#RYUJI IS A FASCINATING CHARACTER

[bl-bam-beyond]

KIMI TO NARA KOI WO SHITE MITE MO (2023, JAPAN)

Episode 5 - The Finale

Kaido Amane (OKURA TAKATO) moved to Enoshima to live with his grandmother. He knows who he is but he doesn't quite like himself.

He's open about his sexuality but past experiences has him guarded. Making light of sexuality.

He meets Ryuji, who is super kind almost to a fault but his attraction to Ryuji (HYUGA WATARU) is almost immediate.

They become friends with Ryuji serving as a way for Amane to let down his walls and be real even if only with Ryuji.

Amane falls hard with every intention to keep his growing feelings to himself, but suddenly he can't hold it in anymore and confesses. Then runs off leaving Ryuji all kinds of confused.

Not one to let sleeping dogs lie Ryuji requests alone time with Amane to discuss what Amane expects from his confession.

Summer break is upon them and a date is made to watch the fireworks but until then radio silence as Ryuji has responsibilities at home/restaurant. Amane tries to see Ryuji but when he does he leaves unseen as Ryuji is working hard.

For Ryuji's part he wants to see Amane but can't bring himself to contact him. Thoughts and confusion continue to plaque him.

The day comes. Amane and Ryuji are reunited for their long ago scheduled date (just a few weeks)

Amane heart beats fast and he mentions it to Ryuji (cue the blushing)

The date is a success. They talk. They kiss. They hold hands. Friends to Lovers.

Amane asks for the first kiss. Ryuji ask for the next kiss.

I will again compare this to OLD FASHION CUPCAKE. Yes, they are together but somehow I want more.

@pose4photoml @lutawolf

[akiology]

Phantom Thieves who has a favorite gacha character (it's you)

Summary: What if you were a character in a gacha game that the Phantom Thieves are currently raving about? Note: Got this idea since I am getting back into gacha games after a month-long hiatus from them. I was like... what if its THEM spending their time on thinking about a fictional character... Also this includes Sumire!

Futaba has been hearing about the talks of a new gacha game, and realized it had a fun multiplayer aspect to it. The game didn't demand much time in their daily quests, and can be played casually. She sent an invite to the Phantom Thieves, since there's a reward if a friend starts playing the game.

Akiren

He decided to check out the game after a busy day. He did not feel like doing anything productive, and thus proceeded to click download. He went through the introduction and through the list of characters available in-game. He landed on your page, and found you really adorable and interesting.

It was currently your banner, so he decided to try his luck on pulling for you. Unfortunately, he is very unlucky but he proceeded to grind through the game's content to get you. He got you at hard pity, and proceeded to spoil you with the best gears he could get his hands on. He really likes the story and finds the other characters interesting. However, he is at full focus when you are on the screen and only uses you during combat.

If you have a favorite food/signature dish, he would most likely try to recreate it. Futaba and Mona (if its safe for them) are his taste testers. He also has a figurine of you placed on the shelf with the rest of the souvenirs he got from his friends.

Ryuji

Sadly, he also wanted to send out invites for pulls but was bested by Futaba. He actually heard of the game before, and he already had a favorite character: you. Before the game was released, he was closely following updates, teasers, and trailers. He probably found you very cool either because of your role in the story or your move set/skills.

If your character is not a healer/shielder, he will almost always play you with one of those. Makes sure you are well-protected, and if you are near fainting, he will exit the area right away. Also, his plans to acquire new characters revolves around you now. When a new character comes out, he will be thinking if said character could benefit you somehow.

Most definitely has posters of you in his bedroom, and a keychain of you in his phone. If ever there's a plushie/gachapon of you near the arcade he hangs out at, best believe he will be there!

Ann

A bit of a gamer herself, she was actually familiar with the game and only got around to downloading it when Futaba sent the invite. As she goes around and explore the world, she met your character. Either you remind her of one of the heroines she admired, or she finds your strength inspiring, (maybe even both!) you quickly became one of her favorites. She really loves your story and always pays attention when you are in the spotlight!

Ann's luck is... alright. She's not blessed like Yusuke, but not so unlucky like Akira. Even so, she managed to get you and your weapon pretty quickly! Since the game is not that challenging, no matter what your role is, she will bring you with her in the journey. Even if the team had no synergy whatsoever.

She likes thinking up of clothes/accessories inspired by you. She incorporates some of this in her daily life. Like maybe you have a unique headpiece, then maybe she will find an equivalent and start wearing it daily.

Yusuke

He got dragged into it, and decided to give it a chance. He greatly appreciates the game design, and environmental feel. As he meets all sorts of characters, he gets inspirations for each and every one. When he meets you, however, he admired your design for a moment before continuing. He really likes your overall aesthetic, and he can either relate to your experiences/or find you fascinating.

When he pulls for you, it was pure luck because he got both you and your weapon in one 10 pull. Futaba was jealous, Ryuji was stunned, Ann wished it was her, and Haru congratulated him. "This is not normal?" He asked, and it got mixed reactions from the crowd.

He rarely picks up the game, but when he does he always makes sure to set you as the character to greet him. He sometimes find inspiration/ideas after playing, and you have been the subject in a few art pieces of his. He realizes that whenever he is stuck in an impasse, sketching you or playing the game helps him get back on track. He also liked seeing fanart of you that were made by other fans.

Makoto

Also got dragged into it, and decided to check it out for Futaba. Might ask for help for the terminologies used in game, and the group chat gladly supplies information. She liked the storytelling of the game, and then she met your character. You quickly became a favorite because you were admirable.

In terms of merch collection, she goes for the ones that are useful like her Buchimaru-kun pencil case. If you have merch like a coffee mug or binder, she will go for that instead of a huge plushie or poster. She cherishes it just like she does with Buchimaru-kun.

Even if she does not drop the game because of her responsibilities, she still rarely plays it. Despite that, she might login if you have an event or role in the current story. Keyword is might.

Futaba

Truthfully, she only sent the invites out to get more of the currency used for pulling. While she already had you, she wanted to get more copies to make you stronger, or wanted to pull for a weapon that will greatly benefit you. Although, before that she made multiple accounts just so she can get you on the first ten pulls. It was quite an arduous progress.

She is very active in the fandom, and is probably a well-known figure within various social media. Most definitely runs an account dedicated to you, and also posts various headcanon/character interpretations of yours. She also gives the best advice on how to gear you up, and could be good with advising on how to build others when asked.

She has a lot of your merchandise, and is one the reasons she sometimes goes out. If you have a favorite food/signature dish, she might ask Sojiro or Joker to have it made for her. She also tends to talk about you a lot, either with Sumire or Joker. They start liking you through osmosis as well.

Haru

She was already playing the game when Futaba sent the invite. You were her favorite character because of your view on justice and/or you feel like someone she would get along with! She is cheering for you when you fight, her heart aches when you're sad, and she smiles when you triumph!

Safe to say that you are already maxed leveled, and fully built with the best gears. She also has quite the collection when it comes to your merchandise. She is a lurker in the fandom, she likes leaving likes or a few short comments on certain fan arts of you. Sometimes when she feels sad or feels like she needs that extra push, she will login the game quickly just to hear your encouragements.

Even when she's no longer as interested on the game as she was before, she still logins every once in a while just to see you. It was as if she was checking in on a friend; you hold a very special place in her heart.

Goro

Futaba accidentally sent him an invite, but he decided to check the contents anyways. He was mindlessly exploring the game's mechanics and storyline when you caught his eyes. Your character probably had a compelling philosophy, or your outfit/moves reminded him of Featherman.

He doesn't have time to grind through the content, so he probably spent money to obtain your character and all the gears you need. You are severely overpowered compared to his other characters. He does not have the time every day to login, but usually when he does it's mainly to listen to you. He really likes hearing your voice.

Outside of the game, he collects your merchandise diligently and displays them next to his Featherman figures. He also has some of your more 'discreet' merchandise on him at all times. He has a coffee mug with your symbol on it, and/or a keychain of an iconic part of your outfit connected to his phone.

Sumire

Futaba finally convinced her to play, so she decided to check it out! She heard a lot about your character through Futaba, so you were the one she was most interested in. When she finally sees you in-game, she was smiling. You became a favorite because of your kind nature, and/or your talents are similar to hers.

She plays the game casually, so when she finally got you, she does not bother getting the limited gears. She just enjoys exploring the world with you, and sometimes with Futaba and Joker.

It is unclear whether she continues playing the game, but she likes hearing updates about your character development, and your overall progression through the story from Futaba. She is cheering you on, from a far!

[auncyen]

It still fascinates me that Akiren canonically is reluctant to tell the others about "Igor" and ultimately does not. You have a dialogue option to try explaining where the Metanav comes from when Makoto questions it, but Akiren shuts it down with something about it being too hard to explain if you try going that route. Again, Akiren does know how he and the others get the Metanav; Yaldabaoth tells him he gave it to him and will give it to potential accomplices in the future. While Akiren knows about this and also that "Igor" keeps alluding to future ruin, every other Phantom Thief is in the dark. And this is fascinating because without the blinders of "oh Igor's been good every previous entry, he's just cryptic", Yaldabaoth-as-Igor comes off as an extremely shady adult in an entry all about shitty adults manipulating and abusing kids, and Akiren is put in a weird spot where it is natural that it'd feel difficult for him to tell his friends about his connection to "Igor", which seems like a real good spot to get manipulated in.

I 100% believe that the only reason Akiren doesn't actually end up getting played for a fool with this set up is because he has main character privileges. Like, I can't speak for p1/p2, but 3-5, the main character is kind of a power trip. You make friends with a bunch of people, you can romance any girl (rip if you wanna romance boys outside p3p), you are The Special One.

Please imagine if Akiren wasn't the main character and it was either Ryuji or Ann (hell, while we're doing hypotheticals, let's say the game would let you pick which one you wanted to play as). Ryuji/Ann is the PoV character, but Akiren still starts as the nominal leader because he seems to have a better clue what he's doing then, and first-time players are like "wow, he's pretty cool, why aren't we playing as him" until you start getting PoV cuts to him interacting with Yaldabaoth and it's like.......not spelled out that "Igor" is bad news, but also it definitely seems like something isn't right, and again, this is the game of shitty adults manipulating kids. So you already know Akiren's background isn't great, he's not in the best spot, and now there are just these little hints that huh ok maybe your cool friendly leader is. doing something weird. hey buddy are you going to tell us about this weird guy??? No???? Not until a mid-game upset where the PT discover what they've been doing has been manipulating public cognition in a bad way they might have avoided if they'd just known to have the slightest suspicion about this old man most of them are just now hearing about and Akiren is having a meltdown out of guilt and shame because he didn't explain anything partially because it'd be hard but also because what if people didn't believe him, he acts cool but has trauma from his arrest and his hometown doubting him and he 100% avoided doing or saying anything that might make him anything less than the perfect trustworthy confidant for all his friends (which, guess how a few teammates would be reacting, so between that and Akiren having a meltdown, now Ryuji/Ann is the official leader! Yay, you're actually playing the leader now! Isn't that great? ...Yippee????)

and then on ng+ you just spend early game circling Akiren at his hangout spot yelling "TELL US YOU DUMBASS WE'LL STILL LOVE YOU AND IT'LL SAVE A LOT OF PAIN" but alas the plot is written.

anyway yes I still believe they set up Akiren so perfectly to be manipulated not just as part of the Phantom Thieves but as an individual, because of his own personal vulnerabilities, and that it would 100% have happened if he was not protag.

[bengiyo]

If It's With You Ep 1 Stray Thoughts

A second show from MBS releasing. These are some of the youngest boys we've had, and I'm excited about the three MBS releases for today.

Oh lord our protagonist is moody and he's already had sex. I'm sold.

Fascinated that that he's been having hookups with adults and seems comfortable with his sexuality.

Our romantic lead is making me think of Ja.

My roommate and I had to pause and comment on this cat's huge balls.

Interesting. Amane immediately started using Yamasuge's given name.

Oh, I really like that Amane is flirty, and that he's assessing if the cute boy who can cook is straight.

Can't fall in love if you ain't clumsy.

Our little horny boy looks like he left behind some angst.

Well well well, our boys are in the same homeroom.

Amane is a menace and I already love him.

He touched Ryuji's hair and instantly assessed him as shy.

Amane has no shame. I am obsessed. He is checking out these boys, asking for dates, and nodding approvingly at the girls.

Yes, suggestively eat the ice cream after grabbing his wrist.

I'm uncertain what happened in this exchange where Amane made sure Ryuji knew he was gay. What made Ryuji turn serious that Amane demurred to?

And the hot water heater has broken so we're already going to a public bath house together!

I am already obsessed, besties. I think this character is what @respectthepetty calls a red rascal and he is a menace. I just know @ginnymoonbeam is going to be obsessed just like me.

[randoimago]

Hi! I noticed that Persona 5 is back on the fandom list and I actually have a holiday headcanon that I would like to see: S/O making a holiday sweater for the Phantom Thief Boys. Thanks and Happy Holidays!! 🎄

S/O Making a Sweater for Them

Fandom: Persona 5

Characters: Akira Kurusu, Ryuji Sakamato, Yusuke Kitagawa

Type of Request: Headcanons, ❄️

Notes: Aw this is v cute! I didn't know if you wanted the boys reacting to finding out the Reader is making it or being gifted the sweater after it's done so I did the latter! Happy holidays to you too <3

Akira

Was probably ready to make a sly comment about being gifted a sweater for the holidays before he noticed there's no tag on it. Usually store bought stuff has tags and this doesn't have anything.

Then you tell him that you made it. You physically made him a sweater.

Doesn't care if he has too many layers on already, this sweater is immediately being worn. Might throw his jacket somewhere else, but you just get to watch him slip the sweater on.

Akira might tease a bit about you knowing his measurements because that's kind of suspicious, S/O. But he does love the sweater and with how often he wears it, you know it's true.

Ryuji

Probably a bit worried when he sees the sweater at first cause some material makes his skin itchy and doesn't want to return something you bought him. But then he notices that it's actually soft and feels nice when he feels it in his hands.

Probably doesn't even process you saying you made it because he's just admiring the sweater.

It's not cheesy like a lot of holiday sweaters nor does it look like something the stereotypical grandmother would make... Wait you made this!?

I don't think he'd immediately put it on, but he is touched that you gave him something that you made. Honestly didn't think sweaters look cool on him, but this matches his aesthetic so well that he'll gladly wear it next time he goes out.

Yusuke

This boy is so thankful that he got a sweater. All his money goes to art stuff. He doesn't have enough winter clothing so this is perfect.

At learning that you made this, he wants to hear all the details. It might not be what he's used to, but making clothes is still art and he is fascinated.

Also one to immediately put it on. Except he decides to go to a bathroom first to change instead of just slipping it on since he doesn't want to accidentally stretch it out and ruin it.

If anyone asks him about the sweater then he's sure to mention that you made it for him. Just wants to brag about how talented you are with your creation. Probably asks you for more sweaters too because this one is very comfy and warm.

[dropintomanga]

I Saw the Live-Action Blue Period Movie

This past weekend at Japan Society NYC, I got a chance to see the live-action adaptation of Tsubasa Yamaguchi's critically-acclaimed manga, Blue Period, a month before Japanese theaters are showing it. As someone who hasn't read the manga beforehand, but knew the premise, I wanted to see why this series is beloved by a lot of fans, especially those who have been through art school.

The movie captures the 1st major arc (Volumes 1-6) of the series. I was impressed with the portrayal of the main character, Yatora Yaguchi. He totally gave off the vibe of someone who's just going along with the flow until the world of art comes into his life. Ryuji Ayukawa left an impression on me as well. I thought his relationship with Yatora was fascinating as both have different personalities on how they view life. Yotasuke Takahashi was great in the film. He had a lot of audience reactions from the crowd at certain moments because he's quite a bit of a tsundere. I don't have much of an opinion on Maru Mori, despite her being a prominent influence on Yatora. However, one of her paintings that involved prayers looked fantastic on screen.

I did read all of Volumes 1-6 afterwards to compare and contrast. A lot of the information about art styles and techniques was cut off from the movie, so the story became even more of an emotional story. I love how grounded the movie is and while there were some CG effects in the movie, they were minimal. I liked how the movie made the process of getting into a top-tier art university intense as hell. It helps that Yatora's inner monologues about himself and the process are so well-portrayed by Gordon Maeda, the actor who plays him. The scenes where you see the actual art process during the manga's important art moments are impressive as well.

Even though some character plots and portrayals were put on the back seat, Blue Period was a fun movie to watch. I did almost tear up at certain moments because I have at times wanted to just follow the expectations of others to feel safe. But I felt life became exciting and full of meaning once I decided to choose how I wanted to live. Sure, I may not be rich and life is sometimes hard as hell, but I feel like I'm living a life I'm okay with. Plus, even though it may not be contemporary art, manga art has had quite the influence on my life. Manga art has compelled me to think a lot about life and the relationships that definite it. Although I never wanted to draw, I realized how much I wanted to talk about the medium's stories to a lot of people I know. I also understood why former art school students love Blue Period so much.

I know a good amount of live-action adaptations are hit or miss, but I can tell you this one is a hit due to how real the story and themes are. If you're a fan of the manga and the movie comes out in your area, this is worth a watch.

[yakuzacanons]

Yakuza Character Drink Headcanons

A brief break from the romance posts since I realize I did two in a row. Also thank you for all of the love you’ve shown my posts. Especially love when y’all write in the tags. Reminder that you can send any submissions or requests of any kind my way. Until then, enjoy this shorter post and I’ll see y’all tomorrow!

Kazuma Kiryu

Mostly drinks just water. Dislikes overly sweet drinks. Will totally go on whiskey distillery tours if given the choice. Favorite alcohol is whiskey. Has never been blackout drunk. When drunk, he just gets tired.

Majima Goro

Likes mildly sweetened drinks as well as sour drinks, like lemonade. Boba weirds him out (”Drinks are for sippin’ Not chewin’ on stuff!”) and he’s not a fan of coffee. Likes all alcohol but loves sharing a beer with Saejima most. A loud menace and easily provoked when drunk.

Saejima Taiga

Black coffee at the start of the day. Likes milkshakes. Fascinated by Ramune (”Why’s this drink got a lil’ ball inside?”) but tends to break them when opening them due to his strength. Favorite alcohol is beer, hands down. Gets hiccups when he drinks but rarely gets more than tipsy.

Akiyama Shun

Drinks mostly fruit juice of any kind. Almost never drinks water, he’s practically a camel. He’s a big fan of champagne but knows it’s not practical so usually gets whiskey or shochu. He’s a flirty drunk and giggles a lot.

Tanimura Masayoshi

Chugs soda like there’s no tomorrow when he’s working. Prefers soda over coffee. During sit down meals, he drinks tea, mostly chrysanthemum tea. Fond of boba drinks. Likes to drink shochu but is a total lightweight.

Ryuji Goda

Really into tea. Especially traditional tea ceremonies. Has his own personal tea set and takes it quite seriously. Honestly doesn’t drink much else. For alcohol, he dabbles in whiskey or champagne but knows his limits very well and will never get publicly drunk.

Mine Yoshitaka

Drinks protein shakes when he works out. Otherwise, it’s mostly water or herbal tea. Is surprisingly into cocktails and finds bartending to be rather interesting. Has a personal minibar at home. Never has more than one drink in public so he never gets drunk outside of his home.

Daigo Dojima

Like Ryuji except with coffee. Very interested in brewing his own coffee and will always take time to brew himself a cup in the morning. Hates instant coffee. Likes rum and whiskey. Drinking gives him headaches so he doesn’t do it often.

Nishikiyama Akira

Smoothies and fruit juice all the way. He does genuinely like the taste but also does it because it’s popular with the ladies. Tries to get into whiskey but really prefers vodka. Not great at knowing his limits with alcohol.

Tachibana Tetsu

It’s coffee in the morning and water at night. Detests soda. The carbonation feels uncomfortable to him. Seldom drinks, mostly because he’s a total lightweight and most alcohol makes him totally nauseous. Likes gin and tonic the most.

Haruka Sawamura

Boba tea drinker. Likes to get all kinds of toppings put into her drink. Blends her own juice at home using fruits from the market. Particularly fond of guava or strawberry juice. Has never tasted alcohol but the smell reminds her of cleaning products.

[mayadoesfandomstuff]

There's something just so fascinating at how Persona 5 finds ways to explain the complex personality of the protagonist. Besides the typical cheeky answer options that we get when we're asked a question, the game is oozing with his personality in every turn.

We know from the cutscenes that he's a confident son of a bitch that doesn't give a rat's ass about how people see him. We also know from these cutscenes that he just can't help himself from getting nosy into people's business when he perceives an injustice even if it has nothing to do with him. Even with just the first few ones, we could see it. Just from the infamous "damn brat!" scene, to how he shows genuine anger when hearing his classmate talk about his new abusive teacher even before he becomes a phantom thief.

Despite his confident demeanor, the games songs meanwhile paint an entirely different picture of him. "Wake up, Get up, Get out There!" tells us that this confidence is new and that he himself has just found his edge. He came from a background of uncertainty and only now after recognizing how powerless he is that he could finally rebel.

Even with this rebellion, we know for a fact that he's still ever so lost as ever from "Beneath the Mask", being the calm song that plays on his downtimes that completely recontextualizes his actions. The song explains how our protagonist not only doesn't want to be perceived by people, but also how he doesn't even know who he is. He doesn't want people to "take off his mask" which is his "place to hide" and see that he's nothing but a "shapeshifter" who's so nothing of a person that anyone is "free to draw" him.

This then leads to some interesting take aways from his other actions like his relationships. None of his relationships are unconditional. All of them are transactional one way or another. Even with his teammates, there are stakes to improving them. Morgana starts their friendship by teaching him the ways of infiltration in exchange for helping Mona get his form back, Ryuji and him have shared stakes of being a phantom thief thus training together, Ann starts their main friendship by trying to get her persona stronger so she becomes a better fighter and phantom thief, etc. - all of them start with transactions. This is even more poignant with his non phantom thief relationships as all of them he wants something out of, and even most of them he doesn't initiate. Morgana does.

From what we know of his history and how he doesn't even know who he is, it could be assumed that he doesn't trust people easily and relationships must always have a catch to them. Coming from a background where he has been beaten, ostracized, and neglected, it's really not surprising that he acts this way either. Even the least of those events happening to anyone could make them distrust others to make them view the world that way.

This is why it's so fitting that Joker is often compared to a cat - a mischievous creature that often causes problems, seemingly so full of itself, but so prone to being abused and distrusting others. He's a stray cat that came from a lot of abuse and isn't willing to let anyone in for fear of its safety. That's why the small little character details and even major aspects of the game really paint an interesting picture of the protagonist that just fascinates the heck out of me

[shslskaterboy]

Finding it fascinating to see the non 0 amount of persona fans out there who interpret Ryuji’s character as being homophobic, and even more baffling than that are the examples people keep citing like. “Well what about that time in shinjuku!?” (<- was literally being harassed, very good excuse to be uncomfortable) or “but he doesn’t like it if you try to confess to him at the dance-“ No. stop. What are you even talking about. Not only is he not the only one who reacts that way, but who wouldn’t react that way?? Have we all forgotten what it’s like to be 16-17 and everything in the world is the most mortifying ordeal known to man? I’m gay as hell- real bona fide boy liker- and if some guy tried to pull that shit on me I would also tackle him off the stage. Not to mention the idea that him being attracted to women somehow also equates being the resident homophobe? Like yeah sometimes he makes comments like “wouldn’t you rather have a girl here?” But that’s not necessarily even internalized homophobia, it’s just compulsory heteronormativity (which is not the same thing!!) Idk all I’m saying is that he just. Isn’t like that? He has no problems with his masculinity, he never makes comments about trying to be more of a man or even equating sexuality to masculinity, and he has NO problem openly displaying affection to Joker, so where is the idea of internalized homophobia even coming from? Is it just bc Yosuke is the king of internalized homophobia and best friend guy=same character? Bc if so then I’m begging people to pay any more attention to Ryuji than literally none at all, because while he does seem to have potential problems when it comes to examining his own sexuality, there is truly no reason to assume he would ever have a problem with it

[strawberryjamsara]

Persona 3 reload: a retrospective

A while back, I watched a let’s play of persona 3. And I hated it. I found it juvenile, nihilistic, extremely gross, and I felt like the members of sees were hardly friends, so their bonds hardly meant anything.

But, Persona 5 is a game I love, and also a long game that I’ve played multiple times, so I wasn’t sure if I was ready to play it again. And I had scrounged up enough for the new game, with me reasoning to myself that I’d have a better experience playing myself

And I was right. Everything I didn’t see in the game before came out at me in this playthrough so much I wondered if the original was ever really as bad as I thought.

So I just wanna recount a lot of the experience here. Beware of spoilers.

story and themes.

In my first watch, Persona 3’s story sort of felt like what I’d come up with at 14. Constant talks about how death is inevitable, nothing matters, and a line at the end saying our dead protagonist “found the answer” by dying which honestly made my jaw drop when seeing it. Not a good thing for someone with constant suicidal thoughts to hear, and the line struck me as tasteless, gross, and neglectful of the audience mental health.

That line is still there, and I still despise it, but this time around, I better understood the message the entire game wants to convey, that being: “Yes death is inevitable, yes nothing in life matters: which is why it’s important to live each day to the fullest and make your time matter.” This is shown by the fictional condition “apathy syndrome” a syndrome that literally makes you stand in place doing nothing forever, essentially a giving up on life that is what the villains hope to inflict on the world. The fall isn’t just an instant death. It’s plunging every human on earth into this state of apathy, and through this, they will all die while not even doing anything about this, and THATS what makes Nyx terrifying. And understanding this, it greatly raised my appreciation. The game also comes with a label warning for heavy themes and advising players to take a break if it gets too hard, which I appreciate.

There’s also a pretty good conflict with the heroes that being: the want for the world to constantly be in peril so they have something to do with their lives. This was sort of in Persona 5 with the thieves (Or really just Ryuji) soaking in popularity, but Persona 3 is a much better utilized version of this. All these people hated their lives before they became humanities saviors, and the idea of losing that purpose in life is scary to them. It’s only through their bonds with eachother they come to realize what they’re actually living for, and makes the villains Strega perfect foils, because their bonds with eachother aren’t enough. Jin obviously would give the world for Takaya, but they so easily threw Chidori away for bonding with the ones who took away their purpose. Takaya is pushed forward by pure nihilism and the ability to do whatever the hell he wants, and so he neglects the people around him. Jin dies in his final fight with you to protect Takaya’s dreams, and Takaya in his last moments wishes Jin could see the end but he didn’t. Takaya put his power trip over the only person he had left, so he was alone at the end.

I will say though, that while Strega are good villains, I don’t really like the games wishy washy handling of the Kirijo group. I’ll talk more about Mitsuru and her bond with her father when I get to characters (it’s nowhere near as bad as Haru though) but while the actions of the company are truly horrific, it sort of looks away from what it means for Mitsuru to inherit a company that caused this entire disaster then profited off of it, which like, yes I hate capitalism, but it’s also a very fascinating thread of idea that gets dropped. Also, yes, making the villains the group of orphans who were experimented on by the Kirijo group and have nothing from the heiress except a line about how she had ‘no idea’ and having the main characters work with the police, and the police being seen as a role model, and working with a coorporation is. A choice. And a huge downgrade from P5. Back to Mitsuru and the Kirijo’s though, this sort of thing could easily have been explored in her social link.

Speaking of which….

Social links and linked episodes

So when I watched that let’s play, the worst part for me was the social links. They were where a lot of personas signature brand really gross content came from, and the characters were utterly uninteresting to me. So were they bad as I remembered?

Yes and no.

One big thing I’m glad they’ve changed is that in the original game, whenever you maxed your bond with a female character you’d enter a relationship no matter what. So if you wanted to max your bond with multiple girls, then guess what! You’re cheating on your girlfriend. This lead to moments where I cringe in sympathy because Mitsuru is ranting to her fiancé about how much better and kinder the protagonist is and knowing this boy is leading on seven different girls.

Also some of the bonds were better than I gave them credit for! I loved coaching the group of kids with Yuko, being with Hayase in rough times, and helping Kamiki come to terms with his death.

Some were just as bad as I remembered though.

The hermit social link is extremely uncomfortable, having to listen to a woman who is obviously your teacher gleefully talk about her plans to get you alone to date you and the game treating this as funny and not horrific. Or Kenji talking about dating his teacher. Or a girl whose so nervous around boys so you can fix her and she becomes confident enough to protest a sign at school condemning relationships between students and teachers- what is with this game and student teacher relationships?

There’s also the problem of the best options in some of these links involve being an enabler. Yes little girl, run away from home, and only bring your insurance card, this is a great idea. If you don’t wanna take the optimal route and say that, you can tell her she deserved her parents hitting her. Yeah, in the original let’s play, I had NEVER hated a main character more than this guy and he was literally a silent protagonist.

I still really hate these moments. I could get attached to the main character (probably because I was playing as him, and there was more time in between… this. And also he wasn’t a cheater) but I still felt so ick picking what I knew was the best option.

So what about the parties links?

I think they’re a mixed bag. Yukari and Aigis have incredibly good social links about themselves and their lives, but Mitsuru’s is clearly just written with romance first, introducing a fiancé who is never mentioned anywhere else in the game for the protagonist to be better than, and Fuuka took a potentially interesting character and made her character arc about what a good cook she is. Thanks Atlus, feminist as always.

But what about the boys? Hahaha… sickos… YEEEES.

The boys in the original game did not have social links. This contributed to my original feeling like SEES weren’t friends, and my dislike towards the protagonist that you couldn’t hang out with any of your roommates who weren’t romance options to cheat on, but reload fixes this. Well, sorta.

Instead of social links, you have ‘linked episodes’ with the boys where you spend a day together and get stat upgrades, and I LOVED this. Often during these episodes the rest of sees would come together and hang, and even if they didn’t, the character insight offered felt worthwhile and like they had bonded. This and study sessions with the group, seeing Yukari Junpei and the protagonist spending time as a group chatting after school, and nightly activities where you could chill with your dormates after dark contributed so much to making these bonds feel more real, and making me believe they’re friends. Even if it’s just the protagonist hanging out with Akihiko on his own, you still get bits of him talking about Shinji and Mitsuru that make it feel alive. I LOVE how sometimes if you go to Tartarus one person won’t be able to make it because they’re out, or they’re studying, or they’re just not feeling it. It makes you feel like you need to take everyone’s schedules to heart. I’m aware that last feature is in the original, but it feels a lot more meaningful to play it for myself.

I’m getting off topic. Time to talk about

The characters

A lot of the characters in P3 I did not like on my first go. With the exception of Yukari and Junpei. And I’m glad to say I’ve come around to all of them this time around. So to go one by one:

Junpei Iori

Junpei at first seems like your typical first persona party member. He’s not very bright, he’s sexist in the way a lot of teenage boys are, and he’s seemingly just there for comic relief.

Then the game flips the script. You realize Junpei is insecure of you. You realize that his girlbestie who teases him all the time, may actually be getting under his skin. You realize that he’s so deeply and utterly sad, and finding out that the entire world would crumble without him is the best thing that happened in his life.

And then he meets the first love of his life.

Chidori and Junpeis romance is so well written, and makes me wish the games would make more romances for your party members instead of the obnoxious romance system that exists where the developers think if the player can’t date any woman that moves they’ll keel over dead.

Junpei finds with Chidori the first girl he doesn’t just think of as someone to hit on for the man points. He finds a genuine crush, someone he cares about the safety and well being of, and a reason to keep going and saving the world because Chidori is in it. And Chidori finds much of the same in him. Watching Junpei turn from a womanizing creep into the sweet guy who waits at Chidoris hospital bed every day was something that even in my first watch had me gnashing my teeth about how Yosuke and Ryuji didn’t touch this level. So yeah. Junpei is great and so is his character arc.

Yukari Takeba

Yukari was the other character I was attached to first run. Mostly because the lets player kept talking about how much he hated her and nothing makes me love a female character more than male audiences treating her like shit, but I was also just attached to her relationship with Junpei. They were the only characters that to me felt like genuine friends, and you could see by the way they’d jab at eachother back and forth.

And I was glad for her headstrong nature. She was the one questioning what was really going on, and she could be mean, and angry, and unpleasant. She could kinda suck, and I appreciated her for that. The scene in my first time where she tries to cheer up Junpei by teasing him and it backfires miserably lived in my head rent free for a while.

And while my opinions of Junpei being a good character pretty much stayed the same this time, my love for Yukari skyrocketed. I realized how endlessly loving she is, and yet how emotionally stunted her beginnings made her, with her dads death, her moms distance, and her friends leaving her behind. I loved when I realized ‘Oh. It’s not just that one time. Junpeis been bothered by her teasing since the beginning, but it’s her expression of love because she’s afraid of vulnerability.’ I loved how she connected with the protagonist, she found someone in a similar situation, but she could still be an asshole to him sometimes because she’s messy and complicated (and side note: I think I ship shuyuka now.)

So yeah. Yukari is a ten out of ten character.

Akihiko Sanada

I thought this guy had no personality the first time around. What was I thinking? Oh boy, I love this dork.

Akihiko going on about bolstering his muscles but can’t bolster his social skills enough for a normal conversation (Mr Autism my good friend) is already endearing to me, but what really comes in clutch is his relationships to Mitsuru and Shinji.

Aki is the only person in the group who doesn’t really see Mitsuru as an authority figure, disobeying her orders from the very start to not push himself, and pushing her buttons a little, a far cry from how she’s essentially the leader (yes I know the protagonist is the textual leader but let’s be real. Mitsuru is the leader.) and they’re a bond I feel like I neglected my first time around.

But let’s talk Shinji.

Akihiko and Shinji are a tragedy and despite knowing how it ended every step of the way this time, I couldn’t help getting attached. Aki losing the only friend he had as an orphan was not all at once but a slow burn. It’s easy to see coming, and yet Akihiko is Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the hill, hoping this time, things can go back to normal with every time he tries to talk him into joining, not realizing the boulder is already falling to the man’s death and Shinji knows it.

I think his final awakening and development happened to fast after that though. Like at least give the man more than a day of his best friend being dead before you make him have his big revelation.

Okay that’s pretty much all my thoughts but one last thing: I didn’t realize how hilariously gay coded he is my first time. He has crowds of adoring girls around him but doesn’t talk to any of them and instead goes to hang with the guys. He’s best friends with Mitsuru and romance isn’t hinted at once. Why are you as a man so obsessed with Shinji, hm?

Fuuka Yamagishi

I think Fuuka has an incredibly strong entrance into the game.

Her status as a navigator is like any person playing their first persona game and gets the navigator, pretty weak at first. Until you realize how powerful she really is. And I think that’s a good metaphor for her character. Turning her bully into her best friend shows her kindness, but also her strength at how she got Natsuki to respect her, not through brute strength but just by being good to her and saving her, and began to spend time with her because of this respect.

Unfortunately, Fuuka is pretty stagnant through most of the story.

I’m glad for some things like her bond with Yukari, and how she finds out the truth behind the Kirijo’s, but it seems like most of this is frontloaded while she takes a backseat to other plotlines, and most of her lines just seem to be her using her persona.

She does get one last incredible scene though in her evolution. When Natsuki leaves and gives Fuuka encouragement, I honestly did feel tears in my eyes for this friendship and the growth Fuuka had knowing she had people who loved her, in both Natsuki and SEES. I speak as someone who usually HATES the bully and victim become friends trope when I say they were a highlight.

So Fuuka isn’t my favorite but she’s a worthy character. I would fix some stuff, but I care her.

Mitsuru Kirijo

This is another character I found bland and uninteresting my first time. I can’t believe how dumb I was.

Okay, so there’s problems with Mitsurus character. I’ve mentioned most of them. Her social link, her becoming the heiress to the evil coorporation, etc etc. but oh goodness is she interesting.

This girl subjected herself to some implied horrific shit for the sake of correcting her families injustices. Because she didn’t want her father to live with the guilt. So she became isolated, depressed, and a bit of a ‘no fun allowed’ type. It could be argued that in the beginning she wants to rid the world of the dark hour the most.

But she’s also just a kid who shouldn’t have to subject herself to that. Her happiest moments aren’t when she’s talking to the father she wants to appease but with her found family in SEES.

As for Mitsurus dad- okay it’s not a Haru’s dad situation. I CAN see some of why Mitsuru cares about him. He’s the ‘stoic but kind’ archetype. The ‘beforetimes’ referred to are before the near end of the world was caused by this man’s father and left him feeling awful, and Mitsuru herself wanted to change that. But I still think the game glorifies him a little bit. Like hey, Strega said they were gathered by Kirijo group to learn persona summoning, and I’m pretty sure Mitsurus grandpa died in that explosion, so who was in charge of those child experiments that killed orphans? You wanna answer that game?

But okay, at the very least, I can see why Mitsuru would care for her father. He’s not as cartoonishly awful as Okumura is, he is an actual human being. And the game keeps its focus on this arc on Mitsuru where it belongs. And her big awakening is, while it’s still not great about acknowledging her dads shit, where it should be. On her realizing she has her friends.

So yes, Mitsuru isn’t as tightly written as Junpei and Yukari, but she’s still a good character.

Aigis

While most characters my first time around felt boring, Aigis felt fetishistic.

Like yes, this robot girls first action is to bury her face in the players bare chest. She watches you while you sleep. This is a running theme. Not only that, but I did not buy her transition into caring about SEES and becoming more human for reasons stated before. SEES don’t feel like friends, yadda yadda yadda.

This time around though, I saw a lot differently. Having the main character slowly bond with her as a friend outside her directive made her feel so much more like a character and not a writers fantasy. I liked little things like how she got excited over ladybugs and that made me appreciate other things like how she goes ‘maaan’ to repeat Junpei or how she gets into an argument with Koromaru. And this made her character development and realization of life’s beauty so much more impactful.

A robot who comes to understand life is a very typical trope, one that I love dearly. My first time didn’t really capture any of the magic for me, but this time around I really love Aigis.

Koromaru

Well, Koromaru is a simple character. He’s literally a dog. He does dog things. He’s implied to be smarter than the average dog. He has a backstory. But sometimes that’s all you need. He is a puppy. A creature. He’s your best friend. He’s loyal and he guarded the place of his last owner. I love you puppy.

Ken Amada

Okay, so first time, I thought Ken had the pieces of an arc that were decent but everything happened so fast. He was introduced, then the next time he did something significant it was saying his backstory and then attempted murder.

I think reloads linked episodes fixed this for me because god I wanna hug this kid. The way they imply his suicidal idealation, and how everyone in SEES sees him as a little brother, give him a family, but he just keeps ruminating on the single worst day of his life so bad he makes another. This kid has such good character development.

Shinjiro Aragaki

God I love Shinji. I love the ‘tough guy secretly loves dogs’ tropes. I love how he knows he’s doomed but still uses his last moments to try and make sure Ken doesn’t end up like him. I love how he cares about Akihiko but doesn’t want to move past his trauma. I love how he’s stuck in place as he is, refusing to let things go but is still fundamentally kind. I love Shinji.

Shuji Ikutsuki

Despite the fact I knew his betrayal was coming this time, I didn’t wanna believe Ikutsuki was a bad guy.

I loved his bad puns, his notebook full of them, how he suggested making the garden, how he just came to hang out in the living room sometimes to be supportive. I love you can catch him on camera making his bad jokes and laughing like a hyena to know that even if he was a shitty dude in the end, he genuinely loved those jokes. After everything he put you through, he was genuine when he told you his bad jokes. Which to me, is far more interesting than anything anyone has ever gleaned from Adachi.

Ryoji Mochizuki

Ryoji is honestly a very good character and I’m shocked. I’ve seen people compare him to Akechi for ‘friends who turn into antagonists’ but as much as I love Akechi, I don’t think Ryoji is anything like him.

But boy do I love him.

While the idea of a nice grim reaper has been done a million times, a kind hand guiding you towards the afterlife, (mind you I love that trope) Ryoji is the first time I’ve seen a bringer of death who hates being one. He loves life, and his friends, and the idea of it ending is scary, but inevitable and he wants to offer a choice, and it honestly feels so gut wrenching when you spend all this time waiting for him to betray you, when you realize he’s just a sweet kid who didn’t ask for this. And honestly, I think I liked him my first time around for that reason. Ryomina is a different story, but I came around to that too this time, and I don’t want this to be bogged down with thoughts on shipping.

Chidori

I pretty much got all my thoughts about Jin and Takaya down in the story section so I’ll skip right to Chidori. And I love her.

Chidori in the beginning feels like just another member of Strega. But when she gets taken to the hospital by SEES partway through, you can see that Strega were not very good to her. They don’t really care most of the game to try and free her, and we find out that she’s been self harming for a while- something Strega doesn’t just ignore, but considering Takayas philosophy, probably actively encouraged. And I like that at first, SEES aren’t equipped to handle her either. They close in and interrogate a very obviously traumatized and mentally ill girl before Junpei busts in to yell at them to give her space.

And I like how we see her passion for art. That despite her claims she cares for nothing, obviously she can’t do that. She loves art. And it’s because of Junpei she really wakes up to that.

I love Chidori

Conclusion

Honestly, I’m not sure if I can put my finger on what it was about Persona 3 that clicked for me this time. Maybe it was the linked episodes, maybe it was playing it for myself, maybe I’m just better at literary comprehension and analysis than before.

But P3 this time really stuck to me, and despite its flaws, I really do get the hype now.

[yusuke-of-valla]

You know not to have way too many thoughts before 8am but the Persona 3 Reload going out of it's way to add an animated oggling the girls cutscene made me realize again that Persona 5 is so weird about Ann's sexuality

Like putting these cutscenes side by side (and ignoring the greater context of Kamoshida's palace) the intended reading is probably that Ann is more confident in her body so she makes fun of Ryuji, meanwhile Fuuka is ~shy~ so she hides behind Yukari and skips the beach the next morning

But it's also fascinating that the way Ann's demonstrated as being confident in her body is that... she's ok with being oggled? Like you can see this in the p3 reload cutscene, Mitsuru's not bothered because she's confident. Confident women have no problem with getting oggled by their friends/dormmates, obviously

But also it says something that if Ann's supposed to be confident in her body but also is only allowed to do so in a passive way? Like she can be oggled at the beach but heaven forbid she be confident in her leather catsuit created by her soul. She's got all the trappings of a femme fatale but it's not like she's got a fan club of guys she's manipulating into giving her info or actively flirting with marks to get information, that'd imply she's a slut

Ann's entire character is a horrible case of have your cake and eat it too, like the devs wanted a sexy character but it can't be because SHE wants to be sexy! She's a Good Nice Girl, so she's obviously bothered by getting sexualized except when she isn't!

(I know there's an argument of her being ok with her friends but not strangers but if that's the case why wear a bikini on a public beach and why have her vocally bothered by her suit when only her friends see her? And weird how the game never wants to actually explore this facet of her character in depth)

Ann, being a teenage girl, never thinks about sex ever. Obviously. And if she did that would be Bad! We certainly can't imply she has any thoughts outside of being into the player.

[time-eatingnoodle]

Ao no Summer - Prompts 8 - 15

8 - Trendy 

“Soooo… Why are we here again?”

“Because it’s new, everyone is talking about it, and Nii-san cannot resist flashy colours, or the prospect of a sugar rush.”

“Hey!” Rin whipped around to glare at the two of them, pointing them with a would-be threatening finger if his tail wasn’t wagging like an excited puppy. “You said you were down to try it out! If anyone here’s in need of a sugar rush, it’s you guys!”

“I never said I was against it, I was just asking!” Ryuji retorted, looking up at the large, colourful candy store before them, and its towering, oddly terrifying depictions of Mephisto as a bubblegum character looming and grinning down at them. “Just feels like a weird place to start off a double date, is all.”

“I think it’s a great place to start!” Shiemi exclaimed, promptly latching onto her boyfriend’s arm and making him wag his tail some more. “Nori told me about it, I’ve been curious too! She said they had products from all over the world! It’s exciting!”

“All right! C’mon Shiemi, we’re ditching those boring losers!” Rin giggled as he pulled his laughing girlfriend along through the revolving doors, but not before Ryuji could call out:

“You’re not ditching anybody, you moron!”

The two soon disappeared inside the store amongst the crowd of students and children, leaving Ryuji and Yukio behind. With a sigh, Ryuji turned to his friend, and found him looking more amused than he thought he would be. His lips stretched in the lightest of smiles, in a way he knew he was trying to hold still, and when Yukio turned toward him, it grew, like he was trying not to laugh, or to hide his own excitement.

“Shall we?”

Ryuji felt his fingers brush against his hand, promptly making his heart skip a beat. He grinned back, and threw his arm around Yukio’s neck, pulling him in close as he guided him toward the candy store.

“Sure thing! Let’s see what it’s all about.”

Together, the two walked in through the doors, and found themselves delving into a dream world of bubblegum and rainbows. Every single square inch of this store was covered in a sea of sugary goodness, from the floor up to the ceiling, even to the second story and filling the aisles to the brim. Ryuji didn’t think there would be a place that could hold what was possibly every single kind of candy on earth, but here he was, trying to understand how they could fit all of it in one single place. It was a cavern full of treasures! …for those who liked candy, that is. Ryuji had never been big on sugar, but walking around, just to look, still made for a fascinating experience. Besides… The candies weren’t why he agreed to come here.

Ryuji wandered through the store, listening to Rin and Shiemi’s excited giggles from somewhere nearby, glancing at every flash of colour and never letting his eyes stop for a second too long on anything of remote interest… until he spotted Yukio again. It made him stop, and look. He could find his shape between a million others, so effortlessly, and no matter how distracting the rest of the world was. Yukio stood in a quiet corner, behind rows of giant lollipops and stacks of colourful popcorn, and faced a wall that was absolutely full of various jars of round, multicoloured marbles. He looked up and down at the jars, up and down again, as though trying to identify every single marble inside them, and Ryuji could see, from where he stood, hidden behind a cover of hanging bags of cotton candy, that he was smiling. It was something small, yet so true, so radiant, so simple. Ryuji could not help but stare, and admire, and imprint that smile in his memories, as well as the wonder that shone so brightly in his friend’s eyes at that moment.

Ryuji decided that if he wasn’t getting anything for himself… he’d at least get something for Yukio.

~~~

9 - Shopping

The farmer’s market was thriving. The vendors called out to them, showcasing their kioskes chock full of all kinds of local produce, with their rich and lively colours and shapes. Vegetables, fruits, cheese, eggs, drinks and sauces, everything was there, and Rin had already picked up quite a few in preparation for their dinner date that night, but now he was distracted. As he paid the vendor in front of him for a freshly-picked batch of carrots, he turned, and saw that Shiemi had wandered a bit ahead, and he found himself unable to move.

She wasn’t doing anything particularly amazing or mind-blowing; she was just walking along the stands, looking down at all the rows of veggies before her, her step slow, almost pensive. What could she be thinking about, he wondered. Was she wondering whether she should get something? Or perhaps… she was thinking about the things they’d discussed in secrecy? Her mind had been wandering aimlessly as of late, and he could see it, in her step, in her stance, in the distance of her gaze…

Rin stashed the carrots into the plastic bag dangling on his arm, prepared to step up to go talk to her, but then a sudden meow called for his attention, and he turned.

“Rin! There you guys are!”

Kuro was dashing toward him across the market, with Yukio and Suguro further away sending arm waves toward him, and Rin smiled, before holding his hand out toward his familiar.

“And where have you been?” he asked as Kuro jumped up his arm and up to perch on his shoulder, purring happily. “We were about to leave without you!”

“Secret cat things!” Kuro replied, making one final jump to flop down on top of his head. “I can’t tell you!”

“Ah, secrets eh? Guess we all have those lately…”

He raised his head back toward Shiemi, and found her staring down almost intensely at a stack of tomatoes, as though the perfect one would float up to present itself to her. With a little smile, Rin made up his mind, and walked over to her. He only had to briefly look over the tomatoes once before reaching out and grabbing one. He weighed it first, turned it around to inspect it, and presented it to his girlfriend, who seemingly jumped out of her thoughts at the present. He felt the words come to him so easily…

“Imagine,” he said softly, “how great it’ll be when we grow our own stuff ourselves. I bet we can make even bigger tomatoes! What do you think?”

Though she appeared genuinely shocked at first, it didn’t take long for Shiemi to reward him with the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen, and for the lights in her eyes to shine once again for him. At that moment, when she reached out and grabbed the tomato, and said, in a warm, relieved tone:

“Yes! I’m sure we can!”

…Rin had never been more certain of his decision than now.

~~~

10 - Thief

It was a hot summer day - and what was the best thing to do when it was hot in summer? Stopping for ice cream, of course! Yukio wasn’t here to complain; he’d been feeling so dizzy since Ryuji surprised him with gifts at the candy store because he’d been overthinking things again, so a nice popsicle was just what he needed.

The breeze was nice and pleasant by the overlook they’d taken a break at, with a perfect view of the town stretching all around them down below the hill, and Yukio could just close his eyes, for a moment, and think about how he’d gotten to this point. Again, he wasn’t here to complain. A double date had seemed like a silly idea at first, but now that he was here…

He supposed he’d imagined it to be completely different than a simple pleasant stroll through town. Of course it was kept simple; Rin didn’t like complicated things, and he’d arranged the whole thing himself. Now, if only Yukio could find a way to give back to Ryuji for earlier…

“Oh, Rin, you’ve got ice cream all over your face… Hold on.”

“Huh? How’d it- mmph!”

Shiemi had taken a handkerchief from her bag on the ground and was already washing Rin’s face with it, and his brother let her do it, and even seemed to enjoy the act, as he was leaning in, closer into her touch. Those were the kinds of interactions that puzzled Yukio greatly; he knew it was a normal thing that couples did, they were just looking out for each other, but… How did they do it so naturally? Without overthinking it? Maybe it was overthinking just trying to pin a reason on the why of everything, when it could just be simple, and still he kept spinning in circles in utter confusion…

At least his popsicle wasn’t all over his face, like his twin’s ice cream. Although… Mmmh… If he somehow got some of it on his cheeks, would Ryuji-

“Uh… babe?”

Yukio looked away from his thoughts and back toward Ryuji, but was surprised to find him looking alarmed as he stared at him.

“Mh? What is it?”

“Uh, you’ve got, uh…”

Ryuji pointed, and Yukio just now saw it - from just outside his peripheral, a stretched out, sneaky paw, with all claws extended, was reaching out for his popsicle.

And the thought only briefly slid by him that he could let Kuro swipe at it, to see what Ryuji would do if it fell on his shirt. But only briefly.

~~~

11 - Mysterious

Shiemi was so very happy, and there was no way she was letting her grim thoughts take over that joy, not anymore. She did feel somewhat ashamed that she’d let her doubts put a shade on what should have been a most delightful day, however brief that dark cloud had been, but now that Rin had talked to her about it, she felt like she’d landed back in her sandals. She couldn’t quite explain it, but now that he’d made his decision, she couldn’t look at him without bursting into a wide grin. She supposed she just wanted him to know how grateful she was, and did so the only way she knew how; by peppering him with kisses and hugs.

Not that he looked against any of it by any means. In fact, she dared say that he was worse than her.

And of course, as the day moved on and their double date took them across multiple locations and the delight followed the arc of the sun across the sky, their date companions did notice that they were supposedly acting different, because one time they were being giggling little messes with each other in the middle of the street, Ryuji eventually commented:

“Are you guys okay?”

Shiemi and Rin both looked at him inquisitively, and she replied:

“Huh? Of course we are! Why?”

Ryuji narrowed his eyes on them, crossing his arms as he looked them over almost suspiciously.

“I dunno, something feels weird. Call it my Lightning sense tingling. Are you guys hiding something?”

Yukio hummed, pensively.

“I didn’t want to say it, but… You two have been acting strange all day.”

“For real?” Rin laughed out loud, and waved his hand nonchalantly. “You worry for nothing! What, I can’t laugh with my girlfriend now?”

“Nii-san, I’m just saying, you’re acting mysterious, and it freaks me out when you do that. Please stop.”

“Mysterious?” Shiemi inquired, but Rin didn’t let any of them elaborate and laughed again, a bit too loudly, and Shiemi thought she understood what Yukio was talking about. Rin was just a terrible liar - not that she was any better.

“Well, that sounds like a you problem! I like this being a mystery, so it’s gonna stay that way.”

Shiemi giggled at his declaration - she didn’t think he’d want to keep it for themselves so bad - and reached out to grab and latch onto his arm to try and calm him down, but to no avail. Ryuji scoffed out a laugh.

“Oh, what’d you call it again? Mr. Mistake, right?”

“That’s right!” Rin pointed a thumb toward himself, sending the two of them a silly little wink and a fanged grin. “That’s me! Mr. Mistake! So you’re not getting any of our juicy secrets!” He leaned a bit more into Shiemi’s touch, and urged her to keep walking, as they were close to their last destination. “Now c’mon, I’m starving! I gotta cook all this stuff!”

“You know you suck at lying, Okumura!” Ryuji called with a knowing grin. “We’re gonna find out one way or another!”

And Mr. Mistake looked back, and pulled his tongue at the other. Yeah, Shiemi told herself, that secret wasn’t going to last.

~~~

12 - Heat

Yukio stepped outside the old dorms, for a bit of a breather. Rin wasn’t going to let him touch any of the food until it was ready for fear that he’d somehow cut his fingers and bleed all over the place, which was a warranted fear he had to admit, and so Yukio accepted his fate, and went out to the nearest balcony. The sun was setting and painting beautiful fiery strokes across the heavens, but its warmth did not waver, and so he closed his eyes, for a moment, and enjoyed the wind, in his hair, on his face, and the rays, tickling his skin. And he found it easy to just breathe.

He was tired after a long day out, and yet he felt not a weight, not a single burden on his shoulders - even Rin and Shiemi’s secret wasn’t bothering him too much right at this moment. It felt almost… foreign, to be this calm. It was so very strange, yet he wouldn’t turn back, and so decided to savour this instant of peace…

Until another warmth, a pair of arms, came to wrap themselves around him from behind, making him open his eyes suddenly. Before he could turn his head to confirm who it was, warm lips landed on his cheek, resulting in a rapid drumming of his heart beats to echo up to his head. Without a word, Ryuji left a number of little kisses on that same cheek, all slow, warm and affectionate, without a hurry in the world, all leaving behind a poignant tenderness that left Yukio speechless. And without really knowing, he leaned into it, closed his eyes again, and felt each and every single one of those kisses, and the way Ryuji’s hands went to grab his own, the way he squeezed him, and the way he immediately found an anchor in his gentle hold. Ryuji was like a tree wrapping around him, his arms roots, securing him in place and keeping him standing when he thought he couldn’t, and Yukio wondered, quietly, when he would be able to be the same for him.

Ryuji’s lips lowered from his cheek to his jaw, where he trailed and touched along up to his ear, and down onto his neck. His touches were so gentle, a little caress that spoke a million words and made Yukio feel things that were still foreign… and then he was moving away, rather abruptly. It left Yukio slightly dizzy, and left his heart drumming away up to his throat, but still he smiled at him as Ryuji moved beside him and smiled back. He reached out and grabbed Yukio’s hand, still on the railing before them, and didn’t look away from him as he said, softly, yet in an amused tone:

“Sorry, but you taste like a watermelon. Couldn’t help myself.”

Yukio tried in vain to stifle a laugh.

“A watermelon?”

“Yeah!” Ryuji laughed again, and scratched at his chin as he added almost sheepishly: “I was just going to give you a peck, but then I thought ‘Mmh, this actually tastes good’, so, uh… yeah. Sorry. I think the candies I ate earlier are acting up.”

Yukio sent him a surprised raised of the eyebrows, but then smirked, knowingly.

“Are you saying that ingesting sugar makes you want to eat me?”

He almost immediately regretted saying those words, and it took everything in him not to throw himself over the railing in shame, but it only made Ryuji laugh some more, and step closer to him, so their shoulders touched.

“Wellll…! You’re not wrong there!”

He exhaled, deeply, and looked him directly in the eyes, with that piercing gaze he’s always had, yet with a tenderness that only shone when he was gazing at him, and him alone. The weight of that gaze made a strike of heat rise to envelop his whole face… and then Ryuji decided to land a fatal blow, because he said, in a soft whisper…

“This date idea was a good one, but I gotta say… I’ve been waiting all day for us to be alone.”

His hand squeezed itself around his, in a subtly needy manner, and Yukio smiled back at him.

“The day’s not quite over yet… We still have dinner.”

Ryuji drew closer, and like a magnet, Yukio did too. Their faces were inches apart, and it felt like the heat of the setting sun had only grown in warmth at that very moment.

“All right. I’ll keep you for dessert then.”

Yukio could hardly even be phased anymore; Ryuji was being weirdly smooth tonight, and he wondered if the candies had anything to do with it. They were from a Mephisto-owned shop, so maybe there was something weird about them, but for once, he wasn’t going to complain, because it worked out in his favour. He didn’t trust Mephisto one bit, but he did trust Ryuji… So he decided to be bold.

“You could… haveatasterightnow.”

Ryuji somehow understood what he said through that indecipherable mumble, because he promptly closed the gap between them, with close to no hesitation, and Yukio was ready to meet him halfway, and their breaths mingled, their lips came so close to touching-

“SHURA!! WHAT’D YOU DO TO ALL MY STUFF?!”

“HUH? WHAT’D YOU SAY?”

“I SAID, WHERE ARE MY KITCHEN TOOLS?!”

~~~

13 - Blade

“THEY’RE GONE!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY’RE GONE?!! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“ON THE ROOF! FORGET YOUR UTENSILS, KIDDO!”

“WHAT?!”

“I SAID-”

Ryuji was mad. Well, not really, now he was just confused, but he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Rin’s voice echoed out of the balcony doors, somehow reverberating all the way upward, from where Shura’s voice echoed back, seemingly from the building’s roof, and they went back and forth, arguing about what happened to the utensils and somehow still not explaining what had gone wrong with them. He and Yukio shared a look, and they both quietly agreed to go back inside and check it out, and it was almost painful to have to let go this suddenly, but the call of the utensils was somehow stronger.

“DAMNIT SHURA, I GOTTA COOK THIS STUFF! I GOT A FISH TO CUT OPEN, WHAT AM I GONNA USE, MY NAILS?!”

“BE CREATIVE!! I’M TOO BUSY TO GO HELP YOU!”

“I CAN TELL!! Goddamnit!”

As they drew closer to the open kitchen doors of the dorms, lovingly renamed Rin’s Domain, they could hear Shiemi speak softly to him and say:

“I’m sure there’s something we can use… Like, uhm… No, that doesn’t cut, uhm… How about-”

“Tch! Be creative, she says… Oh! Wait, I do have a knife!”

“Huh? What- Oh. Rin, no. Rin, don’t! Not with that!”

Yukio and Ryuji walked inside the kitchen just in time to watch Rin, standing at his counter, in front of a fish staring in blank horror as he drew the Koma Sword from its sheath and erupted in bright blue flames. The three of them were left helpless as he aimed the sword down at the fish, saying in a casual happy tone:

“Okay, I’m doing it!”

And immediately the only thought that latched onto Ryuji’s mind at that moment, was how just the other day he watched Rin gut open a demon with that very same sword- And so he was the first to dash forward to stop him.

“NO YOU’RE NOT, YOU ABSOLUTE LUNATIC!”

~~~

14 - Ice

It took a bit of doing, but they managed to find some replacements - and Yukio had to go up to the roof to see what Shura was up to, and came back hopeless anyway - and dinner was eventually on its way. Rin had planned a whole buffet for the four of them, and while Shiemi could not cook to save her life, she did her best to assist him. While the fish was grilling in the oven, Rin started preparing some cold desserts for all of them, including some shaved ice, and while she was helping out with preparing the syrup, she saw him turn his head, and scowl at the other two sitting in the back.

“You guys okay? You’re the ones being weird now.”

“Don’t even ask,” Ryuji replied sternly. “You know damn well what you did.”

“Huh?! What’d I do?!”

“Ryu…”

It only took Yukio to say his name once, and Ryuji huffed, and when Shiemi turned her head briefly, she saw he had crossed his arms and looked to be… pouting?

“Nothing!” Ryuji replied, while Yukio patted him on the head almost jokingly. “Except you almost poisoned all of us with your stupidity-”

“Oh, fuck off with that! My sword is super clean, I wash it every day! I’ve cooked stuff with it before, actually, and Yukio never even noticed.”

“Wait, what-”

“It gives a nice crispy finish that I can’t get otherwise, it’s actually great!”

Shiemi’s eyes widened, and she realized just then that she’d need to sit down with Rin and settle a few rules for when they launched their plans. She wasn’t really sold out on cooking with a demon heart-sword otherwise used for killing other demons. Not totally, anyway. She trusted Rin more than anything, but-

“You actually fed me that stuff?! I can’t believe you!”

“And did I ever give you food poisoning? No? Then there! Now you all can stop whining- and here, taste this!”

As soon as the first cup of shaved ice was done, Rin picked it up from the counter, and practically shoved it in his brother’s hands, taking him by surprise. He threw a tiny spoon at him, and Yukio almost dropped it, but he sat up straight, and though he hesitated, he did give the treat a little taste. As soon as it entered his mouth, he perked up, much to Shiemi’s joy, and seemed to completely forget about Rin’s odd cooking tools.

“Mmh~!” he hummed, delighted, reaching in to take another spoonful. “Ish good. But don’t think I’ll let that whole thing slide-”

“You’ll forget by tomorrow, I bet. Nyuk-nyuk!”

“Nuh-huh! Not that!”

…and Shiemi couldn’t help but stare at Ryuji while the two argued, because he was just sitting there, dreadfully quiet, and was almost glaring at Yukio. She didn’t say anything about it, but he did look like he wanted to punch him, for some reason she couldn’t quite figure out…

How odd. They had looked so cute together earlier…

~~~

15 - Fireflies

Rin was quite proud of himself. Dinner went perfectly; everything was ready in a timely manner despite a few hiccups, and they were all able to sit together on the roof - after Shura had cleaned up whatever she’d been doing up here all day - and just enjoy each other’s company over a delicious meal. At the end of the day, they had all agreed to do this whole double date thing again sometime, and already they were putting out ideas and planning ahead of time, which made him very happy, as it’d been his own idea to do this in the first place.

The sky was clear that night, the air fresh yet pleasant. They all sat together by the edge of the roof, looking over the horizon, and the whole rest of the world spreading at their dangling feet, and for once, neither of them worried about the future, however far it waited. Rin was happy to just sit here, in the growing dark blue of night, with his friends, and just… let tomorrow come when it came. For now, the world was quiet, and Shiemi was leaning against him, and her body was warm and sought his own. He only needed to look down at her, at her smile and her eyes, and see the entire world, and he worried not, because he knew where he was going. Either way… he’d be with her.

“We could go to the beach next time,” Ryuji proposed, in a soft voice, as though he didn’t want to disturb the night air, and Yukio hummed.

“It’d be nice… I don’t get to go very often.”

“And when we do,” Rin snickered, “you hide in the shade anyway.”

“I just don’t want to burn. You know I don’t tan, you’ve got the same issue.”

“And I don’t hide from the sun.”

“And you end up burning anyway.”

Ryuji hummed, wrapping an arm around Yukio’s shoulders and drawing him close to him, in a way that made Rin smile just looking at them.

“I could cover you from head to toe in sunscreen. You’d be a bit slippery, but…”

Shiemi giggled at the image.

“I’m sure it’d help with buoyancy! He could float better in the water.”

“True! We should test it out!”

“Well, uh! Uh… I mean, sure.”

Rin raised his brows at his brother, surprised.

“You actually agree?” he asked, and Yukio’s face promptly turned red. “Who are you and what have you done with my shy little baby brother?”

“Listen,” Yukio started, shooting him a knowing glare, “you know I’m trying-”

“I’m just pulling your leg,” Rin laughed back, reaching over to slap him on the back. “If we get to try out the buttery-”

“Buoyancy.”

“-buoyamshy, then maybe you’ll finally let me bury you in sand!”

“Don’t push your luck, Nii-san.”

“You’re the one who’s gonna get buried,” Ryuji retorted, and they all shared a laugh at the image, and Rin felt good, and light.

And then… out of nowhere… they were surrounded by lights. Small dancing lights, flashing in and out of existence, all descending from somewhere above them, like little stars coming to greet them and light up their world. As they all stared in awe, Rin quickly realized what they were. Fireflies.

And as the little glowing insects surrounded them as a cloud, landed on their arms and shirts and made Shiemi laugh and awe, they all sat back, in silence, and watched the spectacle unfold, under a veil of peace. Shiemi glanced up at him, and it seemed to Rin that her eyes were full of fireflies as well, glowing just for him. The sight alone made him lean down and kiss her, a chaste yet telling kiss that said everything he wasn’t saying to her. She giggled, as she always did when he kissed her that way, and laid her head against him, and he sat back on his palm, holding her close…

“Nii-san.” He turned to look at Yukio. His brother was holding Ryuji’s hand, in a tight grip, but was looking at him, and whispered just for him to hear. “Will you tell me what you and Shiemi-san are hiding? You’ve worried me all day with this.”

Rin grinned back at his brother. He nodded.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, how ‘bout that? Let’s just enjoy the moment…”

[arcplaysgames]

I don't remember this at all so I don't even know if its part of The Lotus Tree or not, lmao, sorry Kasumi you are so boring up until, uuuuuuuuuuh about 40 minutes from now actually

So Reverie wakes up, happy new year, time to head downstairs to

no no no no no non on onojnkofidflasjk NO

NOOOOO

no!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

no

inhales

okay.

I, in real life, staring at my Odin, literally out loud said, "Oh fuck ALL the way off."

Anyway, we meet up at the shrine by luck, hahhaaha what a crazy random happenstance.

Also: HARU! MY GOD! WHAT A KNOCKOUT! I feel like her kimono might cost more than my fucking car.

But there is already a very weird tension in the air when the group gets together. They all meet up at a shrine that has no visitors because it seems like no one in the world is wishing for anything because their lives are so perfect, so the crew is like "well! this was nice. uh see ya!" and the vibes are so bad. Immediately everything feels like a world encased in glass, like a pinned insect that just got a shot of euthanasia and is starting to lock into place.

It is fucking EERIE as shit.

oh my god I'm gonna sharpen an axe and cut down your Lotus Tree, Maruki, I swear to god

"Would you join the Phantom Thieves" as an indicator that all is perfect and no one needs to do anything is sure Something.

Somehow, just watch me, I will find a way to blame this all on Mishima again. I'm already trying to calculate the trajectory.

SPITTAKE

I FUCKIGN HOLLARED OH MY GOD

I don't want to sound like the average Atlus developer right now, Morgana, but I think you may have gained some weight.

Also, sidebar: COWARDS for changing Morgana's voice actor for this. COWARDS!!!!! Cassandra Lee Morris has been doing fucking WORK with this character, I literally would rather her continue voicing him with a pitch modulation effect than swapping the VA, /HISSES ANGRILY

Anyway. Reverie and I are both in complete unity at the moment because all of this is Fucked.

Again, me, IRL, shouting "NO" at my Odin.

oh i feel ill from this, this is horrendous. Maruki, you got a fucking storm coming, and i have a fusioned Izanagi-no-Okami with your name on it.

LOOK AT REVERIE HERE. So like I've ranted about how the P4MC was such a non-character while Reverie is so so much more. I can feel how freaked out he is even while he's still a mostly silent protagonist. The fear he feels as he tries to make sense of this situation and starts to wonder how far it spreads is fucking radiating from his posture and how he's watching everyone from over his popped collar and event he way he hasn't turned the chair around to face them, he is cheated away from everyone.

God, it's amazing. I have a lot of issues with P5R but the protagonist is a triumph.

Oh, immediately before he said a single fucking thing. He knows. He knows. He walks in and takes one look around and he knows.

Which in of itself is fascinating and I wanna sink my teeth into what that means.

Everyone in this world is getting their desires. No! No that's incorrect. What they are getting is their pain taken away. I remember Maruki's absolutely batshit closing speech as he left the school in November.

Everyone is getting a life where the biggest traumatic moments did not happen. Futaba never lost her mother and thus Sojiro never lost his best friend. Morgana gets to be human because he admires humans so much. Ryuji was never kicked off the track team. Haru never had the falling out that lead to her father's death.

But Reverie? I don't know what he gets. Before the switch flipped on the Lotus Tree, Sae revealed that the woman who was involved in Reverie's false assault accusation might testify, so his record might even be overturned.

So we have Reverie, and we have Akechi. The two Wild Cards who were puppets of a bored god (who, uh, since Philemon isn't actually involved in this I don't really know anymore what Yaldabaoth's whole deal was but whatever, lean with it rock with it).

I don't know if you can undo the trauma of being Goro Akechi.

... I'm thinking about Reverie, and about the constant drumbeat of his connection to Akechi. Wanting to keep a promise.

I just had a really horrible thought but also it's so gay that I dunno if Atlus would Go There. We'll see.

I know I have never been happier to see you. Been a while, Beige Boy. Love the outfit, actually, you look great in actual colors.

/points directly at this

Did Akechi survive or did Maruki being him back because Reverie had unfinished business with him.

That is my question.

Don't answer it, anyone, but what I am thinking is either Akechi will reveal how he survived the Palace (unlikely) or it turns out he fucking didn't and this was the start of the Lotus Tree.

Anyway, Akechi reveals that he was being questioned for the Shido stuff and then they just.... let him go. No charges. He's free. Which is impossible, obviously. And now Wakaba Isshiki is walking around alive.

that lil pose is so gay. i wonder if Akechi is meant to be Actually Gay. serious question. like, we got Actually Queer characters in P4 so we know the people at Atlus know gay people exist, but this game has been scrubbed clear of any queerness.

except Akechi has such intense gay vibes and, sure I'll say it, mannerisms that I wonder if he is subtextually meant to be gay. especially since to my recollection, every male character in this game has been mentioned to be attracted to women except him. like, I did notice that, thank you.

((ALSO, SIDEBAR: YOU KNOW WHAT I MISS FROM P3 AND P4? THE GIRLS HAVING CRUSHES ON EACH OTHER. I miss the casual flirtation and interest all the girls had together. That's also been stripped out of P5 and it sucks.))

anyway what the fuck was I saying. Akechi gay, he and Reverie need to investigate.

And then Kasumi calls to be like "heeeeeeeeeeey so sorry to bother you buuuuuut that palace we ran into at the stadium is back????? is that okay?"

Okay another thing, sorry that this post is like All About Akechi but

lmao Akechi without his mask is a delight. this man is a bitch and he does not give a fuck and nothing in this world or the next impresses him. it is for real so fun how his cadence and register have subtly changed, he doesn't soften his syllables as much anymore, and he is direct as a gunshot.

Between him and Maruki, this whole segment of the game is like Freaks Only, Normies GTFO and I am thrilled. I am a freak, it's me. This is for me.

[hobie-doh]

The effect a character has on the story without ever being present is something I've always been fascinated with and lucky for me, I get to write something just like that.

As far as Take Yer Time, You're Gonna Need It goes, Akira Kurusu is effectively haunting the narrative.

Akira Kurusu, the man the myth the legend himself is one of the most interesting characters I get to write.

he is not present, he will never be in the story as an actual character but his name is said easily over 100 times. (just looked in my draft, during the first 10 chapters its 132)

It's so fascinating because as much as we learn about him, as much as we know, it will only ever be through the eyes of Ryuji and at that point, we're so far removed from him that it's hard to sperate the man the myth and the legend.

[nero-vanderwolf]

Mishima sank onto the ground, exhausted. Ryuji sat beside him, chest heaving.

“You’ve... got a lot... of stamina for such... A small guy...” Ryuji panted, looking over at Mishima.

“I’m a member of the volleyball team. I have to,” he responded, hugging his knees to his chest. “...It sucks, you know.”

Ryuji tilted his head. Mishima always found that endearing, how his classmate resembled a puppy when he did that.

“It sucks that your endurance and stuff was fucked after.... You know,” Mishima muttered. Kamoshida’s name always tasted like poison on his tongue when he said it. Even just thinking the name made him want to hurl.

Despite his reservations towards uttering that bastard’s name, Ryuji had no bones about it.

“After Kamoshida? Yeah, it does suck. But hey, Phantom Thief work has helped. Sorta.”

Mishima rested his head on his knees. He liked Ryuji’s company, god he liked it, but he was starting to get that itchy feeling under his skin, screaming at him to leave, to isolate himself again.

“Yuuki, you good?”

The use of his first name made him lift his head from his knees. He’d forgotten that Ryuji was one of the only ones who did that- he’d forgotten he had a first name.

“You seem kinda out of it. Wanna come over to my place? Mom’s usin’ Boss’s curry recipe. I think you’d like it,” Ryuji said, placing a gentle, caring hand on his shoulder. He tried to swallow back the bile as he replied.

“I would like to, I really would...”

Ryuji removed his hand, frowning empathetically. “But your folks would flip?”

Mishima forced himself to nod. His parents didn’t give a shit some nights, while others they would scream at him if he came home two minutes after curfew. It was a delicate thing that was hard to explain to others.

“Speaking of, I should head out. This has been fun, Ryuji. It really has,” Mishima said, standing up and grabbing his bag from the floor. Ryuji mirrored him, slinging his own bag over his shoulder.

“See ya later, Yuuki,” he said, jogging away from the station.

All the better for him, Mishima supposed.

He started towards the station, nausea welling up in his throat.

Yuuki Mishima had always been good at lying. Even about something as mundane as being okay.

I’m okay, he would say. No need to worry about me. Leave me alone. Let me die. Don’t leave. I want to stay with you.

Yuuki Mishima had a fascination with trains and death. How easily intertwinable they were. How one could easily be gone before anyone realised what had happened.

Yuuki Mishima hated lying. He hated surviving. He hated death.

Yuuki Mishima was filled with hatred.

He was filled with loneliness and a desire to be alone.

Yuuki Misuima regretted ever speaking to Akira Kusuru the day he speculated their involvement in Kamoshida’s case.

Yuuki Mishima loved and hated love.

Yuuki Mishima was everything and nothing all at once.

im going to be honest when I say i didnt care for mishima that much. im definitely not a mishima hater but he was more just "oh cool character he's cool!" but now im like. "MISHIMAAAAAAHHHH"

i love the way you write and view mishima i love seeing other people's perspectives on characters. it helps me see things i never saw before and honestly makes me like the character a lot better. i love that mishima hates people caring about him. he hates that he got dragged into having friends who care about him. he just wants to be alone so he can do things without guilt. my boy needs some help but he's too scared to get it and he's so real for that. the end part hit hard because to me it feels like an existential crisis which I have a lot. probably not the way you intended to write it but i just interpret it that way.

[zevfern]

My thoughts on the core members of the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5! Spoilers ahead.

Kenta (Joker): he's just like me for real!

But seriously though, I really like Joker, and it's cool to RP as him, especially since the modern setting allows me to do so more naturally. I especially like fitting in pro wrestling related headcanons to his behavior (my headcanon is that Kenta is a huge pro wrestling fan, and before the events of the game was training to join a dojo after graduating HS).

Ryuji: THE BROOOOO

My favorite of the Phantom Thieves, his hotheaded and impulsive personality reminds me of a friend I have irl. For some reason his voice reminds me of Axel from KH despite the two having different VAs, and the two characters are quite different as well. He was the first confidant I completed, and maybe in a different timeline he would have been romanceable.

Ann: A rose by another name

Ann's very sweet and kind, and yet posseses tons of internal strength. Her whole story arc with Shiho and her recovery is so heartwarming it was hard not to shed tears during their farewell. Her VA also did an incredible job throughout the game, it's between her and Ryuji for best VA performance in my opinion.

Yusuke: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, but poor

Really knocked me for a loop when I first saw this guy, but despite the looks he is quite different from his Fodlan doppelganger. His confidant cutscenes are some of the goofiest in the game despite (or maybe because of?) his serious demeanor. Yusuke also gets bonus points for introducing Hifumi Togo into the story, the girl I chose to romance in my first playthrough.

Makoto: Breaking the rules, for once

This is a very unpopular opinion, but I don't particularly like Makoto. Her whole "follows the rules but her true self wants to break them" isn't appealing to me, reminding me of a few other characters from other games and media I've never connected with. That said, I do think she has a great friendship with Haru, and their Showtime is incredible (it's a series of pro wrestling moves ending with a tag team finisher! They are in love a tag team your honor.)

Futaba: On the spectrum, off the wall

It's always interesting to see characters in video games who are autism coded, and while Futaba isn't perfect (of course she's a hacker and visits 4chan 🙄), it's the little details like her elementary school memories (surprisingly similar to mine) and the way she approaches her self improvement after having her heart stolen that really impressed me.

Haru: We fly balloons on this fuel called love

I'd been extremely exited to meet Haru from the first time I sighted her in game, as she's voiced by the same VA who voiced Marianne and I wanted to compare the two characters. In contrast to Marianne's gloomy demeanor that eventually turns hopeful, Haru is a beam of light right from the beginning. Her introduction as a Beauty Thief is the funniest gag in the game, and she keeps her optimism despite incredible hardship involving her father. Shame she's introduced so late, by the time I got her confidants I was already with Hifumi.

Akechi: I have forgiven Maxwell

The moment Joker met Akechi, this started playing in the background:

Hair jokes aside, Akechi's a fascinating antagonist: much like Kenta/Joker and his friends he's an outcast in Japanese society, an orphan living in poverty, and has only been accepted due to his newfound fame as the Detective Prince. While visibly he resembles Light Yagami, his personality reminds me of MJF, who also manipulated the people around him for his own gain. I haven't finished the game yet so I don't know if Akechi will repent, but MJF did turn face with Adam Cole's friendship, so maybe Joker can do the same to Akechi.