#should I tag p5r too?

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

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

Or, just a couple more random thoughts about Joker.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are a few exceptions, however.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[lemintee]

WHY ARE HIS EYES SO BLUE IM FUCKING SHAKING AUGHHAHHHHHAHAHAH

[martritzvonmercie]

yeah no yusuke and shiho are actually best friends. it just wasn't mentioned bc it wasn't relevant to the plot

[nikkori-kori-kori-kori-koriandaa]

WE'RE SO BACK (pkmn-blue -> nikkori-kori-kori-kori-koriandaa)

wowzers i finally made a pinned post!! hooray!!! Info under the cut ^_^

link to my favorite video on the whole internet

## About Me!!

My name is Sumi, but you can also call me Selene!! (Juli is only for mutuals ^_^) My birthday is February 9, and im bi ace + nonbinary (xe/they)!

My main interests right now are pokemon/pokespe, vocaloid, and genshin impact (tragically). I speak both english and spanish (🇲🇽), though im not too good at writing as I am speaking

Uhh for dni it’s the usual stuff but I block SUPER freely so if I don’t like you you’ll know lmao. Just be nice and we can all be friends!!

ALSO if we’re mutuals know that I love and care for all of you you’re all so cool and amazing ^_^!!!

Discord is umi.sumi :>

.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

## Other Blogs!!

This blog is my main, but i have a few others you should totally check out ooohh:

@edit-corner - editing blog! @virtual-idol - resource blog for editing stuff!

@prinzessin-derr-verurteilung - where I save a ton of layouts, graphics, stamps etc!

Theres also a super secret one in the making oooooohhhh

.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

## Tags!!

I tag nearly everything cuz I LOVE sorting stuff, but I have a bunch of random tags so here’s a list of those:

☆ juli.txt - my talking tag! ☆ sumicore - info and stuff about me, some are just silly fun things and others are actual like. facts about me lmao. basically any polls cuz i rant in the tags for those ☆ the world is beautiful and I want to live!!! - hopecore stuff?? idk but there’s 3 exclamation marks ☆ images - vaguely aesthetic images but also just pictures I like ☆ queue? queue!! - self explanatory, all the art I have queued is there (99.999% of the things in the queue are fanart lmao) ((it’s actually a problem I have 300+ artworks as of right now)) ☆ hall of fame - my most favoritest posts ever ever forever ☆ teammates - pokemon I’ve used on my playthroughs! they mean the world 2 me ^_^ ☆ words - quotes and poems and stories I’ve liked ☆ creatures - all sorts of animals cause I don’t wanna tag all that

If there’s anything specific you need tagged, let me know!! For eye strain stuff, I tag everything as bright colors.

.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

## Kins (for fun lmao)

dont take this seriously this is just for funsies:

☆ selene (pkmn) ☆ gold/ethan (pkmn) ☆ sumire yoshizawa (p5r) ☆ fischl (genshin impact) ☆ nene kusanagi (prsk) ☆ kagamine rin and len (vocaloid+prsk)

.・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。..・✫・゜・。.

im literally so obsessed with pokemon/pokespe right now its insane and ESPECIALLY the kantrio (red, blue, green) + selene so if u want to rant about that you ABSOLUTELY should! I love hearing people’s head canons and opinions cuz I can’t put my own thoughts into words

Umm I think that’s everything lol I’ll add stuff if need be

[derpu-doodles]

I should put an intro post here too shouldn't I it's gonna be a lot nicer-looking than the one on my reblog blog

hello! I'm Derpu :> tis nice to meet you! I am An Adult™ (19 to be exact)—though I will not post NSFW here, other than perhaps a somewhat suggestive joke.

There Is No Post Schedule In Ba Sing Se, I just post whenever—which ends up leading to A Bunch Of Posts For A Month Followed By Radio Silence For Two which I apologize for KLJDSLJA

please lemme know if you want me to tag something (like, for example, tag for eyestrain on a drawing)!!

I'm currently hyperfixated on Persona so that is what I'll be drawing and writing a lot!! previous hyperfixations that I've posted about (and may post more of): Danganronpa, Kingdom Hearts, The Owl House, Zelda

now for links ye e h a w

for more just. Basic Info™, check my profile carrd! for commission information, pricing, and specs, check my commissions carrd!

may or may not update/polish??? Eventually™??? thank you for reading <333

TAGS

#derpu-drabbles—my writing tag! kind of Barren™ but . I Will Post More Eventually,

#askie asks—my ask tag!

#random stuff—basically just . Random Stuff™ unrelated to drawing KLJDSL like the whole April First 2024 fiasco!

#p5r shenanigans™—any posts I make pertaining to my playthrough of Persona 5 Royal!! I'm not going into this blind, as I've gone through the story up to the third semester—though, I only know the overarching storyline for that part of the game

#resources—useful art-related resources, both reblogs of other artists' things as well as posts of my own! :)

I tag fandoms, characters, and triggers—please let me know if you need me to tag something!! triggers are tagged like "tw trigger"!

oh, also—I reply to tags!! so please don't be spooked if you're suddenly pinged in a reply AHAHAHA

[daz4i]

So I answered the uquiz thingy about stuff you wrote. And like was wondering when do u write, what gets u goin, inspiration, what just actually gets u to write!! also smooch and hug(((this might not be considered a "fun" ask srry)))

hi hi first of all thank you for the ask and second, a smooch and a hug in return <3

to answer your question tho (and dw this is really nice 🥺👉👈)!!

tbh i don't really have a steady pattern for when i write :0 i can write 2 songs in one week then not open my docs for months at a time ajdkflhj. i do have a doc that's a collection of lines i like (mostly stuff i write in tumblr tags that i think sound poetic lol) and sometimes I'll start smth but never continue it oof,,

mostly i write when i get hit with a wave of emotion that i simply have to let out SOMEHOW. i can't always do it in words, but sometimes i will find a line or two and that'll be enough to get me going further!! i also like to draw inspiration from things i like and use them as. not reference but sort of a guide? to get ideas (for example, in fff i used maruki from p5r to have like a definition of where i wanna go with at least one verse in it, which then developed as i kept writing and went in other directions as well, but he was like the catalyst of my inspiration)

another thing that helps me keep going after starting is trying to find a tune for the lines i already wrote, this way i can sort of have a reference for what the next lines should sound like, how long they need to be etc :) trying to figure out at least a genre or vibe helps too, bc like some singing styles work with, say, short words, or ending with vowels you can stretch etc, which helps add a limit that in turn creates more creativity in order to fit inside it!

ajdkkflglh i hope this isn't too long or overwhelming and that i didn't misunderstand your question 🫡 hope it may have been interesting too hehe c:

[magician-under-the-moonlight]

//with all the persona mutuals I have now I should really start fleshing out my Persona AU Verses... remind me later to ramble about them since P4 and P5 are going to be two slightly different ones.

//I’m also getting P5R on the switch as a late birthday present, so playing the game myself like I have with P4G should help me make the concepts for these verses a bit more solid.

//I should make proper verse tags and pages too

[irinanonyme]

Here's a Ryuji and Ryukoto appreciation post! (super long post but it's worth it)

One big problem (that everyone has already noticed, it's nothing new) is that the writers aren't really good at writing a good friendship between Ryuji and the other members of the phantom thieves.

While many say that his place in the group is used as a "comic relief", (which btw doesn't work because we feel bad for him), I also think that they're trying to make a fun friendship. Kinda like when you and your friends call yourselves "hoes" and "stupid bitches" but obviously don't mean it and it's just a joke, an affectionate way to say "I feel comfortable enough with you to say dumb shit".

However in Ryuji's case it doesn't work because not only does it go in only one way (the phantom thieves towards Ryuji but never Ryuji towards them... except maybe for Morgana but they're just quarreling) but also because Ryuji doesn't like it and doesn't take it as a joke.

The biggest example of him being mistreated was when he literally saves everyone's ass only to get beat up afterward while we know very well from his confidant that his father used to beat him and his mom, also his legs got broken by Kamoshida. The saddest thing is that he's not even trying to be dramatic about it.

He's just like "uh... yeah. My dad used to beat me up and my mom but whatever, I'm past that" while we get hours and hours of Futaba's palace showing us that "oh no her mom is dead those adults suck". No offense in any way to Futaba btw, I like her and there's nothing wrong with her arc but I just find that sad how while we got a whole big ass backstory for her troubles Ryuji's abuse gets downplayed the whole game and made fun of.

O-kaaaaay let's move on to the main point: Ryukoto.

This is something that seemed really obvious to me and I'm surprised that there's not many people talking about it. This ship has SO much potential if done right. (Emphasis on DONE RIGHT.)

I know it's super cliche because Makoto is supposed to be the typical "super intelligent girl with a badass side" and Ryuji the "lovable and reckless idiot" so this type of ship is overdone everywhere. Movies, games, TV series, manga, books, etc. I know.

But did any of you realize that both of them have many similarities?

For example, their troubles getting "downplayed". Like I said earlier Ryuji was abused by his dad but we never hear any more than that and in Makoto's case there's something similar happening. We know that her mom died when she was really young and then her dad but she never makes a big deal out of it just like Ryuji. I guess they didn't feel the need to add anything to that narrative because we already have many characters in persona who don't have/lost their parents (Futaba, Yusuke, Akechi, Haru, etc.) However there's something else happening, it's about Sae.

Remember that one scene where Sae just randomly started yelling at Makoto and telling her that she's useless, that she should "aknowledge their situation" and that she "eats away at her life". If it happend once what makes you think that it doesn't happen regularly? Afterward Sae realizes that she effed up, apologizes and says that from now on she'll eat outside which makes me think that this is not the first time this kind of thing happens. Makoto's reaction also comfirms it at the beginning when she wants to bring up their dad but knows clearly what can happen when she does.

Sae is obviously having a lot of stress due to the fact that she's now suddenly the "adult of the house" and she has to bring enough money home for both of them not to mention that Makoto has yet to get into a college (which can be really pricey). So it's understandable that Sae feels on edge and knows that she shouldn't say things like that. But even if she doesn't mean it she's still her sister and her words hurt. I'm hesitating on calling this a borderline verbal abuse situation because we don't have enough evidence for that (and also because many love Sae and I'll get my ass fried if I say anything bad about her, no worries though. I do think that she's an interesting character.)

So let's continue.

Then the whole time Makoto is teary eyed and silent which once. Again. Makes me think that this is absolutely not the first time this happens. Afterward we see Makoto's desperate attempts at trying to be useful to the phantom thieves and make a place for herself where there isn't. Both Ryuji and Makoto don't think highly of themselves, Ryuji thinks that he's a burden to his mother and Makoto to her sister. And so they always throw their lives away/put themsleves in great danger, Makoto when she goes with those strangers in a car to meet Kaneshiro and Ryuji when he stops a taxi by jumping on the road, or the time at Shido's palace when he saves everyone (the scene after that when he gets beat up is still super yikes like wtf do you think you're doing atlus??)

One thing that I always liked about her (that many don't) is that the palace in which she awakens doesn't have "much to do with her" compared to the others. But that's why it's great. Many say it would've been better if the palace was the headmaster's palace instead of "that random mafia guy" however I disagree. The build up to this moment always seems so obvious to me that it surprises me that a lot of people don't see the connection.

The whole build up before her awakening is all the people around her treating her like garbage and using her because she's the goody-two-shoes student council president who apparently only cares about a letter of recommendation and only does all those good things to get praise while we're proven wrong again and again. Does she want a letter of recommendation? Of course. It would be easier to get into a good college and help her sister financially since apparently if you have a letter of recommendation some colleges in Japan will take you for free (if I'm not wrong, I might be saying bullcrap so don't quote me on that). But is she mainly doing this for the letter? No. She does it because it's the right thing to do. She could've easily let those students in debt and tell the headmaster who the phantom thieves are but instead she prioritizes the students of her school.

And that's where all of this comes in: Kaneshiro DOES actually have something to do with Makoto because he attacked the students of HER school. If you get involved with the students of Shujin then you also get involved with Makoto.

But anyway, this turned out so long and I'm not even DONE.

Also how Ryuji and Makoto have similar taste. They're both sports-y, (Ryuji probably finds martial arts awesome I mean come on) and Makoto likes mafia movies which makes me think she also likes "cool" things and same for Ryuji. When Makoto awakened Ryuji was immediately on board calling Makoto an ass whooper, a post-apocalyptic raider and whatnot.

Both of them also get suppressed by their surroundings but for different reasons, Ryuji by the teachers and track team members because he's a ""delinquent"" and Makoto by the students and headmaster because she's the student council president.

Those two just understand eachother I'm telling you. Now just imagine them hanging out with eachother and helping eachother.

Makoto teaching Ryuji fancy Aikido moves he can pull out anytime just in case some crazy teacher has the bad idea to break his legs again so he can defend himself. Ryuji teaching her how to "talk casually" and more like people of her age so she can make friends, and also how to use emojis and play video games. Imagine Makoto saying "for real?!" and sending weird emojis to Ryuji then she has to explain what it means the next day. Like

"Hey uh, Makoto... Is Morgana okay?

-Of course, what do you mean?

-I mean, yesterday at 9pm you sent me this: "Morgana is gonna be delighted *knife emoji* *knife emoji* *cat emoji* *cat emoji* (🔪🔪🐱🐱)" what does that even mean?

-I was cooking something for Morgana since we couldn't bring him sushi yesterday. Is something wrong about that?

- Oh thank God... I thought you were about to kill him.

-What?! That's ridiculous. I would never!"

Ryuji also lends her some shonen and seinen manga because he knows she'll definitely like those (especially the mafia ones). Though they keep that a secret from the others because Makoto doesn't want them to know. But this one time they come into her room and Akira/Ren is like "hmm... I've seen the same mangas in Ryuji's room." So they just nervously laugh it off.

Just IMAGINE the studying scene actually helping Ryuji.

It starts off with Ryuji not even being serious about it and half assing it because he thinks "it's useless I'll never be able to get something better than a low passing grade" because his whole life he's been told that he's stupid and even when he put effort and time into it he wasn't able to get much better.

So then Makoto asks him what kind of method he uses to study and Ryuji's just like?? "What do you mean method? Isn't studying just about reading the same thing over and over again until it gets into your head?"

And so Makoto sighs and explains that there are different ways of memorizing and that everyone has different brains thus different methods of studying. For example she says she's more "manual" so she has to write down the important parts of her lessons a couple of time so she'll remember studying as an "activity/event" of her day thus she remembers what she was writing down because it takes concentration to write something and a councious effort to make a synthesis of all the important parts of her textbooks.

So they make a test to find out what type Ryuji is, Makoto will say 20 completely different words and everytime Ryuji will use a different way to memorize them. The first time around he writes them down then turns the paper so he can't see what he wrote.

He realizes that he was more focused on properly writing down everything she says rather than actually memorizing it so it doesn't work. Then they try again but this time all he has to do is listen carefully to her voice, she says that if it helps him he can also try to make a song with those 20 words.

No good, he's not the auditive type either.

Then lastly Makoto tells him to try to picture every word she says inside of his mind, if it's a tiger he'll picture a tiger. If it's cooking he'll picture someone cooking etc.

And so it ends up working best! He's more of the visual type.

Makoto then talks about the different ways he can study thanks to that. For history he can recreate the stories inside of his mind so anytime he needs to he can play the images in his brain and even if it's not 100% accurate it's fine. Imagine the story you're creating in your mind is a manga based on past events! For math where there isn't much "visualizing" to do, Makoto says he can try to "see" the layout of the page in his mind and if he gets through it a couple of times he can even remember which formula is in which spot of the page which makes it easier to remember them.

Makoto keeps giving him tips and Ryuji listens carefully. She ends her speech by saying that he's not stupid and that disliking studying is normal, having bad grades doesn't make an individual dumb. After seeing that Makoto is serious Ryuji also gets in the "study mood". He's happy because for once he's not being made fun of for really trying his best to get good grades. He feels comfortable with Makoto because she's not looking down on him for having troubles with studying and doesn't mock his efforts.

Thus he ends up having good grades (not Makoto level good but like... B+s and occasional As which seems like a dream for Ryuji.)

Everyone is baffled.

The phantom thieves, the teachers, the students.

It ends up looking really suspicious that he has good grades to the point where people think that he somehow managed to cheat or something. But it's fine, Ryuji doesn't care about what they think and he's super happy at the thought of his mom praising him. The whole time though Makoto is like "I knew it, Ryuji can achieve anything when he really tries." From this point onwards they always study together.

After a while Makoto invites him over since her sister is never home anyways and same for Ryuji. Also the daily lessons they have at school make their way into their conversations thus they pay more attention in class so they can talk about it afterward in their study sessions.

Since Makoto is a third year Ryuji asks her about the things he didn't understand and this helps Makoto to re-check her basics from past years since she tends to forget them and Ryuji also gets interested in third year material then starts getting ahead of his classmates.

This one time he was asked to solve a calculus equation/problem but he wasn't paying attention and he's like... wait... didn't I see this type of thing in Makoto's textbooks? He accidently uses the 3rd year formula instead having no idea that they didn't learn it yet and the teacher is like... "That's... correct? Isn't this third year material though?" And oblivious Ryuji thinks to himself "ah shit, am I gonna get scolded for not paying attention?"

But it's all fine, the teacher was just surprised that Ryuji knew how to use that method and everyone starts thinking that Ryuji is actually secretly super smart and all this time he was failing his tests on purpose to piss the teachers off. From that point onwards he doesn't seem as scary to the others anymore and he gets teased by his classmates sometimes, even the teachers. "So Sakamoto-kun is actually smart huh? Who would've thought."

After a while people start approaching him to ask for help with their homework and with his cheery personality he always explains everything in a super easy way to understand, many start coming to him. Even students from other classrooms then suddenly the "delinquent Sakamoto-kun" isn't scary at all anymore. Poor boy gets teased everyday, especially when they see him talking to Makoto.

"Hey dude! The blond hair doesn't suit you anymore, dye it back to black Sakamoto!!"

"So the student council president is your girlfriend? Makes sense, people who are alike get along right?"

"Aww and here I thought that I had a chance with you... Well, if you're just friends then maybe we could meet this weekend? Just the two of us."

Even Makoto finds teasing him entertaining. She does the typical *wink wink nudge nudge* whenever a girl says she's interested in him. Little does she know that he has someone in his mind already...

[marchworm]

third sem palace be like

[m0e-ru]

Perpetually Sweating Man: Inaba Edition

i liked all the books i drew too bad this one was obscured by, uh, the opposite of homophobia

[edenfire]

when you're nervous about being recognized by your fans while you're on a date, so your boyfriend ruffles your hair and lends you his glasses, but that just makes you even more flustered//

i cannot believe that atlus gave us akira mussing up akechi's hair and akechi wearing his glasses omg// we are so blessed♡

(also pls forgive me for how messy this is,, i didnt have enough time, so i rushed bc i love him so much♡ hopefully I'll be able to draw proper fluffkechi when I get home♡)

[crescentfool]

the fics i’ve read in june 2021

happy july everyone! to celebrate the start of a new month, i’d like to take the time to compile some of my favorite persona 5 fics that i read last month into one post!

i’ve always admired people who were seen as “fic librarians,” and while i’m an incredibly  slow reader, i’d still  love to share some of my favorite fics! ideally speaking, i will be doing a post like this once a month (maybe more depending on how much i read). for convenience, all posts of this nature will be tagged with “lizzy reads fic” and “fic recs.”

all fics listed here are from persona 5, and mostly consist of shuake / akeshu fics. please mind the tags/warnings/ratings when viewing the fics; read what you’re most comfortable with! with this in mind, the full list is located under the cut.

all fics are formatted as TITLE by author | rating | appx. word count | brief description of fic (including main ship/character, tropes/AU, and whether the fic is completed, ongoing, or abandoned)

Salted Earth by aceklaviergavin | T | 7.6k | akekita oneshot in which yusuke is a firefighter and keeps stealing akechi’s food. a great crackfic with some hilarious scenarios!

Kiss the Boy, Sha La La La by wingdinger | T | 2.3k | shuake oneshot where the phantom thieves play spin the bottle and akechi is a salty jealous bitch. a very short and sweet read!

The One Where They Go To IKEA by saintorae | T | 4.5k | a hurt/comfort shuake oneshot in which akira and goro assemble furniture together (that also ends up being way too relatable)

Rorschach Test by Elsey8 | M | 7.2k | post-p5r shuake oneshot focused on studying akechi’s character through therapy sessions!

(don’t shoot) the messenger by shouldbeworking | M | 5.5k | akeshu oneshot in which ryuji ends up hearing more than he should. absolutely hilarious; a great way of framing akeshu’s relationship through a third party.

the spider by corrupted_voracity | T | 2.8k | akeshu oneshot leaning into crack territory in which akechi loses his shit over a spider. a very short but funny read, the poor dude does not like spiders!

a journal on how to love (without any strings attached) by LovelyLotus and pana (panaceaa) | M | 13.8k | mutlichapter shuake fic from goro’s POV that provides glimpses into shuake’s relationship and how they develop! very fluffy and sweet, with wonderful characterization! (7/8 chapters done)

Remember Me by Westward | T | 12.9k | a completed multichapter shuake fic that takes place in the third semester, where akira slowly starts to disappear from reality/cognition. incredibly angsty, with a bittersweet ending and darker themes.

Orion by Elsey8 | T | 3.3k | a stargazing shuake fic where akechi is incredibly passionate and info dumps about constellations. super endearing and fluffy!

Scalded by intothefrission | T | 7.5k | akeshu oneshot in which goro rushes to take care of akira after he suffers from a second degree burn. hurt/comfort fic that also features a bit of the leblanc coffee family, and has stellar characterization!

Akira Kurusu’s guide to last minute gifts by pana (panaceaa) | T | 1.7k | shuake oneshot where akira celerates goro’s birthday at the last minute. super cute and fluffy!

how joker and crow survived the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 by shantealeaves | T | 13.k | shuake oneshot where akira and goro quarantine together during the third semester. a wonderful rollercoaster ride that perfectly balances crack and angst.

Make Light Out of Darkness for Me by Zeiskyte | T | 9.5k | ongoing multichapter fic in which shuake are idols! each chapter alternates in POV, and the fic features fake dating and futaba and goro half-siblings. if you like studying the dichotomy of goro akechi’s public vs private image in the context of an idol AU, or enjoy akira’s inner anxieties, this fic is for you!

and that’s all for now! these were some of my favorites- if anyone reads the fics listed here, i hope you enjoyed them as much as i enjoyed recommending them! happy reading everyone!

[artekai]

There's been so much negativity online lately so feel free to use as an excuse to gush about your mutuals and anything they do. Whether it be art, writing, crafts, being a little cutie, making you laugh, making ocs that you love so much you basically adopt them, making a hella good grilled cheese, anything really. I've been sending this to a handful people and it's been so nice reading all the things people have to say. Btw feel free to ignore this if you don't wanna do it but at the same, if you want to you could send this to someone else and spread it more, you could do that too. The possibilities are endless.

As a little starter/something I've wanted to say for quite a while now: I really really love Artekai. He's somehow a sweetheart and a little shit at the same time and I just deeply resonate with this weirdly wholesome yet chaotic energy he gives off. He's incredible. 10/10. Would give a big old hug and smooch on the cheek.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

anon this is SO SO SWEET 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 It's so nice of you to take this initiative!!! I really appreciate it!! :') <3

And that's so??? That's so great to hear??? I'm always SO SO HAPPY to hear when other people enjoy Artekai T-T

"Somehow a sweetheart and a little shit at the same time" is RIGHT!! Kai's very transparent about his emotions, whether positive or negative, and he also does have kind of a big ego, but he's determined to use it for good, so that's certainly one of the combinations of all time, haha! He's one of those OCs that basically develop themselves, and I'm very proud of him :') Kai would definitely appreciate your hug and smooch a lot. Thank you SO so much and I hope you continue to enjoy him! <333

Okay... so it's my turn to gush about my mutuals... I'm just gonna do it on this post bc I'm embarrassed (//ω//) I have definitely said these things before though, so if I'm getting too repetitive, please ignore me, I just can't pass this up :')

@woolmasterleel Hi yes I would like to nominate you for Great Art and Great Writing and Great OCs thank you! You already know how much I love Kisaki but your OCs are all so creative and so interesting and have such cool designs! And you're also such a sweet and encouraging person??? And a chemist??? PLEASE leave some talent for the rest of us ;-; I think we should talk more, if you want? 👉👈

@akeshuharu You are SUCH a sweet and lovely person and have such good takes, not just about P5R but about things in general, I LOVE seeing you on my dash, and your enthusiasm about your interests is so contagious!! I do very much enjoy seeing your cats or your pics or hearing about what you've been up to or about your interests... Thank you for the chance to brainstorm my silly AUs with you 🥺 I really do wanna talk to you more but I'm just bad at initiating conversation ;-;

@aceredshirt13 Hi, I hope you don't mind tagging you here! I really appreciate you and our talks about P4 ^^ You have such good takes about Adachi and about fandom, and talking about headcanons or developing AUs with you (whether serious ones or crack ones lmao) is so much fun! Thank you for your patience <3 Sometimes I think about how this all started just because I reblogged your post about Adachi and ranted in the tags and I think... wow, I'm so lucky, haha.

@nicxan I know I sound like a broken record, but I really DO love your fics! :D You're also a really nice person and the way you see Takuto is just *chef's kiss.* You have such good concepts, I love seeing everything you put him through and how you characterize him, and how he breaks down as a result, hehehe. I wanna talk to you more too, but I'm very awkward and don't know what to talk about :')

@almightyrozenidiot It’s really nice to see you in my notifs, especially your comments on my posts, haha, they’re always fun/sweet! And I’m very curious about your OCs too! I know we don’t talk much, but I do want to get to know you better, if that’s okay with you ^^

Anyways, sorry to everyone for being so sappy all the time, I literally can't help it T-T It's kinda hard to show someone how much you appreciate them over the internet, unless you say it directly ;-;

And of course, thank you for the ask, anon, this is all very very sweet T-T

[smolstarthief]

I posted 151 times in 2021

62 posts created (41%)

89 posts reblogged (59%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.4 posts.

I added 605 tags in 2021

#persona 5 - 105 posts

#persona 5 strikers - 98 posts

#reblog - 84 posts

#p5s - 76 posts

#zenkichi hasegawa - 70 posts

#p5 - 50 posts

#p5s spoilers - 34 posts

#persona 5 royal - 34 posts

#p5r - 29 posts

#sprite edit - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#like there was actually a good idea being presented about sending one member to be bait and they turned it down for that stupid ass reason!

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

See the full post

55 notes • Posted 2021-08-27 03:20:14 GMT

#4

Phew! Here's a quick Shadow Maruki! Idk why I decided to include the cape from his Metaverse outfit but I kind of wanted to combine the two somehow.

56 notes • Posted 2021-07-13 04:32:05 GMT

#3

(Inspired by a conversation between me and my boyfriend a while back)

“He’s a cop!/He killed people!”

Yeah, and so what? That’s not the point at all! You can dislike the characters, just don’t be an asshole and use the same (shallow) excuses over and over! I’m tired of it!

89 notes • Posted 2021-05-20 03:16:57 GMT

#2

Idk if this would be a "hot take" or not but...

Personally, I don't think Akechi NEEDS a redemption arc at all.

You all can still write fanfics on the topic, I'm not gonna stop you at all! Sometimes they can be handled well! But it honestly goes against his character and arc and that's why it bothers me when people STILL insist that he should get a redemption arc as opposed to say... Maruki or even Konoe? Even though it goes against his character? But regardless of whether Royal is considered canon or not, it still kind of irks me a bit the more I looked at and analyzed his character. I mean... Look at BOTH of his All Out Attack portraits!

See the full post

104 notes • Posted 2021-11-07 04:11:39 GMT

#1

"Do you finally acknowledge your hubris? All this time you refused help, even now despite your insistence that you've changed... You will surely fall to your own demise with charred wings if you keep up this charade... You seek freedom? True salvation? Then I will grant you your new wings so that you may fly again... Just don't lose sight of yourself and burn again... I am thou, thou art I... Rise above your torment and take flight once more!"

"Help me fly, ICARUS!!"

I did it.... I finally DID IT! I did my own take on PT!Maruki! I love how he turned out!

Notes:

Codename: Adam (a reference to the Adam and Eve motif associated with him (that and Adam was casted out of paradise along with Eve so it still fits with what I'm going with here with this design))

Persona: Icarus (I personally felt like the story/myth fit Maruki pretty well, he flew too close and fell with his hubris but (unlike Icarus, who met his demise) that doesn't mean he can't be saved and redeemed)

I know people would often have him be all white and gold but... I couldn't help but think that the black and gold is a good way to show that he's symbolically a "fallen god" now along with fitting the story of Icarus still a bit.

Melee Weapon: His staff in canon, but probably modified more for battle. Helps with magic use too.

See the full post

162 notes • Posted 2021-12-02 02:30:19 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[casualotptrash]

Persona Ask List: #26

“How do you feel about definitive editions/remasters/remakes” and this applies to all games.

I feel like this is a pretty interesting question because everyone has different expectations of what any of those mean and which treatment the persona games should receive.

Beware spoilers for all third semesters and added waifus

I have made a previous post about what I would want for a Persona 3 definitive edition to be (and what I consider remasters and remakes to be in that post) but to tl;dr that whole section: by definitive I mean that the game has added content and adds the most content in comparison to the other games, by remaster I mean the core game is not changed at all but the graphics and such are updated, and by remake I mean the game is remade from scratch with new assets and graphics and all of that. Like I said in that post, I have a hard time fitting what I believe a definitive edition embodies into either of those categories, even if it probably could be forced into one of those two options.

With that said, I actually really enjoy the definitive versions of these games. I think making a “definitive edition” that kind of toes the line of remaster and remake is the best route to go. Remasters are nice, but it’s a combination of the upgraded graphics and gameplay that hooks me in. Also, as far as I remember remasters have a tendency to be half-assed (I think Nocturne had some negative feedback?) but people (understandably) buy them anyway because it’s a game they really like that’s been updated a bit. Remakes can also be cool, but personally I wouldn’t want like a completely new story for the game; or enough major changes to make it seem like a whole different game. Because definitions toe that line, and seem to have the best of both options, it’s enough to make the games feel new but not unfamiliar. As a side note, I also can understand some frustration with the definitive editions because (at least with P5 and P5R) the definitive editions is usually released 3/4 years later with what may seem like “minimal” additions. At least, minimal enough to not warrant another $60 price tag. Royal is definitely worth the $60 on its own as a game, but when taking Vanilla into consideration it does feel kind of overpriced (and that’s not even counting the DLC issue).

Onto the more in-depth details about the editions and my opinions, for Persona 3 I believe an actual definitive game would mostly end the P3P vs P3 FES debate and I would love that. As far as Persona 4 goes, I never played the original, but from what I’ve heard Golden does improve upon it a lot. Now for Persona 5, where I experienced Vanilla and Royal both, I definitely like Royal 100x more than Vanilla. I thought that the third semester content tied in well to the main plot, even if there was a bit of a disconnect between the Yaldy fight and the third semester, and that Sumire’s introduction and use wasn’t too heavy handed. My only complaint with her, besides the ending credit scene, is the fact that you can’t use her until the last Palace when she agrees to help out with Shido’s. I get that she didn’t “truly awaken” until the last Palace, and that scene probably wouldn’t fit in during the whole Shido arc, but overall I think she was handled alright. I do wish she had more scenes with the overall thieves, but that’s just an issue Persona 5 as a whole has with its cast members.

As for the typical things that accompany the definitive version, aka a “third semester” and added female waifu, I think they could have done a lot better. I have not finished P4G yet, but I’ve heard that the “third semester” type deal in 4 has a lot more disconnect than the third semester in P5R. I have also seen a lot of Marie, as I maxed her confidant, but have not seen her “third semester” stuff, and my opinion of her is...mixed. On one hand I like how they have her interact with a lot more of the cast, on the other hand I absolutely hate spending time with her. Her poems are just annoying and her tsundere attitude isn’t endearing to me. All in all, I maxed her only because I knew I had to, so that probably isn’t the best sign. Even though I didn’t play base P4, I still think that they incorporated Sumire better into the overall plot than they did with Marie, but I wish we got to spend more time with Sumire rather than Kasumi. It was pretty disappointing to find out that we can only use her for one palace at the very end of the game, especially when she offers to help even earlier, and that we only get to interact with the “real her” for also that one palace.

I do not know how I would have worked her in earlier, but if we were able to get to know Sumire, and see her reactions to things in the eyes of Sumire rather than Kasumi, and use her in an earlier palace with everything still making sense I would have liked that a lot better. To be honest, it’s just an unfortunate trend for the last party member that they’re often underutilized due to their late introduction. It definitely happened with Haru in P5 Vanilla, but is slightly fixed for her in Royal due to her not technically being the last member. I feel that Naoto doesn’t experience this as much due to her importance in the plot from early on in the game, although it is annoying having to speedrun her social link in order to max it, and P3 doesn’t have this issue at all due to the fact that the last party member joins in September. I actually really appreciate that part of P3′s story, because then you have all of the time from September until the end of the game to get to know the characters and have them all interact with plot points.

Overall, my opinion is that I like the definitive editions that come out, but I believe they could be executed a little better (and perhaps be a little lower in price). It’s interesting to see the new twists on the already-formed story that the edition can add, but I wish it did something a little different than adding “Ok you get an extra month for the new story plot” and “Here’s a plot-centric waifu that has some hidden backstory.” Also, please make it so we can get more time with the “real” new character rather than the “fake” them that we interact with through most of the game.

[japanesespytranscript]

tagged by @yshtola-rhul-official 💜

nickname: dave, sploot noot

zodiac sign: pisces

height: 5′11″

last movie i watched: and not a rewatch? if not a rewatch, Nobody

last thing i googled: ‘kougaon p5r‘

favorite musician: enter shikari, if it has to be one person, jeff rosenstock

song stuck in my head: the persona 5 battle music

other blogs: my main, sort of, cause this is a secondary tumblr that I ended up using full time and havent sorted it out cause reasons, there was a porn one, but inactive cause yeah and I’ve got a very sad/too fucked up/too embarassing rant blog

blogs following: 100, that’s nice

amount of sleep: amount of sleep: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

lucky number: I like 25 I guess

what am i wearing: band shirt and jeans, the norm

dream job: yeah I dont dream of labour either, but probably being in a band.

dream trip: wanna say Japan again, i was only there 9 days, so much more to see, if an entirely new place, maybe korea?

favorite food: some sort of chicken substitute, rice and sweet and sour sauce

play an instrument: guitar, badly, bass, not quite as badly but very average still

languages: just english besides the odd phrase/insult etc

favorite songs: this changes a lot, but spotify says it’s ‘nightage - descendents, plum island - waterparks, recluse in the making - sincere engineer’ and a lot of btmi/jeff

random fact: I dont know who my biological dad is, why is this like the only thing I could think of???

describe yourself in aesthetic: punk dork

I never know who to tag, rhi always tags me first, I should tag them first for once