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AU time again!! Welcome to the Human Experiments AU

a crossover/fusion between P3 and P4 where Ren was involved in a severe accident that left half of his face severely burned and most of his lower body as well, where Ren underwent experimental surgery to counter the pain and ended up an android after multiple treatments.

Ikutsuki, somehow surviving the events of P3 and endorsed by Shido and his shady government, was given the chance to experiment on children they knew had the Potential, turning them into human Anti-Shadow-Weapon hybrids because he has no access to any of the Kirijo research and items anymore. His experiments are successful on two subjects (Ren and Goro).

Because of the severity of the 'treatments' (i.e. human experimentation), the persona suffer negative feedback as well, though Ikutsuki isn't above torturing the persona either. Arsene's wings have been pinioned, rather inexpertly, for example.

Some more bullet points of this AU, because I do want to maybe write it someday:

Ren's accident was a heavy fire that broke out in his neighborhood; he only got burned because he went in to save his classmate who was still stuck inside

the classmate ends up dying anyways, but his family thanks Ren profusely and end up being almost a second home for him

Ren was fourteen at the time

Ren's burns rendered him almost immobile for a while, and his parents had to sign him up to a big state hospital or something like that

his parents are, as always, shit people and annoyed that Ren got burned 'for nothing'

when a nice-looking man from the government approaches the little clinic Ren is working with and offers his help in an untested-but-absolutely-safe treatment method they sign him up at once

Ren was fifteen then. He becomes a patient at Ikutsuki's clinic after Goro, though they rarely see each other at first, before Ren's treatment ramps up and he has to become an inpatient

at first Ren thinks that all of the weird scifi augmentations actually are to help him until Goro dashes his hopes that they're just as good as human cattle to the Chairman

Somewhere around this time Ren summons Arsene for the first time as well, and they try to flee. Ikutsuki catches them and pinions Arsene as punishment, speeding up Ren's 'treatment' as well

Goro becomes fully augmented and is made to leave

a year later Ren has also been fully augmented, the only human thing about them their brain and nervous system a la Cybermen from Doctor Who. Goro kept lashing out constantly so he's programmed to obey Shido without alternatives, but Ren was smart and started to obey once Ikutsuki started hurting Arsene as well.

Ikutsuki brings in Sophia as a third research subject, a girl who's a paraplegic

with his focus on Sophia, Ren gets ignored, and he manages to plan an escape

he wanted to take Sophia with him, but she was in the middle of her augmentations, and she pleads with him to flee and live a life again

Ren escapes with a promise to come back for Sophia once he's found Goro, and wanders across Tokyo until he runs into Sojiro days later, chassis torn and in dire need of repair

Sojiro, not knowing what Ren is but seeing a kid in need, goes with him to Futaba, because Sojiro might not know what to do with all of those exposed cables, but his daughter Sure Does.

Wakaba is alive because she wasn't needed by Shido bc he has Ikutsuki. She still works in a cognitive research lab with her colleague Maruki, and has access to heavy machinery and metals to close up Ren's chassis. And even more access to metacognitive things to help Arsene

Ren and Arsene stay with the Isshiki-Sakura household while they try to figure out what happened to Goro, accidentally joining the Phantom Thieves along the way and going by 'Akira Kurusu' to avoid being found by Ikutsuki and Shido

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Ah, yes,, when I though completely outlining Arsene's head would be a good idea. It really, really wasn't, but I still like them. Also note a rare Ren with glasses, bc while he still wears them in YCmS, I cannot draw glasses for shit 😅

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It should come as no surprise that I absolutely love the Lupin Netflix series,, especially Lupin fanboy extraordinaire Guedira, haha. I wish that there was more of an (English) fandom for the series, 'cause I can't speak / read French ;-;

I also love how KID-style most of the heists are, haha I guess this would be an AU where Ren goes international on KID-style heists, crossing paths with the French police in the year of absence that Assane has? Or something like that :)

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It occured to me that I've never drawn Ren and Akira together. So here they are! Ren has red eyes because it looks cool, haha, and for no other reason -- though his eyes do glow red whenever he uses his Third Eye or any affinities! All of the Thieves' eyes gold when the persona are fronting or in control.

The second picture is what Arsene's little necklace from the world offers itself to your imagination looks like, only not colored in because I,, forgot. Ren bought the pendant for Arsene as a Christmas gift because it's a homing pigeon

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i was going to suggest arseren for the ren x arsene ship name but that looks more like a discussion on ren's arse than what it actually is

yyeah that's my problem with the ship name as well, it just sounds so... meh

a reader on ao3 suggested RenSene which sounds much better at least,, and I think I saw arushu on twitter or so once before??

(also,, lets be honest, Arsene could and would wax poetic about Ren's ass if he would be allowed)

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Yeah ,Lupin (Though he wasn’t using that name at the time.)just straight up compares himself to Christ at one point to tell a dude he forgives him even telling him he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. I mean I don’t think Lupin or Arsène would deny that they’re sad clowns at times. And pot calling the kettle black usually comes with the implication you you’re being ignorant willfully or otherwise of the same flaw you criticize others for. And Lupin has been like “Why the Hell are you like this?!” to himself more than once.

honestly,, some of the plots of the novels are so wild, especially compared with how grounded some of the others are, lol

True! I probably wouldn't like him half as much if he wouldn't be introspective of his own actions and behavior from time to time, haha

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Such a dapper demon birb. I love putting him in random outfits ;)

The first one is vaguely 1920's inspired because I'd been rereading Chrono Crusade and I do love me some period clothing, and the rest is just for fun.

(But also imagine an AU where Ren and Arsene get transported into the past and have to figure out how to get back to the present, only to run into Rosette on a mission. Rosette would be like: Ya also got contracted to a demon, huh? Is he friendly at least?

And Ren and Arsene would just,,, go along with it, somehow ending up at the church. Upon being questioned what fuels the contract, Ren would be like: ...my soul? And Rosette would cheer. Then the three of them (and Chrono) would wreak havoc on Aion's plans and save Joshua, haha)

A little (ok it turned longer than I'd thougth) snippet under the cut bc I got inspired.

---

Rosette stares at the demon-human pair across the street, silently wondering if she should reach for the seal of her watch or if she should shoot at him while his attention is towards the young man he's currently fussing over. She's never really seen a demon who didn't at least try to blend into the surrounding humans unless it was in the throes of an attack, but this one -- while having a humanoid shape -- has a very distinctly non-humanoid skintone and face. Compared to Chrono, who is often mistaken for an Indigenous kid with his dark hair and sun-kissed complexion, whose only giveaway of his demonic nature were his pointy ears and red-slit pupils, the obsidian-skinned demon across the street was a great warning sign.

"Chrono!" She hisses, eyes never leaving the demon as he adjusts the paperboy hat on his... contractor? Lunch? Next victim? "Who is that?"

Chrono shoots her a glare, though he's also focused on the demon, eyes furrowed. "I don't recognize him," he admits, "and I can't get a read on his power other than that it feels cursed."

Rosette blows out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. "That doesn't narrow anything down, buddy." She moves her hand from the latch of her seal to her trusty gun, lamenting that she doesn't have any of the nifty and new blessed rounds on her because Kate is stingy at the best of times.

...

"...the demon isn't even trying to hide-- are those wings? I thought that was a cape!" He had great feathered wings folded against the fabric of his trenchcoat, and Rosette wonders how no-one around them notices that he was very clearly not human.

"Rosette, don't do anything harsh!" Chrono tries, but by then Rosette is already marching over, never good at doing things like waiting or following orders. Chrono sighs in exasperation and carefully follows after his stubborn contractee, her blonde hair and blue Magdalen uniform easy to track even amongst the afternoon crowd.

He catches up to her right when she stopped in front of the dark-haired human and is already running through possible escapes in his mind when Rosette shoots the mysterious demon a look. She even has her gun out and visible, as if that would intimidate any demonic being other than maybe low-ranking legion constructs. "What are you doing with the boy, huh?" She asks, sotto voce.

Chrono felt like burying his face in his hands. So much for remaining calm in this highly strange situation. At least this demon seems more amused than anything, if his tilted head is any indication. The human splutters. "I'm sorry--" he starts, and Rosette steamrolls over him.

"You know that that's a demon, right? Are you in danger? I'm with the Magdalen Order, if you need help you can just say so."

"...ah," Chrono mutters, helpless. The demon and young man -- he's really not a boy, considering he seemed a few years older than Rosette -- share a glance, before the human looks down at himself.

"...we've been shopping, actually, because someone insisted that I need to try to blend in with the locals better."

"Thou do, yes. I'd like to think I've done a pretty good job of it, too." The demon says, his voice echoing in a way Chrono recognizes from high-ranking telepaths. Slightly echo-y, both loud and somehow in the mind. Humans weren't made for telepathy, so he doubted Rosette noticed anything weird about his voice, though maybe Satella or Azmaria would notice it.

The human rolls his eyes and turns back towards Rosette, expression wry. "I'm Ren Amamiya, this is my partner Arsene, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms Magdalen Order."

Rosette splutters and introduces herself and Chrono after a second, and he focuses on Arsene's face to figure out if recognition will flash in those fiery eyes or not. The demon appears amused at her behavior but not otherwise murdery. He doesn't even appear to recognize Chrono's name, for whatever reason.

And then Chrono blinks. "...partner?" He asks, unsure if he's misheard. He and Rosette share a pointed glance, Chrono's eyes falling to her contract watch, before they turn back towards the two. Rosette's at least packed away her gun, finally.

"Yep," Ren says, popping the 'p', something wary in his posture all of a sudden.

Rosette stares. Chrono has a sudden, bad feeling about this. "...you know that he's a demon." She starts.

"He's certainly a devilish fiend, yes." Ren says, with amusement.

"And you're contracted to each other?" Rosette continues.

"For a given manner of the word, oui." Arsene answers this time, something cautious in his tone.

"Hush. I'm talking to Ren. You know that he's feeding on your soul if you're contracted."

Ren eyes her, and then Chrono, and then Arsene before his gaze falls back to Rosette's, something calculating in it that reminds Chrono dangerously of Aion, back when everything had been normal and before their Rite of Tuning. "You could almost say that we're of one soul, considering we share it."

Rosette nods, lost to the minute details that Chrono's been noticing. "And you still call him your partner and seem friendly towards him?" She asks, hands on her hip, any previous anymosity forgotten. Sometimes, Chrono despaired. Ren and Arsene share another glance before Ren smiles at them with a gentle shrug.

"Of course. The only people who have to worry about Arsene being a danger are husbands." After a beat of silence, he adds: "Because he loves to flirt with women," which lowers Chrono's hackles. Arsene rolls(?) his eyes good-naturedly.

"I was haggling down the price of thy hat, dear." He says, and Rosette snorts at that, completely at ease even while Chrono can't get the feeling off of his chest that this was one strange demon.

But then again, didn't he have to flee Pandemonium in the first place because he and the other Sinners had been 'strange' in the eyes of the Elders as well? Failures? It's possible that Arsene was running low on legion or was otherwise running low on astral and that was why he wasn't trying to appear particularly human, or maybe he's never gotten the hang of it in the first place, like Shader.

...though he did still have his horns, so he should be able to channel the astral energy and shouldn't even need a contract in the first place, unless he was otherwisely hurt somehow -- Chrono knows that they'd spoken the truth about 'sharing' Ren's soul, because the human's imprint was all over Arsene. It's possible that the other demon wasn't as strong as Chrono and thus could keep an open line to the human without quickly draining him like Chrono always did to Rosette whenever she opened the seal, because he had been a very strong demon in his prime, and was still powerful even with the restrictions.

"Ah, we wouldn't want to impose..." Ren says, carefully, and Chrono notices that he's completely tuned out of the discussion like an idiot. He's immediately back on high alert, but no-one's seemed to have died in the interim, so he calms down again.

Rosette is all smiles. "Nope, consider it an apology that I was so harsh to you two earlier." She says, and Ren demurrs a moment later:

"In that case, we'll gladly tag along to dinner with you." He says, with a nod from Arsene, and Chrono... blinks.

With what funds? Not the Orders, right, Rosette? He thought, but of course there was no answer from Rosette as she talked about the excellent selection of meat-based dishes from Antonio's.

Not the Order's funds, Rosette! Chrono despaired.

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I ship them your honor

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Yeah I think he’s referencing the time he forgave Patrice directly comparing him to the Apostle Peter in The Golden Triangle. Pierrot is also a French diminutive of Pierre which the French version of Peter. There’s a lot you can say about Arsène calling Joker a Pierrot because he is also 100% calling him a sad clown.(And he’s not wrong.)

all of this except the 'pierrot is a french version of peter' is completely new to me, because I haven't read the novel yet xD I was confused for a moment that you switched to talking about the religious interpretation of the golden triangle, lol

Joker very much is a sad clown, yes, though that would be Arsene calling the kettle black, bc he is also a sad clown often enough

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The Reflection of Self

The borders are... gold accented, sadly you Cannot See it in the photo

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Going with that Arsène calling Joker Pierrot while it means so many other things…

I 100% believe it’s him telling Joker he forgives him. In much the same way “As you wish,” means “I love you,” in The Princess Bride.

I was under the impression that 'pierrot' was simply another word for joker, going by the commedia d'arte meaning/reading of the word, but I do Like how you think ;)

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In the vein of my Detective Personas, have some more Persona designs I've come up with:

Sheherezade and Hyde & Jekyll for Shiho and Mishima respectively, bc at some point it was planned that they'd get persona in YCmS. Sheherezade is specialized in ailments with a focus on sleep and the duo has a switch dynamic where Jekyll is a Navi and Hyde a physical attacker.

KID is just... KID, bc the idea of Kaito getting a persona of the common conception of himself is amusing, and the others are random designs, though I could imagine Persephone for Sae

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Have some more Pokemon AU bc I really like it! Arsene gets a mega evo bc Thievul deserves it.

And Ren gets a slight redesign to make him softer and also a mega evo, because I'm in a mood about Kalos returning. It's based a little on Hisuian Zoroark!

And some more sketches under the cut:

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When your user runs on coffee and two hours of sleep. Also known as: Joker did a stupid thing 2 electric bogaloo

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I 100% think What You Wish For from P5S is from Arsène’s pov.

Oooh I like that interpretation! I, uh, never paid attention to most of the vocals because I always just,, zone out and enjoy the music, haha. On that note, I also think that Beneath the Mask works very well as an image song for him. It's just,,, the symbolism,,,

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More AU time! This time in two flavors: the persona being kwami a la Miraculous Ladybug and everyone being a Pokemon.

Especially for the Pokemon one I imagine everyone dying at Yaldy's hands and waking up in a Mystery Dungeon setting. I'm pretty happy about everyone except I couldn't decide between Roserade, Gardevoir and Mismagius for Milady, and ended up going with the psychic type in the end.

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One of my headcanons for Arsène Lupin is that he named himself after Auguste Dupin.(An other is he’s ADHD.)

oh lol, I can see that!

and I absolutely agree about the ADHD thing, that man has the interest and attention span of a magpie