#shuji ikutsuki x takuto maruki

[wyrdle]

Shuji Ikutsuki x Takuto Maruki doodles

[systematicallycapricious]

Persona x Soul Eater AU

Spoilers for Personas 3-5 (and their remakes FES, Golden, and Royal), PQ1 (Shadow of the Labyrinth), and the P4: Arena series below, as well as the Soul Eater and Soul Eater: Not! anime (and potentially manga? it’s been a while, so I forget)!

Cast (We = Weapon, M = Meister, H = Human, Wi = Witch, O = Other):

SEES:

Minato Arisato - M | Aigis - Multiform-We | Ryoji Mochizuki - We

Minako Arisato - M | Yukari Takeba - We | Ryoji Mochizuki - We | Aigis - Multiform-We

Junpei Iori - M | Chidori Yoshino - We (presently)

Akihiko Sanada - M or We? | Shinjiro Aragaki We or M?

Mitsuru Kirijo - We (Meisterless and badass; probably a rapier?)

Ken Amada - M | Koromaru - We (a non-human Weapon)

Fuuka Yamagishi - Wi (??? animal)

Investigation Team:

Yu Narukami - M | Teddie - We (potentially a non-human Weapon)

Yosuke Hanamura - M | Labrys - Multiform-We

Chie Satonaka - We or M? | Yukiko Amagi M or We?

Kanji Tatsumi - M? | Naoto Shirogane - We?

Rise Kujikawa - Wi (??? animal)

Phantom Thieves:

Ren Amamiya - M | Morgana - We

Ryuji Sakamoto - M or We? | Yuuki Mishima We or M?

Yusuke Kitagawa - M | Ann Takamaki - We (a whip)

Makoto Nijima - We or M? | Haru Okumura - M or We?

Goro Akechi - M | Robin Hood - We (a bow) | Loki - We (a greatsword)

Kasumi Yoshizawa - M | Sumire Yoshizawa - We (a ribbon wand)

Futaba Sakura - Wi (??? animal)

Etc:

Daisuke Nagase - We or M? | Kou Ichijo - M or We?

Rei - H

Zen - We, H, or maybe O?

Takuto Maruki - H

Sho - M | Minazuki - We (separate entities in this; Minazuki's a katana)

Shuji Ikutsuki - H

Takaya Sakaki - M | Jin Shirato - We | Chidori Yoshino - We (formerly)

Marie/Izanami-no-Mikoto - Wi (??? animal)

More Notes:

The 'Wild Cards' in this just have really good partnership/Resonance abilities with everyone in their groups, so they can work with any of the Weapons in their groups (and even outside of them a lot of times... looking at Ren and Loki for an example. xP) uncannily naturally.

The Navis in this are all Witches, but good-natured ones, and use their magic to support their respective groups/help make the world a better place. For example, Futaba would probably be able to 'hack' souls somehow with her magic, and also her reclusiveness in this would be at least in part due to being terrified of people finding out her true nature as a Witch. I'm not sure how welcomed/persecuted/the general climate of Witches are/is in this AU yet though.

The Arisato twins and Ryoji are all children of Death in this, with Ryoji being the older sibling and the twins being twins. Death is still Death like he is in SE-OG in this AU, more or less.

Ryoji and Aigis tend to float between Minato and Minako as their secondary partners, though Aigis tends to stick more to Minato as his primary partner and much less often swaps to Minako, while Ryoji shifts between his two siblings more frequently. Yukari swaps about as much as the rest of SEES's Weapons do among their Wild Cards, which is more or less situationally or for fun. Despite this, Aigis and Ryoji still don't get along particularly well with one another, only putting up with each other for their Meisters' sakes.

Strega did exist in this, though I'm not sure yet what their aim was, or the fate of its members. At the very least, they were some kind of rogue antagonist group, and Takaya used to be the Meister of both Jin and Chidori. Chidori ends up defecting to DWMA though, or whatever organization Junpei is a part of.

Aigis, maybe Ryoji?, Mitsuru, Labrys, and Minazuki are all Weapons that can fight without Meisters. Loki and/or Robin Hood might also be among them? I'm undecided.

Originally, I was considering having the cast have their Personas as their Weapon-partners, and just have them have personalities based off of their Shadow-selves' but more aligned with their accepted-selves, but I decided against it in the end. Akechi gets to be the exception, because he's Akechi.

Speaking of Akechi-- Robin and Loki are very powerful Weapons in this AU. Loki's 'chaos magic' would become an incredibly chaotic/maddening soul-wavelength that most others wouldn't be able to handle contact with on its own, as well as perhaps some Madness magic or abilities of some kind? Robin's soul meanwhile would be much calmer and help to counteract/cover-up Loki's from those who can sense souls, as well as perhaps provide some tactical abilities; I'm undecided on that for now. I'm not sure who's side Akechi would be on in this AU yet, like if he was being manipulated by a Shido-like person or not, and for what reason if so.

As for Robin and Loki's personalities and appearances in this... Well, the latter would be somewhat similar to their Persona forms probably, including some of the less-human traits given OG-SE characters (*stares intensely at Excalibur*), and the former would also be somewhat based off of those, as well as sort of how Akechi acts in relation to both of his 'masks'? So Robin tends to be calmer and more polite, though he still possesses a small amount of vengeful desire or bloodlust, whilst Loki is a lot more chaotic, hot-blooded, and very vengeful/aggressive. Both share a tendency towards showiness however, and sometimes get in small competitions with one another to up the other to impress their Meister or be the better Weapon among themselves (since they both might think already that they're superior to other Weapons in general? Unsure).

Also speaking of manipulated and abused children, Sho and Minazuki, alongside Ikutsuki, more or less replace Crona, Ragnarok, and Medusa in this. Not fully 1-for-1 however. Ikutsuki is very much a human, albeit a Mad or power-hungry one (still kinda looking to create a Kishin or otherwise bring about some kind of catastrophic destruction), and Minazuki is a separate Weapon, as opposed to how Ragnarok is Crona's Black Blood. Minazuki and Sho might be twins however, just with one a human/Meister and the other a Weapon. They look almost identical physically in this AU, even down to haircuts, but Minazuki lacks the iconic X-ish shaped face scarring that Sho possesses (and overall the two have a different patterning of scars across their bodies), and Sho's irises appear to be more gray while Minazuki's appear to be more blue. Weapon-form-wise, Minazuki looks like Sho's OG katanas, just in different colors and as a singular blade rather than a pair.

Ikutsuki is still forcing Sho and Minazuki to become stronger in similar methods to Medusa in some ways however, such as going out and obtaining/consuming great amounts of human (and maybe even Witch) souls.

Sho's a little less messed-up than Crona is, due to Minazuki being supportive of and dedicated to him as opposed to bullying him into submission like Ragnarok does to Crona. That being said however, I don't yet know why Minazuki hasn't yet defected from Ikutsuki. P: Other than that, Minazuki is kind of like Sho's impulse control and logical reasoning at times, due to being able to control when he transforms into his Weapon form and thus deny Sho access to his weaponry in times where he's being reckless or unreasonable. Soul-wavelengths-wise, too, Minazuki's soul just in general helps to keep Sho's soul/wavelength more stable probably?

Also in terms of replacing SE cast and plots; The IT replaces Maka et al for the sake of the main story most likely, with SEES being their upperclassmen or alumni and the PT being their underclassmen, if they even attend DWMA at this point anyways.

Lotsa dead people in OG are alive in this AU; Minato, Minako, and Ryoji, Shinjiro, Kasumi, etc.

Speaking of Kasumi; she fights kind of like Sumire does in Royal, that being making use of their gymnastics and priorly-athletic builds. Both sisters are gymnists in this still.

Alternatively, Sho and Minazuki's situations almost ended up reversed, leaving a highly impulsive/aggressive Weapon-Sho and a Meister-Minazuki who would have the kinda backwards idealology of trying to protect his Weapon partner in times where it would be best left to the Weapon to defend their Meister, but also really good at getting Sho to focus when wielding him as a weapon/in resonance (and can in general reign him in to some degree while others can't), making them an exceedingly deadly duo. I kind of prefer Minazuki as the Weapon however, as fun as the reverse could be, as it gives Ikutsuki a bit more leverage over Sho's situation I think? Also in that vein, it would make a lot of sense, given OG, for Minazuki to be more like a Black Blood entity like Ragnarok; however, I like Minazuki being able to have his own body in this, so that can be left for another AU perhaps. xP

Ikutsuki would infiltrate/be trusted by the DWMA in this AU at first, like Medusa was, but eventually get outed for his true intentions most likely. He might be a teacher or other kind of faculty rather than a nurse however?

Maruki meanwhile gets to play the role of school nurse in this. He's not a few screws loose like his Royal counterpart is though, he's just a humble nurse. However, he does still have his interest in researching dangerous subjects, though I haven't yet decided if that would be magic, Witches, Madness, Kishins, or what. It could potentially put him in knowing-contact with the Navis, if they aren't already known to be Witches by the DWMA anyways.

I'm not yet sure on what to do with Adachi or Nyx yet. Nyx might be some kind of Madness-related catastrophe, power, or individual perhaps however?

Rei and Zen are probably just civilians in this. Zen just happens to be really devoted to protecting/looking after(?) Rei still. xD

I'm undecided on if Marie should be amnesiac about her Witchhood or if she should be more like Izanami-no-Mikoto from OG in this.

Yusuke is still obsessed with artistry and beauty in this, so you can imagine what he's like as a Meister. He is still capable as a fighter and dependable when needed... more or less, but is also still easily distracted by, and places higher priority on, such things.

Ryuji kinda gets the short end of the stick because I didn't particularly know who to pair him with or what really to do with him at the moment. Mishima's a big tentative as his partner as a result of that, though I think it could prove to be an interesting relationship potentially.

I'm hoping to add more SL/Confidant and secondary/tertiary/background cast peeps eventually into various roles, but I'd need to do more refreshing/research on them first. I also haven't decided on if I should include Metis in this or not.

If the SE info is inaccurate, it's because I haven't seen the anime or read-up on it in like years. I might do clarifying/fact-checking research some day, but for now, nah. xP

[wyrdle]

"You can work with me, if you wish. Was saving the world not your dream as well?"

Shuji Ikutsuki x Takuto Maruki au, where our favourite punny nihlist never got into Kirijo Group's death cult, and instead finds a new, kinder god to worship. Just musing about the core of Shuji's character orgins, and how the hell he wound up the way he is with Kirijo group. The answer is that whatever thing he experienced/learnt in his life brought sufficient grief/pain to make him snap or vulnerable enough to find salvation and worship in death. This AU's just delayed that into him finding meaning and relief in his life from following Takuto lol.

ooc or misinterpreting canon or whatever, idc lol. These delusional men are so fun to smash together. I want them to kiss. Do you see my vision with the toxic scientist older x younger man yaoi.

[wyrdle]

Was musing a proper roleswap AU for Takuto and Shuji whilst on birdwatching today, and ah... Nihlistic/suicidal takuto who either lost Rumi or couldn't connect with her (and lost her), with kind and silly Shuji who'd give him apple juice cartons and bunny apples when he learns takuto likes them. (plotty things considered, we're dooming Takuto this time 😂)

My aus are so insane but so much fun yall need to get on my level

[wyrdle]

More doodles of that Ikutsuki x Maruki AU lol. Mariku doodles.

Bonus puns: Shuji: I guess that's a part of your a-peel. Takuto: Shuji: That you are so selfless you desire everyone to live... Takuto: don't say it Shuji: ...apple-y ever after.

Anyway I want the two guys with saviour complexes to kiss (Albeit this Shuji has been... defanged lol. Regardless, the idea of him find a new god to worship in the shape of Takuto Maruki is both hilarious and heartbreaking haha. Ah yes, a kinder type of death in Takuto's ideal reality, where Ikutsuki can be unmade and forced to live a life of meaning and happiness... oh boy do these scientists have issues)

[wyrdle]

More of that au where Shuji never joins kirijo group, and takuto becomes his cognitive pscience research partner

[wyrdle]

more mariku doodles.

Ft. an AU /musing where Shuji never gets involved with Kirijo group/death cult in the first place. He's still a huge nihlistic + suicidal pun guy in STEM, threw himself into meaningless research and made a name for himself.

He's a researcher Takuto looks up to, and the veneer/mask Shuji puts on about being encouraging/supportive is something Takuto believes in until their friendship/camraderie deepens for Shuji's fucked up worldview to come up. The only difference is that this Shuji's fangless, with no access to unethical experiments and scheming for the end of the world. Just a plain old guy who's waiting to die lol

[wyrdle]

mariku doodles because i deserve a little treat: drawing cute men being cute lol. I'm thinking of writing a one shot of them with the following premise:

[wyrdle]

mariku brain rot stronk lol

Shuji gets a therapist years too late lol 😂 I think Shuji and Takuto have many parallels, even if ideologically the way they respond to the world's injustice is completely different lol.

[wyrdle]

mad scientists do you get me

takuto x shuji doodles

[wyrdle]

Shuji ikutsuki and Takuto Maruki doodles because i hope you see my vision (these are such bad doodles to explore their parallels but I'm busy and tired lol)

[wyrdle]

maruki x ikutsuki scribbles for my little fanzine

aka the idealist x nihlist/pessimist (at heart)

[wyrdle]

Hey! Love your art as always!

Can you draw Maruki and Ikutsuki aggressively making out?

Thanks! Love you platonic 🤗

ask an ye shall receive 😂

A little mariku doodle- I hope they don't ruin the world together

[wyrdle]

takuto x shuji scribbles because I'm normal about these middle aged men

savior complexes that involved a utopia x decimating it into nothing. A big heart x a black hole of one, for the toxic cognitive pscience yaoi lmao. Both also spend years fixating on their research so ye. basically younger man with big desperate for a better world energy x older man with very bleak perspectives about the world and desire to end it all oughghghg scrumptious

[wyrdle]

In orbit - takuto x shuji scribble

you'd have to read my mind to get the sun and moon reference here and close your eyes on how ooc shuji is... at this rate this is just my oc-shuji lol. I've just been deranged in the maruki discord about these two

[wyrdle]

A kinder god than Nyx

more shuji ikutsuki x takuto maruki doodles AKA thinking about their shared desire for emancipation from pain