#he's just too interesting not to explore sjdbshfb

[muzzleroars]

Hey, hey, hey. I love your Bad End AU and your art style and saw your most recent comic and thank you for the good angst. And may I ask, how do you see the Phantom Thieves of Hearts while under Yabboath's control? Is it basically the same for each Phantom Thief as Akira is in? Or is it different for the different tasks Yabboath gives them? And, if I maybe so selfish, would their outfits be similar to Akira's as well? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really curious about your Bad End AU.

You never have to apologize for asking about my bad end au, I could talk about it for days!!! In fact...this answer got a little out of hand, so it’s under a cut to save people from scrolling fgbggg

 I actually have a few different “paths” for a bad end - in the full corruption path, the thieves would be pretty similar to Akira, where they’re brought back but fully under Yaldabaoth’s control, with Akira leading them more directly. Essentially, they would be extremely shallow versions of their real selves - they have the same personalities, but none of their morals or driving forces. They keep Akira happy and he believes he still has his friends with him and agreeing with his actions, which creates an Akira that has much less of his true self surviving. The thieves here, and in the bad end au in general, are really just “supplements” so Yaldabaoth can keep the power of the Trickster under his control. They support, assist, and comfort Akira, as well as just generally keep him company. He’s very sensitive to feeling as though he’s alone or his friends have abandoned him, even when he’s corrupted, so keeping them around is advantageous to Yaldabaoth so Akira doesn’t regain his rebellion.

In the gradual corruption path, the thieves return as their normal selves and it’s only Akira’s rebellion that’s been robbed from him. Things begin relatively normally, the thieves continue doing their work, but Akira begins to change and spends more and more time on his own in Mementos. He corrupts further and further, which leads to the group fracturing as Akira becomes more of a dictator. He doesn’t sound anything like he used to and he’s no longer egalitarian, but because the threats they’re fighting keep becoming increasingly horrifying and their loyalty to Akira, the thieves continue working in a growing state of unease. Desperate to help him but not understanding what’s caused the change, the thieves begin to corrupt one by one along with him, with Ryuji and Futaba most likely being among the first to fall because of how close they are to Akira. 

And just as Akira represents the Fool in reverse (taking a “sure” bet even if it sounds too good to be true to protect against the consequences of the unknown), all of the thieves degrade into their reversed positions which causes the group to crumble entirely. Ryuji no longer pushes the group forward with his passion, instead backtracking to only support all of Akira’s decisions. Futaba seals herself off and no longer offers to investigate Akira’s apparent issues - basically, she gets to the point where she only talks to him. Haru gives everything to assist Akira and make him comfortable, which adds to the support he receives from Ryuji already. Yusuke, likewise, is sapped of his own power when his objections fall on more and more deaf ears - he’s also one of the thieves that trusts in Akira the most, so he begins to give his power over to him as Akira becomes increasingly authoritarian. Makoto is swayed at this point and stops listening to her instincts telling her something is very wrong, instead keeping it to herself to keep harmony in a group that largely supports Akira without hesitation by now. And finally, Ann, disconnected from everyone else, only falls when she’s left all alone despite her misgivings. I don’t really think Morgana would be with them anymore and, if he is, it’s a fake created by Yaldabaoth to, again, keep Akira happy and in line. Goro, already on the outside of the thieves, isn’t influenced by Akira’s corruption, and so my comic can apply to this path of the AU. These two paths offer little hope of a good end, as in the first, the thieves are entirely puppets and in the second, only Goro would remain to oppose them, and he simply wouldn’t have the power to defeat them + Yaldabaoth on his own...though I think he would try, since his life is borrowed at that point anyway. 

And then there’s the “good” end path, which I sort of went with for the comic! The thieves all recognize something is wrong with Akira, discussing it among themselves and trying to seek a solution with no place to start. They try to reign him in gently, but Akira begins to move on his own, eventually disappearing for days at a time and when he returns, it’s like another piece of him is missing. He spends more time in the Metaverse than he does in reality and, one day, he never comes back (He takes up residence in Mementos, where I imagine Yaldabaoth keeps him company with his cognitive version of the thieves. Akira, in this state, is so far gone that he believes them to be real). The thieves are scared he’s dead or possibly worse, so they go into Mementos to search for him, but they find it far more hostile without him now. They have to take several passes at it, and on one of these missions, they run into Goro fighting through Mementos on his own. They’re shocked to find him alive, but he tells them it’s all Akira’s doing (he’s more clued in since he was literally resurrected, rather just being saved through altering cognition), and he’s furious with the decision. He refuses to work with the thieves, who are looking for Akira to attempt to reason with him after they hear his explanation of what he did. Goro believes he’s beyond redemption with what he’s done, considering it a betrayal toward himself, the Phantom Thieves, and the entire public at large, so he’s therefor abandoned his justice. The scene in the comic comes after Goro manages to travel through the whole of Mementos to find Akira, who explains his choices and his deal with Yaldabaoth, furthering Goro’s hatred of him in this state. He definitely tries to kill him but it’d be near impossible to succeed on his own given he’d be fighting Akira and Yaldabaoth (yea I’m a sucker for “everybody lives” but if Goro did succeed, I can see it either 1. Slowly degrading Yaldabaoth’s control but never really enough to make a real change - there would just be some people that manage to escape his prison but are lost in a world without free will or 2. Reality destabilizing to a dangerous point). This allows the thieves to make it to him in an attempt at a rescue mission where they would try to get him back to reality in order to break some of Yaldabaoth’s control over him. However...in this state, Akira isn’t exactly suited to existing in reality, which leads to a lot of unforeseen consequences as the thieves try to find their leader in the puppet Yaldabaoth’s turned him into. Goro doesn’t believe he exists any more in any meaningful way and even if he did, he figures it’s pointless to try to draw him out - Goro no longer believes Akira would be strong enough to bear the weight of his guilt.

Wow ok that was long but!!! I’m just very passionate about the bad end and I’m so glad you like my ideas for it ;o; Thank you for letting me ramble and for your sweet words!!! It means a lot to me esp since I was really excited about making the comic!!