#joker palace fic

[theredcuyo]

I want a fanfic where like, Akechi's palace puts him as a "princess in a tower to be rescued" on the meaning of how deep down he wanted help, to be saved from Shido's control and how he had hoped the one to save him will be Akira since you know, he kinda loves him, and also, like, everything about them-

So he's trapped in a tower in the highest room, with only a tiny window, a trap door, and a bed

And his shadow(s) tells him to just wait 'till prince charming comes for him

But in truly Akechi fashion he's like "F*ck no, as if i'm gonna wait" and tries to rescue himself just that his shadow(s) is(are) not gonna have it and keep(s) ruining every plan he comes up with while also dealing with the phantom thieves because even tho he wanted to be rescued he's not gonna admit it so they have to fight their way trhu the palace anyway

Also, Akira's outfit is changed to a more "prince charming" one

[buneeto]

you're not the one for me, this is just a dream

day 1 : secret relationship

credits

@/mispyre for the jewelry design

joker: apricothere, lumialle, ATLUS

goro: leberx44qa, vithar, overhit, torcenanaria, leahlillith, golddream, o-DSV-o, lumialle, ATLUS

stage: 一護牛乳, mr-mecha-man

ray-mmd 1.5.2 (rui), diffusion (ikeno), cheap lens (soboro)

[sketchy--akechi]

Please feel free to ignore this. Your AU has been stuck in my head so I wanted to type it out before the thought slips my mind. :P

***

Joker pressed his finger against the nose bridge of his mask even though he knew it was fixed in place without his meddling. His vision, fortunately, did not fail him because Crow stood before him, familiar smirk on his face, shining against the crowd of gray indecipherable faces.

“I didn’t think you would give in and let me lead,” said Crow.

Joker felt his heart clenched.

“Sometimes I worry that if I push you too far, you might disappear,” Joker admitted. Something strange tickled at the back of his mind, a truth he chose to hide perhaps, but he ignored it.

 “As if I would give in and forfeit that easily,” said Crow as he pulled Joker against him, resting a hand at the small of his back. “Shall we?”

That was true. Crow never would give up. Crow still owed him a duel. Crow wouldn’t leave. They had a promise.

Joker took Crow’s hand and let Crow swept him across the dance floor as the jazz music pulled them deep into the eye of the hurricane where nothing was left but the two of them.

At the corner of Joker's vision, red eyes gleamed against the faceless crowd—a familiar figure in black and blue candy-striped outfit, fury barely contained underneath his mask—and Joker felt panic seized him.

“Keep your eyes on me—” Crow growled, snapping Joker back to the present— “and no one else.”

Crow was right. There was only them. There was no need for anyone else.

With a dismissive wave of his mind, the crowd around them began to fade away like dust in the wind. “Joker!” he could hear someone’s distant scream before it was snuffled out by the breeze, but Joker let the hurricane swept it away.

He would not let anyone interrupt them, Joker thought as he tightened his grip on Crow’s hand. Not anymore.

OHMYGODBDNSVBDS THIS IS SO GOOD???? MORE WHERE IS MORE I NEED MORE

how did you KNOW the vibe i had in mind and how cognitive akechi is smooth and flirty and how joker is tired and how real akechi is wearing his black mask outfit and trying to reach out to joker who's already too far gone how did you know......

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH and you can expect some sort of art for this >:)) the ballroom dancing scene is what i wanted to draw anyway and now i have a much clearer image in my head hehehe

[emanation-aura]

A little preview of something I'm working on ;) (Akira has a Palace, post-game P5R AU. No, this is not the same scenario I posted about a while ago, so I suppose I will end up with two PalaceRuler!Akira AUs later. Both are shuake, but not relevant to this snippet.)

“Right. I suppose I had better reevaluate my faith in this country’s institutions,” Maruki says, closing his eyes for a brief moment. “I knew, on a surface level, that the Phantom Thieves were correcting injustice in the world; it’s silly, but I suppose it didn’t strike me that injustice would continue, Phantom Thieves or no.” “Yeah,” Akira smirks, mentally positioning himself on the high ground, even though it means nothing, nothing, when four grey walls are the only sight he’s known for months. “People forget that as soon as the fad is over. It’s not like the Phantom Thieves took down a huge percentage of evil, anyway— how many Kamoshidas do you think are still out there now, ones we’ve never heard about?” Maruki’s expression twists, and his eyes darken. “Do you think you didn’t do enough, then?” He takes a moment to think about it. Think about facing the blazing golden light of Yaldabaoth, the last minute faith of the people spurred by the friends he made over the year. How his minute connections amplified into the chain-shattering strength that was Satanael. How easily people fell into the easy temptation of Maruki’s false joy, like that faith meant nothing to them. The tentative trust he’d placed in society, after standing up to god— blown to smithereens by the man sitting before him. “The Phantom Thieves weren’t so much an organisation but a symbol. We did what we came for, so yes, we did enough,” he lies.

[emikumaarts]

I’ve got another big fic in the works that ive been working on when i can....decided to thumbnail some related designs :) [wip wip!!!!]

ill probably post more wips on my twitter if you wanna see

[nightshadedawn]

I'm so fucking tired right now, but I can't sleep so I'm thinking about Persona 5. I'll be 100% honest, I've never played P3 or P4 despite owning Golden (I've had struggles getting it to open on my computer). But a couple things the P5 community seems to take issue with it that the Phantom Thieves Persona evolutions are tied to their social links. I think the big problem with that lies in that... their introductory Palaces are so singular thief focused. All of them except Kamsohida, because he's the inciting incident for Joker, Ryuji, and Ann. Morgana to a lesser extent.

I think you'd avoid some of this problem and be able to tie Persona Evolutions by switching just a few things out. (As I stated before, I don't know how it was done in previous games, I'm just winging it)

We'll start off with Ann and Haru, because it's the one flitting through my head. Instead of running a fastfood chain, the Okumura brand is a modeling agency that Ann and her parents work for. Ann as a model and her parents as designers, of course. Haru gets introduced earlier, not necessarily as model. Maybe. Probably more as someone who's inherently fashionable due to her father and someone Ann looks up to. Modeling itself is seen as no hobby for a rich young lady, so she's not really allowed to do the work. Okumura can still plan on making a political entrance and marrying Haru off to her rotten fiancé, but the back and forth with Ann's work would allow her to be seen more. Tie in some of her social link, and it's Okumura's desire for drama and profit that demands models be pitted against each other and compete rather than work together. Haru keeps her storyline with her dad. Both she and Ann awaken their second Personas within this palace.

But if Haru keeps her thing with her dad, how does she awaken? Her fiancé. (Names escapes me.) Due to other reasons, I think Yusuke would awaken his second Persona in this Palace. Probably because he has the desire to protect Haru from being used for profit like he was. Added layers by the fiancé being a Madarame apologist or something, claiming it was Yusuke's duty, or even having copies of Yusuke's work Madarame sold under his name.

Yusuke's first awakening is the same as his first. It's the Ryuji/Makoto situation that starts getting weird. Ryuji's awakening is the same, because that's necessary for the first Palace. Makoto's is sorta similar. Buuuuut... for this scenario, Ryuji's dad isn't as distant as it would seem. He's still out of the picture, until Makoto stumbles into the yakuza den and gets them blackmailed. Instead of Kaneshiro, it's Ryuji's dad. Part of the deal, which Ryuji willingly and self sacrificially makes, is to not let Makoto immediately go into sex work and buy them a chance to pay the money off if Ryuji will start working for his dad if they fail. At the beginning of the palace, Makoto's still awakened when it's suggested Sae will get wrapped up in it all. After some growth from Ryuji, he fights back against his father and awakens his second Persona. Makoto's second awakening is in Sae's palace.

Morgana's social link is story locked so his stays the same. So does Joker's, because awakening his giant persona was epic. (It's 5am, shhhhhhhh, i know no names) Futaba gains her second persona after one of the miniboss fights in Shido's Palace, with someone who was directly involved with creating the circumstances around Wakaba's death. (Definitely a scene where the thieves talk about defeating that Shadow didn't do anything because it was just Shido's cognition, but Futaba isn't down about it. Because now she has a name, she knows where exactly to dig)

Akechi doesn't get one because I'm tired and he's not in the story/relevant as a thief long enough for one anyway. And he's already got two.

Anyway, just a ramble. I'm gonna go sleep night. Goodnight.

[miitokii]

ok so imagine if joker killed someone and the guilt stained his hands with blood forever

so he understands why akechi wears gloves all the time lol

btw i traced the hands from an anime called Beyond the Boundary (just search anime bloody hands and it’s like the first result), i wanted to focus more on the effect and the expression

also have some drawings of akechi i did with a different fit. imagine if joker had a dream with akechi in it with phantom thief outfit before akechi revealed his persona to the thieves lol

ALSO if you want more context for the joker killing someone idea, and an edit i did with these drawings to please the instagram algorithm, please see under the cut

ok so i was thinking about the PT’s plan against Akechi, and a common gripe i see is how the cognitions don’t die like that in other palaces, they just dissipate into black smoke. BUT ALSO other palace rulers don’t really see people as actual people unlike Sae.

so Kamoshida sees people as nothing more dolls/slaves he can use how he wants, hence cognitive Ann just dissipates when sliced. Okumura sees people as robots so cognitive Haru explodes because she’s a robot. Kaneshiro sees people as ATMs so they just malfunction and break down.

i imagine the cognitions in Madarame’s palace are kinda just like… 3D living statues, just there to admire Madarame’s work, so if they were killed they’d probably dissipate or crumble like Kamoshida’s. and obviously there are no cognitions in Futaba’s palace (apart from Wakaba, who has a whole boss) because she’s a shut in.

anyway, the PT would notice that cognitions have different behaviour even in death depending on the palace ruler, so to confirm the plan would work, they would have to kill a cognition to see what happens in Sae’s palace. Makoto is probably sure her sister still sees people as people so it would work, but she also knows it’s vital they check this. in a way it would ease her too, since it would be confirmation.

and of course Joker being the leader he is would volunteer to do the ‘deed’. so he kills an innocent, harmless, cognitive person, watches them beg for their life as he holds a gun to their head and fires. he knows it’s just a cognition so it’s irrational, but the guilt he feels is all the same, especially as he watches the cognition slump to the floor just like a real corpse and bleed out onto the floor. Unlike other cognitions in other palaces it doesn’t dissipate after a while, it stays there, because Sae, how distorted she may be, still sees people as people, in life or death.

TECHNICALLY this is retconned because at the end of the cutscene cognitive ren and the guard dissipate BUT I CHOOSE TO IGNORE THAT

lol yeah i wrote that in a fic and wanted to draw it in a sort of quick sketch lol

anyway here’s the edit lol

[argentsunshine]

this art is for chapter 1 of my joker's palace au fic! i felt like a lot of the fics id read didn't Get joker like i do (subjective opinion) and also were just like. really unfair to the other thieves (objective fact) so i wrote my own lmao. uh please read and comment so i have motivation to actually finish it

gonna put all the fic stuff in a rb so tumblr doesnt nuke me from the tags

[corviiids]

   Joker shouldn’t make a habit of knifing without looking, but he can’t help it. Akechi’s dispassionate expression as he watches himself dissolve into sludge under Ren’s blade is much more interesting than said sludge. Joker wipes off his dagger, sheathes it, and says, “Is it weird watching me kill you?”

   “It’s a novelty,” says Akechi.

   Another novelty: Ren’s never seen Crow dressed as Akechi before. It’s incredibly odd to watch him hop and flicker between hiding spots looking for all intents and purposes like he’s about to head to school. It’s odder still because the polite smart-casualwear doesn’t at all match the antipathy Akechi’s wearing on his face. Whenever they’d spent time together, Akechi had always worn a pleasantly interested smile; but that pretty face, too, was not what Ren had been pining after.

--

chapter 9 of "as you like it" aka akechi palace au. 11.8k, the long trek to the treasure, the philosophy of taking a heart.

happy fourth birthday to this fic!!! 🥹

[five-miles-over]

Joaquin Phoenix Characters Masterlist

updated 08 November 2023

Multiple Character Headcanons and Listicles

• Joaquin Phoenix Characters as University Students

• Joaquin Phoenix Characters as Cupcakes

• Joaquin Phoenix Characters - Sleepover Headcanons

• If Joaquin Phoenix Characters Went on Dates

• Joaquin Phoenix Characters as Comfort Foods

• Holiday Gift Ideas for Joaquin Phoenix Characters

• Commodus, Abbé, and Joe as Parents 

Abbé de Coulmier from Quills

• The World’s a Broken Bone: The Abbé comforts the reader - a nurse at Charenton - when they have a severe migraine.

• Let Me Save You: A crossover with Thomas Sharpe from Crimson Peak

• The Ballad of Mona Lisa: The reader confesses to the Abbé about fantasies that they have been experiencing lately. (Smut)

• Abbé de Coulmier x Light Academia (aesthetic board)

Arthur Fleck from Joker

• Yandere Arthur Fleck Headcanons

• Arthur Fleck and Joker Jealousy Headcanons

• NSFW Headcanons

• Yandere!Arthur and Yandere!Joker Dealing With Rejection in Public

• Joker and Cruella de Ville Crossover Headcanons

• Arthur Fleck x 50s Retrocore

Bruno Weiss from The Immigrant

• Bruno Weiss x Roaring 20s (Aesthetic Board)

Clay Bidwell from Clay Pigeons

• Misery Loves Company: Clay meets the reader at a bar and the two of them have a much-needed break from their troubles.

• Hey Good Lookin’: Clay loves it when his girlfriend sits on his lap and asks him for a kiss (fluff)

Emperor Commodus from Gladiator

• Imagine Teaching Commodus to Slow Dance

• The Courtesan: The reader is a dancer that catches the eye of Emperor Commodus at a party

• ‘Till I Hear You Sing: A song-based fic based on “Til I Hear You Sing” from Love Never Dies

• What I Did For Love: Continuation from ‘Til I Hear You Sing’. A song-fic based on “What I Did for Love” from A Chorus Line

• New Girl: A high school AU of the movie Gladiator. The reader has recently moved to Rome and is now a new student at the Roman Educational Institute

• Paparazzi (Hollywood!Commodus x Reader): Another Gladiator AU in which the reader has a chance encounter in Rome with Commodus, a world-famous actor hounded by paparazzi.

• All Love Can Be: Prince Commodus meets the reader through their fathers working together, and eventually decides to ask for her hand.

• Handsome: The reader gets a little drunk while spending time with Commodus, and turns a bit childish and dorky.

• The Festivals of Saturn: Commodus’s first Saturnalia as a young sixteen-year-old co-emperor.

• Lay All Your Love on Me: Commodus falls unconditionally and irrevocably in love with a confident young woman along the seashores of Lanuvium

• Lose Me In the Sight of You: All you wished for was the blessing of Lady Juno that you would find a good husband, yet little did you know that a certain Emperor has grown passionately and hopelessly obsessed with you. (TW: Yandere)

• Emperor Commodus x Vampire Aesthetic

• Commodus’s Outfits as Chocolates

• Similarities Between Chuck Bass from “Gossip Girl” and Commodus from “Gladiator”

SERIES: ALONE WITH YOU INSIDE MY MIND (COMMODUS X READER) - ON HIATUS

The young prince (and soon to be Emperor of Rome) Commodus falls in love with you, the daughter of a nobleman, and nothing will stand in the way of his obsession.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

SERIES: AFTERMATH (COMMODUS X OC) - ON HIATUS

A sequel to the events of the film Gladiator, in which Emperor Commodus survives the duel with Maximus

• Chapter 1: The Impossible Dream

• Chapter 2: Proud of Your Boy

• Chapter 3: The Point of No Return

• Chapter 4: Look Down

• Chapter 5: Beneath a Moonless Sky

• Chapter 6: These Palace Walls

• Chapter 7: Wait For It

• Chapter 8: Something There

• Chapter 9: Be Prepared

• Chapter 10: Twisted Every Way

• Chapter 11: All I Ask of You 

• Chapter 12: History Has Its Eyes on You

Max California from 8 MM

• Max California x Dark Academia

• Max California Proposing to You (Headcanons)

Ray Elwood from Buffalo Soldiers

• Ray Elwood Taking You Out on a Date Would Include...

Willie Gutierrez from The Yards

• Blackout: The reader is Willie Gutierrez’s new neighbor, and the two of them accidentally meet during a power outage

• The Light Blinking at the End of the Tunnel: The reader offers some much-needed comfort to Willie after finding out about his dark past.

[unfortunately-i-love-it]

yeah so uh, Shadow Joker eh? 

this whole thing started with me thinking about a PhantomThief!Mishima, and then i started drawing stuff based off this one fic i read and then we got to here. oh well 

i might turn this into a comic maybe??? depends on how hard finals slaughter me, but I’ll cross that bridge when i get to it 

also here’s the lore on this guy cuz i legit spent too much mental energy scraping through the wiki figuring out how shadows and personas work and then coming up with a way it could work for joker 

Basically, since someone’s shadow is a manifestation of their distorted desires, then a Shadow Joker, would be the manifestation of the protagonist’s (I’m gonna call him Ren from here on. cool? cool) distorted desires. What might those be? Well, during his awakening, Arsene notes Ren’s strong desire to help people and makes him think about whether the resolve he’s shown in the past was valid or not. This becomes the basis of the rebellious will that allows him to forge a contract with Arsene. But now with Shadow Joker, that desire to help people has been distorted into a kind of mix of hero and savior complex. So instead of just helping people in need, on some subconscious level he has started to see himself as the only one that can help and save people. 

In personality he’s about the same as regular Joker. But that’s only at first glance. He’s much more unpredictable and dangerous, basically taking the whole “wildcard” thing very literally. I’d also like to think that all of Joker’s theatrics become even more emphasized with Shadow Joker.  

For his palace I was thinking of him seeing the whole of Tokyo as his stage, wherein he’s an actor in a play of which he is the hero. For this I was kinda looking to the “The show’s over” on his all out attack screen, as well as hero = play, play = theatre, theatre = stage, and all that jazz. I’m still not exactly sure on how it’d look; maybe just the city as it is at night with open stages everywhere, spotlights floating through the dark nigh sky both as aesthetic as well as acting as traps for the thieves to avoid, so if you step into one of them the security level goes up. Or maybe each area that they go through would be like a different part of a theatre, so the treasure room would be Shadow Joker’s changing room and the final confrontation would be on a grand stage, idk. One thing is though, I think that his Palace Tokyo would feel really empty. Like there’d be people, but they’ll be more like faceless ghosts kinda milling about, so not at all like the ATM-guys or robots in Kaneshira and Okumura’s palaces. Also probably no cognitive versions of the other thieves or anyone else he knows, as I was thinking that Shadow Joker would be going by an “I don’t need anyone but myself” idea, and since he’s the all-powerful hero he doesn’t need “sidekicks”.

His treasure is his Phantom Thieves mask, as that would be the source of his distorted desire to help, cuz it’s the thing that represents him getting his persona and being able to help people on a larger scale in the first place. 

When the other thieves first enter the palace, they won’t be in their thief outfits, as i think Shadow Joker’s desire to help would still outweigh him seeing them as a threat -- plus they’re people he knows. He’d talk and interact with them like regular Joker would, but maybe a bit more openly and with more theatrics, so the other thieves will have some trouble with thinking of him as a legit threat and not just their pal who’s a bit too quirked up. But when Shadow Joker realizes that they’re here to steal his mask, the switch flips completely, and the others have to really scramble to get out with their lives.

Then follows the general infiltration thing and blah blah blah. For the infiltration I thought it’d be neat if they go through all the different districts (that are walkable in-game) and the safe-rooms would be the areas where confidants hang out -- The Untouchable in Shibuya, Crossroads Bar in Shinjuku, Gigolo Arcade in Akihabara, Takemi Medical Clinic in Yongen-Jaya, etc. 

There might also be a progression reason for which the gang will have to go into Shinjuku Academy, wherein the safe-rooms would be Ren’s classroom and the roof. Maybe there’s something in the school that they need to clear before they can progress through Aoyama-Itchome and go to Shibuya, idk.

The treasure room would be in the Leblanc attic (because ofc). 

For the boss battle, when the other thieves try to steal his treasure but get caught on the way out (cuz that’s what always happens to these fools), Shadow Joker takes the mask from them and actually uses it in the battle, which allows him to switch between a number of different personas as a mechanic. Their levels and attack would be comparatively lower that the thieves’, but the sheer number of skills at his disposal as well as his unpredictability would be trouble enough. 

there might also be a phase two, where he rips off the mask he’s wearing and replaces it with his original phantom thieves one, and ends up transforming into a fusion of himself and Arsene, so now he’d be technically using only one persona, but with higher stats 

(also i was entertaining the thought of this being the general theme of the palace and this being the theme of the final confrontation. i feel like the first one’s just kinda eerie enough to suit prowling through your friend’s subconscious)

and then pertaining to the design itself, i was basing it off of the regular Joker outfit but spiced up with more flamboyance, because to Ren, Joker would be like the epitome of him feeling like a hero. I kept the mask on to also keep that Joker vibe going, however i made it a more extravagant variation on the original, to kinda push the theatre vibe. I also gave him a cape -- i think that one’s self-explanatory. The walking stick is to give him even more flair, but also uh, concealed weapons is like the perfect Shadow Joker thing to do. Basically think of Lucious Malfoy’s wand-walking stick but with a dagger instead of a wand.

anyway I want it to be clear for the record that I have never once looked up the shadow joker tag on here before i started drawing this but i’m glad we all share the same braincell when it comes to his outfit, fellas 

(also holy FUCK @waifujuju‘s Shadow Joker design is so fucking clever, i am in awe)

that PhantomThief!Mishima thing is still in the works by the way, though i’ve hit a roadblock trying to come up with a persona for him. So far i’ve been thinking of something along the lines of Merlin but idk, it doesn’t seem rebellious enough so the only thing that fits is the vibes, and even that’s a maybe. this whole process has also been exacerbated by the fact that i’ve got a really cool costume going for him that involves a bolt-action rifle which i am very fond of and very reluctant to let go off. all this to say, if you’ve got any ideas please shoot me a message or write a comment cuz rn my brain is kinda frying itself trying to think through this. ty

[may-lutlone]

So, while I was playing Reload (great game 10/10), I was brainstorming about using the android that kills Shadows in P5. So, I came up with an AU where Akechi is an Anti-Shadow weapon. Well he is inspired by one.

Of course, there are fanarts (better than mine) or fics where he is that Anti-Shadow weapon, but I have never really seen anything dwelling into lore that much? I just saw the concept being thrown around or Phantom Thieves just being a part of Shadow Ops (feel free to correct me, I haven't been everywhere in Persona fandom ehsjskks) So here's my take, which contains spoilers for Persona 5 (obvs) and some angsty themes:

Spoilers obvs!!!!!!!!

-Wakaba killed Akechi during one of Metaverse's experiments (oops),

-she felt so guilty about it that she secretly retrieved his consciousness from there,

-using plans for an Anti-Shadow weapon

by the Kirijo Group that she somehow got hold of (maybe she stole it, maybe she just got it idc), she rebuilt him as an android and put his consciousness there (although it exists with the programming, because she wasn't that knowledgeable about robotics - she was a cognitive psicentist at heart, after all),

-was it a good decision? idk but Wakaba kinda strike me as a scientist who would think that was an excellent idea,

-Akechi disagrees, he hates her for that because now he is forever stuck as a thing that is forced to listen to orders (being forever stuck in one body also doesn't feel right I suppose),

-but they have a neutral and professional relationship that revolves around exploring the Metaverse (Akechi can still use Loki, just like Aigis can use Palladion),

-Conspiracy, learning about this, hacks Akechi-android to use him as a weapon in the Metaverse (so he still is a Black Mask, although everything is done completely without his input),

-Akechi then kills Wakaba, which she anticipated and before that she had given Futaba a copy of her research and Akechi’s plans - although she said to never use them without a really serious reasoning,

-yada, yada, yada we're in original game timeline,

-Akechi as a Detective Prince doesn't exist,

-but he does exist like a obstacle in Palaces/Mementos that hunts down the Thieves,

-let’s just say they would be able to fight him back around the time their lvl in Okumura's Palace,

-Morgana doesn't know wtf Akechi is,

-Joker has some suspicion that Akechi isn't just a machine, but he doesn't really voice it at that point,

-when they are in Futaba's palace, on one of the wall arts (the one where Wakaba works on something and Futaba is begging for her attention) they notice that Wakaba was working on one of Akechi's parts (probably his arm idk),

-so they ask Futaba (post-change of heart) what’s going on, but she has to do research,

-when Futaba joins the team, Akechi always targets her (due to his resent to Wakaba),

-they finally learn what Akechi is and that he is malfunctioning (y'know being a serial killer weapon) due to being hacked, so they decide to help him (bonus point if they can get him on their team),

-so in Okumura palace arc they set on changing the CEO heart and capturing Akechi (who is also there, because he has to get rid of Okumura),

-during the fight in that Palace, Futaba manages to free him from Conspiracy’s control (bonus point if he awakes to Robin Hood),

-when they get him back to Leblanc's attic, Futaba repairs him (because I feel like she would be into robotics just like her mom) and they learn that even if he is on their side now, he doesn't remember who he really was (even first his name, only Akechi).

So, my AU would revolve around Akechi re-learning about his past (he can bond over his amnesia with Morgana) and being as human as possible.

I have a few ideas that I probably will draw (or write, who knows), but that's all for now. Thanks for coming for my ted talk.

Bonus comic - very messy, sorry:

[phoenixcatch7]

I'd love to see a time travel/ng+ fic where all the phantom thieves plus the royal/strikers thieves PLUS all the confidants travel back to when the game starts. Everyone's utterly bewildered.

The core phantoms and kasumi, being already physically close, figure it out pretty quick and regroup, but the rest are left confused and floundering until joker gets there and starts reaching out. But with so many people and everyone so lost and upset, he starts delegating and introducing people to each other so they have more options to reach out in case of emergency and to solidify his own web of connections, and for the better efficiency collaboration brings.

And yes I want to see all the confidants become friends or at least co-conspirators in a grand scheme sharing knowing smiles. I want to see normal people struggling with the reality of having lost a year or two of their lives, the surge of hope or fear as they realise they get to do it all again, feeling confused and alone and with the other confidants and plenty of soul searching build up an eclectic support network with others who share the same goal. As a group they could be so much more, and so many would benefit from joker putting them in touch with each other.

But I mostly want to see people coming to the dawning realisation that the scope of joker's reach he's built up is absolutely insane.

Just about every single named character in this huge game is a tarot confidant. Outside of palace rulers, the (hilariously but sadly rare) acquaintances of friends, and occasional mission target, EVERYONE is a secret member of joker's web. He's got the wildest, 'how did you guys even meet' people in his pocket too.

He's got a sentient AI. He's got a politician. He's got a yakuza guy who sells fake weapons who once took out 50 gang members. He's got a secretly talking cat. He's got a high class lawyer. He's got an underground doctor with like 5 PhDs she got revoked who does human experimentation. He's got a government agent. He's got a fortune teller. He's got a guy running his website and managing public missions for no pay. He's got an up and coming teen model. He's got the second detective prince. He's got a world famous wanted hacker. He's got a ten year old. He's got the REACH baby.

It's so funny. He's got like literally 30 odd people with maxed bonds who all think they're one of very very few who know the secret of the phantom thieves and who would break literal laws for this kid. I just think if they all worked together they'd rule the world. And they'd have a huge support group.

Fortune teller: yeah so then I managed to escape the cult, but it's just been so hard to discover who I am outside of that, you know? And they still want me back, it terrifies me.

Reporter lady: *drunk* girl that's absolutely awful you deserve like sooooo much better listen if I see them sniffing around I'll let you know. You shouldn't have to deal with those guys alone, I know allllllllll about making those kinds of guys sweat.

/Ex yakuza fake gun seller: you remind me of my son. He's a good kid, you'd like him. I can set you up?

10yo gun arcade player: oooh do these have real mechanisms? They look so realistic!

Ex yakuza: joker said you could both do with someone your own age - PUT THAT DOWN-

/Shoji player and art kid (yusuke) from the same school: *sitting in silence doing their own thing during school break, having a fantastic time*

/Akechi: *having a breakdown*

Sae, having hustled him off to an empty room for privacy: you know I can't believe I ever bought your nice act. Anyway do you think I could make a case for getting custody of you?

Akechi, stunned out of his attack: ????? Your sister would murder me.

Sae: yeah but it'd annoy shido and my boss so bad.

Akechi:.... I'll consider it.

/sojiro: I admit it's nice to have an adult to talk to about this... Sometimes I still can't believe it's the kids I know that go out and change the world like this.

Government agent: YEAH even with my own persona it's an absolute Ride. You should be proud. Also your coffee is delicious.

/Government agents daughter and mishima: *having an absolute BLAST designing merch*

The list goes ON its just so many under utilised possible relationships!!! Post games the meta verse is gone and most problems are solved (or dead) but if we put them all together in joker's biggest melting pot it'd be such a ride. All of them just low key scared of how many high ranking connections he has.

Like he just texts someone 'hi I think I know someone you'd like to know. I'm sending them to meet you.' and you're like okay??? I guess we'll see why?? And you round the corner and there's a politician and a previously famous missing teen detective waiting for you and they're here to help you get a restraining order on your stalker if you help predict a lottery number or two. And it just keeps happening. Sometimes you're the 'I know a guy' sent to meet people. Like how does joker even know this many people???? He's just moved here!!

[rubydubydoo122]

In every universe Jason Peter Todd dies young. It’s a fate sealed across the multiverse. Maybe he could hope that there’s one universe where he doesn’t. aka, Jason, Dick, and Bruce go multiverse hopping, and are not having a fun time. (Ps, when I started writing this fic I hced Jason as Latino, but I don't really believe in that hc anymore, so just a heads up if you don't like that hc)

TRIGGER WARNING -> Child Death (it's Jason)

Currently, they were standing in front of a Palace. And they were definitely sent back to Medieval times, but not really because the clothing didn’t really match up with the architecture, and the weapons.

Oh, there was also a strong sense of magic, so probably more Dungeons and Dragons vibes. Sick.

Dick took a couple breaths, clenching his fists and releasing them. “Our money’s gonna be useless here. And we should probably get different clothes so we blend in more, but we can’t get those things because we don’t have money.”

So they were going to ignore the fact that the cashier’s name was Jack White. Like… Jack Oswald White. Like the Joker. 

To be fair, Jack White is a common name. Jason tucked the comic books into a hidden pocket in his jacket, “We should go deeper in.”

“But this universe’s Bruce is probably in the Castle.”

“It’s a Palace. Castles have defense structures. We can collect gossip from the maids.” 

Dick raised an eyebrow, “Gossip?”

“Yeah. How else are we supposed to get information on the Royal family? Use a computer?” 

So they went deeper into the palace, sticking to the shadows, and listening to people. 

Kal-El was the current King, but before that it was Jor-El, and before that it was Thomas Wayne. Bruce still has prince status, but he– he didn’t abdicate his claim to the throne, because he was fourth in line– Clark, Kon, Jon, and then Bruce, but Something something, the Els were gods, better if they had the throne, blah blah blah. So it was more like the Els were ruling because the people thought very highly of them. 

Dick frowned, “Does that mean he’s Uncle Kal, not Uncle Clark?”

“Just call him, your Majesty .”

The Els practically adopted Bruce after Martha and Thomas died, which made all three of them frown, because what about Alfred? There was something about all the Robins– guess there weren’t secret identities here either– being back together in the palace for the first time in a while . That also implied that Royal Bruce had already adopted all– if not most–of them.

Jason snorted, “Dick, do you think you go by Knightwing?”

“I’m pretty sure we all just go by Rob– Oh fuck you.”

Apparently, Dick was usually traveling around, helping whoever needed help along the way. Cass was in Themyscira, (Which, lucky Jason wishes he could go to Themyscira) but came back that morning, with Diana. Tim had been undercover in an enemy kingdom. Damian and Duke had been staying at the palace.

Then, Jason felt an energy. It wasn’t a bad energy, like an Untitled or a bad vibe from someone. No. It actually felt really familiar. 

He could feel the energy calling to him. Not luring him in a malicious way, but in a guiding way. He knew it was his energy, but it felt so much stronger. It was so much stronger than his own. 

They came to a courtyard, where Steph and Cass were sparring with each other, Jon and Damian were seated in front of Dick as he did some flips, Tim and Kon were climbing a tree, and Duke and Jay were sat crisscrossed in a corner with blindfolds over their eyes. Though, Jay was grinning while Duke was frowning.

“ Jason… I’m tired of this.” Duke whined. He was really young. Maybe, 9? “Aren’t you supposed to be teaching me?”

“I can not teach you, only guide.” Jay backhanded Duke.

“ Ow! What was that for? ”

“I am trying to guide you through foresight. Obviously, you didn’t see that coming.” Duke tried to hit Jay back, but Jay shifted just out of the way so he wouldn’t get hit, “I saw that coming days ago.”

Duke straightened a bit, “Really?”

“No, it was just predictable. I can only see bigger things, remember?”

Dick (his brother) immediately turned to him from where they were hiding, and whispered “Can you read the future?” 

Jason made a so-so gesture, “Not often.”

Dick frowned and looked like he was going to say something, when Cass stopped sparring and looked straight at them.

“Hold it Cass, it’s part of Duke’s training.” Jay also turned to face Jason, even though he had his blindfold, and grinned, “Alright, Duke. Your way of seeing into the future is different from mine. The way I can do it is through space, and astral projection. Your powers work by…” Jason trailed off so that Duke could finish the sentence.

“Changing light.” Duke chewed at the side of his cheek, “But how does that relate to me being able to see into the future?”

Jay took off his blindfold, “There was light yesterday, there is light today, there will be light tomorrow.”

“I hate it when you speak all cryptic.” Duke huffed and crossed his arms. “You’re like an old man trapped inside– Oh! Oh! Wait! You mean I can see the light of tomorrow, today!”

“Or, like, a couple seconds from now, right now , but yes.” 

“Then why am I wearing a blindfold?” Jay let out a snort, while Duke ripped off his blindfold and swatted Jay with it, “You’re an a–” Duke cut himself off as his eyes flashed golden, and turned to face Jason, Dick, and Bruce.

Jason raised his hands and entered the courtyard, “Hello. We come from a different world, by the way. It’s kinda in the future, but it’s not this future…” He looked over to Jay, “Was that our cue? We didn’t really have time to plan this all out.” 

“Yup. You guys are right on time.” Something… resigned flashed over Jay’s face, though was quickly covered up with a welcoming smile. 

Cass to Jay worry clear on her face, “There’s that look again.”

“I’ve got all kinds of looks.” Jay made a silly face, but immediately stopped when Cass gave him a don’t do that look. “Don’t worry. If it was important, I’d tell you.”

Cass visibly softened for a second, before placing her hand on her hips, “You better.”

Jay looked at his brother Dick, “I already told Bruce and Uncle Kal that we’d have guests.” 

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“That’s because you’re here right now. And you know Bruce would probably put them in the dungeon if I didn’t warn him beforehand.”

“I’ll put you in the dungeon.”

Jay opened his mouth like he was about to shout something, but Dick quickly covered it with his hand. Jay then bit Dick’s hand, “I wasn’t even going to tattle.”

Cass snickered, “Lies.”

Jay gasped, “You’re supposed to take my side. I’ve known you for longer.”

“Quality over quantity.” Cass shrugged. Though, she was smiling in a playful way.

“Wait, how long have you guys known each other?”

Jay threw an arm over Cass’s shoulder, “Since birth. We’re practically twins.”

“We’re not twins. I’m older.” Cass shoved Jay away, but then frowned, “Are we not close in your world?”

Honestly, Jason was surprised they were in this one.

…It was probably because Jay didn’t kill. That always seemed to be the main issue between Jason and his Cass. Initially, Cass absolutely despised Jason for killing. If anything, her lines were even harsher than Bruce’s when it came to that, and because Jason knew she hated him for killing, he just… stayed away. 

Then, one night after patrol, he walked into his safehouse to see her waiting for him. She told him why she didn’t kill. How she saw every life as valuable. She asked him why he killed. 

At first he said because the people he killed deserved it. And that he didn’t think the same way as Cass did. That some people deserve to die because they are scum.

But she didn’t believe it. Because she said that she saw him seconds before Jason had killed someone. She said his body language looked like he was convincing himself to kill. So she asked him again, why did he kill?

He had to think about it for a moment, but eventually he said ‘Because the people I kill have made victims. And those victims deserve peace. Peace that I can give them.’  

Then she nodded, and looked at him like she was looking through his soul, ‘Because you haven’t been given that peace.’ And then she just left.

Since then, it’s been better between the two of them, but Cass was still the person he got along with the least out of the whole…team. And Jason didn’t get along with a lot of them. There was Tim– which he seemed really close with in the fourth universe, and the Wings universe. He didn’t really get along with Damian– but the kid seemed to adore him in the last universe. Even Dick seemed a lot closer to Jason in the Wings universe. Maybe if he had never died he wouldn’t be alone.

“Um… no, but I haven’t known you since birth. With time we’ve gotten closer.” Which, technically was true, but it was a half lie.

If Cass picked up on it she chose not to say anything.

“Well that sucks. Anywho, I wanna talk to Giant Jason.” Jay grabbed his hand and dragged Jason out of the courtyard, out of earshot from everyone else. 

“Won’t the Kryptonians still be able to hear us?”

“Kon and Jon’s powers haven’t come in yet. And Uncle Kal won’t eavesdrop unless we shout.” Long gone was the Jay who was happy and joking around with his siblings, as he pressed a palm to Jason’s sternum and closed his eyes. “Ok, good. You’re also a master of the All-Blades. Yours are a lot more powerful than mine.” he could see relief flood into Jay.

“Kid, I’m pretty sure you’re a lot more skilled than I am.” Obviously if he was helping Duke with his precognition, Jay looked at All –the past, present, and future– better than Jason was. And he was pretty sure that Jay astral projected for Jason to find him.

Jay shook his head with a smile that made him look much older than he actually was, “You have a lot more soul than I do. Kinda like you have two.” they started walking farther away from the courtyard, “Have you seen what happens next?”

Jason scratched the back of his neck, “Um, no. I only look at All when I have a chance to sit down and meditate." He doesn’t do it often. It makes him a bit unhinged for the next couple weeks after he does it. The last time he looked at All had been right after Bruce’s disappearance, and he almost killed Tim and Damian. Jason may be the lone human able to master the art without going insane, but… he kinda does, every time he tries.

“A group of Untitleds are going to invade the palace looking for Duke in fifteen minutes. It’s too much for me to take on.” 

Jason almost stopped in his tracks, does he know he dies? “I’ll fight beside you. Should we get Duke someplace safe? All of your siblings, actually.”

Jay’s eyes darted around the room, probably looking at all possibilities, “No. They’ll be safest where they are. The Untitled will appear at the Eastern entrance. We’ll get to them before the alarm sounds, and then they’ll come rushing, which will give us enough time to slay most of them.”

Jason nodded, as they continued to speed off in silence. “So, if you knew Cass from birth, but you also have trained with the All-Caste… What's the timeline?” It was meant as a distraction, but also, Jason was really just curious.

“My father was a mercenary, and he learned from Lady Shiva. So I knew Cass from when I was younger, but it was more like we were acquaintances. After my father died, Essence found me and brought me to the Acres of All and I was there for two normal years. I left once for a.. It wasn’t a mission, because I was nine, but Ducra sent me out to get familiar with the feel of magic outside of the Acres of All. I found Cass on the run, and I decided to stick with her. I’m sure Ducra knew this would happen. 

"We were on the streets together for three years. We also met Duke out there during our later years. We were kinda a little family of our own. Bruce caught me stealing from him, Cass helped me get away. Then Bruce found us helping people out of a burning building and decided to take us in. I go back to the Acres of All every once in a while, but usually I stick to home base. What about you?” 

They had gotten to a set of double doors, so Jason assumed they were at the Eastern entrance. “Hmm, well, I was also living on the streets by the time I was nine. Bruce also caught me stealing from him, but took me in after I helped him stop crime school. I think my Papi also knew Lady Shiva, but I didn’t know he knew her until I was 15. Then I died, but I came back to life. Talia brought me to the Ducra, and I learned under her for six normal months, but then I–” Ice slid down his spine, making the hairs on his arm stand up and his stomach twist. 

They both summoned their blades.

And the doors opened.

And they attacked

There was something so oddly natural about fighting alongside this version of himself. It felt almost as natural as fighting alongside Bruce.

 It could just be because Jay knew how Jason fought because he saw All and, despite this version of him being from a universe that was vastly different from his own, Jason still knew how he fought. The blend of a martial stance and a street brawl stance. The combination of flashy acrobatics he’d learned from Dick and the practical dodges and rolls. The mix of the analytical eye from Bruce and the intuition he had gained over the years.

“ Where is the son of Gnomon?” the Untitled hissed in unison.

Jason landed a kick on top of an Untitled’s knee, launching himself up to get a good opening for a stab, “An Omen? Didn’t realize omens could have children.” Obviously, Jason knew who Gnomon was. He remembers Duke, pft, duking it out with him a while ago. 

But this Duke was still young. And if these things kept coming after him… he needed someone to protect him. And yeah, they had Superman, but Superman and magic don’t mix.

Jay needed to stay alive . 

Jason jumped on the Untitled Jay was currently fighting and sunk his blades into its shoulders, catching a glance at Jay.

He– he was translucent. Which was not good. “Kid, take a breather!”

Jason was sure he could take the rest of the Untitled. There were only five left. He could take them. Jason could take them. Duke needed Jay. Jason could take them. 

He willed the blades to change form– into knives– and threw them, hitting one in the ear and one in the heart. 

Jay’s eyes widened like he realized something and whipped his head around to the door, where the rest of his family were prepped with swords and armor, rushing out to help. Jay turned back and narrowed his eyes at the Untitled in front of him. 

“Jay! Stop! I’ve got them!”

There were three Untitled left. Two near Jason, but he wouldn’t be able to get to the last one. Not while fighting these two. Not before Jay.

Jason summoned his blades back to his hands and he slashed an Untitled across the thigh.

Jay closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, before gripping his swords harder. “It’s me or my family. I can’t have that happen.” He looked back and locked eyes with Duke, “ Shine for as long as you live, Don’t be sad about anything,” Jay looked away and lifted his chin towards the Untitled, “For life is short, And time will demand its due.” Then he charged.

And as Jay’s blade sunk into the heart of the Untitled, the blade started to dim until it evaporated into thin air. And then his hand faded away, followed by his arm, then head, then chest, until nothing was left.

Jason slit the neck of the last Untitled.

The silence.

The silence felt too loud. 

Until, “Where’d– where’d Jason go?” From Stephanie, voice wavering.

Duke frowned, eyes glowing golden, “What are you talking about? He’s right there!”

Tim blinked a couple times, but it didn’t cover the fact that his eyes were glossy, “Duke–”

“He’s right there! I can see him! Cass, you can see him, right?” Duke looked to the spot Jay used to be in back to Cass, “Cass?”

Cass looked at the spot Jay had disappeared from and shook her head no , once. Then twice. Her blank expression crumpled into pure grief as she fled back into the Palace.

“No!” Duke glared at everyone, “He’s right there! I can see him! Why can’t you guys see him ?” His eyes flickered from gold to brown, back to gold then back to brown, leaving the kid confused, “He’s– he was– he was right there!” He closed his eyes tight , and then opened them, “He was right there ! Where’d he go? Jason? Jason!” He ran over to where Jay was last standing, “JASON!!! ” Duke spun around in a circle trying to figure out where Jay went, but he couldn’t find him. He couldn’t find him.

Duke balled his hands into fists as his breathing began to speed up.

Then–an ear piercing scream.

And everything around them got brighter and brighter and brighter. They couldn’t tell what was Duke’s doing, but they also knew it was time to leave.

[emikumaarts]

[ Masquerade ]

It’s about time to introduce our esteemed ringleader, isn’t it?

Another character reveal for my ‘P5 protag has a palace fic’, “A Masquerade in a House of Mirrors”

[kavvehs]

RESUSCITATION — PERSONA 5 ROYAL

he should be dead, but if he has to spend another unfortunate minute alive he wants it to be spent with you.

♡ — themes : gender-neutral!reader, phantom thief!reader, angst, hurt / comfort, physical affection, reader is referred to with “you”, minor one-sided feelings (joker) if you squint, minimal dialogue, essentially a reunion fic bc i love this crazy bastard.

♡ — content / trigger warning : spoilers for shido’s palace + third semester + akechi’s background, mentions of blood / death / wounds.

♡ — word count : 3k

The cruelty started with his mother.

He was young, but he wasn’t stupid. He was a mere child, but he was far from naive and innocent to the ugly truth of the world around him. He knew that the way mothers and fathers gazed at their sons and daughters differed from the way his own mother would gaze at him. Goro could count on his own two hands alone how many times she looked him in the eye, a single hand for how often that lasted for more than a couple seconds that felt like significantly less than that. In her own way, however, a distant and saddened and haunted way, she cared about him. She dressed him and fed him and asked him if he had a good day at school over dinner at the rickety table held together by duct tape. She combed her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead with trembling lips while her eyes became glassy, as if confronted by the horrible reminder that the literal personification of her suffering stood before her.

The obvious lingered in the air between them like smoke, but went unspoken like it wasn’t there to begin with. He wasn’t deaf to the slander and expletives hurled at them that only gave reason to another round of sobbing when she thought he was asleep. She still smiled at him afterwards, as if he didn’t notice the exhaustion hanging to the underside of her eyes or the expensive cologne clinging to her exposed skin. It wasn’t until he reached for her hand in search of comfort and was met with empty space that he realized just how blind he had been. She shielded him from countless cruel names and jabs because she placed what should have been his burden upon herself. His soft body wasn’t prepared for the punctures that the people’s cruelty inflicted upon him and still wasn’t, even when he was left battered and bruised and pleading for a warm hand, but received cold shoulders instead. A lonely child doesn’t know how to mend the wound that loss and grief leaves behind, after all.

He could still recall the poison-riddled sneers. Whether he was in earshot or not, it didn’t matter to the beasts masquerading as people, calling his mother weak and laughing as if they had no hand in the reason she gave up. She despaired until she couldn’t handle the heavy weight of torment and the pressure that came with enduring hardships any longer. She gave up not because of a lack of strength, but because of injustice and the savagery of the corrupted masses. For the pedestal human hearts are placed upon, they are no less easy to manipulate once you grasped what they treasured at their cores. A figure in the shape of him lingered in hers and that should have been enough—he desperately wanted it to be enough—but the unabashed hostilities opened each wound he tried to ease and heal with his tiny palms until he was powerless to do anything more. Hers would have given out eventually, but that didn’t ease the ache in his.

Goro spit in the face of fate, destiny, whatever bullshit name attributed to some scapegoat to shift the blame onto when things turned sour. How could anyone believe in something so knowingly cruel? How could they be content putting their lives in the hands of mere coincidences or a so-called deity that couldn’t care less about what became of mortal men, and then be alright with whatever miserable fate befell upon them? All because of destiny? All his mother did was meet a rotten shell of a man, and then what? She was fated to live in a constant cycle of torment and suffering and promptly die because a higher power said so? That was a load of shit if he ever heard it and he refused to live a life under someone else’s jurisdiction. It was because of his hard work, his perseverance, his accomplishments, his everything that he ended up where he was and he refused to allow anyone to claim that as their own.

Most importantly: Goro Akechi refused to live because someone else said so.

In the face of his impending demise, Goro was...somewhat, somehow, satisfied going out this way. Death certainly wasn’t ideal by any means—hell, he could say the same for the entire predicament he found himself in—but he was backed into a corner with no escape method. Unable to watch Shido be knocked off of his obnoxiously tall pedestal was honestly disappointing, but if anyone could take that piece of shit down at all, regardless of if he was there or not, it was the Phantom Thieves. They made it through the most impossible scenarios tossed at their feet and weaseled their way out with a just as impossible plan; this would be no different. To think that would be his dying wish. He didn’t think he’d have one at all. Knowing Shido would finally end up where he belonged, dead or alive, by his hand or someone else’s, brought him a twisted sense of closure. You would always be cared for while he was gone, and that would be enough.

When he closed his eyes and he allowed his thoughts to drift, Goro could still see the betrayal that lined your eyes, moistened by the hurt and confusion and worry he knows fully well that he’s deserving of. He told himself, readied himself, for that very look because he knew it was coming. It was inevitable and he knew that, but it was like a shot to the empty chasm where his heart should be to really see it and be the one it was directed towards and it hurt like hell. It was agony and Goro didn’t know how to soothe or turn his cheek from it, but he had no choice but to face you head-on. In the moment where nothing but laughter ran his throat hoarse and an addicting sort of adrenaline that totally disregarded any rational thought pumped through his veins, he decided he hated that fucking look. Quit looking at him like that! Goddamn you! He didn’t want your sympathy; your pity; your love; nothing! But he’s always been quite the liar, hasn’t he?

His last memory was him staring down the crumpled, fading corpses of the Shadows and his doppelganger while more of the distorted creatures formed in their place. Vaguely, he could still recall the cool metal against his back and the warmth between his fingers as he clutched his side. Seeing the physical representation of who he was in the eyes of that bastard neither shook or surprised him, but he could still taste the bubbling disgust. Its eyes were so empty and soulless while it declared how happy it would be to serve and lay down its life for someone who never cared for anyone but himself. Joker spoke through the wall and he somehow felt close to the nobody, but the irony was bitter considering the circumstances. Someone screamed his name from the other side of the door, voice echoing across the walls while his body rattled as a fist or weapon slammed against the divide over and over. He didn’t live long enough to hear the rest.

Goro Akechi died in Masayoshi Shido’s Palace and yet was miraculously resurrected in the busy streets of Shibuya. He might have been impressed if it didn’t piss him off. 

“One last thing,” Goro said, turning his back to the prosecutor. “How are they?”

Clarification is irrelevant when the tone of his voice dropped into something softer and uncomfortably vulnerable of its own accord. It’s obnoxious, really. Ren stood a bit straighter, a bit taller, squared his shoulders, and didn’t respond. The response, or lack thereof, is enough for him to get the picture. He didn’t have the right to know the answer, nor did he deserve it after the damage he inflicted, but his fingers still twitched to try and piece things back together. It would undoubtedly be messy and his hands would surely bleed and mix with what stained them already, but he was still willing to try. The look Ren gave him said enough, however: he didn’t have that option, not right now. He immediately felt like a fool for asking. In any other situation, he may have been proud of himself for the emotion that seeped through the Phantom Thieves’ leader’s mask of cool composure. Instead there was only disappointed numbness.

“Is something wrong?” Sae asked after a long period of silence and tension. He knew that some part of her, past the loyalty to the law and younger sister, she did care for the Phantom Thieves.

“Ah, nothing of concern,” he lied, voice pleasant and full of its usual false charm, but it didn’t quite reach his expression.

Though his words were directed towards the woman, his attention never shifted away from an openly conflicted Ren. He pinned him down with his glare alone and clung to the minute hope that he would get the answer at the very last second. Or a minute. Or even two if he remained patient. Pale lips didn’t so much as move from its frown and any visible surprise and relief from the detective’s initial appearance became a mere memory of moments prior. All things considered it was fairly understandable. He turned to Sae and it was clear that she didn’t believe a single word spoken, not after that, but he didn’t care or dignify her with a response, especially the one she was looking for. If he didn’t get what he wanted, neither would she. Goro turned his back to the both of them and began walking away in false stride.

“We should be going.”

Goro didn’t know why he was here. He had his suspicions of how and why he had been so rudely resurrected if his conversations with Ren were anything to go by, but the reason why he’s here in Shibuya and standing in the middle of the sidewalk like some idiot alluded him. There was nothing special about this place and nothing that stood out, and yet his feet refused to move despite his attempts at willing himself forward. He had nowhere to be, but no reason to stop either. Curious, or another one of the doctor’s cheap tricks. It was hard to say. Faceless passerby navigated around him and he couldn’t be bothered in giving them the time of day when they didn’t so much as blink in his direction anymore. It was the usual order of society, but he despised the unwelcome familiarity that crept to the forefront of his mind from where he buried it deep within his memories. The title of second-coming of the prince detective, all of his hard work, meant nothing in a world where he only lived for someone else.

The cool air nipped at his face and a cloud of air expelled from between his lips. Instinctively, he curled his hand a little tighter at his side, but when he glanced downwards at his glove he merely grasped at the empty air with nothing but the lens of what used to be filtered over his vision. To have you suddenly missing from his side was jarring, to say the least. Reflection wasn’t his ideal pastime, but it was all he had when his loss drowned him. Loss of what he once had, loss of direction, loss of company, loss of purpose. He didn’t regret what he did and there was no shame in his admittance, but a twinge of regret sparked for not doing more to keep you out of the confrontation. His waking moments wouldn’t be consumed so mercilessly if he had a little more time, was a little better. Maybe that’s why you chose to stand by Joker and not him, because that nobody living in an attic was somehow always better than him.

Goro shook those thoughts away before they could fester into something worse than his (not at all jealous) scowl and grounded himself back into the distorted reality around him, only to find his back seared from a burning gaze drilled into him from behind. He first glanced over his snowflake-covered shoulder and then turned his whole body, and was given little time to linger on the realization of how fluidly he was suddenly able to move when your eyes stared back from across the people-ridden street. It was something out of a fantasy, the crowds parting and disappearing as if the world belonged to you and him, and you and him alone. It could, a voice that sounded suspiciously like that damned doctor’s whispered in his ear. If that’s what would make you both happy. Tempting, calculating, sickeningly genuine. Goro swat that thought away without thinking twice.

Even when you sought warmth in the winter clothing bundled comfortably around you, you were just as captivating as he remembered, twice as breathtaking, and Goro wouldn’t have looked away even if he was capable of doing so. Your eyes, a gorgeous hue of color that he could wander and get lost in, widened in recognition and a sudden swarm of emotions that summoned tears. Were you crying for him or another reason? He would be selfish and hope it was the former, but then why would that be? He had your love—whether he still did was up in the air—and that was enough. Despite how much he craved it, craved you, craved more, he knew it was undeserved. How could you love someone who left scarlet stains across your face and body when he held you? The love in your eyes when his true self slipped past his princely persona was wholly authentic in the past, but would that remain when there wasn’t a front for him to fall back on?

His feet carried him forward and yours did the same with far more urgency and less self-deprecation between maneuvering around the mindless passerby, as if he was a fleeting memory you were desperately trying to hold onto. He tended his arms and dug his heels into the concrete before he could fall backwards when your body collided with his. Your arms wrapped around him and with his chest pressed against yours, he could distinctly feel the erratic drum of your heart. His, meanwhile, bled between your fingers from where he ripped it out and gave it to you for safe-keeping. In your kind and loving palms it swelled, it warmed, it beat, it mended itself together. Goro couldn’t recall the last time it did that or how, despite each and every crack and bruise and puncture, it still yearned and lived. For all that he did, you still held onto it and nurtured it. He still couldn’t put a name to the fluttering in his stomach after all this time.

Your grip on the back of his coat tightened incrementally, body and breath trembling between trying to muster all of the strength you had. Goro couldn’t even bring himself to hold you close like he had before and could only watch as his palms hovered over you, as if he’d somehow do further damage from touch alone. How pathetic he had become within your absence. He couldn’t tell how long you stayed like that for, but it certainly long enough, if you asked him. He couldn’t complain too much when you raised your head from where it rested against him for your teary-eyed gaze to meet his. A chill ran down his spine at the feeling of your wandering hands cradling his cheeks, fingers caressing the flushed skin beneath his eyes and outlining the contour of his face. One hand raised to cover yours as he melted into your touch and leaned into one palm without so much as breaking eye contact. All of the tension in his body faded far out of sight and out of mind.

“My Goro,” you whispered for him and him alone. “Is it really you? This isn’t a dream, right?”

It’s a little late to be asking that, what little of his mind that wasn’t drunk on you realized, but all he’s able to get out is a nod and a breathless, “Yeah, it’s me.”

It was hard to tell whether it’s because of the sound of his voice or the confirmation that summons them forward, but one tear after the other slipped down your cheeks and left glittering stains in their wake. With trained carefulness he used for nobody else, he brushed both away with the back of his fingers one after the other. Some part of him patiently awaited for the knee-jerk reaction to his touch, but it never came. Instead you sunk further into him and his free hand rose to rest against your hip where it belonged before he could so much as give himself the command. Then his lips are on yours and that’s an order he happily followed through with the moment it crossed his mind. It was too harsh, too ravenous, impatient, pathetically desperate, and Goro knew that, but he did nothing to ease it. His mouth moved against yours and he would have drew away at the initial stillness had you not returned the gesture tenfold.

His lips slipped away from yours for a breath of air at the very last second when his lungs screamed for oxygen and he only needed a second more before he went in for another, and another, and another. Eventually, he could feel the corner of your lips rise and laughter bubble between each depraved, downright desperate kiss. Goro nearly forgot how much he loved the sound of it, how much he missed it. His gloves curled tight into your clothing with only the whispered reminder of how careful he needed to be at the back of his mind, but it did nothing to stop him from holding you close against him. Your arms snaked around his shoulders and he blamed the chill for the shiver that tore through him until the pads of your fingers, cold yet somehow sparking warmth throughout his body, rested against the back of his neck. Your forehead pressed against his and he was only slightly aware of the gentle tugging at the strands of hair caught beneath his scarf, but he didn’t dare tear his eyes from yours.

“I missed you,” he admitted with a vulnerability that burned his lungs. “So, so much.”

“I missed you more.”

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