#the thieving mastermind

[ghostlyarchaeologist]

"Uh, I'm not gonna make it, guys. I need more time."

Leverage Redemption S02E05 The Walk in the Woods Job.

[possumkingluca]

if i see one more post about Edgin not being a bard because he doesn't cast any spells i will actually lose my shit

that's not Edgin's purpose in the movie??? it's Simon's????? Edgin has a different job??????????? who would've guessed shit has to be altered when formatting something into a movie??????????????? (case in point: in the wildshape chase scene with Doric, if they had stuck to the wildshape rules it would've been way less interesting in a movie format.)

also wasn't even a thought that crossed my mind watching that he could possibly not be a bard?? immediately after watching the first trailer I recognized that he was one without seeing any other promotion?? are you guys ok??????

(also dying on the hill that Edgin 100% used bardic inspiration MULTIPLE times.)

[wa1kers-a]

❝   i  was  just  tryin'  to  make   less   work   for   my dad   .   .   .   thought   i'd   get   the   mower   goin'   and   trim   the   lawn   so   he'd   have   one   less   thing   to   do   before   he   can   go  hiking   with   me   'n   auggie.   turns   out   the   only   thing   i   trimmed   is   my   leg.   ❞   a   hiss   escapes   through   gritted   teeth   as   stella   collapses   against   @carp3diems   ,   cheeks   sucked   in   with   the   effort   of   preventing   the   impending   spill   of   tears .   a   hastily  torn   piece   of   her   top   supplements   a   bandage   to   conceal   a   gash   which   soaks   it   through   with   crimson .   ❝   it  hurts   ,   babe   ;   i   got   myself   with   the   pull   cord.   ❞

[raven-undergrove]

Yes!!!

So I know I'm crazy late, but why did no one tell me, The Prophecy by Taylor Swift was literally written about Armand.

[d1gitalwitness]

leverage redemption (redeems) itself

i kinda love that leverage redemption erased everything and everyone that was terrible on the original, and wrote stories that are now more acceptable on television than it was in the early 2000s. in this reboot, sophie is allowed to become the big hearted teacher that she has always been.

in the season one finale of leverage, eliot and hardison tell nate that they actually prefer sophie being the mastermind and running their cons ("you learn, and you con."). unlike nate, who rarely lets the team in on his plans, sophie - despite being a revered and feared grifter - takes the time to teach her craft to anyone who wants to learn, even to a newcomer like maggie. she explains the rationale behind why certain cons must be done a certain way. the team has little experience in the long con, but sophie does, and she teaches them the overarching picture of a scam, while respecting their individual professions and skills.

sophie isn't afraid to let the team try new things even during the con itself - things might go awry but she trusts them to handle themselves. even in the original, sophie gives just enough advice to parker on how to communicate with hardison, then lets parker calm hardison down when he was buried alive. she never ever condescends to the team, recognizing that they are world-class experts in their respective trades. this openness that sophie has is an aspect of leverage that i have always loved. it was also clear that during her absence in season two, the team was missing an emotional anchor. they confided in sophie about their fears and anxieties not because they don't trust nate, but because sophie always listens. maybe it is due to her profession as a grifter that sophie understands people and what they need so well, but nevertheless, the crew - a group of misfits from society - find solace in sophie.

but since nate was the mastermind, we didn't see this aspect of sophie as often during the original. and to be fair, the tragedy of nate's life also meant that show was also filtered through his anger - which isn't a negative, anger is a response to injustice - but sometimes, his anger tore the team apart.

with the departure of nate, leverage redemption cleverly makes the women the masterminds. we see sophie be the anchor of the crew - she guides and teaches them, and lets them handle themselves for the most part. with breanna, sophie is careful not to strike down her ideas. she trusts breanna's intelligence, and only offers advice when breanna needs it. there are just so many occasions when breanna thinks of a con, and everyone runs with it because they love and trust her. beyond this, sophie also encourages breanna to think of college - this is something nate would never do, consumed by rage and sometimes insularity. they may be very old thieves in this out of passion and a visceral sense of justice, but breanna can still forge a real life for herself. there is a lightness to the reboot that allows more space for compassion (it must be said, the show was always kind.)

even with the inclusion of a veteran like noah wyle, the series doesn't pander to his experience. harry wilson may be fifty years of age, but when it comes to running honest cons, he's an amateur, and the show treats him as such. harry has to find a specialty of his own, and sophie is there, giving him a chance to learn and fall over and again. you learn, and you con has become the theme of leverage redemption, and it is everything the original could have been.

it's even more special that instead of letting these women adopt stereotypical traits associated with male leads - stubborness, intractability and anger - leverage redemption shows us a world where compassion and grace are powerful and affecting emotions. sophie, breanna and parker have already established that they can stand on their own and hold their ground - they are assured in who they are, and don't have to resort to condescension and rage to get what they want. i find it incredibly moving and also an example of a reboot that is spectacularly done.

[mellosdrawings]

what's Leverage (this is an invite to infodump)

Hohoho ok ok ok. Wiki-level infodump incoming!

So, Leverage is a 5 seasons TV show from the early 2010s that has come back in 2021 with a follow-up show called Leverage: Redemption. It is a Robin Hood kind of series in which a group of thieves help poor/honest citizens get back at the rich/powerful who wronged them/stole from them/abused them.

Despite most episodes following the same format, it manages to stay interesting and attention grabbing thanks to its peak attention to details. Everything you see in the episode is a hint for how they get the bad guy, which should be a staple of the police genre but which is particularly well done here.

It's a character focused series, with very interesting development and overarching themes and plots. It also does an amazing work at blurring the line between "good" people and "bad" people. Some good guys are absolute pieces of shit, some bad guys are just down on their luck. Several episodes have the main gang changing plans totally because the "bad" guy they were trying to scam ended up being just another victim, so instead they started offering their help to fight the actual bad guys. Many times the bad guy is a piece of shit but when there needs to be nuance, the job is done incredibly well.

There's also a very purposeful Found Family Trope that's just... great. It's awesome.

Now, I just said it's a very character focused show so I'll have to dive in more into the actual characters. I'll be trying to keep it to the very first episode and remain vague on the rest but there will be some spoilers ahead! Especially so since every single in-show introduction is a masterpiece that I must talk about.

The Mastermind: Nathan "Nate" Ford is the brain of the group. He's an ex-Insurance employee who got fucked over by said insurance company when they refused to pay for his son's medical fees (something I'm sure many US citizens can relate to). He ends up having to work with criminals he has previously hunted down before, which gives him a good overall knowledge of how they all work while his time in the insurance company explains why he knows so many scams.

Despite being the "token good guy" in the first season, I'd say he's the most interesting at first. He's a self destructive genius with a terrible alcohol problem, and that alcohol storyline is just so beautifully handled in the first 2 seasons, I was completely hooked. Starting season 3 the line between honest man and criminal blurs though, as it should considering his activities for the past couple years, so he lost my interest just a bit. Still a very strong character with amazing storylines and a terrible personality.

Among the Found Family Trope, he is the depressed alcoholic father who pushes his kids too far but would still do everything to make sure they come home safe. His arc is literally going from deadbeat dad to the dad that steps up.

The Hacker: Alec Hardison is an early 20 years old sassy chatty black kid who, not content of being one hell of a hacker, is also an amazing grifter who picks up skills on the fly. While the sassy chatty hacker who is the comic relief of the show is a common trope, he's one hell of a charming character who will weaponise everything he has underhand to get away with stuff. Absolute kudos to his actor who was also in his early 20s at the time who regularly offer some of the best performances ever seen on TV. I swear that guy is too good.

His introduction depicts all that in seconds. He's the first thief to appear, already talking his head off and giving his opinion on the technology he's been given for the job. His introductory flashback is interesting as it doesn't show him in the middle of hacking, but instead getting caught by police having fun in a hotel room he stole and giving a Star Wars reference. Just from both of those you flag him as a young easy-going guy who still messes up a bunch.

In the Found Family Trope, he is the youngest child who messes up a lot. He has the most obvious father/child undertone with Nate, and an equally obvious bigger/younger sibling undertone with Eliot.

The Hitter: Eliot Spencer is a thirty something years old man whose job is keeping the rest of the gang safe. When it comes to the hardened ex-military trope, you expect scary brooding man who always avoids being hit while getting rid of his opponents in seconds. That's not quite the case with Eliot. Yes, he gives off scary and brooding vibes, but he actually has the biggest heart of the gang. He's regularly shown being the one who worries the most for others, and there's an ongoing thing about him being the defacto person to go to get help help when you're 18 and under. Eliot has an incredible amount of screentime being soft and helping/protecting children.

Not only that, Eliot isn't some kind of super soldier. He gets hit. A lot. But the point is that he always gets back on his feet to continue the fight. His hitter prowesses come more from the fact that he has a lot of knowledge in the matter, rather than from being a perfect fighter. He also has an underlying theme with self-control and anger issues. Eliot is a character that is constantly annoyed/angry, and who uses fighting as a self-regulating tool.

On top of all that, he's also a good grifter who, when not there to hit people, is there to hit on girls. He's regularly used as eye candy to keep the attention away from the others. He's also (not so) surprisingly low key. Eliot is often described as "hiding his game well", his opponents often underestimating him.

Eliot is the second thief to appear on screen, being asked by Hardison what exactly was his job here and not answering, nailing in the "low key" aspect of him that confuses his opponents. It's reinforced by his introductory flashback which has him sipping coffee while having guns pointed at him, then cutting to the outside of the room so we don't see his skill in action, then back to the room where he's still sipping his coffee, unfazed, while everybody else is K.O. The last part of his introduction comes when he finally shows what he is capable of, appearing out of nowhere to put out of commission several guards who hold Hardison at gunpoint, to which he finally answer to Hardison earlier question of what exactly he was here for, with a smile. That's where you start getting a glimpse of his softer side that is entirely focused on keeping his team safe.

In the Found Family Trope, he is the eldest son. He bullies Hardison at least once per episode (and Hardison fucks him over about as many times too), and is the one who, with Sophie, keeps Nate in check so that he doesn't go overboard. Nate and Eliot have a lot in common and while they are rarely clashing, there is definitely a tension between them.

The Thief: Parker is a (most likely autistic (edit: she is indeed autistic, it's canon)) young woman who loves money and throwing herself off of buildings. She starts off as quirky/weird/off putting until we (and the main gang) start to understand her. She is both the most obvious and the most complex character of the bunch, who unabashedly loves what she does and has a lot of fun with her new partners, all the while having absolutely no idea how to handle interpersonal relationships.

She is the one that grows the most during the show, picking up skills left and right (fighting from Eliot, grifting from Sophie, etc), developing her interpersonal skills and empathy, learning to rely on others and falling in love. Her evolution is just the best and she never gives up her whimsy while developing.

She's the third thief to appear on screen, but she's actually the first one being mentioned! Nate tells his client that "Parker is crazy" before agreeing to take the job. She appears hanging upside down from a rafter, interrupting the boys to ask playfully if she can have an earpiece too, and finally jumping off the building with a joyful yell before Nate can give the go. Then in her introductory flashback, we see her as a young kid, with a terrible family situation, literally blowing up her house after her "father" dared her to become a better thief to get the bunny plushie she wanted. And so you know Parker is the wild card of the team who is actually pretty forthright once you've pinpointed her interests.

In the Found Family Trope, she's the middle child who has... whatever is going on with Hardison and Eliot. While the boys have more obvious family interactions with Nate (the father), Parker mainly has them with Sophie (the mom) who teaches her the most out of everybody. Nate still regularly is there to explain things to her when she's confused, and Eliot teaches her how to bully Hardison (lovingly of course).

The Grifter: Sophie Devereaux is an actress that the gang fetches when their client fucks them over. It's a bit hard to depict her personality like the others because her whole theme is that she has identity issues. As a grifter she has many identities, and she plays them so often that she comes to forget who she even is in the first place. She's a quick witted, caring person who helps tempering Nate and coming up with plans, she's a femme fatale who either seduces or instills fear in her preys, she's the one who puts at ease the clients who come ask the group for help, she's the one who comes up with on the spot solutions when something goes awry and needs an immediate fix, she's the one always at the forefront of the plans keeping the attention on her so the others can do their jobs, etc etc. Sophie is everything and nothing all at once, which makes her a fascinating character that is difficult to explain properly.

She's the last thief to appear on screen, being brought by Nate. She's introduced as a terrible actress, all three thieves being appalled by her prestation on stage while Nate is smiling wildly. Then we get a glimpse of the romantic tension between her and Nate when he asks her for help, and another glimpse at their closeness when the three thieves turn to her when Nate confuses them, only for Sophie to tell them he really hasn't changed. Her introductory flashback focuses on her stealing a painting, being intercepted by Nate, and them both firing at each other. Finally the last part of her introduction comes when she shows off her actual acting talents while grifting the bad guy, startling Hardison who was still worried about her acting skills.

Sophie is introduced with her acting skills and her relationship with Nate instead of her personality or quirks like the other (the only quirk here being that she's a terrible actress on stage but an excellent one when she's grifting), which keeps nailing down her identity crisis.

Since we're on Sophie, I'd like to point out how well the writing team handled the actress being pregnant and needing to stay away from the show for a while. Her reason for being away tapped into her identity crisis, but she still was there to give advices to the others, mainly the "kids". While it was obvious in one episode that they placed the characters and angled the camera to avoid showing she was pregnant, the rest was handled beautifully well.

The show seems very respectful of its actors, to the point it lets them showcase their skills in season 3 like Hardison and Eliot's actors' music prowesses. It also allows them to shine in the filler episodes by having them play other roles, to which they deliver amazing performances (especially Hardison's actor. I'll never shut up about him, he's just perfect).

And yes, that was the time when we still had filler episodes! And they are GREAT! Some of my favorite episodes are filler episodes, like one where the whole gang go over a theft they all accidentally did together years ago, constantly fucking each other over without realising, all from their own perspectives. There are jabs at each other, like Sophie's accent or Eliot being a ladykiller and a terrifying psychopath, but there's also an insane amount of details scattered. One of my favorite being that everybody else saw the head of security carrying a rifle while Eliot was the only one (save Nate) to see it as only a box. It's a minor background detail that the show doesn't even point out, but when I caught it I got super invested in the episode. At first I believed it was because Eliot hates guns and sees them as sticks to beat people up with, but with the last perspective being shown with the "truth", it turned out Eliot was the only one seeing it as a box because it was a box. Eliot would be attuned to the amount of danger the objects around him would pose, and so wouldn't mix up a box for a gun. Once more, it's a background detail but it just ended convincing me that the showrunners care a lot about this show.

Ok I'm officially out of fumes. I think I could go into more if I dove into the actual episodes but I don't want to spoil more than I already did. All in all, great show, handles heavy stuff like addiction and grief and neurodivergency incredibly well without being condescending, scratches a hitch by fucking over powerful people in the most horrendous ways, makes you aware of the kind of scams there are around, etc etc.

It's just one hell of a good show. 10/10 would recommend. I only wish the 5 seasons box set wasn't so expensive, I can't throw that much money in it ToT

ONE LAST THING! If you wanna watch, the seasons are all available on Youtube (US only, get your VPN ready if you're not from there) in the RIGHT ORDER! The first season was aired out of order by the network so you will probably find it in the wrong order online too. It's not much since each episode is mostly contained, but it did make me pause at one point because of consistency issues.

Season 1 link

Season 2 link

Season 3 link

Season 4 link (careful, the Playlist starts with the last episode and finishes with the first. You gotta reverse the order of the Playlist!)

Season 5 link (careful, the Playlist starts with the last episode and finishes with the first. You gotta reverse the order of the Playlist!)

Redemption S1 link (careful, the Playlist starts with the last episode and finishes with the first. You gotta reverse the order of the Playlist!)

You're welcome 😘

[taylor-titmouse]

The Masson Circle Collection (18+)

OUT NOW!

Even killers can fall in love. Set against a backdrop of early 70s Europe, The Masson Circle is a collection of illustrated queer romance novellas between assassins, thieves, and the criminal mastermind at the middle of them all. Originally released between 2020 and 2021, these three stories have been remastered with revised text, 30 brand new illustrations, and an exclusive bonus story. This collection is roughly 69k words.

All three stories contain some violence, references to alcohol, and explicit sexual content and images. They are intended for adult audiences only. Comes in DRM-free PDF and EPUB formats, and includes an image gallery ZIP containing all book illustrations, plus all the sketchbook content included in the original releases.

Daffodils

Retired assassin Ezra Platt loves his wife, Tessa, more than anything else in the world. For the first time in six years, the two are both in town for their anniversary, which means it has to be made special. What do you get the woman who is your everything, especially when she's an assassin herself? Perhaps the answer lies in Ezra's memories of meeting her...

18.2k words. Features fem dom, face sitting, and pegging.

Carnations

The Duplessis is hosting its biannual masked bacchanal, and art forger and thief Leonard Lacroix has been hired to empty its safe. Infiltrating the classy gentlemen's club is easy, but when he runs into an old flame, getting out with all he wants is not. 

17.4k words. Features gay sex in a private office. Contains the use of a homophobic slur.

Laurels

French couturier Mathieu Masson is a man with one foot in the underworld, the one to call for anything from a killing to a Caravaggio. But when a new client demands what he can't give, he has only his bodyguard, Jean Martin, to lean on. 

16k words. Features a trans male lead and tender lovemaking. Contains some queerphobia, and references to child sex abuse in a character's past.

This collection also includes Narcissus, Dianthus, and Sweet Bay, each an extra short story connected to their corresponding book, from the perspective of the love interest. Narcissus explores Tessa's memory of her and Ezra's first night together. Dianthus recalls the time Lionel and Leonard fooled around in a professor's office in college. Sweet Bay takes place just before Laurels' epilogue, as Jean and Mathieu settle into their partnership and open up about themselves. Sweet Bay contains discussion of child sex abuse in a character's past.

Read it today!

[kindredspiritsandgoodomens]

"Even memory is an act of imagination, you never tell the same story twice, not even to yourself" ~ Michael Burkard

This quote showed up on my dash and reminded me of The Rashomon Job and how interesting I find it that many people can watch the episode and walk away with the impression that we've been told the 'correct' or 'true' version of what happened that night, specifically by Nate.

And I get why. The team certainly lets him have the last word, and structurally we are used to the 'Nate's Eye View' dénouement being the point where we see a complex web of events finally make sense as a designed structure. But the multiple thefts of the dagger weren't part of a unified whole arranged by Nate, or by anyone - so maybe we should approach the usual conceit of revealing the scheme as seen through the eyes of the mastermind rather differently in this episode.

As an audience, we depend on Nate's ability to pull off the impossible just as much as the team do, and even though we (and the team) may roll our eyes at his god complex it's important for our continued investment that we (and they) manage to almost believe he's Just That Good. But the tell that his version of this particular story is not entirely without colour is that it's all just a little too neat.

When the storytelling starts, Nate's delighted. The minute he realises he can scoop them all, and even retroactively be the mastermind who puts it all together, he's just pleased as punch. "Why don't you all come over and I'll tell you what really happened." He says. You know, like a liar.

The first thing of note about Nate's Version is that he never went into the party, but still takes it upon himself to give them an authoritative reconstructed version of what went down based entirely on his own sense of how it would have happened, based on his understanding of the team and his assumptions about their behaviour. Naturally in Nate's Version Eliot and Sophie don't flirt even a little. Naturally in Nate's version it's going to be Eliot who takes Sophie's adulterated champagne glass, intended for Hardison, from Parker's tray, despite nobody else having specified anything about this detail (Eliot - the gastronome - wouldn't remember spitting out foul tasting champagne? Sophie wouldn't have noticed a key part of her plan going awry?). But this way it fits it all together like one of his plans, so naturally it's all going to be nice and neat.

Not content with imagining the entirety of the party sequence, he also entirely constructs a conversation between Coswell and the securty guard locked in the store room. Based on Nate's own description of his movements there's simply no way for him to know what went down in that room. We know from Parker that Coswell made his way into the vents, and we know how he got the climbing equipment, but would the Coswell of Nate's Version really go climbing into ducts? It's neat, but it's thin.

Coswell is really where we have to question the neutrality and authority of Nate's version the most. Not only because - even if we allow that IYS jackass Nate Ford did in fact perceive this security guy (probably most security guys) as an ineffectual irritant - he's clearly reacting to Sophie's contemporary jibe about Coswell's potentially superior intelligence by making the man a buffoon in his retelling. But, also, because believing him about Coswell's buffoonery requires us to accept that Parker, Eliot, Hardison and Sophie all massively overestimated an opponent on a job. Is that really plausible? Even if we allow for a percentage of exaggeration because they're thieves swapping stories in a bar, it doesn't add up. Hardison and Parker, who were young and mostly there for clout, maybe. Eliot and Sophie? No.

When they describe Coswell as brusque, efficient, and suspicious - and they corroborate each other, we should be very wary of Nate's entirely re-written character sketch of the man. Especially the idea that his behaviour could all be explained because he had a crush on Sophie. Sophie Devereaux - who can pick a mark's weakness of a driving license photo - not notice when the head of museum security has a crush on her? Not bloody likely.

Everything Nate remembers Coswell as actually saying could just as easily have been said by the version of Coswell the others describe. For instance, "I don't know much about gold but I know it's not meant to do that." Could be silly - could be sardonic. Nate thinks he's an irritating pleb, so it's recounted as silly. But even in Nate's Version Coswell makes a good point about the dealer running. Again, it's neat, but it's thin.

As for the idea that the dagger fell from a vent directly into his hand? Well, as Hardison says, nobody's that lucky. Nate's showboating. He's embellishing and neatening his recounting of his own (biased) recollections just as much as the others, and he's doing it to reinforce his team's (and maybe his own) perception of him as slightly beyond the laws of chance, reason, and even physics. This episode is also one of the last times he denies that he's a thief - a tell if ever there was one.

Eliot and Sophie both express reservations, but they let him have it, because on some level they know that they need him to be that lucky. The whole house of cards only stays up if Nate really is That Good.

Plus, of course, none of the team's versions are without colour - and they all know it. Firstly, all perception is shaped by biases. So Sophie remembers different details than Eliot or Parker, because they look at the world differently and prioritise different kinds of contextual awareness, reasoning, and value judgements. Secondly, and more importantly, they're not just remembering and recounting what happened that night - they're all thieves telling stories to other thieves, to friends they want to wind up (the accents getting worse and worse, Sophie saying Coswell was maybe even smarter than Nate), impress (Hardison being the centre of female attention, Sophie getting a round of applause), or correct (Eliot and Sophie both claiming the other was the one doing all the flirting, when if we take Hardison's word...) But their descriptions of the sequence of events all line up reasonably well.

Ultimately they're all right about parts of it. Nate's probably right about Coswell being ineffectual by IYS standards. Sophie's probably right about his personality. Hardison's probably right about Eliot and Sophie flirting outrageously. Parker's probably right about her encounter with Coswell in the vents (she's not going to misremember vents). But we, the audience, don't see the One True Version of what happened that night.

That's why it's so nice when the episode ends with them all going to steal the dagger, properly, together. Because that's where the truth is. The truth that they're all thieves, telling stories in a bar. Even Nate. But when they're stealing things together they can defy the laws of chance, reason, and even physics. That's where they'll really see and understand each other, and that's what matters.

[gnar-slabdash]

Hat Bracket Round 1B, Match 2: Magical Mastermind Tophats v. Cask-Iana Jones Hat

Magical Mastermind Tophats Episode: 2x06 The Top Hat Job Character: Nate as Henry Turner: Illusionist, and Parker as The Lovely Assistant Clea Propaganda: 1. A top hat is the most hat you can get per hat. 2. No other hat has an episode NAMED after it. 3. It comes with a bunny.

Cask-Iana Jones Hat Episode: R3x02 The Digital Frankenstein Job Character: Eliot, as Billy McGovern aka Cask-Iana Jones Propaganda: Eliot finally gets to wear a cowboy hat! And he gets to keep his curls! Submitted by: @thieves-never-say-die

[p5x-theories]

P5X Fourth Arc Summary

(last updated 5/9/25!)

Only the beginning of this arc has been added to the game as of the making of this post, and only about half of that fit into this post itself. I'll reblog to add the latter half, and continue to reblog and add onto this as more content is added in later updates.

Usual disclaimer: Please keep in mind this game still has no official English translation, so this summary uses a mix of what happens visually, what I understand of the Japanese dialogue, and Google translate for the Chinese text, in order to get the broader picture here. This will be focused on summing up everything that happens overall, without getting into a line-by-line translation.

Contrary to this blog’s name, this post is going to have as little speculation as possible, and stick to confirmed facts.

This post (and its reblogs) will cover the Shimotsuna Arc.

Picking up the next day after where Chapter 3 left off, Wonder arrives at school and sees his classmates gossiping, but continues on to his seat. However, Motoha jumps up from her own seat and stops him, greeting him and immediately asking if he's seen the morning news. When Wonder replies that he hasn't, she hands him her phone, and fills him in that Kei Akashi was murdered. The suspect was immediately arrested, but investigation into his relationship with Akashi is still ongoing.

Just then, Motoha and Wonder's phones both ping with a message, and Motoha takes her phone back as Wonder checks his own. It's the Phantom Thieves group chat- Riko asking if they've seen the news about Akashi. Motoha says she was just telling Wonder about it, while Shun reports that his entire classroom is talking about it. Riko's class is the same, although due to Akashi targeting her, they've been pestering her about it, too. Shun cuts to the point- should they meet on the roof during lunch? The others agree, and Chapter 4 officially begins.

At lunch, Shun brings up that people online are saying the murderer was also a phantom, called the Shibuya Scissor Man. He'd wander around the station, muttering to himself, waving a pair of scissors around, and making strange noises. Riko adds that there are two opinions on the internet right now: 1) That the phantom had no connection to Akashi, and was just killing indiscriminately, or 2) That the phantom was someone who had a grudge against Akashi.

Ruferu wonders if this is a popular topic because someone died, muttering that although it's just human nature, it's a bit more complicated for them, since they just changed his heart. Everyone's quiet for a moment, and then Motoha brings up that Akashi was stabbed in front of a police station, wondering if he was going to turn himself in, especially after he talked about atonement in his Magatsushin video. Starting to tear up, she says he suddenly died at a time like that.

Riko considers this, then asks if they think that's too much of a coincidence. The murderer just so happened to be near the police station, and Akashi just so happened to pass by him at the right time to get murdered. Ruferu asks what she's getting at, and Riko suggests perhaps he was silenced before he could turn himself in. The others react with shock, and Wonder asks if she means the mastermind could have done this, which Riko confirms as her theory- the same "that person" that both Miyazawa and Akashi mentioned, and the very person that told Akashi to infiltrate Kokatsu to learn the identities of the Phantom Thieves in the first place. Considering what Shadow Akashi said about "that person" before going berserk, they may have given up on him after seeing his Magatsushin video, which showed his heart had been changed.

Ruferu finds this plausible, while Motoha is horrified. Shun asks if that means the phantom that killed Akashi was also working for the mastermind... but even then, what kind of murderer for hire would kill someone right outside a police station? Riko admits that's a good point, but it could reflect just how powerful the mastermind's influence is. Motoha, alarmed, asks if this means that, if the mastermind finds out their identities, then they'll also be...? Ruferu merely replies that the mastermind is truly a formidable enemy- they'll have to be even more careful in the future.

Shun points out that, with such dangerous people out there, though, that means there's even more need for the Phantom Thieves to take action. So they should just keep taking out Palaces, and force the mastermind out of hiding! Motoha agrees- it shouldn't be the Phantom Thieves living in fear of the bad guys, it should be the other way around! Ruferu says they shouldn't stop what they're doing, they just need to be extra cautious about it. With that, they've already stolen four of the Treasures, so they should locate the next Palace as quickly as possible.

Riko, however, makes an awkward noise at this, drawing the others' attention. She really apologizes, but she may not be able to join them after school for the next few days, as the school festival is coming up soon, and it's pretty busy this year. Shun asks if it's that bad for the Disciplinary Committee, and Riko confirms that both in preparation, and on the day of the festival, there's a lot more to do than usual. But Riko, herself, has more to worry about than just that...

She flashes back to a panicking Executive Committee member running up to her, and explaining that Kokatsu is apparently supposed to be performing a play with another school, called Kiga High, for the festival. Riko exclaims that they don't even have a drama club at Kokatsu, but the student replies that she found out Yamanashi and Akashi set this up on their own accord, due to Kiga supposedly having students like a professional stage actor and a professional manga author, in the hopes of drawing more attention to Kokatsu's festival. Riko's not sure whether to call that superficial, or short-sighted... and she only found out now that Yamanashi and Akashi are gone? The student confirms, anxious about what to do, as Kiga's drama club seems really interested in this.

Returning to the present, Motoha worries that Riko replied with something like "I'll see what I can do". Riko slumps forward, her head in her hands, and says that's exactly what she said- she felt bad for the girl, and knows the Executive Committee members are busier than anyone right now. Plus, once she heard Akashi and Yamanashi were the reason for this, she couldn't ignore it. Wonder can worry that Riko's pushing herself again, but Riko replies that she's fine, especially since Akashi's changes here at Kokatsu have been reverted, and Katayama's back, so she can help Riko, and get the other teachers to help out, too.

Motoha grumbles that it sounds like Riko can handle it, but Yamanashi really left a mess behind when he left... Ruferu clarifies that Yamanashi surrendered himself to the police, and has been suspended from work, which Riko confirms, adding that it's unclear when he'll return to work, but it seems more likely he'll just be fired outright.

She checked his original plan for the play, and apparently he was going to make the Disciplinary Committee be the main actors on Kokatsu's part, along with students from other committees as well. Shun isn't impressed that he was going to force people to be actors, and Motoha points out that he was obviously just going to dump everything on Riko. Shun then asks if Riko's going to have her fellow Disciplinary Committee members act, like the original plan, but Riko says that's not possible, with how busy everyone already is for the festival. Motoha asks what she's going to do instead then, and Wonder can suggest an idea (apologizing and canceling, recruiting other people, or "You aren't making us act, are you...?").

Presumably regardless, Riko says she's planning to try recruiting other students instead. She admits she considered apologizing and canceling the co-production, but even though Yamanashi and Akashi organized this without anyone else's input, Kiga High might take it badly. Motoha agrees, they'd probably be mad that Kokatsu pushed for this and then cancelled. So, Riko wants to give it a try rather than giving up outright. Ruferu is impressed by her desires, and believes other students will find them infectious. Riko thanks him, but is worried she won't actually manage to recruit anyone.

Motoha jumps in, offering to ask her classmates about it, and suggesting Riko make some flyers. Shun matches her energy, though rather than ideas, he offers help if she needs it with anything, and admits he doesn't know anything about acting. Wonder expresses a similar sentiment. Riko is appreciative, but as lunch is about to end, they'll have to head back to class for now.

The next day, Motoha energetically approaches Wonder with a stack of flyers, explaining she's helping Riko's recruitment efforts. Ruferu is surprised she already has them ready, and Motoha replies that she can't just ignore a friend in trouble, then incorrectly quotes a saying as "good things come late", which Ruferu flatly corrects as "good things come to those who wait." Motoha brushes this off, and asks Wonder to come hand out flyers with her.

The day after that, however, Riko, sounding defeated, announces she absolutely could not recruit anyone. Motoha, also down, says no one would even stop to listen to her when she and Wonder handed out flyers after school. Shun adds that he tried asking everyone in his class, but they all said either they're too busy with club activities, or don't want to bother with the festival at all. Motoha is surprised that some people don't even want to go, and Shun explains that they were saying they just want to go home and sleep, if they don't have to go to class. This further shocks Motoha, who says she's already looking forward to all the delicious food she'll eat at the festival.

Ruferu summarizes this as all these students having lost their desires, to the others' surprise. Riko admits that the school festival does seem less popular this year, so maybe that's why they can't recruit anyone. Motoha adds that some people said they're too embarrassed to go on stage, though they said they'd at least watch the performance if "Shouki Ikenami" is in it. Wonder asks who that is, and Motoha explains he's a professional actor who's also a third-year at Kiga High.

Shun hasn't heard of him either, but Riko looks him up, noting that he hasn't been on TV much, mostly just stage plays, and is popular among middle and high school students. As Riko shows Shun her phone, Motoha says he's really popular in her class, and his rehearsal videos and other behind-the-scenes stuff especially so. Shun asks why his fans don't just sign up and perform with him, but Motoha explains that they think it's fine just to watch, and they shouldn't stand on the same stage as him. This is unbelievable to Shun, who says he'd be happy to cook ramen in the same kitchen as Toraiken's owner, but Motoha just mutters that ramen and acting are different, and it turns out Shun considers himself a fan of Yamagoshi's.

Riko shakes her head, and sighs that the day that Kiga High's coming to meet them is quickly approaching. She turns to Motoha, and hesitantly asks her if she'd be willing to act in the play, if they aren't able to find anyone else. Motoha is surprised Riko would want her to act, and Wonder can express support (or not), while Ruferu agrees that Motoha's acting was even good enough to fool Akashi.

Motoha nervously replies that stage acting is different, but Riko claps her hands together, and pretty desperately pleads with her, so Motoha can't bring herself to say no. She agrees, but only if they absolutely cannot recruit anyone else. Riko, relieved, thanks her, and Motoha reacts sheepishly, but then claps her own hands together and prays they'll manage to find someone to recruit.

The next day, Wonder overhears two girls excitedly gossiping about how Ikenami-kun's apparently at their school, before running off to try to go find him. Wonder reacts with confusion, but is immediately distracted by Motoha walking up and saying they have to head to the meeting room now. This confuses Wonder as well, so Motoha reminds him they're meeting Kiga High's drama club today. Riko asked them to come back her up, even though they're not directly involved.

Motoha and Wonder then leave the classroom, and meet up with Riko and Shun outside the meeting room. Riko thanks them for coming, and Motoha asks how recruiting turned out. Unfortunately, Riko still wasn't able to find anyone, so it seems she and Motoha will have to act in the play. Motoha makes a nervous noise, while Shun asks if that means it's only going to be Riko and Motoha contributing to the play on Kokatsu's end of things. Riko confirms, and admits Kiga's probably going to get a bad impression of them either way because of this, so all she can do now is explain, apologize, and give it her best effort if they still want to go through with the co-production.

After the four of them enter the room, Riko then invites the four Kiga students in, notably including the pink-haired girl that we've seen eavesdropping on the Phantom Thieves before. She reacts with surprise upon seeing them, evidently recognizing them. Once they've all sat down, Riko introduces herself as the one in charge of this co-production. The two NPC Kiga students in the middle are introduced as the president and vice president of Kiga's drama club. The boy to the far left introduces himself as Shouki Ikenami, and the pink-haired girl finally (hesitantly) introduces herself as Aran Hirano.

The club president then adds that, while they probably already know Shouki, Hirano is also known as the manga author ANRI. Motoha takes a second to think about this, then reacts with shock- ANRI, as in the author of Phantom Thief Family?! As Motoha is a bit starstruck, Aran seems a bit embarrassed, or just flattered. The club president is unimpressed by this, however- shouldn't they have already known?Isn't Kokatsu Academy the one who insisted Shouki and ANRI be part of the co-production? Aren't they specifically interested in this because they want to attract high school actors and manga authors to the festival? Riko takes this chance to explain the situation.

After hearing her explanation, the club presidents stands up from his chair, angrily asking if they really don't have a drama club, and only have two actors. Riko apologizes profusely. Motoha adds that they only just found out about this, since the dean who organized this was suspended. This doesn't calm the president at all, who asks if they think he's stupid. Riko apologizes again. He says they wasted time on this that they could have spent preparing for the Tokyo qualifiers, and they wouldn't even have agreed if the dean hadn't pestered them so much. Riko can only apologize again.

Shouki crosses his arms, and says it's fine. That means things just end here, right? Kokatsu doesn't actually want to put on a show, and Kiga's drama club doesn't want to perform on their stage, anyway. Neither of them want this co-production, so they can just end this discussion. The president admits that's true. Shouki adds that he wouldn't want to perform with people who aren't motivated, either.

Riko apologizes again, and the president backhandedly compliments Shouki's "professional awareness"; of course he wouldn't want to perform in a school festival. Shouki, caught off-guard, asks what he's getting at, and the president continues that they also don't want to work with people who just join a club to kill time after school, they should all be working together to win. Shouki stands up, and protests that he's always been serious about drama club activities, though the president sounds doubtful of this.

To the side, Wonder asks what they're talking about, and Riko explains there's a national competition for high school drama clubs called the "National High School Drama Competition" coming up. The president overhears this and reacts awkwardly, admitting he shouldn't have brought this up in front of a bunch of outsiders. He does agree with Shouki that he doesn't want to share a stage with them, so they should just pretend this never happened, and call it a waste of a trip here. Riko, Motoha, Wonder, and Shun react sheepishly, and Riko apologizes again.

Aran, however, calls out for them to wait. She stands up, and takes a second to formulate what she wants to say (saying this is difficult for her), then points to the Kokatsu four and declares that she wants to see them play the Phantom Thief Family, to literally everyone else's shock. The president asks why she's saying this all of a sudden, but Aran insists it isn't sudden, as soon as she walked into the room... when she first saw them, she... (she hesitates, like she's perhaps coming up with this on the spot)... she was inspired! The four of them perfectly match the image of the Phantom Thief Family! Motoha makes a surprised noise.

Aran walks around the table, and takes Riko's hands, saying she's the protagonist- no, the protagonist's younger sister! She then takes one of Motoha's hands- she's... perfectly like the protagonist! Motoha exclaims in disbelief. Aran then walks over to Wonder, puts her hands on her hips, and says he's perfect for the protagonist's brother. Wonder is confused, but she doubles down- the protagonist's brother. She then turns to Shun, and her expression becomes panicked, as she started to say "and you..." then drifts off... he'll be... the protagonist's... mother! Shun is shocked.

Aran then turns to the other Kiga kids and says she hopes they'll work with these four. The club president is unsurprisingly baffled and against it, but Aran insists they don't seem to have much acting experience, so the Kiga drama club will need to guide them. And if they refuse to do it, then she'll revoke their permission to use her work. The president is in disbelief. She adds that they were originally planning to use a short story she wrote for their entry into the Tokyo preliminaries, right? They're not allowed to anymore.

The president stutters out a protest, asking why she's doing this. Aran hesitates, then insists it's because she was hit by inspiration. The president grumbles that he can't stand geniuses and their sudden whims, then thinks this over and says, alright, Ikenami, you're in charge of them. They were originally just after him and Hirano, right? They don't care about the rest of the club. Riko starts to protest that's not true, but the president cuts her off, addressing Aran- she'll be satisfied as long as Shouki stays to teach them how to act, right? Aran agrees, as long as she can be with them- work with them, she's happy.

The president says it's decided, then, and that way the rest of them can focus on the competition. Shouki starts to argue that he wants to participate in the competition, too, but the president fires back that Shouki's role wasn't in the original script anyway, because they were worried he'd flake on them, to Shouki's surprise. The club president and vice president then take their leave, leaving Shouki and Aran behind.

Shouki sighs and shakes his head, and Riko apologizes, saying he doesn't have to stay if he doesn't want to, but Aran points out that if he leaves, then the co-production won't be possible. She wants to see their performance. Riko doesn't seem to know how to respond to this, but Shouki says he gets it; if Aran makes a fuss and revokes their right to use her work, it'll cause trouble for the whole drama club. However, if he's going to work with them, he expects them to take this seriously. Riko says of course, this is their school festival, after all. Hearing this, Shouki says that's "bene" (good), then, and starting from tomorrow he'll come to Kokatsu every day after school. Aran adds that she'll do the same, as long as she doesn't have work.

Once Shouki and Aran leave, Ruferu flies out of Wonder's bag (which was sitting on the table behind him), and Shun asks Riko if he really has to act, and in the role of the mom?! Riko replies that it seems like he's apparently perfect as the mom, though she doesn't understand why... Shun asks how that could be possible. Motoha mutters that the mom in Phantom Thief Family is a very gentle, beautiful, family-oriented character... but then it's revealed that she's actually very powerful. Wonder can ask if she has something to do with ramen, or suggest that maybe Aran saw through to Shun's kindness- if the latter is chosen, Shun seems kind of embarrassed, but pleased to hear Wonder say that, then remembers the context, and asks how she could possibly have figured that out when they've never said a word to each other before.

Riko says she hasn't read Phantom Thief Family yet, and asks Motoha if the four of them are really that similar to the protagonist and her family. Motoha thinks this over, looking troubled, and explains that the plot is about three siblings becoming phantom thieves to uncover the truth of their situation. The protagonist is a lively high school girl, her brother is smart, and her sister is cowardly, but strong. Motoha doesn't think the cowardly sister fits Riko at all, and Ruferu wonders if maybe that's just Aran's unique perspective as the author.

Riko brushes this aside, pointing out that the plan is set now, so they'll just have to work hard and try not to embarrass Shouki. She says she looks forward to working with Shun and Wonder, too, and they both react sheepishly.

The next day, Shun and Wonder find a group of girls gathered outside the gym, fawning over how they got to see Shouki today. Shun asks if they're here to help with the play, and one of the girls asks if they're going to be acting alongside Shouki. Wonder replies with an awkward confirmation, and another one of the girls thanks him emphatically for giving them the chance to see Shouki in person.

Shun says they shouldn't just watch, they should come join them, since they still need more actors, and Wonder agrees, but one of the girls forcefully replies that they have to watch from a distance, they absolutely couldn't join. Shun asks why, and she says they have to be cheering for and supporting Shouki. Another one of the girls then realizes she has to get to her own club's meeting, and they bid Shun and Wonder farewell, promising to bring Shouki gifts next time, before running off. Once they're gone, Shun mutters that having more actors would be more helpful than some gifts.

From around the side of the gym, Kiyoshi Kurotani watches (his name is already filled in on his text box, despite his previous appearance all the way back in Chapter 1 not including an introduction). He says he understands, it looks like someone might need help from the Chosen One. However, he'll just observe in secret for now. He then walks away.

Wonder and Shun meet up with the others in the gym, and after everyone greets each other, Shun mentions the girls that were gathered outside. Shouki thanks them for their support, and Shun is impressed that he can say something so formally and still look cool. Shouki adds that it seems his fans recently only know him from those videos that got popular, but he hopes they'll actually come see him on "the battlefield" sometime. Wonder asks, and he clarifies that the stage is his battlefield, even if he's just doing small theater performances. Not long ago, a magazine interviewed him and posted a video of his rehearsal online, and somehow that went viral, and now he's popular. He hoped they'd focus more on his acting performances, but of course that was too much to expect.

Aran returns (she seems to have left when the camera angle changed, as Wonder asked about "the battlefield"?) with a stack of papers- she's finished writing the play's script. After she hands a script out to each of them, Motoha exclaims in starstruck awe about how amazing it is that ANRI-sensei started writing the script yesterday, but already finished it. Aran shyly admits that she's been thinking about them so much that she finished the whole script in one night without realizing it. However, the five of them alone won't be enough actors to cover all the roles in this play. Riko agrees- besides the protagonists, there's also the antagonists.

Shouki reads through a bit of the script, then decides that he can probably play multiple roles, but they'll still need at least one or two more people. And they'll need some backstage staff to handle sound and lighting, as well. Riko suggests that she can try asking some of the Disciplinary Committee members about that, and Shouki requests that she please do. For now, though, he suggests they just start rehearsing with the actors they have.

On stage, Shouki tells them they'll just read through their lines in the script for now, and Motoha begins. The play starts with an explosion as the protagonist looks for her parents, and her mother pleading her beloved children to run away. The protagonist says it took everything from them. The younger sister says she'll fight alongside them to steal back their family's happiness. The brother says they'll have to become phantom thieves, and the protagonist calls them the Phantom Thief Family.

Shouki comments that their acting is still a bit stiff, but that's normal when starting out. Wonder asks Shouki what he does, and Shouki isn't quite sure how to answer- he just reads and focuses on the key points. He decides it would be easier to show them, and asks Riko to change the lighting to add a bit of atmosphere. Riko's caught a bit off-guard by the request, but says she thinks she can change a few of them.

Shouki then puts on a little one-man performance of the opening lines of the play that they just ran through, acting as all of the characters. Afterward, Motoha is extremely impressed, even clapping, and says it's like he split into three different people. Riko is also impressed, saying she was completely overwhelmed by his presence. Wonder reacts similarly, and initially Shun worries they won't ever be able to learn to act that well, but then recalls how he learned to make ramen, and amends that they won't know if they can do it until they try.

Shouki joins them off stage, and agrees that's correct- they just need more practice, and more familiarity with their lines. Only by deepening their understanding of their characters can they truly portray them well. It doesn't matter if they're not that great at the start, they just need to continue running through the lines. The others nod, and time skips ahead to the evening as they practice.

Seeing the sun is setting, Shouki calls it a day, and Motoha comments on how fun it was to try something new. The others nod, and Shouki smiles, saying the most important thing about performing is your own enjoyment. He asks if they want to meet again at the same time tomorrow, and Riko, surprised, asks if he's really free tomorrow. Shouki assures her he is, and that he's not going to slack off now that he's agreed to do this. He adds that, since they're all high school students, they don't need to use honorifics for himself and Aran. With that, he says goodbye to everyone, and leaves.

Riko then thanks Aran for sticking with them through their entire rehearsal, despite how busy she must be with work, but Aran explains that, since her manga is serialized monthly and posted online, she actually has plenty of time before her next deadline, and plans to work with them as much as possible in the meantime. Riko is a bit hesitant as to whether that's really okay, but admits she does feel a little more at ease with Aran present. Aran assures her that it's fine, and spending time with them helps give her more inspiration for her manga anyway.

Similar to what Shouki said earlier, she then adds that, since she's only a first-year student, they don't need to use honorifics with her, to Motoha's delight. She's a little startled to have Motoha call her "Aran" immediately afterward, but doubles down that that's fine for all of them.

Riko glances at the clock, and points out that they should get going, too. She asks Aran if she's heading to Shimokitazawa station as well, which she confirms. Motoha excitedly suggests they walk together, saying she wants to ask Aran a lot of questions about her manga work. Aran agrees with a smile.

As they head for the front gate, Shun spots Shouki being held up at by some of his fans, who Shun recognizes as some of the same ones that were waiting outside the gym earlier. One of the girls reverently thanks him for his autograph, while the other begs him for a picture. Shouki apologizes, but he's not allowed to take pictures with fans outside of working hours, as his agency's policy. The two girls keep pestering him, however.

Motoha notices it seems like he's in trouble, and decides to go say hi, but as she starts to call out, she's interrupted by another female voice calling out to "Shouki~!"

Shouki recognizes the woman as "Shimotsuna-san", and, clearly surprised, asks what she's doing here. She cutely replies that she knows a lot about him, and said she'd keep an eye on him. She then walks the rest of the way over to him, and in a much less friendly tone, points at the two girls and asks if they're fans of Shouki's, saying they should have some self-respect. Shouki's at a critical stage in his career, and can't just let them leak photos of his private life.

One of the girls mutters asking who "this lady" thinks she is, and the other suggests she might be from Shouki's agency. Shouki, looking a bit troubled, says she's not from his agency, and Shimotsuna finishes that, as the producer who brought him into stardom, she practically might as well be, right? One of the girls says she doesn't get what this lady's saying at all, and Shimotsuna turns cold again, calling her language coarse and her mind slow- the most annoying kind of fan. She whips out a pink, rhinestone-studded handheld recorder, points it at the girls, and asks them for their homeroom and names, warning them they're being recorded. The girl mutters about why she's recording this, calling it kind of scary.

Shouki reacts to this, and pushes past the two girls to stand between them and Shimotsuna, then turns to face them and apologizes, saying he really can't take a picture with them, and asking them to just go home. The girls are clearly confused, but one says if he's the one asking, they don't want to cause him any trouble, and the other wishes him luck with the play. They finally walk away, as Shouki waves.

Turning back to Shimotsuna, Shouki shakes his head, then tells her that recording random female students would cause trouble for him. He then asks more directly why she's here, and she explains that she's just here to cheer him up, after his hard work rehearsing with Kokatsu. She adds that her car is nearby, and invites him to have a meal with her- what does he want? Sushi? Yakiniku? French? Shouki somewhat awkwardly replies that he was going home, and going with her would be inconvenient.

Shimotsuna insists that he doesn't need to be polite, he needs to eat meat to replenish his energy after working so hard. She then turns to her assistant, and tells him to make a reservation for two at her usual wagyu restaurant in Ginza. The assistant leaves to do so, but Shouki stands his ground, looking annoyed and reiterating that he really needs to get home. Besides, this play is just a club activity, it's not work, so he has nothing to tell her if she wants an interview. Shimotsuna replies that's not true, he's a popular actor now. Acting in a stage play at another school is also a serious job, and they can't miss this opportunity to show off his charm.

Shouki tries to protest further, but Shimotsuna takes out her recording device again, crosses her arms, and leans in close to his face, saying he just needs to leave everything to her. He's working hard to help another school's performance, so she's going to write a recommendation article for him! She punctuates this with a laugh that sounds cute, but overall gives a slightly malicious impression.

Wonder and the others still watch from just inside the school grounds, and Aran has her sketchbook out. Motoha comments that "this person" seems even more troublesome than the fans before, and Riko adds that although it seems work-related, Shouki doesn't seem to like her very much. Wonder suggests they help him out, and Shun agrees, running over. He calls out to Shouki, and says he's "so glad" Shouki hasn't left yet. Can they talk to him for a second?

Shouki asks what they need, and while Wonder joins and can help with an excuse (or ask for an autograph), Shun claims that it's about the play- the teachers wanted to ask him something, and seemed kind of anxious about it. Shouki, looking a bit worried, agrees to come with them, then bows politely to Shimotsuna, and bids her farewell. Shun apologizes for borrowing Shouki, and then the three run off back into the school, ignoring Shimotsuna calling after Shouki.

Shimotsuna stomps her foot, and her assistant asks if he should cancel the reservation. Angrily, she asks him what his brain's for if he's not using it, and he backpedals, saying he'll cancel it immediately. She crosses her arms and fires back that he shouldn't need to ask about every single thing, he should be able to figure it out, unless he wants to be fired. He tries to apologize again, but she approaches him, and he immediately crouches down, clutching his head as if to protect it. Shimotsuna sighs frustratedly, and mutters that she's tired of looking at his face, and it's time for a new assistant.

Back inside the school, Shouki asks where the teachers are, and Shun explains that was a lie, since it seemed like Shouki was in trouble. Shouki's in disbelief for a moment, then finally catches up, letting out a surprised laugh and a "bravo", and saying Shun has a talent for acting. He slaps Shun on the shoulder, apparently hard enough that it pushes Shun forward a bit and he makes a bit of a pained noise. Motoha comments that it's like Shouki is suddenly a different person, and Shouki seems to remember where he is and reacts awkwardly, apologizing and saying he relaxed and wasn't thinking about it.

Riko comments that is seems they were right to rescue him, though initially they weren't sure whether they should, since it seemed work-related. Shouki thanks them for doing so, explaining the woman is a magazine editor who's taken an interest in him for some reason. He appreciates her writing articles promoting him, but inviting him to dinner is just... Motoha says she gets it (although in a way where it's hard to tell whether she really does, or is just saying that), while Shun adds that it seems like managing relationships in the entertainment industry is pretty difficult. Shouki agrees- plus, her magazine is extremely influential, so he really can't offend her.

He shakes his head, then reminds them of how he got popular because some videos of his rehearsal went viral, right? Shimotsuna is the one who posted those videos, then immediately featured him in her magazine. Shouki admits he doesn't want to be famous in the way he is right now, so he has mixed feelings about it, but he's gotten opportunities to work at TV stations since then, so that's good, at least. Motoha exclaims that's awesome, but Shouki looks troubled, saying he had originally planned not to take any acting jobs this year, as it's his last year of high school, and he wanted to focus on the drama club's competition entry. Since he can't refuse a job from Shimotsuna, however, he's ended up causing a lot of trouble for the drama club instead.

Motoha asks if that's what the club president was talking about, and Shouki confirms that they're all working really hard, so to them, this has just made Shouki look like a flake. He should probably just give up on the club, rather than causing them trouble, and focus on work... Motoha seems worried for him, and he apologizes for talking too much about a depressing topic. He thanks them again for saving him, and Shun says he can count on them if he ever needs help again.

Shun then asks what Aran's been drawing this whole time, and Aran explains she was just sketching, since she found everything that just happened very interesting. She shows everyone her sketches of Shouki and Shimotsuna. Motoha exclaims in amazement at how good ANRI's work is, and Aran shows another sketch of everyone rehearsing (the second image linked above), then puts her sketchbook away. Shun is also impressed, but asks what the point of sketches like that are. Aran replies that there isn't a particular reason- she just wanted to draw. Whenever she sees them all, she gets so inspired, she just has to draw.

Wonder can ask if it's helping her with ideas for her manga (or ask if she's going to put them in the manga), and Aran agrees, saying it'll probably help with her rough drafts later. Motoha blushes, very happy to help inspire ANRI. Riko then points out that the woman left, so they can all leave the school now.

The next day, they meet up for rehearsal again, but Shouki asks about making sets and props for the play. Motoha asks if they have to make those themselves, then Shun (looking worried? Or alarmed?) asks if they need to make costumes too, and Riko points out that they also need to prepare the sound system. Wonder can bring up the lighting system (or suggest they need "courage" too), and Motoha grumbles about how much there is to do. Shun asks if they can really get all this setup stuff done in time, but Shouki says they should start by taking stock of everything they need, asking Aran if she has any ideas for the sets.

Aran flips open her sketchbook, saying she thought about this a bit while writing the script, and lists out the scenes they'll need new sets for (there isn't actually dialogue specifying the scenes). Shouki nods, thinking that will help keep costs down, then adds that if it's a play for the school festival, the school should provide a curtain, which they can use to help with the sets. Riko confirms that each group can apply for up to 5 curtains, but if they need more, they'll have to settle that with the Executive Committee- but they can leave that to her. Shouki is impressed by her reliability, then thinks through what else they'll need.

With that figured out, he says he has a plan, which they can fine-tune as they're working. He suggests they go to Shibuya today to start buying what they'll need, and Shun laughs, commenting that it seems like Shouki's in a good mood today. Shouki's caught a bit off guard by this, but Shun says that's a good thing, since it means he's enjoying this. The group then heads to Shibuya.

As they walk down Central Street, however, Shimotsuna calls out to Shouki, cooing about what a coincidence it is to run into him here. They all react with surprise as she walks over, and asks who the students with him wearing Kokatsu uniforms are. Shouki explains they're working with him on the play, and they're here buying props. Shimotsuna says that's good- pictures of him doing such normal, youthful activities will definitely go viral! She pulls out her phone, but Shouki raises a hand up to block the camera, saying she can't take pictures of the rest of them, they're just regular students. Shimotsuna laughs that it's fine, she'll censor their faces, but Riko requests that she does not take pictures of Kokatsu's students, nor Shouki, who's currently in the middle of club activity for Kokatsu.

Shimotsuna's tone turns cold again, calling her self-righteous and asking who'd even want pictures of the rest of them. They're eyesores, just standing there, not looking photogenic or even good in general, they're nothing at all. This angers Motoha, but Shimotsuna just continues, warning them not to get close to Shouki. If Shouki was photographed standing next to some female nobodies, it could impact his future. They have a responsibility here. This confuses Riko, and Shimotsuna smugly pulls out her recording device, and explains that means they're not allowed to get close to Shouki. These days, ordinary people can be harassed online; they don't want to get targeted, do they? Motoha asks if she just pulled out a voice recorder, and guesses that means if they don't listen to her, they'll get harassed.

Shun says that's enough, and he and Wonder move to the front of the group, standing between Shimotsuna and the others. Shimotsuna reacts with surprise, then looks Shun up and down, and strokes his cheek/jawline as if appraising it, to his alarm. She mutters that he's a bit rough, but has a good figure and muscles- with some work, wouldn't he be something? Shun, freaked out, stumbles several steps back, asking what she's talking about. Without reacting to him, she turns her attention towards Wonder, and leans closer, commenting that he has a cute face, and asking if he knows anything about the entertainment industry. Wonder's responses are "Don't touch me", "Uh, not interested", or "I'm kind of interested..."

Regardless of the player's choice, Shouki starts to tell her to stop, but things are interrupted by the arrival of another character, who walks over to Shimotsuna and warns her (calling her "Shimotsuna-sama") that they're regular high schoolers, and there are too many people here, so this situation is- she cuts him off flatly, surprised but then unimpressed, and asks if he was seriously just telling her what to do right now. He hesitates, saying no, he wasn't, but these are minors, and-

Shimotsuna cuts him off again, saying she finally promoted him to replace that other idiot, but does he even understand his place? She discovered him, and now he's what? Her dog, yes? He reacts to this, and she continues that she hates dogs that bite their owners. Does he understand? Looking pained, he apologizes, and she smiles; as long as he understands.

Motoha calls her out as going too far, but the man puts an arm out in front of Shimotsuna, and insists it's fine. He turns back to Shimotsuna, and apologizes very seriously for doing something he shouldn't have, as her dog. He bows to her, but then Shouki seems to recognize him with surprise. The man only looks away. Shimotsuna, sounding friendly again, asks Shouki if he's free later; there's an excellent tea house nearby, they could have tea together! Shouki starts to turn her down, then rethinks, and says he'll go with her, to Wonder, Shun, Riko, and Motoha's surprise.

Shouki walks forward, and Shun calls out to him, but Shouki just apologizes, and says they'll have to go shopping together next time. Shun tries to protest, and Wonder says Shouki doesn't have to go with her, but Shouki only apologizes again, saying it's fine. Shun reluctantly agrees, and Shimotsuna, delighted, leads him and the other man away.

Motoha wonders why Shouki suddenly changed his mind, while Shun furiously wonders how Shimotsuna can be so full of herself. Riko points out that it seemed like Shouki agreed to go with her after seeing that other man, and Ruferu pops out of Wonder's bag, saying that that man's desires have been stolen, to Wonder, Shun, Motoha, and Riko's alarm. Ruferu then corrects that it would be more accurate to say their desires are being stolen- it wasn't obvious until he started talking to Shimotsuna, but Shouki's desires are being stolen as well, most likely by Shimotsuna herself.

Motoha reacts with disbelief, but Aran standing next to them is just confused- what happened? Why are they all staring at the owl? The others panic (evidently having forgotten Aran was there), and Motoha starts to say the owl was talking because, uh- and then Shun cuts her off, hissing that Aran can't even hear his voice in the first place. Motoha exclaims awkwardly, oh, that's right, um, uh... This does nothing to help Aran's confusion.

Wonder then gets the option to tell her either the owl is hungry, or it needs to pee, and Aran is impressed that Wonder can understand its needs just through the sounds it makes, wanting to note that down for later. Riko quickly explains that Wonder needs to take care of his owl, so they should part ways for today. Shun agrees that without Shouki, they don't know what to buy, anyway. Aran says that makes sense, and she'll head to an art supply store before going home. She bows and walks away.

Once she's gone, Motoha exclaims that was close, and Wonder really saved the day there. Shun mutters that if they told her the owl can talk, she'd think they're crazy. He then starts to ask Ruferu about what he was saying about stolen desires, but Riko stops him, warning that there are too many people here, and they have to think of the mastermind. Shun realizes she's right. Riko suggests they discuss more at lunch tomorrow, on the roof, and Ruferu agrees.

The game jumps ahead to lunch the next day, where Motoha immediately asks Ruferu about what he said yesterday- are Shouki's desires really being stolen by that Shimotsuna person? Ruferu confirms; he was a bit concerned when they saw her talking to Shouki in front of the school the other day, but now he's certain. That other man's desires are also being stolen.

At Ruferu bringing this up, Riko recalls that he wasn't the same assistant they saw with Shimotsuna the other day in front of the school. Shun wonders if she changes assistants every day, and Wonder brings up her treatment of the man, leading Riko to suggest maybe they're more like "servants" instead. Motoha thinks this is horrible, and can't imagine why he doesn't just quit, but Riko recalls that she said something about "discovering" him. Maybe she caught him with something...

Shun seems frustrated, then asks if they know for sure that Shimotsuna's the next Palace ruler. Ruferu says it's extremely likely, but they'll need to go to Mementos to confirm, once they have her full name. Riko points out that Shouki said she's a magazine editor, so they should be able to find it online- sure enough, she's Takami Shimotsuna, editor-in-chief of "Weekly Bakuro". Motoha adds that it looks like Bakuro frequently exposes celebrity scandals, and Riko further adds that it's published by "Shuubunsha" with that purpose in mind. She's found pictures, so there's no mistaking that this is the correct Shimotsuna, as apparently she's pretty famous herself. She's considered a shrewd editor who's full of gossip, and her articles are very popular.

(Translation note: Shuubunsha's name seems likely to be a pun on "scandal" (醜聞 shuubun) with "company" (社 sha). That writing of "sha" is commonly used in the names of real-world publishers, among other things. However, the name in-game is actually written as 秀聞社, the meaning of which is more like "Excellent Information Company".)

However, there are also a lot of people condemning her, and the subjects of the scandals she's exposed have often sued her. Ruferu asks if the lawsuits were about false reporting, but Riko sighs and says she can't find any mentions of her ever losing one of those cases. Shuubunsha is a huge publisher, so Riko's sure they have excellent lawyers, and thus it'd be hard to win even if the articles are false.

Motoha asks if Shimotsuna's ever been submitted as a phantom, but Riko replies that while it seems she was on Magatsushin's navigation page, she was never officially confirmed, and the submission was deleted. Shun wonders if Shuubunsha got it deleted to cover it up, and Riko chuckles and says that's more or less what everyone in the comments thinks, too, though some instead are theorizing that Magatsukami would never give in to the media, so the submitter must've deleted it themselves out of fear. Ruferu mutters that regardless, it seems Shimotsuna is a controversial figure.

Motoha then calls out to the others, saying she found an article written by Shimotsuna about Akashi, and shows them a page titled "The Truth Behind the Confirmed Phantom A's Death!" on her phone, with a screenshot from Akashi's Magatsushin video but a censor bar over his eyes. They all take a moment to read it, then Riko comments that it's an uncomfortable read, as while it starts out as a summary of true events... Motoha finishes, it devolves into stuff like "After being abandoned by his fiancée, A went crazy and lost himself" and "A's top ten scam methods". Motoha sounds troubled as she points out that the article was deliberately written to catch attention, but Akashi was also a murder victim.

Riko adds that Shimotsuna also conducted a follow-up investigation on some of Akashi's past victims, but titled the articles as things like "The Tragic Ending of the Sexually-Harassing Minister", which is also very disrespectful. She then makes a surprised noise, and asks everyone to look at something on her phone. Shun reads aloud, "The Fate of the Former Tyrannical Teacher of K Academy", which he and Wonder both recognize refers to Katayama, Shun looking furious.

They evidently immediately go find Katayama and show her the article, but she just laughs at seeing an article like this. Shun insists this is no laughing matter, but she reads aloud, "K used to be a delinquent, a former biker gang leader, and now she's a violent teacher that no one in the school dares mess with. Although A's confession saved K from punishment, her students still live in fear." Shun says that's nonsense, and they need to report this, but Katayama shakes her head, pointing out that it's not all nonsense (she was a delinquent, she was suspended, and she wasn't allowed to have contact with her students), and there may still be students that fear her.

Motoha tries to protest, but Katayama reminds her that the article mixes true facts with subjective claims that are difficult to disprove. That makes it difficult to overturn the report. Motoha says the article also claims K beat up a student, and the student became depressed, but that's a total lie. Katayama once again points out that there was the incident where she confiscated a lighter, however, which some people could consider violence. So it's difficult to prove that claim is entirely made up.

Shun says the way the article is written will make everyone misunderstand, though, and Wonder adds that they're on Katayama's side, but Katayama smiles and says they're very kind, but she's fine, since knows she has students like them that understand. She adds that she was also a phantom, and there are some aspects of that that aren't mentioned in the article at all. But no matter how much mudslinging she's subjected to, she can bear it. To her, that's part of atoning. However, the articles about Akashi and his other victims are definitely excessive and exploitative. They don't reveal the truth, they just do a disservice to everyone involved.

The four return to the roof, where Shun declares that even if Katayama doesn't mind it, Shun won't forgive Shimotsuna for this. Calling her a biker gang leader that controls students with fear is way too much! Motoha, downcast, points out that Katayama did have a point that some students might still be scared of her, though. Shun says he's only scared of her when he's late, or sleeping in class. Wonder asks about that, and Shun hastily explains that he only did that in his first year of high school, he doesn't dare to do it now. Motoha laughs and says he really is scared of her.

Riko considers, and comments that while they do contain some true facts, the truth only makes up about 30% of these articles, at most. So if the other articles that Shimotsuna's written, about other scandals, are the same, then they're likely just as exaggerated. Motoha asks what those people who were "exposed" are supposed to do with the rest of their lives, then, and Shun points out that's why they sued her, but then remembers that Shimotsuna's never lost a case.

He thinks about it, then asks how such a shady magazine managed to avoid getting closed down right from the start. Riko reminds him what Katayama said- the articles contain both true facts, and subjective "evidence" that's hard to disprove. Therefore, it can't be completely dismissed as libel, even in court. Ruferu points out that pursuing a case in court also costs people time and money, and can be a huge burden. If they're not sure they can win, it can be difficult to keep fighting. Riko adds that, after a lengthy legal process, the public also forgets about the incident, so unless it's a particularly major case, losing wouldn't really damage the magazine's reputation. Ruferu further adds that if the article increases magazine sales, the company could still ultimately make a profit, anyway.

Motoha finds this despicable, and Shun grumbles that as long as it makes a profit, they don't care if they ruin people's lives. Riko says the average magazine won't go to this length, but the public does like reading things like this. That's why Bakuro is so popular, and with Shimotsuna as its editor-in-chief, that proves her approach is "successful" from a business angle. Everyone is troubled by this train of thought.

Ruferu points out that if all this is true, then Shimotsuna could easily take advantage of it to ruin someone's life intentionally. Riko rephrases- rather than writing an article strictly for profit and as her job, she could deliberately write an article targeting someone innocent because she knows it'll work. Ruferu continues, she could turn the smallest mistake into something that destroys anyone she doesn't like, or that gets in her way. The others react with shock. Riko understands, though; the targeted person would only be able to watch, unable to do anything about it, and it would send a message to everyone else not to cross her.

Wonder says they need to make her have a change of heart right away, and Shun adds that this must be how she stole the desires of both Shouki and the man working as her assistant. Ruferu agrees. He'd hoped they could take a break until the school festival is over, but they can't ignore this. They resolve to head to Mementos after school.

Outside Shibuya station, Riko messages a group chat with Shouki and Aran, asking if they can cancel today's rehearsal. Motoha backs her up, claiming there's a test tomorrow and she's doomed if she doesn't study. Shouki gets it, wishing them good luck studying, and Aran says they can rehearse tomorrow. With that, they head in.

Reaching the door at the end of the current deepest path in Mementos, Cattle approaches it and touches it, and the door immediately opens. From there, they head into the new area.

Cattle then immediately listens for the voices of the heart, focusing on Takami Shimotsuna. As he does so, Wind comments that she sees how he locates Palaces now, and Closer remembers this is Wind's first time seeing this. Soy explains that, as long as Cattle has the person's real name, he can find their Palace. Wind becomes thoughtful, and when Wonder asks her why, she says that a lot of people use pseudonyms and internet usernames nowadays... could that potentially prevent them from ever finding a person's Palace...? Closer realizes that's a good point, like how Aran uses "ANRI" as her pen name.

Cattle abruptly declares he's located Shimotsuna's Palace, which is indeed in this area of Mementos, and adds that it doesn't have that sense of disharmony that Katayama and Akashi's Composite Palace did, either. Closer cheers that it was easy to find this time, but Soy points out that this means a lot of people have had their desires stolen like Shouki. Wonder says they'll steal them back, and Wind agrees.

Their first impression of the Palace is a dark forest, which Closer comments is kind of scary, like where you'd find witches. Soy is unimpressed- the great witch Shimotsuna? Don't make him laugh. Cattle says the Treasure is still far away, so for now they'll have to go through this forest.

When they reach a clearing, Wind points out a strange structure in the distance, commenting that maybe calling it a witch's forest wasn't too far off. Closer exclaims about what that could be, and Wonder and Wind suggest it might be some kind of tower, with how tall it is. Cattle still isn't quite sure what that might mean for her Palace's theme, but he senses the Treasure is in there, towards the top. Wind warns them that that likely means Shimotsuna's Shadow will be there, too, so they should be careful.

Up close, they can see the intricate, crystalline decor of the tower, which Closer comments is really something. Soy grumbles that it's way over-the-top, and practically blinding him. Wind notes that it's definitely not a publishing house, but its appearance does fit her impression of Shimotsuna.

They approach the entrance, but find it guarded by shadows. Wind suggests they hide and eavesdrop, as it seems like they're talking to some cognitions, and they might be able to get some information.

One of the cognitions in front pleads with the guards that he needs to get this article approved today or he'll be stuck here, while another begs to be allowed to see Shimotsuna-sama. The guard, unaffected, tells them Shimotsuna-sama is very busy, and doesn't have time for the likes of them. The other adds that if they want to meet Shimotsuna-sama, they should come back once they're an ikemen (attractive guy, essentially). A cognition apologizes for not being attractive, but insists that his work can't be completed without Shimotsuna-sama. One of the female ones wonders how she can possibly become an employee that attracts Shimotsuna-sama's attention.

From their hiding spot, Soy wonders what's going on, and while Wind isn't entirely certain, she has noted that those ant-like shadows have blocked every entrance. Closer suggests they just fight their way through them, but Wind warns her that a commotion could attract Shadow Shimotsuna's attention. Cattle agrees that phantom thieves shouldn't be too conspicuous, and Wind adds that it's also good to keep a low profile until they have a better idea of how this Palace works.

Closer spots another path leading away from the tower, and Wonder decides they should investigate that for now.

The path is partially overrun by brambles, but eventually leads back around to the base of the tower, where they discover a hole in the side. Wind senses movement inside, but she's not sure if it's from shadows or cognitions. They decide to head in and take a look.

Inside, they find an underground area, supported by plant roots and occasionally crystals, full of ant person cognitions sitting around at tree stump-like tables or pacing the room. Closer says she didn't expect it to be so dim in here after how bright the entrance was, and Soy thinks this feels more like a cave. Wind notes the ant people don't seem to care about them, and Closer thinks they're working.

The camera cuts over to some of the ants, who talk about desperately finishing their work for Shimotsuna-sama, and wanting to become her favorite. Wind determines that they're probably Shimotsuna's "worker ants", based on her colleagues and subordinates at Shuubunsha. Closer doesn't think that sounds great, but Soy reminds her Shimotsuna also calls her assistant her "dog" in the real world. Cattle speculates that this would mean Shadow Shimotsuna is the "queen ant" here. As the Treasure is still far away, he suggests they take a look around here for now.

The Phantom Thieves proceed to begin their exploration, traveling through underground tunnels and learning about the puzzle mechanics of the Palace, including portraits of Shimotsuna that turn diligent workers (ie, anyone who shows subservience to her portraits) into ants, and rebels (ie, anyone who insults the portraits) back into people.

They eventually reach a dead end with several ant guard shadows, and decide to try talking to them. One laments that Shimotsuna-sama didn't even look his way after he worked so hard, while the other shakes its head and wonders if it's because they're not attractive. Wonder tries to join the conversation, but the shadows become agitated, worrying that Wonder and the others are new workers who are way more handsome than the ant guards, and Shimotsuna-sama might like them better.

Soy wonders what's going on, and Wind sheepishly explains that they might only attack Wonder and Soy, for being handsome. Closer cheerfully wishes the ikemen duo luck in fighting the shadows, and Soy asks if she's joking. Cattle takes a moment to process the word "ikemen", then whirls around and demands to know why Closer didn't include him in the handsome group. Closer awkwardly tells him that people can't even easily tell his gender. Cattle brushes this off, and prepares for a fight as the two ant guard shadows come at them.

After the fight, they search the area, but find it truly is a dead end. Soy asks if that means the front entrance really is the only way in, and Closer suggests they go back and see if the guards have left. Unfortunately, they find the shadows haven't moved an inch. Soy says they should just fight the shadows, then, but Wind thinks they should return to the real world and try to learn more about Shimotsuna first. Otherwise, even if they force their way in, they might have trouble getting any further. Cattle admits it's true that they only really know she's a crooked journalist at the moment. Wind points out that even that only came from looking her up online. Closer wonders what else they can do, and Wonder suggests they return to the real world and think it over. Cattle agrees that they've made great progress just by locating the Palace at all today.

Back in the real world, standing outside Shibuya station, Motoha wonders what else they can do to investigate Shimotsuna. She works for somewhere called Shuubunsha, right? But they don't know anyone else there. Ruferu says their only real point of connection to her is Shouki, but Shun doesn't think Shouki'd want to talk more about her. Ruferu thinks it'd be okay to ask a bit about his past, and Wonder suggests they "wait for the right time" or "invite him to the diner". If the latter is picked, Riko worries it'd be a bit weird to invite him somewhere out of the blue, and might make him wary. She thinks they should ask him sometime more casually, and Motoha suggests they try during a break in rehearsal.

Shun mutters that he doesn't want to rehearse tomorrow, he wants to focus on the Palace now, but Riko insists they keep up with the play. They don't know what the mastermind might be paying attention to, and sudden absences might look suspicious. Motoha recalls that Akashi originally came to Kokatsu specifically to look for them. Riko assures them they can still work on the Palace, too, but they have to act like normal students preparing for the school festival. Ruferu adds that things like this add to their desire for life, too. Motoha grumbles that asking her to study would probably reduce that desire for her, and Shun seconds that.

The next day, after everyone gathers, Shouki suggests they go over Act 2, which apparently starts with the protagonists' mother (played by Shun). Shun enthusiastically says he'll get to show off the results of his late-night practice yesterday, then straightens up his posture, and says in a high-pitched voice that dinner's ready (presumably the first line of Act 2).

Time skips ahead, and Motoha cheers that she didn't mess up a single line today. Shun sighs that that's expected for her, but he got stuck on some words again. Shouki assures them they're all making rapid progress, then adds with an amused noise, especially Shun and his acting as the mother. Shun is thrilled, which prompts Motoha to mutter that he actually took that seriously.

Aran scribbles in her sketchbook, then says that everyone has a distinct personality and their performances are wonderful, so she can't help but sketch a lot. Wonder shows interest, and she says it'll help a lot with her rough drafts. Aran then lets everyone know that she'll have to miss tomorrow's rehearsal, as she has an interview with a manga information magazine called "Comic Notes", which is going to have a special article about Phantom Thief Family.

Shouki mentions he heard Phantom Thief Family has reached over 5 million copies in sales, and Aran bashfully confirms, to Motoha and Shun's shock. Motoha tries to figure out how much money that is- if one copy is about 600 yen... but Aran says she doesn't usually pay much attention to the profits, she asked her parents to help handle that. She just wants to make manga. And she plans to tell Comic Notes the same thing.

Riko then asks if Comic Notes is published by Shuubunsha, and Aran confirms, a bit surprised that she knows such a niche magazine. Riko says she was investigating, to Aran's confusion, and Riko brushes it off a little too quickly. Shouki repeats "Shuubunsha...?" to himself, and Shun loudly exclaims in realization that Shuubunsha is where Shimotsuna works. Shouki reacts with a !, while Aran asks, "Shimotsuna?", and Motoha elbows Shun, calling him an idiot. Shun, panicking, extremely awkwardly tries to twist "Shimotsuna" into "tsuna sandwich" (as in, tuna)- he wants a tuna sandwich, actually. Wonder attempts to back him up with three different options that also contribute to the sandwich idea.

Aran, however, asks them not to change the subject, and Shouki, not looking pleased, asks if they've been investigating Shimotsuna. Aran is momentarily confused, then flips through her sketchbook, and recalls that Shimotsuna is the woman who was pestering Shouki. Motoha mutters that everything's out in the open now. Aran asks why they're investigating her, but Riko replies that it's not really an investigation, she's just famous on the internet, so Riko felt like she'd seen her somewhere before, and casually looked her up. Shouki admits that she is a celebrity, and Shun hastily adds that since it seems like she was annoying him, they were just a little curious about her background.

Shouki is quiet for a moment, then tells them that if they're investigating her because they're worried about him, they should forget it- it's best not to get involved with her. Motoha makes a questioning noise, and Shouki amends that she has a strong personality, so if they approach her casually, they'll regret it. He's used to it because of his work. Wonder doesn't seem convinced that he's fine, but Shouki insists. He then diverts the topic back to their rehearsal, and suggests they run through a scene with himself and Motoha.

As the two of them do so, Riko approaches Wonder where he's standing off stage, and reminds him that Aran said she's going to talk to someone at Shuubunsha tomorrow. This could be their chance to get more information, so they should try asking her if they can come along. As Shun walks over, Ruferu agrees this might be their only chance to visit Shuubunsha, but he isn't sure how they should go about asking. Shun thinks straightforward is best- just say they want to visit, would they be allowed to join? Or maybe they could say they're interested in publishers, or seeing what a manga interview is like...?

Aran approaches, and asks if they're interested in seeing her interview, to everyone (especially Shun's) alarm. She apologizes, explaining they were looking at her while whispering over here, and she got worried. Riko apologizes for distracting her from her sketching, and Aran brushes this off, asking more directly if they want to come with her to her interview tomorrow. Wonder confirms, and Aran almost over-explains that she understands how they must just want to see behind-the-scenes out of curiosity.

Riko hesitantly asks if that's okay, and wouldn't disturb her work; Aran assures her it wouldn't be any trouble. Riko still isn't convinced, worried that non-staff members joining might be an issue, but Aran promises she'll take care of that, and she just has to call the editor to get permission. Shun, impressed, says they're counting on her, and Wonder expresses a similar sentiment. Aran, a bit awkwardly, mutters that they really want to visit that badly... then says she'll call right now to ask.

Time skips ahead again, and they seem to finish one last scene, then Shouki claps his hands and says they'll stop here for today, and he'll see them tomorrow. Shun apologizes, saying something suddenly came up, and asks if they can skip rehearsal tomorrow. Shouki guesses there must be another test, and says that's fine, though he suggests Shun practice more on his own so he stops getting stuck on some words. He then says goodbye, and leaves.

Once he's gone, Aran turns to the others, and says the editor agreed... but she can only bring one person. If five unrelated people came along, it could get in the way of things. Wonder replies that's fine, to Aran's surprise, who thought they all wanted to go together. Riko covers up that of course they would all like to go, but they recognize it's asking a bit much, so it's fine if only one of them can go. Motoha wonders how they should decide who should go, and Shun points out that if it's like picking a representative for their group... they turn to look at Wonder. Wonder is sheepish, and can reply positively or negatively, but presumably either way he's roped into doing so. The others thank him, with Motoha calling him "leader" and Shun telling him to fill them in after.

Aran is fine with this, but requests that he wear casual clothes (as opposed to his school uniform) tomorrow, though she only explains this as "you'll know why when the time comes". Wonder is understandably curious, but Aran continues that she'll send him the meeting information later, then bids him farewell.

(To be continued in the next reblog!)

[deconstructthesoup]

All right, Fantasy High Leverage AU (which I still need a name for) commence:

Riz is the group's mastermind---a guy who quit his job at an insurance investigation agency after he found out that his father, who'd worked for the same agency and was thought to have died in an accident, actually got killed on the job. In the years since, Riz has kind of fallen into himself a little, trying and failing to get a private detective business set up as his mental health slowly gets worse... until he gets approached by someone who claims that something of his was stolen, and Riz is the only person he can trust to lead a team of highly prolific criminals to get it back. And this, of course, kicks off the formation of his new crew:

Gorgug is the group's hacker-slash-engineer, though everybody looks at him and assumes that he has to be the hitter. He grew up learning the ins and outs of computers and machines as a kid, and once he got the gist of it, he started figuring out what exactly he could and couldn't do---never because he was malicious, just because he was curious. This, of course, got him into a lot of legal trouble, and he's kind of gotten wrapped up into the criminal lifestyle because of it. He's the sweetest person ever, of course, which means that a lot of people tend to trust him.

Kristen is the group's hitter---a cocky wildcard who, after getting kicked out of her parents's house due to being a lesbian, didn't have a lot of other options besides joining the military. Though her rebellious nature got her into a lot of trouble, her ability to take a lot of hits and hit just as hard also got her noticed... by the wrong people. Needless to say, she's got a bit of a past, which she easily covers up by cracking jokes and acting as unhinged as possible. Underneath it all, though, she's still crawling out of a pretty dark place, and she both softens up and calms down once she finally starts receiving some actual external validation and support.

Adaine is the group's thief, though, again, people look at her and assume she's the hacker. She and Aelwyn both grew up in an old-money household and spent a lot of time around priceless antiques and art---and eventually, both of them responded to their parents's awfulness by taking up crime, though Aelwyn stole stuff for the Abernants and Adaine stole stuff from the Abernants. As time went on, the two sisters became incredibly talented thieves, all the while pretending to be your typical rich academics... until, of course, Adaine got caught and was promptly disowned by her family. Undeterred, she escaped, and managed to get quite the reputation in the criminal underground under her belt. Weirdly enough, she's also one of the most levelheaded and practical members of the group.

Of course, once their first heist goes wrong and they all realize that they've been tricked, Riz has to pull in some outside help in order to right their wrongs. And he does that by inviting a pair of stepsiblings that he'd run across when he still had his job...

Fig and Fabian are the two most accomplished and renowned grifters that the criminal world has ever seen, and nobody is still quite sure what their origins are---just that they're clearly not biologically related, and that they specialize in stealing art from rich people who can afford it. Fig's the kind of person who's incredible at improvisation and tends to act on the fly, and even her more impulsive actions wind up yielding results (though sometimes, there's unintentional consequences). Fabian, meanwhile, takes careful time crafting the perfect identity to sway his mark, and while Fig warns him about getting in too deep, he's never had that problem... yet. Both of them think very highly of Riz---hell, Fabian even had a thing for him before he realized that Riz wasn't interested in any of that---and both of them are more than happy to add more people to their crew. (And yes, their dynamic in this is partially inspired by Chirp and Squak---hey, two chaotic charismatic sibling-types played by Emily and Lou, meet other two chaotic charismatic sibling-types played by Emily and Lou.)

As for some of the others---Ragh takes the Jack Hurley route of being a mark that eventually switches to their side and becomes their lovable best friend, Ayda is a bookkeeper and researcher for Riz's old company who gets accidentally roped into one of their cases and winds up becoming an ally (and Fig's girlfriend), Tracker is a fellow hitter and an old "friend" of Kristen's, Aelwyn's the Archie Leach equivalent who's still semi-working for the Abernants, the Seven all start out as clients and form their own crew over the course of the series, and the Ratgrinders are a crew who start out as actual bad guys, though many of them eventually start working alongside Riz's crew. (Oisin's the hacker, Ivy's the thief, Mary Ann's the hitter, Ruben's the grifter, Kipperlilly's the mastermind, and Lucy's their old friend who hired Riz and everyone else to stop-slash-help them.)

So... yeah!

[sharkhoney-draws]

My P5 OC!

My Persona 5 OC! I loved making them!

Here are some infos :

Aki Yoshika

· Age : 17/18 · Pronouns : they/he · Persona : Moriarty · Birthday: 09/12 · Very caring, tolerant and insightful, they can also be very mischievous, often pulling pranks on their teammates. Third year at Shujin Academy, has found out about the metaverse rather accidentally. They were acting on their own after observing the Phantom Thieves and ended up joining them not long after. · Works in a bookstore as a part time job

Persona (Moriarty)

· Criminal mastermind and formidable enemy of Sherlock Holmes. Hides himself under the guise of a mathematics professor · Mostly based on physical attacks · Weak to ice damage

[honestlyboringperson]

This alliance dissolved faster than sugar in hot water. (Persona 5 AU)

Also I know Bigb and Lizzie have similar outfits and themes and Ren is more red than Pearl, who’s codename is literally just another word for “red”. Eh, oh well.

Southlanders

Team B.E.S.T.

The Scottage + Gem

Magic Mountain + Cub

More under the cut!

Lizzie - “Flora” - The Tower Arcana - Carabosse/Persephone

Once the leader of a sorority and with sky-high academics, Lizzie has since fallen from grace after allegations of foul play were revealed. Even if Lizzie didn’t commit such actions, the label stuck and she has since been outcasted from the student body and now spends her days in the shadows, taking care of quite a few stray cats. Despite these setbacks, she still retains her gleam of authority and tries to help lead the phantom thieves, using some of her old connections & IOUs from her days as an honour student. She’s in an active and loving relationship with a certain former delinquent.

Within the metaverse, Lizzie uses Carabosse. Carabosse is more well known as “Maleficent” or the thirteenth fairy from sleeping beauty. As revenge for not being invited to a party, she curses the newborn princess to prick her finger and die, which another fairy changes to simply falling asleep after pricking her finger. I wanted to combine the two aesthetics and themes Lizzie finds herself in; cutesy fairy and supervillain mastermind.

Her Ultimate persona is Persephone. Persephone is the wife of Hades, and queen of the underworld and goddess of spring. Persephone is often equated and conflated with Despoina, who’s real name isn’t revealed to anyone but those who initiate her mysteries. She is noted to be so terrifying, one must never utter her by name out loud unless they want to catch her attention. This is heavily contrasted by the later interpretations of Persephone as a simple spring goddess.

Ren - “King” - The Emperor Arcana - Arthur/Fenrir

Ren is a prodigy actor at a local theatre, with his acting skills being matched by no one in the theatre. He specializes in dramatic characters with flowery speech and theatrical monologues, to the point whenever he’s in the metaverse, he LARPs as an Evil King. He helps hook the Phantom Thieves up with a weapons expert, who for some reason wears a goat mask 24/7. Upbeat and Loud, he and Skizz helps keep morale high in the phantom thieves. He’s very close with Martyn, despite Martyn insisting he’s just using them as pawns. Whether or not this is true or not is yet to be determined.

His persona is Arthur, namely King Arthur. He is a famed king, known for his sword Excalibur and his large entourage of knights. His story lives on through media, be it through simple books to as grand as whole stage plays. He is often portrayed as a well meaning king who defends the land from both human and supernatural threats. Although his legend has changed throughout history, his story is one bedecked by both tragedy and grandeur.

His Ultimate Persona is Fenrir, a key figure in Ragnarok and killer of Odin. A child of Loki, he and his siblings were foretold to bring the end of the universe and in Odin’s attempt to escape this prophecy, he ends up giving them the power and motives needed to enact the tragedy. In Fenrir’s case, he was brought up the wolf in their home where only Tyr had the courage to approach him to give him food, which sparked a friendship between the two. However, due to his rapid growth everyday the gods made three leg cuffs and had Tyr helped trick Fenrir into putting the cuffs on. When he realizes the trick, he bites Tyr’s hand off. In Ragnarok,he breaks free of his chains and swallow Odin whole, killing him.

BigB - “Spectre” - The Temperance Arcana - Winchester/Eshu

A velvet room attendant who is currently abandoning his duties as an Attendant in the first place. Since the new velvet room manifested, he has since been shirking his duties to explore the outside world, never really returning to the Velvet Room. He still speaks in a somewhat strange manner but is polite and charismatic, making him well liked by the people around him. He initially joins the Phantom Thieves to keep Watch of Grian, as he is aware of his true nature, but eventually finds more reasons he desires to stay. He is especially gifted with persuasive speech and helps come up with alibis for the Phantom Thieves whenever they get into shady business. He has an odd habit of exiting rooms through doors that weren’t originally there.

His persona is Winchester, both the person and the mansion. Sarah Winchester was the wife of the inventor of the Winchester rifle. After she was widowed, she was told she would be haunted by those whose lives were stolen by the rifle her husband created. In order to prevent the ghosts from harming her as well as to possibly contact the ghosts of her lost loved ones, she turned her farmhouse into a strange, maze like mansion with doors and windows that lead to nowhere, stairs that end in ceilings, trapdoors, and barred windows.

His Ultimate Persona is Eshu or Èṣù, a Yoruba Orisha who specializes in divination and acts as a messenger between heaven and earth. He was known to have tricked Ifa out of his secrets of divination, and another where he frees Ifa from his imprisonment within a palm tree and casts him as a founder of the Ifa religion.

[dragonchicken]

Say no more.

Anti-Hero, rweoutofthewoods on ao3. Regulus survives.

Youngblood, same author, Jegulus meet in juvie and meet again nine years later when Sirius introduces his little brother, whom he believes James has never met.

Pathological people pleaser and basically anything else by rweoutofthewoods. They’re on tumblr as well and have a few wips up their sleeve, not yet 10 chapters long, but looks like they’re going there.

Art Heist, Baby!, otrtbs on ao3. Exactly as the title says. James gets thrown into a world of crime.

Debated whether or not to add Crimson Rivers by bizarrestars since most if not all know it, but adding it now if not. Same goes for Just Lovers (like we were supposed to be) and Best Friend’s Brother by the same author.

Drugs and surgical scrubs, anauro on ao3. Unfinished, wip, updated in April. Still adding it here, it’s 28/45 chapters done.

step into the daylight and let it go, serendipitysirius on ao3. Regulus survives. James is raising Harry alone after losing Lily.

Kill Your Darlings, MesserMoon on ao3. College au.

Choices, same author.

Snakes and Lions, her_smile_forges_galaxies on ao3. Remus is sorted into Slytherin and befriends Regulus. It’s also Wolfstar, but 127 chapters and about 700k words.

A Star for Summer’s Day, same author.

Meetings That Start In The Dark, writingamarie on ao3.

Anything by damagecontrol on ao3.

Carpe Noctem, evareinadeescocia on ao3. On haitus, but it’s already 700k words long and about 50 chapters. Last updated in March.

Many Are The Stars I See (But In My Eye No Star Like Thee), raynick11 on ao3. Shortest one on this list, 60k words and 12 chapters.

Mastermind, pieceofchocolate on ao3. Muggle Politics au.

Regulus Black and the Horcrux Hunt, maraudeer on ao3. 11 chapters an 70k words, last updated September, 2023.

Whatever happened to the young, young lovers?, georgia_sk on ao3. Regulus survives, defeats Voldemort singlehandedly and shows up at an Order meeting to announce his death.

Thieves, Waterloo on ao3. Ongoing, 200k words and 17/50 chapters done but last updated December 13th.

Ouroboros, futomomo on ao3. Regulus time travel fic, wip, last updated April with 16 chapters and 150k words.

You Signed Up For This, Solmussa on ao3.

Pink Lemonade, moonsybookshelf on ao3. Marauders Band au. Regulus is a photographer.

Like Real People Do, Arins_Writings on ao3. Time travel au.

Ogni Parte É Viva (Every Part Is Alive), euphorial_docx on ao3.

I tried to avoid unfinished wips but added a few that seemed interesting. All of these are on ao3, and I can whip up more if you’d like. Most of them also on ao3, but some others I can think of are on fanfiction.net.

YOU ARE AN ANGEL SENT FROM THE HIGHEST HEAVENS FOR ME I LOVE YOU.

i’m on chapter two of choices right now and i tried to read art heist baby but i couldn’t find the right author and i didn’t want to read something stolen/copied ya know?

but seriously i owe you thank you so much :)

[choiceofgames]

Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow

"Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow." Punch out Fascists and unravel conspiracies in this explosive pulp adventure set in a retro-futuristic 1930s world of airships, fast cars, and two-fisted action!

https://www.choiceofgames.com/cliffhanger/

Here, masked and caped adventurers with ray guns and rocket boots blast down the gleaming Art Deco streets of Manhattan. Sinister criminal masterminds scheme from tropical island lairs. Dinosaurs stamp and bellow in fog-shrouded jungle plateaus. Fearless archaeologists discover incredible secrets and terrible curses under the desert sands. Master thieves plot daring heists among the glittering casinos of Monaco.

And you? You're Challenger, the most famous adventurer in the world—or, if you like, the most infamous scoundrel. You were raised as an orphan by Dr. Cosmos Zeta at his Tomorrow Institute, where he and his crack team of scientists have developed "zeta rays," providing free energy for the whole world, and granting mysterious powers to a lucky few.

But now, Dr. Zeta has been assassinated before your very eyes, and replaced by a doppelganger, who accuses you of attempted murder. To clear your name and avenge Zeta's death, you'll have to chase the assassin around the world—and beyond!

Will you defend Earth against a sinister mastermind? Will you crush the axis of Fascism that rages across Europe? Will you uncover the shocking truth about the zeta rays?

"Cliffhanger: Challenger of Tomorrow" is an interactive fantasy novel by William Brown, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—300,000 words and hundreds of choices long, without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

[hotvintagepoll]

Gert Fröbe (Those Marvelous Men in Their Flying Machines, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)—if you only know my man gert from his role in goldfinger, you're in for a surprise when you see him in comedy roles! he truly shines in them bringing a silliness that plays off his big size and cartoonish use of his own accent. he also helped hide a jewish family in wwii which i think is very cool of him (he was a nazi earlier in life but renounced it)

Alec Guinness (The Ladykillers)— If you only know him from playing wise old mentors or serious spies, then you don't know just how scrungly this man could be. Just watch him being a criminal mastermind telling his landlady that his gang of thieves is a string quintet. So much scrungle.

This is round 1 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you're confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Gert Frobe:

Alec Guinness: