#what about akechi

[ruuinxs]

the psykickers

[mjesechii]

I'll hold on to your glove

[lotus-pear]

the dialogue choices in this game should be more diabolical

[afterthelambs]

Do we agree the Phantom Thieves make fun of Joker for the "I'll hold onto your glove" thing because if I knew someone irl who carried around an article of clothing from their 9-month situationship wherever they go I would think it's the lamest shit I've ever heard. Like I think the Phantom Thieves would be kind and considerate towards Joker when he's in mourning but the second Akechi comes back and shuake finally gets together post-canon it's no mercy. They are never letting him live it down

[sketchy--akechi]

thank you atlus for giving us a yaoi dlc

[vinestaff]

personal motivation

[slowpoint22-2]

wow hi guys happy june 2nd today is goro akechis birthday that is the day that it is trust me

also. yeah i KNOW that's not what the design on his pocket looks like but. but.

[kurumeuruki]

Painter Akechi drawing from reference.

learnt drawing from the best

Based on this post

[ameamedraws]

Lovingly tucking your rival’s hair behind his ear and telling him you hate him: Akechi’s attempt to make sense of his contradicting feelings

[taitavva]

NEVER GO HOME, DON'T SLEEP, DON'T EAT JUST DO IT ON REPEAT, KEEP?

[365 - Charli XCX / alt vers under cut]

[phantom-chirp]

I find it a bit strange when some people are so insistent that Ren and Akechi have a purely negative relationship, because canonically they very much don't?

If I had purely negative feelings for someone I wouldn't regret what happened between us enough that it brings them back to life and the fact they'll be dead again threatens my resolve to stop the entire world from being controlled, and with Akechi during his boss fight Morgana might as well have looked right at the camera and went "Akechi does not actually hate Ren as much as he says he does" because their relationship is complicated, and that's the point

It's less of an annoyance to me and more of just... a confusion? Thinking they both fully hate each other is a very surface level reading of their dynamic in my opinion and it also isn't even an interesting way to view their dynamic? That would just get a rid of so much of what makes their dynamic interesting

This isn't even purely about shipping them, even if someone doesn't ship them their dynamic as friends is still super important to them as characters and the story and viewing it as them just hating each other seems like a huge disservice to me

[goulloynes]

its really interesting how p5 leans heavily on the rivalry between ren and akechi by having them foil each other in every conceivable way possible ie gentleman thief to famous detective, joker's all black outfit vs crow's all white outfit, society shunning ren because he's a criminal vs akechi who needs to be perfect in every way because all eyes are on him, the begrudging respect and playful flirting between the two of them, the chess motif

and then royal breaks it down by showing that they're not so different after all with them both having all black outfits, now it's holmes and watson investigating a mystery rather than sholmes vs arsene, and still the rivalry is there with the red vs blue motif in their outfits, them being more open with each other in their own fucked up way its done really well. and of course, the very subtle gigantic billboard in their showtime that yells out TWO SIDES SAME COIN in bold 500 point font

[vesper-the-great]

I think it would have been so funny if they knew each other pre persona 5

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Suddenly remembered something I wanted to say re:Akechi, because I think it's really core to his character (at least the way I interpreted him?) and I feel like it explains a lot of his contradictions. Essentially, he is incapable of seeing himself as just a person - he's either the greatest hero/detective ever, or he's some violent monster, and it's like there's no in-between. It's very in keeping with his obvious superiority-inferiority complex, but it goes deeper than that too; when he's in a role, it seems like his self-perception kind of changes too depending on how he is perceived by others. He really does get a confidence boost from being the Detective Prince. He really does shut down emotionally as the Black Mask.

They're masks that he's made, and it's not that aspects of them aren't based in truth to some extent, but I think it goes to show why he's not actually that fantastic a liar (imo, I found the outright lies pretty obvious), but he is a very good actor. He's either an angel or a demon, and never a person, but there are conditions to that. He is an angel when he is perfect - to society. He is a demon when he is vengeful - again, to society. He is never a person, because he never was seen as one - to society. He was disregarded. To be anything of value or notoriety, whether that's hero or villain, he has to be wildly more or less than who he actually is, and he's been building these masks up for so long that I really think he lost sight of the actual person behind it all. And I don't think he wanted to see that person anyways, because that person "wasn't good enough" and I do think he'd rather be anything other than himself. That trickery, that deflection from the person within, in itself brings him pride and satisfaction. He wants to be loved and needed instead of being cast aside, but I also think that if he can't have that then he'd much rather be hated than never have mattered at all. He weaponizes his own loneliness - if he can't ever be accepted then he'll build his own pedestal apart from everyone else.

It's so fascinating too, because I just wonder how much of this he was consciously aware of pre, during, and post engine room. There's this recurring thing with him where he goes "I can only be myself" etc but I just want to shake him because, well, who is that, Akechi??? Or, who do you think that is? Do you actually have an answer? Is it predicated on your actual feelings or solely on your success at fooling everyone around you? Is there any part of you that you actually like that isn't based on a painstakingly constructed mask? Isn't it all mostly lies to deflect from the truth? Isn't it all founded mostly on truth, nonetheless?

It drives me insane. And I think this is a big reason why he breaks so hard in the engine room, because so much of his mask requires his "audience" to perform in a particular way. And here he is, and the Thieves have beaten him, so there goes the first mask, because he's no longer "perfect". He swings wildly into the ugliest sides of him, but this mask is broken too, amidst him vehemently and desperately denying that he has any other emotions than hatred and rage, or any other needs or desires than vengeance. And after that, it's just him. And they should reject him, right? That's what happens. He's not useful, he's not needed or perfect, his hands are stained with blood. But the Thieves, again, don't play the role he expects them to. They, despite everything, relate to him - because he is in fact very similar in a lot of ways and they acknowledge him as a person - not a hero, or idol, or villain, or tool, or unwanted child - but as a damaged teen like the rest of them. And he does not know what to do with that. His identity is intrinsically dependent on getting the right reactions from other people as a form of ingratiating himself - if he does not get that reciprocal reaction he's looking for, his act falters, and, I really do believe that so does his self-perception. That's why you see different aspects of him seep out when he's spending time with Joker, because Joker does not react the way he expects, and Akechi both does and does not like this, because it leaves him feeling both intrigued and vulnerable.

I do think this particular aspect of his character is something a lot of the Thieves don't fully grasp - certainly, I think Joker "I need the mask" Persona 5 understands to a degree, but the sheer degree of reliance and the level of pride attached to it is something that confuses him a little, I think, especially in Mementos Mission. I think the thief that comes closest is actually Morgana, who has a similar superiority-inferiority complex and a desperate need to be seen as competent and useful lest he be discarded. (This is a big part of why the rather lackluster writing with Morgana's arc frustrates me so much because I really do feel it was meant to be contrasted with Akechi's, but I digress.) Morgana is the one to make that emotional appeal to Akechi, which makes a degree of sense - Morgana struggled all along with finding a place in the world. His form leads others to underestimate him; he visually doesn't fit in. He's acting out the role of a chivalrous and cool phantom thief but is more pragmatic with how he views relationships, at least at first. He wants a place to belong where he is appreciated more than anything but his pride won't let him spit it out. Accepting that he belongs and that he is loved even if he really did have nothing of value to provide is a big part of the resolution of his arc. He tries to offer that learned lesson to Akechi in turn ("Follow your true feelings. Even if you think people hate you, or don't want you around-"), but Akechi just wasn't in the right space to listen. There's also an important distinction between the two - Morgana envies humans and looks up to them. Akechi envies humans and looks down on them. Morgana is perfectly happy once he is assured a place amongst the group, but Akechi see-saws wildly between wanting to belong and wanting to be a step above the rest and separating himself further. So while Morgana actually really did cut to the core of the issue, his appeal would never have worked at this point because a) Akechi's pride is dependent on him maintaining his solo act, and b) he just got outed as not actually hating Joker in front of seven other people including Joker himself lmao.

So, uh, sorry, Morgana. Points for trying.

[afterthelambs]

i adore Maruki as a character because he's simultaneously the most relatable depressing character that will make you cry with empathy, and the goofiest wettest cat loser in the game like what do you mean youre a licensed therapist and your first response to trauma is to brainwash a girl, project ur relationship issues onto a 17 yr old boy, and then rule the world in a golden leotard? bro went from 0 to 100 so fast??? anyway he's like 30% of the reason why p5r works as well as it does

[sunsetbridge555]

surprise! we're in the same time, under the same sun