#With or without Makoto

[au-you-mean-ow-right]

I love Bankita, I love Ryomina, I love all three of them together-

But I think people are sleeping on Yu and Ryoji together tbh.

Yes, I'm aware they have absolutely no canon interaction and technically can't ever interact in canon, but let me imagine.

Like, both of them were very attached to Makoto. Ryoji adored him like no other, spent 10 years within him, took his humanity and learned to love the world as Makoto slowly rediscovered it.

On the flipside you have Yu who has had two Q incidents to get close to Makoto. The second one slightly less so (but there's still many good moments), but the first one is just -chef's kiss- The rescue during You in Wonderland, basically the entirety of the Dating Cafe, having so much time in-between to spend walking around the festival together (the fact that there are like, two or three mangas based on Q that are all pretty strongly hinting that those two are a bit too close-)

But like, Yu and Ryoji would also really hit it off I think. Ryoji is that sort of happy-go-lucky that Yu would easily go along with, just like with Teddie and honestly the entire rest of the IT. On the flipside Ryoji would look at Yu and see so many similarities with Makoto it's genuinely insane. Of course the fact he's a Wild Card helps, but like, he has that same brand of stoic-ness to him, the same way he goes silent while thinking things over, but at the same time he's very different, more open with his emotions, smiles more, and that's lovely in its own right.

In a situation where Ryoji somehow survived becoming Nyx Avatar after Makoto sealed Nyx, I could very well imagine those two meeting when Yu takes a trip to Tatsumi at some point. Either during the school trip during the actual story, but more likely later on, possibly to visit Mitsuru or someone else from the Shadow Operatives. Ryoji likes to hang around Tatsumi considering its the place he spent time with Makoto. Where they walked around, talked, went to cafes and had their first experiences with jobs and what not.

Who mistakes who isn't really clear. Yu remembers calling out Makoto's name without thinking while looking at Ryoji from behind, despite the fact that the other isn't too similar at first glance. The wrong build, wrong hair color, and the hairstyle also isn't right. Still he was hardpressed to not see SEES's deceased leader. At the same time, Ryoji found himself faced with a man that couldn't be further from what Makoto looked like, and yet, somehow, looking at him feels like he's looking right back at the person that he cared about the most when he came into existence for the first time.

The two of them end up at a cafe down one of the less busy side streets. It's a weird encounter, and it definitely takes a lot of muddling through everything. After all, how much do you explain? How much does the other person know? It's not like Yu can just divulge everything about the IT and SEES and the Shadow Operatives to just any civilian, Mitsuru would probably have his head. Meanwhile Ryoji can't exactly go around telling everyone about the fact that he isn't exactly human. All they really know is that they both knew Makoto, and somehow, that fact alone was enough to make them bond.

It starts as a shaky friendship, a mutual sort of grief counseling considering there's not many people that knew Makoto quite as well as the two of them. Of course there is SEES, but frankly, neither Yu nor Ryoji are too too close to them. Yu works with them as the Shadow Operatives, they're his seniors, but he can't really consider them as close as his friends from Inaba. Ryoji is in a similar boat, sure he and Junpei are still friends, even after everything, but he sure as hell isn't as close to any of them as he was before he revealed what he was, before Makoto....well.... Needless to say, having someone that just understands is....nice.

Everytime Yu is in Tatsumi, he makes sure to make some time for Ryoji. Going out for dinner or some drinks, usually talking about their time with Makoto, but eventually diverting to so many other topics. It's almost scary how effortlessly they get along. And it almost feels wrong when their friendship keeps moving on and on until it really doesn't feel like a friendship anymore.

The days out in cafes, evenings at bars and the occasional afternoon stroll down a busy street eventually turned into lazy days spent at the apartment Ryoji rents, lounging on the couch, watching a movie, sometimes playing video games. Occasionally they cook together, or Ryoji humors Yu by playing on the small piano he owns. Small little moments that all eventually snowball into something that feels far less like a friendship, and far more romantically involved than either ever really wanted this to get.

Not that they really stop any of it. It's too comfortable at that point, too good to ruin it by questioning it. Laying on the couch, Yu resting his cheek on Ryoji's chest as they watch another episode of Featherman while not really paying attention because they're too busy discussing an entirely different season than the one currently playing....those are moments they refuse to give up, no matter how far past the line they may be at that point.

Though, you know they both would carry a lot of guilt about being so comfortable with each other. Do they really get to be happy like this when Makoto never got to? You know Makoto would just smack the both of them upside the head and tell them to stop thinking about dumb things like that. Of course he'd want them to be happy.

[pyururen]

One last dance, please

[hinamie]

green

[thensson]

Thinking of you, even now

Darling, I Left the House, by Joseph Brodsky || Nickie Zimov || Faces in the Crowd, Valeria Luiselli || Garden of Words, Makoto Shinkai || Love, Alex Dimitrov || This is Not a Love Poem, Caitlyn Siehl

[persona-brainrot-real]

Sae Niijima is such a good character it drives me insane a little. She's not a mother nor a maternal or doting older sister but instead a twenty four year old who was thrown into a position of responsibility that she never asked for. She loves Makoto just as much as she resents her and its so apparent every time they talk up until November. "Are you studying?" (I want you to do well) (I need you to get a job and stop making my life harder) "I'll use any method necessary to get this promotion" (Life will be easier for us) (So stop distracting me with your problems) "Focus on your future" (I know that you're capable) (I can't afford to waste my time on you, so stop wasting time on others)

Makoto is not only the sole reason she pushes as hard as she does for a promotion, for success, and the reason that she loses herself in her animosity over her fathers death, but also someone she can't stand for so long. Makoto was 14-15 when their father died. Sae was 21. As soon as she got the career she wanted and things started to look up, her stability was robbed from her and she was disillusioned with the system that her father had taught her to rely on and completely adhere to. How do you manage, the daughter of a cop, following his footsteps towards law enforcement, when you're suddenly reminded of how unfair it is? You can't quit, your little sister relies on you and she's so young and struggling just as badly with this grief. So you pick yourself up and you get moving again. You push harder, press further. You abandon your morals and your ethics because punishing criminals (guilty or not) is almost like punishing the man who killed your father.

And the whole time she's fighting for promotions, going for drinks with the SIU Director to make herself more favourable for promotions, trying to navigate being a woman in a competitive, suffocating, male-dominated field, falling behind despite doing so much where others are promoted for doing so little - all the while your little sister comes back from school and her biggest issues are so small compared to yours.

Persona 5 revolves so heavily around grief and loss and change and Sae embodies all of that so well, all of the sharp and unpleasant and jagged parts of grief.

[pikhachu]

:D

[eru-iru]

[azuries]

close call!

[h3r0b0y]

anyways me and the boys started the first game and i love this guy a lot

[xshinina]

Villains that do things out of genuine (if misplaced) love are just *chefs kiss*

[cherlok-jolms]

Damn yakuza 0 director’s cut looks fire (crying)

[uwro]

model AU 🎶inspired by 2000s phone ads lol

[coffeehelly]

its really interesting to me how kaidou says he feels like saiki is protecting/looking out for all of them somehow. like do they all have some kind of innate sense that the Weird Things happening around them are saikis doing? or do you think saiki gives off a strong "if anything happens to my friends im going to become the joker" vibe that he doesnt even notice

[ryuusei-boi]

equestrian japan. is this anything

[ibblescribbles]

Do you think you will ever check out Raincode? It's made by the same people who made DR but with a more focus on mystery. (It has the same vibes and stuff, I feel like you would like it a lot) another thing, the writing is so banger

Yes, I've already played Raincode!! Really enjoyed it, especially for the DR-like vibe and I actually made charms of the main cast:

I have sketches of Yomi and Yakou that I've been meaning to add to this set for ages but haven't been able to bring myself to refine them ;v; Makes me happy when people recognize the Raincode merch at cons tho! I'm really excited for Kodaka's new game too, I haven't played the demo yet!

[rukibur]

The urge to get robux to the point you just redraw something