#the first song on the playlist i made. Black Bear. that one is so akechi's feelings towards ren I'm telling you

[phantom-chirp]

@sword-lily4951 I vaguely considered that song before but actually thinking about it deeper now, connecting some of the lyrics in that song to them is so... gah, rambling time again, this one got a bit long so I'm putting it under the cut

The lines you brought up relate real well with Akechi's thoughts towards Ren yeah, this is definitely a strictly Akechi POV song. Multiple other lines stood out to me, such as:

"I hate the air he breathes His foolish decrees, his words so contrived And I hate the way the townspeople gather outside They hang on every breath Cling to his chest, home to his heart full of pride" <- I can imagine these lines connecting to Akechi's thoughts about how Ren was able to get a bunch of people on his side and a bunch of friends despite the circumstances that brought him to Tokyo in the first place, which is something Akechi was never able to have. The first two lines would also relate well to the whole Phantom Thieves thing as well

"Something wicked this way comes And as I set to face it, I'm unsure Should I embrace it, should I run?" <- Related to everything Akechi does in the game I imagine, especially after meeting Ren, he would have doubts that he doesn't let himself properly work through. I mean, the whole "i wish we met a few years earlier" or however he said that is a pretty big hint at that idea, but Akechi can't really allow himself to think about those things because he's already committed to taking down Shido at all costs, so he feels he can't stop now

"What motivates me - hatred? Is it love?" <- I really like thinking about what Akechi's inner thoughts during the events of the game would be, because his thoughts towards Ren are complicated and, due to the jealously aspect of it, partly negative, but the game itself points out how Akechi doesn't hate Ren. I imagine with Akechi's more positive feelings towards Ren, he tries to ignore them by either actively or subconsciously convincing himself that he hates Ren, especially because it would make the fact that he has to kill him easier. Even with Akechi in general his motivations for what he does can be related back to that, his hatred for Shido and his need to be wanted by people

"My name is Brutus and my name means heavy So with a heavy heart I'll guide this dagger Into the heart of my enemy My whole life, you were a teacher and friend to me" <- Akechi's complicated feelings towards Ren, calling him both his enemy and his friend. Akechi doesn't really want to kill Ren, "with a heavy heart I'll guide this dagger into the heart of my enemy"

"Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy" <- More about Akechi's complicated motivations and feelings towards Ren and that it's not just because of the envy, as well as the deeper reasoning behind why he's doing what he's doing which is to take down Shido

"I too have a destiny This death will be art The people will speak of this day from near and afar This event will be history And I'll be great too" <- Double meaning with "I too have a destiny" which would be how Akechi has dedicated his whole life to the end goal of taking down Shido and also how, unknown to him, he and Ren were destined to fight each other. The rest of the lines would just relate to Akechi's need to be seen and wanted by people, and to be someone who is special

"I don't want what you have I wanna be you" <- Back to Akechi's jealously towards Ren, two sides of the same coin and all that. This lines connection to that idea is pretty straight forward

I'm. realizing just how much I enjoy connecting songs to characters

I'm gonna share the songs I have in my shuake playlist currently because why not. There's no specific order to these

Feel free to ask me to further elaborate on any of the songs here I will gladly answer. And if anyone has any song recommendations that fit them... gimme

(Put them all under the cut, but here is also a link to a post with the actual playlist)

Black Bear - Black Bear

phony (English Cover) - Will Stetson

Cigarettes & Feelings - The Haunt

taixu - lasah × sasakure.UK

Bishounen - Hikaru Station

Dizzy On the Comedown - Turnover

Justice - Dirt Poor Robins

Bring Her Back - Dirt Poor Robins

I'm Your Man - Mitski

Say It - The Crane Wives

Carve A Name - Mother Mother

My Heart Feels No Pain - The Glass Pyramids (feat. Kayla Brown)

Astronomy - Conan Gray

Buzzcut Season - Lorde

Love Love Love - Of Monsters And Men

[thepancakeboi]

Liar

Spoilers below for Persona 5, told from Goro Akechi’s POV directed at Ren/Joker, written based off the lyrics of “Liar” by The Arcadian Wild (the lyrics themselves are colored red). I had found it in a Spotify playlist for Akechi or Akeshu and it’s such a beautiful song that I had to write this-

“I sense there's trouble ahead.”

Isn’t trouble all in a day’s work? There’s more at stake here than you realize. It's clear by the signs and warnings but you seem almost oblivious.

You do not see the evidence that should tell where all blame is due. All of this, everything that has happened here, is all Masayoshi Shido’s fault. Don’t you see it?

So why are they pointing at my head?

You all have been led astray by me. Sure, your group kept me at arm’s length at first. I did blackmail you into letting me join the thieves in changing Sae’s heart. I would have been suspicious if I had been immediately accepted and liked. Yet you’ve accepted me, or at least the version of myself I present to society. You wouldn’t accept my true self.

We've all fallen short in some way. What an abnormal group we make. A quiet transfer student rumored to be a criminal because of his probation status. A troublemaker who acted in violence against a teacher. A “cat” who thinks he's not a cat but doesn't have the memories to know for certain. A foreign girl who was rumored to be in a “relationship” with that teacher. An artist who was exploited for his talent. A good-girl kind of pushover who simply did as the adults told her. A shut-in who was blamed for causing her mother’s “suicide”. An heiress forced into a relationship with a horrible man for her father’s political gain. A charismatic detective prince that is the bastard son of a good-for-nothing man.

Please understand I'm ashamed of who I am. Would you reject me if I told you my other secrets, the ones you know nothing of? I’m hiding more than you could ever know, and I beg of you, please find your grace when I say this.

'Cause I'm not in a right state of mind. Haven’t been for years. Then you came along. Ever since the day we met, I found you interesting. You were different from the rest. Maybe there’s more than just interest there, something more. I just wish I had strength to admit it. You seemed to at least take an interest in me, too. It perplexed me though how someone like you, “some criminal trash living in an attic” as I thought of you in my more bitter moments, could have the one thing I seemed to lack: friendship. The camaraderie that came so easily in your group of friends, different as you were, was something I sought for years with no success. Even now, my stubbornness will put up a fight, but I don't deserve to win it.

I'm left in the dark pondering my mistakes. I think back to the cases I’ve solved, all the psychotic breakdowns, and the mental shutdowns. You would not believe who the culprit is. I can’t tell you that I know. It would destroy my image.

I tell you this: you are the light to my internal darkness. But in the light I swear I will deny it all.

—————

I sense deception to come. Betrayal is coming soon, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. I’ve been lying to you this whole time. Honestly, truth and I are never one. I always say how I’m searching for the truth, and I guess it’s not entirely a lie. But the truth is that I’m the black mask you’ve been so concerned about. Not that I can tell you to your face 'cause I am the lying man.

And I have made you my next victim.

That’s right. You’re going to die, Joker. You have to if I’m ever going to get my revenge against Masayoshi Shido, my father. There isn’t a way around it. Trust me, I have tried to think of a way, any way, that I could avoid these events. I’m in too deep. This path I walk on cannot be strayed from. My revenge is so close!

...but I don’t want you to die.

You don’t seem to get it. I need you to see through my act, to tell me I'm wrong, to take off the mask that I use to hide my true intentions, my dark secrets. Black Mask and I are one and the same. How have you not pieced it together? Have I really overestimated your capabilities, Joker? You better figure it out soon, or else I'll be left in the lie.

I'll deceive my way straight to demise, but as long as I can bring ruin to Shido, that’s all that matters...right?

—————

November 20th.

I find myself here today, in front of the interrogation room...your interrogation room. The events over the last 24 hours replay in my mind. Yesterday was the day the Phantom Thieves were to infiltrate Sae’s palace and steal the treasure within. They’d done this time and time again without a hitch, but that day everything changed. You were betrayed, ambushed and taken into custody, and then today-

I need you to see through my plans right now, 'cause I'm not in a right state of mind. You’re too blinded by your damn feelings though to notice the hints I’ve been dropping. I was almost tempted to stop you mid-heist and tell you everything. I just wish I had strength to admit it. To confide everything in you and tell you how I feel. Would you listen? Would you still care about me, even with everything I’ve done and what I plan to do to you? Could I still earn your trust?

The doubt in my mind tells me no. My stubbornness will put up a fight, but I don't deserve to win it.

I don’t deserve your trust, for I’m going to kill that trust right at the source.

I'm left in the dark pondering my mistakes, but in the light I swear I will deny it all. The world will think you committed suicide, and they will be none the wiser to the events that transpire here. It’s clear by the look of hurt and betrayal on your face that, despite the drugs muddling your mind, you’re finally realizing that I am the host of this hostility. It’s too late for you, though. You should have seen through my act...

“Case closed... This is how your ‘justice’ ends.”

—————

I'm the master magician that makes you believe I'm real. And now here we are. All my scheming and plotting laid out before you. The fighting is done, and you have triumphed. I'm not fake, but in reality I'm a lying man. My life's become this grand game of deception. Now is no different. I have to keep you in the dark. I can’t tell you everything going on in my head, for it will only make this parting worse. These conflicting emotions roiling within were me too much to bear. That was why I had Loki use his Call of Chaos ability on me, to drive me psychotic...because I knew I would falter otherwise. In that state, my mind's ignored all my heart's good intentions.

We all feel this tension. We all have our own illusions. And now Shido’s cognition of me has become a threat to you. He’s holding me hostage and offering someone to take my place and die, but I refuse to let you go through with the wild schemes entering your head. This is my mess, not yours. Beneath the mask, I can see that look in your eyes: you want to save me. I can’t let you 'cause we're not in a right state of mind. He’s telling me to shoot you now. One final chance to fulfill Shido’s wishes, my life in exchange for yours. We all wish for the strength to admit it. Now I’ll admit it.

I love you, and I’m not about to let you die for me.

“Don’t misunderstand.” This cognitive version of myself cannot fathom what I am about to do. Our stubbornness will put up a fight, but we don't deserve to win it. I shoot my father’s cognition of me before shooting the button to close the bulkhead shut.

No we're not in a right state of mind.

We all wish for the strength to admit it. Let this be my admission. I love you, Joker, and I am going to die for you. I’m undeserving of your love in return. Our stubbornness will put up a fight, but we don't deserve to win it. You deserve better than me and I don’t deserve you. Trust me, it’s better this way.

The wall is between us. I can hear you and your band of thieves desperately seeking a way inside, to reach me before it’s too late. You’re screaming yourself hoarse and I can hear your tears through your voice. Odd. I had never considered you the type to get emotional over someone as broken as me. Not that I deserve your tears. Save them for someone who’s worth it.

My eyes are locked on my cognitive double, who survived my initial shot. He won’t survive the next, and neither will I. At that moment, all I feel is a sense of calm. I may not be able to get my revenge on my father anymore, but at least I can rest easy knowing that I’ll be saving the one person who will change his heart for me. We're left in the dark pondering our mistakes, but in the light I swear we will deny it all.

I’m sorry, Joker...no, Ren.

I love you.

I love you so much...

Could we...meet perhaps, in another life?

I won’t deny it all.

Not anymore.

I won’t be a...

The bullets fire.

...Liar.