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#kaneshiro sensei knows
rose-tinted-vision · 1 year
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Ego Jinpachi: Who is he?
no really, who is he?
As usual, manga spoilers ahead!
[edit: this was posted before chapter 204]
All we know about this man is
He was hired by Anri Teieri "create Japan's No.1 striker" out of the 300 boys in Blue Lock, and that's all that his contract consists of.
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The JFA clearly does not approve of his methods and wants him to fail.
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The above point probably has something to do with what he said about him being "banned from the world of football" if they fail. What he said has been bothering me like an itch tbh.
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He even reiterated his point and said that he will "vanish", as if it was so simple. How will he do it? Why is he so willing to do it? Does he really trust in his intellect so much that he is willing to bet his future on it?
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Again, relating to the above point, Ego clearly cares for Japan's football (a point which, I think, is often overlooked. Or just not spoken about much).
This next line is interesting. It implies that he had dietary restrictions at some point in his life, which I previously assumed meant that he was a professional football player too, then realised that it doesn't make sense. If he were a professional football player too at least one boy out of the 300 would have recognised him, right?
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Anri Teieri trusts him enough to go along with his whims (why???)
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Also, he must have had done Something in the past to catch Anri's attention, for her to trust him enough with the funds from the JFA, and to vouch for him against the reporters and JFA heads.
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I sincerely hope that Kaneshiro sensei gives us at least some of his backstory in the future, because literally all we know about Ego is that he likes his ramen.
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katasstrophy · 1 year
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ego said that big scary cost that those who drop out of blue lock have to pay for their failures is that they never get to represent the japanese national team. and honestly we ate right into that shit we were like “GASP :00000000 oh no! atrocious! unimaginable! how cruel!” but like…… there’s so many other teams the 299 boys who will eventually fall out could represent. literally that’s what the remaining players are low key doing right now in the manga just ‘unofficially’. i mean maybe they’re big whole hearted prideful nationalists of their home country but. i mean are they tho? even isagi – the main protagonist – looks up to a german world class player. that kira guy on the other hand really admired the japanese team and he flunked out of blue lock immediately oop. i know the whole point of the blue lock project is to rebuild the japanese team so that they could win the world cup but in the end, these funky lil egoists just want that trophy and best striker in the world title to their name, not japan’s.
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blue-lock-rocky · 1 year
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Interview with BLUE LOCK Creator
The Asahi Shimbun published an interview with Kaneshiro, the writer of Blue Lock.
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I know it’s a paid article but I paid for it, they can’t stop me from putting it through three different translators
Blue Lock was born from his desire to write a battle manga (as opposed to a sports manga).
Kaiji & Eyeshield 21 were the inspiration behind Blue Lock. Kaneshiro thought it’d be interesting to bring his two favorite mangas together with soccer. (While Eyeshield 21 may be about American football and teamwork, the 1v1’s between characters were epic and a fresh take.)
Ego is based on Kaiji’s villain and a lot of the darker plot points in Blue Lock probably come from Kaiji.
Many characters were inspired by real life soccer players. Chigiri with his explosive acceleration & ticking time bomb of a knee was inspired by Miyaichi Ryo. Barou inspired by Italy’s Balotelli, Bachira & his dribbling by Brazil’s Ronaldhino. (He also mentions that Kaoru Mitoma, number 9 & winger on the Japanese National Team, has his own dribbling style.)
Kaneshiro really likes thinking up names for his characters. Like he’d look them up online and check their fortunes. “Born under a bad sign? Let’s make him that way then.” “Terrifying is interesting.”
Isagi has always been on the top of popularity polls. He’s (pleasantly) surprised that so many readers like Isagi. And it’s cool that Rin ended up on top of the most recent one, he wanted to write a story where other characters can stand their own ground.
If he could add one Blue Locker to Japan’s current line up, he’d add Rin. Rin would attract the enemy’s attention more than anyone. Like if they start thinking “that guy (in the center) is really dangerous”, it’d make Japan’s flank attacks even more effective.
Kaneshiro sends his sketches to Nomura (the artist) but the character designs are mostly done by Nomura. Rin actually has a different number of eyelashes from his brother Sae and that’s because Nomura-sensei said so. “The elder Itoshi brother has six, let’s have the younger have five.”
Kaneshiro: “Rin’s eyelashes + the fact that his bangs are longer on one side is super cute. I really like it.”
“Boys around Rin’s age don’t really have a firm grip on their identity. There is a kind of glow just before they realize that ‘I'm not so great’ and lose their all-powerful sense of self. I like that kind of transition. Rin represents the loss of that spark as he’s being forced to grow up. I think that's why Rin deliberately complicates his feelings toward his older brother and soccer, as well as his sense of self.”
Kaneshiro feels that he’s lost a lot of the excitement he had in his youth but watching the World Cup brings it all back.
That’s about it. Here’s the link to the original article. Again, I don’t actually know any Japanese.
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bluelockednyx · 8 months
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Hey!! I loved your Rinsagi metas and posts. FINALLY someone in the fandom who doesn't infantilize Isagi and sees canon him. Yes Isagi is nice but not like.. nanase level friendly and nice. He's polite but a lil withdrawn and appreciates people's talents but absolutely will not let anyone walk over him. Also,exactly what u said, sadist Dom. Yes please.
And Rin, so many people reduce him to this one-dimensional character who's issues people treat like a joke. When that's not the case? Bachira at least knows his prblms, Rin has no idea at all. Like how horrible does your repression and mental state have to be that the guy that is literally suicidal tells you that you're in a worse place than him. Rin gives off high key depressed vibes.
It's a lot like Post WC kunigami which draws...interesting parallels esp when you look at pre WC kunigami and at how Rin seems a lot happier before the fight. I saw someone make that comparison.
What do you think? How do you think Rin would've been like if Sae had actually bothered explaining instead of what we got?
Also, any opinions on the Itoshi parents? We've only seen half their faces and nothing from them abt their kids's relationship. I mean, it kinda bothers me how we've seen the views of Isagi, Bachira, Chigiri, even Hiori's parents when he's not a main character, Yet we got no input from the Itoshis. Do they just not notice? Are they a bit neglectful esp since they let a 13 yr old Sae go to another country alone? Do they let their kids do whatever they want including fighting for a year? Who knows? I'll love to know your thoughts tho.
Again, thank you for the lovely metas which made me feel a little less alone in the fandom. Have a great day :)
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Isagi stans, please rise up and help characterise him properly lmao
Stupid long response under the cut, as always.
Rant about my issues with the general fandom characterisation about Isagi. Sorry anon if this isn't what you wanted, I have a lot of Thoughts and Salt where Isagi is concerned, and I am Fandom Old who is growing incredibly sad with how divisive current fandom is over a whole host of things. Skip to Itoshi if you don't wanna read about Isagi + fandom musings. Skip to parents if you wanna read about my thoughts on the family dynamics.
Isagi is, for better or worse, the stock shonen MC. He's enough of a regular guy for the target readers, which are teenage boys, to identify with. As he's the MC, the story overall serves to validate and support him, so long as he fits the themes the author is working on, which for Blue Lock, is the concept of being the best at what you're doing, while also bringing out the best in others, and then working together successfully to achieve goals (i.e. the World Cup).
But, Kaneshiro-sensei's also a strategic writer. Isagi, because he's such a bland self-insert for the most part, combined with how he has a very weird form of Power of Heart, has wound up being an especially attractive character for those who like harem, or reverse-harem series. Which then, for better or worse, brings all the fujoshi fangirls around (the curse of so many attractive characters). But most especially the fujoshi fangirls who are a fan of all x MC ships. I am emphasizing all x MC here, because east Asian/gen Asian fandom, have grown incredibly restrictive and rigid about top x bottom dynamics, which is a whole host of other things and issues to talk about.
Look up any popular shonen jump title, you'll find that these shippers generally have the same tastes, and move around the same fandom circles. You'll usually find them shipping all x MC ships, from Izuku to Tanjirou to Yuuji to Naruto etc. Overall, how they characterise them never deviates all that much. It's the nice, 'innocent', naive, guy who is a bit of a pushover, and who has all the other hot characters wanting to get in their pants. That's where Isagi falls into as well, for these shippers. The more thorny and less 'nice guy' parts of his characterisation gets sanded down, though YMMV whether this is a skill issue by fandom or simply a cultural readership interpretation difference altogether.
On the Itoshi bros:
Yep, Rin has a lot of repression issues. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Rin has no idea at all about his issues (how else would he pick out Bachira's loneliness so quickly lol, also there's some hints from official guidebook), but he definitely lacks self-awareness. I also agree that he and Nagi seem to be on different areas at the spectrum of depression (Nagi being apathetic, Rin being hostile).
If there's anything to parallel Rin and Kunigami, I'd say that it's the 'loss of a dream' and 'loss of companions'. In the manga proper, Rin does seem happier before the fight with Sae, like how Kunigami looked happier pre-WC. However, the light novel shows that Rin was already repressing both himself and his style of football to imitate Sae long before then due to external pressures by his teammates and coach, and even more severely than Isagi, who also didn't have much of a relationship with his own teammates from Ichinan.
If Sae had tried to explain more than that one line about 'the world being vast', they wouldn't have such a strained relationship right now, honestly. While I don't think that Rin would have fully understood what Sae was trying to say because he lacked the experience and perspective, I do think he would have been more supportive, which would have been better overall, for the both of them. They were both idiots that night, lmao, though I do view Sae as having been punished by the narrative when he pushed his dream onto Rin.
About the Itoshi parents:
We know that Rin and Sae presumably used to share a room and a double bed as kids (albeit a fairly spacious one, from the looks of it), which makes me think that they're more likely to be middle class than upper class. Young Rin also accompanied Sae to his soccer practice games, rather than going off for other classes like say, art, which implies that his parents might not have been able to afford it. Sae also walked home with Rin, which further implies that they're parents are busy, though its more of a norm in JP. Possibly a double income household, to fund Sae, and later, Rin's coaching fees and time with the youth football squad. Also a household that seems to have no qualms about Sae, and later, Rin's rudeness and hostility, although they may tone it down around their parents. Sae must have picked his attitude up from somewhere.
I'm reluctant to call the Itoshi parents sending Sae to Madrid at 13 as intentionally neglectful, because there are cultural nuances there. I think the best parallel I can draw is parents from less-developed nations sending their children overseas from an early age to secure eventual permanent residency and establish a life in a more developed nation. Sometimes, home just isn’t good enough. And this is one of Blue Lock’s main story themes: that Japan’s football, as it is, isn’t good enough. They have neither the organizational structure, infrastructure, nor support to get the World Cup that Sae, Anri and possibly Ego, covets.
Sae's dream, and talent, is in football. He's been scouted by perhaps the most successful team in the Blue Lock world, with a world-class program for youths, and has been given the best chance possible, for any kid in his shoes, to fulfill his dream to be the best striker in the world. He's being sponsored, and he also left with a manager who would presumably, help take care of him whilst he was there. Sae isn't going there like say, Ashito from Aoi Ashi, who needed to go through a trial to even be considered for acceptance into the youth squad. He's going there as the equivalent of a golden scholarship student scouted for a potential future work placement, with the likely backing of the JFA.
What alternatives could his parents offer him if he stayed in Japan? His own speech to Sendou pre-blue lock vs U20 match encapsulates what could have been for him (Sendou is very much a foil to Sae, especially now that we know they're both redheads lmao). Being the best in Japan, a middle-of-the-road striker in the world, retiring with an average, albeit decent life. Sae's too egoistic, too talented, too greedy to be content with a life like that. I wouldn't be surprised if Sae had also begged his parents hard to let him go, since it's pretty much all he wanted as a kid.
That's without even taking into account the other problems his parents would face if they immigrated with Sae. How to take care of Rin and his education there, for starters. Rent and housing, finding jobs in Madrid where they likely can't speak the language, and face discrimination.
I think we don't get their parents faces because Rin and Sae's story, and their relationship with their parents, are simply emotionally distant. I don't think they have much parental control over Rin or Sae either.  Sae's been more or less looking after himself/being taken care of by Real Madrid + his manager in Spain since 13, and Rin has been strongly implied to be in much the same shoes since Sae left, to a lesser extent. I doubt they know the more minute details about Rin and Sae’s school life and team experience, both within and out of Japan. I even doubt that they know that Rin and Sae had a fight, honestly, though I can also see them being the kind of parents who will let their kids sort things out between themselves.
Overall: Itoshi parents takes care of them physically (buys them material things, makes sure they have a home to stay in, have a physical caretaker in their place), but emotionally? Rin and Sae seem to be pretty much left on their own. No wonder their relationship with each other broke down, and what little relationships they have with others seem like such a convoluted mess.
Thanks for sending the ask! I love hearing from people what they think about the latest chapters, characters, relationships etc. I hope you have a great day too!
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simpingforlookism · 9 months
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This is a very niche reader-insert fic I’m writing (a crossover between the Persona games and bnha), but I decided to introduce two Lookism characters, so I’m posting that part of the fic here bc I thought it was funny. 
~ ♥~
“Sushi!” Morgana exclaimed, all but climbing onto the table.
Shinsou immediately reached to grab him and pull him away, but you shook your head at him.
“But sensei, this is a shop-”
A call of your first name stopped Yaoyorozu in her tracks.
“- it’s been a while, hasn’t it? And you’re with some kids this time?” The owner of the shop greeted you warmly as he placed the dishes in front of you. “A bit young for you though, aren’t they?”
“Fuck off, Yuzuru.” You gave the man a cheeky grin. “They’re Heroics students.” You stared at him, meeting his obsidian eyes with a clear message to keep everything illegal out of eyesight. The man huffed but gave you a curt nod. “Don’t fight them.”
“Fight us?”
“He’s a masochist.” You said, and Yuzuru scowled, but ultimately didn’t say a single word. “He likes fighting strong people, regardless of age, quirk, or gender.”
Yamazaki Yuzuru was the sole heir to the Yakuza family of Yamazaki. And you had somehow become his friend? His… acquaintance? After you came by this sushi shop nearly every day since your return to Musufatu, he had become intrigued by your presence, and he had thought that you were from some other Yakuza family-
Yeah, you fought. No one won, but when you appeared the next night, completely healed, he had deemed you strong enough to be in his presence.
You had put Kaneshiro in prison. And you were in no ways a villain, but… the sushi here was good, and the people here were the only ones in this city that didn’t care that you were a quirkless.
The man huffed and walked away. Before he could disappear from your view though, you called out to him;
“Say hello to the blond idiot for me! I know Jun Goo’s visiting!”
“Sensei, how- how did you even know this place?” Yaoyorozu asked, voice quietening as she looked around nervously. “No offence to you, but this place seems… a little…”
“Seedy?” Shinsou offered, as he picked up a piece of the food with his chopsticks nonchalantly. “You’re rich, Yaoyorozu. And you’ve got a real good quirk. But people like sensei and me? We’re more than used to these places.”
She glanced around once more, her body still stiff.
“It’s okay, Yaoyorozu. The people here won’t hurt you.”
You locked eyes with the golden eyed, glove wearing member of the Yakuza you had come to know since even before your visions started. The man who had introduced himself as Chisaki Kai when your quirkless status came to light. And the man who you had learnt would kill Sasaki and level nearly an entire city from your visions-
“The sushi here’s really good, and I get a special discount from bringing Morgana and knowing the boss directly.”
Yaoyorozu looked slightly apprehensive, but she ultimately picked up her chopsticks to start eating as well.
“So, final exams, eh?”
The two students groaned and started to talk about their worries and other related topics as the four of you dug into the food.
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kareofbears · 3 years
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plainly in truth, chapter 4/5
“Without you around, it’s sorta like stuff is just kinda…bleh.”
Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.
read on ao3 or below the cut
Niijima Makoto doesn’t know what she’s doing.
It’s rare, but it happens. Sometimes she doesn’t understand the material in university. Sometimes the trains close down before she can catch the last one. Sometimes she has a breakdown because what does it mean that the system that got her father killed is the same one that she’s working so hard to get into.
But there’s always a way to find a solution—ask the professor after lecture. Call Sae and, as humiliating as it was, ask for a ride home. Convince herself that maybe she’s what the system needed in order to get real change. (She’s not quite there yet.)
She doesn’t know what she’s doing with Ryuji, and the internal tug-of-war is almost getting too much for her.
Makoto can help him; how many students has she worked with to help get them back on their feet? But each of those students she had tutored wanted help—she didn’t need to convince them to focus on school. How do you convince someone to get academic help? Duct tape them to a chair and show them a PowerPoint about how their life can fall apart if they don’t take this seriously? Then she’d be blatantly ignoring his mental struggle, and be no better than the adults who want to push kids through a meat grinder that’s the education system and turn them into mindless workers, existing solely to earn them profit.
Then she can leave him alone. That’s what he wants, anyway, and it’s by far the simplest option.
However, if she leaves him alone, would that mean that she’s still the same person who let Shujin students sell themselves to Kaneshiro? Convinced that they can handle it on their own, but only letting their debts pile higher and higher on themselves until they get crushed?
Sudden laughter and shouting from behind pulls Makoto back to reality. They were all in a heated game of Tycoon, and it sounds like Akira’s been on a winning streak for the past half hour.
She grips the steering wheel tighter, forcing herself to focus on the road and not the whirlwind of thoughts. The highway is nearly empty, despite the sun being high in the sky, not a single cloud blocking its rays. They’re on their way to Okinawa, and it’s her turn to drive.
Makoto may not know what she’s doing, but she can at least do this.
Okumura Haru has always had a bit of a guilt complex.
It started with refusing to give her hand to an abusive man for her also abusive father’s business, and it had only escalated even further once she realized that it’s technically her fault that her father had been killed; that one in particular had been crippling. Not only because he died due to her poor decision making, but it was another reason why the Thieves had fallen for Shido’s trap last year.
She respects herself enough now to understand that most of it is misplaced, but it doesn’t erase any of the guilt she still carries today. Far from it—that guilt has only grown to be bigger, looming over her as if it were ready to consume every inch of her body and spit out a bag of bones.
This situation, though, she can’t help but feel that her guilt isn’t quite as misplaced as she likes to convince herself it is.
They were all having lunch at the ferry’s restaurant; it’s small, given how little people want to go all the way out to Okinawa, but it’s still selling ludicrously overpriced coffee and pastries. Nobody seems to mind, though. All of them were sharing one cheese omelette, each with a plastic fork in hand, tapping them against each other to get the best piece and assert dominance like animals at a watering hole.
A way to soothe guilt is to somehow find a way to remedy the situation. Employees of Big Bang Burger have been unionized, her father is now remembered for the man he was rather than the man he became, Sugimura has long since been a problem (how he stopped being a problem, she legally cannot speak about), and Shido isn’t even in the public’s conscious anymore.
But for Ryuji, there is no way to soothe that guilt. Not in a way that matters.
It’s not just because Haru had essentially been the reason why too many people know his secret, but because the secret should have never happened in the first place. She’s his senpai, she was supposed to be the one looking out for him. Ryuji was struggling, mentally and academically, and she hadn’t realized it until it was far too late. He had been there for her, ready to knock Sugimura’s teeth into his throat, but she couldn’t have done the same for him when it truly mattered.
How do you soothe that guilt? Buy out the entire school? Forge his grades? More cram books? That’s ridiculous.
There’s no way to soothe that guilt, she realizes, because the only real way to do that was to turn back time.
Kitagawa Yusuke understands pride better than most people.
Without a cent to his name for most of his life, pride was all he had. Pride of being the pupil of someone great, pride of turning money away in the name of art. Being able to withstand enormous pressure and stick to his guns has always been one of his strongest abilities.
They’re in the Okinawa jail, tearing through Shadows and screaming Sophia’s name, over and over again until all of their throats are torn raw. He calls for Goemon, and ice crawls over the narrow corridors of the facility like ants covering every inch of a buffet. They’re all strong, because they have to be, but the Shadows here are cunning; fast and magic-infused, drunk on the strange, thick air that’s bled into every inch of cement in this building.
But pride can be an unforgiving catalyst that can change you from the inside out, like a parasite hijacking your brain stem and compels you to bow down to it. He had refused to see the truth, turned a blind eye to the evils of his sensei, and it made him into a lesser version of himself. It had made him weaker.
A crack of lightning strikes, emanating light so bright that he instinctively raises a hand to block it out. When it dims, any smell of the cold, dry air is gone—in its place is the distinct scent of ozone wafting around him, and a light buzz that settles atop his skin like a second layer. The hair on his nape stands, but Yusuke’s positive it didn’t come from the electricity still buzzing from the ashes of the Shadows.
Ryuji had obliterated all of their foes with one, clean strike.
Takamaki Ann can tell that something’s off.
Her toes are buried deep in hot sand, taking refuge under their big umbrella. The sun is just about setting over the horizon, casting an orange glow on her skin, and she idly hopes that she had put on enough sunscreen. They’ve tired themselves out for the most part; some were taking naps on beach towels, some had retired back to the RV where air conditioning awaits them.
Only Akira and Ryuji were left, standing where the sand meets the tide, water lapping at their ankles. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she recognized the look on Akira’s face—with his glasses hanging from his button up, his eyes sparkled brighter than the ocean does, not quite smiling but his lips are curled up as if unable to completely restrain itself. It’s the look he reserves for Ryuji.
She digs her feet deeper into the sand, enjoying the way it tickles her calves. Ann’s been thinking about this whole thing in her head ever since she found out the truth, and something just isn’t adding up.
As absolutely insane as it all is, if she closes one eye, tilts her head, and slams her head against a wall, she can sort of, kind of, maybe understand where he’s coming from. She’s known him too long not to. The whole actively lying to his friends thing is still unforgivable, but the need to hide it? Understandable. She barely scraped by second-year herself with a prayer and English-speaking parents, and even then her grades are nothing to write home about.
Ann could barely believe that Ryuji really thought that Akira would leave him over something as stupid as flunking school, but even that she can understand, too. Everyday, she wants to be a better person for Shiho, and everyday, she goes to bed thinking that she didn’t try hard enough. Ann gets it. Love screws with your brain, swirls it up until you can barely stand up straight, and definitely messes with your perception of yourself. Ridiculous, crazy, but still somewhat coherent.
There’s still one piece in this whole puzzle that hasn’t clicked yet, and it’s been bugging her ever since that night in the cafe.
As perceptive as he is, as smart and observant and unstoppable as he is, as kind and knowledgeable as he is, as much as he adores Ryuji to the moon and back—
Why hasn’t Akira said anything yet?
Sakura Futaba knows that something’s off.
As the navigator, she sees everything she needs to make sure her team makes it out of every battle alive and victorious. Necronomicon can see stuff that no one else can, can predict two, three, four moves before it can happen. She eats stats for breakfast and spits out results by second breakfast. She knows her team’s moveset like the back of her hand and then some. Futaba takes this seriously, because if she doesn’t, someone’s not walking out alive.
The best part is that she’s good at this. So good that the eternal worrywart, Joker himself, can still walk out of the Metaverse with a head of thick, black hair.
But something’s been off. She felt it in her bones and that feeling only gets more prominent with every passing Jail—no, not even Jail. With every battle, that feeling only gets stronger in her gut.
When it started is still a mystery to her, but she started picking up on it in Sapporo. Sapporo. Her mom told her never to pray, but by god she’s hoping that it started in Sapporo, because this—this thing, is too big to have missed.
Futaba isn’t sure what it is yet, but she has no idea what’s happening with Ryuji.
To be more specific, she has no idea what’s happening with Captain Kidd, but that’s basically the same thing; Personas are the extension of the user, I am thou, et cetera. The weirdest part is, she knows something’s off, but she doesn’t know if it’s necessarily a problem.
It’s as if Ryuji’s been hitting the gym while they weren’t looking, or giving Kidd a stern talking to. His attacks, which used to be around the same baseline as the rest of the team, is nearly outputting double the amount of damage than the rest of them. His hits are buffed to the wazoo on a level she’s never seen before in any other Persona user, even Akira.
She’s considered bringing it up with him dozens of times. The two of them have to be honest with each other, not because they love and respect each other or any of that bullcrap—it’s because it’s the only way anything can ever function in the team. Between the navigator and the leader, if they ever hide anything from the other, no matter how small, things would never run smoothly. Or worse: it’ll crash and burn.
And then Ryuji comes along and makes them all take a blood oath to never, ever tell Akira a really big secret.
Technically, she doesn’t see an issue with it. It’s more of an unspoken rule than any kind of signed contract, and it’s mostly about Metaverse stuff instead of real world problems. She’s not eagerly telling Akira about her private Pixiv account or anything. But it’s not impossible to think that Ryuji being strong enough to be wearing ten Gilded Vests stacked on top of each other is somehow connected to his very real, very heart-affecting situation. If she really thought it was a problem, she’d tell Akira right away. It’s better to have Ryuji hate her than to have him dead.
But when she sees Akira’s face flash with relief in Akane’s Jail when Ryuji all but annihilates a mega-super-high level Shadow, one that Akira’s been stressing about the entire time since they’ve been here despite him trying his best to act cool about it because he has to be, it’s kinda hard to consider this to be a problem at all.
Between Konoe’s attacks and relentless bolts of ions getting shot up every few seconds, the static is so thick in the air that their hairs are all frayed and heading skywards.
The blast from Konoe’s mech, once a symbol of their triumph and had pulled no small amount of whoops and cheers from their throats, is only the first stage of their fated battle. They hadn’t planned for an extra phase, and the only reason they were able to escape was that steam from the busted metal and machinery had given them a few seconds of cover.
All of them are huddled behind a wall, outlined with neon blue that only served to blend them in with the futuristic technicholar that is the Osaka Jail.
“We’re clear,” Makoto announces, voice low as she returns from peeking around the corner. “No chance he knows our location.”
“Thank you Queen,” Akira says, mask pushed far up his head, clear eyes rapidly checking over each of his teammates, nodding. “Good work out there with the mech, now let’s figure this one out. What do we know?”
“Not a lot,” Futaba’s goggles reflect data as her fingers dance over the screen. “If we assumed that his weaknesses would be the same as his mech, then it would be lightning and nuclear.”
“Only if we assume that his physical form reflects his robotic form,” Yusuke points out. “What are the odds that that’s the case?”
Morgana taps his paw on the ground, deep in thought. “High, I’d say. Remember, he didn’t even think anyone could actually get into his Jail. He was worried enough to give himself two forms, but I doubt he’d go much deeper than that in terms of protection.”
“Look, my math might be a little off,” Ryuji starts. “But it’s literally a ten-on-one, right? I vote we kick his ass from the get go.”
Akira grips his arm. “Don’t. It might be a ten-on-one, but I don’t want to be walking out of here with only nine or less. We take this slow, like we always do.”
“...Fine.”
“What I’m worried about is that big sword of his,” Ann says grimly. “It looks like one hit from that thing I can kiss my entire torso goodbye.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Eyes flickering to Futaba, Akira asks, “Possible defenses?”
“I’m not seeing anything special from it other than it’s huge and sharp and could kill us if he really wanted to, which, he does. So it looks like it’s physical, unless he has something up his sleeve.”
“Which he probably does, because that’s just how things usually go for us,” Ann sighs.
“We’ll go with what we know.” Akira gets on his feet, taking another peek, black coattails swishing around his ankles. With blood-red hands he pulls his mask back down, and they all straighten up. His voice is barely above a mutter, but they all catch every word he says. “Panther, how’s your energy?”
“Nearly full,” she answers.
“Use Concentrate on Queen and Skull on their call, double their magical attack whenever you can. I know it takes awhile to reuse when you’re using it for anyone but yourself, but try your best. Ryuji, how you holding up?”
“Like everything’s zero gravity, leader.”
“Then I want you to do the same with Charge for Fox, Noir, and yourself. Don’t overdo it though—only do it on my call.”
“Got it.”
“Sophie, Morgana: healing duty. Especially for those of you who drain your health like an open tap. Noir, try to get a vantage point and use Milady’s arsenal. Catching Konoe off guard can be what we need. Oracle, watch our backs. Everyone else, on standby. Are we all clear?”
With a nod, Akira takes a deep breath. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”
He takes the first step, knowing full well that ten more are right behind him.
The minute Konoe spots where they were hiding, he takes a slow pace towards them, confident in his own abilities. He swings his lightsaber around him with ease, footsteps heavy and sure.
They take his lethargy to their advantage. “Split!” Akira calls, and immediately they head to where they need to be. “Let’s take this nice and—”
In a split second, the unhurried pace that Konoe was taking dissipates and he dashes forward, a blur to their eyes, heading straight for Ann, who just barely dodges out of the way.
“What the hell?!”
“He’s fucking fast now!”
“This guy’s speed just cranked up!” Futaba yells. “If he could do that without me even realizing it, then who knows—”
“Stay sharp, we know what we’re doing.”
“How on earth are you still so calm, Joker?!”
“Because I believe in all of you.” Dashing left, he brushes his mask. “Neko Shogun, help me out.” A black cat with eyes bigger than his hand materializes from the monochrome mask, and they all suddenly feel lighter on their feet, ready to dodge anything that comes their way. “Queen, Skull.”
“Roger that!”
Makoto scales one of the neon walls, grip strength insurmountable, and runs across the wires that are tied from each platform, boots barely touching the cord, before jumping down. “Johanna!”
An explosion, or something more akin to a nuclear bomb getting set off mere meters in front of them, occurs where Makoto lands, hitting Konoe head-on.
He staggers back, obviously shaken but he recovers quickly. Lightsaber buzzing red, he’s about to strike at her when she hops on the back of Johanna, engine revving. “Lucky us, he’s weak to nuclear.”
Ryuji hops on his feet, hyping himself up. “Not all of us have cars for a quick getaway,” he snarks, before he’s gone, sprinting so fast that he’s nearly a blur to anyone looking his way. Racing behind a wall, he gets the jump on Konoe. “Come on out, Captain!”
A storm brews even without a single cloud over them as ozone reeks and lightning strikes, the deafening sound of thunder makes their ears ring.
“Holy crap,” Futaba breathes.
“Is he weak?” he asks.
“Uh,” Ann says. Konoe uses his lightsaber as a makeshift cane to get himself on his feet, shaking his head aggressively. “Yeah, I’d say he’s weak to it.”
“Comms are set,” Futaba announces. “Noir, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, Oracle,” a bright voice chirps in their ears. “Joker, it’s an easy shot.”
“Take it.”
“With your help, Milady.”
The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rings out, and their heads swivel to see if it hit, but there’s no one there.
“What the...?” Ann wildly spins around, eyes widening. “Sophie—!”
Without turning her head back, Sophia instinctively ducks sideways, bits of red locks falling to the ground as Konoe’s lightsaber slices through the edges of her hair, and again when it grazes past her head, and another when it slices through the metal flooring like it was butter.
Panic grips her. “Pithos!” Sophia shrieks, voice high with fear. Blinding light shines from her hands, but Konoe walks into it like it was nothing.
Yusuke grips his katana, and silent as a gust of wind on a winter’s night, cuts through the air in front of him to deliver a myriad of slashes over Konoe. It does little to him, but it’s jarring enough that Sophia can escape where she was cornered.
“He’s very speedy,” Sophia says shakily. “Thank you, Fox.”
He nods, touching his mask in preparation. “That speed is nothing to jest about.”
“And we can’t do anything about it by just standing here! Makoto, back me up here.” Ann throws her mask in the air. “Carmen!”
“Find me an opening, and I’ll handle the rest,” Haru’s voice crackles.
“She’s right.” Akira touches his mask as it burns bright with the strength of dozens, maybe even hundreds of Personas. “She needs cover, and we need the element of surprise. Fox, Morgana.”
“Not a word more.”
“You got it!”
Ann takes a leaf from Makoto’s book, using her whip to grapple herself onto a ledge, running to take the high point behind Konoe, grazing Haru’s shoulder on the way there.
Konoe turns, but before he can take a counter measure, Akira calls out: “King Frost.”
At the same time, Yusuke says, voice loud and clear: “Goemon!”
Together, pillars of ice, meters and meters high surround Konoe, high enough that he can’t see anything past a few feet. But that height comes with a price; they can only make it so thick, and the lightsaber didn’t hesitate to crush it into bits.
“Panther, we don’t have too much time.” Already, sweat begins to pool and roll down Akira’s skin, using up his magic rapidly. “Are you in position?”
“Just—” she hops, heels clicking rapidly against the floor. “—About! Ten seconds!”
“We can hold it. Sophia, stay close on standby.”
“Understood!”
Motorcycle wheels screech next to Ryuji, and he doesn’t hesitate to hop on the back before they’re off again, leaving tire marks where they skirted off. “I swear to god, you play the racing games in the arcade. How the hell else would you get so good at this?”
“Would you shut up?” Makoto snaps.
“Roger that.”
“I’m in position!” Ann announces. She’s almost directly on top of the ice pillar. “On your signal.”
Gritting his teeth, Akira wipes the sweat away. “Hold.”
Yusuke swivels his head to him, knees shaking. “I can hold for as long as you need me to, but I might not be as much use afterwards.”
“It’s fine.” His eyes narrow at Konoe, still tearing through their ice blockade as the pile of shards only gets higher and higher. “Just a little bit longer. Sophia, use the biggest, most pinpoint bless move you have on my word.”
“Yes,” she responds, before hesitating. “He’s immune to it, I’m afraid.”
“I know.” Even Akira sounds breathless, his footing becoming unsteady.
“Joker, you don’t have much left,” Futaba warns. “You better hope this ends things, or we’re gonna have a real big problem on our hands.”
Once the shards of ice have piled high enough that it would surpass Konoe’s height twice over, and despite his hands beginning to turn blue, Akira's grin is wide. “Three—”
Yusuke’s vision begins to blur, but he refuses to relinquish Goemon.
“Two—”
Haru rearranges her finger on the trigger, palms drenched in sweat but they don’t shake. Not anymore.
“One—”
Ann takes a few steps back, sucking in a breath before sprinting forward, jumping straight over the open-chasm of ice and death beneath her.
“Now!”
Carmen releases a blaze of flame intense enough to encompass an entire neighborhood and then some, taking the shards and bits of ice that was piled high on top of each other and turning it into a cloud of fog and hot mist, shooting straight up and turning the visibility of the whole area to zero.
Yusuke crumbles to his knees as Ann tucks and rolls onto the floor, hissing as she feels her ankle twist into something nasty. “Shit!”
Akira staggers back, gripping his head like it hurts for him to stand, but that doesn’t stop him from yelling out: “Sophia!”
“Makougan!”
Like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm, there shines a beam of light so bright, so concentrated into one area, that they all know exactly where to aim their fire.
It all comes tumbling down, a perfectly set-up domino trap; Haru pulls trigger after trigger, bullet shells flying, ignoring the way her shoulder is inching further and further from where it’s supposed to be by taking the brunt of the recoil. Ryuji hops off the bike, crossing his arms in front of him calling two, three, four bolts as Makoto calls another nuclear blast.
From inside the whirlpool of thick clouds, where the fog is most dense, a figure sways, coughing and lurching forwards and back, trying desperately to escape.
“Oh no you don’t! Zorro!”
Wind, so thick you can almost see it, swirls around most of the mist, locking it in and dragging everyone else’s attacks right in the center.
Futaba’s clacking can be heard even now. “He’s losing health fast! Eighty percent, seventy percent, sixty—”
The ground trembles ominously.
“What in the world…?” Yusuke pants from the ground, elbows barely able to keep his torso up.
It happens again, stronger this time.
“Fifty, forty—” she continues, voice small and desperate. “Thirty! Twenty!”
Akira presses his palm against the ground, eyes closed before snapping open. Despite his exhaustion, he compels himself to stand, arms outstretched defensively. “Guard!”
They do so, and a streak of pure light flickers from the inside, before rapidly getting larger and larger until it turns into a scintillating sphere that grew and pulsed, eating up everything in its wake and blowing away the captivating fog. Try as they might, there’s nothing they can do to stand up against a Megidolaon.
Bruised and battered, Konoe stands tall as the Phantom Thieves can do nothing but look up from the ground, energy and options all but dried up until neither was left.
“Stop, I can walk, let me up—”
“Panther, stop struggling, your ankle is already too injured to—”
“Fuck! Oracle, does he know where we are?”
“Not yet; looks like that vanish ball Joker threw out gave us some cover but it’ll last for a way shorter time considering he blew through our plan in less than—”
“Whoa, Fox, you’re not looking good.”
“I’m afraid I can’t keep going, everyone. Goemon has reached his limit, but I don’t necessarily need him to keep fighting. Judging by my vision, however, my accuracy might be much lower than usual.”
“Man, shut up and stay down.”
“Sophia? Can you hear us?”
“Yes, but—ow!”
“Okay, stop moving, you’re only going to make it worse.”
“Joker, we still have plenty of items that we’ve accumulated from previous Jails. We don’t have much time before he can find us again, but if we put our heads together—”
“Are you talking about the scraps of grilled corn and the three life stones we have left? It would be suicide. We have to go in, guns blazing. It’s the only way it can work.”
“You’re talking about suicide, Mona, and the ‘guns blazing’ strategy you’re talking about would be literally lead to us serving our heads on a silver platter.”
“So what’s your plan, Queen? I’m all ears, I’m serious.”
“G-guys, stop fighting! We’ve barely got enough time as is. Just let me scan—”
“We’re pulling back.”
All eyes turn to Akira, posture straight despite the sheen of sweat clinging to his forehead. It’s obvious how he was barely able to stand.
Ryuji takes a step forward. “Are you crazy?”
"More than half of us are running on fumes, and half of those people are injured to the point where they can barely keep going. Our plan was shattered like it was nothing, he has a super move that’s so powerful that it tears through our defenses like tissue paper. We’re retreating.”
“Like hell we are! Do you know what’s gonna happen if we leave?”
“We heal our injuries, we get more items, we prepare better this time, and we come up with a better plan.”
“And that gives that bastard—” he jerks his thumb behind him. “The exact same advantage.”
“And what advantage do we have?” Akira’s voice is calm but they all feel the edge to it. “Who can even fight?”
“I can,” Morgana answers quietly. “He takes wind like concrete, though.”
“So can I. However, I can’t do as much as I normally can.” Haru rolls her shoulder, wincing. “I may have dislocated my shoulder earlier.”
“And me, obviously,” Ryuji finishes. “That’s nearly an entire team. We even have support and a distance shooter, and Futaba’s still in this too, so—”
“No.”
“What?”
“I said no,” he says, hard. “Don’t be stubborn about this. You know damn well why we can’t.”
Akira turns on his heel, only the slightest wobble in his movements. “Let’s move out. We only have thirty seconds left before the vanish ball wears off.”
“We’re not leaving.”
“Yes, we are.”
“Is it because you’re not on the team?”
A hush falls on them, and for a second, everyone forgets that they were even in the middle of a battle.
Akira glances back, hair covering his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Ryuji takes another step forward, chin tilted up. “That you don’t think that we can handle this without you.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it really? When was that last time you weren’t on the A team, Joker? Does anyone remember?” He glances at the rest of them. “Anyone? No? Yeah, I figured.”
He stares at him. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?”
“I just don’t like that you’re implying that I can’t do shit for myself.”
“Ryuji…” Ann tries quietly.
“Yourself?” He faces him, expression blank. “I thought this was about the team.”
“And I’m part of the team, ain’t I?”
“You’re not dragging the rest of them into your petty, nonsensical argument, Skull,” Akira goes toe-to-toe with him, neither one blinking. “That’s final.”
“You know it would be dumb as shit to give that guy even more time to prepare. It’s like Shido—he was the toughest guy we went up against because he gave himself a billion counter measures since he knew we were coming. Konoe barely knew jack but he handed our asses to us. We finish this now or we don’t finish this at all.”
“I’d rather lose the battle than lose my friends,” he hisses. “We’re leaving. Now.”
“You’re too fucking blind to see that this is more than just us, leader,” Ryuji spits the word. “I can do it—no, I will do it.”
Akira grabs the bandana around his neck. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” he says through gritted teeth. “But you’re not going anywhere near Konoe.”
But it’s useless, and they both know it—Akira’s far too drained and Ryuji’s far too strong for it to be much more than an empty threat.
Ryuji wraps his fingers around his wrist. “I’ll prove to you that I can fucking do this,” his grip is tight, before forcibly peeling Akira’s grasp from him. “Believe in me. I’m strong, Akira.”
“Don’t do this.” Any anger from his words dissipates, and desperation takes its place. “I’m commanding you, as the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts—do not do this.”
With a wide grin and lightning behind his eyes, Ryuji’s gone, and Akira’s hand is grasping thin air.
“Fuck,” he clutches at his head, body shaking with exertion. “Fuck.”
“Oh my god,” Makoto breathes. “He’s going to fight Konoe alone.”
“Over my dead body,” Akira touches his mask. “Come out, Yoshits—” Before he can finish, a gutteral sound from deep in his throat cuts him off, and he crashes ungracefully on the ground. “God dammit.”
Makoto shakes herself out of her stupor, taking a deep breath. “Alright, we can’t leave Skull. We’ll work with what we have.” Instinctively, she looks to Akira for advice, but his eyes are glazed over. Whether or not it’s from exhaustion or shock from what happened, she doesn’t know. “Noir, range attack. Shoot down the broken limbs from the mech, pray it still has nuclear running through its pipes. Mona, you’ll be on the support. Noir is already down in health, and Lord knows Skull’s going to need it. I’m down energy wise, but I have a good visual from above.” Eyes sliding sideways. “Oracle?”
“Comms are set up, I’m scanning for weaknesses, and Skull’s almost there,” she replies instantly. “If you’re going to join him, it’s now or never.”
“Alright.” Makoto swallows. “Everyone else, stay back. You two—go.” Morgana and Noir dart out.
“Thank you,” Akira says quietly. “I was just…out of it.”
“You don’t have to explain. That was…” she trails off when he looks up at her. His gaze in the Metaverse is sharp, always sharp, but now they’re dull. From knives to pebbles.
“Why did he do this?” he whispers. “What did I do wrong?”
The floor begins to rumble again, and they all lean over the edge to watch the battle playout.
“Everyone’s in position,” Yusuke narrates with a frown. “I don’t doubt Skull’s skill, but even at our full power, Konoe couldn’t be beaten.”
“He’s there,” Makoto says, and Akira watches, perfectly still. “He’s about to hit first.”
Ann leans forward, as they all did, at how Ryuji calls Kidd, voice ringing so loud they can hear it from where they sat on top of a wall. “Can he really do it?”
“Well,” Futaba heaves a deep sigh. “He’s right that this is probably our best shot, considering that we already got Konoe down to twenty percent of his health.”
Captain Kidd materializes, and his cannon is leaning back, glowing with power, and Konoe takes a step sideways, about to dodge.
“But Ryuji isn’t the same fighter that he was before.”
Instead of shooting forward, the cannon is swiftly raised skyward and thunder cracks before lightning strikes Konoe, followed by Ryuji lifting his pipe and slamming it straight into his skull and dodging just as another Megidolaon grows where he stood.
All of them stare, wide-eyed, at the spectacle before them like it was a sporting match; a back and forth happens, where Konoe would use his immense speed and power to try and get the leg up on Ryuji, but he would only hit thin air as he dodges and parries, shifting and ducking with a finesse they’ve never seen before, calling up Kidd and using electricity so potent that they feel can its static. Konoe grips his saber and swings and swings, triple-attack rolled into one but everytime he tries he only gets cut off when Ryuji slams his hand into the ground and calls dozens of wildly waving purple hands, each of them clawing at Konoe mercilessly.
“I knew he was stronger than he was before,” Makoto’s eyes are wide with wonder. “But it's like I don’t even recognize him.”
Ions and plasma strike as lightning meets saber, causing a violent cascade of sparks to fly frantically around the two of them. Bullets ring out whenever Konoe takes a step back, only to send him flying as a mini nuclear blast explodes behind him; Haru’s aim is impeccable.
This dance plays out for a long time, with Ryuji calling earth-shaking attacks and dancing around Megidolaons while Haru finds weak spots.
“Has he grown even faster?” Yusuke wonders aloud.
Futaba is struggling to watch all the data, attention straying to watch the fight. “He’s shaved off another ten percent off his health!”
“He’s incredible,” Ann says, awe-struck. “Isn’t he, Joker? He’s totally kicking his ass, pretty much by himself.”
“There’s something wrong.”
She peels her eyes away from below to stare at him, perplexed. “Things couldn’t be any better.”
Akira’s eyes are trained on Ryuji, on the way he’s limboing, countering every single attack rather than guarding. “I’ve seen his style since the very first day he got his Persona, and I’ve never seen him dodge so fluently. So desperately,” he says, eyes narrowed. “Something changed. And I didn’t notice.”
“Guys, am I crazy,” Morgana’s voice crackles in their ear. “Or is he really, really good at dodging attacks? I’ve only healed Noir this entire time, and she’s not even down there.”
“I just think he’s being cautious,” Haru replies, cocking her gun before continuing her assault. “Oracle? Report, please.”
“Five percent left,” they all hear the grin in her voice. “He’s actually going to do it.”
“Panther.” Ann blinks at Akira. “Help me up.”
She does, pushing his shoulders up until he’s sitting straight. “Needed a better view of him being a badass?” she teases.
Instead of answering, his gaze focuses, irises turning into a bright shade of blue.
Third eye, she registers with surprise. “We already know his stats.”
“I don’t care about Konoe’s,” his brow furrows slightly. “I care about his.”
“Two percent!” Futaba calls gleefully.
Suddenly, air catches in Akira’s throat. “What?” Ann startles.
“His endurance,” his voice shakes so intensely that she almost can’t understand what he’s saying. “His endurance.”
“What? What does that mean? Joker?” He tries pushing himself on his feet, crumbling and spewing obscenities when he can’t. “What are you doing? There’s nothing you can do, and Mona’s already got the healing taken care of.”
“One percent!”
The look in Akira’s eye is wild, and he’s paler than she’s ever seen him—whiter than when he came back from the interrogation room, and it’s enough to make her stomach drop all the way to the ground. “By the time they heal him, it’ll be too late.”
Everyone cheers and they both turn their attention back to the battle below them, where Ryuji summons one last bolt at Konoe, and finally, it’s enough to take him down.
Ryuji turns his back to Konoe, arms raised in triumph and drenched in sweat, immense pride clear on his expression.
It all happens in slow motion.
Akira jumps down, ignoring the protests from above, limping and scrambling towards Ryuji. Behind him, Konoe tries for one last, desperate attempt to win by swinging his saber weakly at Ryuji’s ankles, grazing his flesh ever so slightly.
“No!” Akira cries out.
Despite the cut being as shallow as a paper cut and as wide as a bee’s sting, Ryuji crumples to the ground, all life seeped out of him like he was struck through the heart.
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scrollsofeternity · 4 years
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the ones who bloom in the bitter snow | Ami | Finale | The Choice
It’s not a pleasant sight, seeing Hisato Kaneshiro die, and Ami makes sure she stays holding Kushiko close the whole time in case she needs to look away. Perhaps this is what Hisato wants, and in some way the apt punishment for what he’s done to others, but watching someone die is always terrible. Especially when it’s someone you once called a friend. All Ami can hope for, really, is that death by beheading really is instant, and that at least temporarily, Hisato will have some relief from his burdens before consequences catch him again. Does he actually deserve that? She doesn’t know, but she thinks at some point, he did.
And then, as Azusa speaks, hugs her and says she loves her, Ami breaks into a sob.
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“L-love you too, Azusa...it’s all going to be better someday, I promise…”
Terror grips Ami’s chest for a moment, but she breathes a sobbing sigh of relief when Arisa hugs Azusa and the vial shatters on the ground, the fears of watching another best friend die dissipating into gratitude towards Arisa for managing to break through to her. 
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“I’ll be out right behind you, Kamiya-san...I can’t stay here. The things it falls to me to do for everyone...I can only do them outside of this world. ”
At the beginning of this, she probably would have jumped at the chance to run away from her life--one she didn’t see a future for, so she simply kicked and screamed against it uselessly. She became a phantom thief in hopes it would give her some sort of excitement. She fought with her mother and defied the way she wanted her to present herself at every turn even if she was ultimately powerless against her. If someone told Ami a few months ago that she could stay here forever and not have to go home, she would have said yes and never looked back.
Now? Now things are different. She has so many promises to keep and things to do in the world outside that it’s impossible for her to stay here. Hearing Aina speak confirms as much to her.
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“...thank you, Aina-sensei. I-I hope I can do right by what you say. I...I’ll tell your daughter that…you’ll be back.”
Ami is trying desperately to wipe away tears, the feelings coming from leaving people behind overwhelming her. Yes, she's telling herself it's not the end and she really does think they can do it, but she's still scared. She's still going to be sad while she waits.
But then Chiharu takes her hand… her friend, Chiharu, as they’ve both stubbornly been at each other’s sides through everything. And now they’re both going to stubbornly fight so the people they love can live happy lives. 
“Right. One moment, Chiharu-san.”
She smiles, and gives Kushiko, her personal Elysium, the biggest hug she can before stepping back to speak. Ami understands the fears her beloved has and why she needs to watch over those she cares about: it’s not in Kushiko’s nature to leave people to the unknown. That’s why Ami knows what they both need to do.
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“...don’t stay too long, alright? When we know for absolute certain Yoshiko-san will be safe and when she’ll wake up...come home. We can go home together. Until then, I’m talking to you as much as I can through those servers—Yamaguchi and the others are going to be sick of me, just watch!”
They’re doing the same thing, just in what they believe is in their power right now. It’s going to be ok even if their duties take them to different places for a while—what’s a month or so compared to the lifetime they’ll have together?
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“You’ll both be home in no time. Wait for me, Kushiko-chan...I love you so much! The future we’ll build is going to be great!”
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mollypaup · 5 years
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All of the other Phantom Thieves got their Big Moment where they got to decide whether or not to spare the person who caused them so much pain and suffering.
Ryuji decided right away that he wasn’t interested in killing Kamoshida, and Ann came very close but in the end decided his atonement would be far sweeter revenge than his death.
Yusuke learned that Madarame killed his mother and was furious and heartbroken and still he decided to spare his former sensei.
Makoto wasn’t so deeply affected by Kaneshiro personally, but she was forced to face down someone who was very similar to the people who took her father away and made the choice to rise above it.
Futaba could’ve simply succumbed to the darkness she found within herself, but instead she chose to live. (And, later, after finding out that Akechi was the one who killed her mother, she still didn’t push for his death.)
Haru probably didn’t struggle much with her choice, he is her father after all, and she loves him dearly, but I have to imagine there was some part of her who wanted the cruel man who forced her into marriage and cared so little for her to suffer.
I know WHY they didn’t give the player the option to kill Shido, it would majorly effect the plot if you decided to kill him, but on the other hand I think it would’ve been cool if they had.
Also, I, personally, very much did want to kill Shido and am a little salty that I couldn’t do that.
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ravenoftheskyes · 4 years
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Personas, Wildcards, and Families. (Part 1)
(AN: Time to start writing again! This is supposed to go to with my Mako-Fam fic that’s up on my blog, but it’s not necessary to read it to read this one. Once again, inspired by the Mako-Fam au on @thieves-in-the-palace’s blog. Also still a bunch of ships. Not gonna tag them all this time. This is gonna be Multipart Bc I kinda hit the paragraph limit.)
Makoto walks into her home, exhausted after a day of running around in Kaneshiro’s palace. The thieves were close to the treasure. A bit more and they could send the calling card. Makoto walked into her room and immediately fell asleep on the bed.
The next morning was luckily a Sunday. Ren had said they weren’t going into the palace today, citing the fact that it was Ryuji’s birthday and he needed to hang out with his boyfriend. Sae was out and Makoto was alone. Until she heard a knock at the door. She walked over and opened the door to reveal...
Akihiko Sanada, Chie Satonaka, and Naoto Shirogane. According to most people, the two officers and the detective were the best trio you could have on a case. Smart, Courageous, and Strong. However, Makoto knew them as her family. She stepped aside to let them in.
“Hm, Teddie’s here too?” She asked them, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“Yeah...” Chie said, trailing off at the end.
“It’s beary quiet in here!” Teddie said to absolutely no one. Bless him and his talent for bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.
Small discussions grew and the house was filled with conversation and laughter. Teddie walked off to take a call from Yosuke.
“Yosuke and Sensei said that there was something important we had to talk about!” Teddie exclaimed.
Akihiko, Chie, and Naoto knew that it was probably some Shadow Operatives stuff, or something else important, but they hesitated to leave Makoto alone in the house. They knew how it felt to feel alone.
“Go. I’ll be fine.” Makoto said to them, not dulling their worries. But they had to go. So they did.
“We’ll be back soon.” Naoto promised the girl.
Makoto wanted to tell them everything. About how her persona made her feel. About everything they did.
Little did she know, there was a discussion going on.
Teddie walked over to a table.
“She’s awakened to her persona! My nose knows!” Teddie said to the rest of the Shadow Operatives.
“What did we tell you?” Minako said.
“How did you three know?” Mitsuru asked the Wildcards.
“Those labyrinth things we told you about. She was there, in the second one.” Minato said, for once not half-asleep.
Ken piped up from the back, asking about why only they remembered the labyrinths.
“Wildcard magic.” Yu said, and everyone accepted the answer.
“The real question is, how do we talk to her about it? Only other persona users understand personas. She isn’t going to tell us about it.” Akihiko says.
“...I don’t think they’ve gotten their permanent Navigator yet. It’s a bit too early to talk about them with her.” Yu says to the teams.
And so they agree to wait a few months. To let her team gain strength. To have her increase her bonds. Let her connection with Johanna get stronger. Let Queen rise to the occasion.
A couple of months pass. Futaba, Haru, and Goro join the team. Makoto and Johanna get better. They all agree that it’s time to reveal their Personas to her.
They come to Makoto’s house during a bad point. Sae’s doing her whole win/lose thing again. Sae hasn’t been acting right for a couple of years now.
“It’s either a win or lose, Makoto! You can’t lose!” Sae yells out to her sister.
“Sis! Calm down, please!” Makoto yells back, desperation evident in her voice.
Chie, Akihiko, and Naoto rush in.
“Sae! Calm down!” Chie yells out.
“She needs to learn! She’s not going to make her way in this world without knowing that losing is to be avoided!”
“But, Sae! Losing is inevitable! You aren’t going to win everything!” Naoto yells out.
The air becomes tense. It seems to be crackling with electricity. And did it just get colder in here?
“What do you know?! Everyone loves you! You’re winning 24/7!” Sae screams out.
The three of them get flashbacks to the fear during foggy days and full moons. To feeling hopeless and yet, continuing to fight.
“We’re not winning all the time.” Akihiko says to her, as he remembers October 4th, where his best friend, his brother, his rock since Miki’s death, fell into a coma that he wasn’t supposed to recover from.
“We lose a lot more than you think.” Chie whispers, as she remembers her shadow. How it said she only kept Yukiko around for her looks. How it said she didn’t really love her.
“It takes losses to get a win.” Naoto mutters, at a barely hearable level. She remembers Heaven, Nanako’s little place in the TV World. How it broke everyone, little by little when the girl died.
But then they remembered how Shinjiro woke up from the coma, how Chie’s shadow helped her save Yukiko, how Nanako came back to life.
How Nyx and Izanami were defeated. Even if for a few months, the Arisato Twins had to die. Even if for a few moments, the entire Investigation Team sacrificed themselves for their leader. Things worked out for them, because they were willing to take losses for the wins. Adachi, Takaya, Ikutski, Namatame... inconsequential at this point.
Until Sae screams out.
“What have you lost?! Don’t try to patronize me by telling me you’ve lost things too! Get out! And don’t come back!”
Okay, the air isn’t just crackling anymore. Makoto can feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. And seriously, when did it get so cold in here?
The three of them leave, not wanting to make things worse. Naoto pulls her phone out of her pocket, ever so slightly. Makoto gets it. Text them later.
And then Sae says that Makoto isn’t allowed to contact them anymore. She should just forget about them.
But Makoto’s a phantom thief now. She’s not going to go down so easily.
The next day, she asks Ren if she could borrow his phone. Ren gives it to her.
To: Naoto Shirogane
Ren: Aunt Nao, it’s Makoto. Sae said I couldn’t contact you anymore.
Naoto: ALRIGHT, I’LL TELL EVERYONE ELSE.
Ren: Class is about to start, so I have to go.
Naoto: WE’LL FIGURE THIS OUT. DON’T WORRY.
Makoto hands Ren his phone back, and bolts to class. She makes it with a few seconds to spare.
Now, Naoto’s at the police station. She switches text conversations.
To: Persona Losers
Naoto: WHO CHANGED THE GROUPCHAT NAME THIS TIME?
Yosuke: naoto stp txtin lik that.
Yu: Partner, your texting isn’t any better.
Yosuke: cmon ptnr
Minato: I’ve got a class going on, text fast.
Naoto: SAE SAID THAT MAKOTO COULD NOT TALK TO US ANYMORE.
Minako: Oh no.
Minato: Minako, you’re supposed to be watching my class?
Minako: Right, sorry!
Junpei: btw I changed the gc name
Yukari: I’m telling Mitsuru.
Junpei: wait no
Yukari: Too late, my beautiful wife is pissed.
Yukiko: Do you have to bring up the fact that you’re with your wife at every turn? I’m home in Inaba while my gf’s in Tokyo and I miss her.
Chie: I miss you too...
Akihiko: Back to the point at hand.
Minato: What, you don’t miss me?
Akihiko: Babe, this isn’t the time.
Minato: I know.
Minato: Oh, I’ve got to go.
Minato: Bye <3.
Naoto: I SHOULD GO AS WELL. GOODBYE.
Yosuke: bye u 2.
Akihiko: skshdjshshsisj
Chie: I can’t believe you killed Akihiko
Naoto pockets her phone, and walks over to Akihiko and Chie.
“So, can’t handle affection?” Chie teases a red-faced Akihiko.
“Shut UP. Can we get back to the point?” He replies.
“As much as I’d love to join in on the teasing, he’s right. We need to talk about Makoto.” Naoto joins in on the conversation.
“Yeah, how are we supposed to talk to her now?” Chie asks.
“We could... wait for her to tell us?” Naoto mutters.
“Naoto, are you kidding me? She doesn’t know we have personas. She thinks we’re not going to believe her.” Akihiko says to her.
“Okay but how do we do either? Sae’s cut off all communication.” Chie interjects.
“Rise or Fuuka?” Naoto asks.
“Rise’s on a tour and Fukka’s on special assignment back home.” Akihiko tells the detective.
“What about Mitsuru or Teddie?” Chie asks.
“They’re also busy.” Naoto says to her.
“...Teddie’s busy?” Chie says, shocked.
“Yosuke’s making him work double-shifts back home to pay for all the topsicles he’s been eating.” Naoto says, stifling a giggle.
“Wait... can’t we just talk to her on the way to school?” Akihiko whispers.
“...”
“Why didn’t we think of that?!” Chie exclaims.
The next day...
Makoto walks off the train, meeting with Ren to have a quick conversation.
“Hey, Makoto!” Chie yells out as they get close to her.
“Oh, hey! You want to talk right now?” Makoto asked them.
“We know you have school soon, but we have to tell you something. Could you come over to the place we’re staying after school?” Naoto asked them.
“Sure...” Makoto replied, feeling a bit nervous.
Makoto walked over to the small house where they were staying for the week while they worked on the case. She walked in, still feeling apprehensive. The Okumura incident had just happened, and they were cops. What if they realized that Makoto was a Phantom Thief?
“Makoto, we need to talk to you about something.” Naoto said, at a table in the middle of the living room.
Oh, no Makoto thought to herself. She’s been busted.
“Tomoe” Chie said to Makoto.
“What?”
“Tomoe, my Initial Persona’s name.” Chie told her.
“WHAT?!” Makoto screamed out.
“Sukuna-Hikona”
“Polydeuces”
“SERIOUSLY?! I’VE BEEN WANTING TO TELL YOU ABOUT JOHANNA FOR MONTHS NOW!” Makoto continued screaming.
After a while, Makoto chilled out.
“So, where do you go to fight Shadows?” Akihiko asked her.
“You guys don’t go to the Metaverse?” She asked them.
“No, Akihiko went to a place called Tartarus, and Chie and I went to the TV world.” Naoto replied.
“Wait... so the stories about the Tower at Midnight and the TV murderer... those were your persona exploits?”
“Yes” the three of them spoke in unison.
“So all those weird names... they were the names of everyone’s personas?”
“Yes!”
“Quick question, Lucia is who’s persona?”
“Fuuka’s.” Akihiko told her.
“So... should I take you to the metaverse?” She asked them.
“We’d appreciate it.” Naoto told her.
And so Naoto takes the three into Mementos.
“It’s very... red.” Chie supplies, unhelpfully.
“Whoa, what happened to your clothes?!” Naoto yelled out.
“Your clothes don’t change?” Makoto asked them. “Then how do you summon your personas?”
“How do you summon yours?” Akihiko asked.
“Oh, like this.” She said, as she removed her mask to reveal Johanna. “By the way, this is the Metaverse. Call me Queen. That’s my codename.”
“Well, Queen, we summon our personas in... other ways. It’ll be easier to show you.” Naoto tells her.
Naoto and Chie pull out a pair of glasses each, as Akihiko pulls out... a gun?
“Polydeuces!”
“Tomoe!”
“Sukuna-Hikona!”
They each summon their personas. Makoto stands there, shocked. And then one idea pops into her head.
“So, the ones from the TV world are the only ones that don’t have edgy summoning sequences?”
“Yes” Naoto tells her. “It’s kind of disturbing how the Phantom Thieves and SEES summon their personas.”
“It’s to signify acceptance of death, Naoto.”
“Still concerning, Akihiko.”
“I mean, the mask is supposed to signify your true self and how you break free from society’s way of saying what you are.” Makoto interjects.
“Still freaky!” Chie yells out.
“Wait... why did you summon your initial personas? Why not your ultimates?” Makoto asks.
“We’d rather show them off in a battle!” Chie yells out.
And then they see a shadow.
“It’s been too long since we’ve done this.” Naoto smirks, as she gets her gun ready.
“Yeah!” Akihiko and Chie scream out in unison.
Makoto goes for the attack.
Two High Pixies.
The battle goes by smoothly, and Makoto makes a mental note of their elements.
“What?! Why did that look like a persona our leaders could summon?!” Chie yells out.
“You mean your leaders don’t recruit personas by negotiating with them?”
“No, just fighting Hableries and Mayas.” Naoto cuts in.
“...What?” Makoto asks
“You... don’t know what a Hablerie or a Maya is?” Akihiko asks her, shocked.
“No, we fight shadows like Pixie or Bicorn...”
“Wait... what... so your Wildcard gains new personas by negotiating with these shadows and they just enter his heart?” Naoto says, with a perplexed look on her face.
“Yeah. How do your leaders get them?”
“Uh, our leaders just say a bunch of Tarot Cards appear in front of their faces and they choose as many as the weird voice allows them...” Chie says.
“That’s... weird”
“We know” the three of them say in unison.
And then chains start rattling.
“We should get off this floor...” Makoto mutters
“Definitely.” Akihiko says.
“What’s the problem? So, the reaper’s in a treasure chest.” Chie adds.
“Looks like the reaper follows Tartarus’s rules here.” Akihiko says.
And then the sense of dread meaning the reaper’s close by comes.
“Run!” Makoto yells, and they all take off towards the stairs.
After three dead ends and almost getting caught twice, they finally make it to the stairs.
“God, I miss the Monabus at times like these.”
“The what?” Naoto asks her.
“Uh... one of our team members is an anthropomorphic cat that insists he’s not a cat and he can turn into a van.”
“Oh. So a mascot.” Chie says “Kind of like Teddie or Koromaru.
“What about Teddie? And Koromaru has a persona?!” Makoto says.
“Teddie’s not actually a method actor. He’s a weird mascot bear suit shadow that grew a body. We don’t get it either.” Naoto supplies.
“And uh, yeah. Koromaru has a persona too. He can’t talk or anything. He’s just a dog.” Akihiko tells her.
“...Damn. Next thing you’re going to tell me Aigis is actually a robot.” Makoto said with a chuckle.
“She is.” Akihiko tells her.
“...What?”
“Aigis is actually a robot” Naoto says.
“Anything else I should know?!” Makoto yells out, which was probably a bad idea considering they were in the middle of Mementos.
“All those crazy stories we told you? Cover stories. Yu and Yosuke did not meet shopping for a TV. They met on the first day that Yu was in Inaba, at school and a couple days later, He, Yosuke, and I fell into the TV world and met Teddie.” Chie tells her.
“...I’m surprised you didn’t spill any of this when you took Goro, Ken, and I to Karaoke and got wasted.” Makoto said.
“Don’t remind me, the hangover was terrible.” Naoto stated, clutching her head.
“Didn’t Ken film everything...?” Akihiko asked her.
“Yeah. I have the video. So does Goro. ‘Blackmail Material’ as he called it. I’m just planning to use it whenever you try to act like mature adults.” Makoto says, stifling a giggle.
“What was the highlight?” Chie asked.
“It’s a tie between Teddie getting wasted and trying to score with everyone there and you and Yukiko forgetting you’ve been dating for the past 5 years and kinda just... getting together.” Makoto says.
“...How much did we drink?!” Chie yells out.
“Just know that Minato, Minako, and Yu are very sappy drunks.” Makoto says.
“Wow, wildcard squad actually shows some emotion?” Chie jokes.
“Wait. Minato, Minako, and Yu are the wildcards?” Makoto asks her.
“Yes, they are.” Naoto tells her.
“...So that’s why I was getting a similar vibe from them and Ren.”
“Ren... so that’s the name of your leader?” Naoto asks.
“Yeah, do the Wildcards always lead?” Makoto replies.
“Yeah. They’ve just got this natural charisma that makes everyone fall in love with them. They’re insanely flirty if you give them the chance to be.” Chie tells her.
“So it’s not just Ren. Wildcards are just gigantic dorks that can make you fall in love with them at the drop of a hat.”
“Yes!”
“Aren’t some of the personas they can summon kind of... concerning?” Makoto asks them.
“...We just ignore them.” Naoto tells her.
“We should probably get back soon, shouldn’t we?” Makoto asks them.
“You’re right, time passes here too.” Chie says.
“There’s no limit on how long you can spend in here, right?” Akihiko asked.
“Nope, just that all the time you spend in here translates into the real world. We came in at 8:24. Sis is going to be really upset if I don’t show up soon.” Makoto said.
“She’s right. As fun as it is fighting shadows in a new place, we can’t risk burning ourselves out.” Naoto mutters. “Not to mention Sae.”
“Yeah. I should get home. See you guys later!” Makoto tells them.
Makoto leaves Mementos, and turns to go home before realizing she has one more question.
“When did you three get your personas?” She asks them.
“Third year of middle school.” Akihiko tells her
“First year of high school.” Naoto speaks.
“Second year of high school.” Chie states.
“So, all before me, huh? I got mine in June of this year.”
“That just means you’re more ready for it.” Naoto tells her with a smile.
“Yeah. Wait, does Ken have a persona?”
“Yeah. He got it in elementary school.” Akihiko tells her.
“That young?!” Makoto screams out. After she comes to terms with the fact that literally everyone in her family besides her sister has a persona, she waves goodbye and walks home.
“Where have you been?” Sae asks her.
“Isn’t that Uncle Akihiko’s line?” Makoto quips.
“Don’t talk about him. Right now, all I’m focusing on is the Phantom Thieves. We’ve got intel that they’ll be infiltrating somewhere soon.”
Makoto makes sure she doesn’t visibly flinch. She knows the plan, but it still scares her. She still can’t believe Goro betrayed them. Betrayed her. His heart’s turned bitter. He’s done unforgivable things. And now he’s planning to kill Ren.
God, I should call Haru tonight... Makoto thought to herself. She needed her sweet, fluffy, girlfriend’s help to deal with everything tonight.
To: Haru Okumura
Makoto: Hello.
Haru: Hello.
Makoto: So you remember how I told you about those crazy adults that are pretty much my family?
Haru: Yes, I remember.
Makoto: They’re Persona users. All of them.
Haru: Wait, seriously?
Makoto: Yeah. I just took them into the metaverse and they summoned their personas easily.
Haru: How long have they had them?
Makoto: Since they were in high school.
Haru: Do any of them use axes?
Makoto: Yeah, Uncle Shinji.
Haru: I’ll have to “axe” him some questions.
Makoto: Haru... Please...
Haru: That was good, and you know it!
Makoto: Fine. I’ve got to go now, though. Got to get to sleep. Night, babe!
Haru: Night, Mako-chan!
Makoto stayed awake in her bed for a while. Her mind was flooded with information. They were going to infiltrate Sae’s palace on the 20th. Ren would be captured. She decided to go to the shrine tommorow. For this plan to work, the thieves would need all the help they could get.
Finally, the 20th arrived.
Joker, ever the showoff. Jumps out a stained glass window. Gets caught. Now the waiting.
...The waiting’s always the hardest part.
Makoto relaxes. Thinking that Ren had never let them down before. He won’t let them down this time.
...Right?
Makoto’s phone starts to ring.
24 notes · View notes
takeyourcritique · 5 years
Text
Makoto Niijima: Good Girl, Bad Writing.
In video games, movies, TV, and books, there are always characters who receive copious amounts of praise. In Persona 5, it is no different. Some characters deserve the hype they get, and some.. do not. In my humble opinion, Makoto Niijima falls into the latter category and in this essay I will explain why, as well as delve into what I as a writer would do to improve her character. Because this is not a hate meta, it is merely me articulating my issues with her character and getting my thoughts in order. (She has potential, it merely needs to be utilized and with P5R coming next year, a girl can hope.)
1. Underwhelming Design
The cast of Persona 5, in contrast to the casts before them, are vigilantes, a band of misfits if you will. The entire theme of the game is rebellion against society and fighting the norm, and the characters should reflect this in their design. The only exception is the protagonist himself because he's on probation and attempting to keep a low profile: that's why he follows the dress code to a tee and appears as gentle as possible, because he's already in enough trouble as is. The first party member, Ryuji, has been a rebel for a good amount of time: his hair is a stark blond (which Kawakami-sensei does not approve of) and he wears a very casual version of the school uniform; substituting a bright yellow shirt for the white of the uniform, wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes, and not wearing his suspenders (they're attached though, at the waist).
Ann Takamaki wears a white clover hoodie under her blazer, red leggings under her skirt, brown lace up boots, and earrings; not to mention her hair, while a natural blonde, is pulled back into cutesy pigtails almost like a teenage Harley Quinn. Yusuke doesn't even go to the same school, so his attire stands out in stark contrast with the main trio. Futaba dyes her hair red and she doesn't go to school at all due to severe anxiety; Haru wears a poofy pink sweater over her uniform with Mary Janes and polka dot tights. They all stick out like little sore thumbs. Except Makoto. She basically also follows the dress code, with a few subtle changes:
•She doesn't wear a blazer, instead wearing a black halter vest over her turtleneck
•Black tights
•Brown boots
That's literally it. Nothing about her stands out, and even in her casual clothing she wears a lot of whites and blacks. There's a monochromatic vibe to her, perhaps alluding to her strong sense of justice and distinction between right and wrong which in and of itself isn't bad! But it doesn't fit with the theme of the cast, Makoto fits in too much with the rest of the world to fit in with them. Just by looking at her, you cannot tell she's supposed to be part of the crew and in all honesty she'd fit better working with Akechi due to their very similar views of justice and morals. Hell, some NPCs are more vibrant design-wise than Makoto is.
2. Her Metaverse design, Persona and codename are contradictory.
Makoto's Persona, Johanna, is based most likely off Pope Joan, (after doing research online and reading Johanna's profile on SMT wiki it seemed the best fit) who was a woman that pretended to be a man in order to rise to power in an otherwise male-only role in the Catholic church. And while the story is intriguing, it doesn't fit Makoto at all: she never pretended to be what she was not and while she's "the voice of reason" she's not the leader of the team; Joker is. This makes her codename, "Queen", even more confusing. Nothing about her costume design looks regal whatsoever; it makes no sense. It feels like writer's favoritism, in all honesty. A better name would've been something more related to the fact that she looks like a biker/executionist hybrid; like "Crusher" or something of more..violent nature.
Even a name related to her wanting to go into the force would've worked well: Chief, Lieutenant, etc. Queen is nice, but it doesn't click with Makoto at all, unlike literally everyone else's Persona and codename. Ann's Persona, Carmen, is a femme fatale that kills men. Captain Kidd is a pirate, an iconic symbol of rebellion; Milady, Haru's Persona, is a reference to a villainess of the same name in the 3 Musketeers; Goemon was essentially a Japanese Robin Hood which fits Yusuke's entire kitsune/warrior aesthetic. Joker's Persona, Arsene, is a direct nod to Arsene Lupin; who was one of Sherlock's rivals and a gentleman thief who left calling cards to the people he robbed and a direct parallel to Akechi.
3. Her introduction as a whole, and to the team, is abysmal.
When Makoto is first introduced to the player, the entire school is in turmoil over Kamoshida's abusive actions towards the volleyball and track team. Many people don't know the truth about what's going on, and others simply turn a blind eye because as an Olympic medalist, the gym coach brings in a lot of popularity for the school. Being the student council president, Makoto has power that many other students do not have; so one would assume that upon learning that a victim was in danger she would spring into action, no?
Wrong.
When Ann confronts Makoto about her inaction, she turns the question back on the blonde, asking "What have YOU done for Shiho?" as if it's Ann's fault that Shiho had been jeopardized (which it was not, Ann allowed herself to be blackmailed by Kamoshida in order, so she thought, to protect her best and at the time, only friend). And she doesn't do anything about the situation, claiming that "It has nothing to do with me." (This is how abuse victims DIE.) Even worse, her elder sister is a prosecutor, she could've easily gone to Sae and asked her to look into the matter. Goro Akechi later calls her out on this, as he should; telling her that she is a "good-girl pushover". And when Kamoshida is punished for his crimes, Ann, who was bullied and outcast, goes to Makoto and apologizes to HER to make amends, as if she were wrong. Makoto then replies "We both made mistakes" in a sorry apology (she doesn't even say "I'm sorry" iirc), and asks if she can call Ann by her first name and without honorifics, which in Japan is a symbol of close friendship. (Edit: this apology actually takes place after Kaneshiro's arc, not Kamoshida's, I misremembered.)
You see, calling someone by their given name, even if you are the same age, has a ton of meaning in the culture. Just a year difference between two people can separate them as senpai and kouhai, and while the senpai can call their kouhai by their first name without raising any eyebrows it's not the same for the younger person. Calling someone by their given name in Japan is a privilege, not a right; it represents trust, respect, everything that Makoto and Ann did NOT have.
Now, let me get this straight.
Makoto did nothing when everybody called Ann Kamoshida's hoe, allowed her, Shiho, Akira, Ryuji and Mishima plus many others to suffer abuse (and Shiho attempted suicide!), gave a laughable apology, victim-blamed Ann; and now she wants to be buddy-buddy? What, in any reality, about that is okay? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But of course, because the writers want us to love Makoto, they have Ann forgive her and let her call her by her first name. And after all that, Makoto is still president, despite her clear nonchalance to the matter. She also does nothing to help the Kamoshida victims after his crimes come to light, when there was literally no excuse anymore not to assist them and help them get back on their feet. Even if she felt powerless with Kamoshida around, that doesn't explain her inaction after he's gone.
Flash forward two Palaces later, when she joins the team. Makoto stalks the protagonist around to gather evidence that he is a Phantom Thief, and then blackmails her way into the ranks. The team of course, is not happy about this at all. Makoto gives them the target; Junya Kaneshiro, who's basically forcing people into debt. The problem here is she has literally no personal ties to him; unlike the main trio all having connections to Kamoshida and Yusuke being Madarame's essential foster son. Tired of Sae calling her useless, Makoto jumps in front of the mob boss's car in desperation (and Ryuji gets her out of the way JUST in time, but he very easily could've died) which puts the entire team in danger and later on is literally pinned down by the mob and the crew have to go and save her because she was so determined to take this dude down she walked into the lion's den without any form of a plan. (He was also going to sell her into prostution to pay off the debt he'd given the Thieves.)
Her Awakening is also really weak: the speech from Johanna is extremely short and then Makoto stomps the ground to avoid falling over, rips off her mask with a bunch of overdramatic screaming (iirc we don't even get to see blood) and whoop-di-doo, she's got a motorcycle! And suddenly, despite all she's done, everybody loves her and thinks she's a total badass when she literally just threw an adult-sized tantrum. The motorcycle itself is also very lazy, it's just a motorcycle with a face. That's it. That's Makoto's Persona. A motorcycle. With. A. Face.
And from then on, everybody's suddenly a-ok and buddy-buddy with Makoto. It's ridiculous and just makes her come off as a Mary Sue because if somebody endangered my life I sure as hell would not be rubbing shoulders with them and I'm quite sure most people feel the same way. And again, after all this, Makoto does not get in trouble or even harshly reprimanded by the school for her extremely reckless actions; when she should have, and had the power to, just call the police or Sae. And all the Thieves somehow are now her friends and she gets to become a superhero.
So let me see if I understand. This girl stalks these people, blackmails them and forces them to go after hardened criminals (she was going to snitch on them if they didn't comply to her demands), goes in guns blazing by HERSELF to attempt to take down the mob boss, has to be rescued..
And gets praised and dubbed a badass for this???
And before you accuse me of having bias against Makoto, let it be known I in no way, shape or form condone Yusuke stalking Ann or Futaba blackmailing the Thieves either. It's. Still. Wrong.
Also, if you unironically think Makoto's stalking is cute, you're wrong. Stalking is creepy, regardless if it's a girl or guy doing it; no one gets a pass.
In addition, Makoto couldn't be bothered to help out at school but then goes after a MOB BOSS and puts herself in unnecessary danger? What's up with that?? If she felt powerless against Kamoshida, why in the world would she take on the Yakuza?
4. Her backstory doesn't mesh well with the rest of the team.
The gang are all outcasts and misfits in one way or another, and their pasts are less than savory.
Protagonist: Falsely accused of assaulting a woman, expelled from school and sent to Tokyo on a year probation despite his innocence, victim of nasty rumors by other students at his new school; abused by his gym coach, no contact with parents.
Ryuji: Abusive, alcoholic father who beat him and llater left him and his mother, abused by his gym coach, leg broken by his gym coach and labeled as a delinquent because his coach lied and acted like Ryuji attacked him, thus alienating him from the track team and by extent; the entire school. Losing his track scholarship because he can't run anymore, ruining his academic career.
Ann: Two parent household but they're never home, leaving her with a caretaker. Faced bullying and isolation due to being biracial (she's a quarter American), only having one friend before joining the Phantom Thieves. Blackmailed by the gym coach and sexually harassed in order to keep this one friend on the volleyball team, labeled as a slut because no one took the time to find out the truth of the matter. Friend is later raped and attempts suicide, Ann attempts to get help from the student council president but is blamed herself for Shiho's predicament. Also judged just for her looks, which she despises.
Yusuke: Biological father died presumably before his birth, biological mother had a seizure and died due to his mentor's negligence. Said mentor then takes Yusuke, a very small child at this point in time, and raises him in isolation. Psychologically (and very likely emotionally) manipulated, Kitagawa grows up in an abusive household and when confronted with the truth, is unwilling to believe it is so (as many abusive victims realistically behave). Later learns the truth about his mother and his mentor's plagiarism and detaches himself from him, but is extremely socially awkward out of touch due to isolation and as a result is isolated at school because no one wants to talk to him.
Futaba: Was blamed for her mother's death (whom she lost at 13-14) and lived with an extremely abusive uncle who underfed her and didn't even let her bathe herself. Developed severe anxiety and became suicidally depressed for over a year, refusing to even come out of her room. Had a friend who was abused by her parents and upon finding out the two fell out and only reconciled years later through the Internet. Bullied in school for her intellect.
Haru: Lost her mother at a young age, engaged against her will to an emotionally abusive, selfish fiancé for the sake of her father's company. Has deep-rooted trust issues due to people being kind to her solely because of her status; or mean for the exact same reasons. Later on lost her father as well at the age of 17, leaving all the responsibility of the company to her as she was the sole heir.
Morgana: Has no memories of who, or what, he used to be and suffers existential crises; suffers from vivid nightmares. Puts up a façade of arrogance to hide insecurities.
Makoto: Mother died when younger, father died in the line of work, older sister forced to become caretaker and work her rear off to provide for the both of them. Pressured into perfection by Sae.
That's.. literally it. Yes, she has no friends at school, but that's by her choice; she isolates herself in her studies and as a result is socially awkward and doesn't know how to interact with people (which makes her even less suitable to be put into any type of leadership position so how she became student council president is beyond me.) Makoto's life is heaven compared to the other Thieves and most of her issues would go away once she gets to college: the rest of the team doesn't have that luxury. By the way, please don't think I'm saying she doesn't deserve to be on the team because she doesn't have as deep a sob story, I'm not saying that at all. It's just that her backstory isn't really utilized as well as it should be and often times conflict is used to try to get the player to feel sorry for her (i.e. Sae calling her useless)
5. Her Confidant is abysmal and cliché.
So Makoto's Confidant actually starts out not half bad! You take her out to play video games and help her come out of her shell initially. But then it shifts to Eiko, an old friend of hers, who is a bad relationship. And this is when the Confidant begins to suffer, because it's not even about Makoto anymore. The president tells Eiko about the danger she's in, and her old classmate does not listen; declaring that since the older girl does not have a boyfriend she couldn't possibly understand. This logic is very flawed; it's like telling a smoker to stop smoking and they tell you "You don't even smoke, you don't know how bad it is". Yet Makoto listens to Eiko and comes to you, the protagonist; and asks you to pretend to be her boyfriend in order to convince her friend that she DOES understand. But it's so awkward Eiko's boyfriend and the girl herself can tell you're not genuine. And you have to keep this up for the rest of the Confidant, not to mention MAX Charm is required from Rank 5 onward in this route. Why?
Because apparently you're not attractive enough otherwise. And it's not even for Makoto, it's for Eiko, to convince her that you're hot enough to compare to her boyfriend; Takase. (Geez, shallow and childish much?) And then at the end of the Confidant, the romance angle comes off as very odd because you're literally treated like an afterthought the entire time and then suddenly Makoto turns around and wants you as her actual boyfriend?? Uh..where was her falling for you during the time spent together? It just feels like it comes outta nowhere, not to mention she wants to be a cop which the law literally ruined Joker's life soooo why is he getting into a romantic relationship with someone who wants to be associated with a source of his trauma? That's like a metaphorical slap in his face.
"Hey, I know you were literally beaten and drugged up, manhandled, falsely accused and put into solitary confinement by the law enforcement, causing you to suffer severe anxiety and you to possibly be scarred forever but I wanna be a cop even though I don't think straight in stressful situations and act on impulse and don't take insults or criticism well; and I want you to stay by my side even though I blackmailed you, stalked you, and endangered your life and did nothing while you were being abused by your gym coach."
(Let's not forget she also didn't say anything about Sae having a Palace until it was almost too late and Joker almost lost Futaba as a result.)
For Valentine's Day she declares "I've been waiting for you for so long" and that genuinely bewildered me because you don't really see her pining at all during her Confidant, nor during other events (the closest thing you get is her clinging to you in Sojiro's house but that's honestly not even romantic that's just her getting frightened and needing assurance in a very unnecessary "ship tease" moment). Same with the scene in Futaba's Palace, while Joker saving Queen was very sweet, he literally would've done that for anybody of his teammates. Makoto is not special in that regard.
6. How to better this character
•Introduce her to the Thieves in a better, more plot driven way, or remove her from the team completely.
Kaneshiro's arc should honestly just be scrapped, it was a sorry attempt to get Makoto on the team. A better time for her to join would be Sae's Palace since she actually has emotional ties to the Palace owner and by this time in the game could've developed to be a better person from the Kamoshida arc, wanting to make things right. This could also be a good start for her and Ann to begin to be on better terms- not even necessarily friends (because after what happened I honestly don't think Ann would want to be friends, at least not close), but learning to at least be civil. That, or she joins out of desperation because she doesn't want anything bad to happen to Sae and as the infiltration continues gets more and more nervous and ultimately rats their plan out (because Makoto as the traitor would be much better, writing-wise).
Alternatively, Hifumi joining instead of Makoto would also be very refreshing with Makoto covering up for them at school and supporting them on the sly.
•Treat her flaws as actual flaws, she's not perfect.
Makoto does have some bad traits, a few being:
•bad tempered
•reckless
•stubborn
•nosy
•hypocritical
•bossy
•socially awkward
But these are almost never treated in a negative light. With the Kamoshida arc and Kaneshiro arc, all is simply forgiven, same with her smacking Eiko across the face in a moment of anger. Even when wrong, Makoto is never wrong per say and this makes it difficult for her to be believable as a character. To fix this, having her suffer the consequences of her actions will make it more realistic. For example, getting Eiko to break up with her boyfriend but cutting ties with her too as a result would give Makoto the rude awakening that you can do the right thing the wrong way and people will not always forgive you for the mess you put them through (nor should they).
Her being punished for unnecessarily putting herself in danger with Kaneshiro would also be understandable (she should've been at least suspended, she could've gotten herself killed, plus all the then existing Phantom Thieves); as well as actually apologizing for the hell that was Kamoshida's drama. And not just to Ann, but everyone who suffered. That would show maturity and a willingness to change, and put her in a better light.
I want Makoto to get mad and she's fully in the wrong and she acknowledges she's wrong, have her recklessness get her or a teammate wounded in battle, etc. And have the others call her out when she's wrong and refuse to let it slide. Have them talk it out, grow as a team. Just..make Makoto fallible, flawed, broken even. She's an orphan, I want to touch more on her having to grow up quickly, feeling lonely and unsure of how to connect with people; talk about how her father is a driving force in her values and morals and how she wishes to honor him by following in his footsteps.
Delve into how she feels less than worthy if she does not achieve excellence but do it in a way that does not demonize Sae unnecessarily and try to make the reader/player feel sorry for her. Have Makoto spend more time with people in her team outside of team duties and while being awkward, genuinely interested and actively working to better her relationships. (She barely interacts with anyone besides Joker, Futaba, and on occasion, Haru) When Makoto is realistically flawed, she then becomes relatable and much more likable.
I want her fears to be plot relevant, not just slapped on for the sake of making her look "cute". Her being scared of the dark was never relevant, unlike Rei from Persona Q who was scared of the dark and had to go through a pitch black room in order to find key cards to help her friends escape a locked room or Yukari being terrified of death and having to come to terms with that. Same with her fixation for Buchimaru, it's cute but it doesn't add any depth to her character whatsoever or even her apparently knowing aikido? We never see Makoto fight outside the Metaverse unlike Chie or Akihiko so it feels like a character trait just slapped on to make her 'cooler'. It feels lazy, because it is. It's like the writers wanted her to be this strong, independent young woman but at the same time a scared, awkward little girl and the two ideas often clash; coming off as contradictory as if they couldn't make their minds up as to who they wanted Makoto to be.
Again, this is not an attack on Makoto fans. If you like her, that's valid and I respect that. I'm merely explaining why I don't and how I feel the writing failed her character and what I believe she'd be if her potential was maximized.
That's all, have a good day.
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wearejapanese · 5 years
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By Gwen Fujie
As a sansei American of Okinawan ancestry born to Higa and Kaneshiro parents and legally adopted by a Naichi (person with family roots in mainland Japan) father, Toshio Nishizawa, I submit this essay with sincere gratitude for my Okinawan family, the Okinawan community and my adopted dad.
At the recent 2016 Hawaii United Okinawa Association installation banquet, attended by over 900 people, a Naichi friend of mine asked with amazement, “What is it about you Okinawans? You have so much spirit and pride for your culture! For decades, you continue to hold annual picnics and shinnen enkai that fill the ballroom; you run the largest cultural festival every year — and you seem to do it all with such joy.” I told him that while it is a lot of hard work, we do it with yuimaru — cooperation — and chimugukuru — heart and soul. That spirit has sustained us for generations.
Like my Naichi husband, some of these dear friends of mine call themselves “Uchinanchu wannabes” or “Uchinanchu-at-heart.” I love those labels! I’m sure our Issei and many Nisei could not imagine a time when people would look to us as a strong and positive force in the community, or witness an American of Okinawan ancestry being elected governor of our state, or seeing people of other ethnicities proudly wearing an “Uchinanchu wannabee” button! Ji-san would say, “Akishamiyo!” (OMG!) with a twinkle in his eye.
Some would credit this success to the organization of the HUOA, made up of 50 member-clubs with approximately 40,000 individual members. Others might say it’s the andagi (Okinawan doughnut) and nantu (Okinawan mochi) served at our meetings, the eisä drums that rev up our spirit or the awamori (Okinawan distilled liquor) that just makes us happy people. Actually, it could be a combination of all of the above, and then some.
All kidding aside, I believe our successes have come through adversity and challenges. As our parents and grandparents rose above them and became better and stronger, eventually, we did, too. Our people faced challenges for simply being who they were: Okinawan. While they struggled through it, they never taught us to hate or to retaliate. It is only fitting, then, that the least we descendants can do to honor their determination and grit is to overcome the pain of the past by building pride in our identity as Okinawans, reviving and preserving our culture and arts, and doing it with gratitude and humility.
In writing this essay, I learned that many of my fellow AJA Sansei have no knowledge of what life was like for our Okinawan Issei and Nisei as they settled in Hawai‘i. While they endured the same challenges faced by all immigrants to Hawai‘i, they were also painfully subjected to prejudice by their own countrymen, Japanese people, who looked down upon them. According to my mother, it was because Okinawans were different. They were not as refined as the Japanese and their language was not standard Japanese. Many of our people were pig farmers, and because they were butchers, they were considered low class to the Japanese. Additionally, their language, music and dances were completely different from that of the mainland Japanese. In those days, “different” was not as accepted as it is today.
“Okinawa ken ken, buta kau kau” is a phrase that many Okinawan Sansei know because our parents told us about their schoolmates’ hurtful teasing and bullying. Can you imagine how these young, good-looking teenage girls felt as they helped their fathers and brothers pick up buta kau kau (food scraps, or “slop,” to feed pigs) every evening at the homes of their classmates and endured such teasing the next day at school? As Mom would say, “We were so shame.” From this harsh experience, my mother taught us to always treat others with respect and kindness. This reminder of the Naichi-Uchinanchu relationship of the past is not made to point fingers. Rather, it is to show how understanding the past can inspire our present generations to live without resentment or ill will and create a better community through understanding and an appreciation of differences, as our Obaban and Ji-san did.
My mother and many other Okinawans existed in a world between shame for being Okinawan when amongst Japanese people, and immense pride when amongst their fellow Uchinanchu. The feeling of shame left an indelible mark on my mother’s life for many years. However, as time went on and our Okinawan Nisei and Sansei leaders came together to begin the work of overcoming that feeling of shame and instilling pride in our unique history, culture and language, this mark began to fade.
I can say with certainty that the Okinawan Sansei generation has gone beyond any of our ancestors’ wildest dreams. I believe it is due, in part, to our appreciation of their unique struggles and our strong desire for their struggles to not have been in vain. It is important to us, personally, to maintain pride in our unique culture and arts, as an homage to them. As a result, today our odori (dance), uta-sanshin (singing while playing sanshin), eisä, kobudo taiko (martial arts taiko), classical taiko, koto, Okinawa karate, shishi mai (lion dance), Shimakutuba and Uchinaguchi language classes, and cultural recitals and performances have grown in popularity by leaps and bounds. People of all ages, from 3 years old to 80-something, myself included, take lessons to learn odori or uta-sanshin or any of the aforementioned classes.
By our best guess, there are today over a thousand people enrolled in one or more of these classes taught by certified and highly revered sensei (teachers), many of whom are of our generation and from Hawai‘i or Okinawa. We are indebted to these sensei for their dedication and generosity. To our Sansei Japanese Americans and Americans of Okinawa ancestry, chibariyo, ganbare (Okinawan and Japanese words, respectively, meaning “persevere”) and “go for broke!”
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cant-icle · 6 years
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:D Thank you for answering my question!!! Okay this prompt might be a little strange and a little spooky. But what if Akira could see ghosts and the phantom thieves were literal phantoms. Akira goes to tokyo and People r cruel. But on first day at Shujin he meets a blonde kid and befriends him. Rumors about the scary transfer happen but now people also say that he goes off into corners n talks to himself.He finds the only living person at shujin who likes him isnt really a living person at all..
He says his name is Ryuji.
No one else can see him; Akira’s barely able to some days,with how translucent and wavery he looks. He stands at the stairway leadingdown to the first floor most days, shoulders against the wall and cold fire inhis eyes until Akira’s out of class. It took him three days to realize thatRyuji, as much as he wears the uniform like everyone around, probably isn’t astudent of Shujin Academy anymore.
Honestly, Akira prefers his company, even more so when Ryujishows him how to break onto the school roof. It’s less breaking than it isRyuji stepping through and fussing with the lock—the perks of being a phantom,Akira guesses. Lunches and afternoons are much more bearable with a secretplace to retreat to and a new friend to talk to.
Ironic, isn’t it, that the only person in this fucking citythat isn’t afraid of him is already dead?
Ryuji’s pretty talkative for a dead boy. He walks with alimp, and sometimes out of the corner of his eye Akira sees splashes of blooddripping down from his temple to stain his shirt. He scowls fiercely when Akiraasks about it, though, and the music Akira has playing from his phone cracklesin time with his voice when he details how Kamoshida Suguru, the gym teacher,crippled him with a blow to the leg and then, when his back was turned, whenRyuji was trying to crawl away, another to the back of his head.
He was never charged; the school passed it off as“justifiable self-defense,” and Ryuji’s been stuck haunting these effin’ hallsever since.
“He treats this place like it’s an effin’ castle and he’sthe goddamn king,” Ryuji tells him seriously, pale and washed-out in thesunlight; he’s so much easier to see indoors, but he likes it out here on theroof with Akira; Akira gets the feeling that Ryuji’s been trapped in thosehallways for longer than he wants to think about.
Sometimes they’re joined by another pair of flickeringshadows, neither ever as clear as Ryuji or as talkative—in fact, he never hearsthe black-haired one speak, and the second blonde only glares when Akira triesto address her. Ryuji tells Akira not to take it to heart—Suzui Shiho is justanother one of Kamoshida’s victims, and Takamaki Ann is tied to her like aguideline—wherever one goes, so does the other, and Shiho is stuck here untileither she’s removed or Kamoshida gets his just desserts.
Akira aches to help them. He watches them shimmer in thelight like an oil streak, watches them pass through walls and doors; if hesquints, he can almost see the moment when they fold through reality to do it.
It’s stupid, but he wonders...
The next time Ryuji passes through a closed door, Akira putshis hand on it and shoves, just lightly. Of course it doesn’t move, but Ryujipokes his head through and laughs at his efforts, making a joking grab for hishand as if to—
it connects
Akira goes straight through, wispy and insubstantial as acloud, and suddenly it’s Shujin thatlooks like an oil slick smeared across the world and Ryuji who looks solid and real and as shocked as Akira.
But then he grins with a smile full of daggers, because thepossibilities here are endless.
They test it out again; another touch from Ryuji has himshivering back onto the physical plane. They can do it three or four timesbefore Akira starts getting nauseous, and while he’s intangible, while he’s aphantom, no one can see him.
He walks through the school in wonder—almost everything ismuted but for a few people, bright and sparkling in his vision; Kawakami-senseiis one, and when he passes by her he catches an uneasy aura around her, full ofgrief and guilt. Kamoshida, on the other hand, feels neither of those things,and flares red and angry in Akira’s sight.
He doesn’t like that. Not at all, not with Ryuji behind himwith blood on his face, not with Suzui behind Takamaki, their eyes blank whitevoids, their mouths gaping snarls. There’s a bright core to Kamoshida a samethrobbing red as his aura, and something in Akira yearns to reach out and touchit.
So he does.
Kamoshida shudders at the touch, shoulders hunching in as helooks around nervously, and something flares bright-hot-angry in Akira’s veins. It’s not right, what he did, what he’sstill doing. It’s not right.
He curls his fingers around that bright hot core , and he yanks.
For an instant he can see two Kamoshidas, one solid and real, one wavering and intangible,and in that moment the three ghosts behind him strike.
Lightning crackles up and down Ryuji’s arms as he leapsforward, his fist impacting straight into the phantom-Kamoshida; Suzui andTakamaki are barely a second behind, Takamaki little more than a pillar offlames, Suzui a form barely held together with wind. They strike withconcentrated force hard enough that the tangible Kamoshida rocks back and away,Akira losing his grip on the core of Kamoshida’s being, and the phantomflickers out of existence.
That’s okay. He knows what to do now.
With Ryuji’s help and Takamaki and Suzui’s encouragement (“Callme Shiho,” Suzui murmurs to him shyly, smiling a little when Akira grins ather) he writes a card, a calling card detailing each and every one of Kamoshida’scrimes and sliding it under his office door.
He signs it, “The Phantom Thief of Hearts.”
As soon as he’s read it Ryuji grabs onto Akira, and Akiragrabs onto the core and lets Ryuji, Shiho, and Takamaki (“Ann!” she says withvicious satisfaction after she lands another blow, “I think at this point wecan go to Ann.”) get to work.
The phantom-Kamoshida is reeling by the time they’re done;the tangible Kamoshida is in tears. They leave it at that, unwilling to makehim a ghost and tie him to the school as well.
There’s an assembly three days after that. Kamoshida confesseshis crimes in front of the entire school, and that afternoon when Akira leaves,Ryuji follows like an untethered balloon grinning wide and wild and free.
  They don’t stop there.
Shiho and Ann bring him rumors of a number of ghostsspiraling endlessly around an old ramshackle house; turns out it’s the abode ofone Madarame Ichiryusai, who (according to the ghosts, who to a one arecomprised of his old students) worked his students to literal death and stoletheir works for his own. The newest ghost, a tall, stick-thin boy whointroduces himself as Kitagawa, tries to make a case for his old sensei, butfaced with Ann, who is literally steaming, and Shiho, hair tossing in an unseenbreeze in her agitation, cuts himself short.
“He killed you,”Akira tells him, not ungently, not without sympathy. “I’m not here to getrevenge on him; I’m here to bring him to justice, for you and everyone else.”
Somehow he gains another ghost tethered to him, and Yusukebrings the north wind with him, an icy, howling gale that freezes the phantom-Madaramewhere he stands when all five Phantoms appear in front of him.
Madarame confesses his guilt on live television, andattributes his change of heart to the Phantom Thieves. Rumors spring up hereand there; eventually, Akira starts seeing more and more ghosts pop up at thecorners of his eyes, though it takes a long time for one to grow bold enough toapproach him on its own.
In his spare time now he flits through the metaphysicalreality with his new friends; the ghosts come to him, and he regains justice ontheir behalf. The rumors of the Phantom Thieves grow, and grow, and grow.
In June he meets the student council president of ShujinAcademy, one Niijima Makoto, who questions him fiercely; since she can’t proveanything, she lets him go, and he thinks nothing more of it until Shiho comesto him, frantic, and tells him that Niijima has gotten in way over her headwith an actual Mafioso.
It turns out that phantoms can do a hell of a number on aroom now; Ryuji shorts out the lights in delight, making them flickerominously, while Shiho flips cups and sends papers scattering everywhere.
It turns out that Akira can pass on his intangibility; hegrabs Niijima’s arm and drags her into the metaphysical with them. It turns outto be a fantastic move, as with her help the six of them bring Kaneshiro to hisknees.
He confesses everything to the police. The name of thePhantoms grow and grow, and this time Akira gains a friend that the rest of theworld can see.
He gains another not a month later; the ghost of one IsshikiWakaba materializes in front of him outside the café one day and all butdemands his help. It’s a bit of a struggle to break into his current guardian’shouse, but well worth it when he lays his hand on Sakura Futaba’s arm and letsher reunite with her mother, at least for a few moments. Isshiki-san had beenmurdered, it turns out, and Futaba had blamed herself and shut herself away inher guilt; this meeting goes a long way towards relieving her of it, enough sothat she shows up in the café later that evening to Sakura-san’s clearsurprise.
Between Futaba and Makoto, between Ryuji and Ann and Shihoand Yusuke, Akira’s days and nights are full; he’s content, if not happy, untilhe comes across a man that sends alarm bells blaring through his skull andmakes Isshiki-san howl in a way that sends chills up his spine.
Shido Masayoshi is surrounded by the ghosts of those he haskilled; Shido Masayoshi is the reason Akira is in Tokyo in the first place, renouncedby his parents and shunted into a city he doesn’t know for a crime he didn’tcommit.
Each and every one of Shido’s ghosts has heard of Akira’scoming. Each and every ghost cannot wait to see him fall.
Akira is so, so eager to oblige them.
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bluelockednyx · 1 year
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mind if i brainrot about rin/isarin in your anon asks? sorry, i know of zero other isarin shippers on tumblr 😭 personally, one of the reasons isarin has such a tight grip on me is because of rin himself. i was thinking abt this for a while but now ive got a bigger urge to talk about it cuz of something that the author aparently said about his depiction of his character. his edginess is sorta how he represents rin's apparent attempt at "having to become an adult" which i thought was interesting. the author also said he thinks his desire to grow up is why rin intentionally complicates his relationship with sae. to me, it reads as though rin associates maturity with broody angst. reminds me of a lot of the "friends are stupid, everything sucks" type of faux maturity where ppl think them closing themselves off to healthy emotional support is them being logical. the fact that he's younger than isagi makes a lot of his underlying naivete matter a lot to me and my feelings towards this ship. ig i use isarin as a way to develop rin opening up to love and affection again, and realising that growing up is so much more than just being angsty 24/7 idk if this makes any sense tho. i could just be being dumb lmaoo
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I will take any and all opportunities to talk about Isagirin, and yes, there are very few of us, so ask away as many times as you want :D
I'm not surprised Kaneshiro-sensei said that -- referring to his edginess specifically -- about Rin, because he and Nomura-sensei did a really good job showing it in the manga! The sweet, sweet angst of growing up in shonen manga; Rin being all broody about it is so typical teenager but also depicted so well.
The edginess and 'friends are stupid, everything sucks' mentality is a side effect, imo, of being so attached, and then badly hurt by Sae. I would say that it's a bit of a self-defense mechanism too, because if his own brother, whom he adored so much, and he's sure loves him back too, could hurt him this badly, then it's a bit of a no brainer for someone who's not even family, to hurt him too. I'm pretty sure Rin hesitates to let himself get emotionally attached to anyone at this point, and I'm also pretty sure he's not fully aware of this part of his psyche yet.
On growing up and how Rin intentionally complicates his relationship with Sae: I think yes and no, on this. The simple part - they're brothers, and they always will be. Neither of them can erase that even if they wanted to.
On the complicated part - sibling relationships can be very complex, and just because at the end of the day they can interact properly with each other in a civil manner doesn't mean that there hasn't been real damage done in a relationship, and to a person's psyche. Even the dumbest things done without real intention of hurt can cause lasting psychological effects, whether or not the person knows it for themselves.
Kaneshiro-sensei views Rin as intentionally complicating his relationship with Sae. I don't. But YMMV with this: this POV is personal, and there's a ton of cultural aspects to consider which I am definitely not in a position to talk about.
Sae was cruel to Rin in the flashback when they had their 1v1 after Sae came back from Madrid, and Rin never gets the chance to address that issue because he never gets to communicate properly about it with Sae. There's probably a camp out there who says Rin should just get over it, that Sae said it in the heat of the moment, but I'm not part of that camp. I don't believe in sweeping stuff like that under the rug. It's not fair to the person who was hurt. It's also, well, a common tactic in abusive relationships to trivialize the victim's feelings, which sits even less right with me.
We know Sae better because we get an omniscient POV as readers, but from Rin's perspective, Sae stonewalls Rin and never tries to explain or elaborate. While I do agree that trying to talk in the middle of a football match isn't the best place for it, it still doesn't change the fact that they wouldn't be in this situation at all if it weren't for Sae (and also for the sake of compelling plot drama). Sae definitely owes Rin an apology imo, though given what you've just told me about Kaneshiro-sensei's view on Rin intentionally complicating their relationship, I really doubt he's ever going to have that happen in the manga, so :/
And yes!! Rin being younger than Isagi was something that I had suspected back when they were doing the first 3v3 matchup, from just reading the way he spoke. It was confirmed later, I think, in the yoga scene, then the character guides. And yeah, one of Rin's bigger flaws is definitely his lack of close relationships. It severely limits his ability to empathize with other people, and can become a horrible feedback loop in and of itself. Yet, like I said in my meta, if Kaneshiro-sensei wants to develop him into a healthier, more well-rounded character, that's what Rin needs to do -- develop relationships with the rest of the Blue Lock boys as equals, and become actual friends.
I get you!!!! That's what I want for Rin in the Isarin ship too. Just Rin opening up to love and affection again from Isagi, and growing up and realising that he needs friends the other Blue Lock boys that he can count on too. Let's be dumb about fantasizing Isarin with a loving and affectionate Rin together!!!
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bluelockednyx · 3 months
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" or for Isagi to stop looking at Rin's thighs whichever is easier" I- 🤣. ( this was so noticeable in that leg extension machine scene he had no reason to go and check up on him, stop him from overworking and prompt him to take rest but he DID)
I thought I was crazy for thinking that abt that one Rin panel but I'm glad I'm not the only one, since Kaisagi is rising in popularity esp w/ Hiori's comments abt the in-universe social media. Idk whether to lament over the lack of rinsagi or absolutely LOSE it over Isagi's reaction. Like it wasn't the kind of cute denial that Raichi was saying it was, bro was so OFFENDED. I can't.
Then again, it makes sense since public has seen more of Kaiser-Isagi than with Rin. I wonder what Isagi's reaxn would be if it had been Rin's name that had come like that 👀. Definitely not visceral disgust to this level.
Besides, recent chapters had carved a place for kainess in my heart and I feel like those 2 should cuddle and go to therapy. ( Any thoughts on recent chapters, that choking scene was disturbing...).
Do u think the light novels and profiles are not written by Kaneshiro? Bcz while they weren’t bad at all( they were quite great) there was this missing spark in them. Like with Isagi, they made him out to be able to see mosquitos across a room and note the temp change in the air as a BABY?? I-??????. I am very confused.
And in a profile, he has 200 level or smth eyesight?? Normal is 150 so.., idk maybe I am just being extremely dumb.
But to me, manga Isagi was so loveable and inspiring bcz he was a normal person who was willing to break and challenge himself to reach his goal, forging a will that was strong enough to withstand all the pressure. Not superpowers.
And in his profile, his type is someone who smiles a lot and it fits bachira but to me it sounds like another way to fit in to what people expect of him. There was a meta on Isagi and anger expression floating around in tumblr. And it says how Isagi loved Noa's style bcz of how brutal it was and through football he was able to exert anger in a socially acceptable way instead of being the peace maker and going along with Ichinan style football and just agreeing with Tada's decisions and blue lock is a release frm that. And like you said, isagi isn't as driven abt bachira as he is about him. Narratively too, that is a good thing, allowing bachira to make new connections and new bonds in Spain instead of being fixated with Isagi. And frankly, I don’t think it's healthy for Bachira to get with the first person to be his friend. Let him experience life first.
Well then, I am so excited for Pxg VS BM. The potential match ups, Kaiser most def knows Sae so some interesting conflict w/ Rin if he mentions that like Luna did. The Isagirin matchup, I'm just so excited. Also ,"# Stop looking at Rin's thighs challenge."
P.S. - I wrote a Rinsagi fic, so plz check it out.
How can I read your fic if you didn't send a link lol
Kaneshiro-sensei literally addressed the Kai//sagi shippers in the chapter: nope, not happening, no way, via Isagi himself. He may subvert this later on, but as far as I can tell, given the story's trajectory + Isagi's own character arc, it won't happen. Kaiser will most likely be coming back as a rival/enemy in the U20 World Cup arc too. There simply is no motivation for Isagi to ally with him at all.
Rin's spotlight and turn is coming up, so again, I'm not worried about the current lack of Isagi and Rin moments. It is supposed to be THE highlight of the NEL arc for good reason. And yeah, I doubt Isagi would be as offended if fans had been saying that about him and Rin. On the down low he really is fond of and respects Rin, whereas he despises Kaiser for just about everything besides his skill in soccer.
Truthfully, I've grown a little bored of the recent chapters. Not so much that they aren't good chapters, but more that there's a lack of variety to the characters. IMO Kaneshiro-sensei has hit a bit of a wall on character cast and variety - Ness' backstory is a touch too commonly seen for me to really get into, and feels lacking in effort, though tbf Ness is at best a tertiary character in-series who's there to prop up Kaiser's story.
No real thoughts yet on the choking scene. Currently it's only a sign of Kaiser's desperation to me. The throne he thought he had secured might well be about to collapse from underneath him due to Isagi's growing skill. Seeing how he'll match up against Rin is also interesting, seeing how Rin is actually very much self-sufficient as a striker, while Kaiser thus far seems quite dependent on Ness. I also believe that the PXG match will bring Kaiser into direct confrontation with Loki, who is posited as thus far the best U20 striker we've seen, given how he's a master for the PXG team, rather than simply a fellow player. Fingers crossed that Loki smokes all of them, including Noa, if he comes out to play too.
No, the light novel most likely isn't written by Kaneshiro-sensei, given what I know of the industry. The bulk of it is likely by Moegi Momo-sensei; with credit given to Kaneshiro-sensei because he's the OG creator of the Blue Lock series. That said, there's a good chance that Kaneshiro-sensei provided Moegi-sensei with story ideas and rough character backgrounds who then developed it into proper stories for novelization.
The character profiles are more likely to be done by Kaneshiro-sensei himself, though I am going to point out that it's published as 'supervised by', rather than 'written by'.
Emphasizing this: I generally don't care about light novels, character profiles etc. in terms of my interpretation of the story. To me, what appears in the manga is the only canon there is. Everything else that's official are canon-adjacent and supplementary; fun to read and get an idea of how the characters' personalities and relationships are off-page, but otherwise unimportant unless explicitly referenced in-story. Whatever is not depicted in the manga proper is free real estate.
As for Isagi in the light novel. Well.
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He reads as autistic, from that apparent hypersensitivity + his hyperfocused interest in football, and as I've mentioned before: Isagi is also written very much as a tabula rasa, a blank slate of sorts, for target readers to be able to slip themselves into. I think that the emphasis is on Isagi having very clear vision, his personal advantage, amongst the rest of the cast, but again, to me, the light novel is not as important as what we see depicted in the manga proper.
No comments on Isagi's type in the profile, and how it could be Bachira. They're decently written together, and I understand why people would ship them, but they are also just kind of 'meh' for me. Kaneshiro-sensei may intend to write them as a pair, but they are a pretty run-of-the-mill standard MC + best friend ship, with the highlight being Bachira's personal growth via his relationship with Isagi. There are more satisfying ships for me in Blue Lock, and better romances in other animanga series, and while I am fond of shipping, I'm not reading Blue Lock for the shipping. It's just a nice bonus that I find Isagirin's relationship so damn interesting that I've stayed invested.
I haven't read that meta, but that's an interesting interpretation of Isagi's character. Blue Lock is somewhat of a meta commentary on the failures of the general Japanese culture's need to conform to societal pressures and not 'rock the boat', and how it has led to an under performance in football. Isagi as a whole has also been growing more assertive and more confrontational with others, though Kaiser's the only one whom he views with solid enmity.
In the light novel, Isagi's idolization of Noa stemmed from how Noa bypassed the opposing team one after the other, and then from how Noa would rather 'lose a game by a hat trick than win one with an assist'. And doesn't that sound quite like a certain someone, lmao.
Cheers to having PXG match to look forward to next year after the hols!!
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bluelockednyx · 5 months
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Kaneshiro-sensei celebrating isarin day with us lmao
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Hiori revealing he's a sadist lmao, maybe that's why he gets along so well with isagi who likes to watch people cry after he crushes them. Birds of a feather etc etc
Kaiser losing his mind after losing to Isagi. Hoping he and Ness levels up, otherwise after all the build up its gonna seem a little flat when U20 happens (though I've been speculating that Isagi's end game boss for U20 should be Loki)
But!! That ending!!! When the chapter is titled 'Creation', but it ends with Rin!!!! I was not expecting to see Rin!! Much less Rin scoring a hat trick like Barou against Manshine City.
I hope we get to see Barcha vs PXG, if only to see how France plays before we see BM vs PXG (I miss seeing Karasu and Bachira, and i want to see Karasu vs Otoya too).
Also what is that pose on the final page, showing off Rin's butt and thighs like that, like I KNOW it's fan service but again The Emphasis??? Blurred by the match score but STILL. Kaneshiro-sensei are you NOT openly thirsting at this point
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bluelockednyx · 7 months
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Am I the only one who's worried abt Rin in PXG? Like it's looking to be an absolutely chaotic team, with Karasu, Zantetsu, Tokimitsu, Nanase and Shidou all in one place, all managed by a 17 yr old. ( lights a candle for loki's sanity). But Rin currently has 7th place in Nel.
Pretty sure bro's going through some stuff, Esp with the last panel we had was of him looking out at the sea deciding to change. Thoughts on Pxg?
I've always thought reddit was not the best place for fandom analysis in comparison to tumblr. But it's the complete opposite for Bllk 😭.
With the exception of you and a few people, everyone in tumblr is either in Character × reader mode( these kids are teenagers..)or Isagi× everyone mode and idk which is worse( Isagi would actually hate how they see him tbh,we see how he treats kaiser when he babifies him). But Reddit surprisingly has great football and character analysis.
Off topic but I just found out Leonardo Luna is 27 and he said THAT line to 16 yr old Rin in the world 5 match.
I know I'm more concerned about Karasu's blood pressure than Rin himself, proper, lmao.
I'm personally not worried about Rin, because of my opinions about what direction Rin's character arc should be heading towards, and I'm of the opinion that Barou's development with Ubers (working together and developing decent relationships with his teammates and mentor) supports my reading of Kaneshiro-sensei's intentions with the story.
PXG is going to be so fun because of who's there. Gonna assume you read my meta, since even the choice of who is in that team serves my guesses of the direction of Rin's greater character arc, that is, he has to learn to communicate with others and develop proper relationships with them to become the best version of himself possible, in service to the narrative's end goal of Japan's World Cup win + Isagi becoming the number one striker.
Tokimitsu - Rin's former teammate whom Rin trusts and has shown concern for Rin before. Nanase and Zantetsu, people who are less good at strategies and tactical gameplay whom Rin will have to communicate his thoughts to, to get them on the same level of understanding. Karasu is one of the few other characters whom we know played for a youth team instead of a school like Rin, and like Shidou, he's also a rival to Rin, with just as good as, or maybe even a better understanding, of game tactics and strategies. Finally Shidou, who Rin has a lot to learn from in figuring out his ego independent of Sae. That Loki is their master is just the icing on the cake for me.
A little bit more on Loki: his overall character seems level-headed, and in the extra materials from the official Blue Lock game he actually gets along all right with Rin, all things considered.
If it helps, Rin won't fall off that easily to the wayside. Anime merch sales may vary (god there are some HIDEOUS merch of him) but he is consistently popular amongst the JP manga reader base, and that's what matters the most, really. Not to mention Rin still has to reconcile with Sae, and if my guesses are correct, defeat the Spanish team (either U20 with a possible rival(s) that defeated Sae, or Spanish team/Real with Luna), while Isagi takes on either U20 France with Loki, or France with Loki + Noa/Bastard with Noa.
If it's not obvious yet, I would really, really like to see Team Japan with Isagi face off against France with Loki + Noa.
asjkl; the series is about football, anon, and tumblr is more USA-oriented in userbase, imo, so it's just generally less popular tumblr-wide as a sport. Also, Blue Lock's premise turned off a lot of traditional sports animanga fans, because the spirit of it, especially in the early stages, is a huge deviation from the usual friendship and team building that has come to define the genre as a whole.
Enthusiastic reddit bros who like football have really come through for readers like me who really does not care much for it (TQ for analyzing the minutiae of character movements in-game + what moves/techniques they use).
Eh, leave fans be. My only beef with characterxreader fans is they wind up clogging up the character tags and don't use the read more, which I especially despise because some of them are stupid long to scroll past. Use the block button liberally if parts of the fandom annoys you, anon, otherwise, just take a break and find something else to fixate on.
I recommend Gekkan Shoujo for a fun time, or for something even more mind-numbingly dumb with all the flanderization of typical anime tropes, Baka to Test. If you like a slightly more serious shoujo fantasy with action/adventure, I would recommend Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden.
When Luna was first introduced I thought he was around 25. 27 surprised me a bit (I didn't think he was older than Adam lmao), but not much.
Luna's the first person who's said such sus words to Any character in the series, and he was basically the beginning of all the increasingly sexual lines in the manga. Before this, the gayness was more in a pure love kinda way (re: Bachira -> Isagi and Reo -> Nagi -> Reo). He also feeds into why I think Isagirin is the ship to look forward to, because the blatant?? Sexualisation??? Of Rin, of all people, whom Isagi attached the motif of heart to. And I've said this before: most of the other characters get pretty obvious and blatant fanservice scenes, but Rin's is weird.
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