or when he was in the clinic whenever he was with Takemi-san.

“She’s doing a very bad job at being hidden.”

“I know.”

Akira found the game they played enjoyable. She tried so hard to try and find proof that he had some info on the Phantom Thieves, not knowing he was the leader.

“What should we do then. She’s being annoying.”

“Lets just waste her time.”

“So, same plan like last time or something new?.”

“Well Takemi-san is still looking through the data and Ann and Ryuji are on a date. (Mona grew a small, sinister, dark aura on being reminded, AGAIN) And Yusuke is being Yusuke.”

“So, how do we kill time.”

“Wanna see if Iwai needs help?”

“Isn’t that the opposite of what we want?”

“Were just being a part timer in a respectable business and being upstanding citizens on top of it.”

“Your picking up some of his habits.”

***A little later, Outside Untouchable***

Makoto just saw Akira walk into the Air Soft Store. He has visited the store quite frequently, was he a worker? A regular? Or was their something more to it? He would spend hours in there and come out later then she could actually afford to watch.

Her sister had given her a harsh lecture when she came home at 1 in the morning.

She heard of the shady stuff that went on in there, mostly stuff with the Yakuza, but right now she couldn’t help but worry a little bit for Akira.

He may be a suspect in her investigation but he was still a student. Maybe he was innocent in all of this and was dragged into it? Maybe she could help him?

That was why she was ready this time.

Right at her side would be her tool in finding the first step to the Phantom Thieves.

***Inside***

Akira was up by the register and Iwai was in the back.

Iwai knew of the problem and gladly helped Akira out. He would let him stay in the shop and fix the guns he bought as long as he helped around when their were customers or the occasional police harassment. In all honesty, he felt like he had another son.

Right now, Akira was cleaning Ryuji’s Fury shotgun, his face showed annoyance on how misused this thing looked. He was so caught up in fixing it that he didn’t notice the door being opened.

DING

Akira dropped his attention from the weapon and looked up.

If only he could take a picture.

In came Makoto, wearing a blue bandanna over her hair, sunglasses, a biker jacket with a red shirt and black biker jeans.

She looked like a the thug from the western cartoons.

Makoto looked at Akira with shock, worry, and fear.

Here in front of her was Akira with a shotgun in his hands.

Akira noticing what she was looking at put the shotgun under the counter.

“It’s a fake”, He said hoping it would put her at ease.

It really didn’t.

“So, how can I help you miss?” He said with his customer smile.

Makoto shook her head and meet his smiling face with her shaky stoic face.

“I’m looking for a gun for my little brother.”

She was prepared. She had a story to help her questioning and kinda hoped he wouldn’t really pry into it said story.

Akira could already see right through her. He decided to play along, just to see the panicking look on her face if she was caught off guard.

“Well what guns is he interested in? Automatics, semi, explosives, syfy, something with a kick or easy to handle?”

He couldn’t help but smile a bit more when she struggled to pick what gun her fake brother wanted.

“Automatic.”

“Well then your in luck because we just received an advanced shipment of the AR-X.”

Akira then proceeded to walk over to were the rifle was displayed, took it out. and walked back up to her.

“This baby looks as realistic as the gun it’s based on and is one of the few things that would make any gun enthusiasts in Japan jump with excitement.”

Akira showed the weapon with pride and began to explain in detail why you would want to buy it.

***Outside***

After staying longer than she should have, Makoto left. After asking questions like; what kind of customers entered the store, how often do people buy guns and if she could talk to the owner for his recommendations or to place a custom order. She realized she was hitting dead ends.

She was a bit disappointed on how things played out and kinda embarrassed that she was forced to buy a fake revolver with the rest of her allowance.

She hoped her sister would not search her once she got home.

***Inside***

After she left and a few minutes went by Akira began to laugh.

The look on her face was priceless when she tried to improvise on the spot.

And she bought a gun at the end of it.

He definetly had to tell Mona about this.

In the back Iwai gave a quiet chuckle.

The kid was a natural.

***Two Days Later***

.”When will she give up.” Mona complained.

“Well she did try to spy on Ryuji’s and Ann’s date yesterday and they said they would owe me one if I could take her this time.”

“How about we tell her that Ryuji’s said she was annoying and then after she could kicks his-”

“Mona what did Ann say.”

“If he hurts her then I can kick his ass.”

“Before that.”

“Be nice.”

They began to discuss their plan as Makoto hid behind a fashion magazine this time.

She was at the other end of the train car to Yongen-Jaya.

She was speculating were he was heading off to. It was either the laundry mat or to go to that clinic. And with a little research it has a reputation of being able to heal almost everything.

She could see him on his phone and smiling. Maybe a message about another change of heart or nothing at all.

She had to know!!

As he exited the passenger car, she quickly followed.

He was going to the clinic.

When he entered she waited by the entrance and waited until she knew he would be in the exam room.

***Inside***

“You do know testing experimental tonics isn’t really helpful to me? Right?”

“I know but I want to waste her time.”

Tae looked at her guinea pig curiously.

“Why would you like to waste her time? It’s not like your doing anything ill- more illegal?”

Akira was stumped. But quickly came up with an answer.

“Well I like a good laugh when see tries to be sneaky.”

“If I didn’t know any better it would sound like you like being followed.”

“You caught me, that’s my kink.”

“Whatever. Just don’t... don’t play too long with her, okay.”

Akira hummed a response as he’s laid on the Patient’s bed in the room, his arms behind his head, eyes closed and a smile on his face. His only wish was to see her face behind the glass window on the door..

Tae looked at the door and saw a silhouette. She reached for another tonic.

“Here, try this one now.”

Akira reached for it and downed the whole thing.

It tasted sweet, like the color pink.

He suddenly felt his body lighten up.

“Subject lasted longer than expected. This is should be a nice prescription for people with insomnia.”

Akira was in bliss. His body felt relaxed and his head felt light.

The last thing he could see was Tae smiling.

On the other side of the door. Makoto was trying to brace herself from barging in demanding to know what she had done to him or from calling the police.

Tae obviously knowing she was being spied on went to check his vitals for the girls sake.

“Looks like the drug can actually help him. Kid has been having trouble sleeping.” She made something up on the spot and made sure to say it loud enough so the girl wouldn’t draw the wrong conclusions.

“Now to see how long it lasts.”

Makoto left the clinic and decided to just wait outside.

Tae saw the silhouette move away.

“(sigh) Teenagers.”

***Much Later***

She was about to go home when he walked out of the clinic and was now walking to Leblanc. It looked like he had a skip in his step and he looked happy.

She saw him enter the cafe and then quickly leave with two thermoses.

He was on the move and he didn’t have his bag. She made sure to follow procedure.

After awhile they were now in a park. He was sitting on a table, just looking at the sky. He would drink out of his thermos every now and again.

Was he waiting for someone? A meeting? A report? Why was he here?

It wasn’t until she saw Takamaki-san enter her view. She had an umbrella in one hand and a flashlight in the other, and was dressed prettier than she was with Ryuji. Was she- NO!! Their was no way!!

She put the umbrella over them and turned on the flashlight, so Makoto could only see their shadows.

“You know this is messed up. Right.” Ann said it more as a statement than a question.

“Ryuji is across the lake with binoculars watching the both of us. And our friend.”

“Still it seems kinda wrong.”

“We aren’t kissing or anything. And this is to make her think she’s wasting her time. I mean do you like it when she spied on your guyes date.”

“True. She did sit in the booth right next to us.”

“So, lets think she’s seeing two friends hang out. With a suggestion to make her mind explode.”

/”I CAN HEAR YOU!!!”

Akira and Ann flinched at the sudden screaming in their ear.

“Ryuji you agreed to this and nothing will happen. You think I would betray my best friend.”

“ I know but- wait I’M your best friend!!”

“You were my first friend since I got here of course your my best friend.”

Ann could do nothing but laugh at the moment her guys were having. The way the shadows looked it made Makoto wonder what were they doing. Are they dating secretly? What is making her giggle? And why dose she feel the need to scream and pull her hair out?

/“Holyt Shit!!Guys I think the last train leaves in a few minutes can we rap this up!!”

“How about we finish the show for her.”

“Lets hope for the best.”

Both Ann and Akira put their faces side by side of each other to make the illusion of them kissing to their known stalker.

Makoto just stayed in he position and covered her mouth to yell at them. She began to shake from rage but was barely controlling herself for the sake of the students who have entrusted her and the school council to help them .

After they were done they got up and began to walk towards the train station. They made sure to go by Makoto’s position.

“Thank you again for helping me with practicing for the audition for that movie Akira.”

“Anytime. I just hope Ryuji doesn't find out. That felt so wrong.”

“Well I am staring in movies from here on out. And if he has a problem with it then I guess he doesn’t have to walk the red carpet with me.”

They both continued their conversation until they reached the station and said their farewells.

Makoto let out a sigh of relief when Takamaki-san said it was for a movie role and that it wasn’t a love scandal.

“Wait why did I do that.” She wondered.

She began to wonder why the thought of Akira with someone else made her react that way.

Either way it was late and she needed to get home otherwise her sister would have her head. Again.

***Leblanc Attic***

“Joker where have you been!!” Mona screamed.

“Just having my fun for tonight.” Akira said happily. Like a kid who just played his favorite video game.

“Well get some sleep. Last thing we need is you falling asleep in class.”

Akira complied and went to his bed. Plotting how to waste her time on her free day.

***Niijima Residence***

Makoto just got home and was thankful that today was one of the late shifts her sister has been having.

Here she was alone and coming out of the roller coaster that was today.

The moment after school he went to a shady doctor to test out a sleeping tonic and then he helps Takamki-san by practicing for a role for a movie? Not to mention she almost blew her cover when they kissed. Which she was still trying to figure out why she cared if he was dating someone.

But It was nothing like yesterday when she saw him holding a gun at the Air Soft Store, granted it was fake, but what would the police have done if they went in and saw THAT!!

She took a deep breath. Tomorrow was another day for her to see if he keeps it up.

He is the only lead she has about the Phantom Thieves and once she has proof of how he and his friends are connected to them, or if they’re not, then she would decide to tell the authorities.

But right now her bed is calling for her. And she needed it.

The last thing that came to her mind before sleep overtook her was when Akira smiled at her in the park.

She didn’t question if he knew she was their or if he knew she was following him all along.

She just didn’t care at the moment.

But apart of her hoped.

She was starting to like the game they were playing.

#persona 5 #persona 5 akira #makoto niijima #morgana #mona #persona au #ann takamaki #ryuji sakamoto #tae takemi #light fluff #akira x makoto #wholesome #makoto x joker

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kareofbears · 5 years ago

Text

number one fan

At the best of times, a large group of teenagers in one area is a mild inconvenience to traverse with. In between rows and rows of filled chairs in a packed gymnastics stadium, it’s a nightmare.

Especially when someone unexpected is sitting close by.

—

read on ao3 or under the cut :)

(lovingly beta read by @mad4turtles)

At the best of times, a large group of teenagers in one area is a mild inconvenience to traverse with. In between rows and rows of filled chairs in a packed gymnastics stadium, it’s a nightmare.

“Man, it’s so effin’ crowded here,” Ryuji grumbles, half-shoving people out of the way. They learned early on to make him spearhead the group in packed environments, given that he’s the only one with enough guts to openly ask crowds to move out of the way. He’s like a pissed-off shepherd towing his sheep.

“What do you expect?” Makoto sighs, one hand gripping Haru’s wrist and the other clutching Ann’s jacket, kindergarten style. “This is something like the semi-finals, right?”

Akira shrugs, his shoulder rubbing against Ryuji’s from the sheer proximity. “No clue.”

“Didn’t she give you the tickets?”

“Sure she did, but it’s not like it came with some kind of gymnastics handbook.”

“Does anyone even know what type of gymnastics she’s in?” Haru asks, grip tightening around Makoto’s hand when a group of enthusiasts threatens to break them apart.

Ann’s eyes light up. “Oh, the one with the string twirling, right? She posted it on her Insta the other day, she looked so good.”

“She did! I can only imagine how rigorous her regimen must be.”

“Do you think she’d give me her secret? I wonder if she even lets herself snack.”

"I think so? She posted some desserts on her story recently."

Ryuji scratches his head. "There's more than one type of gymnastics?"

Makoto lets her head drop forward. "We don't deserve these tickets."

Akira turns his head back to the rest of them. "We're getting close to our seats," he says with a raised voice to combat the noisy crowd ('raised' only in the sense that it's slightly louder than his usual soft tone. Akira is a man of many talents, but voice projection is not one of them).

Someone from a step above them knocks their elbow into Akira's head, enough to make him stumble back a few steps, surprised.

Ryuji sends a glare at the stranger, eyes dark. "Hey, watch it, you motherfu—"

"And here are our seats!" Makoto claps her hands. "Let's sit before we do something illegal!"

Akira cards through Ryuji's hair, a silent thank you, I love you, but please calm down.

Eventually, he relents. "Fine."

Ann collapses into one of the bright red, plastic seats. "Thank God, my feet were killing me."

Haru joins her, grimacing. "Why are these seats so sticky...?"

"Because whenever they do a real good flip, the fanatics piss themselves."

"Ryuji, what the hell?"

"Sorry."

"Okay everyone," Makoto peers down at her phone. "Competition starts in two minutes. Settle in, but don’t go to the bathroom."

"Don't go to the bathroom?" Akira raises an eyebrow. "Are you Ushimaru?"

"I'm just saying that, given our position, we're basically stuck to our seats until everyone else leaves."

"For real?" Ryuji groans. "I really wanted one of those hot dogs they have, where they're yelling out 'hot dogs!' and shit."

"This isn't some American baseball game, dumbass," Ann snorts.

"I know that!"

Haru points past Ryuji. "If you're really desperate to go, you might be able to ask that man to move his tripod aside to make room for you."

"You're totally right! What a good senpai," he casts a grin at Haru before calling out to the man a few seats down from them. He's dressed bulkily for such a packed stadium: a thick black hoodie with the hood up, and a thick pair of black shades. To top it all off, he has an annoyingly big tripod in front of him with an expensive-looking camera perched on top. "Yo! 'Scuse me!"

Ryuji blinks as the man almost seemed to shift away from him. "Uh, hello? I just got a quick question."

To everyone's surprise, the man seemed to turn even more, his torso twisted in the opposite direction.

Makoto squints. “Maybe he didn’t hear you?”

“Whatever, it’s about to start anyway,” Ryuji falls back into his chair. “I’ll just ask him again when I actually need to go. Oh, look it’s her!”

Sumire stands with her coach, dressed in a bright leotard and a determined expression on her face, nodding along intently.

Ann leans forward over the railing. “Go Yoshizawa! Woo! Come on guys, we’re here to cheer!”

“Well, she did give us the best seats… it only makes sense that we make the most of them.” Haru says, before cupping her hands over her mouth. “Let’s go, Yoshizawa!”

“Hell yeah, Yoshizawa!”

“You can do it!”

“Gymnastics.”

“Akira, you suck.”

Sumire looks up, eyes brightening as she waves back enthusiastically in their direction. To their surprise, she brings her hands together to make a heart.

“That’s sweet of her,” Haru comments. “I wonder who that was for.”

Ryuji rolls his eyes. “Probably Akira.”

“It’s for Akira.”

“Definitely.”

“I don’t think so,” Akira frowns. “She’s never done that before.”

“Man, don’t try to be all humble—everyone knows she had a thing for you.”

“In the first ten minutes, maybe. Now she’s just a little sister,” Akira waves at Sumire. “Go back to cheering.”

“Good idea,” Ryuji takes a deep breath. “Give me a Y!”

“Y!” Ann yells back.

“Give me an O!”

“O!”

Makoto rubs her temples. “We really don’t deserve these tickets.”

—

The competition goes off without a hitch, Sumire taking first place with ease. If the people around them were exasperated with their cheering before, it’s nothing compared to how they screamed their throats raw when she accepted her gold medal. The stranger in the black hoodie kept throwing them dirty looks, but they didn’t care.

“I’m so thirsty,” Ann rasps, once the award ceremony wraps up. “Anyone have water?”

“Nope,” Ryuji stands, stretching his arms above his head. “I need the bathroom pretty bad, though.”

To their misfortune, people are still slowly filing out of their seats, too slow for their liking. There’s a gap in the crowd, but the only way to get to it is through—

“The man is still there?” Haru asks.

“It seems so,” Makoto says. “He’s probably a huge fan of the whole gymnastics scene, given the way he’s so careful with his camera.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I gotta go,” Ryuji says, before turning to the man once more. “Sorry dude, gotta move past you for real this time.”

And just like before, the man steadfastly ignores him. Akira narrows his eyes.

“Excuse me,” he says, his voice dropping an octave lower. Everyone stiffens. The words he spoke did not belong to Kurusu Akira and is now owned by someone donned in a long, black tail-coat, armed with a knife as sharp as a tack. “Please move. My partner here is trying to walk past you.”

And still, the man doesn’t shift.

Ryuji places a hand on Akira’s forearm. “Chill,” he says, running his hand up and down in what he hopes is a soothing manner. Ryuji might be the one on a hair-trigger temper, but no one has anything on Akira if someone so much as looks at his friends the wrong way.”It’s cool, ‘Kira. If the dude’s busy, then he’s busy. We’ll just wait for the other side to file out, yeah?”

Akira smiles, just a little. “I love you.”

“Love you too, dude.”

“—but you’re too nice.” He rips his arm from Ryuj’s lax grip and saunters over to the man.

“Respect,” Ann mutters, impressed.

“Stupid,” Makoto rectifies, face palming

“Hi there,” Akira greets, faux cheerful in a voice they recognize as his customer service voice. “Still ignoring us? That’s cool,” he shrugs a shoulder. “We’re used to it. Not a problem—we know how to be heard.”

In one, swift movement, Akira stands in front of the tripod.

Ryuji covers his eyes, peeking through his fingers. “I’m dating an actual bastard.”

The man visibly bristles and looks up to send Akira a black look from under his hood.

“Can you—” he hisses, before cutting himself off. “I mean,” clearing his throat, he drops his voice to a low grunt, not too different from a child impersonating an old man. “Move, dammit!”

Haru frowns. “That voice…”

The man shoots her a dirty look, before quickly turning his sight downward, but it was too late: they’ve all already caught a glimpse of his panicked brown eyes.

“Alright, I’ll move,” he says in the same gruff voice. “Just leave me alone—”

Akira bends down slightly, squinting at the man who’s avidly attempting to pull down his hood even more.

Squirming in his seat, “Young man, you are being extremely rude and hostile and I don’t appreciate—”

Akira reaches forward to grab his hood and forces it back, allowing Akechi Goro’s hair to flow down on his shoulders.

They all stilled, frozen in shock. Eyes widened, mouths openly gaping. Only Akira’s expression remained unchanged; cool and filled with disdain.

Ryuji is the first to speak. “I really hope I didn’t just piss myself.”

“What—” Ann splutters. “What are you—why the hell—I just—”

Makoto’s hand are alternating between making a numbered list with her fingers and gesticulating wildly. “So you’re in a gymnastics competition, and you’re actively hiding from us, and you have a camera which is weird at best, why are you—”

“I truly want to give you the benefit of the doubt here, Akechi-kun,” Haru cuts in. “But I’m kind of struggling to find—”

“Bro, like, a camera? You weren’t even trying to hide how weird this—”

“I know a thing or two about creeps and—”

“Oh, would you all give it a rest, you damn dolts!” Akechi snaps. “Your insistent cheering from earlier is already giving me a migraine.”

Akira narrows his eyes. “You don’t get to talk to them like that.”

“I just don’t understand, Akechi,” Makoto’s brows furrows. “You could have avoided being caught if you had just moved out of the way before sounding the alarm bells through Akira’s head.”

Leaning back into his chair, Akechi shoots her an incredulous look. “I wasn’t going to do that.”

“Why not?” Ann asks. “Do you really just love pissing us off?”

“No, I didn’t even know you clowns were beside me until it was too late,” he shoots a glare somewhere down towards the mats. “I couldn’t have moved this camera because…”

Everyone leans forward, awaiting his response as Akechi trails off. He blinks slowly.

“Hello?” Ryuji asks, incredulous. “What the hell was that? Why’d you stop talking?”

“You know what?” He stands abruptly, words flying out of his mouth. “I don’t need to answer any of your questions like some kind of interrogation,” shoving his arms through his jacket. “I know my rights,” he plucks the camera off of the tripod and closes its legs with a snap. “I’m a detective.”

With a dignified tilt of his head, he turns to leave only for Akira to cut him off by placing a foot on the stadium chair. “Nice try.”

“Move,” Akechi spits through gritted teeth.

“Nope.”

“Not before you tell us why you were recording Yoshizawa-chan,” Haru smiles.

Ann points at Akechi like she’s about to challenge him to a duel. “We care about her too much to let this go, so fess up!”

Rubbing his temples, “You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

“Then explain yourself!” Makoto says.

“No.”

“Hold on, guys.”

Everyone turns to Ryuji, who’s squinting at Akechi. “We got these dope tickets from Yoshizawa, right?”

“Yeah?”

“So how did this geezer get his hands on his?”

Akira’s eyes twinkle. “Now that’s a fantastic question.”

“I’m sure you all had an absolute grandiose time finding a brand new way to annoy me,” Akechi drawls. “But you aren’t going to get a single word out of—”

“Goro!”

They all turn to the sound of a familiar voice, only to blink when Yoshizawa Sumire comes running towards them, dressed out of her leotard and into her black tracksuit.

Akechi’s eyes widen, and he takes a step back. “No, go away Sumire. I’ll—I’ll meet you downstairs—”

“Yeah, right! That’s what we’ve been doing, but then you didn’t show up. You got me worried! Thought the crowd ate you up.” Sumire rolls her eyes, before smiling. “Hello, senpais!” Bowing deeply, “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to us.”

Slowly, they all turn to stare at Akechi, who’s expression is contorting in a strange way—his lips are pursed, and his arms are crossed in a defensive manner.

“Um…” Ann blunders. “Yup.”

“It was our pleasure,” Akira covers for her, shoving his hand in his pocket. “Congrats on the win.”

Sumire lights up. “Thank you! Speaking of—” she turns to Akechi, hands on her hips. “Tell me you didn’t forget to record me this time. And please tell me I’m in frame. Last time was a mess.”

Akechi gives her a dirty look but nods all the same. “Of course I did, who do you think I am?”

“Hurray!” she claps her hands together. “Funny story, actually. At my last competition, I asked Goro to film me—”

“Sumire,” he hisses at her, but she ignores him.

“But people kept moving the camera and messing it all up! It was a miracle that I had one more competition before the finals came up—I seriously need that footage for practice.”

She laughs, light and trill; a perfect juxtaposition to Akechi’s dark, defeated expression.

“Okay,” Ryuji shakes his head. “What the fuck is going on?”

“What Ryuji is actually means to ask,” Makoto averts. “Are you two…”

“Friends?” Akira finishes. His eyes flicker between the two of them like he’s working out an incredibly difficult equation. “Are you two friends?”

“I don’t have friends,” Akechi insists, the same time Sumire beams, “We’re best friends!”

A beat passes.

“Would you all stop staring at me?” Akechi snaps, and they all immediately look away, but it was too late. They’ve finally nailed his expression, one so strange to see on him that it took much longer than it needed to:

Akechi Goro is embarassed.

“Wow,” Haru whispers.

Sumire peers down at her watch and yelps. “Shoot, it’s that late? Sorry, everyone, we have to leave. Goro treats me whenever I get that first place.”

“Does he now?” Akira remarks innocently. Akechi’s glare can wither flowers.

He drops his foot, allowing Akechi to stride past him a little too quick to be nonchalant.

“Oh, don’t forget this.” Akira swoops down to pick up the forgotten, handing it to Akechi. When their hands touch, he whispers, “Besties, huh?”

“I’ll fucking end you.”

“Third time’s the charm.”

Yanking his hand away, Akechi stalks off. Sumire sighs dramatically.

“Such a drama queen! But I should leave, too.” She bows once more. “Thank you again.”

“No…problem…” Makoto trails off when Sumire runs to Akechi’s side, casually linking arms with him.

Silence encompasses the group.

“That’s weird, right?” Ryuji finally asks. “Like, I’m not wrong for thinking that was really fucking weird, right?”

“Yeah, that was weird,” Makoto confirms.

“Really?” Akira muses. “I can kind of see it.”

Ann rubs her temples. “Whatever. That whole thing plus my dehydration just gave me the world’s biggest headache.”

“Ryuji, don’t you need to go to the bathroom?” Haru reminds him kindly.

“Huh? Oh. I don’t know, I think I’ve might have just moved past it.”

“Gross.”

“Shut up, Takamaki. Let’s leave, I hate it here.”

“Because you peed yourself?”

“I did not.”

—

“I hate you.”

Sumire doesn’t look up from her slice of carrot cake. “No, you don’t.”

Their usual cafe was near empty in thanks to the fact that it’s a Tuesday evening and barely anyone knows this place exists—only a barista is inside with them, trying his best to text on his phone in secrecy and failing miserably. She can feel his glare at her from across the table, though there’s no heat behind it. (There hasn’t been heat behind it for a long time.)

“No,” Akechi agrees. “I don’t.”

She glances up at him. He hasn’t touched his tart yet. “But you’re upset with me.”

His brows scrunch slightly as he rolls his answer around his head. This was to be expected.

“No,” he decides. “I’m not upset, either. But I honestly cannot for the life of me figure out why you would do that. I hate them, Sumire, and you know that.” Picking up his fork, he prods at his fruit tart absentmindedly. “You’re a good person, even if you aren’t nice—”

“Only to you I’m not.”

“—so you won’t do anything that would disconcert me in a legitimate way on purpose.”

Her shoulders tense. “Did it disconcert you?”

“It unsettled me, sure. But only because I knew where their tickets came from, and it certainly didn’t come from Takamaki’s profound interest in gymnastics.”

“Unsettled you?”

Akechi gives her an exasperated look. “You’re going to make me say it?”

“How about a deal?” she offers, smiling ever so lightly. “You say it out loud and I’ll tell you why I did it.”

Sighing, he heavily leans back into his chair. “I despise the idea of them seeing me… like that.”

“Like a human being?”

“Like I’m weak,” he corrects.

“Seeing you in a normal setting,” she settles. “With a friend?”

“You’re pushing it.”

Her smile widens. An odd setting is more accurate. It’s only in a gymnastics setting that she can really get a reaction out of him—rarely does he act the way he did. It’s his own brand of sweet that’s really grown on her.

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” she starts, setting down her fork. “But I don’t agree with what you said.”

“Shocker. Which part?”

“About you hating them.”

When she doesn’t continue, he kicks her shin lightly. “Don’t be cryptid.” Which is his way of saying talk to me.

Sumire kicks him back. “I’m not! I’m just thinking.”

She chooses her words with care. “You said something, a while ago,” she says slowly. “Like way, way back. It was kind of offhand, and you probably said it as a way to prove how much you hated them or something. But you mentioned that Akira—and the rest of his lovely friends—were the first people to really treat you like…a person.”

Akechi blinks, and she feels her eyes soften. Of course he thought (or hoped) that she’d forgotten a detail like that.

“And yes, lots of stuff happened in between,” she continues. “Lots and lots of stuff. Stuff I’ll probably never know about. But…I owe them, I think.” Sumire shrugs. “They took care of you before I could have. So I was worried that it bugged you when you lost touch with them.”

Akechi was quiet for a moment before he knits his brows together. “And that led you to try and cupid me with them during your semi-final?”

“When you say it like that—”

“‘Losing touch’ is very different from what actually happened,” he cuts off, leaning forward. “And just because they didn’t treat me like a famous asshole from television absolutely did not create some kind of fostered kinship.”

Akechi’s eyes never soften, never lose focus, but occasionally they can lose some of their steel. Warmth engulfs her as she watches it happen now. “For the record, no. It doesn’t bother me,” he hesitates. “Not…not anymore.”

Just as quick as it arrived, the moment passes. Straightening up, “And you? Does it bug you?”

She blinks. “What does?”

“That I make for a lackluster cheerleader.”

Sumire laughs, too loud for the near-empty cafe. Impossible. He may be a mess with words, would rather pull out his own teeth than confess vulnerability, but he’s shown up to every single one of her competition and sat through the entire thing. From warm-ups to the awards ceremony, it’s undoubtedly a grueling time to spend his day, and as much as he loves to complain about it, whenever she looks up from the mat, he’s always there in the exact same spot without fail.

She snags a strawberry off of his tart, making him click his tongue harmlessly at her.

“You’re more than enough.”

#akesumi #akiryu #pegoryu #number one fan #fic tag #mine #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #im still on my akesumi bullshit #fanfic

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akechicrimes · 5 years ago

Note

Prompt 15 for ShuAke, please? (Your other answers are really really good, by the way.)

(aaaa THANK YOU yes of course!! also jsksjksjksjksjsj THIS PROMPT……. THANK YOU FOR THIS it was SO fun)

15. “Don’t tell me you’re fine, I can see the blood!”

akira has an adrenaline problem and is more reckless in sae’s casino that akechi expected. also akechi cares more about it than akechi expected.

***

The Thieves get overprotective of Joker in Sae’s casino, which is too bad, because it’s very big with many moving parts and it’s best for them to divide and conquer the place, which is how he explains it to them during a Thieves meeting that Akechi is not invited to. Also, when Joker splits them up into groups, Joker is sometimes paired up with only Crow.

The rest of the Thieves give each other unimpressed looks. “That’s… the opposite of reassuring,” Makoto says with a pained sigh.

“If anything happens, I’ll be fine. Plus, Futaba knows where I am at all times, and she can always reach me through the comms. I’ll say something if anything happens.”

Everyone gives each other such a significant look that Akira wonders if maybe the Thieves are having secret meetings that he isn’t invited to, either. But they don’t push him on it.

He asks Ryuji about it when everyone else has gone, Haru’s taken Morgana for the night, and it’s just the two of them in Akira’s attic. “We’re just… worried for you,” says Ryuji, scratching the back of his head. “The entire reason Akechi’s even here is to kill you, right? Guy’s a liar and probably a murderer and we don’t even know how dangerous he is. His Persona’s already crazy strong and Makoto thinks he’s got more tricks up his sleeve, too.”

Akira thought that through already. The probability is that Akechi can’t kill him until they’ve gotten to the end of the palace, and stolen Sae’s “heart” on the exact day that Akechi requested. On the other hand, it’s still just a probability. Maybe Akechi can kill him whenever he wants. “It’ll be fine,” says Akira.

“I mean, I know that,” says Ryuji, and sighs. “I guess… it’d be one thing if we just thought he might kill you the second we’re not lookin’, but I–I dunno. We were all worried ‘cause we thought that you kept pairing yourself up with Crow on purpose ‘cause you liked that he might…”

Ryuji trails away. “Uh, actually, never mind. Sounds dumb now that I say it aloud, honestly. Forget about it. See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” says Akira.

***

Akira Kurusu is a good boy, who lived in a good town, with a good family, with only good neighborhoods. There were never any bad neighborhoods to duck into and pick any fights with the wrong kind of people. There were never any bad bars to lose yourself in and make out with the wrong person. There were no criminals or thieves or so-called bad influences for a boy to get involved in.

Akira Kurusu is still a good boy. He lives in Tokyo now. He never finds himself so furious he can’t think, and he never heads to Mementos to punch shadows full of bullet holes, or (hopefully) get the shit kicked out of him. Akira Kurusu never scales the highest, tallest buildings in the Metaverse’s palaces, just to feel the ice-cold fear in his stomach hit him like a shot of vodka. Akira Kurusu never cuts it too close to the Palace deadline, just to feel the danger prickle on the back of his neck, or see the nervousness in his teammates’ eyes. He never makes an alliance with someone who doesn’t love him, just to wring some mutual benefit for the both of them like pulling blood from a stone.

Akira Kurusu never lurks on the school roof, or picks up shifts at Crossroads, or skulks in alleyways long after his bedtime, hoping for some douchebag to take a dislike to his face and give him a good reason to get some blood under his nails and feel alive for an hour. Whoever walks the Tokyo streets is some nameless, faceless specter, of no future and no past, to disappear when the sun rises.

Akira Kurusu is a good boy who gets good grades and runs Sojiro’s coffee shop when Sojiro is out. His face is blank and impassive, and there’s definitely no grudges locked behind his teeth. He goes to school on time and answers all the questions right and speaks to no one. He doesn’t think about girls. He also doesn’t think about boys.

Akira Kurusu is a good boy, who, one day at a TV station, met another good boy named Goro Akechi, who smiled politely and said all the right things, who never had a bad thought in his head or a fury in his throat. When Goro Akechi comes to set up camp in Leblanc, it is of course no problem, because Goro Akechi is a good boy who would never wait for hours just to see the whites of his prey’s eyes, and Akira Kurusu is a good boy who’s never done anything wrong, and never hungers for the sharp jolt of being pursued pressed like a blade against his neck.

Because they are both two very good boys, it is never a threat when Goro Akechi smiles at him in the subway station, and Akira’s smile back to the quick heartbeat of adrenaline is never real.

***

Anyway, the next day a Ganesha throws Joker through a slot machine.

“Joker!” Crow is probably saying, although Joker can’t hear a whole lot while upside down and covered in casino chips and bits of machine parts. Joker appreciates the concern, though, considering that Joker’s just split up the group again, and it’s only Joker and Crow against this brick shithouse of an elephant god. When Joker springs back up, his coattails and bits of bloody chips go flying; his whole body is singing. Crow says, “Hamao–”

That’s Joker’s least favorite move. No fun when Crow’s Hamaons or Mudoons land right, and the shadow drops clean like a cut puppet, no blood, no mess, no struggle. “Hecantoncheires!” Joker interrupts, and feels another chunk of his life force get gouged out as payment for a Swift Strike.

“Ganesha resists physical!” Crow snaps.

Joker pulls out his gun and unloads the whole clip and only stops when Crow kicks him out of the way of Ganesha’s angry swipe. “It’s weak to Psychokinesis, Joker! Finish this quickly!”

Trust Crow to have memorized all the shadows’ weaknesses. He sounds just like Queen does when Joker’s not taking it seriously enough for her. Joker pulls Kunishinada from his soul and casts a weak Psi, sweeping the shadow right off its massive feet to hit the ground with a floor-shaking crash. Joker pulls out his dagger. If Ganesha was going to beg or bargain, Joker’s not interested. He wants a good old-fashioned fight.

When Joker’s dagger slices through Ganesha’s fat stomach, Ganesha’s death throes slam a fist right into Joker’s back, crushing him and tearing Joker’s dagger straight through Ganesha’s body. Ganesha explodes into shadow dust and a shower of yen.

When Joker stands back up, he can feel himself beaming like a maniac, and Crow seems to almost smile back just out of pure shock. And with the Ganesha gone, it’s just Joker and the last and only enemy that mattered in the middle of the casino floor, surrounded by the Sae’s machines chattering out numbers of the highest, highest stakes. Joker’s enemy is sizing Joker up in the wake of battle, examining the blood streaking down his face; Joker’s enemy is sweeping his body from head to toe with his dark red eyes, lingering at the cinch of Joker’s vest waist, the high collars. Joker’s enemy’s eyes are wide.

“Gorgeous,” says Joker, and then collapses.

Crow’s over him in a second, but before he can say anything, Oracle’s voice comes over the line: “Joker? Your reading’s are a little wonky, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” says Joker. He sounds remarkably fine, actually, considering that his vision’s going a little grey.

“You’re not–”

Joker presses a finger to his own lips. Crow shuts up, his eyes glittering and rapt. “I’m fine,” says Joker again to Oracle. “It was just a skirmish with a shadow. Nothing big.”

“Uhhhhhh… Okay? You know where the safe room is if you need it? Noir’s not too far away if you need a hand, too.”

“Thanks, Oracle.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” says Oracle, which makes Crow’s lips purse for some reason. The line clicks off.

“Don’t tell me you’re fine,” says Crow immediately. His voice is shaking.

“I am fine.”

“I can see the blood–!”

“That’s a flesh wound.”

“This is no time for jokes,” says Crow sharply.

“Worried?” asks Joker. His to-be murderer, fretting about death coming a little too soon for his tastes? Ah, his to-be murderer is tracing his gloved fingers by Joker’s exposed and open neck.

Crow ignores him. “Robin Hood doesn’t know any healing spells. Can you heal yourself?”

“I’m out of magic.”

Crow looks like he’s trying very hard to be a good, straight-laced detective who doesn’t say “fuck” and also doesn’t panic. Crow is taking deep breaths, like he’s the one who go punched in the chest twice by a two-thousand pound elephant. “That was incredibly foolhardy of you.”

“It was just a bit of fun.”

“Pardon me for saying so, but what part about getting the shit kicked out of you was fun?”

Joker has the stupidest, goofiest smile on his face, he knows, because he’s half-drunk on all his wounds and, in his defense, there is a very pretty murderer with a sharp, sharp sword and gun that never misses staring down at him, their masks close enough to touch, Crow’s hands close enough to strangle him to death right there on the casino floor. Joker wants to see what would happen if Crow tried. “It’s not fun if it can’t at least kill you,” he says, more sincerely than he meant to.

Crow’s throat works and swallows hard. His hands are tight around Joker’s chest. “I–think I have some medicine in my pocket,” he says suddenly, and tears his eyes away. It turns out that he actually does, surprisingly, in the form of one of Takemi’s pill packets and a crushed protein bar. Crow watches Joker carefully to make sure that Joker actually takes them both. He keeps watching everything Joker does, really, from the way Joker pulls the packet apart, to the tiny bites he takes, to his careful swallows. When Joker spits a wad of blood out to clear his throat, Crow stares at it like he’s never seen the color red before.

“Let’s go back to the others,” Crow says, when Joker’s finished regaining whatever strength he can. “We can hardly have the illustruous leader of the Phantom Thieves dying here.” And all the way back, Crow refuses to leave Joker’s side.

For Joker’s to-be murderer, Crow seems to care an awful lot about whether or not Joker lives or dies, Joker thinks.

***

(i love procrastinating. send a prompt)

#me reading this prompt: yes............... yes................ YES #mine #Anonymous

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it-will-not-last-the-night · 5 years ago

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Daybreakers 2020 - Ryuji Submission

@p5daybreak

Character: Ryuji

Day: 3rd

The Mark of a problem child:

“So, the blonde hair…why’d you do it?”

Ren asks him one afternoon. They were up in the attic of Le Blanc, the one which somehow passed for a room, waiting on Ann and Yusuke. With nothing but time to kill Ryuji had plopped himself down on the floor, propped up against Ren’s bed, and dug into a new manga he picked up that morning. Ren, on the other hand, decided to waste time by asking something he’d been meaning to ask for a while, but never really found the moment too.

“Huh?” Articulate as always Ryuji gave a grunt, lowering the magazine, and peering over it to his friend, his best friend, perched on the edge of a chair, peering at him through glasses Ryuji is certain he doesn’t need.

“The dye, was it because of Kamoshida?”

It’s an obvious guess and it isn’t like it’s incorrect. Not completely. Still the question is one Ryuji can’t exactly answer clearly off the mark. Which, when he thinks about it, is kinda weird. How many times have people asked him to explain the story behind having dyed his hair blonde? How many times was the first thing people noticed, and wondered, about him his hair? You’d really think he’d have some good answer prepared for it by now.

“Well…”

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The last time someone asked him about his hair had been just a few weeks ago, when chance had found him and Ann waiting for Ren (and Morgana of course) up on the roof of Shujin. They’d been doing their normal thing; she was looking at her phone, whether really reading something or pretending he didn’t know, and Ryuji was bouncing his leg on the ground to try to stop the thought of his imminent expulsion from creeping in.

That’s when she’d brought it up.

“Ryuji…um…I don’t wanna be rude but…your hair…when you dyed it blonde was it…because of…him?”

In all honesty she’d actually first asked him to stop bouncing his leg so much, it was distracting her. Then he’d scowled and made some sardonic comment about how he was sorry that his potential expulsion was inconveniencing her, to which she’d rightfully snapped at him that it wasn’t like she wasn’t going through a tough time either, and by then he felt so guilty that the two had drifted into a mutual funk over him.

He’d clenched his fists over his knees to stop a kneejerk reaction (very literal, he knew, but Ryuji was a tactile sort of guy) and gave a lough exhalation before answering, the sort of thing he’d do to calm his nerves before a big run.

“…yeah, that was…yeah to get back at him, that asshole, to show him I didn’t care, that I could…stick it to ‘em, he was gonna have to watch me parade around right under his nose and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it,” he had answered, very convincingly. That was because it was at least partly true. Just not wholly true.

But when he thought about the whole truth, that at the time, when he’d actually done the dyeing, he’d been thinking of Kamoshida, yeah…but he’d also been thinking of Kobayakawa, of Kawakami, Chouno and every other teacher and…the students too. Nakaoka, Takeishi and, yeah, Ann too. Anger. That’s what he’d felt when he was dyeing his hair, anger had been almost the only thing he’d felt for the past year. When he thought about that it just made him feel guilty, he didn’t want to bring it up.

Besides, trashing Kamoshida helped break the foul mood and make Ann smile so that was more than enough for Ryuji.

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There were other times before that too. He remembered Kawakami giving him that ‘why do you put me through this’ look as she asked him for the umpteenth time why he’d done it. Of course, it wasn’t as if she was actually interested in an answer, Ryuji had come to learn none of his teachers really cared for any answers he could give them.

“You’re only making things harder for yourself; you realize that, right?”

And, obviously, in one sense he did completely understand that. The more he dug his heels in, the harder things got. It’d be the sensible thing to lay low, try to avoid any attention, and just bury his nose in his books and try to get through Shujin as quickly as possible.

Being sensible had never been particularly high on Ryuji’s priorities though, and every muttered comment, every resigned shake of the head, was just further fuel for the anger which kept brewing inside of him.

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Although there’d never been a time Shiho had asked him about his hair, not in so many words at least, Ryuji could remember a time he’d caught her staring at it. Although it made his stomach twist itself into knots to think of it now, at the time he’d just scowled and moved on, he was as angry at her as he was at everyone in Shujin. Kamoshida might have broken his leg but every single student and teacher was to just as guilty to him back then. If he hadn’t been so quick to just dismiss everyone else, he might have noted the haunted look in her eyes that was soon to become her default expression for the following year.

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When his mother had come home (late, because she had to spend her whole day and almost her whole night working for a son who didn’t even have the decency to make things easier for her) to find him struggling over a basin to get the dye to take they’d stood for a moment in mutual silence.

The truth was that there had never been a carefully calculated, planned, or intended motion or reasoning behind why he’d one day just decided to start dyeing his hair blonde. It hadn’t been something he thought out, it’d been something he’d felt.

For a second, looking at his mom, he’d had that sudden moment where he realized he’d let his temper make him act without thinking and he hated himself a bit for reminding himself of his own father. Being a burden to his mom had always been the only thing he’d really been scared of, the one thing in his entire life he didn’t want to be. He didn’t want to take after that man, to make things harder for her just like he had.

That had been, after all, the whole point behind the running. Here was something he was good at, something society rewarded him for. He was popular, he had future prospects, he’d grow up to be a star athlete, he’d get that track scholarship, and then his mom would never have to waste even more of her time than she already did on him.

But somewhere between his bone snapping and the third or fourth day in recovery that idea had come crashing down and, in its place, the only thing Ryuji could think to do was…dye his hair blonde?

“Mom…it’s…” Ryuji wasn’t even sure how he would have finished that sentence but, as it turned out, he didn’t need too.

“It’s a good colour but you’re going to make a mess of it dear, let me help,” she didn’t necessarily on some unspoken level just intuitively understand why he was doing it, after all he wasn’t sure himself yet why either. But she didn’t need to. A mother didn’t need to be psychic to help. Just having here there, to reaffirm that he wasn’t making a mistake, was already more than enough.

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“It’s like…you know…” Ryuji throws a line into a sea of terminology and hopes he’ll fish up something good as Ren cocked an expectant eyebrow. The words he’s looking for come to Ryuji in one of those rare moments where he feels like he’s summoning Kidd to back him up, that strange sensation where, for an instant, everything interlocks and fits together even if a voice is pounding so loud in his head it feels like it’s going to burst.

“It’s…a rebellion,” he says, with a small shrug, hoping the answer came across less terribly than it suddenly sounded to him when he said it out loud. Judging by the slight smile Ren was suddenly sporting, nodding as if it all made sense somehow, it did.

#daybreak2020 #prompt: origins #ryuji #ryuji day 1 #ryuji sakamoto #sakamoto ryuji #fanfiction #a very small thing #thrown together quickly #it is very low quality #I apologize #but I just wanted to put something out

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 6 years ago

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Who’s worse and why: Futaba or Makoto?

I mean if you’ve read this blog you probably know who I’m gonna choose, but as for why….welp under the cut

I’d have to say Makoto, both as a person and as a character. I know my bf ranks Futaba as the worse solely because of her BS hacking. And listen, for me Makoto and Futaba are both freaking close, and me saying “Futaba’s hacking isn’t as bad as Makoto” is more an opinion than fact, and shouldn’t boost any positive feelings/pride for Futaba fans because I chose her hacking over Makoto. Her hacking is HORRIBLE I was to make that clear, I still hate it. I’d probably hate Futaba more if it wasn’t for the fact that Makoto gets a single amount of criticism that we all have to come and explain ourselves (that’s the only good thing about Futaba is that her fanbase doesn’t come for my throat, but it also doesn’t mean I think about how crappy she is/think as critically about her as much as Makoto).

With that out of the way I’ll give reasons for disliking both of them:

Makoto:

She never gets dragged. So you might know that I hate the P5MC, I think he’s an asshole and never gets called out on it (and not just he has asshole options, but he does asshole things we can’t not do). One thing I hate is that he drags like Anne, Ryuji, and Yusuke a lot like you wouldn’t believe (like people who are very dedicated to him). But I don’t recall really ever getting a single drag options for Makoto, WHEN SHE WASN’T ON THE TEAM AND SHE WAS AT HER WORSE (even when she drove off our only lead). It was mostly neutral stuff, defiant (not the same as asshole), or begging her not to tell on us. It’s just weird that a lot of other characters will get dragged for not really doing anything wrong, but she DOES screw us over and we don’t get to drag her at least once?

Gets away with A LOT of shit. Like she victim blames Anne, and Anne apologizes? And then has the audacity to say Anne and her are the SAME?! No boo, Anne didn’t know about the abuse, but YOU DID. Anne didn’t report the abuse because she didn’t know, you admit you didn’t report it because YOU DIDN’T CARE ENOUGH. You stalk us, take photos and video recordings without our permission (btw illegal in Japan and would be thrown out in court), but then get surprised when we (mostly Anne/Ryu/Yusuke since they can talk obvie) get mad at you? Complain about how people don’t know your struggles when they yell at you, but you are literally the one causing their grief (so of course they’d yell). Was literally an asshole from the get-go from introduction(she literally insulted Anne from her first words, no wonder Anne didn’t like her) , and pretty much the reason why every scene started to go to shit (only time she didn’t come in like an ass was the scene they called her useless in, and 1) considering her track record they probs assumed, and rightfully so, she was coming to put more pressure on them, which they didn’t need, and seque into 2))

Number 2, she was being useless to the PT! She didn’t do shit while investigating, instead just hovering over us being like “did you get the info? You know will happen if you don’t do this. SO you better do this!” And it’s like???? Bitch, you didn’t even bother to help. You’re useless in the one thing you can do (cause we know you won’t help in the Metaverse). Hell she wasn’t even the person who broke the news about Kaneshiro! We heard a rumor about it on the train as the MC/Mona before Makoto did! But the game made us freaking wait cause we needed the illusion of her doing like…ANYTHING. She also drove away our one gd lead, like WHAT THE FUDGE?! We’re all out here busting our asses and you are just sitting on yours, you really are useless. And she also withheld vital info…..

Withholding info. She does this twice, once during the Kaneshiro arc where we have to waste time investigating this one kid (and we know she knows cause he goes to her after we talk to him, upset cause she might’ve blabbed, oh if only, but like she could’ve asked him questions and she could’ve relayed the same info but NO!). She also doesn’t tell us about Sae’s Palace, and like….that would’ve been FANTASTIC considering we were all like “oh man wish we had a Palace we could go into” the entire gd game.

Her actions and words about her don’t line up (wow awkward sentence XP). People keep describing her as “scary” and “oh man you better not make her mad” and like acting like I should be scared of her. But like???? She’s really such a pushover, she needs to be saved countless times, she showcases no hidden fire-y side (in fact Anne shows that off more, but no the game is too busy dragging her through the mud for some reason). Hell even in the dance games, her and Anne’s reaction of Futaba trying to grope them is different. Makoto is shy and tries to run away iirc, Anne looks like she has the face of murder (Futaba better sleep with one eye open, like jesus what was that game thinking, 1) poor taste to do that to Anne, 2) doesn’t seem like she was having fun and…..that’s so out of place). Just….it’s just really annoying to hear it over and over, and then she needs help over and over. Like she puts up barely any resistence to the guys hitting on them at the beach, all while Anne is ready to throw down and raising a shit fit (understandable, but why isn’t Makoto????) and then if you say “you guys did well” MAKOTO is the one that responds and is like “Oh thanks but it was getting dicey” like bitch you just stood there, Anne was ready to cut a bitch, why are you responding you didn’t do anything????

She takes up too much screen time doing nothing. Her big job is to connect the player with Sae…..and she does a shit job at it. We learn pretty much nothing about Sae or her relationship, except it’s strained (but not TOO strained). She explains easy to understand stuff, but like we already had Mona for that so no need for her. She’s shit at her role as a strategist, 1) she doesn’t do a whole lot of it, 2) the few plans she’s come up with, the majority have failed, 3) her role is useless in a game where we already have a leader and choices are supposed to “matter” so why sin’t the MC just a double duty strategist? 4) Her CoOp ability should’ve already been a part of Futaba’s/Mona’s skill set (like with past Navis). She adds nothing, instead takes screen time away from other characters, as well as removing choice from the players (and possibly coming up with their own plans as well as ideas to utilize everyone).

Futaba:

Her hacking is unrealistic and OP. Just….it’s just bad in and of itself.

Her hacking removes choice and other means to get around a problem. So many times it’s just “*points at something* Futaba hack it” and it’s done. Like Sae’s dungeon, a lot of people say it showcased Goro’s abilities, but all I remember is him saying “Futaba I choose you! Use hack” and that’s how it mostly went down. So like Makoto, her role screws the player out of a more enriching gameplay experience.

Also takes up too much screen time. I mean it’s mostly for her stupid hacking too, but if it wasn’t for that and her it could’ve been utilized for other characters. It’s also weird cause she takes up a lot because of her mom, but we don’t get a whole lot about her mom…..it’s mostly just a plot device rather than a character. It just leaves you unfulfilled.

Her mental illness is horribly written, pandering (in a sense of people thinking it’s cute and you should date her cause of it, not them having a character with mental illness in and of itself is pandering just the……fetishization of it is), and inconsistent (her gameplay and story segregation, aka CoOp and main story segregation, is just so appalling). I think I did one rank of her CoOp and she was all like “MC only you helped me. You’re the reason I started to get better! I can only go outside if you are with me MC! MC MC MC! PT who? Only MC!” and then literally the next f****ing day the main story progresses, she’s waiting outside with Yusuke and everyone is like “You went outside by yourself?!” and Yusuke’s like “nah I picked her up” HMMMM YOU SEEM FINE WITH THE PT WHAT’S THIS ABOUT MC ONLY?! It’s also…..I hate her crush, it’s soooooo unhealthy. She starts to become SO DEPENDENT on you, and is saying some very worrying things like “I don’t think I can do this on my own without you” like all the time. And apparently if you romance her she suddenly becomes more independent, which I don’t think would happen….romancing her route sounded more like I’d encourage her behavior rather than her deciding to just suddenly not do that. The friendship route was the only time it felt like it was realistic, we turn her down and we help her make one more step by herself and let her walk around Akihabara alone within a safe distance and then she gets used to it so it’s possible for her to leave all by herself later. Only time it was semi realistic, because any other time they just bring the freaking mental illness up whenever they freaking please. That’s also doesn’t take in the fact how they “cured” her so they could have a beach episode. A crash course and friendship isn’t gonna cure you suddenly (and it’s not like they actually stole her heart, which I hate she keep saying they did), and that’s an unhealthy mindset and unfair to a friend who wants to help but isn’t fair to put the burden on them to cure you.

She’s kind of an asshole, like Makoto is an asshole before she joins, but Futaba…..I just dunno how most people even get along in the PT. It’s not social awkwardness, she’s just a straight up douche sometimes and I don’t like it (esp when you can’t call her out). It’s not just her, Yusuke is too and so is Mona (and Ryu is to Mona but he’s not an asshole, but he’s not 100% a good boi, but MC is also an asshole too, but sometimes he can be good).

I also just don’t like her dungeon. Like how it’s written. But I could say that for most of P5′s dungeons. It tries to imitate P4 but…..doesn’t do what P4 did right. Her’s just steps on my toes even more cause it’s more closer to P4 than any other dungeon, and it’s a gd shame they didn’t expand on P4′s way of doing it (aka you don’t get the info basically handed to before going into the dungeon, there’s actually a revelation as you go through XP)

(Not points against either, but I find it weird that it feels like Futaba is closer to Makoto rather than Anne…..like nothing is special between Futaba and Makoto for them to be kinda like that, but like Anne was the one to technically appealed to Futaba to get her out of the closet…..You’d think she’d cling to Anne more….Sorry more of a confusing writing issue but since we were talking about these two and my mind wandered 8U)

Edit: I think I answered all my points (albeit it’s the abridged version), but god forbid I missed a couple.

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nexttrickanvils · 6 years ago

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Runaways and Curses

Written for Day 2 of @ryuannweek

This is actually an expansion of an AU idea I wrote up for an ask meme a while ago. I will try to write up a continuation of this in the future but that won’t be for a while. For now I hope you all enjoy.

Characters: Ann Takamaki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Shiho Suzui, Kamoshida, Yuuki Mishima

Prompt: AU/Clothesswap

Notes: Fantasy/Fairy tale AU, implied abuse

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In a small village by a great forest, there lived a young woman named Ann.

Ann was well liked in the village though no could say they truly knew her as well as her best friend, Shiho. Most of the others saw her simply as a pretty face. But underneath that pretty face was a kind heart and a yearning for adventure.

Little did Ann know that both of those would serve her well in an unexpected way.

It all starts when the sound of trumpets fill the air.

All the residents, Ann and Shiho included, rushed to the center of the village and were greeted by the sight of an ornate carriage. Standing by were several young men playing the trumpets. Another one with dark blue hair and an unenthusiastic expression stands to the front.

“Attention everyone! Please bow down to our benevolent king, King Suguru Kamoshida the First!”

The door of the carriage opens and walks out King Kamoshida wearing gaudy red and white clothes. The villagers all proceed to bow down though Ann did so with a glare.

Everyone always talked about how passionate he was. How so such kinder than the previous king he was. How he’s helped the kingdom since he took the throne after the Prince's death and the Queen's illness. But there was something about the man that unnerved her and it felt like only she and Shiho could see it.

“My good people! Rise up! I have come before you all today for one simple reason. I believe it is time for me to choose a queen!”

The crowd gasps and gossips among themselves.

“But not just any queen. A queen of the people, a commoner. So I shall choose one lady among you all to be my bride.”

Everything turned into chaos with the various women of the village rushing toward the King to shower him with praise and beg him to choose them. Ann rolled her eyes at the sight and Shiho watched in discomfort.

“Let’s go Shiho.”

“R-right.”

The two women turned around and started to walk away when they heard the King shout.

“WAIT! YOU THERE WITH THE BLONDE HAIR!”

Ann froze in place, she knew exactly who he was referring to and she could feel all eyes on her.

She slowly turns around and sees the crowd parting as the King approaches her. She feels like a rabbit ready to be eaten by a hawk. But then as the King reaches her, Shiho steps in between them, glaring daggers at the man.

“Shiho? What are you doing!?”

“Ha, ha, I know you must be so excited to meet me face-to-face but you must let me pass.” the king responded

Shiho stood her ground, her angry expression unchanging.

That is when the blue haired young man from earlier approaches them.

“Please, do as the King asks.”

That is when both women noticed the bruise slightly hidden by his hat and the frightened tone in his voice. Kamoshida wouldn’t dare do something in front of all these people… would he?

No, the last thing Ann wanted was seeing Shiho harmed because of her.

She places a hand on her best friend’s shoulder, “Shiho, it’s...”

Ann briefly struggles to find the right word… it wasn’t okay it wasn’t fine it wasn’t…

“...Don’t worry about me.”

With some hesitation, Shiho steps aside but she continues giving King Kamoshida a cold look.

“I see you already have a commanding air about you.”

King Kamoshida attempts place a hand on Ann and without even thinking, she grabs his wrist.

“Oh ho! This one is feisty! I like her. What is your name?”

“...Ann.” She replied with an obviously hostile tone

Unfortunately if she hoped that her actions and tone would deter him, they clearly failed as King Kamoshida pulled his hand away, smiled, and turned to the crowd.

“Well it seems that my search didn’t take as long as I expected! This woman: Ann, shall be my queen! We shall give her the evening to prepare her things and in the morning, we shall return to bring her to the Castle!”

“Wait I didn’t agree to...”

But Ann’s protests were drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. Aside from Shiho holding her hand, Ann felt completely alone.

---------

Shiho went with Ann to the blonde’s home. As soon as they arrived, Ann collapsed and her friend was immediately at her side.

“I-I can’t do this Shiho!”

“I know” Shiho said, wishing there was more she could do for her best friend

“You… you saw how he looked me, looked at you and the rest of the girls in the village too! And that boy with the bruise, how scared he sounded… I… I can’t stay here...”

“Huh?”

Before Shiho could ask what Ann meant, Ann stood up and rushed to her room. Shiho followed and watched as Ann laid out a sheet on her bed and started throwing various odds and ends onto it.

“Ann, what’s going on?”

“They’re coming back in the morning to take me away but I won’t be here!”

“Wh-where are you gonna go!?”

“I don’t know yet but it’s better than waiting for that bastard to take me away.”

“Won’t someone see you on the roads?”

“Then I won’t take the roads! I’ll go through the forest!”

Shiho’s eyes widened, “But the forest is incredibly dangerous! You’ve heard the hunters talk about the creatures and monsters in there!”

Ann hesitates for a moment before returning to her makeshift bag.

“I’ll take the risk. It has to be better than whatever Kamoshida wants with me.”

“Ann...”

“You can’t change my mind Shiho!”

“...Ann...”

“I’d rather risk my life than be trapped with him ...”

“ANN!” Shiho shouted

Ann stared at her friend as Shiho walked up to her and took her hands.

“You are not doing this without me. I… I failed you before, not this time!”

“...Shiho… th-thank you.”

With that, the two women made a plan to escape their village when the night was darkest.

---------

Leaving the village was the easy part.

Almost everyone was asleep and the two managed to sneak past the guards stationed by the edges of the village.

Now came the hard part, navigating the forest.

At first, it wasn’t too difficult. Both of them remembered to bring two lanterns along with the other necessities.But as they walked further and deeper into the forest, it almost felt like the darkness was trying to swallow their lights.

“A-Ann. Maybe we should find somewhere to rest and keep going in the morning.”

“Y-y-yeah that… that sounds like a good idea.”

After a few minutes of looking around, the two find a massive tree and rest against it.

“How far from the village do you think we are?” asked Ann

“I’m not sure. I don’t think anyone will find us though.”

Ann chuckled, “You know, I’ve wanted to leave the village and explore the world for so long. I didn’t think this was how I’d start.”

Shiho smiled and laughed, glad to see her friend trying to stay optimistic. Suddenly there was a strange noise and both women stood straight up.

“Wh-what was that?” asked Ann

“It sounded like...”

The sound seemed to grow louder. Ann and Shiho then looked up and saw a spider the size of a large dog. They screamed and ran, forgetting their lanterns and necessities in their panic. They didn’t know which direction they were going, they just needed to get away from the monster.

Neither of them really knew how far they ran before they stopped to catch their breath.

“Did… did we lose it?” asked Ann

“Yeah… along with our things.”

“M-maybe the spider’s gone and we can go...”

The sound of growling interrupted Ann’s thought, she and Shiho turned around and found themselves in front of a pack of snarling wolves.

“N-nice… doggies… wolfies… don’t...”

A loud howl filled the air but it wasn’t from the wolves. Ann and Shiho looked around until Ann saw it.

Walking towards them was a massive wolf-like creature. Ann and Shiho held each other close and closed their eyes, prepared to meet their end at this monster’s claws.

The monster gave a loud roar and… the two didn’t feel anything. Ann opened her eyes and saw the monster facing the wolves who were now whimpering and slowly backing away. The monster roared again which finally convinced the wolves to run away.

Ann stared at the thing. It was much bigger than any human she’s known and its entire body was covered in dark fur except for the top of its head which was a bright golden color. The oddest detail though was that it seemed to be wearing a pair of tattered pants.

The creature turned to her and Shiho. It closed its eyes and Ann gasped as it started to transform. Its height becoming smaller and smaller until it was just a few inches taller than her, the dark fur disappearing while its golden fur became more like human hair.

Soon instead of a towering wolfman, stood a young man with blonde hair who looked to be around Ann and Shiho’s age.

“Who...” Ann attempted to ask

“What the hell are you two doing here!? Doesn’t your village tell you how dangerous this place is!?”

In an instant all thoughts of thanking him and asking for his name faded and were replaced with a desire to give this guy a piece of her mind!

“Excuse me!? My friend and I didn’t have a choice!”

“Of course ya have a choice! That choice bein’ staying alive in your village or dying in the forest! Those wolves probably woulda torn ya apart if I didn’t show up!”

Before Ann could snap back in reply, Shiho stepped forward.

“Thank you for saving us. As for why we’re here, we couldn’t stay in the village. My name is Shiho and this is my friend, Ann. We came here to escape from King Kamoshida...”

At the mention of the King, the young man’s expression changed.

“Wait? King?”

Ann sighed, “He came to our village looking for a girl to be his queen... I was the “lucky” pick. Everyone else acted like it was something I should be excited but… I don’t trust him”

“Damn right ya shouldn’t! Kamoshida’s a goddamn bastard who will do anything and hurt anyone to get his way!”

Ann looked at him in confusion, “How… do you know that?”

The blonde man’s eyes widened, “Uh well… er… ya see… You uh learn a lotta things in the forest thanks to um… spirits. Ya know: forest spirits.”

Both women looked him unimpressed. That excuse could not have been more bullshit if he tried.

“L-look, that ain’t the point! Point is, I don’t blame ya two for gettin’ away from that . But ya ain’t gonna last in the forest like this. Follow me.”

“Huh!?” both Ann and Shiho asked

“I live in a cave nearby and I can handle most of the monsters. I can keep ya two safe. The name’s Ryuji by the way.”

“...W-we lost some items along the way, could you help us find them too?” asked Shiho

“...Fine but don’t think this makes me your personal errand boy okay? We’re going to the cave first. You two need rest.”

Thus without saying another word, Ann and Shiho followed Ryuji deeper into the forest.

---------

Ryuji spent practically the rest of the night watching over Shiho and Ann.

How long had it been since he last heard Kamoshia’s name? Three maybe four years? Of course that asshole made himself king and is making some poor girl his wife. Ryuji then thinks of his mother and tries not to also think of what it means for her that the son of a bitch is looking for a “new queen.”

He looks at Ann sleeping peacefully and smiles. Ryuji would be lying if he said he didn’t think she was quite pretty. But there was obviously more to her. The fact that she was willing to risk the dangers of the forest said a lot about her. Along with how she was ready to argue with him despite seeing his cursed form.

It isn’t long before Ryuji sees the sun rising. Now would be a good time to search for Ann and Shiho’s things and maybe get some food too. He stands up and walks to the entrance of his home. He takes one more look at the two before transforming into the beast and running into the forest.

Ryuji had failed his mother, the kingdom, and himself but he would not fail these two women.

#Persona 5 #Ryuannweek #Day 2 #Ryuann #Anvil Writings

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lokiarsene · 7 years ago

Text

While researching Japanese orphanages, I came up with a few thoughts regarding Goro Akecho's past that are probable, and a headcanon or two here and there. If anyone has more knowledge with the subject, please feel free to correct me if any of this information is off the mark.

All my sources are listed at the end of the post. If you check any of them, please make it source #8, as that is a video where children in orphanages/foster institutions and the institution workers speak for themselves about their experiences, as well as what it’s like to be a part of Hinatabokko, a support group.

ETA: For clarity’s sake, the age of majority in Japan is 20. Not 18. Not 16. Goro and the PT are not considered legal adults until they are 20.

Also, Goro turns 18 in the game. He’s in his third and final year of high school, which would place him in this age bracket as per how Japanese students are assigned to school year. It is unlikely that he would have skipped grades, as that system doesn’t even exist in Japan:

“In Japan, there is no system for skipping grades during the compulsory education period. A student advances from one grade to the next. After completing their compulsory education, in order to get into a [senior] high school, students are usually required to pass an entrance examination.” (Source)

The “senior high school” bit here just means a high school that runs from first to third year. This is why Futaba has to take an entrance exam if she wants to continue her education past junior high.

We know that Goro approached Shido when he was 15/16--which is around the age some children are forced from their orphanages/foster homes (it ranges from 15~18). I'd go so far as to say that Goro approaching Shido was one of the most bitter pills he probably had to swallow. If he wanted to survive, he had to reach out to the father who had used his mother and abandoned the both of them. His other options would be extremely limited, if not non-existent. Most Japanese orphans and foster children end up unemployed or outright homeless once they're forced out of their homes, or they cycle through low-paying jobs with little hope of stability.

We know that Goro had planned a big elaborate revenge set up on Shido after gaining his trust and working with him, and I think many people, mostly critics of Goro, completely overlook just how many obstacles he had to clear just to get to Shido in the first place. Goro would have had no contacts, no social connections, and no political clout whatsoever that would allow him easy access to his father. I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason why Shido first gave him the time of day was a cruel whim.

Personally? My headcanon is that Wakaba Isshiki's research on Palaces, the Metaverse, and Treasures involved orphans and other such people that would easily be overlooked by society. While it sounds really crass to assume that orphans would be experiment victims, please note that I don't make that statement or offer it as a headcanon lightly. It's something I pieced together based on @jacks-plays-persona5's already existing argument for Wakaba’s research to be shady, as well as information gleaned from my research into Japanese orphans and foster children--that being they have little to no rights, and no one actively or even legally interested in their well-being or protection. What's more, children in these care facilities are often still beholden to their parents or relatives' control, even if they are not caring for the children.

From source #6: A care worker at an institution in Tsukuba said, “In Japan, the interest of the parents is seen as more important than the interests of the child.”

This refers to how children in these systems are often placed there by parents who can no longer care for them, but also refuse to actually legally give them up. Because of this, these children can never be formally adopted as they are still legally within their birth parents' custody.

To bring this back to the Wakaba headcanon: for parents who give up their children due to financial hardship, who's to say that they wouldn't thus be paid to give their children over to this research? There's even an instance of birth parents using their daughter to help mitigate their own financial troubles, such as the case of Kana-chan during Futaba's confidant link. Kana is not an orphan, nor was she placed in foster care, but the abuse and mistreatment she suffered was born from her parents' financial desperation and their callous insistence that Kana's life was theirs to do with as they pleased.

With the above information in mind, and with an in-game example of birth parents mistreating their own daughter for financial gain, I think my headcanon that "thrown away children" were sold for research to help their struggling parents is well within the realm of possibility. I also find it extremely difficult to believe that Wakaba would find willing, voluntary participants in such risky research, especially since it sounds like batshit crazy science on par with the Kirijo group's experiments in Persona 3.

Regardless--us not knowing exactly why Shido gave Goro the time of day is a frustrating oversight on the part of the plot, because by all rights Shido shouldn't have given an absolute shit about Goro unless something about him stood out from the get go. I highly doubt it could have just been Goro saying, “hey I have special powers for you to use.” Goro would have needed something else as a foot in the door before that revelation, or Shido would have already had to assume Goro capable of such a thing. Thus my headcanon that it was Goro's surname that caught Shido’s attention--perhaps Shido recognized it from Wakaba's research data? Or his own memories about Goro's mother?

It’s possible I’m totally overlooking something in canon that Shido says about this, as I haven’t yet gotten up to Shido’s fight in my replay and I have a totally abysmal memory. I’ll come back to this and edit in any information that either refutes or backs up this headcanon.

Now, back to the fruits of my research: Many children in these orphanages receive little to no education on top of spotty care from overworked and underfunded foster caretakers and the qualities of the homes themselves. For Goro to be as intelligent as he is--articulate, quick-witted, talented, and educated enough to work with the police while he's still a teenager--is downright miraculous. It strongly indicates that he desperately dedicated himself to his studies, most likely out of fear of where he'd end up if he wasn't smart enough to succeed. He himself admits he worked so hard so someone would accept and need him, but this doesn't answer how he had the resources to do so--it's very likely he did it all himself, which is another miracle considering that most children in orphanages don't continue past junior high, and they’re raised to do exactly as they are told, with little emphasis on individual decision-making. And even with all this, Goro is in a prestigious private high school in Tokyo. I know this is likely due to Shido's influence, but for Goro to have the knowledge to succeed in that school is still downright staggering.

Also gained from this research is the information that the hierarchy of bullying within Japanese orphanages is a tyranny of its own. Older children often antagonize and bully the younger ones, forcing them to 'stay in line' and listen to what the older children say. There is also very little privacy guaranteed to the children in these care homes--most have to live in very small spaces close together, and have to share bathrooms.

This information provides yet another necessary detail we can safely assign to Goro's background, one that leads nicely (re: heartbreakingly) into his reaction to hearing Ryuji talk about abuse in episode 3 of the anime. As an orphan, Goro would very likely have been a victim of bullying at some point, if not for the majority of, his stay in the facility.

From source #6: Japan’s alternative child care system suffers from overly large institutions where physical space is limited and chances for bonding are scarce; poor physical conditions of facilities; physical and sexual abuse by both caregivers and other children; and insufficient mechanisms for children to report problems.

With this in mind, abuse would very likely be no new thing for Goro at all, nor would it have been something he could easily or even reasonably do anything about. This could and very likely does explain how fervently he clings to his ideal of justice, as he was denied any hope of it for a long time. It also makes his Personas of Robin Hood and Loki all the more fascinating and hurtful: Robin Hood was a champion for the downtrodden and abused. Loki is responsible for the doom of the gods that imprisoned him and massacred his children.

I also don’t want to dismiss the very real damage that Goro would have endured from knowing that his mother committed suicide from the shame of giving birth to him.

To quote from source #8: Takao Inui, Deputy Head at Izumigaoka Gakuin Institution: “Of the 82 children [in the facility], 88% were previously abused. The term “abuse” cannot fully describe the scar they carry in their hearts when they come here.”

My research has also led me to the discovery of an organization called NPO "3keys," which is a fairly recent foundation that strives to help educate and support children in orphanages. When I say recent, I mean it was founded in 2009. If we choose to assume that the developers had this information in mind when writing Goro’s background, he would be in his early tweens at the time of 3keys’ founding, and thus still in an orphanage. It's possible that he was helped by an organization like/inspired by NPO 3keys, and perhaps this is why he's so intelligent and highly educated. But even this is a stretch, because it would assume that 3keys would have (1) had access to whatever orphanage he was living in, and (2) that his orphanage was within Tokyo or Yokohama (where 3keys operates)--as well as (3) that the writers even had this in mind in the first place. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt here and assume yes.

Even if that's what happened, that still doesn't change the likelihood of Goro having been abused and mistreated on top of the already existing neglect and trauma of his mother's suicide, and Shido's obvious disinterest in taking any responsibility. What's more, Goro's knowledge of even how to live in society or function in the world likely would have come at a great mentally and emotionally exhaustive cost.

To quote Kiyomi Moriyama, from source #8: “I have friends now, but when I’m by myself I feel lonely. I can’t get used to being alone. Even now, I still don’t know how to spend time on my own. So I get quite lonely.”

Goro’s public personality of a charming, eloquent young man is thus both more impressive and heartbreaking when you realize he had no one actually caring for him, raising him, or helping him grow up at all. This is knowledge he would have had to learn by careful study and observation, or by imitating someone he idolized (very likely Naoto Shirogane and other idol personalities).

I'm basing this assumption off of this excerpt from source #5:

Masashi cared about his appearance – he wore fashionable, albeit worn, clothes and had styled his hair – but a sense of isolation clung to him.

“A day feels like it never ends,” he said, sighing.

It gradually became clear that, growing up in an institution, Masashi hadn’t acquired the knowledge and life-skills necessary to live independently. Nor had he received the continuing support he needed to re-enter Japanese society.

This is a lot of information to take in, and none of it’s easy or light. I’m honestly crying as I go through these sources, seeing what happens to these children and how painful and lonely it must be. To know that this was the basis of Goro’s backstory only makes what happens in Persona 5 all the more infuriating and hurtful.

If I can try to end on a somewhat positive note here, I would like to put forth the slightly desperate plea that the anime does not fail Goro like the game did, and that the anime gives him some sort of hopeful ending, or at least a path to rehabilitation for a young man treated like a throw away child, a young man who was never given a chance for love or support or happiness until the final months of his life.

... I don’t know how else to end this post, besides to ask those who read it to consider Goro’s character from the context of all this difficulty and loneliness, and to perhaps do what they can with this knowledge and put it forward into some kind of real world effort. And to pass along the link once again to 3keys, as donations are always helpful.

Source: Economist.

Source: Quora

Source: JapanToday

Source: Time

Source: HRW

Source: HRW, 2

Source: HRW, 3 (This is 119-paged report, by the by)

Source: HRW, 4 (This infant care institution is called Futaba, by the by)

Source: JPNinfo

Source: JapanTimes

#this is the ask tag #meta #goro squad

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p5youllneverseeitcoming · 6 years ago

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Can you write a cute Persona 5/Nier Automata one-shot crossover, where Scanner Unit! Reader and her Combat Unit! boyfriend (Akira) are living peacefully at a island village with their friends and their confidents? From the Reader's POV? Please?

Oops, I had forgotten to type this in with my Persona 5/Nier Automata one-shot request earlier: “it takes place in an AU where the post-events after Ending B never happened”. Sorry for any confusion I might have caused you!

It’s okay Anon! Also quick story time: I started writing this ages ago but because I haven’t played NieR Automata in ages I felt as though it was… Lacking? The feeling of that world so long story short just like every writer, I deleted the whole thing and then played through the whole game again (Getting the Platinum trophy UwU) and then I just… Procrastinated for a long time…. And by that I mean I watched all of JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure (T_T Araki hurt me) so… Here we are now!

Key:

F/n - First name

h/l - Hair length

h/c - Hair colour

Persona 5/ NieR Automata Crossover: Scanner! Reader and Combat Unit! Akira living peacefully with friends and confidants

“Akira.” You say, turning your head towards him.

“Mm?” He hums, his covered eyes never leaving his Pod.

“You’re really committed to this aren’t you?”

“Hey, Futaba said that there’s a rare fish in these specific waters and seeing as she’s an Operator Unit I doubt she would’ve lied to me.”

You shake your head lightly, letting out a little laugh.

“No, I mean you’ve been fishing for five hours now! In all honesty it’s quite a nice break from running around and fighting the machine lifeforms but um, there are better things to do… Although, I suppose Mona - chan will be very happy to see these when we get back to the Resistance Camp.” You say eyeing the large pile of fish Akira managed to catch so far.

As soon as you finish your little speech, however, Akira’s Pod gets violently pulled under the surface of the murky water. The two of you watch as the little Pod struggles for a while before triumphantly re-emerging with the biggest fish you have ever seen.

“Catch confirmed.” It states as it holds the wriggling fish in front of Akira.

“Nice work buddy.” Akira says as he gently pats the Pod on the head before turning his face to look at you. “Well, what would you like to do then, F/n?”

“H-Huh? Me?” You say, not really expecting him to suddenly be asking you such a question. He only nods before adjusting his visor.

“Um, well, I’d like to go on that propelling thing again! Um, what was the name of it again?” You say tapping your lips as you try and recall the name.

“A rollercoaster.” Your Pod states as it hovers by your head.

“Yes that’s it!” You say happily as you clap your hands together “Geez, humans had such strange names for things.”

Akira chuckles quietly at this before turning to look at the endless sea of sand.

“The rollercoaster huh? Sure, that sounds like fun… But only if you get there first!”

Before you fully realise what was happening, Akira has already dashed ahead, effortlessly gliding on the sand.

“Wh- Hey! That’s not fair!” You shout after him as you do your best to catch up, this task proving rather difficult due to your heels literally sinking into the sand.

~~~

You’re not entirely sure how, but you somehow managed to make it to the Amusement Park before Akira. You exhale quietly as you run a gloved hand through h/l h/c hair, trying your best to make it look less messy.

“F/n?!” A familiar voice calls out.

You look up to find another Combat Unit, Ryuji, waving happily to you from the stairs.

“Oh, hey hey, what are you doing here?” You ask, your fingers still trying their best to undo the knots in your hair.

“Takin’ Ann on a date.” He says as he makes his way down the stairs, a proud grin on his face.

“Awh, that’s so sweet, where are you taking her?” You ask as you tilt your head in curiosity.

“You know the old shopping mall by the forest? Well, Haru helped me find some things that the humans used to use in the old days, so I thought that we could go on a shopping trip together!”

“A shopping trip?”

“Well, it’s more like a scavenger hunt really but yeah, Ann always talks about how she would love to go shopping just like the humans did so I thought…” He says scratching the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed.

“Awh, you guys make such a cute couple together.” You say as you smile at him.

“Heh, so do you and Akira. He always talks about you when we hang out.”

“He does?” You ask, as you move your hand to let some hair fall in front of your face to hide your blush. You were about to ask him for a bit more details but before you could, you felt someone’s delicate gloved hands squeeze your shoulders.

“F/n!” A cheerful voice greets you as golden ponytails tickle your cheek.

“Hello Ann, it’s nice to see you again.” You reply happily as you watch her step past you towards Ryuji.

“Yes, it’s been a while hasn’t it? You Scanner units are always busy running off to find new unexplored places.”

“Ah, well, it’s just interesting to find data on the old world don’t you think?”

“Haha, yes but you still need some time to relax you know?” She says as she wraps her arms around Ryuji.

“Well, that’s what I’m doing right now actually, Akira promised that we can go on the rollercoaster!” You say excitedly.

“Really?” She asks with a giggle, “Well, I hope you two have fun! We should probably get going anyway, Ryuji said he has a surprise for me!”

You simply nod as you wave and watch the two of them walk off, hand in hand. For some reason Akira still isn’t here, you briefly ponder what could possibly have happened for him to take this long but soon enough you become distracted by the Amusement Park before you. As usual, the little robots dance in their colourful outfits throwing confetti and balloons all over the place, the sound of cheerful music keeping them company. You never really figured out why they behave in such an unusual way which irritated you slightly due to being a Scanner model. You spent countless hours observing them, writing down each thing that seemed more… Human than machine. You were always told that machine lifeforms couldn’t feel any emotions yet each time one of them saw another one, they would happily wave at each other and say things like ‘fun!’ or ‘let’s celebrate’.

“You always mutter things when you think too much.”

“Ahhh!” You scream as you quickly turn around, blade in your hand, only to find Akira casually adjusting his gloves. You let out a shaky sigh before putting your blade back “P-Please don’t scare me like that again… Ah, hey, what took you so long to get here anyway?!”

“Hm? Oh, well I ran into Emil on my way here,” he begins as he takes a few steps forward until he’s mere inches away from you “I remembered he wanted us to do something for him so I went on a little detour and…”

You watch as he takes out a beautiful white flower, which emits a soft golden glow, from his pocket before carefully putting it in your hair.

“Isn’t that… A Lunar Tear?”

“It sure is, a beautiful flower for the most beautiful android.” He says with a gentle smile.

“You have to stop doing that… You compliment me way too much.” You mutter quietly.

“Can you blame me?” He replies, the gentle smile being replaced with his signature smirk. You really wanted to reply with some smart snarky comment but for some reason you couldn’t think of one so instead you chose to hide your face in your hands.

“Can we please just go on the rollercoaster already?” You say, voice muffled by your hands.

“Of course, we’ll go on it however much you like.” He says as he gently pulls your hands from your face and then intertwines your fingers with his own.

#persona 5 #p5 #persona 5 imagines #p5 imagines #nier automata #nier automata crossover #akira kurusu #kurusu akira #futaba sakura #sakura futaba #ryuji sakamoto #sakamoto ryuji #morgana #mona #ann takamaki #takamaki ann #haru okumura #okumura haru

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books-and-dragons · 7 years ago

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Congratulations on 400 followers! If you're still open to taking prompts, I got an AkiRyu idea in my head of Ryuji sending Akira text messages and voicemails while he's in prison after Christmas, just like general things of how things are going with him and the rest of the gang and of course telling him how much he misses him. Don't feel obligated but I thought I'd give it out!

THANK YOU!! And g o d when I read this prompt I fell in love with it, I am really sorry if it reads disconnected or anything along those lines at all…..this was such a good prompt and wow thank you for sending it to me!

Fandom: Persona 5Summary: Maybe, if he rang Akira’s number, he could pretend that it was all okay….that Akira could hear him, listen to him from Juvie. That he’d respond with snarky comments and carefully calculated plans to escape. Instead, he gets the same message every time.

‘You person you are calling is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone’

The attic of Leblanc was empty, the only sign someone had been living there the odd trinkets lying around the room. Bedsheets folded neatly at the end of a bed, all properties orderly and clean. Crafting tools hidden away.

The one thing lying out of place was a phone, plugged in to the wall, abandoned.

Accidentally left on sound.

The first time it rang was just a matter of hours after the phone’s owner had left, gentle chiming breaking through the silence of the attic, past the loud outcries and sobs from downstairs.

“Hey, Akira? This is just some stupid prank, isn’t it- well you can stop it now! Come on dude it’s Christmas- let up the jokes for one day. We’re all waiting on ya- well, I am- but you’ve really convinced the others, they’re cryin’ and all. Talk about a harsh prank dude. Just get back here already, we’re waiting with your presents!”

The next time the phone rang, the voice on the other end wasn’t so cheerful.

“….Boss wasn’t joking, was he?…. DAMN IT! Why the HELL do you always have to turn yourself in?! Who gave you the right to decide what was right for the entire team?! We’ve just killed a God and now you’re leaving? To make some shitty police officers happy, are you kidding me?! Why do you ALWAYS have to do things on your own- did you ever even think to talk to us about it. Hell I was with you last night- what do you not trust me?! Is that was it is?! I-“

Another voice interrupted. Higher pitched, more feminine,

“Ryuji? RYUJI! Come on hang up-”

“No, Ann, get off!”

Something thudded to the ground, there was a flurry of rustling. The sounds of a struggle, a fight.

“Can’t you see we’re all upset-”

The line was cut off.

“A-Akira? S-sorry for the call earlier….I-I guess I got a bit worked up, huh?….Geez…”

A shuddering breath.

“Dude, this is my third call today….your voicemail’s gonna get totally packed….when’re you even gonna get to listen to them….”

A sniffle.

“Talk about a shit Christmas. We could barely focus, nobody was really in the mood for celebratin’….”

He took a deep breath, when he spoke again his voice was thick with emotion.

“Why did you have to go?”

“Hey….it’s me. Again. We held a meeting today, it’s not the same without you at the head of the table. Makoto keeps stopping to hear your confirmation but-” Another deep breath, “But you weren’t there. Between you and Morgana….the thieves feels empty.”

“We’re gonna get you out of there. Even if I’ve gotta do it myself.”

“Futaba asked me to go talk to her today, we met at Leblanc for coffee and curry. I think Boss has been hiding how much he misses you, today when he was serving us he went to tell you it’s your turn on dishes-”

There was a pause.

“He didn’t say much after that, but apparently he’d been all ‘mopey’ too- Futaba mentioned adoption. I dunno if it was a joke or not, but I think he should. And not just because that would mean you’d stay with us- with me- once you’re back. I mean…there’s still your parents, but you don’t mention them at all. I know we already talked about this, but I mentioned it to Ma and….well….dude, do they even know what’s happened to you?”

“Anyway, Futaba’s apparently been going through your phone and she saw all my voicemails. I thought she was gonna laugh at me, but she just wanted to talk it over, she reckons it’s a good idea, and promised she wouldn’t mention it to anyone else.”

“She’s called for another thieves meeting tomorrow, apparently it’s about what she found on your phone. But you know Futaba, she’ll not say anythin’ just to watch us suffer…..I’ll call back tomorrow and tell you what she says.”

“We’re getting you out.”

Unhesitating, the words rushed out in a flurry of excitement.

“Futaba found the contacts of all those friends of yours on ya phone, and we’re gonna try recruiting them to help out! By the way dude, just how many people do you know?! An effin’ fortune teller? Really?”

The laughter was light, relaxed, a tone completely contrasting from past calls.

“Apparently Makoto wants ‘words’ about that guy from Untouchable, but I dunno why she was so surprised. Maybe it was when Futaba mentioned he probably had been in the Yakuza- by the way, if that’s true, you gotta tell me everything!…Right after I kick your ass for associating with the Yakuza to start with.”

“We’re all meeting up tomorrow to make an actual plan.”

There was a long pause.

A deep breath.

“It’s New Years tomorrow.”

When the voice returned, it was back to the heavy, emotive tone the voicemail system had been receiving so frequently

“It’s New Years and you’re stuck in a jail cell. Cold and alone. It’s complete BULLSHIT!”

Something clattered in the background.

“We were supposed to spend New Years together! Share one of those stupid kisses that all couples do for the new year, and you’d get all blushy about it because you’re such a sap for romance, and we’d be together and happy and for FUCK SAKE IT ISN’T FAIR!”

Choked sobs broke him off, before the message was promptly cut.

In the pitch-black of the Leblanc attic, the screen of a phone broke through the darkness, chiming ringtone cutting through the silence.

A minute passed, and the alert of a voicemail pinged.

“Happy New Years, Akira!”

The voice, initially cheerful, fell flat. Dull and tired.

“….I miss you. It was worse, being in Shibuya, watching all the other couples kiss with the New Year, knowin’ you’re not there. Knowin’ that your miles away, locked awa-”

The voice hitched. A deep breath.

“No. I’m not going there again. Our plan! Let’s focus on the plan….” Another heavy sigh, before his voice lightened, “We’re all goin’ to track down and talk to your ‘friends’, try persuade them to campaign for your release. Hell it’s you, as if they’re gonna say no. How can anyone say no to you….”

In the background, cheers of merriment echoed.

“I swear Akira, we’re going to get you out of there.”

“It took us a few days- but we found everyone! And they agreed to help! Dude, this is great!”

A light chuckle and whooping cheer of victory.

“I dunno what stuff you’ve been up to, but they all claimed they were in your debt- you’re incredible, ya know that? You’re finally gonna get outta that hell hole!”

…

“Hey….Makoto mentioned something today, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it….the police, they’re treatin’ you okay, right? I-I mean, last time they had you-”

A hitch of breath, ragged breathing,

“I-I can’t take that again Akira, I can’t. Every time I think about it all I see is you, all bruised and brok-broken-”

A cry,

“This is all my fault. I shoulda stayed with you that night, stopped you goin’ the next mornin’. I knew somethin’ was wrong and I said nothing- godDAMMIT!”

A dull thud cut through the sobs, as if something had just been kicked.

“Some shitty boyfriend I am, can’t even protect you from this. How useless.”

There was a soft flump, as if the speaker had taken a seat.

“I miss you. Shit Akira I miss you so much. Nothing’s the same here with you gone. Shujin’s so much more quiet, sure there’s Ann and Makoto and Haru, but it’s not the same. I never know what to do with myself, I can’t go the the gym because we always train there together, the Arcade is too empty without you there….I forgot how alone I was until I had you, and now I don’t know what to do without you.”

More sniffles, a muffled whimper,

“I’ll get you back Akira. I promise.”

The January chill was only broken by the sun breaking through the windowpanes of Leblanc’s attic, the cold being of little deterrence to the functionality of the phone on the workbench, as it began to ring again.

“Hey man, you wouldn’t believe the gossip at Shujin right now. Apparently, word got out about you bein’ in juvie, and at the same time as people started hearing that you were testiyin’ against Shido. Those rumours started last week, but it’s gotten worse…..everyone’s pretty much convinced you’re leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

Briefly, there was a jingle, as if something were being fidgeted with.

“It got outta hand before we could do anything about it. Besides, since those rumours people are lookin’ at us even more weird than usual- it’s kinda creepy. At least you don’t have to be dealin’ with that right now…. Makoto says it’s only a matter of time before someone asks us about it though. Geez can’t people mind their own business….”

A loud bell chimed, deafening even across the phone.

“Well, that’s the end of classes. I said I’d meet Ann, we’re gonna go check up on the progress with that weird doctor round the corner from Leblanc. By the way, we’ve gotta talk about that when you get back, doing shady ‘clinical trials’…. what the hell man….”

“It’s been a week since I left you a message….sorry about that man. Everything’s been so busy, plannin’ the whole campaign and shit to get you outta juvie, never had time to make a call….but it’s all worth it, because once that journalist finishes her article, the campaign will be finished! All those friends of yours really pulled through. Hell, you’re all buddy buddy with a politician?! Dude!”

“I can’t believe it’s nearly over.” They sighed, “We’ve been working to this for weeks. Once Sae hands over the case file, there’s no way the judge won’t overturn your arrest! She doesn’t know much about what they’ll do with the whole ‘record’ thing, but still….”

“I can’t wait to have you back.”

The attic of Leblanc was spotless, polished and dusted surfaces, fresh linen sheets over the bed in the far corner of the room, ordered stack of ‘borrowed’ DVDs on the side. Various trinkets reflected the light from the sun streaming in through the windows.

All ready for the return of its inhabitant.

The only current occupant of the room grinned around at it, slumping onto the worn sofa as he dug out his phone, one hand tapping onto the phone number was was all too familiar, the other running through his bleached locks, fingers lightly tugging at strands as he hit the green call button.

Ironic, he couldn’t help but think, as the phone rang just feet from him, that default pinging sound Akira seemed to use for all his alerts. He let it ring.

Eventually, he was sent to voicemail.

“Well dude, today’s the day! You’re gettin’ outta juvie!” Ryuji grinned, “Everyone went all out, we’re gonna surprise you when you get here- Boss is already on his way. He’s gonna be hours early but when Futaba pointed that out he didn’t really seem to care. The sooner you get your ass back the better, if ya askin’ me!”

Ryuji played with a loose hem on the sofa, “It’s just gonna be the thieves, and I mean don’t get me wrong I love those guys but….is it selfish for me to wish they weren’t coming over? That it was just you and me?”

He sighed, pulling at the thread, “I haven’t seen you in nearly 2 months, all I wanna do is pull you close, and spend all night cuddlin’ and holdin’ you under the blankets, make up for all them days we lost while you’ve been gone…but no. I have to share. I’m your effin’ boyfriend, don’t that mean I get boyfriend privileges? Like the privilege to kick our friends outta Leblanc?”

Ryuji dropped the thread, a soft smile on his face.

“Suppose if you were here you’d tell me to be patient right? Well, I’m done being patient! When you get here, I ain’t lettin’ you go! Screw anyone else feelin’ uncomfortable or shit!”

It was at that moment that a chime rang throughout the cafe, and Ryuji groaned.

“Bet that’s Yusuke, why the dude always turns up early I dunno…..”

Slowly, one thumb ran over the back of his phone.

“I suppose I oughta go say hi, right? Fine. But only cos I know next time I talk to you, it’ll mean I can hold you, you’ll be here, with me, back where you belong…..and I ain’t ever letting you go again.”

#persona 5 #IM SO SORRY THIS FILL TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG #fic #ryuji sakamoto #pegoryu #I LOVE THIS PROMPT but it made me f e e l things #i wrote this instead of sleeping and no that aint a joke #no regrets tho #akiryu #fics #my fics

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scaberix · 7 years ago

Text

Effort’s Origin ─ Momotarou Onzai SSR

Momotarou has been chosen to be the one to talk to a professional chocolatier during the event “Eden du Chocolat”; he’s done his researches, but somehow something seems to still be missing.

Tsubasa: Good morning. I received the sample magazine with the photo shoot you did the other day. I’ll hand them over.

Tatsuhiro: It’s with those who shot for the Valentine’s special edition.

Momotarou: Let me see... Oh, the photos have been taken well.

Hikaru: That shoot was reaaally fun~! I tasted chocolate fondue for the first time!

Kazuna: Fufu, even after the shoot was over, you ate it, Hikaru.

Hikaru: Well~ it was so good.

Momotarou: Indeed, I also tried hot chocolate for the first time and it was more delicious than I imagined.

Mikado: If that's the case, let's make it at home next time! It'll be my Valentine's day chocolate gift for you, Momotasu! ♪

Hikaru: Uwahh.....

Mikado: Hey, Hikarun, what's that? Hot chocolate is the perfect drink to relieve a tired body! Mikado: And, overseas, on Valentine's day you don’t exclusively gift people of the opposite sex!

Momotarou: Is that so?

Mikado: To those who take care of you every day; seems like there are many cases for giving out tokens of appreciation.

Hikaru: Eeeh! I see!

Mikado: Besides, it’s mainstream for men to give gifts to women.

Momotarou: I see. It might become a story for this upcoming event.

Tatsuhiro: You mean, “Eden du Chocolat”?

Momotarou: Yeah. Besides the live, there’ll be a talk.

Mikado: To be able to appear on the biggest chocolate event nowadays, I’m so jealous.

Kazuna: They’ll also let us sing the theme song of the event, so I'm psyched up.

Tsubasa: The lessons will start next week, so I guess you two will be busy, but I’ll be in your care.

Kazuna: Yeah. We’ll also be in your care, Sumisora-san.

Mikado: If necessary, I’ll bring you a snack.

Hikaru: Sounds nice~! Ah! Pizza, I beg you!

Tatsuhiro: Oi, you’re not going to play around.

Kazuna: Fufu, thank you everyone.

Momotarou: You’re a big help.

Tsubasa: Masunaga-san and Momo-kun feel enough motivated. I will also have to work hard!

___________

Momotarou: Leader, how about we take a break?

Kazuna: Yeah, let’s. It won’t be good if we push ourselves.

Yuuta: Ah! It’s Tsubasa-chan!

Tsubasa: Good work, everyone! Is your dance lesson for Eden du Chocolat going well?

Ryuji: It’s coming together. But rest assured it’ll be perfect by the time of the actual thing.

Tsubasa: I’ll look forward to that. This, I brought you some snack, help yourselves.

Yuuta: Thank youuuuuu~! Woah, pudding! Which one would you like, Ryu-chan?

Ryuji: Mmh, maybe I’ll go for the strawberry one.

Tsubasa: Sorry, Momo-kun. Can I have a bit of your time?

Momotarou: Yeah, sure.

Tsubasa: It’s been decided that Momo-kun will have a talk with one of the chocolatiers displaying at the “Eden du Chocolat”.

Kazuna: You mean, as a part of the promotion for “Eden du Chocolat“?

Tsubasa: Yes, it’s like that. I’d like to ask you to do it, Momo-kun, by all means.

Ryuji: Eeh, aren’t you a lucky one.

Momotarou: Yeah, thanks.

Yuuta: By chocolatier, you mean the person who makes chocolate?

Momotarou: That’s right. Pastry chefs specializing in chocolates.

Kazuna: It’s a profession that you usually don’t get involved with, after all, seems like we’ll be able to hear interesting stories.

Yuuta: I wonder if they’ll show us how to make delicious chocolate!

Ryuji: Yuuta, even if they show you, you won’t make it in the same way.

Yuuta: Ehh, really? Momo-chin’s cooking is quite good, so if he learns the recipe, I tought he’d make some for us~

Momotarou: Still, I want to try and use this opportunity to make delicious chocolate.

Kazuna: Do your best with the talk.

Momotarou: Yeah.

___________

Tsubasa: Sorry, the recording has been delayed. It’ll take about 30 minutes to start.

Momotarou: Understood.

Mikado: It’s okay, we don’t have much to do after this.

Tsubasa: Thank you.

Momotarou: ....

Tsubasa: It feels like Momo-kun is especially looking at his phone today. Tsubasa: What is it that you’re looking at so eagerly?

Momotarou: An interview article about the chocolatier we’re going to talk to.

Mikado: Momotasu recently has been looking into everything about this chocolatier.

Tsubasa: Is that so?

Momotarou: I wanted to know about the other party before the interview.

Mikado: An idol and a chocolatier... At first glance, there's absolutely no contact point.

Momotarou: Yeah. I roughly have a grasp on his interview articles and background, so what’s left is... Momotarou: ....

Tsubasa: What is it?

Momotarou: Tsubasa, once the recording is over, can we stop by somewhere?

Tsubasa: Yes. hat's absolutely fine...

Mikado: All things considered, Momotasu is very eager in his studies.

Tsubasa: That’s true. I had no idea that he would go all the way to the shop of that chocolatier.

Momotarou: I wanted to eat what he made before the talk.

Mikado: As expected from you, Momotasu! I’ll also have to take you as an example.

Tsubasa: Fufu, I think you two are already working hard enough. ... Ah, the shop we were talking about, it’s in this in this area.

Mikado: Oh, you can see a great queue over there.

Momotaru: That’s the shop of a chocolatier for you.

Mikado: Heavens! This chocolatier seems to be more popular than we thought.

Tsubasa: Yes. With a crowd like that, it might be better to refrain from buying now.

Momotarou: But......

Mikado: If they find us, we’ll get into trouble and it may cause inconvenience to the shop.

Momotarou: Right....

Tsubasa: Then, let’s go back to the car.

Momotarou: ... Tsubasa, wait a moment. Momotarou: ....

Tsubasa: What’s up with Momo-kun watching the people lined up in the shop...

Momotarou: ... I see.

Mikado: Something’s up?

Momotarou: No... I'm sorry to have kept you both.

Tsubasa: No, it’s okay. Tsubasa: Don’t tell me, has he understood something?

___________

Tsubasa: The talk with the chocolatier is proceeding in a nice atmosphere. Tsubasa: A well prepared outcome.

Momotarou: So, why did you aim to be a chocolatier?

Chocolatier: Let’s see... I felt the charm of chocolate that makes people smile with just one drop. Chocolatier: Chocolate is the ensemble of all the skills and sense of taste of a craftsman. Chocolatier: It took me quite a while to make one I could be satisfied of.

Momotarou: I believe there were things you couldn’t come up with, but was there something that made you keep going after repeated trials and errors?

Chocolatier: There was. When making it, I only thought how much I wanted to make those who’d eat it smile. Chocolatier: For that reason I do my best!

Momotarou: I see. Momotarou: Actually, I went to the shop the other day. I couldn’t buy anything because of the big line. Momotarou: Everyone was lining up happily. I understand quite well how your chocolate grabbed your customers' hearts.

Chocolatier: I am quite embarrased.

Momotarou: Me too, as an idol, struggle a lot. Momotarou: But, if I think about my fans’ smiles before me, my strength goes up. I can understand that feeling well.

Chocolatier: After all, there is nothing better than that. Let's make "Eden du Chocolat” successful together!

Momotarou: Yes....! It was nice to talk with you today.

Tsubasa: I see. Momo-kun was watching the customers’ expressions that time.

___________

Tsubasa: It was totally a nice talk!

Momotarou: Yeah, I was able to hear an interesting story.

Tsubasa: It seemed pleasing that the chocolatier was happy to talk to you Momo-kun. Tsubasa: Surely, it was because Momo-kun had prepared well in advance.

Momotarou: I’m glad that what I looked up was useful. Momotarou: Besides, I’m happy he felt the same way about wanting to make someone smile. Momotarou: Even though they are different professions, there are things in common as well.

Tsubasa: That’s true.

Momotarou: ... I’m glad I gave this talk a try. I feel that my desire to make “Eden du Chocolat” succeed became even stronger.

Tsubasa: I’m glad to hear that. I’ll also support you to the fullest!

Momotarou: Yes, please. Momotarou: Speaking of which, Mika said that on Valentine’s day men give gifts to girls, right?

Tsubasa: Apparently, that’s common overseas.

Momotarou: I can't give chocolate to those who come to "Eden du Chocolat”, but... Momotarou: I want to deliver a performance that makes those who see the stage smile. Momotarou: Because there are people watching us, we can stand on the stage. Momotarou: It’s pretty obvious, but it made me think about it again.

Tsubasa: That's very lovely.

Momotarou: And, I’ll make you smile as well, Tsubasa.

Tsubasa: Eh-?

Momotarou: You’re always the closest person to believe in me. You’re important to me.

Tsubasa: Momo-kun...

Momotarou: I’ll feel calm if Tsubasa greets me with a smile after the stage is over. Momotarou: You made me think that there’s no mistake in what I’ve been doing.

Tsubasa: Thank you. It means a lot to me to hear that from you.

Momotarou: The day of the stage, watch closely.

Tsubasa: Will do!

#bpro #B-Project #B-Project Muteki Dangerous #onzai momotarou #Momotaro Onzai #translation #i'm late to the valentine party but enjoy lmao

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velvetroom--imagines · 8 years ago

Note

Ryuji, Akira, Minato and Yu's headcanons when they see their crush's awakening their personas and wanting to become one of them. How would they treat them in the Metaverse? Maybe Small scenes of confessions when crush is hurt, because they're so worried? Thank you <3

Ahh, this are the type of asks I really like, especially if it interferes or has something to do with the plot. Thank you! I wasn’t sure about Minato and Yu’s since they were from a different game, so I will be writing it in their own dungeons like the ‘TV World’ or ‘Tartarus’.

“Let me Join You.”

Akira Kurusu

It was accidental. You weren’t supposed to be here, he thought. If there was anything Akira was afraid of, it would be the fact that his specific other had strolled into the deep into Mementos, alone. In all honesty, he hadn’t noticed your presence until Futaba noted that she felt a faint unrecognizable energy in one of the floors.

Prior to your awakening, Akira had already established a Confidant with you. You were a student, someone who only watched as things fell apart. Bystander was the word, but it wasn’t that you refused to do anything. It’s just that no matter what you did, no one would listen.

It was then when one day, you wanted to talk to Akira when they had suddenly opened an app and warped the whole world. To your surprise, you had found yourself in the Metaverse. Quietly, you trailed after the ‘Bus’ but had gotten lost along the way.

May God know how you managed to escape from the Shadows. You ran from the monsters for a time until you took a wrong turn and trapped yourself in a dead end. Luckily, from the corner of your eye, someone had come to your rescue.

The Phantom Thieves, right before your very eyes. Covering you, they didn’t let you in the sight of the enemy. Again, like always, you were just watching without being able to do anything. It wasn’t until you watched as the Shadow knocked everyone down, leaving Akira on his knees.

“A-Akira!” You squaked, scrambling onto your feet. What could you do? Was there anything… you can do? Suddenly, you feel a pounding to your head, a voice echoing out to you.

“Finally, you’ve come to your senses and have broken out of little cage. I’m disappointed that it had taken this long.” Writhing on the floor, you felt a searing pain take place on your eyes. You felt blinded, and the urge to remove it was pulsing.

“Come now, let’s give them what they deserve! I am thou, thou art I…” Desperate, your hands made their way up to your mask, gripping the sides before ripping it off, the scent of iron hitting your nose. “Now, what do you plan to do?”

“No. I won’t stand and watch anymore.” You hissed, gripping the weapon given to you. You stood, adrenaline pumping through your veins. You smiled at the Phantom Thieves, ecstatic. “Come, let’s finish them!”

Once the battle had come to a finish thanks to your new abilities, the Phantom Thieves approached you. Akira came into view, glancing at your wounds with concern. “S/O, are you alright?”

He had that soft spot foryou, and seeing those scars made him wince. He didn’t hesitate to take off his gloves to brush his hands along them, checking how severe they were. “Next time, don’t enter places that look shady.”

Shaking your head, you smiled at him. “It’s okay. I actually want to continue entering shady places if it’s for the greater good.” Akira would always be captivated by how sweet and compassionate you are, why would he deny your request?

Akira smirked at you, holding out his hand for you to take. “Consider yourself a Phantom Thief, my dear.” A confession wasn’t even needed at this point, really. He’d flirt his way into your heart until it becomes clear that he isn’t going to stop.

Battles are actually very convenient. At moments when he asks you steal something or whenever you jump to avoid enemy attacks, Akira would always catch you. Literally, most times, you fall right into his arms. He’d smirk, unwilling to let you go. “I think you belong here. Don’t worry, you can pay the rent through kisses.”

Whenever you get wounded, Akira would always place himself in front of you. His cheeky demeanor would fall whenever your life is as stake. If you get seriously damaged, he won’t show mercy to the Shadows that hurt you then tend to your every beck and call.

Expect Akira to drag you into Mementos for ‘training sessions’. Sometimes they get heated after battles. Imagine Akira taking your hand and attempt to seduce you out of the heat of passion. “If you beat the next one by yourself, your efforts will be rewarded.”

Rewarded? Pfft, he ends up taking you for a Mega-Burger Challenge. Gotta get your stats up after all.

Bonus; There was a time when Akira accidentally dismissed an ability your Persona had, and now he desperately needed it. You were awfully confused when he had taken you to Church.

“Akira, why are you asking me to confess my sins?”

“You can kneel before me later. Please do a confession. I really need that Salvation move.”

Ryuji Sakomoto

Ryuji was horrified once he discovered that you, out of all people, had been following the Thieves into Madarame’s Palace. Ever since the two of you had met, he has had this urge to protect you.

Geez, this guy isn’t willing to even let someone lay a finger on you. You were always quiet and lenient towards Kamoshida’s advances. While Ryuji would bark at the man, you couldn’t avoid the harassment. Your silence and submissive decisions made it clear that you couldn’t stand up for youself.

One of the reasons he wanted to destroy Kamoshida so badly was to protect you. When you displayed your surprise when Kamoshida turned himself in, your friend simply grinned victoriously. You knew something was up, and Ryuji was involved.

For the past days, Ryuji was nowhere to be seen. You’ve heard whispers that he has been sen at an Art Museum, but as far as you knew, Ryuji would’ve left the place since it felt too boring. Eventually, you decided to follow him, trailing him to the house of Madarame.

You weren’t too surprised when you found out they were the Phantom Thieves. Curiosity got the better of you, leading you to watch from afar. It wasn’t until you got lost, and found yourself curled against an artifact.

Suddenly you felt a chill run down your back, noticing a dark figure standing behind you. You desperately didn’t want to look behind you, but you ended up doing so.

Ryuji always recognized that scream. It was too familiar, and it was certain it belonged to you. On instinct, he ran off and followed the sound. That was when he had found you backed against a wall, a Shadow looming over you with dark intentions.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” He yelled, immediately catching the shadow’s attention. Grinning darkly, it’s attention diverted towards the Phantom Thieves, bigger lives aching to be destroyed.

“S/O! Stay back!” Ryuji yelled, unable to notice that the Shadow was inches away from attacking him. Before you can yell out a warning, it was already too late. Before you knew it, the Phantom Thieves were struggling and low on health.

It won’t be long until they are defeated.

“Is this how it will end?” A voice echoed within you, sending painful tremors through your head. Clutching your hair, you collapsed onto your knees. “Are you going to simply watch them fall apart? You can do better than that, don’t you think?”

Ryuji watched as you thrashed around in your position, fearful for your safety. Drool spilled from your lips, foaming out. “Mercy? Don’t be foolish. Being nice will never get you anywhere in life, dear. Let’s seal the deal, right here, right now. I am thou, thou art I...”

It all flashed before your eyes. You were always being protected, always being shielded against others. Never had you fought back, and it was always Ryuji who took the blow for you. Not anymore, not this time. “That’s right! Wreak havoc upon your foes! Destroy them!”

Weapon in hand, you grinned widely at the Shadow. “Thank you, Ryuji. You have always protected me from the dangers of this world.” You looked at your friend, smiling gently. “Let me return the favor.”

Ryuji was frozen in awe, too lovestruck to even protest. He watches as you land a blow on the Shadow, amazed by how powerful you can be when agitated. Getting up himself, he runs to your side with a matching smile. “Come on, S/O! Let’s finish this!”

At the end of the battle, he finally approaches you with an upset expression. “S/O, be careful next time. If we didn’t find you, who knows what could’ve happened to you...” Without any hesitation, he takes your hand.

“I really don’t wanna lose you, you’re everything to me.” His eyes widened in realization, only registering the words that flew out of his mouth. A faint blush glazed over your cheeks.

“Is this your way of saying you love me?” You asked, noticing the matching red shade on Ryuji’s face. He groans, already foreseeing his rejection. “Yeah, but it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way--”

His words were cut off by a swift kiss to the cheek. Frozen in his spot, he blinks in confusion. You laugh softly before jumping onto his back, burying your head into his neck. “Thank you for protecting me, my knight.”

In battle, rather than protecting you, he tries to fight alongside you instead. He tries to sync his movements along yours, both creating flashy attacks. You would attack first, then suddenly he runs straight into the Shadow from behind to give it the final blow.

Just be careful when you get struck down, Ryuji will show no mercy. If you’re still hurt, he won’t mind carrying you until the next safe room. Even in the Metaverse, he’s still the sweet guy we all know and love.

Yu Narukami

It was another night, and Yu already had a feeling about his next target. It was a bit too obvious when a familiar face appeared on TV, questioned about the mysterious Inaba Murders. He felt sick to his stomach, hoping that it wouldn’t be you and your appearance on the news was just a coincidence.

When the TV turned on, Yu couldn’t help but blush at the sight. You were dressed in an exposing white attire, pure. Behind your figure was a brightly colorful background of endless artifacts and paintings.

“Hello dear viewers! Today’s program is the pre-showcase of this painfully bright museum! Gah, it disgusts me how much color this around.” Posing inappropriately, you smiled at the camera. “We can’t have that. I’m supposed to be the Number 1 Artifact there is! My name is S/O, and you shall witness me tear down these walls into a pure white shade!”

Yu furrowed his brows with confusion. Were you planning to repaint the whole museum white? Grinning mischeviously, you leaned in closer towards the camera. “Once we are finished, you shall witness this Museum’s greatest and only exhibit. Of course, it won’t be ready until I get rid of everything else! Until next time!” The screen fades out as your Shadow takes out a bat, smashing a colorful vase.

Yu was very flustered during the meeting the next day. “No questions, we’re going into the TV World today.” “Yu, aren’t you being a little too worked up?”

He wastes no time working through your dungeon. It was a colorful museum with paintings and artifacts scattered and torn apart. The rooms were covered with white paint, attempts to cover up it’s vibrant and eye catching wallpaper. It was a hunch, but Yu suspected that your Shadow was a manifestation of a desire to feel special.

His conclusion was right once he made it to the final floor. It was an art studio, and your Shadow stood before you. Paint was ready, scattered and thrown along the floor. “No! This isn’t right. It must be beautiful– I must be beautiful!”

Yu’s heart hardened at the sight of you on the floor, teary-eyed and angry at your counterpart. “Please, stop it!” You cried out, refusing to look at your own reflection.

“Oh please. Do you really think I’m happy with out plain I look?” Your Shadow asked in a dark tone before chuckling. “My friends are so colorful. They’re so smart, so pretty, so… eye catching.” Rolling it’s eyes, your Shadow snorted. “Then there’s me, little boring me. I tried everything, you know. I joined clubs, studied hard and all, but did I get any praise? No!”

Disgust flashed over your Shadow’s face, glaring at it’s human counterpart. “I’m so sick of it. I’m sick and tired of being average! All the crap about everyone being special, lies! It’s all lies!”

“N-No… You’re not me.” You said in a hoarse whisper, collapsing in defeat as your Shadow grinned widely, warping into an unrecognizable form. Yu gripped his blade tightly, ready to summon his persona.

“I am the Shadow, the True Self! Come, let us paint this lonely canvas with your demise!”

Yu found it hard to fight your Shadow. It made him feel terrible to know that the one he held feelings for would have such a distorted view. Yet, this only gives him a better motivation to fight, to free you from your sadness.

Once your Shadow had been defeated, you sighed and got up on your feet. “Disgusting, isn’t it? You probably dislike me now for that side of me.” To your surprise, Yu shakes his head in disagreement. “Even with your flaws, you’re still the same person I fell in love with.”

Glancing at your shadow, you nodded in acceptance. It faded into air, giving you a glimpse of a figure you would soon call your Persona.

Just before collapsing from exhaustion, a faint smile rose upon your lips. “Thank you, Yu.” Even your tiredness couldn’t hide away the pink shade of your cheeks.

Once you had become accustomed to the Investigation, nothing really changes in battle. Every now and then, Yu would try to catch you off guard in battle by sending small flirtatious comments your way. It grosses the team out, but it always found a way to make you smile.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind if you were feisty when we are alone–”

“EWW, SAVE IT FOR THE BEDROOM!” -Yosuke Hanamura

Minato Arisato

Minato was always certain to make sure you didn’t catch onto his late night missions. Everytime you asked to stay overnight, he tried to make sure it doesn’t interfere with his little visits to Tartarus. He would always send you home, no questions asked.

He always did appear stone cold in front of his teammates, at least until he heard a piercing scream in Tartarus. It was very familiar to his ears, causing his never-changing expression to falter in terror. Running past the hallways, he finally made it to a corner where a Shadow stood threateningly. Behind it was a small figure curled against the wall, eyes filled with fright.

“S/O?!” Beckoning his team over, he calmly charged for battle. Unluckily for him, this specific monster managed to land critical hits on the team. Minato fell onto his butt, groaning in discomfort. His evoker had been thrown against the wall from impact, as the shadow approached him with interest.

“S/O… run.” He whispered, praying that Fuuka had already contacted backup. You weren’t moving away, instead taking the gun in a shaky grip. His eyes narrow with seriousness. “S/O, just get out of here!”

You ignored his desperate pleas. Placing the gun to your head, your eyes remained fixed on Minato who lay helpless on the floor. At that moment, you knew what you had to do. Even if it means to meet Death itself, you were willing to throw it all away to save him.

“Persona!”

His vision was blurry, but he could already make out the small figure from your back. Grinning madly, you gestured your hand forward towards the shadow that stood menacingly before the boy. “Megidolaon!” You cried out, a shining light eradicating your enemies.

Minato was astounded once he figured out that you had the potential. Once he gets back up on his feet, he immediately grabs your wrist. Was he angry? Furious? Scared? Who knew? Minato couldn’t bring himself to yell or scold you for doing something so risky. Hissing to himself, he lets go of you. “Let’s go back to base for now.”

After that encounter, Minato quietly protested against you joining SEES. To fight against shadows, one must accept the possibility of dying. He certainly did not want you to fall to such a fate. However, after multiple meetings, Mitsuru welcomed you to the team with open arms.

For the first few missions with you, Minato becomes a bit too protective. He’s the Battle Leader, isn’t he? He would mostly leave you out of battles until you start to persist him to do so. To avoid any disputes with Mitsuru or Yukari, he gives in.

Even in battle, he is still hesitant to let you fight. Minato was mature enough to let you fight on your own accord, but was always pulling back at the slightest hint of danger. He would always cast Diarama whenever you were hurt, just to keep your safe.

Due to the fact that he is responsible for your life, he ceases all his plans on asking you out. Letting his love evolve will not help in the field of battle. Subtly, he still shows his affection in different ways. He often takes blows for you in battles, and heals you once they are over.

Boy, his confession for you was on complete accident. It was when a Succubus cast a ‘Marin Karin’ spell on him. With a faint blush on his face, he swung his blade at you as you dodged. “Tartarus is full of dangers. I must end your life before the shadows do!” He growled, seemingly irritated at each miss.

“Snap out of it, Minato!” You cried out, already growing tired at each attempt. It wasn’t long until you tripped over your own feet, back against the floor. Delighted by the action, the Leader straddled you while raising his sword up high.

“I’m doing this because I love you, please understand that.” Just as he was about to land the final blow, you snapped at his words. “What?!” You squeaked in surprise, your hand immediately flying upwards to smack his cheek.

His eyes snapped back to their original calm hue, brought out of his delirium. “S/O?” Scrambling off you, he had a horrified and embarrassed expression on his face.

By the moment the battle was over, you dragged Minato to a secluded area in the building. He wanted to escape and hide his face in shame for what he had done, but you weren’t going to let him escape. “Did you mean it when you said you loved me? Was that why you didn’t want me to fight?”

He remained silent. Minato didn’t know how to answer your question, torn between tell you and keeping silent. After a more moments of silence, you were about to turn around and leave before he grabs a hold of your wrist, pulling you into his embrace.

“So what if I do? What are you planning to do with that information?”

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