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thesis statement about people from different games who need to talk

#Persona 5 #sumire yoshizawa #external crossover #fan art

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!!!

souyo, deconstructed

(heavily inspired by hexadonis' tote bags! which may be coming for souyo heh......)

#Persona 4 #fan art #The gear fan art is always so cool to me #I

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Something a lot of people mistakenly believe is that Akechi enjoys the work he does for Shido and that he takes the orders to kill without any resentment or regret. These text messages shed some light on the way he thinks and show that this is not actually the case. Unfortunately, these texts are entirely missable if you finish the treasure route to Sae's Palace too early. As a result, this crucial characterization is often overlooked and people take what they know about characters like Persona 4's culprit and Persona 3's traitor and assume that Akechi is playing it straight.

But even without these obscure texts, it's not like the game is subtle about this. Akechi's lack of freedom and agency is a recurring aspect of his character that people will often cast aside because it's much easier to boil him down to "crazy serial killer" than actually look at the complexity of his situation and his own victimhood.

Throughout his Royal confidant, Akechi's perfectly crafted mask cracks several times. Moments like this show him offering an out, even if he's MUCH happier if you don't consider it.

He doesn't WANT Joker to change. As much as he claims to hate Joker, he admires his convictions. Wishes he had what Joker had. Wishes he could have been more like him. See: the Gun About rank up where he mentions how he used to want to be a hero of justice.

The creepy smiles and shit you see on 11/20 and in parts of the engine room are another mask Akechi wears. Akechi ALWAYS swaps out his masks to best serve his situation. Yet he still tells Shido not to kill the thieves, that Morgana is just a cat, and is perfectly content to leave them alone, and after his fight in the engine room, when the mask literally breaks...

We see his regrets on full display. He isn't proud. He's done making excuses. All those little times the mask broke in the Royal confidant were ways to set up this moment. He genuinely cares SO much about Joker, but that caring was dangerous to his objectives, so he HAD to hate him. He HAD to want to kill him to achieve his objective, and yet...

He still cares. He's putting out spikes in third sem, no doubt because he suspects his own fate should they destroy Maruki's world, but...

#persona 5 #goro akechi

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Probably one of my favourite character traits about Ken is how good he his with animals of various kinds. He has a pet hamster with a silly name, q2 shows that even before the school trip, he had a fairly good grasp on Koromaru's communication, and by Arena is able to command Koro in battle, in the drama cd's he calms a squirrel and keeps it calm through out the typhoon (in a building with a dog in it). Ken was born to be a Disney Princess but forced to be a Child Soldier.

#Persona 3 #ken amada

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P4 scares me if I think too hard abt it (always thinks too hard about it)

#damn this is cool #Saki Konishi #fan art #Persona 4 #tohru adachi

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“Uh i dunno…”

#Persona 3 #fan art #junpei iori #chidori yoshino #giggle tag

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for what you have left undone

and, more, what you've left behind

#Not into the woods... #Ow #Shinjiro Aragaki #Ken Amada #Persona 3 #fan art

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Kaoru Saga/Baofu Profile

Codename: ? | Persona: Odysseus > Prometheus | Arcana: Hanged Man

Brief Bio:

*Previous Timeline(s):

*Glitched Timeline: The first human party member to regain their memories of the previous timeline(s) and the first human to join the Velvet Room's Revived Memories Squad.

Personality: Reclusive, Retributive towards wrongdoers, Snarky, Composed, Cynical

Wants:

Interests:

Relations:

June 13 1967/Gemini and Fire Sheep | > 32/P2 > | 177 cm | AB+ | Occupation: Extortionist/Original EP Timeline > Man-Searcher | ? Powers, Skills and Resources: |

Team Niche: Intel

#kaoru saga #baofu #in progress profile #character profiles #librats peggy sue au

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Tamaki Uchida Profile

Codename: Zero | Persona: Cthulu | Arcana: ?

Brief Bio:

Personality: Kind(er than she wants to be), Headstrong, Detached?, Aloof?, Unafraid of Danger, Sickeningly Affectionate with someone she loves, trouble with vulnerability

Wants:

Interests: Fencing (Club in Karukozaka and St Hermelin)

Relations: Tadashi Satomi (classmate, rival/previous timeline, fiance/previous timeline),

August 13 1980/Leo and Metal Monkey | 15/If > 16/1 > /P2 > 28-29/P3 > /P4 > /P5 | 152 cm/If > 155 cm/P1 > 160 cm | A- | Occupation: Student/If/P1 > | One-handed sword

Powers, Skills and Resources: | Fencing | Vast Demonic Knowledge (gained after SMT if)

Team Niche:

#librats peggy sue au #character profiles #tamaki uchida #in progress profile

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Aside from combat, what can a Persona do?

Give the user skills/abilities/powers but on a minor scale (e.g. Reiji causing intense fear in people due to Mot).

Use the skills/abilities/powers the Persona has without having to summon it in the physical world for purposes outside of combat (e.g. Tatsuya using Nova Kaiser to stop time without summoning Apollo / Maruki's unknown ability allows him to change people's cognition whenever he wants / Kenta's unknown ability that helped him become a successful salesman).

Make the user unconsciously adopt traits related to their main Persona's mythos (e.g. Eikichi, someone with Hades, was unexplicably attracted to Akari Torikiri, a girl who turned into Persephone / Wild Cards slightly changing their personality according to their equipped Personas).

Talk to their users (e.g. P2 users have conversations with their Personas / The PTs Personas' made deals with their users upon awakening).

Briefly turn back into a Shadow if the user loses sight of themselves or are under psychological distress (e.g. Shinjiro's fucky wucky with Ken's mother / That brief barely-canon moment in the P4 Anime when Shadow Yu manifested / Hinokagutsuchi literally said so). Good news are that its easy to turn them back.

Go berserk when an user's heart and mind are troubled (e.g. Shinjiro taking Persona suppressants for Artificial Users to keep his Persona in check / Sumire's trauma corrupted her Persona / Kenta's traumatic awakening made his Persona immediatly attack others).

Adopt the form or embody the spirit of someone very close to the user (e.g. Kei and Yamaoka / Sumire and Kasumi / Toshiro and Eri).

Gain enough power they become sentient and become separate beings (e.g. The Night Queen separated from the body after Tomomi's death, eventually surpassing Tomomi in power / Adam Kadmon was so OP he gained full control over Maruki / Erina began to act without Toshiro's knowledge). There's something about this that connects with Teddie. I'm connecting the dots.

Be passed onto people who don't have a Persona (e.g. Yukino gave her Persona abilities to Jun, with help from Philemon).

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#Now that's a team up to ponder... #tohru adachi #external crossover #meme #fan art #Persona 4 #giggle tag

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The personas you have equipped should impact the dialogue choices you have

(Note: I have experience with p5, and somewhat p4, none of the others)

But I just think it would be neat if personas actually.... had an impact on social links, on the protagonist's personality. The name of the series is Persona, and while they are clearly a centrally important part of the games, it feels like there's a divide that keeps them relegated mostly to gameplay mechanic

They are described as facets of the self, as aspects of personality given form. So if the protagonist has certain persona, it would make sense for them to alter the dialogue options

Mostly I see this being feasible with social links. The persona of the matching arcana unlocks a bonus dialogue option that can give the high +++ points for ranking those up.

It shows that aspect of the self resonating with the person you're talking with more, by providing an answer you wouldn't otherwise give, because that's not a part of you at the time.

It would add DEPTH!!

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ok but really even without all the dramatic au stuff i like doing to them, i really think atlus accidently made one of the most interesting dynamics from what was definitely just supposed to be a cameo. the second coming of the detective prince and he's so different from the first. from how he is you'd maybe expect akechi to not really care about the title or even be kind of bitter about being placed in the shadow of someone else he hasn't even met, but no,

he actively mirrors naoto. this sweater is the only canonically confirmed callback but i've sniffed out others, even down to the way they hold themselves.

like, clothing is one thing that could just be for the public image, but come on. it's part of his SELF image. his status as the second detective prince is vital to his view of himself.

and q2 all but proves he respects naoto deeply. and it all makes sense because he really is proud of being a detective, of course he'd be a fanboy of one of the most well-known young detectives out there. i can imagine he relates to the image he has of naoto a lot.

and it's not like it places him to live up to the achievements of naoto or anything, to a degree maybe yes, but not enough to the point that it's a burden. because he's piggybacking off of his legacy and blowing it out of the water. akechi is FAMOUS, much more than naoto was, i imagine. people would hear about the first detective prince and go, "who? i only know akechi." the title only benefits him, publicly and personally.

and it'd be so interesting if they met, because it's not like one is living in the others' shadow. akechi has to live up to naoto's reputation because he's the successor to naoto's legacy, placed on his shoulders by the force of the public. naoto has to live up to akechi's reputation because he's the new big thing, he's what everyone is interested now, he's who was chosen to succeed him. they live in each others' shadows. it's an ouroboros of reputation.

i just think they're neat. they'd get along too, i bet. they definitely got along in q2! they're the only ones in the whole world who can relate to each others' experiences of growing up as a detective prince. they're both big nerds. they're both competitive. PLEASE imagine placing these two in the same room together. it would be so INTERESTING.

and don't even get me STARTED on how Crow looks a hell of a lot like naoto's persona

#Goro Akechi #Naoto Shirogane #character meta

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Favorite Sega Character: Losers Bracket Round 4

#Teddie #character meta #localization #Persona 4

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Adachi is such an interesting character because I think a lot of his worst kinds of fans are the type who like... see themselves in him and thinks that's a good thing and who talk about how he was right, but that absolutely doesn't sum up every person who likes him, and I think that's something that people forget in the greater fan discourse. Adachi is meant to represent a lot of things to Persona 4's narrative. He is a byproduct of many toxic aspects of Japanese work culture. The idea that hard work will get you a stable life with a good job and a steady future. Adachi internalized this, and yet he got sent to this hick town with nothing to do over one escape. His refusal to form meaningful connections with others in favor of nihilism and a desire to just watch the world burn is meant to be a cautionary tale. If you see yourself in Adachi, the game asks you to reflect and consider that there are still things worth living for. It's also a lesson he ultimately gets. He is the one who urges the Investigation Team to pursue the real truth, and his arc in Ultimax is great because while he's still not a great person, he also has grown enough that even if he's still mean as shit, he entrusts the future to Yu and the Investigation. He just wants to go back to jail, play by the rules, and face justice, whatever form it takes, and instead he's dragged into more supernatural bullshit and has to deal with Sho. He's forced to confront who he was in the past, and he hates what he sees, and he hates that Sho is assuming the exact same kinda mindset that got his ass kicked in the end. And all of this is fantastic, but then I look at the kinda fans who talk up Adachi as if he's this great person and use him as a means to shit on fans of, say, Akechi without even trying to understand the cultural context or distinctly different role he plays in his narrative. It's not good to strawman Adachi or Akechi fans and the weird beef between the audiences of both characters annoys the shit out of me because they both have their own meanings and critiques of Japanese culture. And, y'know, people can like different characters for different reasons. I feel like a lot of this could be resolved if people were just polite and more open to discussion instead of making assumptions about why people like certain characters. Because Adachi's misogyny is definitely reflected in a lot of the kinds of fans who will actively shit on the female characters and female Persona fans, but I've met some genuinely kind fans of the character who just find him compelling for the disaster that he is and the interesting role he works as a foil to the Investigation Team. You never know why a character is someone's fav until you talk to them, and aggression doesn't help facilitate good discussions. Idk. Just a random thought, I guess.

#Persona 4 #tohru adachi #P4 meta

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My overall opinion on Goro Akechi. Spoilers below.

I like him as a character and as a villain, but I will never ship him with Joker or be able to see him as being an equal member of the Phantom Thieves.

The dude literally put a gun to Joker's head and pulled the trigger with a huge fucking smile on his face. He also killed an officer just to clean up any loose ends. He then framed Joker's death as a suicide, all while acting like some paragon of justice. The only reason it didn't work was because HE was outsmarted by the Phantom Thieves. He had every intention of making Joker DEAD!

And even after that, I was ready to have a "Cool motive, still murder" moment later, but I honestly didn't even feel that. Here's the thing: Akechi could have easily used the Metaverse to get his revenge on Shido WITHOUT becoming a fucking serial killer. He could have axed the bastard off or even tormented him a bit first, but no. Because he was so determined to get noticed and to play a long game that stroked his ego, he made the CHOICE to play with his prey. He wasn't manipulated into killing. He chose. He was old enough to know "murder is bad." There's only so much him being a teenager can excuse, okay?

He killed Wakaba. He left Futaba without a mother and in a state to be manipulated by Shido's goons into believing that she was somehow the cause of her mother's death.

He orphaned Haru. Yeah, her father was a piece of shit, but his death on live TV still scarred her badly, and it should have been HER choice whether to kill him or let him live.

He caused a train derailment that could have killed dozens of people.

Even in Shido's Palace, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have killed Joker and the others without a second thought if he had won that fight. His "heroic sacrifice" only came after he was utterly defeated.

Here's the thing though: He's a damn good villain and foil to Joker. I enjoy his character immensely. His obsession with Joker and the connection they share definitely evokes other fictional relationships like Sherlock and Moriarty and Batman and the Joker. I just will never see any of these pairings as healthy romances or even friendships.

I also loved how much of an edgelord he was in Royal. There was no begging for forgiveness or sudden redemption. Nope. He was just being an unhinged, bloodthirsty nutjob because he actually COULD act that way now that his mask has been removed, and I kinda loved that.

So yeah. Those are my two-cents on Akechi. He's an enjoyable character and villain, but I have no intention of ever seeing or writing him as anything but just that: a villain.

#Goro Akechi #persona 5

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To Be A Sun

This is me ranting about the symbolism of the Sun Arcana characters in Persona. Ok, thanks.

As of Persona 5, our Sun characters have been Tatsuya Suou, Akinari Kamiki, Yumi Ozawa, Ayane Matsunaga, Sho Minazuki and Toranosuke Yoshida. Unlike the Justice characters, the Suns seem to be completely different characters with no similarities. At least, at first glance.

The themes of this rant will be the following:

1. Loyalty

2. Solar Eclipse

3. Center of the Solar System

4. Supernova

5. So...

Loyalty

I will begin with a trait that the Suns have in common: Loyalty; although they don't have the same brand. Whether its loyalty for a certain person or their personal ideals, the Suns will stick by them to the end of times.

Coincidentally, this also means that it will be extremely difficult to change their mind about the object of their loyalty. Stubborness is a side effect of this.

Let's review.

Tatsuya's loyalty lies with his friends, especially Maya and Jun. The latter tried to kill him and Tatsuya forgave him the same day. Not to mention that Tatsuya stubbornly clinged at the memory of his friends even though it meant the possible destruction of Earth.

Though we meet Akinari near the end of his life, we get a glimpse of his loyalty to the protagonist in the way he was always waiting for him each Sunday afternoon and how he strived to say goodbye to the protag even after his death.

Yumi's loyalty is towards her mother, getting angry at her father on her behalf and forsaking her role in the school play to help her.

Ayane is an example of the other type of loyalty; the one dedicated to their ideals and beliefs. Even though she develops it late in her Social Link, she learns to stick by what she wants for herself.

Meanwhile, Sho and Minazuki are devoted to one another. The entire plot of P4AU is them trying to be alone together.

Old Man Tora shows the two types of loyalty. The first one towards his firm ideals and the other one towards the people he means to serve. This is what makes him the only politician I believe in.

A Sun Arcana is one of the best friends you could ever get. The ride or die type of friend. The problem with this is that, in their effort to stick by their object of loyalty, they forget to take care of themselves. It would be extremely dangerous for them to align their loyalty with a toxic person or dangerous belief. More on this later.

The Suns need to find their inner source of happiness so they can properly shine. Something no outside force can take away. And talking about external threats...

Solar Eclipse

The Suns already start with a distinct shine of their own. Something they were born with. However, when we met them there is always one external influence that blocks their sunlight.

And so, we have the Solar Eclipse effect, where a character from the Sun Arcana feels inadequate due to factors outside their control, not realizing they are perfect the way they are.

It's common for a Sun to have a certain individual related to those problems who serves as their blocker.

Whether it's some dimensional game you're a piece of (Nyarlathotep and Philemon), your parents' dispute (Yumi's father), a lost opportunity to show your worth (Original Trombone Player), experiments made on you (Ikutsuki) or a scandal you were wrongly accused of (Kuromoto).

The only one without a certain person would be Akinari, but to be fair it's hard to blame someone else for a genetic terminal illness. Ironically, his last days were spent talking with someone who had a piece of Death inside him. Who knows. Maybe if Akinari had known that Minato was related to Death itself...

Especially if we consider that almost all of the Suns had an amiable relationship with their blocker at one point or another.

Philemon was Tatsuya's guide through his journey.

Yumi felt gratitude towards her father for bringing her to the world.

Ayane did return the trombone solo to the original player.

Ikutsuki was the closest thing Sho had to a father figure.

Kuromoto was Yoshida's old mentor.

Once that blocker moved on with their fate, the Suns started to shine again. And what to do now that the heavens are their own again?

Center of the Solar System

The most basic fact about the Sun (besides the fact that it's hot) it's that it is the center of the Solar System. Every other planet rotates around them. The Sun stays firm, with a shinning light for the rest of the system.

In the same way as that, the Sun Arcana characters have the potential of becoming leaders and the protagonists of their own stories, setting an example for the rest of their acquaintances.

Tatsuya is the most obvious example. He is the main protagonist of his own game. Nothing to say that isn't already known.

Akinari writes a storybook that would become the inspiration of a new generation of children, if Nanako's love for it is anything to go by.

The whole point of theatre is to lead the audience through a story and create emotions in them through a character. Something Yumi excels at.

Ayane's Social Link is about being more selfish and grasping the opportunities presented to her.

Yoshida is the most literal example, being a politician and all.

Sho still has to find that *something* that will end up making him an example to others but he is on the way.

A fully developed Sun will be able to be a charismatic leader, who earns the loyalty of their team through kindness and generosity. Sunlight is meant to help others see the world around them, in the same way Suns will help others see their potential and own inspiration. You just can't take your eyes off them since you literally gravitate towards them.

This is the main point that separates a Sun from a Star. Those with the Star Arcana need to learn they can shine brightly for themselves, while the Suns learn that they can shine for others as well. They all start with low self-esteem, but their pride will keep developing as time goes on.

Suns have a natural talent for initiative. Through their stories we helped them realize their own potential but now its up to them to do the rest.

Supernova

As we all know, fire needs fuel to burn, but what happens when you allow your inner fire to burn you from the inside out and leave nothing behind?

You get the case of King Leo, the Reverse Sun.

So far we have only one Reverse Sun character but we can determine a lot from him. Basically, Reverse Arcanas are the "corrupt" version of their original personalities, so what happens when a Sun becomes corrupted? Well...

See, King Leo or Sudou fits all the criteria that defines a Sun.

He is extremely loyal to both Kashihara and Joker. However, this loyalty only brought him misery when both abandoned him. Sudou poured so much in them that when they disappeared, he had nothing left.

Sudou thought his Solar Eclipse was caused by Tatsuya and Maya, when in reality it came to be thanks to Nyarlathotep and his father. A life of hallucinations and misery caused by these two.

Sudou's position as an executive in the Masked Circle shows his leadership aptitude and potential to become the center of his own system.

Sudou spent so much time eclipsed that, in his desire to shine as bright as he could to break free, he ended up burning everything in his path. He literally exploded in a fiery rage and collapsed.

At that point it became mercy for Tatsuya to kill him.

His is a sad case, especially when comparing him to the other Suns and realizing his lost potential.

A similar case outside of Persona where the "Inner Fire Burns All" applies would be Azula from Avatar. Now that I think about it, she would make a good Reverse Sun Arcana... hmm.

So...

The Sun Arcana is such an interesting card. By all accounts, it symbolizes happiness and joy. A common mistake is to think these are given. No, a true Sun Arcana *fights* to achieve that happy ending. Once they reach it, their victory will be the sweetest of all.

Celestial Arcanas in general have the tendency to be a guiding light to everyone else (although some of them do it unintentionally).

There is also the matter of the writing parallels between the Suns and their Moon counterparts, but that is a theme for another time.

And now you'll ask me: "Kationella, what was the point of this analysis?"

Well, it all comes down to one question that has been plaguing me for days:

Would it be ironic for Suns to wear sunglasses?

#persona 2