#So Ryuji can chill out

[crypticvestige]

This was a response to someone’s comment on twitter.

Unlikely and funny as it is; this might not end up going over well with these two... 😅

[todayisafridaynight]

Personal tier list of main yakuza antagonist deaths ranked from Least Aggravating to I’m Going To Eat Drift Wood ok it goes mine → nishiki → ryuji → aoki

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

P5R Random Thoughts #3: Annoyance, Anger, and Conviction

Or, just a couple more random thoughts about Joker.

I actually do enjoy that Joker seems to sometimes get genuinely frustrated with his friends' antics - I don't know if it reads that way to anyone else, but a combination of his dialogue options and character model body language definitely reads that way to me.

He's gotten mildly annoyed with Ryuji's loudness on several occasions - often having dialogue choices that are essentially some variant of "keep your voice down!" Much as Joker feels what I suspect is quite a lot of gratitude for Ryuji's unflinching support and passion (he was his first friend in Tokyo, after all - no deal, just friendship), his dialogue options also become a lot more passive aggressive during early Kaneshiro arc - and small wonder, because Ryuji's eager carelessness actually did get them caught; thankfully by Makoto, and not law enforcement. Of course, he still cares a lot about Ryuji; I think he's just a little frustrated right now.

He's usually pretty chill with Morgana bossing him around - for what reason, I honestly couldn't tell you, but he does pretty much anything that not-cat recommends. However, when Morgana spontaneously invites Yusuke to stay with Joker without asking him, Joker kind of "!!" and looks at him. It's then followed up with everyone deciding to invite themselves to Joker's place, again, without asking him and Morgana encouraging it. The scene ends with Joker straight up elbowing/jostling Morgana in the bag after everyone's left for Leblanc. Pfft.

He tells Yusuke to hurry it up in Mementos when he gets too in the zone... and much as you can't rush an artist, they do near immediately get jumped by Shadows after that, so, you know, he does have a point.

Even with Ann, Joker frequently sweatdrops at her kind of out-there ideas of how to strengthen her heart. While I wouldn't call it annoyance, per se, there is at least one scene I can think of where two of the options straight up shut her down, and the last is basically a sarcastic "good luck with that", which Ann proceeds to take at face value as encouragement, leading to Joker sweatdropping once again. Lol.

So many of these are basically the equivalent of Joker going >:( at his friends and them typically completely not noticing which is funny as heck.

Also, because I'm the kind of person who loves to read into things, I think it can tell us a little more about Joker. What actually frustrates him here?

Drawing attention to the group in the real world - something he actively tries to avoid, at first, because of consequences for him, and then, because it puts the thieves at risk

Getting himself and the group into unnecessary trouble - so we've got two instances of Joker being mindful of potential consequences

People getting invited over without being asked first - this one's a little ambiguous as to why. Could be a simple courtesy thing, could be related to Joker's earlier obvious discomfort with people getting in his personal space without permission, could be that he likes his privacy. Personally, I suspect he's actually somewhat embarrassed and a little concerned about what his friends' reactions will be to where he's staying - I do have some reasons for this interpretation but ultimately, no matter what reason you ascribe, he's definitely not initially happy about this spontaneous invitation by Morgana.

I think we can even condense the first two and say that Joker seems to be a little more focused on outcomes and consequences than much of the rest of his group, who (before Makoto joins) very much people who act in the immediate moment. He's not quite on par with Morgana's brand of pragmatism, but he does seem to always be at least thinking ahead.

There are a few exceptions, however.

Joker's actual anger is something he is evidently not good at hiding. He has an excellent poker face, but his eyes and, apparently, the way he speaks give it away entirely. To hide his anger, he outright has to not say anything and obscure his face. That actually does not seem like someone who is especially good at hiding strong emotions, even if he can school the rest of himself.

Ann, of all people, has to make excuses for his obvious disdain towards a cop. Every single dialogue option is some flavour of snippy comment. His character model continues to stare directly at said cop, even after Ann interrupts.

He is not thinking about consequences here. Joker fucking hates cops, and he is either very bad at hiding it - or he has no desire to. A very similar thing happened with Kamoshida too. He has nothing but disdain for abusers with power and authority over those they hurt. He also outright doesn't trust the justice system at all after seeing how it failed him and so many others ("They do more than the cops" <-hello. on live tv no less.).

And this leads to something else that's actually a fairly interesting facet to his character that I'm curious to see if it'll get acknowledged in some way.

For the most part, despite the Metaverse confidence and flashiness (which I feel isn't a great metric anyways - all the thieves are like that), Joker responds to most compliments and successes by either complimenting the whole team in turn, or brushing it off as luck or not a huge deal. This is likely in part a cultural thing, but when it comes to genuine appreciation being shown, he does seem to have some semblance of humility about it all - which is why it's almost hilariously shocking how pushy he can be about helping others.

He chases after Ann because she's upset, even though initially she told him not to. He corners some of the students getting exploited by Kaneshiro and won't leave until they tell him the details, even resorting to playing into the rumours about him so that they'll talk. He overhears his confidants in some kind of trouble on several occasions and near immediately asks them about it, and then continues to bring it up if they don't elaborate. It's notable that these instances are some of the few things he decides to do himself, without Morgana's explicit encouragement. I suspect a lot of this is because he has so little faith in anyone else to do the right thing - he has no trust in the justice system, and most adults don't seem to care. But Joker cares, and he will listen to what happened, and he will do something about it, and he will help, and he does so by refusing to let up - he does not wait for someone to ask for help necessarily, he just kind of goes and does it. It's not like I can't see the rationale here, but it's also, kind of, a little bit... presumptuous, in a way.

Again, it's a fascinating contrast with his typical (at least apparent) humility, and his kind of wishy-washy dialogue from early game - Joker has always been firm about this.

The official forming of the Phantom Thieves at the buffet is a scene that really caught my eye for this. Again, much as Joker has the same level of anger as his friends, his answers are still largely "probably"s and "maybe"s. He "hadn't even considered" continuing to act as Phantom Thieves. But interestingly, there is one dialogue option that is stated with none of the usual hesitancy or vagueness - "I want to help people". <- It's the crux of his awakening. This is Joker's true conviction. And he's willing to do anything, be whoever he needs to be, to see this through. He wants to help. He can't bring himself to look away.

Asserting the Phantom Thieves' brand of justice is a conviction that arises later on through proof of the effectiveness of changing hearts, and as a natural extension of his growing familiarity and confidence in their methods. Joker nearly always needs a little push to get started, but once he gets going, he's kind of relentless. He doesn't seem to be truly all that angry with either Makoto or Akechi for their questioning of the thieves' justice (barring his initial reaction), but he does, again, get annoyed at the assumption that the thieves are somehow a threat to people who aren't inflicting harm onto others - Joker says the thieves only target "criminals", implying that even though others may see them as criminals themselves, Joker does not agree. And when Makoto winds up joining them, there appears to be no residual hard feelings from him - she's like them, and she's come around.

It's likely too soon for me to state with any certainty, but I do think that's what Joker is hoping for - that people will come around if he gives them undeniable proof that they help instead of harm. Every character has at least some "selfish" motive to being a Phantom Thief, in addition to the shared goal of providing courage for those left abandoned by society. Ryuji wants positive instead of negative attention for once, Morgana wants his memories, Ann wants to alleviate her feelings of guilt surrounding Shiho, Yusuke aims to understand the human heart, and Makoto wants to feel useful and needed. What about Joker?

He started off this story just trying to help. No one believed him. He was punished for "hurting" someone and there was nothing he could say or do that would convince anyone otherwise. It was his word against society's. And when the Phantom Thieves' motives are brought up, it's the same questions: aren't they going to hurt people? Aren't they dangerous and untrustworthy? And this frustrates Joker in a similar way to the rumours surrounding his own arrest, but now - now he has proof. Proof that they helped, proof that this works. It's undeniable, to him, that real good is coming of this. And so now he has a leg to stand on; he can actually argue his point by saying "the Phantom Thieves aren't like that; look at the people they're helping, and how the people who should've done something can't do half the good they do". It's no longer his word against the rest of the world. He's counting on people being unable to deny what they are forced to witness.

In a way, Joker now has grounds not just to plead the Phantom Thieves' justice... but also his own innocence and good intentions. His defense of their justice is also, I believe, a defense of his own ego, to an extent.

[akirasarchives]

[ʜᴄ] 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐤𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐮

s��ɴᴏᴘsɪs: what having akira as your boyfriend is like!

⤷ ᴀ/ɴ: gn reader // this is old like pre-royal old..

— RELATIONSHIP OVERVIEW

listen..max charm akira? you’re gone. poof. so smooth

akira is so thoughtful and i mean it! he spends a lot of his money on you instead of buying things from the clinic to go the palaces and such

pls he was gonna give you the luck stone from the fortune teller then he got scammed

hopeless romantic! morgana can’t help but poke fun at him for it

BONUS! sojiro adores you! he’s constantly giving you things on the house

he will literally heal you / throw himself in front of you if you’re about to get hit with a critical attack he does NOT care

(morgana then proceeds to throw himself in front of akira)

— BEFORE THE RELATIONSHIP

LISTENNN!!! he buys so much gifts for you but when he gets the guts to actually give them to you..you’re getting gifts all of the time

like..akira?? we’re still friends here!!

tbh when the guys (yusuke, ryuji and akira) were in the bathhouse he mentioned how he liked you and they’ve forever been teasing him since

mostly ryuji

with the odd comment from yusuke

especially if you’re in the monabus and he sits next to you!!

you didn’t even know he liked you! since akira is so quiet himself it just seemed normal for him to be quiet around you,, and when he did speak you just figured it was how he naturally spoke to you

when you text him to hangout..he’s dropping everything. like finding the treasure? it can wait a day! (if it can)

— ASKING YOU OUT

definitely read a lot of things to increase his charm before he asked you out! you only deserve the most romantic “courting” (as morgana and yusuke would describe it as)

he definitely splashes out on gifts from the underground mall! chocolates, bracelets, lipsticks, perfumes, cd’s etc.!

he read some books too! although it was a literal embarrassing to purchase a book called “asking out the person of your dreams 101!”...it helped him a little even if he had to cover the name on the train

but even so he was sweating buckets when he invited you to a popular date spot for couples he’s read about in a magazine

he set up such an adorable picnic (with what he could afford) and although morgana was shoved into the basket he made the best of what he could

of course you said yes! not only was the weird mixture of his nervousness and charm prompting you to say yes but you’ve already pined after the messy haired boy for a few months now

— IN THE RELATIONSHIP

he can fluctuate between super-attentive, nerdy bf to charming, go with the flow kinda bf

esp with morgana whispering ideas into his ear .5 seconds of the day

akira deffo is such a sucker for video games/manga’s so i’d imagine a lot of arcade and cafe dates where you two are chilling reading manga’s or doing hw

the rest of the group adore your relationship esp the girls

they love asking the two of you about your dates!! ann esp loves capturing candids of the two of you to send to the gc and fawn over

ann: look at these cuties!!

futaba: shame ryuji’s face ruins the photo

haru: wah… true love ❤️

ryuji… he’s asking akira some unhinged shit ngl

yusuke deffo asks to follow you and akira on a date so he can capture the feeling of love irl… turns out it’s kinda weird to have someone follow you and ur bf around

like… he doesn’t even speak to yous… just a shadow

n e way!!!

sojiro… he gives akira some pocket money sometimes 😭😭 (like £10 but shhh)

“go buy [y/n] something nice, kid” BROO

free coffee is normal for you, esp when you’re waiting for akira to get his bag together at the cafe

wins arcade plushies for you when he’s busy with shinya! if it weren’t for shinya helping his phantom thievery then he’d solely be there to win plushies

when he learns how to make curry and coffee, that’s all your eating when you’re over

and honestly…

now you’re a curry and coffee connoisseur

[hifumi-123]

When you give him a Kabedon

Kabedon-when one character forces another against the wall with one hand or leans against the wall and makes the sound of "don"

Characters: Majima, Nishiki, Daigo, Ryuji, Mine

Majima Goro

After you corner Majima against the wall, he raises an eyebrow, looking at you with a puzzled expression. "Y/n-chan, what are you doing? Is this some new way of collecting debts?"

His question leaves you momentarily speechless. After sighing, you explain, "This is called 'Kabedon.' I saw the male lead do this to the female lead on TV."

Majima chuckles, crossing his arms and wearing a mischievous smile. "So you saw someone do this on TV and decided to try it on me, Y/n-chan?"

"Don't you like it?" you ask.

Majima laughs again, a hint of mischief in his smile. He gazes into your eyes, mischief dancing in his visible eye. "Of course, I like it. There's no man who doesn't enjoy being cornered by a woman. Except maybe Kiryu."

He straightens up, moving closer to you, his tall figure looming over you, closing the distance between you two. His mischievous smile grows wider as he continues, "But tell me... what did that male lead do next on TV?"

"Uh, well..."

Seeing you stutter, Majima chuckles softly once more, leaning in closer until his face is just centimeters away from yours. In a low, seductive voice, he whispers in your ear, his warm breath tickling your skin, "You should watch more TV, Y/n-chan. There's a lot more for you to learn."

Suddenly, he wraps his arms around your waist, turning you around and Kabedon-ing you against the wall. His arm rests beside your head, almost pressing his entire body against yours.

Leaning in even closer, his body now firmly against yours, pinning you to the wall. Majima's mischievous smile transforms into a seductive one as his face inches closer, allowing you to feel his breath against your lips.

"After a Kabedon, this is what should come next, right, Y/n-chan?"

Nishikiyama Akira (Yakuza 1)

In the office of the Nishikiyama Family's patriarch, you suddenly take a step forward, slamming both hands against the wall, kabedonning Nishikiyama in the corner. You expected this sudden move to startle Nishikiyama, maybe even see a blush on his face, but instead, he breaks into a bright smile.

"Hmm... more." Nishikiyama says.

You pause, thinking Nishikiyama is mocking you, and quickly retract your arms, saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that... that's enough."

Just as you're about to step back, Nishikiyama suddenly reaches out and cups your face. His smile remains, but his gaze turns dangerously intense.

"If you dare to let go…" Nishikiyama says softly, his tone carrying an unmistakable threat.

A chill runs down your spine. It dawns on you that you may have misunderstood something, and more importantly, you seem to have angered someone you shouldn't have.

Goda Ryuji

You slam your palm heavily against the wall, attempting to trap the burly blond man in front of you between yourself and the wall. However, your "prey" doesn't seem too impressed.

Ryuji quirks his lips slightly, the scar on his upper lip contorting along with his smile, looking at you with a mischievous expression. His roguish grin leaves you slightly irritated.

"How can you call this a kabedon with this little strength?" Ryuji chuckles lightly, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing.

You freeze, not expecting your carefully planned "offensive" to be so easily defused. Just as you're at a loss, Ryuji suddenly leans in close, his warm breath brushing against your ear.

"Let me show you what a real kabedon is like..."

Before you can respond, Ryuji swiftly lifts you onto his shoulder.

"Wait, what?! How?!" you ask in a flustered manner.

Without any answer, Ryuji strides purposefully towards a room not far away.

Dojima Daigo

You pushed him against the wall without hesitation. Your arm propped next to Daigo's face, trapping the Sixth chairman of the Tojo Clan firmly between yourself and the wall.

Daigo froze, a hint of confusion flickering in his deep eyes. He furrowed his brows slightly and asked calmly, "What are you doing?"

A smug smile played on your lips, mischief glinting in your eyes. You whispered, "I'm giving you a kabedon."

Daigo blinked, seemingly processing the information. After a moment, he nodded slightly and replied seriously, "Ah, I see." He then maintained the position without any further reaction.

Your smile faltered as you incredulously stared at the man before you, still calm. You sighed in resignation, saying, "You're as dense as a rock..."

Daigo just tilted his head, sporting a puzzled expression.

As you were about to give up and retract your arm, Daigo suddenly moved. His action was swift and fluid, leaving you no time to react. In the blink of an eye, the positions between you two had switched.

Now it was Daigo who kabedoned you against the wall. His arm propped near your ear, body slightly leaning forward, his face mere inches from yours. Uncertainty flickered in Daigo's eyes as he tilted his head and asked, "Is this how it's done? Is this the kabedon?"

Your eyes widened, completely caught off guard by Daigo's uncharacteristic move. Your heart raced, a blush creeping onto your cheeks involuntarily. You opened your mouth but found yourself at a loss for words.

Daigo noticed the blush on your face. Frowning, he reached out and gently placed his hand on your forehead. His palm was cool, a stark contrast to your flushed face. Daigo asked seriously, "Why is your face so red? Are you running a fever?"

Feeling the warmth of Daigo's hand, your heart raced even faster. "I'm not running a fever...! It's... it's just really hot in here!"

At that moment, a knocking sound interrupted the delicate atmosphere between the two in the Chairman's office. Daigo slowly lowered his arm and stepped back. He looked at you, a hint of elusive emotion flashing in his eyes, and softly said, "I should get back to work."

You nodded and left his office. The events of moments ago replayed in your mind, a smile unconsciously tugging at your lips.

Mine Yoshitaka

You took a deep breath, mustering up the courage to gently push Mine against the wall. Your palm pressed against the cold surface, fingertips trembling slightly. Mine's breath was close, and you could smell a faint woody cologne on him. Looking up at him, you found his gaze direct, deep, and unreadable.

Mine's expression remained calm, but his voice was low and magnetic, "Are you kabedon-ing me?"

His calm response immediately made you flustered. Your cheeks felt hot, heart racing. You stammered, "Y-yes..." Your voice was softer than you had anticipated, almost a whisper.

Mine tilted his head slightly, murmuring to himself, "Kabedon huh..." His gaze grew deeper, as if contemplating something.

Suddenly, everything changed. Before you could react, Mine swiftly switched your positions. Your back hit the cold wall, making you inhale sharply. His arm propped near your ear, his palm against the wall, almost enveloping you completely.

You felt his thigh lightly pressing between yours, not in a crude manner but as a suggestive hint. Your breathing became rapid, heart beating even faster.

Leaning down, his lips almost touching your ear, his breath brushing against your skin, sending shivers down your spine involuntarily. His voice was low, magnetic, almost a whisper, "This way, it feels more imposing, doesn't it?"

I feel like majima would kabedon you like this:

And this is Masato and ichiban:

[sea-of-dust]

Could we please get general relationship headcanons for Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, and Sumire (if you'll write for her) from Persona 5?

Power of LOVE!!!

Phantom thief girls x GN! Reader

relationship headcannons

notes: ima have to start naming p5 annons 💀. Also, THEY'RE MULITPLE?! Thank you for reminding me to add sumire and akechi to the clarification post btw

This girl WILL know your clothing size but by a simple glance and go "you want me to dress you?" You don't have to answer that question you WILL be bought clothes along with other things you like

She likes leaning into you, smirking a bit and whispering in your ear "we should kiss" "!" your face is as you turn around and look at her of course you give in using a book to cover the views of other students,Ryuji, or you'll just look at her shocked. Either way she still ends up satisfied one way or another

She likes when you come to shoots with her. Happy when she's posing and she just sees you throw a little thumbs up, it's always lifts her spirits.

She will not let you leave without her. You could be getting ready to go and she'd just "where are you going?" "Home, my mom called I told you" "take me with you!" "You're already home though" "Home with with you wait here lemme get dressed!" You had to explain to your mom the sudden guest

She's bragging about you. Alot. If she feels like she can't go a day without telling Ryuji "they made me breakfast I love them so much" she thinks of you so much it almost scares her when you tap her shoulder. "Ann?" "Yes my darling?" "." Ryuji looks at her "Why yes my dear" "oh my god" he burries his face into his arms leaning into the desk as you two continue to call eatchother affectionate names.

She probably has your dox from the school ids has been down bad since. It's way more obvious when you two start dating. "You're so soft just like what the Id shows" "excuse me?" "Oh- nothing"

study dates early on are her go tos, as soon as you two get more used to each other she's often on doing simple domestic things with you.

Will sneak around you when you're in shibuya you're not escaping. So when you turn around and see her thinking it's a coincidence it's suddenly a date. She would come home nearly collapsing but it's worth it

Tries not to ask much of you except when it comes to school one homework she KNOWS you didn't do it's over. "Did you do your science packet" "yea why?" "Good what's the answer to 2" "two uhhhh...d?" "...I'm comming over" "ITS JUST THE FIRST PAGE" you bond with Ryuji over this you two come to school after those nights with background music and look like you two about to crawl to class.

She WiLL cling onto you!! If you dare to go anywhere scary you will have to run with her added weight. She tries to run with you and then one ominous can shes weak in the knees, so you try to avoid scary things to the best of your ability

Its obvious she's gonna be dragging you to akihabara. New game came out? "HEY Y/N" "I'm already dressed" "YAY! RUNNING OVER"

She's 100% calling you a cringy name as SOON as you pick up. "Hey my pookie wookie smuckum baby shawty thingy nugget person human thing" "...." "DONT HANG UP"

She wants hugs forever stay with her!! You should sleep over!! You should stay on a call for her for an entire day. Yea she loves these little brain thoughts while you're terrified of them.

Forces you to match pfps on ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. No matching pfps? You Hate her simple. "I wanna use this theme I found" "do it with me!! 👹👹👹👹" "chill with the emojis!"

Joker and Sojiro WILL run a check on you as soon as Futaba isn't there. You date her you must answer these dubious 5!! As much as the intense looks were exchanged turned to "wadya think" looks back and fourth little to say that approved

She's sending you everywhere with her! You're having dates every week and will almost straight up refuse to let her pay

Very affectionate and often likes showing pda, if you aren't much of a fan it's alright she'll be minimal with it or just stop all together. She does like laying her head on your shoulder while your walking together

Interested in watching shows you like and talking about them she's gonna come up to you and be like "you haven't watched this scene yet?" She doesn't spoil it but it's incredibly tempting to just to get your reaction.

She dosent insist but she loves hand holding in public. She tries not to squeeze too hard but your hands are so warm! When you initiate the hand holding it just makes it so much better.

Refuses to let you sleep in another room. If you so dare to say "you have the bed ill sleep on the couch" expect the very momment you drift to sleep to be lifted off the couch and with her to the bed. If you ever so dare to wake up and try to leave the girls gripping you tight "where are you going?" Her voice is so soft almost distracts from the fact you might need a doctor after this squeeze. "Stay here I don't wanna be left alone with all the plushies" she rubs her face into your back, seeing no other option you slept there.

She daydreams of you SOOOO much. It's crazy she thinks of you so much she finds It hard to focus. She'd think it's embrassing she thinks of you so much but then she'd imagine you brushing her hair to the side and going "you look wonderful today Sumire" girls brain just BOOM

If you'd ever dare to say you haven't eaten, she'll open her bento and offer a bit of it to you. "I don't see why you can't have some?" "Sumire...I don't like sausages" "don't worry there's rice" "you really don't have to"

She wants to try and play a sport with you. Don't wanna run? Table top tennis! Or maybe darts! She will need encouragement, but is super good

She likes asking out on just outings in shibuya to just "I'm watching my senpai's right now wanna see if they'll put their rivalry aside and be normal?" You go with her no matter the reason the only time this back fired was when akechi recognized you and tried to get you to settle if vegans eat animal crackers

She won't tell you when she has an issue that much. Unfortunately for her, you notice quickly hugging her or patting her head. She won't tell you, but she loves when you do this. It's comforting knowing she doesn't have to say a word and you'd be there

[yakuzacanons]

hiiii!!! I think I read your posts pretty much everyday and am loving absolutely everything you write!!

This one thought has been bothering me for a while: what would our boys think of their s/o being a foreigner? I guess some of them would pay no mind, some of them would be bothered at first, maybe some of them would even use their s/o as a token! What do you think?

Good question! Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Last post of the night kiddos, see y'all tomorrow eve.

Kazuma Kiryu

Doesn't mind and doesn't care. People are people. He likes you because he likes you. It's that shrimple. Seriously though, it never phased him. He doesn't ask questions about it either. Feel free to share exactly as much or as little about your culture as you'd like.

Majima Goro

Similar mindset as Kiryu but he would ask some questions. Somewhat interested in cultural differences, like the fact that Americans don't take off their shoes before going inside. It's not always aimed at YOUR culture specifically, he's just curious.

Saejima Taiga

He's a little resistant at first. Saejima's a little more old school and likely always saw himself with a more traditionally Japanese spouse. Mildly confused at some of your cultural differences but gets used to them. His affections towards you are more powerful than his confusion. Besides, he's easily confused anyways by a lot of things.

Akiyama Shun

Thinks that it's really cool that you're a foreigner. Might even think that's what makes you so interesting in the first place, at least when you first meet. Tries to learn words in your language but never pronounces them well.

Tanimura Masayoshi

As a mixed race guy, he kind of relates to you. He's pretty respectful of your culture and enjoys sharing his with you but he would never pressure you to do the same. Mostly just accepts it as is, no questions asked.

Ryuji Goda

Like Akiyama, he likely finds your cultural differences enticing when he first meets you. Finds himself actually caring about your cultural and is pretty respectful of it. Goes out of his way to try to remember important holiday events from your culture. Would punch anyone who makes fun of you.

Nishikyama Akira

Generally prefers an Asian spouse but he's open to other possibilities. Kind of guy to dumbly ask "Why" or "Huh" when you do certain things that relate to your culture. Little bit dumb about it all. Doesn't exactly judge you though but he can be openly confused at times.

Daigo Dojima

Honestly he has never thought about dating a foreigner and probably thinks it's expected of him to have a Japanese spouse but doesn't let that stop him. Daigo's a big sweetheart when in love so where you're from or what culture you partake in doesn't bother him none. Genuinely supportive and loving all the way.

Mine Yoshitaka

Might be a little guilty of fetishizing your culture or using it as a token point of interest. What can I say, Mine really does want to look cool in front of everyone, even more than Nishiki. If you tell him, he'll immediately knock it off. He likely just didn't realize that it bothered you or offended you.

Tatsuo Shinada

Also guilty of making your culture or foreigner status into a token subject, but more so in the way he just asks a LOT of questions. He doesn't realize it makes you feel like you're a zoo animal or like a science project. His intentions are well placed though, he just doesn't know when to stop asking.

Ichiban Kasuga

He'll just be like "Okay, cool!" with a thumbs up. That's how much you being a foreigner affects him. Bless his gentle heart, he could never fathom how anyone could judge you or treat you differently just because you're a foreigner.

Tianyou Zhao

Sympathizes with your struggles and is really understanding. Would be down to share cultural foods or holidays with you, either from his culture or yours. He's just generally really chill about it.

Joon-Gi Han

Similar vibe as Zhao but would whoop the ass of anyone who made fun of you. He knows all too well what it's like to be outcast just because of who you are and how much that hurts and he'll be damned if you ever feel bad for being yourself.

[samarecharm]

Ryuji learns immediately that Akira is a little food goblin and in the worst way possible 😭 He eats literally anything, he doesnt attempt to ‘chef up’ anything he cooks. He draws the line at expired food but the food he makes for himself looks so fucking sad (ryujis words) that it might as well be garbage. And its not that Akira Wont cook or is averse to Learning how to cook, hes just. Busy. And he really doesnt balk at what most would consider bad tasting food. But ryuji does!!! He DOES balk!!!! He balks alot in fact! So while he knows he himself is not the Best cook in the world, he IS someone raised by his momma, and he will use everything she taught him to make food that Akira will ACTUALLY like and not just tolerate.

So he takes Akira food shopping in the market, picks out vegetables and spices and meats that Akira admits (embarrassed) he has never touched in his life. He tells Akira what to look for in markets, whats normally in season, what the appropriate prices are, what different cuts of meat are meant for, and Akira follows him like a toddler following their mother, looking at the displays listening intently. Hes a smart kid. Scary smart. And he picks and chooses whats worth investing into, whether Ryuji realizes it or not. So Akira listens and absorbs whatever Ryuji is telling him, bc Ryuji matters to him.

Ryuji has him on prep work duty. He shows Akira the easy way to chop and cube vegetables. Remembers halfway through that Akira is actually wicked scary with a blade; shows him a video of a professional cutting celery at lightning speed and is SO excited to see Akira replicate it near perfectly. Hes like a machine; chopping with such laser precision and Akira cannot help but feel a little bit warm when Ryuji openly compliments him

Ryuji is so loud and brash everywhere but the kitchen. Hes focused in a way Akira has never seen him be; listing off instructions and tips, carefully adding ingredients and measuring things by eye. While making the stew, he blanks on the amount of seasoning he should be adding, and before Akira can try to help him rubberduck, Ryuji video calls his mom. And Akira almost panics bc what if she was asleep? Or what if shes working??? But she picks up after two rings, wearing a nightgown and smiling huge and wide into the camera. Ryuji waves at her, and then moves the phone a bit to get Akira into frame. He does a very chill, not at all panicked and anxious wave and she smiles at him too.

Ryuji shows her the pot stewing and she comments on the coloring and texture of it. She pokes fun at him (‘oo did you go to a fancy market? Those beef cuts looks very nice’) to which ryuji waves her off, used to her teasing.

‘Have that young man try to season it; this is a team effort!’ And so Ryuji props the phone up so that she can see him and Akira by the stove top as she guides them. A sprinkle of this seasoning from top to bottom, yes perfect, and a pinch of that seasoning- ehh a little more than that- okay perfect, and add a ton of that seasoning in front of you- more. More. Ryuji I said a Ton, tell him i said a Ton- oh right he can hear me I SAID ADD A TON- okay thats it i think, if it comes out too salty, scoop some out and replace it with more stock or some water.

And from then on Ryuji just chats with his mom while Akira watches from his side of the counter; Ryuji mentions the nice lake that he wants to try fishing at, and some nice natural paths to run on in the mornings, and she tells him about her shift and the movie she saw the other day with some friends. Its very nice. It comes so easy to them; Akira cant remember the last time he got to hear his mom just chat about her life with him. Kinda hurts, but not really. Not when hes got Sojiro calling him, telling him about his day while Akira tinkers about at his desk. Its basically the same thing; even better when Akira thinks about it.

And then he thinks some more. And into the realization that Ryuji is here with him in his house cooking and relaxing and chatting with his mom. The tv is on in the livingroom buzzing at a volume thats barely audible. The setting sun is peaking through the curtains. His mom makes a snide comment about her coworker that makes Ryuji laugh a bit under his breath, and Akira is like. Painfully aware of how nice this feels. Warm and easy. It feels a bit silly to even say it but it feels domestic; it feels like home. And hes always been here, always lived here, but it didnt feel like Home as much as it did in this moment, with Ryuji idly chatting with his mom as he tended to the pot on the stove. He wants to capture this moment and keep it tucked away somewhere. And later on, when hes staring at the ceiling, head swimming as he tries to fall asleep, he’ll think ‘no. I dont want to just have this moment. I want more moments like this. I want to live in these moments again and again and again.’ Hes greedy like that, he thinks. He wants and wants and wants; wants so bad it makes his chest ache.

The stew comes out good. A bit salty, which Ryuji remedies by adding a bit more stock to the pot after theyve had their servings. Akiras face is a mix of childlike delight and contentment, eyes bright in that sweet and adorable way that has Ryujis face turning pink, suddenly a bit shy. Being complimented about his cooking is a different kind of nice hes not used to. Akira does a little happy bop with his head, the same bop he’ll do when he eats sweets with Ann.

“This is Really good-‘

“Oi! Please chew everything first before talking.”

Akira thinks its an act of love. In the same way art from Yusuke is an act of love, and the way Hangout Nights with Ann is an act of love; this is Ryujis. I want you to eat well. I want you to be well. Because I care about you. Ryuji cares so much. To come and stay with him. To cook with him, to live with him, even if for a moment. ‘My place…is right at your side.’ ‘Whaddya mean? Youre there.’ Like it keeps Akira up at night sometimes thinking of how much hes loved. It feels so foreign to him, yet natural all at once. Waking up to the rest of the breakfast Ryuji left for him after cooking. Ryuji listening to him ramble about some tech shit Akira knows only he truly cares about (Ryuji pays attention and tries to follow which is more than Akira can ask for). Like its a bit overwhelming but its nice. Its warm and loving and its nice.

Ryuji finds himself napping against Akiras taller frame on the couch, the movie they picked out failing to keep him entertained enough, and Akira thinks Ryuji feels the same way; its warm and loving and nice.

[p5x-theories]

While im enjoying some stuff and its too early to judge from a beta, i feel like the stakes in this game are way waaay less severe than the original game. Wonder's life seems to be pretty chill compared to Joker's. Closer's relationship with the first palace ruler its way less personal than Ann and Ryuji's, and even Tomoko falling down the train rail its nowhere tragic as Shiho's attempt. There are no stakes, no urgency that if they dont stop the villain their life will be over. And its sad because the biggest appeal of the Phantom Thieves to me was this bunch of kids misstreated by society becaming eachother's family, here its like they are doing things just because the games needs to or Ruffy tells them :( i hope things will get better as the game goes on

I completely understand, the stakes definitely aren't as high, at least right now. And it's certainly not as urgent, which may be in part due to how P5X will prevent you from progressing the story (at least between Palaces?) until you're a certain level.

But I do think it's worth noting that Wonder doing things because Ruferu is telling him to is also part of the plot. It's clear from the start that that's sort of something Wonder is struggling with- he doesn't really know what he wants to do; he left his form about what he wants to do after finishing high school blank, and even after awakening his Persona is very much just going with what Ruferu tells him to do next. I can't guarantee that you'll like wherever the writers of P5X are going with this, but I think what you're picking up here is an intentional change that we're going to see payoff for later on.

As a sort of related thread, the P5X kids seem to be a lot looser with their secret identities than the Phantom Thieves were, and later on that might tie into either the current lack of urgent stakes and/or the way Wonder just goes along with things. So far the Wonder Squad can afford to be kind of lazy and open about this, but that might not be the case later on, especially if the stakes escalate. I think it might be fun if the first two or three Palaces are relatively low-stakes for them, and then problems start to catch up for them and they've got to get serious/they learn they've already screwed something up.

Which is all to say, I agree with where you're coming from here, but I'm staying optimistic, and I suppose we'll find out eventually, haha.

[nexttrickanvils]

For the trope thingy.... 19 with Akira and Ryuji?

19. Blurting out a confession of love

---

After spending all day in LeBlanc, juggling dozens of orders for couples. It was nice to just chill out with Ryuji.

Even if it was just to “commiserate” with him over getting no chocolate for Valentines.

Honestly Akira didn’t mind too much… if only because there was only one specific person he would’ve liked to get something from…

Unfortunately they were too busy sitting across from him lamenting over how no girls were interested in him.

But this was something Akira had long since accepted. That his crush was so… painfully… paaaainfully straight. At least they’re still best friends, hell the only thing that would change if they started dating was the addition of make-outs.He could live without that. Right?

“What’re you thinkin’, dude.”

Akira just smirked and dramatically placed his hand against his forehead.

“Oh my heart is empty.~”

Ryuji rolled his eyes as Akira chuckled. 

“Don’t gimmie that.”

“Why not? It’s fun.”

Ryuji let out an annoyed sigh before glancing down at his hoodie pocket.

“Oh, but…”

With that, Ryuji pulled out a small piece of chocolate and placed it on the table. He explained that he got it from a shopkeeper when he was out at the convenience store.

“Here. You can have it.”

Oh. Well that’s nice. But Akira couldn’t help but joke…

“Is this a confession?” Akira asked with a shit eating grin

“Wha!? Dude, hell no! I mean… sure I’ve been crushing on you since summer but…”

Wait what!?

Ryuji’s eyes widened as he just realized what he just blurted out…

“EFF! I MEAN. HA HAHA FUNNY JOKE RIGHT!? ANYWAY I THINK MY MOM JUST CALLED SO I SHOULD JUST…”

Before Ryuji could run off, Akira grabbed his hand and the two stared at each other.

Akira really should say something. Anything! Like…

I feel the same way!

Don’t worry I’ve been crushing on you too.

Or even dammit you should’ve told me you were bi too!

What he did instead was lean over the table and kissed Ryuji right on the lips.

Once he pulled away, he could see Ryuji’s face turning red.

“Uhhhhhh…”

“So… uh…I think there’s still some movies playing at the theater here. Consider it a first date? I’ll even get you chocolate from the concession stand.”

Ryuji, face still beet red, simply nodded, “S-sure sounds uh sounds great.”

[electricea]

@rubbarband sent -🌹 ( Time For Some Positivity - Accepting! )

Send 🌹 and I'll recommend a blog that makes me happy.

@mechahero - I honestly thought of saving this for the OC symbol since I still do have a few of those, but while I do adore Lambda and him and his Ryuji's friendship is precious and amazing and means the world to me, I wanted to speak more about the mun, Mocha. We'd always been mutuals for some time and they were always someone I felt quite comfortable and chill around even before we started talking regularly. I honestly had the feeling that if we did hang out and talk more, we'd be good friends and I'm happy to say that so far that instinct has been proven correct - Mocha has been a good friend, a streaming buddy, a Roblox gaming friend and many many things - we listen to each other vent, we share our passions and we just hang out. I'm glad we got to talk more and get to know each other better as friends and I know Mocha is always someone I can turn to - I'll always recommend them and Lambda, both. We're lucky to know you guys.

[fictionkinfessions]

[Fandom(s) this post is about : «“Persona 5”» ◇｜◇ «“Persona 5 ROYAL”»] [«“Identity V”» mention at the end]

[CW: Mentions of family issues..??]

❂——✧——✧——✧——✧——✧——❂

I remember that I used to have like.. a dog.. and a bunny too. The bunny was named “Churro”, and the dog “Luna”.

I also recall making a whole plan to go to my old home just to retrieve them, and guess what happened???

Sojiro tells me THE DAY BEFORE I FOLLOW THE PLAN THROUGH WITH ANN, RYUJI AND YUSUKE the following:

“oh yeah, your parents gave me your bunny and your dog like a month after you came here just so you wouldn't ‘be so lonely’ or something like that. Not gonna lie, I think they were done with taking care of them and they're just making excuses 😒. Anyways they're at my house right now, and part of the reason I didn't really mention it to you was because you have a cat and because I can't have two animals just running around the cafe. Maybe if you can somehow keep them upstairs I'll consider letting them be here instead of my house, just make sure the dog doesn't bark too loudly during working hours, or outside of them.”

..guess what I did as soon as I could go into that house.

Anyways, doggo always hated me for some reason (I kept trying to show love and affection to her), but was literally an angel with everyone else?? Sure, go be nice to everyone but me, the person that takes care of you 😞💔 traitor dog..

The bunny was absolutely terrifying to leave alone for too long, though, and I always found her biting something or just chilling besides a wall, but was always the center of attention.. makes sense honestly; it's not everyday you just see a rabbit doing rabbit stuff..

I remember that my friends kept getting ambushed by the trio of animals just randomly going up to them and demanding affection, and I think the victims that suffered the most from this were: Akechi, Yusuke, Ann, and Ryuji.

Imagine being on working hours, investigating or doing something REALLY important, then you hear the sound of little paws just going your way and see a rabbit and a dog together along with a guy trying to reach them.. seems like there's something else to add to do “I'm sorry” list.. 🥰

I hate how I'm canon divergent in some areas because wdym I didn't have a rabbit that kept biting my hair and a dog that kind of hated my guts but still liked me enough to accept me giving it affection without rejecting me sometimes 💔

❂——✧——✧——✧——✧——✧——❂

Little extra: I recall having a sibling in my canon, an older one at that, I guess? Anyways he was cool and one of the few reasons I was kinda looking up to going back home post canon 🥰.. emphasis on kinda.

I swear, I'll need to do a whole different post JUST to explain what was going on with my family and home place..

Sighh.. I really don't know if I love them or loathe them with my soul, so considering that.. it's bound to maybe be as long or a little less than the love confession 😥

On a completely unrelated side note: HOW R WE FEELING, IDV (Identity V) PLAYERS THAT ARE ALSO PERSONA 5 KINS / FICTIVES??? 🤩🤩

— #❂🥞🐈‍⬛✮ ( ✧ Ren Amamiya ✧ ｜❂ Akira Kurusu ❂｜♧ “Joker” ♤ fictive + fictionkin)

(does anybody else make sounds out of the blue without really wanting to? Like, little hums, clearing your throat, light whistling.. is that normal? I tried to stop it but it just made a lot of stuff worse and now I don't know if I should keep trying to or what 😥)

x

[apathetic-theme-song]

Afterlife Orientation

Jounouchi tells Shizuka some important information about the afterlife. Namely, that everyone's dating everyone else. Ties into Tomb Robbery & Other Plights. CW: Everyone's dead and they talk about it a little.

Shizuka was a little overwhelmed, if she was being honest. One moment, she’d been lying in a hospital bed at the end of a long life. Then, she woke up in a near-perfect recreation of Domino City in a body much younger than the one she’d died in with an ethereal-looking woman who gave her water and patiently explained that this was the afterlife. Jounouchi had come to find her almost immediately and show her around before dropping a pretty big concept on her. “So, we can go other places,” he said, stretching out on the couch of his apartment. It was still cluttered and messy, just like the one he’d had back when he was in his 30s. “Courtesy of Atem, we can go to Egypt, too.”

“Like… his Egypt?” Shizuka knew a little about Atem, but the whole ‘Pharaoh’s soul trapped in a necklace’ thing had been pretty wild to her even when it was happening.

“Yeah. Oh!” Jounouchi shot upright, digging around in the mess of papers to find a blank one. “Except there’s a few things you should know. Everyone’s kinda… been getting around since we’re all together.”

“Katsuya! I don’t want to hear about that!” Shizuka practically screamed, eyes widening in horror.

“No no no - just hear me out, okay?” Jounouchi started scribbling on the paper. “So, like… it turns out that we’re all pretty bad at being monogamous, okay? So you should know who’s dating who. It’s kind of a mess.” Shizuka tentatively sat on the couch next to him, watching as he created something of a flow chart. “Okay, so Atem’s at the top, right? Since it’s his afterlife and he’s been here the longest.” Jounouchi drew out some lines linking to five names. “He hooked up with Iah first - I’ll explain Iah in a second, you never met him - but then he also has Mana and Mahad. They’re like his best friends since they were kids. When Yugi and Anzu showed up, they all settled that weird love triangle they had going on when we were alive, so they’re all together, too.”

“Are they still married, though?” Shizuka asked curiously.

“Oh yeah. Yugi and Anzu are definitely still a thing, although Anzu’s also been spending time with Mana lately. And honestly, good for her. Yugi kind of has a thing with Ryou now, too, except they haven’t made it official or anything.”

“Yugi and Ryou?”

“I know, right? Then again, they had that kinda vibe before Yugi and Anzu got hitched, so…” Jounouchi shrugged. “Anyway. Yugi and me - you know I love ‘im, but it’s strictly platonic.” He paused. “Atem kissed me when I first showed up and I didn’t hate it, though. And I messed around with Ryuji a little, too, but we're better as friends.”

Shizuka couldn’t help but smile, leaning in to coyly ask, “Did you and Mai ever…?”

Jounouchi smiled back at her sheepishly and held up his hand to show off the simple gold band on his ring finger. “Oh yeah. Although she has date nights with Ishizu sometimes. Didn’t see that coming, but my girl’s got good taste.” Jounouchi turned back to the page to draw even more names and lines. “Anyway, Ryou’s kind of off in his own world, but like I said, he’s kind of got a thing going with Yugi, and he’s been spending a lot of time with Marik and Kek, too -”

“Wait, who’s Kek?”

Jounouchi took a deep breath, then started coughing. “Hoo boy - marker fumes! Kek’s… so Marik had DID when he was alive, and Kek was his super-evil alter ego that tried to kill everybody.”

Shizuka shuddered. She briefly remembered seeing Marik jump off the deep end in Battle City. “He’s there, too?”

“Yeah, but he’s been here a while and he’s actually chilled out a lot. Mai and him can't be in the same room, but it’s civil enough. Marik and Kek have a lot of issues they're still working out, so Ryou dating both of them is kind of awkward. And speaking of awkward - Iah. He’s the Thief King, he was kind of the reason Ryou went a little crazy, too. It’s complicated, but Iah’s pretty cool now. He’s with Kek and Atem, but he’s been hanging out with Marik a lot. I guess they kind of had a thing back in Battle City and they’re sorting that out. Ryou kind of hates Iah, though.”

“I really didn’t think Ryou was the type to hate anybody.”

Jounouchi shrugged, staring down at the paper. The flow chart was looking more like a word jumble at this point. “Well, he didn’t like talking about what he was going through. He’s still working on that. He was actually pretty pissed off about a lot of things. It wasn’t entirely Iah’s fault, I guess - part of him got sealed up with literal Evil Incarnate and made Ryou’s life a living hell, and Ryou still doesn’t trust that he’s good now.” Jounouchi sighed. “But… he likes Marik, so as long as you don’t leave him and Iah alone, it’s fine.”

Shizuka slumped against the couch, her head spinning. “This is weird. Dating people that your other partners don’t like?”

“I mean - we’ve literally got eternity to work stuff out. There’s been a few break-ups here and there - oh!” Jounouchi slammed the paper down on the table. “Almost forgot about Kaiba! So he spends most of his time here, unfortunately for literally everyone else, but he goes to Egypt to duel Atem now and then.” He sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think Kaiba can figure out whether he loves Atem or hates him. It’s a real on-off relationship, and Atem always gets super bummed out whenever they go ‘off’. He just needs to make up his freaking mind.”

Shizuka thought back to Jounouchi’s irrational hatred of Kaiba when they were younger and said tiredly, “Or maybe you could just -”

“Finish that thought and I don’t have a sister anymore. Uh - Kaiba does kind of have a girlfriend, though. I think. No one’s ever met her in person, but he wanders around with a girl sometimes. So I guess we add her in, too.” Jounouchi wrote ‘girlfriend from Canada’ underneath Kaiba’s name and linked them together. “But that’s pretty much it. Any questions?”

“You guys really have a lot of free time, huh?”

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. “Hey, we’ve got all the time in the world, remember? Kind of. They’ll let us reincarnate whenever we want, but everyone’s pretty happy right now, so we’re gonna be around for a while. There are tournaments here and a lot of festivals over in Egypt, so it’s easy to keep busy, too. We’re not just lying around with each other all day.”

Shizuka found the energy to sit up and tease, “Good, because you were really good at lying around when we were alive.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know, I was a high-ranking Duelist and had a job! A lot of jobs, actually. I worked hard!”

“I know, Katsuya.” She reached over to hug him from the side. “I hate that you got stuck with Dad and all his debt.”

“Yeah. Thank God Yugi let me crash with him after Dad died, I would’ve never been able to afford rent.” Jounouchi got quiet and abandoned the flow chart, leaning back against the couch to hug Shizuka back. “I’m glad you’re here. You did good after I was gone?”

“Yeah. It was hard,” Shizuka admitted, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “They named my grandson after you.”

“Oh, stop it, I’m gonna start crying, too,” Jounouchi said loudly with a laugh, his go-to reaction when he was getting emotional. “Hey, the cherry blossoms will start blooming soon. Once you settle in, I’ll grab the gang and we’ll go, okay?”

Shizuka hugged him tighter and smiled. “Sounds good. Thank you, Katsuya.”

Jounouchi ruffled her hair gently. “What are big brothers for?”

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

What makes me so sad about Ryuji being reduced to “I am so horny and want girlfriend and also I’m stupid” is that I think he’s pretty much the perfect guy friend for any and all of the main girls to have.

Girls are especially socially expected to hold in anger. Having a best buddy who can and will get angry on your behalf and will encourage that in you and is also a dorky ray of sunshine would be so good for literally all of them.

And the foundations are there!

Ann and Ryuji love picking on each other so much; they’ve so clearly known each other in middle school (which is a time you never want anyone to know you from but if you still do, you probably are bound by blood or something). They have dumbass cousin energy. “Guy you saw in the hallway but never actually got to know until years later and now you’re inseparable and gleefully shoving each other with the greatest affection” energy.

Ryuji jumped in front of a car to help Makoto! On the surface it looks like studious girl and delinquent boy but that’s not it at all, because Makoto is just as gung ho as Ryuji when she gets going. Ryuji has so much respect and a healthy level of fear towards her, and Makoto knows Ryuji of all people is not going to judge her for jumping in headfirst for once… except sometimes her recklessness makes even Ryuji go “whoa, whoa! hold on are you crazy???” And then she tells him to “get on the fucking bike Skull we’re making a getaway” while sirens blare in the palace and Ryuji’s just like “yes ma’am” and trusting that Makoto is not about to get them killed… haha… ha…

Ryuji was probably the most chill with Futaba when they were trying to socialize with her because he was literally just being himself and chatting like he would with anyone else. He’s consistently impressed by her and thinks she’s so cool. Futaba of course loves getting his ass, but that is just how she shows affection. They play video games together for sure.

I still don’t know as much about Haru since I’m still on Okumura’s Palace, but again, I think these two could totally get along particularly because they are so wildly different. Haru is high class, sweet, and she holds back from the full range of her negative emotions for the most part. Ryuji’s mom has to work hard for them both, he’s a lot more aggressive and he’s almost always totally honest about what he feels. I just really think Ryuji could be the one to say “hey Haru, I know you’re being nice and all but that is extremely messed up and I will gladly punch that guy if you want me to” and Haru will pause and say “you know what, you’re right Ryuji, that is messed up. No need for punching, I will grab my axe. :)”

Even Kasumi!!! They’ve barely spoken so far and I already think Ryuji would hear about how hard she takes mistakes and totally cheer her on! Kasumi invites a few people to practice and she’s nervous and then Ryuji starts shouting encouragement at the top of his lungs. He is loud and he will drown out the doubt. (Ren’s next to him and wishes he brought ear plugs. Kasumi is completely mortified but it does, somehow, help.)

And if the game still really wants to make “lol this guy can’t get a girlfriend” jokes, then they literally could with this set up and it would legitimately be so funny. This guy has so many friends who are girls but no girlfriend. He laments this one day. All the girls get up and are like “okay. Operation Get Ryuji a Girlfriend is a go” and Ryuji realizes he’s made a terrible mistake.

Makoto takes it deadly seriously but obviously has no idea what she’s doing. She’s reading from a dating book and trailing off and frowning every once in awhile and taking notes. Ann can give actual good advice on occasion but most of the time she’s just trying various tactics to get free dessert from him. Futaba just wants to witness the chaos. She even brought chips. Haru tries to set the mood but there are rose petals everywhere and the entire movie theater is mysteriously and conveniently sold out so it’s just Ryuji and his hapless would-be date, and the cinema staff are serving 300k yen champagne??? They can’t even drink yet? Kasumi always cheers him on but the cheers slowly become less convincing and eventually peter out to awkward, smiling silence as something inevitably, always, goes horribly wrong. They all return to Leblanc in defeat where Ryuji immediately collapses on the floor and the girls attempt to reassure him that there’s always next time. He remains sprawled on the floor quietly sobbing as they continue to plot yet another disastrous date.

Ren and Morgana walk into this and go “what the fuck”. Yusuke grabs his sketchbook and immediately and eagerly seats himself on the floor as well to capture his best impression of Ryuji’s exhausted despair.

[andtheyreonfire]

standin’ strong (as the waves roll over)

Ao3

Wc - 1,155

An: This was inspired by Averagegtenjoyer’s post about minigiant Joker awhile back. He is pretty cool, ain’t he?

~

Ren isn’t used to the way the thieves touch him—Or, more accurately, that they bother to touch him at all.

He’s used to it, in a sense. Physical, casual touch has never mattered to him. His heart doesn’t ache when people swerve away from him in the halls, or cower as they look up at him, or climb over chairs and desks to keep their distance. He’s almost 4 meters tall. He’s used to it.

Ann and Ryuji and Morgana—the Phantom Thieves, they’d named themselves amidst dozens of stares in a fancy buffet, curtesy of being two blonds, a giant, and a cat—avoided him at first, like everyone else. Then Ryuji clung onto his back during their first escape out of a Palace. Then Ann buried herself into his arm after confessing her situation, wracked with silent tears. Then Morgana draped across his shoulders and demanded curry and sushi, comfortable as a king on a throne.

He didn’t shy away, so they continued: Casual touches, here and there. Ryuji’ll slap Ren on the back after a run—if he’s sitting down—forceful enough that he almost feels it. Morgana curls up in his lap when he’s doing homework, lets Ren ghost his hand across his fur. Ann will grab his hand and hold it up to hers, laughing at the difference between them, musing what shade of nail polish would best compliment Ren’s eyes.

It’s...different, but nice. He rarely shows emotion, talks even less, but they see the faint quirk of his lips for what it is.

That’s more than he could ever ask for.

It’s because of their continued, casual contact that Ren doesn’t jolt when, crouched down in front of Suzui Shiho’s hospital window at 3 a.m., Ann climbs onto his back. It might as well be another Wednesday night for her. Ren can almost feel the evening chill through his thin pajamas.

A beat passes, before two arms wrap around his neck. A pair of legs wrap around his waist, barely managing to fit. A voice whispers in his ear, “Okay.”

Ren nods, wraps his hands under the crook of her knees, and slowly stands up.

In just a few short days, Shiho will be transferred to a hospital on the other side of Tokyo. Ann had messaged Ren about an hour ago, asking for his “Joker expertise” in sneaking up to wish her girlfriend goodbye.

Ren’s shoes were on before Ann had even hung up.

If they could steal the heart of a corrupted adult via magical powers in an alternate dimension, then a hospital room should be no problem, right? Especially with his height.

Aside from his and Ryuji’s first visit to a Palace, Ren hasn’t held anyone since he was a child, when the neighborhood kids hadn’t been told to keep their distance. Ann doesn’t need to know that, of course. The last thing he’d want to do would be to make her uncomfortable. So, he’s fine. Perfectly fine. Definitely not adjusting to the light weight on his back, trying to wrap his head around how this could be his friend.

Ren shuffles towards the hospital window. Shiho is, mercifully, on the second floor, but her window is still a fair bit above his head. He nods to Ann. She nods back, deadly serious like they’re about to steal a treasure, rather than sneak into one of Tokyo's smallest hospitals. He bites his cheek to keep from smiling.

Ann clambers up to stand his shoulders. Ren braces his knees, then moves his hands to her ankles as she undoes the latch. He can’t ignore the urge to brace a hand against her back. Hopefully, it comes off as Joker’s gentleman nature peeking through, rather than the crippling fear she’s going to fall. Ann’s fine, of course. Her balance is perfect, Panther’s grace in its purest form.

Well—as pure as it can be. It takes a lot of muffled cursing, but Ann manages to pick open the latch. Ren winces at the squeak, but the only person it manages to alert is their target, judging by Shiho's startled gasp. “Oh my god. Ann.”

Ren catches Ann's bobby pins when they fall from her hands, secures Ann's feet as she leans forward. Her smile is clear as day in her voice. “Hey, Shiho.”

Ren fiddles with one of the bobby pins—barely longer than his thumb’s nail bed—as they kiss. Shiho rasps, “How did you—what—“

Ren takes that as his cue to look up. He peeks his head around Ann's body, until he locks eyes with Shiho. He waves.

Shiho's eyes crinkle. “Amamiya-kun. It’s great to see you again.”

Despite himself, Ren’s insides melt, warm and gooey like a cinnamon roll. He whispers, “The feeling’s mutual.”

“Well, come on,” Ann says, louder than she probably should, “Stand back. Lemme climb up.”

Shiho does. Ren lets Ann use his hands as stairs, giving her the final push she needs as she climbs through the window. She gives him an over the top curtsey when she lands, only for Shiho to drag her out of sight.

Ren snorts. After a few seconds, they re-appear at the window, arms and legs tangled like they’re trying to fuse into one body. It’s a little weird for someone to be staring down at him, but Ren takes it in stride.  Ann twirls a lock of Shiho’s hair. “Thank you—so much—for this. Oh my God. Remind me to get you a box of crepes later.”

“None for me?” Shiho asks. There’s a mirth, a life to her that Ren hasn’t seen before. She looks alive—tired, haggard, exhausted, but alive.

Ann kisses the corner of her mouth. “Your box will come later. You didn’t help me break into a hospital at 3 am. speaking of which—“ She turns back to Ren, sheepish. “Would...would an hour be too long? I understand if you’d want to return sooner.”

He shakes his head. For all that Shido’s come alive, Ann glows like she just found another piece of her soul.

I wait forever if it meant you could keep this, Ren doesn’t say. I would do anything to be useful the way I am now, for me to keep this as well, with all of you.

Instead, with a smile on his lips, he says, “Text me if you need longer.”

Ann burns, impossibly, brighter. Ren extracts himself from the window, mapping out where he can take a stroll for a few hours. No one should bother him, considering his height. He throws an arm up in a wave, and they return it.

Ann spares only a moment to say goodbye—which is good, considering she’s practically vibrating out of her skin. She and Shiho turn away, voices mingling into something light, full of love.

That warm, gooey feeling remains in Ren’s chest for the rest of the night.

[arcplaysgames]

Seen here: Me IRL jumping because I was so concerned about Morgana that I fucking didn't notice Akechi was here until the little card icon appeared. BEIGE ALERT.

Akechi bro this is like not a good time but also i'm worried about missing flags for the extra content so I guess we can hang. (Morgana, I know you are going through a crisis rn but pls forgive me okay.)

man i haven't taken a bath in probably about 15 years, are they that good? my friend sent bath salts from japan, i should just try them. people are super into baths in this game.

oh because apparently they are some key to heart-to-hearts I guess???

wow that is a Lot

I was joking to cardiganism that something about Akechi makes me want to study him under a microscope. They said probably because out of the whole cast, he's the most opaque. Which, yep, honestly.

If the seed of Akechi's justice is wanting revenge for the mistreatment of his mother by his absentee father, that's... potentially high-minded?

Honestly a later moment from Akechi is way more interesting so I'll hold until then.

jfc are you my Vriska, what is this? what's the term? The pathologically competitive?

Is that true?

You know what's weirdly rare in video games? Liars. I feel like when it comes to quests for truth and understanding in games, the usual force pushing back is unrevealed information, not someone giving you false information. And in the games where outright lies are used, they tend to be used sparingly, as a second act twist that sets up the rest of the plot.

I think it's less common to have to deal with a character that just lies to you continuously without any real indication that you are being told a lie. Akechi itches at me because he's not, like, the Citadel Council keeping big secrets from the galactic community. He's a guy who is lying and I don't have any context for what the truth is.

Anyway, I guess it's time for the class trip.

... Mishima, I'm not going to nonconsensually change the heart of someone who cheats at video games.

WHY DOES NO ONE IN THIS GAME TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING A PHANTOM THIEF SERIOUSLY? This is why I have always hated the Phansite and I especially hate the "rankings."

Also, I know this is shocking news, but I love Futaba. The realism of this is great.

Also hey I'm up to 9 for Yoshida, and is that the big reveal for every Confidant? That they totally knew you were a Thief the whole time? That'd be super funny. Bc I think Yoshida knows too.

DO NOT PULL A FUCKING NAOTO SHIROGANE, AKECHI, I SWEAR TO GOD. I WILL LEAVE YOUR ASS TO GET EATEN BY FOG.

I wanna reach through the screen and shake Reverie. Morgana is seriously on the verge of a breakdown, isn't comfortable reaching out for help, and you're LEAVING HIM FOR A TRIP TO HAWAII.

WHICH: SPOILER. SUPER SUCKS EXCEPT FOR YUSUKE ONCE AGAIN, SHOCKER

/puts head on desk and yells

they really did work to make joker the MOST pretty huh

god i thought the beach trip was boring but the hawaii trip actively sucks

it's just Ryuji wanting to get laid so bad he does splash damage of suck to everyone around him...

(what the fuck ryuji, chill the fuck out, this shit made me fucking uncomfortable)

Mishima literally refusing to talk about anything except the Phansite's Alexa Traffic ranking

And Yusuke being the fucking load-bearing column of this entire game I swear to god. He is the only reason I did not just press fast-forward and skip this ENTIRE section. It was miserable.

Atlus. Atlus. Atlus. Stop fucking punishing me for not having a romance locked in these games. This whole segment was more excruciating than Yosuke Hanamura's Joker Mode. I'm dead serious. It was less homophobic but something felt more homophobic to me specifically. I think because my was of reacting were much more locked down. Whatever.

God, send me back to Japan so I can check on the people I care about. (Ann, Yusuke, not you, I'll never be mad at you, I love you both. If I got to spend this trip having mai-tais with you, it would have been a blast.)

OH SIDEBAR:

motherfucker where have you been, I have been trying to talk to you since school started and you just blow me off! rude!

I don't think Maruki is a good therapist but I think he's decent with people. He notices Futaba and Morgana talking and uses it as a springboard for conversation. Or, tries anyway. Futaba is still working on being observed by other humans. We know how that is.

Then, Futaba sees that Maruki..... has a book on cognitive psience. And Sojiro immediately tries to throw him out but Futaba is like "chillax" and actually talks to him.

Maruki notices the past-tense and tells Futaba that her mother sounds cool and would be proud of her.

He's a nice guy.

However. He's working with Reverie to talk through basically the necessity of pain and trauma in people's lives, has mentioned wishing that pain was curable through more easily actionable means, and is toting a book on cognitive psience.

there is not enough side-eye in the world.

Hey Maruki, can I see your phone real quick, do you have a weird malware app on there?

Out of images, whup.