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shadow-scenarios · 4 years

Note

Hello~ may I ask for something slightly specific? I wanted to ask about a scenario in which the reader recently obtains the Meta-Nav but instead of the PT finding out first, Goro does. See, the reader and Goro have recently become acquaintances and reader thinks that the Meta-Nav is something related to illegal activity so she goes to consult their detective friend on this mysterious app! Haha, sorry if this is too specific ;-;

Hey there simulationone, this isn’t too specific!! I like creative ideas that change the plot & this has been my favourite request to write so far.

However, I did change the request slightly. I made it so that the Reader awakened to their Persona & gains the MetaNav!! I hope that’s alright with you. If not, feel free to message me again and I can rewrite it.

{ Post Writing Note: Well, I wrote way too much!! Sorry if there’s less Akechi content than you thought, I got hyperfixated on how it would affect the plot. I’d love to write a Part 2 full of angst with this, so feel free to request it!! }

- Nexus.

Dance with Justice | Goro Akechi

Life at Kosei High was predictable. Like a metronome. Constant pressure to be the best & high achievement boundaries, it was a wonder how she was ever accepted without some sort of moonlighting as a prodigy. These stories of mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns made the world look grim & everyone seemed desperate to escape it all.

Comfort was found in the Phantom Thieves and how they manipulated hearts. Dancing the line between immoral & illegal, it was a grey area where the who was less significant than the how. Society grasped onto them as miraculous saviours as they solved cases faster than regular forces ever could: Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, Medjed. The world was taken by storm, these renegade rogues looking to change the world & it seemed they were no longer an urban legend.

Their downfall was unexpected, to say the least. Okumura was murdered in cold blood, his mental shutdown playing onscreen during an important meeting where he was about to reveal an important factor in solving this buck-wild case. A calling card was found at the residence, the sigil of their misdeeds. Just when the mystery was about to unravel, the threads gave way to a bigger problem: Did the Phantom Thieves cause the very shutdowns everyone was trying to escape?

Swiftly, the media capitalised. Labelling them as criminals, demanding their arrest. Everything shifted so quickly & she was caught up by the egregious claims of both sides. There was one thing for certain: The Phantoms Thieves had killed someone and regardless of their previous deeds, they needed to be brought to justice.

Naturally, the first viable suspect she found was Yusuke Kitagawa.

He was of the eccentric sort, gaining a scholarship through art. Everything the strange man did was usually for the sake of ‘ Finding true beauty! ’, which was slightly melodramatic. Before Madarame’s case, he was fixated on art singularly. Now? He seemed to have other priorities. Whenever someone would discuss the Phantom Thieves in an art lesson, there was a glimmer in his eye & the paintbrush that had been on the canvas stopped in order to listen in.

A victim of Madarame’s plagiarism, which gave a plausible motive. Despite this, nothing was concrete. She thought about her friend, Akechi. Was this how he solved crimes?

Obviously, the next step was to follow Yusuke around. Sneaking around was rather easy, all she had ever been known as by the student populace was ‘ the girl who was friends with Akechi! ’, so standing out was not much of a problem. There was not much abnormal. Despite being somewhat of a social outcast, he had a small circle of friends. Six in total.

Five of them were clearly wearing the Shujin Academy uniform on the day she spotted them. One was tall in stature with fluffy black hair & thick framed glasses. Reserved in nature but he always appeared to have some sort of witty comeback. Soon he became known as Akira.

Another one was a blonde, around the same height. He wore the uniform much like a delinquent alongside a yellow graphic tee. Obnoxiously loud, as it was never difficult to hear what he was saying even from far away. The person closest to him was Ann. She had platinum blonde hair tied back into pigtails & features of an American.

Makoto was next. Clearly more of a calculating type, she wore the uniform immaculately. Wearing her hair in a French-braid styled headband, she had maroon coloured eyes & was around average height. Most of the time, she was commenting on the boy’s behaviour.

Haru Okumura was someone recognisable due to the news about her father’s death, which was saddening. In her uniform, she wore a fluffy pink turtleneck alongside white tights with flower patterns.

Futaba was just as strange as Yusuke. She used a mixture of gamer jargon whenever she spoke and was never seen in a uniform. About middle school age, she carried around a set of headphones everywhere that regularly rested atop her maple coloured hair.

Stuffed inside of Akira’s bag was also a cat that they tried to hide. Key word: Tried. Six of them & a cat.

They frequented a local cafe in Shibuya, LeBlanc. It was a nice location & she had even gone in there once to listen in. Boss was kind, to say the least. He served coffee with a warm smile & the curry combined perfectly enough to encourage a smile out of her.

On a Friday, the cafe was busy. They had gathered at one table & chatted casually. Most of them looked forelorn. Akira eventually gestured for them to take the conversation outside, where they would disturb fewer people.

Following behind them, she paid Boss & followed, attempting to seem casual. They never noticed. Conspicuously trailing into an alleyway, Ryuji pulled out his phone. Listening in was difficult so she opted to pull out her own phone and record. One of them, presumably Akira, simply said “ Mementos. ”.

Mementos. That singular word triggered something & changed everything. As the world began to violently shift in a strange phenomena, hues of vermillion & mauve dotted her vision. It was hypnotic. Eventually, she snapped out of the trance.

Concealed by masks & flashy outfits were the suspicious group she had been following. It was blatantly obvious by their hair colours. However, the animated cat creature was a surprise. It was reminiscent of the cat Akira carried around but even stranger was that it talked. Then it turned into a bus. Which did not seem all that strange.

Inherently familiar with their environment, they sped off down the escalator, leaving her alone with her thoughts. There were so many reds & greys. Thick red veins ran through the sides in mangled forms. The wall behind her was dilapidated & the only way to proceed was the escalator in front of her.

A fatal mistake, really.

Recalling the details of the awakening are fuzzy at best. These lumbering creatures formed entirely out of shadow began to take notice of her unwanted presence. Cornered, desperate and alone. Insurmountable pain; the voice of someone almost familiar; then freedom & rebellion.

With the pact of her Persona, everything was clearer. Life had previously moved in rhetorical patterns, it was now a whimsical dance. Eliminating the so called enemies with a weapon in hand, she eventually found a way back to the surface. The door at the beginning looked to be a way out, so she threw caution to the wind & took the chance.

Fatigue came first in this dingy alleyway. Adrenaline had been fuelling the push to leave alongside her newly granted power and once that was gone, nothing would spare her from raw exhaustion. Checking her phone in the hopes of finding evidence, the video taken was still there, though it cut off as soon as anyone disappeared.

Even without evidence, she knew that this group was doing something illicit. So she texted the one person she trusted with this secret: Goro Akechi. He was a detective, surely he would have answers.

;; I must speak with you in person as soon as possible. It’s regarding the Phantom Thieves, I have some evidence for you. You’re investigating them, correct?

Knowing full well that Akechi lived a busy life, she did not expect a response for a while. After gathering the strength to stand once again, she headed home. It was the most exhausting experience ever, physically & emotionally. A few minutes after returning home, there was a response from Akechi.

I am indeed investigating them. If you have any evidence regarding them, would it not be more convenient for me to receive it via text? ;;

;; Yes, it would be, but I can barely even believe the evidence presented to me. It’s better for you to see it for yourself. Are you attending school tomorrow?

Indeed I am. Pulling away from the public eye has benefits. If you are free during lunch, we can meet on the rooftop and discuss the supposed evidence that you have found. Does that sound like a compromise? ;;

;; Alright. I’ll see you on the rooftop tomorrow.

The next day was filled with trepidation. Everyone seemed to be mulling about & with how slowly the clock was moving, it was if the school was in a state of chronostasis. Although she did not share many classes with Akechi, there had been a moment where she saw a mop of hazelnut brown hair amongst a crowd, so he was likely to be there.

Sitting on the rooftop alone was slightly boring but she understood why he was late. Every time lunch began, Akechi would be surrounded by people who wanted his attention. It must have been rather annoying.

5. 10. 15. Minutes ticked by. During the winter, it was exceptionally cold so not a single soul came up. The chilly winter breeze nipped at her skin & for a moment she wondered if it was Akechi that she had seen. The brown hair easily could have been mistaken—

The creak of the door announced his presence. With a formal apology, he recalled how his teachers were intent on swarming him with catch up work that he would inevitably never complete. Dismissing it all & moving along with the subject, Akechi got straight to the point:

“ What was it you wished to speak to me about? ”, he asked.

“ I believe I have ascertained the identities of the Phantom Thieves, ” was the only reply she gave.

Looking astounded, he shifted his glove via force of habit & looked directly at her.

“ That’s quite the bold claim, ” he returned to a neutral expression as the mask of the Detective Prince slipped back on, “ Do you have any evidence? ”.

Recalling the story to the best of her ability was tedious. From the suspicious behaviour Yusuke had been demonstrating to the video evidence taken from her phone. Throughout the entire story, he maintained a neutral expression so she was never quite sure what to think.

“ Usually, I would disregard such stories as a strange dream or a vision you had & declare your footage as edited. However, I have... also had an encounter in this strange phenomena as well. ”

Everything began to make more sense as it was explained. Akechi rattled off about the cognitive world, Palaces, Personas & even how ‘ stealing someone’s heart ’ was possible. He explained that his plan was to lend the Phantom Thieves a hand in their next assignment & catch them in the very act. Specifically, their leader.

“ That explains a lot. Let me help you. I have a Persona as well & I can fight in that other world. I want to bring the Phantom Thieves to justice. They killed Okumura & many others if they are the ones behind the mental shutdowns. Tampering with the heart of another is wrong... ”

“... Alright. I suppose it will make things easier if it is the two of us. I hope you are a very good actor,” Akechi extended a reluctant hand for her to shake. His gaze was calculated, cold. Much different from his tone of voice. However, she took his hand & shook it.

With that, a contract was signed. Both herself & the detective would bring about the end of the Phantom Thieves.

Word Count: 1.9k

Publish Date: 27.09.20

#{ crow }#{ you don’t know how much i loved this request }#{ specific requests are always the best ones because you know they care }#{ turns out i’m actually an akechi stan in disguise }#{ i hand out akechi content like i hand out drugs }#goro akechi #akechi x reader #persona 5 royal #persona 5 royal x reader #persona 5 x reader #persona 5 imagines

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akechicrimes · 4 years

Note

Prompt 37? Futaba and Akechi platonic/Futago siblings?

37. “Follow me. It’s okay, just hold my hand.”

after akira leaves tokyo, futaba does just fine without her key item, except for when she doesnt.

(one of them AUs were goro survives the engine room and rejoins the phantom thieves. no i will not explain. persona 5 canon AND persona 5 royal do not interact. for reference in this universe futaba and akechi are half siblings but only akechi knows that)

“Next time you see me, I’ll be a whole new person,” Futaba tells Akira excitedly on his second-to-last day in Tokyo. “I’m going back to school, I’m out and about by myself—oh! Oh! Did I tell you I said yes to Kosei? I told Kosei I wanted to go to Shujin and they offered me scholarship! And I went to the subway station by myself yesterday!”

They’re crammed into Akira’s Leblanc attic, sitting around a cake that literally none of them were capable of baking themselves, so they’d bought the thing from a bakery and decorated it with little black and red hearts. Ryuji is passing around his gross soda, while Ann is recounting some story that doesn’t matter with incredible enthusiasm. Makoto looks like she’s determined to enjoy herself and will hear no argument.

The whole thing is incredibly morbid, if you ask Futaba. It feels less like they’re waiting for Akira to leave Tokyo and more like they’re attending Akira’s funeral. Akechi in particular looks like he’s regretting attending, which honestly tickles Futaba more than it should, that the most dishonest Phantom Thief seems to be the only one looking as honestly put-off by the entire affair as everyone else is determined not to be.

That’s everyone else’s problem. Futaba might not be happy Akira has to leave, but she’s proud. She’s sad that Akira has to leave, but also she promised Akira that by the time that he had to leave, she’d be able to get around on her own, without clinging to him for support. And she is able. She kept her promise.

Tomorrow might be the day that Akira has to go, but today is the day that Futaba is Officially Recovered.

Akira does that annoying thing he does where he puts his hand on her head and messes up all her hair, like he’s a human cat showing affection by pissing everyone off. Futaba yelps. “Look at you. You don’t need me at all.”

“I told you that I’d be ready to say goodbye by the time you had to go back to your hometown,” says Futaba. “I haven’t broken my promises yet, have I?”

There’s a burst of laughter from Haru over something Yusuke said, who looks rather surprised to discover that he said anything funny. Both Makoto and Akechi snicker at him, and then stop immediately to glare at each other the second they realize they’ve accidentally wound up sharing an opinion.

Akira ignores them. “Well, you can still text me if you need me. Or call.”

“I’m trying to tell you I’m getting better and I don’t need you,” Futaba grumbles. “Also, what kind of psychopath do you think I am to call someone on the phone?”

“That’s what phones are for.”

“Calling people is scary.”

“I thought you were getting better?” Akira teases.

“I am!” she says, pointing a finger at him. “I am! Just you watch, Akira. I’m getting better every day.”

Six months after joining Kosei, Futaba locks herself in her room and does not reemerge for seven days straight.

She tells Sojiro that she’s sick. Sojiro tells the school that Futaba told him that she’s sick. She definitely fakes a hell of a good cough, and the school lets Yusuke send her her all the homework that she was supposed to be doing in the first place, but Futaba already knows it’s only a matter of time before Sojiro rats on her, and she won’t even blame him because it’ll be for her own good.

In the meantime, she has stashes of crackers and peanut butter from back when she was a full-time hermit. She hates the taste of peanut butter within three days. Her bed is a relief, soft like a home she never left, up until it isn’t anymore. It’s too soft. No matter how she lies on it, no matter how soft it is, a mattress just isn’t comfortable when you’ve been lying on it for seventy-four hours. It’s hot. Smothering. She feels like she’s going to drown in the blankets and they’ll have to fish her moldy, sweaty corpse out of the bottomless quicksand pit of her too-soft mattress.

The thing about being a shut-in is that you don’t actually like your room very much. It’s not a relief, or an oasis, or even a place you enjoy. You’re just terrified of everywhere else more.

She plays a lot of video games that she doesn’t even like. She watches a lot of Twitch streamers she doesn’t even like. She doesn’t do her homework. She ignores Sojiro. She pretends she’s alright to everyone who texts. She wakes up and goes to sleep and thinks about going outside and goes to sleep and wakes up and wonders if the whole last year and her cautious baby steps back into the world outside was all just a hazy dream.

There aren’t a lot of Thieves left in Tokyo, weirdly. Haru and Makoto both graduated, off doing business and law junk that honestly makes Futaba’s brains want to crawl out her ears, but all the numbers check out and Haru’s not in the red yet, and Futaba’s looked at enough people’s dirty laundry to appreciate Haru’s clean ledger. Akira’s back in his dinky hicktown, where there’s barely anything electronic connected to Wifi worth breaking into for surveillance, which is really boring.

Ann’s been doing so many modeling gigs that she might as well not be attending Shujin anymore. She’s practically surrounded by electronics, and all of them are connected to the internet. On any given day, Futaba can snoop through the internet trail of electronic file cabinets full of images of her face, emails about her face, paychecks for her face. Futaba sends Ann more than one email about creepy old dudes making gross comments about her, along with a bunch of other illegal shit they’ve done, plus their offshore accounts full of cash if Ann wants Futaba to sic a lawyer on them.

Ann looks like she’s having fun. Ann looks different on the other side of the computer screen, like she’s less real. Like she’s not someone Futaba really knows. Like Ann’s not someone Futaba’s literally cried on at one point in her life.

Ryuji is definitely attending Shujin, but between physical therapy, catching up on a whole year of track, athletic scholarship hunting, and studying for college admissions tests, Ryuji seems to have been swallowed whole by Shujin, really. Out of boredom, one day, Futaba went down that rabbit hole of researching what it takes to get recruited for track in college, and holy shit–apparently Ryuji’s coach was supposed to be helping him with that whole process, but of course Ryuji barely has a proper coach ever since Kamoshida left Shujin’s track program in pieces. The amount of networking he’s doing is insane, especially for one teenaged boy who barely remembers his homework every night.

Sometimes, when Ryuji’s forgotten to check his email in a while and there’s a message from a coach sitting in his inbox, Futaba will send him a text to make him check it. And then it’s all, What were you doing looking at my emails, Futaba and Which of my other passwords do you know, Futaba, as if Ryuji doesn’t just use the same password over and over and has literally nobody but himself to blame.

So it’s really just Futaba, Yusuke, and–weirdly–Akechi, who’s off doing his gap year and said he was going to go abroad, but then he never did. Not to be a huge snoop, but Futaba went digging through his junk for about five seconds and then she never did it again, because she felt really weird about finding out that the guy that killed her mom is looking into social work, volunteerism, and reforming the justice system.

Like. The man who killed the Thieves’ leader is now literally out there saving orphans. It’s wild.

She might’ve been the one to tell Akechi that he can start over again and do better, but she reserves the right to at least feel weird about it.

She does not call Akira. She talks to Yusuke at school, but she refuses to ask him to accompany her on the subway. She should be recovered by now, shouldn’t she? She was supposed to have gotten over all that when Akira left Tokyo. She’s doing fine. She’s just looking out for her friends. Her, living vicariously through her friends, who’re growing up and growing away, flourishing into young adults? Never.

Everything is the same.

Didn’t she help kill a god last year?

Didn’t she work so hard to get out of her room, to make friends, to reconnect with Kana-chan?

Didn’t she work so hard to change herself?

Didn’t she help change the world?

Everything is the same.

Tuesday, 1:43 PM

YUSUKE: Futaba?

FUTABA: yo inari

FUTABA: u got more homework for me or what

YUSUKE: Ah, no.

YUSUKE: I think your teacher finds it suspicious that I’m sending you homework when I’m not in your grade, as it is.

FUTABA: oh no

FUTABA: what a shame that we didn’t have an entire year of experience with getting away with wildly illegal magic brain crimes without raising any suspicion

FUTABA: truly emailing me like four pieces of paper a day is far too difficult

YUSUKE: Well, I can’t get your homework from your teacher, but I can give you more homework if you’d like.

FUTABA: ok bucko that wasn’t a challenge

YUSUKE: There’s a math problem set that’s been incredibly dull to get through when I have more important pieces I could be working on…

FUTABA: inari im sorry to say but

FUTABA: me literally doing your homework for you is about a thousand times more illegal than you giving me my homework when ur not in my grade

YUSUKE: Oh, is it?

FUTABA: wh

FUTABA: are y

FUTABA: what do you mean OH IS IT

FUTABA: did you not KNOW ur not allowed to have other ppl do ur hw????

FUTABA: inari have u been making other people do ur hw for u so u can have more time to do art?????????

FUTABA: no shut up i dont want to know

FUTABA: i will not be ur accomplice

FUTABA: i see ur little speech bubble thingamajig yusuke i said stop typing forever and ever

YUSUKE: I can’t invite you to the art gallery tomorrow if I can’t type.

YUSUKE: It also seems impractical for you to outlaw me from texting forever.

FUTABA: i literally did not say that

YUSUKE: You said, and I quote,

YUSUKE: “Yusuke, I said stop typing forever and ever.”

FUTABA: ok i know it looks like i said that but please im begging u it’s literally just an exaggeration

YUSUKE: As Makoto would say, it’s hardly an enforceable law.

FUTABA: u literally texted my sick and crusty ass just to give me a hard time

YUSUKE: Are you about recovered from your cold?

FUTABA: and now u have the nerve to ask me to go to ur art show thing

YUSUKE: I didn’t say that.

FUTABA: oh really

FUTABA: what were u gonna ask me about then

YUSUKE: The art show, naturally.

YUSUKE: But you could have done me the courtesy of letting me ask.

FUTABA: all that on the day of my daughter’s wedding and now u want me to do u a solid

FUTABA: well i have news for u

FUTABA: the answer

FUTABA: is yeah

FUTABA: sure why not

YUSUKE: Oh, excellent.

YUSUKE: I thought that you might decline on account of your illness.

FUTABA: i’m not a punk bitch

FUTABA: i’m going

FUTABA: u were only working all those paintings for like two months i wanna see their oily faces in person

YUSUKE: Just because they were made with oil paints does not mean that they are oily.

FUTABA: cant wait to see my oily boys

YUSUKE: Unfortunately, I have to set up the event beforehand, so I will not be able to accompany you on the way here.

YUSUKE: Will you be alright by yourself?

FUTABA: uh

FUTABA: hmm

FUTABA: how oily are these boys in case i need to call a rain check

YUSUKE: Hmm.

YUSUKE: Perhaps someone else can go with you.

YUSUKE: Let me see if I can find someone.

FUTABA: what like one of ur art friends

FUTABA: i’m not going with anyone i dont know sry

YUSUKE: I’ll keep it in mind.

Tuesday, 1:59 PM

YUSUKE: Unfortunately, Ann and Ryuji were not available. Both of them will be coming late to the art show.

YUSUKE: Fortunately, Goro is.

FUTABA: whomst

YUSUKE: Goro Akechi?

YUSUKE: Crow, in case you know multiple Goro Akechis.

FUTABA: no like why u callin him goro

YUSUKE: I asked him if I could and he said yes.

YUSUKE: There’s not many people left in Tokyo who were part of the Thieves.

YUSUKE: I’m not exactly popular at school myself, so I thought it prudent to hold onto the connections I already had.

FUTABA: hhhhhhhhhhhhh

FUTABA: but why him……………………………………….

YUSUKE: Has he done something wrong?

YUSUKE: Well.

YUSUKE: Besides the obvious.

YUSUKE: Last I heard, you were quite vocally supportive of Goro making a change for the better,but have you prehaps reconsidered?

FUTABA: i mean he’s always been nice to me

FUTABA: like even before he was on the team as crow

FUTABA: and then later after he like lost his shit and tried to kill us

FUTABA: he was also like weirdly nice

FUTABA: even if he was dressed as a tokusatsu villain

FUTABA: but

FUTABA: i

FUTABA: ok this is gonna sound really weird but like

FUTABA: you know how i said that the person to take me to the art show has to be someone that i know

YUSUKE: Yes.

FUTABA: even though akechi was one of the thieves at the end

FUTABA: i feel like i dont really know him

FUTABA: he like had that whole breakdown where he spilled all his kylo ren sadstuck junk and then he peeled his dumb ass up off the floor and then we beat up his dad in a dark alley

FUTABA: and then i guess akira likes him a bunch and hangs out with him and i guess probably talked to him about all that stuff that happened

FUTABA: and also i think ann talks to him

FUTABA: and also haru i think for some reason……………………..

FUTABA: but like i feel like. we as a group. never really uhhhhhhh

FUTABA: got to know him very well i guess

FUTABA: because he spent like the whole year being a fake ass bitch

FUTABA: and then by the time he wasnt, the thieves were busy literally fighting god, and it was all business business business

FUTABA: ughghfhg i guess this is just a really long way of saying that like yeah ok i guess i do know him but i dont think i really do

FUTABA: even when he was off the shits in the engine room it was like

FUTABA: somehow that was not……………………………….. really him

FUTABA: idk maybe this is just my Thoughts but like

FUTABA: idk some people are like “your true self is who you are at your worst” and

FUTABA: yeah maybe you are some PART of urself when youre at your worst but like

FUTABA: also not???

FUTABA: that can’t be it

FUTABA: that’s not ALL of you

FUTABA: so all i ever saw was him when he was being a fake ass barbie prince and then when he was like actively losing his shit

FUTABA: and both of those were like. two types of fake ass barbie prince

FUTABA: except obviously the one where he started screamin about murder and trying to kill joker was like, fake ass serial killer barbie prince

FUTABA: anyway i dont buy it for a second that seeing akechi at his worst means that i know the first thing about his “”“”“”“”“true self”“”“”“”“”“”“

FUTABA: like i know that i technically met him but also at the same time i dont think ive ever really actually met this dude

FUTABA: uh tldr what’s the truth crowboy

FUTABA: second tldr do you got anyone else i can go to the art show with because im not unpackin all that junk in the trunk while also trying to fend off a panic attack in the subway

YUSUKE: Well, to speak to "what’s the truth, crowboy,” I’d say he’s actually really funny.

FUTABA: WHAT

YUSUKE: Yes, actually.

FUTABA: YOU TRYNA TELL ME YOU SHARE A SENSE OF HUMOR W AKECHI

YUSUKE: As everyone knows, I don’t have a sense of humor.

YUSUKE: But if I did, that might not be inaccurate to say.

YUSUKE: Either way, we could ask Boss if he’ll take you to school.

FUTABA: no

FUTABA: im not makin him shut down leblanc for the day just cause i cant get my shit together

FUTABA: and i go to school by myself all the time now i dont need to be walked there by my dad like a four yr old

FUTABA: r u sure u dont have anyone else who can take me

YUSUKE: You said it had to be someone you know.

YUSUKE: I can take you.

YUSUKE: But I’ll be getting to Kosei early to prepare.

FUTABA: how early is early

YUSUKE: Four in the morning.

FUTABA: PLEASE INARI

YUSUKE: The people you know is a quite limited pool, Futaba.

FUTABA: shut the hell ur face i dont need u tellin me to make kosei friends too

FUTABA: i get my butt to school every day i’m already a hero

FUTABA: ok alright

FUTABA: crow-san it is

FUTABA: hhh

FUTABA: no shut up stop typing i’m fine

FUTABA: i already saw his dumb ass get inflicted with Horny from Yaldy God Himself i ain’t afraid of no crows

FUTABA: actually now that i remember that that was pretty funny mwehehehehehehe

FUTABA: OKAY send me the who what when where why

YUSUKE: There’s a PDF flier. I’ll send it to you.

YUSUKE: But I will have to type the email to send it to you.

FUTABA: oh my GOD inari

FUTABA: i swear to god ur not actually this dense and youre just pretending u dont know what an exaggeration is just to drive me up the wall

YUSUKE: Oh, that is a possibility, isn’t it?

FUTABA: WH

YUSUKE: Ah, last period is starting. I’ll have to talk to you later.

FUTABA: WHAT

FUTABA: NO WAIT

FUTABA: HELLO????

FUTABA: YUSUKE NO COME BACK

Tuesday, 2:53 PM

FUTABA: YUSUKE HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING AKECHI DO UR HW FOR U SO YOU CAN DO MORE ART??

FUTABA: IS THAT WHY UR ON A FIRST NAME BASIS W HIM

FUTABA: ANSWER ME STRINGBEAN

In Futaba’s opinion, there’s an infinite amount of more embarrassing reasons to pull yourself out of your depression pit than “I needed to yell at my friend for being a snotty bastard,“ and there’s worse escorts to have than the weird guy who went from being a professional murderer to their weird awkward friend. Firstly, if there’s anything that can motivate Futaba Sakura, it’s the primal urge to dunk on her friends for spite and memes. Secondly, there’s no chance in hell Futaba’s going to have a breakdown in front of Akechi.

She can do this. She got herself out of this grave once; she can do it again. Even if Akira isn’t here. She’s getting better. She promised him.

On the eighth day of her almost-return to hermithood, Akechi texts her:

AKECHI: I’m here.

AKECHI: Are you ready to go?

Futaba is wearing only an old shirt, no bra, sweats, and vaguely greasy hair from all the showers she’s skipped.

FUTABA: i’m SO ready

FUTABA: the readiest

FUTABA: ultra mega super ready

FUTABA: featherman ranger code name Ready

AKECHI: Oh.

AKECHI: Alright.

Hell yes alright. Time for Futaba to save her own life from her gravesite of a room.

With… Goro Akechi. Wow, life is weird, huh?

She drags on her Kosei uniform like a skin discarded long ago. It feels stiff. Maybe because it feels wrong to wear school clothes like a functioning human; maybe because she just hasn’t washed it in a week. The very idea of explaining herself to Sojiro stresses her out, so she doesn’t do it. The idea of not explaining herself to Sojiro, when he deserves an explanation and also would probably have a heart attack if he realized that she’d disappeared from her room without his knowing, also stresses her out, so she still doesn’t explain herself to Sojiro.

I told Akira I’m better now. I can do this. I did this for more than six months. I was out of my room in the real world, I went to the school festival, I changed my own heart…

She creeps down the stairs like a thief in her own house and pokes her head out the door. Goro Akechi is fiddling with his phone in the sun outside her house, looking like he, too, has only just managed to pull on his Human Suit and look like a guy who didn’t make shadows beg for mercy for fun, so it looks like this whole expedition is going to be a lot of fun.

"Futaba-chan?” says Akechi, only just noticing her lurking in her own doorway. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other. How are you?”

Futaba opens her mouth. No noise comes out.

Akechi’s eyebrows slowly begin to knit together.

“I’m good,” she says squeakily. Clears her throat. Holy shit, she’s not afraid of Akechi after all that junk they went through in the Metaverse. She saw him as a rat. She saw him visibly want to break his father’s face when Shido tried to apologize to him on live TV. Once, Makoto and Akechi got into an unironic, passionate, hour-long argument about whether or not it’s beneficial to color code your notes.

“I’m alright!” Futaba announces louder, maybe a little loudly, considering the way he looks only more concerned. “L-Let’s hurry up and get this sidequest over with!”

She pulls her hoodie over her head and jams her hands into the pockets and makes herself as small as possible and inches out of the doorway. “If you… say so,” says Akechi, and eventually matches her incredibly slow pace as she shuffles her way towards the main street.

When the noise of Yongen-Jaya’s street hits her, her heart rate (already high as hell) spikes even higher like the first day she’d come out of her room, but the old coping mechanisms come back like second nature: Breathe slower, avoid eye contact, remember her mission, stick to the sides of the streets. Breathe slower. She’s still got it. It’s still hard, but she’s got a whole arsenal of ways to deal. She can do this. She will kick Yusuke’s ass for being a dick, if only out of sheer spite.

If Akira were here, I could hide behind him and…

No, shut up, shut up. All she has is her hoodie and Goro Akechi. Akira’s not here. She can do this by herself.

Akechi makes precisely two attempts at small talk (“How has Kosei been?” “Have you seen the pieces Yusuke submitted to the art show before?”) before he realizes that Futaba isn’t going to respond by virtue of barely holding onto her shit by her fingernails. He shuts up and sticks close by. Futaba makes her way down the streets towards the subway like walking on a tightrope. The subway station isn’t busy, but she puts every step in front of her like she’s going to fall. Getting on the subway might as well be a highwire. Futaba and Akechi wait for the train in mutual silence to the sound of other commuters murmuring amongst themselves, like a toothless echo of Mementos’s depths.

When they get on the train, people around her are quiet, thank god, but all of a sudden she’s convinced that she smells because she hasn’t taken a shower in literal days, and she tries to pack herself into her seat as tightly as possible. The guy in front of her is scrolling through something at a ferocious pace and his thumbnail keeps hitting the screen with this incessant clack, clack, clack noise. The subway voice announces their next station as the doors begin to close, and a girl suddenly sits bolt upright, having realized that this is her station after all, and bangs Futaba’s knees hard as she passes. Futaba wants to curl her legs to her chest, but she’s wearing Kosei’s uniform skirt and it’d just make everyone stare at her if she did that on the subway. She curls her fingers into the skirt hem. She stares down at her knees and lets her hair drape around her like a curtain. She can do this. She can do this. Breathe slower. Even slower. I did this for more than six months, I told Akira I’m better now, I changed my own heart…

Akechi pulls out his phone. Futaba’s phone buzzes.

AKECHI: Are you alright?

FUTABA: i said i was ready dude

Akechi types and retypes an answer, which technically Futaba could just look over his arm and read, but instead Futaba flips through apps on her phone and pulls up a shitty mobile dungeon crawler. She dies four times before Akechi puts his phone away without sending anything.

They pass multiple stations like that. Futaba sure as hell hopes that Akechi’s watching which station they’re on, because she isn’t. After the millionth time she dies, Futaba just closes the app altogether. Concentration’s shot. Can’t focus on anything. Heartbeat’s too loud. Breathing’s too loud. The guy next to her is breathing too loud. Everything is too loud.

New text:

AKECHI: Yusuke said you’d recovered from your cold, but you still look a little unwell.

Futaba doesn’t respond to that. She doesn’t need Negative Nancy over here telling her she’s gonna crack. Because she isn’t gonna. The subway starts to slow, and the voice announces the station for Yusuke’s school. She’s literally almost there, she’s right there, she might die in three seconds because her heart is going to pound of her chest but at least she’s going to make it, she promised Akira that she was alright—

The subway doors open. Passengers stand to get off. Akechi stands up. Futaba drops like a rock.

“I can’t,” Futaba’s voice says. She sounds like she’s crying. “I can’t, I can’t do it, I—”

“Futaba—”

“I’m can’t do it, I—”

She buries her face in her knees on the dirty subway floor. Oh, she really is crying. “I’m sorry,” she says, “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t…”

Around her, people’s feet stop moving. They’re staring at her. She’s crying on the subway and everyone is staring at her. “Shh,” says Akechi, like Futaba doesn’t know she’s being a loud and irritating pest, but then he takes off his winter coat and covers her with it. Suddenly everything goes dark. It’s a huge coat, too; it wraps around her whole torso with enough room to spare to cover her entire head. Inside, it’s like she’s back in her room, only listening to the sounds of real life somewhere on the other side of a computer monitor, where it can’t hurt her. It’s so surprising she hiccups to a stop. Two hands pull her up by the shoulders and guide her to stand. “Up. Let’s go.”

“Is she okay?” says a voice.

Futaba’s entire body seizes with fear. She ducks into her own knees, trying to disappear.

“Hey, little girl, are you alright?”

“She’ll be fine,” says Akechi’s friendly, super fake ass barbie prince voice. “My sister just had a hard day. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“A hard day?” Now the stranger’s voice is accusatory.

“For your information, our dog was recently brutally run over in front of her eyes.”

“Young man, are you serious right now?”

“Oh, yes. There was blood everywhere. Its intestines squelched horribly under the tires less than six feet away from her,” Akechi goes on. Futaba chokes, and then hiccups in what she realizes is almost a laugh. “Please excuse her. Thank you.” And before the literal complete stranger can follow up on that awful statement, Akechi takes her hand and pulls her up.

Futaba stumbles to her feet. If she has to take the coat off right now, she will actually die.

“It’s okay. Just hold my hand and follow me.”

Blindly, she lets him lead her out of the subway, weaving through people with only minimal contact with other people’s shoulders. There’s a whole awkward period where Akechi has to walk her up the stairs out of the subway station while she can’t see anything, but eventually the noise and bustle of other people around her seems to die away, and the air grows cooler in the way it does in the shadows between city buildings. Then they stop walking altogether. When Akechi lets go of her hand, she almost tries to grab it back before she catches herself.

“Okay. There’s nobody else around, now. It’s safe.”

Futaba doesn’t come out of the jacket. In the dark, her eyes dart back and forth, trying to see even as she blinds herself.

“Sorry for grabbing you so suddenly like that,” Akechi’s voice goes on after it becomes obvious she’s not going to come out.

Futaba wipes snottily at her own face. Oh, this is so gross, she’s got snot and tears on top of five days worth of grime and body juice because she hadn’t taken a shower. She’s disgusting. She really actually wants to die right now. She can’t show her face like this.

“Er,” says Akechi. “Do you want…. water, or…?”

Futaba folds up right there on the city pavement, probably dragging Akechi’s nice coat all over a dirty alleyway. She tucks her face into her knees, where she feels safest, and pulls the coat flaps even tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“I’m sorry for not being okay,” she mumbles.

There’s a short silence. “You really don’t have to be.”

“I do,” Futaba says. She feels like she’s nine years old again, a petulant kid who needs to hold people’s hands and be escorted around Tokyo. “This is—it’s stupid, and I can’t believe I-I’m still doing this, a-and even a-after everything that h-happened last year, I’m still just a… I’m still…”

“It’s fine,” says Akechi. Even he sounds overwhelmed, and at the first sound of weakness, she pulls the coat off her head and glares at him furiously, red-faced and covered in tears and snot and gross depression juice crust and all.

“I’m not supposed to be this way anymore!” she says miserably. “I’m supposed to be better! Moved on! Doing literally a-anything else but crying over t-taking a subway! It’s stupid and nobody else is like this and I just want to be over this already and I just want to be better already and—!“

She covers her face with her hands again. God, even when she says that, it sounds pathetic.

After a moment or two, she hears Akechi moving again. She peeks at him. He’s crouching in almost the exact same pose as her, looking like he’s resigning himself to neither getting his coat back, nor moving from this spot any time soon, nor getting to Yusuke’s art show on time, but also looking archly and entirely unperturbed about it. Actually, it looks like he’s writing a work email on his phone.

Futaba was right about being in an alleyway, but it’s so cold because they’re shielded by a trio of vending machines selling canned coffee and wrapped sandwiches. "Our dog was recently run over?” she says.

“People can mind their own damn business,” says Akechi in his Pleasant Boy Voice, without looking up from his email.

“He was just trying to help.”

“Oh, yes, let’s help the crying girl by crowding her and suffocating her in a crush of public transit.”

Futaba snorts. “That was really mean of you.”

“Oh, absolutely,” says Akechi.

Futaba sucks a truly disgusting gob of snot into her nose. “Ugh. I wish I could’ve seen the guy’s face when you told him that.”

“It was like I’d spat on his shoes. I should’ve kept going. Or had a camera.”

“Futaba giggles wetly into her forearms. "Like one of those—those prank videos online… Get Yusuke to film it.”

“Yusuke, as the cameraman? I’m not trying to make a documentary.” Akechi flips to a different screen on his phone. “I already texted Yusuke about our poor dead dog, by the way, so don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly Futaba feels like literal garbage again. “Why are you always so nice to me?” she mumbles.

Akechi makes a weird face, like he’s trying to do his old Pleasant Boy shtick while having swallowed a lemon whole. “You say that like me being nice is somehow unusual.”

“Uh, yeah. Because it is. You literally were just being a huge asshole to a guy you’d never met over a fictional dog.”

Akechi has this increasingly disgruntled look on his face like he kind of wants to punt Futaba down some stairs, which, frankly, is the best sort of reward, in Futaba’s opinion. “I’m working on it,” he says grumpily.

“How’s that been?” says Futaba.

“Which part?”

Futaba has one whole moment of self reflection on this idea as maybe not a good course of action before she barrels on anyway: “The part where you’re turning your life around. Starting over. Trying again.”

“It sucks dick,” says Akechi.

“Oh, right on,” says Futaba, and then before she can stop herself: “Wait, I thought you liked dick?”

Akechi makes a noise like a strangled cat.

Futaba cackles. “Dude, incognito mode when you’re browsing for porn does not save you from people like me.”

“Have you been spying on me?”

“Uh, yes? Obviously?”

“You know you could get arrested for that sort of breach in privacy.”

“Oh, boo hoo, so sorry I know all about your weird orphan-saving night job and your smutty Featherman doujinshi collection. You’re not gonna narc on me.” Futaba stops. “Are you?”

“Stop looking at my internet history.”

“No. You better not narc on me.”

“Then stop looking at my internet history.”

“You had to google how to change a SIM card last week, crow-boy; you couldn’t stop me if you tried.”

“I will narc on you.”

“No you won’t. You’re the one trying to not be an asshole.”

Akechi makes a face like a cat being slowly submerged in cold water. Futaba laughs in his face.

“If you’re quite done,” says Akechi grouchily.

“No, never. You’re made for being made fun of,” says Futaba. “I’m gonna be making fun of you for years and years, crow-boy; you’re never going to get rid of me.”

“Great.”

“Gonna be creeping on your weird orphan-saving night job until the day you die.”

“Wonderful,” says Akechi without inflection whatsoever.

“Mwehehehehehehehehehe.”

“If you’re quite done.”

“I will take a well-deserved break from my endless duty to troll you both on and offline,” says Futaba. “Because I really really really wanna go to the art show.”

Akechi has the nerve to look relieved that he no longer has to squat in a dirty alleyway listening to a high school freshman bully him. “Then let’s go.”

Futaba hugs her knees tight. “But I wanna keep your coat.”

“Aren’t you wearing your own coat?” says Akechi, trying to look like he isn’t shivering. “Aren’t you getting hot?”

“I’m keeping it.”

“It’s my coat.”

“I’m keeping it.”

“Fine, then. Keep it. It’s dry clean only.”

“Oh, ew. No, take it back, gross, gross,” and Futaba peels the snotty, tear-stained, dirty winter coat off and dumps it back in Akechi’s arms, who looks at it with the expression of someone long-suffering and without hope of escape.

“And,” says Futaba, “I wanna see it if you tell anyone else that our dog got run over.”

Akechi smirks. “You’ll have to film it, then.”

“Oh my god, like I wouldn’t.”

Futaba scrubs her face one last time. She still feels like she’s covered in a grimy layer of slime, but maybe she can wash her face at Kosei. When she gets there. Because she’s gonna get there.

“Uh, one more thing,” says Futaba.

“Not like you’ve bullied me into doing literally everything else you’ve wanted,” says Akechi.

“You can’t laugh at me.”

“Good thing I don’t have a sense of humor,” says Akechi, which horrifyingly confirms to Futaba that Akechi and Yusuke, of all people, really do share a sense of humor.

Futaba hesitates. “Please, um… please don’t tell Akira about this.”

“Why would I tell Akira?“

"Nice. Good answer.” She smooths her hair down, trying to make herself presentable, or just have something to do with her hands. “I… told him I was gonna be okay without him and all that, so… I don’t wanna let him down, you know?”

Slowly, almost shyly, Akechi smiles. “Oh, yes. I know.”

“Our secret. Secret-keepers.”

“Secret-keepers. Are you ready?”

Futaba takes another deep breath. Pushes herself up, brushes herself off, and sighs. “Absolutely not. This is gonna suck so much dick,” says Futaba. “Let’s go anyway.”

#mine #slams hands on table FUTAGO SIBLINGS #futaba's dubious mental health cw #Anonymous

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illuma-can-you-not-i · 4 years

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Every time Sojiro Sakura was the entire Phantom Thieves' Dad: Morgana

God, Sojiro thought as he watched the little boy with round blue eyes in front of him scarf down the rice and curry with a pleased grin on his face. Why did Akira's little brother have to be so damn cute?

Almost as soon as he started, the boy finished the meal and set his chopsticks down. "Thank you for the food, Mr. Sir!", 'Mona' called out, giving a quick little bow. By then there were a couple of other customers in the store, and they seemed to be doing Sojiro's cooing for him. Was Akira ever this adorable? For some reason, Sakura found himself doubting the image of Akira like this as a little boy.

Speaking of, said raven-haired teen was sitting next to his brother at the counter, eating up his own breakfast much slower. "Did you even taste it?", he remarked to the boy after finishing up a bite. "I did! And it tasted good! Now hurry up!", the younger demanded, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him violently. He seemed riled up, full of energy. It was like two sides of a coin. "What's the hurry?", the man asked, finding amusement in the young boy's energy. Reminded him of Futaba when she was young.

"I've never even left town before!! I wanna see the city!", he demanded, kicking at his chair in excitement. "In a bit. Let me eat, first.", the teen responded, trying to get him to stop kicking the seat. "But--" "Mona. Patience.", Akira warned, glaring down his sibling as he slowly took another bite.

"Hey, we're...", Makoto called out as she pushed open the door, letting Ann, Ryuji, and Akechi walk in. All eyes locked on the young guest, each giving a surprised expression. "Hello.", she greeted slowly with a soft smile. "Well, holy shit.", Ryuji muttered with wide eyes. "Ah! Cute!", Ann squealed. "...How the fu--", Akechi started, getting cut off by Akira. "Hey guys, just in time! This is my little brother, Mona.", the teen introduced, and wow if that tone of voice didn't give off the implication that something else was going on, then he didn't know what would. This was definitely a cover story for something, but the man was almost too afraid to find out what.

"Mona, these are the friends I was talking about. Say hello.", Akira instructed before taking another bite, still keeping the 'play along' tone in his voice. "Hi, there! Whatever Big Bro told you about me, it isn't true!", the boy almost shouted, making almost everyone in the group chuckle. "Hello there, Mona. It's a pleasure to meet you.", Makoto greeted, the formality in her tone making the child beam in pride. Oh jeez, this kid had an ego, didn't he.

"Hi, Mona!", Ann greeted, running up and giving the young boy a hug from behind. Mona froze in his spot, a red creeping from the tips of his ears. "You good?", Akira asked, clearly smirking as if he knew the answer. "Mhmm.", the boy quietly answered with a nod.

"Anyway, what's up?", "Oh, we were about to go check out this new movie that someone won't shut up about.", Ann explained while giving Ryuji a pointed glare. He just shrugged and gave a guilty smile. "And we were in the neighborhood, so we figured we'd invite you along.", Makoto finished with a slight smile. Akira echoed the expression, but shook his head. "Sorry, guys. Not this time. Someone wanted to go sightseeing today.", Akira explained, playfully nudging the young boy. "Is that so?", Akechi asked, speaking with a hint of amusement in his tone. "Maybe we could join you later. Show your little bro all the good spots.", Ryuji suggested, ruffling up the boy's hair, despite his very vocal protests. "Meet up for lunch?", Ann proposed, getting a nod in return. "Sounds great. See you guys later.", Akira called with a wave as his friends left. The sound of Ann squealing about how cute Mona looked could be heard from inside the cafe not a second later.

"So, how long are you going to be in town?", Sojiro asked, trying to make light conversation. The young boy froze in his seat, surprised expression on his face. Like he got caught in a lie. "Uh...", Mona trailed off, glancing in between Akira, who had stopped eating, and Sojiro, who was watching with far more attentiveness than before. "You do have a return ticket, right?", Sakura inquired, curious about this reaction.

"The train ride here...cost more than I thought it would.", Mona whimpered, playing with his two index fingers. Something didn't add up about this. Crossing his arms, Sojiro slowly asked, "And how did you get the money in the first place?" "I saved up my allowance.", Mona replied, far more quiet and shy than mere moments before. He spoke slower, too, like he was carefully choosing his words.

The man stood with crossed arms, looking the kid up and down, trying to analyze whether to believe him or not. It was plain as day that something amiss was going on, and Mona was in the center of it, but whether or not that thing should be something Sojiro would wanna get roped into was the biggest point of the debate. He was a man who knew when to pick his battles, and the panicked look in both Mona's and Akira's--ok, he could see the resemblance. Kind of.--eyes was the move that tipped the scale into surrendering this time. "OK, I'll tell your parents that you need a ticket back.", he decided, pulling out his phone to start dialing.

"Already done.", Akira spoke up, too quick to not be suspicious. "Your parents know where he is, right?", he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "If they didn't before, they did this morning.", the teen remarked in a deadpan, eyes still on the plate. "And let me tell you, Mom isn't happy.", he slipped in the detail, making the child shrink up in fear. A fear that was well-earned, if the few times he's ever actually met the kid's parents has anything to indicate. The Kurusu matriarch was a powerful authority if he's ever met one.

"You like cats, kid?", Sojiro asked in an attempt to change the tone, not catching the snicker that Akira tried to cover by stuffing his mouth with food. Mona seemed to look up in pondering, before giving a shrug. "Eh."

"Well, your brother's been taking care of a cat while he's staying here, and I was hoping you two would meet.", Sojiro explained, picturing the image in his head. They would either be best friends or sworn enemies, knowing the feline's attitude. Speaking of which... "Now that I think about it, I wonder where he is.", he muttered under his breath while collecting Mona's plate.

"Oh! I'll help!", the little boy volunteered, jumping out of the chair and running to the other side of the counter, quickly grabbing the dish and taking it to the sink. "Thank you, Mona.", Sakura was quick to respond, watching the probably-grade-schooler beam with pride.

Sakura turned to the elder brother and gave a long sigh. "Kid, you're lucky that your brother's cute. One convict's enough for me.", he grumbled, already acknowledging that standing his ground about the boy going home was a losing battle. "He says as if he hasn't adopted every member of the Phantom Thieves.", Akira remarked with a snicker, earning a dish towel to the face.

#morgana #persona 5 #sojiro sakura #human morgana #coffee dad

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bl00dgutsgl0ry · 4 years

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As The World Caves In (Akechi Goro x Akira Kurusu)

Pairing - Akechi Goro x Akira Kurusu

Smut/Fluff/Angst - Lots and Lots of angst on this one I haven’t written and angst fic in a while.

Warnings - Canon typical gore/horror, and swearing

Additional Info - I edited the way the story plays out a bit and basically removed the fact that everyone knows that Akechi was going to betray them. It makes it more interesting lol.

Akira hadn’t known many friends before being forced to move to Shibuya and do parole there. He was always very quite, but was always soaking up his surroundings like a sponge. He had his own personality most definitely, but it’s always been hidden and covered with the personality he pieces together from what he believes people will like. So getting thrust into this unknown situation that hadn't even been his fault was a very big shock to this built up personality. Not to mention being forced to make friends and relationships that would help him. Was it shallow to only make friendships he thought was beneficial to him? Sure you could say that, but in the end he actually started to depend on these people and greatly appreciated these people for helping him grow.

But that's enough reminiscing, the Phantom Thieves were currently in the middle of a meeting, deciding if they were ready to send the infamous calling card to Sae Nijima. Akira was used to seeing his other seven teammates and friends, but there was a newcomer who he had gotten quite close to: Goro Akechi. Akechi had been around Akira for quite some time making his first appearance when Ann Ryuji Morgana and Akira all went to the broadcasting station for a school field trip; Akira making himself known to the detective when he answered a question. Ever since then, Akechi would accidentally run into the taller raven haired boy. Each time they would run into each other it would make Akira’s heart flutter. The fans of Akechi were correct; he was incredibly charismatic and not to mention, exceptionally attractive. Whilst hiding behind his indifferent blank facial expression, he would eventually become happy to see the detective; even though he was progressively becoming more of a thorn in the sides of the Phantom Thieves.

The group, after in depth conversation about whether or not they were ready to send the calling card, decided they should wait and send it on a specific day; per Akechi’s request. Akechi had a plan, even though most of the Phantom Thieves didn't exactly trust him, he was the best shot they had. Eventually most of them dispersed except for Yuskue, Akechi, and obviously Morgana. Akira decided to make them all coffee seeing as how Sojiro didn't really care what he did as long as he didn’t take too much coffee. They made small talk with each other before Yusuke left to go home and Morgana decided to retire to bed early, leaving Akechi and Akira in the shop alone with each other. They continued to small talk, even though Akira wasn't exactly paying attention to what was being said, he was paying attention to how Akechi looked. The way the dimly lit golden light of the café, and the almost shimmering light of the moon bouncing off of Akechi in such a pleasing way made him look so ethereal; almost like an angel sent from heaven.

“Well, I must be going now if I want to catch the last train back to my home. I appreciate to coffee Kurusu it truly does get better every time I stop by.” Akechi said suddenly after a sudden gap of silence; a pleasant smile gracing his face.

“Be careful Goro, and I’ve said it before, Akira is fine.” The raven haired boy retuned the pleasant smile before taking Akechi’s empty coffee cup and going to wash it. He heard Akechi slowly gather his things, then the soft ring of the bell on the door alerting anyone inside that it has been open. After a beat the bell chimed once more and the door closed. Once Akira was done washing his dishes and putting them away, he left to lock the café door before retiring to his room to sleep.

After that, the days leading up to the delivery of the calling card went by in what felt like seconds. Of course he spent the days hanging out with his teammates, getting closer to them giving him more benefits; though he did genuinely enjoy their company. Sadly to Akira’s misfortune though there were no signs of Akechi anywhere. He was probably getting ready still, as much as he didn't want to admit it he did miss him. His polite looking smile and the way his hair was always so soft looking and well kept. But oh well, they’ll have plenty of time to spend with each other finishing off Sae’s palace.

And then the day was upon them, the day where Sae Nijima’s hear would be changed forever; that is as long as they were successful. They had Makoto deliver the calling card the day before, so this was it. Their only chance. Everything was going to be fine, they would do what they always did and they would be in and out of there within the day.

And that's how it went, there was of course a hiccup or two where they had realized that of course the shadow of Sae was cheating, but with Joker’s quick wit there were able to quickly figure out what she was doing and get past it. It difficult for Makoto to see her sister the way she was, but with everyone giving her a reassuring smiling and her subconsciously knowing that this was for the best, see was able to get through everything and talk to her sister for a moment.

“The investigation will now be able to proceed. The suspicion against you will be lifted as well. This deal we made... was a great experience for me.” Akechi spoke gracefully after the battle had ended and Yusuke and Ryuji found Sae’s treasure. Akechi and Akira both nodded to each other, in mutual acknowledgment and respect. Akira could feel his bond growing with Akechi, this new found trust in him.

“Alright we don’t need to stay here any longer..!” Morgana piped up, then looked at Makoto asking if she was alright. She gave a quick assured nod.

“I am.. Let’s go.” Makoto stood from her kneeling position in front of her sister’s fallen shadow.

“Huh?! Enemy readings! When did they...?! They’re gathering outside!” Futaba’s scan popped up in front of her as she looked through it, trying to asses what the hell was going on.

“Look at those numbers...!” Yusuke said disbelief prevalent in his voice.

“There are more coming?! This’ll be dangerous if we don't do something..!” The panic was visible in everyone, they knew that if they got surrounded they would be done for.

“A group this large would be discovered immediately, so we would need to split up. Although we would need for someone to act as a decoy... No but that's too dangerous..!” Even Makoto was frantic as she desperately tried to think of a way out of this situation.

“I’ll do it.” Akira’s voice was calm, but powerful and confident. He knew what he was doing and he needed his teammates to believe in him as well.

“Joker?! Are you seriously planning on distracting them by yourself?!”

“Let him do it Queen, he’s quite but once he’s made up his mind he wont take no for an answer.” Ryuji knew Akira well, seeing as how he was his first friend throughout this entire process and Ryuji knew that Akira would be okay. He had to be.

With that Ryuji handed over the brief case, and with a couple more reluctant parting words from just about everyone, he was on his way. He needed to make sure they were safe. Akira gave a theatrical performance as he distracted the guards, making sure it was flashy and everyone knew of his presence.

As he bobbed and weaved through guards, finally moving in the shadows he made it back to the main room. His only way out? Through the giant stained glass window. And just with this he was spotted, what better way that to make his escape with an audience of people who were trying to capture him? He jumped up on the railing and ran towards the widow.

“See ya.” With a quick flourish, he dived out the window and landed on the ground below. But before he could even realize, hundreds of spotlights were aimed at him, and even more police officers were surrounding him. He tried to get away but as he was climbing the latter he was knocked back down with the butt of someone's gun.

“Didn’t expect to find some kid. You have your teammate to thank for all of this. You were sold out.” Sold out? Sold out?! How could he have been... Who would’ve-

Akechi...

Eventually, he woke up, back to where everything began, the interrogation room. All the questions Sae threw at him as he refused to sell his teammates out. God he hoped they at least were able to get out. Sae’s time eventually ran out and she had to leave. After her Akechi himself entered the room, and it made Akira’s stomach drop. Why did this affect him so much... Akira watched as Akechi quickly swiped the silenced gun from the police officer and shot him, making Akira flinch.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Akira couldn’t help but lash out finally snapping. He had trusted Akechi so much, and of course that was probably his downfall but he couldn’t help it. Akechi was so perfect and he finally felt truly connected to him but what the fuck was this?!

“What is wrong with me?! Tough talk coming from someone who is tied up screaming at a guy with a gun! You’re gonna regret being born. I don’t understand how you have always had it some much better than me. I trained myself day in and day out to be fucking perfect; but you who is nothing but attic scum showed up and had immediately gathered so much attention. Being worshiped by others.” Akechi swung at Akira, giving him a strong punch directly into the temple making him see stars. Akira groaned from the hit. Everything was so blurry, he didn’t know if it was because there were tears in his eyes or if it was because he just got knocked in the side of the head; probably both.

Where did everything go wrong? Akira physically couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Akechi was his friend, wasn’t he? Why was everything so backwards now? Whilst he was in his head he hadn’t realized that he was staring at the ground while Akechi was going on and on about how much he hated him.

“Are you even fucking listening to me?! Are you so fucking cocky that even now, as you sit before me tied up and helpless, you still think you’re better than me?!” Akechi’s voice was becoming raspier by the second as he screamed at the top of his lungs. His vocal cords straining to keep up with his howling. It sounded like the man was tearing his own vocal cords to shreds and he probably was. Akira didn’t even look up at Akechi though, just kept his eyes trained to the floor which enraged the psychotic man above him even more. He couldn’t even register what was happening before Akechi shot him in the knee.

“Will that get your worthless attention attic trash?!” Akira’s ears were ringing, the adrenaline in his body only barely covering up the burning pain in his knee. Akira cried out, pleading Akechi to stop yet he was only met with maniacal laughter. Laughter that was ripping out of a man’s chest, tearing at his lungs and vocal cords in the process. Akechi screeched as he waved the gun around frantically, and once Akira shakily lifted his head took look at the man he once trusted with his life, Akechi thrusted the gun right between his eyes and pressed hard; throwing Akira’s head back.

“Beg. Beg me not to blow your fucking brains out like the worthless piece of trash you are.” Akira’s eyes were blown wide open, his breath shaky while his tongue quickly darted out to anxiously wet his lips. He genuinely had to contemplate whether or not it was worth it. What if the other phantom thieves were already on their way to help him? He couldn’t lose his dignity like that. He knew he wasn’t exactly in the position to be choosing whether or not losing his dignity was worth losing his life, but for fucks sake he worked his ass off to get the respect he has now, he will not lose it.

“Bite me.” Turns out that wasn’t the best answer. Because as soon as “me” left Akira’s mouth, a bullet entered his brain. So much for Joker’s dignity.

#persona 5 #akechi #akechi goro #akira kusuru #akira x akechi #Ren Amamiya #persona 5 royal #yusuke kitawaga #ryuji sakamoto #Morgana #Persona 5 mona

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wondr18360 · 5 years

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Hints at who the traitor was in Persona 5

To be honest, I always had a gut feeling that this person would be the traitor partly because I had seen the teaser images for PQ2 with them included as part of the Phantom Thieves and given their background before they “joined” the group, they certainly seemed suspicious, but still that’s not really proof that this person was the traitor, so here’s a list of things that really helped prove that they were the culprit behind the mental shutdowns and the one who sold out the Phantom Thieves!

(I haven’t revealed their name or gender yet cuz I don’t wanna spoil anyone by accident, so select ‘keep reading’ at your own risk!)

1. Lurking at Okumura Foods

The first time the Phantom Thieves enter Okumura’s palace, Akechi is spotted nearby, and we can see him actually notice the Thieves gathered in front of the company building before the scene cuts to the Metaverse. At this point in the game it could be just a way to make us nervous since it’s already been established that he’s suspicious of the Shujin kids + Yusuke and Futaba, and him seeing them go into the Metaverse in front of a potential target’s property could make him even more suspicious and maybe even give him solid proof that they are the Phantom Thieves, but really, why is Akechi by the Okumura company building in the first place? Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe he’s just doing his job investigating Okumura as a suspect? In any case, it is quite convenient, especially that he happens to be there at the same time that the Thieves are, and more importantly, that this just happens to be the one palace that they infiltrate whose owner dies of a mental shutdown because the true culprit appears after the boss battle and kills his shadow. I’m probably grasping at straws, but in hindsight this does seem a bit fishy...

2. Interest in the Shujin Kids + Yusuke & Futaba (and Haru)

During the Shujin Academy panel, when Akechi reveals that he knows their identity as the Phantom Thieves, he tells the group that he was curious about them ever since the Madarame case. This could have been because Yusuke started hanging out with Ryuji, Ann, and Akira (and Morgana) around the time of the Madarame case, and not only would that have been odd because he didn’t go to the same school as them, but after a bit of digging it would have been known that a former pupil/victim of Madarame was hanging out with three Shujin students who had been victims of Kamoshida, who was the first target of the Phantom Thieves; logically that would have made for a pretty interesting group and it would have been a strange coincidence that Yusuke just happens to join those three when his tormentor gets a change of heart. But remember, Madarame’s shadow was the first one to mention the true culprit behind the shutdowns, and talked about a Persona-user with a black mask. Kaneshiro, the next criminal to get a change of heart, also mentioned the culprit. It’s a bit odd that the time around which Akechi grew interested in the group coincides with the time that we first heard about the true culprit, who most likely could have even been in the palaces at the same time as the Thieves and maybe even saw them as they were exploring, particularly since in the Okumura palace, the culprit kills Shadow Okumura right after the Thieves defeat him and leave him behind, indicating that whoever they were, they must have been waiting inside the palace itself for the Thieves to weaken him and then leave so that they could finish the job. Again, probably grasping at straws, but it’s kinda suspicious.

3. Sudden Thieves fan??

Okay he doesn’t really become a fan of the Phantom Thieves, but Akechi’s stance towards them does soften somewhat after Okumura’s death when he adamantly says that they aren’t responsible for the incident or for any of the other mental shutdowns. This is a bit suspicious since before he seemed very convinced that the Phantom Thieves were connected to the mental shutdowns, and when his stance suddenly changes to the opposite, even Sae Nijima calls him out on it and points out the same thing. Not only that, but on his television appearance, he even comments that there may be more going on than originally thought, which is similarly suspicious and even indicates that he may actually know more than he’s letting on. In addition, when he later runs into Akira at Leblanc again, he says something about how is goals are probably not so different from theirs, which a) hints at a possible collaboration between him and the Thieves, and b) indicates that he may also have his own agenda to get rid of scummy adults. The latter is actually confirmed later when he’s talking with the Thieves in Leblanc, when he mentions wanting revenge against sickening human beings and having a grudge against someone, which puts more emphasis on the fact that there is some darker force behind Akechi’s actions and motivation.

4. Genius, or experienced?

During the Shujin Academy panel when Akechi confronts the Thieves and reveals how he found out their true identities, he says that he has the same power as them and that he gained that power around the time of the Okumura case, about a month before the panel. However, when he’s talking to the Thieves, he seems to know quite a bit about the Metaverse, even mentioning it by name, which is odd because even members like Makoto and Futaba, who either pick up knowledge quite quickly or may have already had some knowledge of the cognitive world, needed time and guidance from Morgana and the veteran members of the Thieves in order to figure things out. And yet here’s Akechi, who was on his own the whole time, talking as though he’s already an expert on the Metaverse- and how exactly did he know that that’s what the other world was called? It’s a bit strange, and even when he’s exploring Sae’s palace with the Thieves, he seems to know quite a lot already, or picks up on things abnormally quickly for someone who’s supposed to be an “amateur” as Morgana would say. Speaking of Sae’s palace, it’s also a bit fishy how he was able to find out so quickly how to use the Meta-nav to find it, since he is the one who reveals to the group that she has a palace, and evidently already has a plan to change her heart. Basically, his intelligence aside, the only other viable reason I can think of for Akechi’s extensive knowledge of the Metaverse is that he has more experience with it than he made it seem to the Phantom Thieves.

5. Bad storyteller

I don’t know about you guys, but when Akechi was telling the Thieves about how he saw the real culprit behind the shutdowns and somehow survived their encounter by awakening his Persona, I wasn’t buying it. First, there's no proof that what he’s saying is actually true, and also, if he's really going to be a bona fide monafide member of the Phantom Thieves, wouldn’t we actually get to witness his awakening the way we did with all the other members? Even Haru, who was in her Persona clothes already when we first saw her, got a real awakening scene for us to see, but there’s none of that for Akechi. That’s not all though- it’s already established that the true culprit is quite strong, in fact, back when Shadow Kaneshiro mentioned the culprit, he said that the Thieves would be no match for them in terms of strength. If that’s the case, how would Akechi have survived? Maybe the trauma of a life-or-death situation triggered his awakening and his Persona momentarily saved his life, but still the culprit could have taken another shot or two and killed him because he’s still supposed to be relatively unfamiliar with his powers, and logically it would also be in the culprit’s best interests to make sure to get rid of Akechi because he actually saw them and this could come back to bite them later. In any case, Akechi’s story is only slightly believable at best in my opinion, and for me at least it definitely was a big hint.

6. Sae’s calling card

Am I the only one who thought it was kind of weird that Akechi was so specific about the date that they should send out the calling card for Sae? I mean, yeah he gave that whole analysis of her character and why based on that it would be good to send the calling card closer to the deadline, but still, why did it have to be on the 18th? Why not the 17th or the 19th? After all, those dates are pretty close to the deadline as well. This just makes it more likely that Akechi’s monologue about Sae is a clever ruse to hide the fact that he is planning his own “mission” to mobilize the police to capture the Phantom Thieves in her palace on that date.

7. The deal

One of the biggest indicators (in my opinion) that Akechi wouldn’t be a true member of the Phantom Thieves was his condition for cooperating with them: they disband after dealing with Sae’s palace. If he genuinely was interested in joining them or working together towards justice, he wouldn’t be giving them such an ultimatum. He does say that he wants to work with them because the mission would not be able to succeed without their cooperation, but even that comment is a bit sketchy because his referring to a “mission” could even mean that he has an ulterior motive, some other “mission” that he’s trying to carry out besides taking away Sae’s distorted desires. Anyway, because he generally did not approve of the Thieves and his motivation for working with them was questionable at best, it makes sense that he would have been the one to betray them.

8. Delicious Pancakes:

Finally, the most meme-ish canon hint that Goro Akechi is the traitor! This is basically the incident that tips off Akira and the Phantom Thieves that they should be suspicious of Akechi when he wants to make a deal and work with them later in the game. It’s one of those hints that you can catch when it happens (which is far earlier than the deal and whole traitor business), but it’s subtle enough that you do need to be paying some attention to what’s going on at the time, especially since it’s covered up well by Ryuji’s convincing response to Akechi that nope, no one was talking about pancakes, and the fact that no one actually addresses it afterwards until months later when the story is close to its climax. But even if you did forget that Morgana was the only one talking about pancakes and how delicious they were, you would have to wonder why Akechi was so specific about having heard someone say “delicious pancakes” when it sounds nothing like what Ryuji and Ann were talking about before he arrived on the scene. From the early-game standpoint, it’s an indicator that given the fact that he heard Morgana, Akechi probably isn’t the normal high-school detective that he appears to be, but after progressing to the later part of the game, it’s proof that Akechi could hear and understand Morgana from the very beginning, and therefore was another Metaverse user; he was the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns.

Welp, that was long, but if you got this far, thanks so much and I hope you enjoyed reading! :D

Bonus hint: Akechi literally is a long-haired alternate dimension version of Light Yagami, I mean of COURSE he’s the crazy criminal masquerading as a detective/ordinary student! XD

(Also no one asked but Futaba sits a lot like L so it really is like Light vs. L again except this time L WINS!!)

#again sorry it's so long lol #persona 5 #phantom thieves #goro akechi #ryuji sakamoto #yusuke kitagawa #akira kurusu #ren amamiya #futaba sakura #ann takamaki #makoto nijima #haru okumura #morgana #sae nijima #p5 #video game analysis #p5 analysis

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nemirutami · 5 years

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DUDE HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO THINK THINGS THROUGH SO WELL??? Whenever i come up with a story thing i can never sort things out or how i want them to go or organize things just how do you go about this junk because i live for the set ups you have

Since you seemed to like those AUS, I’ll share a few more that I’ve never talked about! Most will be pegokita bc i’m… predictable.

Pegokita Ice Skating AU) Akira pairs up with Haru in the couple’s ice skating world cup, and they’ve been a pair for ages now, but once Haru gets injured, Okumura decides to force her to keep participating…. unless, Akira can find someone just as competent to replace her. So… Akira has to go find a skater to take Haru’s place. But since their routine is so… strict? He has to find someone that matches Haru’s height, weight, and stamina. Otherwise, they’d have to change the routine, since Akira has to be able to lift, spin, and skate next to them in that same routine. He’s about to give up when he sees Minato skate on the ice, practicing for the singles tournament. Long story short, Akira mistakes Minato for a girl because of his physique, and Minato is obviously bothered and will now refuse to entertain anything Akira says lol. The only thing that convinces Minato to lend Akira a hand is seeing just how bad off Haru is, and knowing what type of man Okumura is, Minato knows he will force Haru to skate in her condition if they don’t have a replacement. So, Minato agrees. However… there’s a catch. It’s not like Okumura would be ok supporting two dudes on the ice. Which means… that’s right… Minato has to crossdress. Incredible. Cue the frustration of having to dress up like a girl and suddenly developing feelings for your partner with worrying whether or not those feelings would ever be reciprocated because Akira keeps mentioning what a convincing girl he looks like. Minato just assumes Akira sees him as a girl or wishes he was one, which is why he never pursues anything, and Akira assumes something along the same lines. “I forced him into this, kinda. Why would he not hate me?”. Miscommunication…on ice!

RRAU King Akechi) I haven’t talked about this variation of RRAU, but I mentioned a long while back on twitter something like… “What if Akira and Minato were both retainers for a corrupt King”. Now, what if that king was Akechi? It seems like an interesting dynamic between the 3 of them, since both Akechi and Minato would be more law aligned (Messiah, Robin Hood), and Akira would be the rebellious outlier (Satanael). It also means Akira would be the first to raise his gun against Akechi if Akechi actually decided to do something that would put people in danger. Ally with an enemy, kill off prisoners for kicks/to prove a point, anything really. Or, perhaps, even execute Minato for a crime he supposedly committed just because Akechi had to do so in the name of the law. I wholly believe that Minato and Akira would become the closest in this AU, which means Akira would betray Akechi for Minato, but Minato’s alignment would mean Minato would ultimately side with Akechi if they were about to throw down. I don’t think Akechi would have a preference between Akira or Minato, but I do think Akira’s more unpredictable nature (that rebellious side) would pique Akechi’s interest more, and so, he’d favor siding with Akira, perhaps because he knows Minato will ultimately side with him if he says the word. Minato’s predictability would be why Akechi would favor Akira. Siding with Akira wouldn’t ever leave Minato opposed to his choice. So long as the order comes from Akechi, Minato will do it. At least, that’s their dynamic for this setting. I have no real plot, only a stand-off where all 3 of these idiots point guns between each other, and one of them bites a bullet. I have different scenarios for this too, just because it’s fun to think about who would ally with who and who would betray who depending on the context.

Pegokita Minato’s Palace AU) This one is different from the one I drew ages ago (this drawing, Minato’s phantom thief outfit). I have a lot of notes for this one (the whole plot actually, start to finish) but I’ll be…. brief. YES THIS IS BRIEF, I HAVE LIKE 7 PAGES LMFAO.

Essentially, a palace forms in Minato’s heart from a distorted desire to date Akira. THIS SOUNDS OOC BUT HEAR ME OUT… In his palace, there’s multiple Akiras. They serve different purposes, and they all look completely infatuated with Minato, but Minato is never shown to be affectionate with them. You know how the shadows mistook Ann for her clone in Kamoshida’s palace? The different looking Akiras wouldn’t know Akira was an intruder because he looks just like them. They’d assume he was just walking around doing his job, but Minato (just like Kamoshida) would be able to tell who the real Akira is just by a glance (even if he’s not in his PT’s uniform. Minato wouldn’t consider Akira a threat, so he would never actually look like a target to anyone, kinda like Ann before her awakening). In Kamoshida’s case, the “real” Ann was the one in his cognition, but for Minato, the real Akira is the real Akira that enters the palace. Minato doesn’t actually consider the “clones” Akira. They’re merely… replicas. He explains as much later. However, for the time being, Akira has a crush on Minato, and upon entering Minato’s palace, it’s clear Minato also has an obsession with him. But… you can see where this is going, right? Minato’s feelings aren’t healthy if they’re this distorted. Which means, Akira has to get rid of the distortion. Which means… Minato won’t have feelings for him anymore if he actually follows through, leaving Akira with unrequited love.

So, what does Akira do?

Attempt to change Minato’s heart by giving in to his desires. He figures, maybe, just maybe, if he can convince Minato’s shadow/cognitive self that Akira (the real Akira) actually loves him, then maybe the distortion will go away on its own. This leads to Akira staying in his palace for… much longer. Hours. Days, even. All the while, he’s only making Minato more distorted. More clones begin to show up in the palace, and it infuriates Akira because “What am I supposed to do, nothing works, is the only option really to steal his heart?“ but Akira’s the one who’s causing all the clones to appear. You know how in P5 you can OPEN a person’s message, arrive for your date/plans, but still refuse to hang out with them? I assume Akira did this a number of times to Minato, enough for Minato to stop messaging him completely, convinced Akira had gotten bored of him. It also means Akira isn’t able to actually get in touch with Minato in the real world now, since Minato has “shut him off” for his own sake. Any message Akira sends to him like “let’s hang out” will be ignored, since he burned Minato too many times (lmao the arcana reversed). It’s funny how Akira is the reason this palace exists in the first place. Since Akira pretty much maxed Minato’s link and then… prioritized everyone else. Minato’s cognitive self pretty much asks Akira to stay “forever” which… Akira can’t do, of course… can he? He actually considers it. Though, this can’t be allowed. When Akira finally decides he wants to steal Minato’s heart (for the both of them), his PT’s uniform actually starts to show, and he sticks out like a sore thumb among all the other Akira, making him ridiculously easy to spot and capture by ALL THE OTHER CLONES. I guess i’ll leave this au off on the note that once Akira is captured, Minato plans to fuck him to death. Yes, you heard right. Wham, bam, thank you mA’AM.

As for how i come up with aus or ideas, IT’S REALLY HARD TO DESCRIBE, I usually go with “what do i want these two characters to feel in regards to one another with this scene and how will it tie into the plot”, I just write what I find interesting. My own comic works the same way. I’m very simple, if I want to see Akechi stab Minato with a sword I will create a whole scenario around it to make stabby look more fun. I don’t really care about actions as much as I care about the feelings the people behind the actions are experiencing. That’s the real fun part.

I think I have more aus… but here u go. A taste of AUS I haven’t rlly mentioned before.

#tnt answers asks #mushy-lin #long post

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twilightknight17 · 5 years

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who do you think ribbon is and why don't you want her aeon? i just hope she just gets to have a good reason to disagree with the thieves and not have to blindly agree in a romance route. i also hope there's no akechi palace, which a lot of people want, because i'd rather he make the choice to leave shido on his own, not because his heart was taken, unless its like a futaba/sae palace deal.

*gleeful hand-rubbing* Oh boy, a chance to talk about most of my pet theories/headcanons for this all at once. Thank you, Anon.

OKAY.

Step One: Ribbon’s Identity!

All right! Here is my ideal scenario . I’m quite sure I will not get this, but I can dream.

It’s (probably) a nice, shiny remake, so that should mean new content. So other than the manual Justice social link and expanded character development that I would love to have, I want the game to proceed pretty much as normal up until that final choice to trade the world for your friends.

Choose well, proceed as normal, defeat Yaldabaoth…and get extra content after Christmas. Whether that’s in the form of Akechi Palace, Akira’s friends trying to get him out of jail, or extra stuff between Valentines and when Akira goes home, just…more content in general, in some form.

Choose poorly and rewrite the world into the Good Ending…and get a new scenario. I want to think that Ribbon-chan is someone from the good ending, where the Phantom Thieves are becoming tyrants, and she and Akechi have to team up to take on the corrupted Thieves. Then we get the opportunity to be Akechi, new content, and the option to just not do it if you don’t want to. After all, she says she doesn’t like the Phantom Thieves, so the options are kind of limited. Either she doesn’t like them during canon, which seems kind of a dull angle, or…

She dislikes them because they’re wild tyrants changing the hearts of anyone they feel like, and she seems to be the only one willing to talk about it, which catches Akechi’s attention. As for why Akechi is alive in that scenario, Yaldabaoth resetting the world could bring him back, if he was dead. Why not? By that point, he’d have gone through the engine room and at least started towards changing his own heart, so it would make sense for him to go in and try to fix the idiot that handed the world to the false god.

So yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. (Good excuse for a Joker Palace, even, to parallel the potential Akechi Palace in the other branch???)

(Oops. I wrote…too much. X’D Under a cut for the rest.)

Step Two: Ribbon as Aeon

I do not want Ribbon to be Aeon because, of the two Aeons that we have, one worked, and one did not, from a storytelling perspective. Making Aigis the Aeon Link in P3P worked because Aigis was already an established part of the story. The link just added an opportunity to get to know her better than in the original P3. Whereas Marie was someone new crowbarred into the pre-existing story, and people…didn’t really respond well to that. I like Marie, but I don’t think her inclusion in the story was handled well. So I don’t want a repeat of that with them trying to shove some new girl in and trying to make us care about her. Especially when there’s plenty they could already elaborate on with the characters/elements that they have. Give Haru some more character development! She deserves it! Plus Aeons are usually depicted as the “canon” love interest and…no. Not some newcomer. I’d rather it be someone that’s already in the game if there has to be a canon implication. Haru is nice. Ryuji is nice. My OTP is nice. X’D Or no one at all! That’s fine too!

I just don’t trust them to do a good job adding a new character after the fact, even if she isn’t Aeon. And while I sort of like the idea that she might be Sophia, since Aeons also have a track record of not being human, I’m worried that could be too similar to Marie. And also we really shouldn’t be allowed to date Sophia. XDDDDD

Step Three: Akechi’s Palace

I actually agree with you! I want an Akechi Palace, but I don’t want them to steal his heart. Sae had a change of heart just by being made to recognize her own distortion, and I believe Goro can do the same. Talking to the Thieves after his boss fight was enough to start him on that path; imagine what a change working through his actual Palace could cause even if they don’t steal his heart. Just getting to the end and talking to his shadow could make a difference. (And it’d be a good spot to maybe bring up the implications of ripping out a piece of someone’s psyche? Since they don’t really talk about that except, like, twice. Even though Shido does deserve it.)

I also wouldn’t be opposed to Akechi’s Palace being optional. Marie sets a precedent for “Max the link before X date and get Marie’s dungeon”. So…max the Justice link before 11/20 and unlock the option to play the Palace as part of saving him later. That would work.

#I will ramble for ages at the slightest opportunity #XD #answered #Persona #Persona 5 #P5R #Anonymous

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persona-rrau · 6 years

Note

Does it ever get lonely for Minato? Never having anyone to talk to, always trying to erase his own emotional issues for the good of the kingdom?

TNT: I think that’s an after effect both Akira and Minato have to deal with. Despite clearly having each other, there’s a barrier that keeps them split up (rank and gender etc, not to mention the guilt that burdens Akira every time he remembers what happened during The Fall). Though, since the question was directed at Minato specifically, I’ll answer them in order.Akira’s out working most the time, from little personal errands for the King to dealing with assassins. Minato has so little time with Akira that he often has to lie and make up some excuse for them to spend time together. Be it either filing paperwork he can easily do himself, tripping and faking hurt, or a “business” trip to Astarte. He gets lonely, but he feels responsible for Akira’s hardships (given Akira’s position, Minato could technically fire him, but… they need a retainer. Minato would fire him if he wasn’t putting a bullet in both their heads that way.) so he sucks it up and tries to bend the rules in their favor little by little, but the people aren’t easily swayed, and making radical changes only brings more assassins for Akira to deal with. He has to put on a mask to make everyone believe everything’s fine, because if the King is worried for their future, then the people won’t feel secure. Akira’s the only one he can open up to about those insecurities, but Minato ends up often not burdening him with those thoughts in the end, since Akira already has so much to deal with. That… and Akira’s never around that often, so Minato’s opportunities to actually communicate with Akira about anything is very slim.

Minato doesn’t talk much to anyone besides Akira (who then relays Minato’s message for him to whoever it needs to reach), the other nobles, or very specific staff in the palace (like guards who drop in to deliver news or letters). It’s partly because he doesn’t feel comfortable with it, and partly because he’s worried his mask will break if he’s allowed to talk for too long. In my vers, this is (to some extent) why Akechi’s plan to become retainer is so… efficient. Minato wants Akira to work less. Minato wants company. Akechi can both work and free up Akira’s time. While Akechi sympathises with Minato (being lonely and feeling like there’s no one around that’s willing to listen to you) he also knows he needs to exploit that weakness in Minato in order to get ahead. Minato needs someone by his side because unlike Akira (who needs to communicate with important informants to keep Minato safe) Minato doesn’t directly have to communicate with anyone if he doesn’t feel like it because that’s something he knows Akira can do better and faster for him in certain cases. But it leaves him isolated a good chunk of his time. Some days, he doesn’t say a word to anyone. Not because he dislikes talking, but because he has nothing to say or no one to talk to, or just too much to do. Other days, he can talk his throat sore from the speeches he has to hold, and how much he has to rehearse not to sound completely monotonous. They’re both broken and lonely, but I do tend to focus on Akira a lot in my comics when I write them, because there’s a lot to show there (conflict, both internal and external) whereas Minato’s (if i made a comic for him- which I’m planning after the current one) would be… almost stagnant. There’d be almost no dialogue. With Akira, there’s a lot of ups and downs, but with Minato (during the times Akira isn’t present) is like a consistent stream of apathy.

Straylize: What TNT says is pretty universal for both versions. Obviously, there are some differences due to the way Akechi’s role differs; Akechi can’t really exploit that loneliness because in my verse, Akechi is really never allowed to get that close, since he’s an A-Rank soldier and not a retainer. He’s still about as close as he can get, but there are bigger barriers for him to get through.

So Minato is still mostly isolated; he doesn’t confide much in anyone but Akira, but there are a couple of people in the palace that he is a little closer to. Junpei is one of those people; he’s an A-Rank guard who spends most of his time protecting Minato; he watches over his quarters. While Akira is the one who accompanies Minato everywhere personally, Junpei is one of the guards who watches their backs. If they go on an outing outside the palace, say to another city or region, Junpei is the one who will guard his quarters or meeting room, or even a restaurant. Anything where Akira would be inside with Minato, Junpei is usually one of the guards outside. He’s been in service of the kingdom since just after The Fall, and has worked closely with Minato for so long that Minato and Akira both have some trust in him. So even though Minato doesn’t confide much in Junpei, Junpei is still a person who can brighten his spirits, usually with stories (both real and outlandishly made up) of escapades in the capital. It helps Minato feel a little less lonely, since Junpei is so animated that Minato can live a bit vicariously through it. He appreciates those moments, even if they’re fleeting.

He also has Yukari, who much like Junpei, has been in his service for long enough to have earned some trust. Even though she primarily works with the military as an archer, her natural sense of style means she likes to work closely with the royal tailors; she’s the one who can draw of Minato what kind of clothing he wants for various occasions, going over the ideas before relaying them to the tailors to start the work and fittings. Even though it’s something official and somewhat formal, Yukari’s personality is never really all that stiff with him, and the fact he can tell her the kind of clothing he wants without judgment makes him more incline to be honest. They bring out a fair amount of good in each other, even if it’s again, somewhat fleeting because Minato never shares his burdens.

Everyone in the palace knows Minato carries heavy burdens; they know what a lot of those burdens are too, but he doesn’t share them and most feign ignorance to keep him from fretting about it (especially since Akira won’t let them get away with making Minato feel bad, were he to catch wind of it).

#tnt vers #universal vers #asks #Anonymous #straylize vers

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phantom-thieves-imagines · 6 years

Text

Chapter 1- Let the Game begin (Akira Kurusu x reader)

Could you write a scenario with Akira and female! Reader, where she is a shy and quiet girl from the Real world.. and one day, she suddenly meets her video game crush, Akira, for real after completing his game with the true ending? From the Reader's POV? Please?

I might make this into a long running fic, oh boy here we go

female reader ofc, tried to make her as general as possible

and by ‘readers pov’ i assume you mean first person, sorry if that’s not the case, but enjoy

Please let me know what you guys think of this ! Feedback is my kink oof :0!

-mod goro

Spoilers for p5

Wake up, get up, get out there

Ryuji nudged Akira who smiled. “Yeah.”

Raise your voice against liars Feed your anger like fire

Akira opened up the hatch at the top of the bus, the wind whipping at his hair vigorously.

Why does nobody want change?

He stared out onto the sea, the road, the clear blue sky and the world. He smiled, hands on top of the bus, feeling the wind blow through his hair, the sun on his face, enjoying the world for what it was.

Just imagine you're out there Swatting lies in the making

Akira looked towards the blinding sun, a happy look on his face as he spoke a wordless goodbye to everyone.

Can't move fast without breaking

The bus zoomed off into the distance, and that was it.

If you hold on life won't change

---

I put my controller down, tears flooding through me like a fountain. Happy yet sad.

It was over. My journey, helping Akira had come to it’s conclusion- he was finally free. The game that had taken over 100 hours of my life. The game I cried, laughed, felt fear and anger with was now completed.

Wow.

It was late at night, though I doubt I’d get to bed any time soon. I went online, ranting about the game to people, warmth spreading as I scrolled through pictures or comics of the characters who were practically my friends.

It was a bit melodramatic, how slow things grinned to a halt even after the console was turned off. My mind was storming. With the game, the events, the characters...it all was overtaking my system.

What happened to Akechi, Akira, Yusuke, Haru, Ann, Futaba, Makoto- it was all flowing into me, like my whole body was living to process and revolve around them.

The bad parts too. The ones that weren’t perfect, the ones that could have used some tweaking or correcting. How I would have changed details in the game. If I was in that situation.

Overall- It was an amazing experience, winning my heart- or maybe taking my heart would be a better choice of words.

By the time I finally did (reluctantly) close my eyes it was well past midnight. I’d be dead on my feet at school tomorrow and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Troubling enough as I went to lay down I couldn’t help but feel...uneasy.

Not as in a monster hiding under the bed type of unease, but unease as in my body didn’t accept sleep or the conditions of my sleep. It was like floating in the water- parts of me above and the others submerged. The two sides were fighting over which one was superior. Above. Below. Above. Below. Constant, calm fighting. It unnerved me.

And then suddenly it just.

All.

Dissipated.

.....

...

This story is a work of fiction

Or is what is intended to be.

For many it is considered a fiction, but for many more it is their form of reality.

In turn, how can any of us prove which things are a reality and which are not?

My bad, I am getting off topic.

The only thing required is an acceptance of your form of reality and....

Your mind

Are these terms acceptable?

...

....

I jolt from my reprieve with a gasp. The pounding of the blood in my head is so loud that for a few moments it stuns me. I guess the pulsation prevented my eyes from noticing anything. My touch comes back first. Smooth, wet bumps from the pavement run along my finger tips. Speckles of sand are dusted between the cracks in the rock, they stick to my palm when I pull it away. The next thing that comes back is my sight, blurring into focus like a camera. It’s dark out, the outlines of the nearby building illuminated with a blue neon hue, further back in the distance a golden streetlight shines in a cone-like shape in an intersection. There’s a boy standing nearby, hoodie pulled up over his forehead so I can’t see much of him. I only realize there’s another person standing right in front of me when he snaps his fingers in front of my nose. Then, sound.

“Hey! Kid? Can you even hear me?” His voice is gruff, a clear umbrella hooked over his shoulder, the rain rolls off of it in memorizing streams.

It takes me two blinks, out of confusion and because of the watter dribbling in my eyes before I find my voice again.“Ahh...?”

The man makes a clicking noise. “Damn...” he bites his lip, before reaching out his hand. “Here, let’s get you out of this rain. Hey, Kid, help me out.”

The one with the hoodie helps the other man drag me up. I nearly fall down instantly. The man curses, letting go of the umbrella to use both of his hands.

They half drag half help me down the street underneath the overhang to a wooden door. The man fumbles with his keys, there’s barely any light over here other than that coming from inside, just enough to let me see the glasses that hang on his nose and the scruff of his beard.

The door opens and we all scuffle in, soaked.

Hoodie-boy sets me down in one of the booths, water dripping onto the leather seats below.

“Man, what were you doing out there?” the bearded man asks, I turn, as he rumbles through the cabinet, pulling out towels. He tosses one to the other boy, who catches it mid-air.

“Uh...I...” What....was I doing out there. I try my best to remember. Everything feels so, otherworldly. Like I’m not really in my body, just floating above it. I try to think. Try to remember why or how I ended up nearly drowning in the rain in the middle of the street. What I was doing before that. I run through every possibility I can think of before I give up. I simply don’t remember.

“Let’s start off with something easier then.” He bearded man hands me a towel as he wipes his neck, pulling up a chair to the booth. “What’s your name?”

The boy removes his hoodie from his head and like lightning, I remember.

“Akira?” The words come out of my mouth before I even think about saying them.

The bearded- no, you know- Sojiro, quirks an eyebrow. “Akira? That’s your name-”

“Ah, no. Uh, it’s-” Wait should I even use my real name? I mean...I don’t think there’d be a problem with it but still I-

This is persona 5. My chance to be a different person. A chance to start from a fresh beginning.

Next to the Sayuri painting- or where the painting should be, there are a bouquet of Roses. Crimson red in color. They remind me of Akira. Similar to the flowers that you saw Haru grow, crouched low and her breath fanning the petals. Roses were beautiful and elegant. The flower itself was silk to the touch and the thorns were rough and would pierce skin. You had to cradle it gently, holding it in your hands in a right way otherwise you’d harm yourself. Rose.

“Call me Rose.”

---

And hour and a half of explaining (or at least trying to) why I was alone in the rain, Sojiro thinking about what to do with (another) soaking wet child in his cafe, and a stern talk of ‘no funny business’ later I found myself laying on Akira Kurusu’s bed, doing the best to dry my hair.

“My name’s Kurusu Akira.” He had said, when Sojiro had left out in the pouring rain to run to his house. “Nice to meet you, we could have maybe met somewhere drier.” A smile lined his words. Complying with Sojiro’s words he was also suffering, or soaking with me in the bottom floor of LeBlanc. Water dripped down from his black locks onto his glasses, he frowned and then removed them, wiping it dry with his towel before resting it on the wooden counter.

“Nice to meet you too.” I murmured. The amount of force it took me not to run out in the rain again and scream was overwhelming. The boy (who I may or man not have forced to go to the bathhouse more times than necessary because I wanted to see him with just a towel wrapped around his waist) that I had spent months playing as, and knew his motions like the back of my hand, was sitting in front of me, shaking the water from his ears.

Oh crap. This is real isn’t it.

Akira mother fucking Kurusu is real, and he’s sitting in front of me. I need to say something. Jesus I need to say something I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t.

Yet my mind was short-circuiting. Every breath I took seemed to take more effort than necessary, my hands twisted with themselves, confused as to what to do and I needed to move otherwise I’d start twitching.

Anxiety curls itself around my neck, like a snake, it refuses to let go.

“Since you don’t remember a thing I guess you’re gonna be rooming with us for the night.” he finally said, breaking the silence. “Hope you don’t mind that.” Despite his light words he was still studying me, sizing me up with a serious look on his face.

“I’d rather be here than outside and catching pneumonia.” He laughed lightly at that, Oh good god. He was even hotter in person. His hair curled back around his glasses, half wet.

The cafe is just like I remember it. It’s interesting seeing it from another angle but the layout seems more or less the same, the ceiling fans spinning slowly, round and round and round.

Round and round, as the hands of the clock tick and endlessly count down time.

Tick tock, tick.

“What....day is it...?” I ask slowly.

Akira looks at me with something mixed between concern and skepticism. “April 13th.”

13th. The volleyball rally at Sujin happened today. Which means tomorrow will be gathering information from Shiho before she...

“Okay, thank you.” I said quickly.

That all happened within a span of an hour. Now I’m laying on Akira’s bed, as he takes the hard spot on the not-so comfortable couch. His glasses are off, laying on the desk by his feet as he has his arm tucked under his head as a pillow. He’s wincing at his phone and tapping. I assume to Ryuji, who else would it be.

I sniff the clothes Sojiro gave me- long pants and a tank top, probably Futaba’s. The though of the girl holed up in her room, living in her own filth and blocking out every sign of natural light. The girl who drowns in her mind and grief daily. Every waking moment thinking about joining her mother.

I grit my teeth. I make a mental note to save her as soon as I can.

“Hey.” Akira says, shifting. “I’m heading to sleep, wake me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” I say, because I can’t think of anything else. What are you supposed to say to a person who just a few hours ago- was nothing more than a bundle of code on a cd?

He rests easy, eyes shutting as he whole body relaxes. His chest expands and contracts slowly, in the dark of the attic it’s hard to see but it’s there none the less.

This is everything I could have wanted- Akira existing, being real in the flesh and blood and finally being able to tell him just how much he means. When people beat him down with rumors and to yell and plead with him to get back up. After everything this rotten world has done to him to finally be able to gently sooth his aches. To finally see his monotone mask fall and to see the emotionless protagonist slip away and show his agony.

I bite my cheek hard, resist the urge to slap myself. That’s just wishful thinking. I have a whole other huge ass problem as is why the fuck am I here and how am I ever gonna get back home.

I wish I was more worried about it, but I’m not.

I guess? It’s because I know my world, the one where I was trapped in my shell constantly. Where there are no such things as personas or changing hearts- that there is really no hope for us. That I’d rather be in a world where at least I know there’s a chance of this world being good.

I hope, I know.

Akira’s breathing settles, and I fall into a dreamless slumber.

Late into the night, unbeknownst to the world, a phone, my phone, lights up.

The hypnotizing red eye appears, then is gone.

.....

....

I point at him. Steady my hand. It’s an easy thing to do, really.

Take aim. Kill the murderous, filthy, insane traitor.

“It’s okay.” he croaks. His eyes are glazed, he’s in pain but he’s doing a good job of hiding it. “We both knew this would happen, at some point.

I don’t think I don’t want to think. Don’t want to think about the events that lead to this. My own actions that caused his destruction.

How ironic, Yaldabaoth would know to cause my demise from my greatest joy.

Destruction what a funny word.

“I’m sorry, Akira.”

I am a ghost. I shoot.

#kurusu akira #akira kurusu #persona 5 #persona 5 imagine #persona 5 imagines #persona 5 fanfiction #persona 5 x reader #akira kurusu x reader #akira kurusu imagine #ren amamiya #amamiya ren #p5 #long post wooooh boy #i spent a week on this and even put off the goro jealousy fic #also speaking of goro im definately gonna put him in here at some point ahaha #sucks to be a goro hater #mod goro

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angel-lightwolf · 5 years

Text

How cool would it be...

How cool would it be if the plot twist in p5 was not that Akechi was the black mask, but insted he was investigating the black mask who was revealed to be the Strega leader from p3.

As like, Akechi still awsnered pancakes and all to mona. But like it's because he stumbled apon the metavurse while investigating, he was smart and left befor anything happened, but was there and knows of it.

And like he knows who the pt are and confronts them, he was able to get files on the things the Strega people did and TV world. And like all that.

Also the confrontation is like,

"I know you're the PT. And I know you aren't behind the mental shutdowns. Although you aren't completly in the right, you're all alot better than thoughs in power. Befor anything else, I believe Sae may have a palace. And befor she makes a idiotic decision, I need you to help change her heart."-Akechi

"Okay, what do you get out of it?"-Makoto

"My partner not choosing some random person as the culprit and putting you all in extreme danger?"-Akechi

"How do you even know she has one."-Ryuji

"Besides the fact her behavior follows a pattern as the previous people you've stollen the heart from show, this app is very helpfull in declaring it is so."-Akechi *showing the Navi app*

"Who's to say you aren't the culprit?"- Mona

"I've only been there once and only long enough to realize there's another world, the culprit is using it, and I should go befor something bad happens. I'm a detective not a murder."-Akechi

"So, the deal is to steal Sae's heart and what? What do we get out of it?"- Akira/Ren

"In another time I would say you splitting up, but it's clear from past cases it might be better if you don't. So, I'll give you information. As sense the culprit is most likely using the metavurse, details on him and leads would be helpfull in catching him."-Akechi

"So, you have an idea who he is?"-Akira/ren

Akechi then explains the missing leader of Strega and what he did, the Inaba case and his theory.

Buuuut, when the PT go to steal Sae's heart they find to even be able to get into the palace they need a pass.

They figure maybe someone who works within the police force, so they have to bring Akechi along to get them inside the palace. (His detective ID and a face scan to get in)

And sense he's already there and he may be needed later, they bring him.

He gets his persona somehow, and they do the palace.

But they accutly do steal Sae's heart, though Akira/Ren still ends up in the interrogation as the Strega leader appears after they've stollen the heart. The team splits up to distract Takasi but he still ends up kidnapping Akira.

But insted of the plan in game, they have Akechi go with Sae to break Akira out without anyone noticing befor Takasi kills them.

Then the wait, Akechi explains Shido.

They do Shido's palace, insted of akechi it's Takasi waiting for them. But when he realises he's losing he books it to be declared missing once more.

The story continues like normal, but with akechi and no Ryuji poll punching scene and all.

TLDR- baisly Akechi refused to play the Holy Grail's game so Takasi took up his roll as assassin for hire again. And no poll punching scene.

#persona 5 #goro akechi #headcannon #alturnitive story #just a thought #akechi's character as so much waisted potential. it just could have been fleshed out alot more. he still a top three.#persona

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spoofenshmirtz · 6 years

Text

hi, sorry, i’m still procrastinating from looming deadlines so i wrote a massive meta piece on akechi. major p5 spoilers under the cut, buds!

as much as i like drawing parallels between light yagami and goro akechi for fun, i definitely think there’s a lot of core differences between them, especially when it comes to why they do what they do.

light is... a piece of shit. he always believed himself to be above everyone else, due to being successful at most anything he set his mind to. when given the power to kill whoever he wanted, he decided to do it simply because he believed he had the right to do so, as someone who’s above everyone else. his straight up god complex may have taken some time to manifest, but him working towards effectively purging humanity of criminals, of anyone who acted against what he perceived as just or good, and seeing his efforts recognized and acknowledged by the general public sent him spiraling downwards in a twisted spiral of false justice. all of this because he had a major superiority complex from the start. the only being above him is ryuk, who makes it clear from the get-go that he’ll only let light live for as long as he’s entertaining; as soon as light loses, ryuk kills him to avoid being confined to watching a sorry bastard spend his time in prison or wherever they’d have put him.

admittedly, it’s been a while since i watched/read death note (although i reread it... sometime last year? for fun) but the fact of the matter is that light suffers from a major superiority complex. he chains himself down to inevitable failure - you can’t go around killing people mysteriously without anyone ever catching you, after all - but he still delights in what he’s doing, bringing “peace” to the world through wicked means.

his twisted morals and god complex don’t change when he’s finally cornered, either. rather, that’s when the extent of it finally shows itself, and in his dying moments, he proves what a selfish piece of shit he’s always been. he saw himself as infallible, invincible, and when he realizes he’s lost, all he can feel is desperation and a wish to live, to survive, to keep carrying on his will as kira. had he never been given the power to control whether people live or die, he may have carried on to use his intellect productively; but because he was given such power, he fell into a god complex so strong he forgot he was mortal.

(light being a total piece of shit is one of the reasons i love death note so much, also. it’s refreshing reading stories about people with twisted morals from their own perspective when you’re used to reading stories with morally good and just people as the protagonists.)

akechi has some similarities to light in that they share some of their morals. akechi, like light, believes people to be rotten from the core and believes, to some extent, that people who are morally unjust and selfish should die. however, a huge difference between the two lies in how they view themselves; where light genuinely believes himself to be above everyone else, bored with other people and willing to manipulate them for his own selfish gains, akechi believes himself to be only barely better than everyone else. or, at least he can be read as such; it may be more appropriate to say that i interpret him as being unable to love himself, viewing himself as a terrible person at his core.

akechi and light both fight desperately to reach their goals. but akechi accepts his defeat, he shows grace and even sacrifices himself at the end for the sake of others, whereas light only grows more desperate until he collapses in death. akechi has the capability to finally accept that he’s been wrong and ends his life (or does he?) in an unselfish action for the phantom thieves. well, i can hardly call it purely unselfish, seeing as i’m sure he partly did it to gain peace with himself in a final act of redemption, but he had nothing to gain from the outcome. when cornered, he was ready to die to let the phantom thieves do what they sought out to do, even though it wasn’t the goal he had been working towards himself.

before being totally cornered, when akechi still believes he has a chance of stopping the phantom thieves, he does make some comments that would indicate he suffers from a similar sense of superiority as light does; however, i don’t think those are his true feelings. akechi, at his core, does not like himself. he never learned to love himself, due to never having any stable relationship with a caretaker after his mother (who probably didn’t have the emotional capability to love him properly, either, considering she ended up taking her own life), and while he may recognize that he’s smart and pretty and knows how to use those traits to his advantage, he never truly viewed himself as special or above anyone else. he says as much, himself, when he’s truly beaten by the phantom thieves; before, he laments that he, who’s so special, doesn’t have what akira does have, and after, he laments that he’s not as special as akira. he wants to be above akira, probably, but he recognizes that he isn’t, and he’s surprised when the phantom thieves admit that he is better than them in many aspects.

the only thing akechi truly believes he has that makes him special is his ability to use personas and turn people psychotic, and his persona-wielding abilities are proven not to be so special after all when he meets the phantom thieves and realizes that they have similar abilities to him, and that akira’s abilities even surpass his. meeting someone who surpasses him in the one field he thought he was special in must have been quite a shock, and why he lashes out at them so horribly; his own self-worth is effectively threatened when he realizes he’s not so special, after all.

light, on the other hand, views himself as truly superior to everyone else, as i’ve mentioned before. light has a true god complex, whereas akechi only recognizes one field in which he’s superior, and is quickly forced to face the fact that he’s not the best in that field when akira comes in.

another very decisive difference lies in their respective attitudes towards other people. akechi, despite recognizing people to be rotten at the core, still seeks their approval and affection in a sick attempt to regain his own self-worth. he’s weak to praise and is definitely chained to shido in part because of this; where others praise him for his good looks or intellect, shido is the only one who recognizes him in the one field he gains his own self-worth from. light, on the other hand, does not care for the opinions of others. it may be a nice ego boost and may further motivate him to carry on his efforts, but he does not value it or even seek it the same way akechi, unfortunately, does.

oh man, this got so long and i spent so much time writing it that i don’t even want to delete it, like i sometimes do when i write ridiculous meta on characters that i doubt anyone would want to read. but it’s nice acknowledging the special relationship i have to death note every now and then, seeing as it’s the first manga i ever got and one of the first anime series i ever followed. i should rewatch it sometime! and maybe develop a really stupid dn/p5 crossover au i might have accidentally started thinking about. yes, akechi has the role of light in said au, but stuff develops very differently.

tl;dr: although akechi and light may share some moral values, light has a major god complex that causes him to flip the fuck out in a selfish fit of desperation when cornered, whereas akechi dislikes himself at his core and concedes in martyrdom when he’s had some sense beaten into him and realizes he can’t win

#i accidentally made this really long lmfao #spoovy's thoughts #personablogging #weebblogging #if anyone actually read this: know that i am impressed

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bicep-naruto · 7 years

Note

all of the vaguely nsfw asks ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

You will be the death of me @boof-kun

1. Are looks important in a relationship?

Yes, but not by a lot! I think if you love someone’s personality, you’ll love their appearance as well!

2. Are relationships ever worth it?

I certainly think so, as long as it’s real and fulfilling :P

3. Are you a virgin?

Yeet

4. Are you in a relationship?

Nah

5. Are you in love?

I am in love with a lot of things (you are one of them)

6. Are you single this year?

I am!!

7. Can you commit to one person?

If they catch my attention, then yes!

8. Describe your crush

I don’t have one, but I’m sure they look lovely. (My standards are too high for my own good)

9. Describe your perfect mate

I’d like to think they are a huge sweetheart despite appearances, and they see me as their equal! I’m a bit strange so it would be lovely if they embraced that and loved me for who I amo~

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Not really~

11. Do you ever want to get married?

Yep yep!!

12. Do you forgive betrayal?

I like to give second chances, so yes~

13. Do you get jealous easily?

I do... >_

14. Do you have a crush on anyone>?

Nah

15. Do you have any piercings?

I have 7! I have a nose piercing, and my ears are triple pierced :P

16. Do you have any tattoos?

Nah

17. Do you like kissing in public?

hhh no because I see it as an intimate thing

20. Do you shower every day?

No!! It’s bad for your hair!!!

21. Do you think someone has feelings for you?

Nope

22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?

Probably not?

23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?

I wouldn’t cheat, but I would worry that I bore my partner...

24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?

No lmao

25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year?

Nah

26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you?

27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you?

Sadly no (that stuff is so romantic I would just die tbh)

28. Have you ever been cheated on?

Nah

29. Have you ever cheated on someone?

Do you take me for a fool

30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body?

I have, but I can change anything I don’t like about myself naturally!!

31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl?

Yeh

32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love?

Not unrequited love, more like like?

33. Have you ever had sex with a man?

n o

34. Have you ever had sex with a woman?

also n o

35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?

yeah but not romantically

36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends?

no but my best friend liked me (it was a bit... strange)

37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?

YEAH

38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?

yeah

39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?

yeah

40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone?

Yep yep

41. Have you had sex so far this year?

no and i don’t plan to

42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander?

I’ve never kissed anyone,,,

43. How long was your longest relationship?

nonexistent

44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?

does my cat count

45. How many people did you kiss in 2012/2013?

probably none

46. How many times did you have sex last year?

none lmao

47. How old are you?

halfway to 30 :^)

48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?

Go for them my dude

49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her?

HHHHH THEYRE PROBABLY TOO CUTE

50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?

mmmmmmm no

51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for?

YOU

52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why?

this one guy cuz he dumb (all boys i’ve known are... dumb...)

53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?

lowkey but not really

54. Is there someone you will never forget?

that one kid in kindergarten who said i looked like a boy

55. Share a relationship story.

my guy friend in 3rd grade hit my butt really hard on purpose

56. State 8 facts about your body

soft, worm, squish, smol (cant think of anything else lol)

57. Things you want to say to an ex

I don’t have any lmao

58. What are five ways to win your heart?

hmm,,,doing something to catch my attention, talking to me often, bicep, teddy bear sweetheart, NOT DUMB

59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!)

u know what i look like ;)

60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners?

i’ve never had a partner but i would allow no more than 5

61. What is the first thing you notice in someone?

their eyes or hair

62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?

hhhhhh????? idk??? (message me and i might tell you i guess?????)

63. What is your definition of “having sex”?

Sex in my book is like combing bodies, so succ doesnt count

64. What is your definition of cheating?

Flirting, kissing or doing sexy times with another human besides your partner

65. What is your favourite foreplay routine?

maybe i would know if i did it lmao

66. What is your favourite roleplay?

nuzzle

67. What is your idea of the perfect date?

simple stuffs, like coffee or books or watching a scary movie... or just chilling with them in general!!

68. What is your sexual orientation?

idk man (boys are nice though)

69. What turns you off?

being a jerk

70. What turns you on?

confidence!

71. What was your kinkiest wet dream?

hm never had one

72. What words do you like to hear during sex?

thats a secret ;)

73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you?

idk... being a perhaps... moral human being

74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for?

i want my partner to keep me excited and on my toes!!

75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you?

given me drawings!! (psst its you)

76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone?

showered them in food, writing, and hugs

77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships?

it doesn’t really matter but don’t do things to minors hhh

78. What’s your dirtiest secret?

nothing you don’t already know teehee

79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why?

probably a few weeks ago just cuz im petty

80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?

this afternoon

81. Who are five people you find attractive?

you, ryuji sakamoto, akira kurusu, goro akechi, yusuke kitagawa

82. Who is the last person you hugged?

my frond

83. Who was your first kiss with?

idk yet fam

84. Why did your last relationship fail?

im bad at talking

85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet?

only if i could see them in person often

Thanks for asking~~

2 notes · View notes

ask-the-phan-site · 5 years

Text

Phan Cam: A Superior Suspicion Part 2

>A hospital on the outskirts of Tokyo. We came here right after we saved our friend.

Shinya, you’re here!

I am. How’s my mom and Yuta?

>Mrs. Oda rushes up to her son... and slaps his face.

OW!

Mrs. Oda: Why, Shinya!? Why do you think I just did that!? (begins tearing up and embraces her son) I’m just so glad you’re alright!

I’m sorry, Mom. I love you.

If we’re done here, I believe you have a friend you wish to see.

Shinya: I know. Where’s Yuta?

He and Setsuko are in the next room for more testing. Yuta’s operation doesn’t happen until later this month, the same day I have my match with Joe Yuuki, but he was really worried about you.

>We go over to the next room... We were surprised to see Joe Yuuki and Maki Takakura here.

Shinya, you’re here! How was your trip?

Shinya: Well, let’s just say it was...

Jawsome.

I’m not sure what that means, but it sound like you had a nice time.

And what about you two? What brings you here?

Joe’s, my Joe’s, mother is a patient here. We came here to visit her and renew the contract that allows her to stay here. As for visiting the kid... That was Joe’s idea.

Oracle: (smirking a bit) Is it now?

... Maybe... A little.

HA! So you do care about Yuta! I knew that threat you made to him was phony. Boxing greatest villain has a heart after all.

Yuuki: ... I just wanted to make sure Akamine is fully focused and not distracted for our fight. I prefer it to be a fair fight.

Joe: (smiling) Right, keep telling yourself that, buddy.

Will you all be alright?

It won’t be easy, but I think we’ll be fine.

>With that, we leave. I look back at them... I wish only for the best for him... A vision comes to mind.

NOTE: The vision is the opening of Joe vs. Joe. We think the scenes in it are the future.

>As we were leaving, someone ran up to us.

Akine chan!?

Ryuji kun, you’re back! Listen, you have to come with me.

What do you mean?

Wait, I know exactly what’s wrong.

Let’s go.

>We follow the young woman known as Akine down the hall. We arrive at a window to a room. There were six other people there.

Ryuji kun. You’re here. And you must be Akechi’s other friends.

And you are...

Akechi’s other neighbors from the apartment he lives in. Akine is his neighbor, too.

It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s just said we had to do it under... Grave circumstances.

>We look inside the window... What we saw in there made our jaws drop.

No.

(banging his fist on the glass) CRAP NO, AKECHI!

Ryuji, calm down!

What happened to him?

We’re not sure. He came back to the apartment for lunch. Suddenly, he began holding his head in pain and was screaming. Then he just collapsed. We tried to wake him up, but no response.

Even my dogs’ licking didn’t help, and that usually works. So we brought him here. We learned of this hospital from Akechi when he told us earlier that a friend of yours was here for his condition.

The doctors say that all the tests they ran on Akechi showed that he’s in perfect physical health. So it must be a mental problem. But I’m afraid that’s where it gets a little... Odd.

Like what?

Well, the doctors at first think he might have fallen into a deep sleep. But the symptoms are more similar to, well... A coma.

You mean...

The link.

Man with ponytail: Link? Oh, you mean the one he has with Spider-Man.

You know about it!?

Fox-eyed man: Well, we did learn that your other friend is linked with Harry Osborn.

>He was happily pointing to Skull.

Skull: (a bit surprised) You know? How long?

Akine: Since that night you came to stay with Akechi... You really need to find a better way to sneak a guy who turn into an alien out. And at the same time, we learned Stealth Spider got weakened. Then, we learned not long after Akechi collapsed, Spider-Man starts acting odd? We think there’s more to it.

Diego: There’s no really hiding it, is there?

Spiky-haired man: Not really. I thought it was just another supernatural thing, it wasn’t exactly that, but it was unusual, even for what I’ve seen.

Another supernatural thing? What you’ve seen?

It’s a long story.

Joker: I suppose. Anyway, Akechi’s in a coma. That’s just like what happened two years ago. Peter bonded with the V-252, the Venom Symbiot, and Akechi fell into a coma.

Skull: Then again, when I turned into Overflow, Harry was only in a coma for a short time. But why is it that for Akechi, his comas last longer.

Diego: I can only think of few reasons. Harry’s coma only lasted a short time is because you weren’t fully Overflow. Your mind was still yours, but only for a time. If you had fully become Overflow... He would fall into a long coma. As for Akechi, I think it’s because Venom was already strong enough to take Peter’s mind. That’s why he fell into a longer coma. And now it’s happening again. Only this time, instead of Venom, it’s Doctor Octopus. We can get rid of Venom easily, but it’s a mental problem than a physical one.

Fine-looking man: So, if Akechi and Ryuji have their minds taken over or go into a coma, the same will happen with Peter and Harry? And vise versa?

Queen: That’s what it seems anyway. We’re still unsure how this link works. We don’t even know how it first formed.

Akine: I see.

Noir: But surely something can be done. A way to put Peter back in his own body.

Alex: Easier said than done.

Diego: What do you mean?

Alex: If I knew where Peter’s spirit and mind are, I could put him back in no time at all. Unfortunately, we don’t know where it is. So there’s nothing I can do. Spider-Man will be stuck as Superior Spider-Man.

Oracle: But if that’s true...

Alex: Your friend will remain in that coma... What a way to spend the upcoming release of Persona 5: Royal.

No. Akechi.

Alex: Not to worry. I know of only one way that can save him now.

Queen: What do you mean?

Alex: It pains me (a bit) to tell you this... Sever the connection.

What?

Alex: Sever the connection that links Akechi’s mind to Parker’s. If this happens, Akechi will awaken.

Noir: And... You can do that?

Man with ponytail: He can.

Alex: I see, you know about me... Ryu.

Ryu: And you know about me. Yes, I am a psychic and I can see your energy... The energy of Avalon.

Spiky-haired man: (a bit puzzled) Avalon?

Fox-eyed man: The Island of the Fair Folk. Home of the Third Race. And Kingdom of Oberon.

Spiky-haired man: (shocked) You’re a fairy!? Alexander Xanatos is a fairy!?

Alex: I don’t think they’ve heard you on Mars. Yes. I am half fairy. My grandmother, Titania, after leaving Oberon, married a mortal man. He was my grandfather. Together, they had my mother. Then, after marrying my father, they had me. I won’t say where I learned how to control my powers, but I can. I have even created a spell... And it’s going to save your friend.

Joker: That sounds wonderful.

Alex: However, there’s a catch.

Diego: What is it?

Alex: If I sever the connection... All of Parker’s memories of Akechi will go with it.

Everyone: (except Alex) WHAT!?

Alex: All of Parker’s memories of Akechi, from the moment the connection was made, will vanish. Parker will remember Akechi, but only as the Detective Prince known by the media, not as his friend. Not to mention that Parker will realize that he is in a world where everyone knows he’s Spider-Man and doesn’t know why or how.

Joker: Will Akechi forget, too?

Alex: No. His Persona will remember for him. But Parker will definitely forget.

Noir: But, Akechi and Peter have become such good friends. And everyone knowing that he’s Spider-Man made his life a little bit better. To lose all of that...

It would just be too painful.

Alex: Well I’m not saying you have to. The decision is really yours... Or rather, your leader’s.

Mine?

Alex: As the leader, you take responsibility for your whole team.

>I was just unsure of this.

Alex: I’m not going to force you to make a decision now. I’ll give you time to think about it. When you’re ready, I’ll waiting.

>With that, he leaves.

Rough-looking man: (unimpressed) Like father, like son.

Spiky-haired man: (confused) I don’t understand. The leader?

Ryu: Didn’t you know? ... Akechi and his friends are the Phantom Thieves.

Spiky-haired man: (shocked) WHAA!

Diego: (unhappy) Those Martians definitely heard that.

>We go to the cafeteria. We do introductions. Kuga Akine, the girl we met earlier, is an exorcist. Ryu, the man with the ponytail, is a psychic, just like Chifune. The spiky-haired man and the fine-looking man are Yushi Inaba and Mizuki Hase, respectively. They currently live together to look after a young boy named Kuri and his dog named Shiro who both reside at the apartment. The rough-looking man is Akira Fukase, painter. (Fox says he’s happy to meet a fellow artist.) The fox-eyed man is Reimei Isshiki, a poet. And the bookish man is called Furuhonya, a mage (not a magical girl) and a secondhand bookshop employee. The apartment they live in... Is home to ghosts, spirits, monsters, basically youkai.

I see. Akechi has some really interesting neighbors.

Ryu: And he has some interesting friends. I also know that you possess magic because of your Personas, Ann Takamaki.

Panther: You know?

Furuhonya: From Headmistress Faragonda. She told me the last time I delivered some ancient tomes to Alfea... By the way, she told me to give you this.

>He hands Panther a book.

Furuhonya: It’s got some basic stuff, too, but it also has some more advanced things as well.

Panther: Thanks. I’ll be sure to thank her, too... I wonder if it has anyway to awaken Akechi without severing the connection to Peter.

Skull: If it did, we would know why we became linked in the first place. (getting a little upset) Damn it, I knew he shoulda come with us.

Joker: I think he knew what was going to happen and didn’t want to worry us.

Skull: But that’s what happened anyway.

WHY’D THE EFF DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN!?

Hase: It’s not your fault, Ryuji kun. Doc Oct is a very dark person.

Joker: I thought changing his heart would make him a better person, but instead, it only made him worse. And now look, Akechi’s in a coma and Peter is lost.

Queen: And what’s worse, while in his body, Otto Octavius is doing things as Superior Spider-Man that are making Peter look bad and J. Jonah Jameson is having a field day with this.

Yushi: Can’t you just tell him that Doc Oct is using Spider-Man’s body?

Queen: With what proof? It would be our word against his. Besides, he hates Spider-Man. We learned of this already on a previous heist. But that was a different Jameson.

Royal: Then what will we do? If Peter can’t get his body back, Akechi will never wake up and he could die. I’m starting to think that accepting Alex’s offer might be a good idea.

Queen: Hold on, are you really sure? If we do sever the connection, all of Peter’s memories of Akechi will be gone. And we won’t even remember how everyone knows he’s Spider-Man.

Skull: Pete said that S.H.I.E.L.D. is willin’ to make everyone think that him bein' Spider-Man wasn’t real... But that means going back to making up lame excuses on why he keeps disappearin'. And it will only make others and himself unhappy...

Typical Parker Luck.

Royal: Is it really that bad?

Diego: The worse.

Panther: What are we to do? Do you think one of you guys can do it? Akechi’s your neighbor.

Akine: Would if we can, but I think whatever Doc Oct did, it might be too difficult even for us.

>What am I to do? This is a very important decision. If I choose to break the link, all of Peter’s memories from the moment the connection was made will be gone, but at least Crow will awaken... But then I remember something...

Harry’s voice: I believe in Pete... We can work it out... You just have to be patient... Have faith in him like I do.

>... I finally know what to do. Then, I see Alex coming in. I go up to him.

Alex: I see you’ve made your choice.

Joker: I have.

Alex: And?

>Do it. >>I believe.

I believe in my friends. So, no.

Alex: Are you sure about that?

Joker: I’m sure that the Web Warriors and their friends will find a way to solve this problem. We just have to be patient. But just in case...

Alex: You’ll let me know you changed your mind? ... Very well.

Joker: So, if you don’t telling us how to contact you in case we do change our minds...

Alex: That’s easy... (begins smiling) Talk to your new principal.

>With that, he was gone.

New principal?

Fox: (calling) Ren, we’re have you told him!?

Joker: (calling back) I’m coming!

>With that, I rejoin my friends and tell them what happened.

Royal: I see. I guess I’ll be filling in for Akechi until he awakens.

Joker: Normally, that would be the case... But with that upcoming release of Persona 5: Royal, I don’t think we’ll be doing any heists for a while. But I'm sure things will be fine before then, I really want us to go to our school’s Culture Festival. And the one at Kosei. Not to mention Halloween.

Furuhonya: (a little disappointed) Culture Festival? I hope things will go smoothly this time.

Oracle: What do you mean?

Hase: Two years ago, we were invited to Yushi’s school’s festival, but Furuhonya showed up late and missed it. He tried again last year, but it got cancelled due to a fire that broke out during summer break. Luckily, no one got hurt, but the school was closed for renovations.

Yushi: I’m sure you’ll make it this year.

Furuhonya: Hope you’re right.

>Outside, Alex heard... He smiled.

>Until after the release of Persona 5: Royal, you won’t be posting, but you can still send heist requests and we will change the poll next month. Until we meet again.

NOTE: Picture of Comatose Crow was originally from this post. It’s actually an alteration of this picture.

#phantom thieves cam #announcement #persona 5 royal

0 notes

starlightkeybright · 7 years

Text

persona 5 writings/more scribbles

THIS WAS MY ATTEMPT AT ACTUALLY WRITING THIS THING AND I GOT A LITTLE LOST AND CONFUSED AT SOME PARTS, SO THIS IS MORE A BUNCH OF PARTS MASHED TOGETHER WEIRDLY, I CAN’T FUCKING WRITE WELL/CONSISTENTLY TO SAVE MY GODDAMN LIFE

also spoilers

Akira's mind came into focus for the...he doesn't remember how many times now he's spaced out. the drugs have been slowly wearing off which has been both good and bad. his head has started to hurt even worse, and all of his bruises suddenly feel fresher than they actually are. with his head fuzzier than before, he found himself spacing out constantly. he lost track of time. how long has he been sitting here alone in the interrogation room now? if someone walked in and they said it's been 5 minutes or a whole hour, he'd believe them. Akira raised a hand up to his forehead, wincing as his fingers touched a bruise there. he tried to focus more, but the only thing he could focus on in the moment was the pain. instead, he thought back to what just happened and why. he willingly gave himself up to the police, to drive them away from his friends. he was dragged into the station in cuffs, drugged, and questioned. he knew it would be tough to sit in here for a while waiting, but they were a little bit harsher than he thought. of course given his record, why wouldn't they be? now why was he here? they did this plan for a reason... Sae, they needed Sae on their side. she was one of their last hopes to turn everything for the better, so he told her everything. his memories turned static. there was more to it...wasn't there? Akira snapped out of it once he heard voices outside of the room. he looked up at the door, trying to hear what they were saying, but the walls were too thick, his head was still too fuzzy to pinpoint the words. the door opened and Akechi stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. he had a strange look on his face. ...that's right, Akira closed his eyes for a moment as the memories came in more clearly. --

it started at the tv station, their lingering gazes on each other. it would happen whenever they met up again afterwards. Akira did his best to convince Akechi to stay at the cafe a little longer, if even a few more extra minutes. it eventually worked. they began to talk more, see each other more, those lingering looks continuing. he could remember Makoto once asking him about it, but he just shrugged and said something like, "it's nothing." then that day...when Akechi became part of the team, mostly forcing himself to be a part of them and the rest of the team clearly displeased, Akira however, simply stared at him. whenever Akira tried to talk to Akechi afterwards about the whole deal, Akechi would brush him off. Morgana was clearly suspicious, since the both of them remembered the comment he made at the tv station. but Akira couldn't bring himself to fully distrust Akechi. there was...something more going on. much more. he asked Morgana to hold off on anything serious, because he wanted to wait. "Wait for what? for him to actually betray us?" "Wait for him to make the right choice."

one evening at the cafe, it happened. Akechi was there, staying much longer than usual, and he seemed...uneasy. which was unusual on many levels, Akira continued to serve him coffee and even made some curry for him to eat. Akechi didn't talk much, his gaze lowered to the counter and giving very little eye contact. Akira desperately wanted to ask him what was wrong, but decided to give Akechi space. at one point, Sojiro went out to do some food shopping, and the last customer left around the same time. it was just the two of them. thankfully Morgana was out, he was with Futaba helping to do some research. Akechi continued to stare down into his empty cup silently. Akira grabbed a fresh pot and stepped over, holding it out. "More?" Akechi shook his head, raising it up to look at him, smiling that fake smile at him. "No, thank you, i should actually be on my way." Akira stared at him for a moment, slowly putting the pot down and not breaking eye contact. "....Goro." Akechi flinched just the slightest at the use of his first name, catching him off guard. Akira felt bad, but that's exactly why he did it. "We're alone." Akechi glanced around the cafe. "so it seems." "...so would you like to talk?" Akechi looked back down at his empty cup, holding it with both hands. Akira was sure he was wishing he took the offer for more coffee so he could be drinking it right now and delaying himself further. Akira took a step over, placing both elbows on the counter and leaning over, bringing himself a bit closer. "you're a part of our team, Goro," he said quietly. "if anything's wrong, you can tell us, you can tell me." Akechi stared at him for a few moments then looked away at the books sitting next to him. they were both silent for a long time, but Akira didn't mind waiting. finally, Akechi took a deep breath, looking back at him. "i was planning on betraying and killing you." Akira isn't surprised or shocked in any way, he simply stares back at Akechi. after a long time of talking to him, of remembering the things he's said, Akira knew it was something like that. it didn't help his heart hurt any less at hearing the words come right out of Akechi's mouth. Akechi was clearly surprised at Akira's lack of reaction, but he kept speaking. "i saw you all as nothing as tools for me to use. another step for me to get the revenge that i wanted, that i've been working towards for so long. at first you all seemed like a nuisance, but then i saw an opportunity. i was going to use you to get one step closer to him. but...i find myself now...rethinking my plans." "and why is that?" Akira asked, taking a moment to push his glasses up. Akechi chuckled and shook his head, and Akira could see it. the walls crumbling, the true light of Goro Akechi starting to shine through. he suddenly seemed tired, exhausted even. like keeping up the fake tv persona was tiring him out, and every other part of him that was fake was tiring him out as well. he couldn't keep it up anymore, not at this point, he was slowly breaking down. Akira saw that as a good thing. "because of you, you..." Akechi mumbled, shaking his head again, raising a hand up to push some hair away from his eyes. "helping you in the casino, helping you in mementos, having to hang out with all of you since we're a 'team'...it's changed my opinion of you all. you truly do believe that what you're doing is right. you truly do believe you can make a difference in this rotten world. the way you change hearts, the way you help victims, the way you help each other...it sickened me. and then i began to see it. you all do this because you were all victims yourselves. i may not know all of the details of your stories, but i understand enough. and i thought maybe...maybe there was a chance..." "that we could help you?" Akira asked, unable to hide a small grin on his face. Akechi glared at him, grabbing his cup and shoving it in Akira's face. "more coffee please."

some time later, they had found the treasure, but decided to wait a few more days before sending a calling card. everything with their plan needed the right timing, and Akechi needed some more time to sort things out on his end. he stopped by the cafe one more time, saying he needed a good break from "dealing with adults all day." Akira served him coffee and curry and they mildly chatted about things like school and the weather. and Akira couldn't stop himself from just looking at him, even sneaking glances back at him while washing dishes. something felt...a little different today between the two of them, and he couldn't quite place what it was. he did notice Akechi gazing back at him from time to time, then Akechi would look away and take a sip or a bite, Akira spotting the faintest of blush on his face. he thought back to all of their time together and how close they had gotten since Akechi became a true member of the team. he enjoyed their time in the metaverse, working together and beating up shadows was an absolute thrill. it was different from before, everything about Akechi was slowly feeling more real, more genuine. Akira couldn't help but stare at him, he found the true Goro Akechi beautiful. "may i...speak to you in private?" Akechi questioned him later in the evening when the cafe was a little more quiet. Akira finished wiping down the counter, tossing the rag aside. "of course, we can go upstairs if that's ok." Akechi nodded. "yes, that will be fine." Akechi got up and waited patiently near the stairs while Akira washed his hands and stepped around the counter, taking the lead in going up the steps to the attic. Akira walked over to the couch and sat down, leaning back and gesturing to the open space next to him. Akechi shook his head, stopping to stand nearby him and taking a deep breath. "things have been changing so much over the past month and i'm still trying to believe it's all real. it's all happening so fast and i'm still trying to figure out how i got so lucky in the end. but it's not the end yet, of course, but i just-" Akechi sighed. "when we first spoke, that's when it started. there was just something about you i couldn't figure out, and that made me more curious about you. then i saw you more, we spoke more, and i just grew more curious. and angry. i was angry over you. you're just some kid living in an attic, how come you get to be surrounded by friends? it didn't seem fair, it wasn't fair. i began to think of my plan, i began to figure things out and suddenly i believed i was fully right in what i was going to do. but you...you made me change." Akechi finally looked at him, and Akira's eyes widened. the final walls were crumbling. "i shouldn’t have given in so easily, i didn’t see myself giving in so easily, but it happened. i thought i couldn’t feel happiness or belonging or anything of the sort but you…you brought that out of me. somehow, you clawed your way inside my cold heart and pulled some strings and got it to feel emotions again. good emotions. and i was scared at first, well, i was uneasy. but i slowly accepted these new emotions and now thinking back on it all…i can’t go through with it, i just can’t. i can’t look you in the eyes and point a gun at your head. not anymore. i decided that day to tell you the truth because of that. i found myself changing my mind, something i thought i was so sure of never happening." Akira stared at him for a few seconds, and then he smiled. he stood up and lightly patted Akechi on the shoulder. "thanks for telling me, that took a lot of courage to spew all of that." "spew?" Akechi muttered in confusion. "i don't mean that in a bad way," Akira chuckled. "i'm glad you decided to talk to me about all of that. i...feel the same way, you know. it all started back then, at the tv station. i knew there was something different about you, i was curious about you myself." "...really?" Akechi's eyes seemed hopeful. "yes, and i know this is all moving really fast for you, and i would slow down time to help you adjust if i could. but we need you, now more than ever. i need you too." Akechi stared at him. "you need me?" "yes," Akira repeated, smiling at him. Akechi turned away and rubbed at his face, and Akira heard him let out a shuddering sigh. Akechi looked back at him, determination in his eyes now. "i'll do my best." Akira grinned, patting his shoulder again. "good."

Akira could remember the beating, the drugs going into his system, the hounding from the adults about his crimes. the details became sketchy over time, but it was all the same anyway. he remembered all of them looking at the door suddenly, and there being voices outside. and then he saw Akechi step into the room, the adults immediately getting into his face and yelling at him, but he wasn't looking at them. Akechi was staring right at Akira. Akira couldn't see clearly in his daze, yet somehow he saw Akechi's face in perfect detail. he looked hurt, scared even. and then he looked angry, the most amount of anger he's seen on the detective's face since they met. Akechi finally looked away to look at the adults and began speaking in a strict tone. Akira could hear the words but it took his mind longer than it should've to process them. "all of you need to leave at once! this is my case now and that'll be enough from you." "why are you in here, you can't just-" "if you have a problem with it, go speak to the chief, i have special permission from him. Sae Nijima should be here shortly to speak with him, so all of you are done here." there was a lot of movement around the room after that, Akira lost track of who was where. then a table was brought in along with a chair, and someone helped him sit up on the chair, also taking off his cuffs. "it's about time for your big part, Joker." Akira flinched and glanced over, realizing it was Akechi that was helping him and whispering in his ear. "i'll be back later, think you can manage?" Akira lowered his head and gave a small nod. Akechi said nothing more, stepping back and leaving the room. -

Akira opened his eyes, lowering his hand back down onto the table and looked up at Akechi, giving him a smile. ow. Akechi didn't return it, simply staring at him for a few silent moments, lost in thought. "i wasn't expecting to walk in like this not too long ago..." he finally mutters. Akira shrugs. "it's ok, we can talk later." Akechi nods and his face becomes serious again, he steps over and carefully wraps an arm around Akira, helping him out of the chair. "we need to move fast, your plan worked. Sae is distracting the guards, but she can only keep them back for so long, we need to get going."

Akechi manages to sneak through all the right hallways and go through all the right doors to get out of the station. Akira was impressed, even if he wasn't drugged out right now, he knew this place looked like a maze. once they were outside, there was a taxi waiting on the street for them. Akechi helped Akira get inside and closed the door behind him, telling the driver the address to the cafe. Akira leans back into the seat and sighs, his whole body is sore and in pain, but having Akechi here with him makes him extremely happy at the moment. "you know," he mutters, glancing over at the detective. "seeing you come to my rescue like that was one of the sexiest things i've ever seen." Akechi's face goes completely red, staring at him for a moment before turning away, mumbling under his breath. "clearly they've hit your head too many times." Akira grins despite the pain it brings him with the bruises on his face.

an hour later, they're in Sojiro's house, sitting in a small room. Akechi's knowledge of proper first aid and his insistence made Sojiro and Futaba back off and leave the work to him. Akira sat quietly on a chair with his uniform jacket off as Akechi worked on him. Akira held a small cup of coffee in his hands, courtesy of Sojiro of course, and slowly sipped it over time. it helped him with the soreness in his muscles and his throbbing headache. "i brought something else as well, if you wanted it," Akechi mutters as he finishes off his first aid. Akira looks over and watches Akechi pull out a make up kit. "going to make me pretty?" Akira snickers. Akechi just looks at him and raises an eyebrow, but then his expression changes a little. Akira sighs and nods, he understands. Akechi knows him well enough that he wants the others to not see him like this. he hoped that it wouldn't get this bad when he was taken in, but he probably would've found a way to cover it all up himself anyway. they both again sit quietly as Akechi carefully applies some makeup over his face.

they're together much more often, first they have the excuse that Akechi needs to keep a close eye on him and his injuries and help with his makeup, but it's clear after some time that's not the only reason. Akira teases him more and Akechi is starting to tease back, coming up with the perfect comebacks immediately. Akira could feel it at this point. something is stirring between them. he wants to say something, to make the first move, but after everything that's been going on, he decides to be patient. it worked the first time, so he hopes it will work again. thankfully he doesn't need to wait long, as Akechi asks him once again one evening if they could speak in private. again they're in the attic and Akira sits on the couch as Akechi starts pacing back and forth in front of him. he says nothing at first, simply pacing around and then he sighs and shakes his head, the words finally spilling out from him. "these last few hours, few days, they’ve been too much for me." Akechi stops and looks at him. "i mean, the plan went well and everything but…my emotions have been out of control. knowing that i was thinking of killing you not too long ago makes me feel regret and sadness. seeing you getting beaten up by those thugs makes me feel angry and i wished to be able to summon my personas to tear them apart. knowing that you were there in the first place basically because of me just…" he trailed off for a moment, looking away. Akira could see he was shaking. "everything coming together and now things are settling down a little, i’m thinking about it all. after everything we’ve been through and done, after everything you’ve done for me…i can’t help but feel a connection between us. i know i said it before, but i truly mean it this time." Akechi looks at him again, and Akira can't help but stare as the true emotions show through. "i…care about you, a lot. i’ve never felt this way before and i don’t know how to feel about it. but i know something for sure. i’m glad that i met you." Akira stares at him quietly and then he smiles. he stands up and steps closer to Akechi, carefully grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "i feel the same way." Akechi's whole face lights up and he smiles back at him, and Akira almost wants to start crying. the wall is now gone, Akechi isn't hiding from him anymore, isn't hiding anything from him anymore. he finally revealed his true self, and his true smile. "can i ask for one little favor?" Akira asks. "what is it?" Akira squeezes his hand again, taking a step closer so they're almost against each other. he can see every detail of Akechi's face, see the blush forming on his cheeks from their proximity. beautiful, he thinks. "may i call you Goro?" he mumbles under his breath. Akechi's eyes widen and his blush darkens a little. he clears his throat and nods. "only if i can call you Akira." Akira felt a shiver down his spine at hearing Akechi-no, Goro now- say his first name like that and he beams. "it's a deal, Goro." Goro adjusts his hand to hold Akira's and gently squeezes back. "i'm glad."

#this is long even after cutting a couple parts out kfjgd #i lost focus at one point and it just got out of control from there is any of this even understandable lmao #THIS IS WHY I QUIT WRITING DAMNIT

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twilightknight17 · 6 years

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Writin’ about fic stuff so my author’s notes aren’t ten miles long...

The Theatre of Fraud Goro Akechi's Heart World

As an overall point, there are few specific cognitives and shadows in the Theatre in general. There are very few people that Akechi would pay enough attention to or care enough about to have them in his Heart World. Even people like Sojiro and Sae, while they are confidantes, haven't reached the point where they have a significant role in the plays.

All of the other Palaces are associated with a Deadly Sin (Vanity is often associated with Pride), but with all of them taken I pulled from a slightly larger source. Fraud is the eighth circle of Hell, and it suits Akechi because everything he has been for most of his life is some kind of mask or act. Figuring out what’s real and what’s fake is how to get through to him in the end.

Act 1

The cognitive citizens in Stage Tokyo are generic people because Akechi doesn't pay attention to the masses and doesn't really like them. But he also craves the validation and attention that they give him, even if that attention just feels shallow and hollow to him.

As a doll, the Detective Prince only functions when people pay him attention, otherwise he's stuck motionless. The Thieves see him in a crowd of fans, but any kind of attention will do. Even negative attention or unwanted attention is an acknowledgment that he exists and is worth something, which is why the phone call from Shido was enough to allow him to move under his own power. Shido's attention is a terrible thing, but it's still confirmation that someone needs him.

The cognitive Akira (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Thieves) acts as a siren, luring the attention away from the Detective Prince and to himself. It's a warped perception of the real Akira's ability to form bonds and make friends. Akechi sees that despite his criminal record and his less-than-ideal circumstances, he's managed to surround himself with friends and confidantes, and his distortion and jealousy warps that into Akira being able to literally win over anyone that he touches.

That touch doesn't work on the doll because Akechi's so guarded and under so many masks, but he wants to be able to follow and trust and love Akira like the others. The verse he's mumbling when the real Akira catches up is from a version of the Pied Piper poem, and the siren Akira makes the same reference later. There's a child in the Pied Piper story that cannot follow when the Piper lures the children of Hamelin away, usually because he's disabled in some way. It depends on the version, but he's blind or lame or otherwise held back such that he cannot keep up with the others. Akechi's disability is the walls he's built around his own heart, but it's holding him back all the same.

The cognitive Joker is his warped perception of his attraction to Akira. He loves Akira, deep down, and he wants his love and attention and affection for himself. There's not much else to say, there. ^_^;;;

Finally, the mask is the entire persona of the Detective Prince itself. Akechi puts on a pleasant and smiling facade for the public, but it's just to cover up how generally worthless and unwanted he feels. All the attention as a celebrity can't fill that hole.

Act 2

I sort of glossed over Akechi's childhood in Intermezzo, but in the backstory I gave him, he was in four different foster homes from when he was around four to when he was almost fourteen, and different orphanages and group homes in-between. The orphanages didn't leave much of an impression because they were all basically the same brand of terrible: too crowded, neglectful staff, not enough care or attention or food.

The first foster home he was in was when he was five, and the family that took him in already had a kid. The kid picked on him, stole his things, and when Akechi tried to fight back the parents always, always took their own kid's side. So, represented in the first part of Act 2, be as quiet as possible, as unnoticed as possible, and maybe they won't get mad and get rid of you after only a month because you're "starting fights" and "causing trouble". (Spoiler alert: they will. Just...not with giant hands.)

The second foster home, they didn't really feed him unless they had to. They adopted a kid for the money that they'd get from the government, not because they actually wanted one. That manifests in the Theatre as the permanent Hunger ailment.

The third home, his foster father beat him for the smallest infraction. Thus, searching for the key while being pursued by a hulking monster that you can't damage or scare away. That was probably when he was around ten or eleven; I didn't really plan that deeply.

The last foster home, which he stayed in for almost a year when he was thirteen, was sort of the same as the second. He didn't get fed enough, they didn't really pay attention to him, they just adopted him for the money. But by that point he'd learned how to play the perfect kid: obey everything they told him without complaint, never let anyone see him cry, and endure. Haru has a touch of that in her backstory, dealing with her father and his expectations of her, but it seemed like she never really felt a need to rebel before the arranged marriage. It comes through a little stronger in Akira and Makoto, both of whom have had to walk on eggshells around their guardians, trying not to upset them. And when the Palace is actually occurring, Makoto is still in that situation, whereas Akira, for now, is away and has space to breathe.

And so Akechi created his mask himself, gradually, over his childhood. A mask of someone well-behaved and unaffected by his mother's death, because no one wants to deal with an unhappy child. No one wants to take the time to help someone clearly traumatized by what's happened to him. And he internalizes that feeling and pushes it down and does his best to be a good kid, because maybe then someone, maybe his father, will actually want him.

Act 3

OH BOY, okay, so the first thing to get out of the way is that Akechi's never played the in-universe equivalent of Silent Hill (which is probably Quiet Mountain because god I'm so entertained). But I knew vaguely what I wanted to do and Silent Hill 4 is underappreciated and was the perfect setpiece to adapt, SO. Here we are in Akechi's apartment, filled with the screaming ghosts of his murder victims.

His apartment is spotless enough in reality because he's never really there except to sleep and eat, but in the Theatre everything is covered in muck and blood and grime as a representation of his crimes staining everything he comes into contact with. He references that in his breakdown during the Mementos confrontation that triggered the Theatre's formation in the first place: being worried that the blood on his hands was going to get on Akira, too, as soon as Akira learned the truth. The black, sticky handprints on everything are directly connected to the cognition of Shido that inhabits this act. The cognition's hands are covered in the tar-like substance, and the handprints represent Akechi's perception that Shido literally has control over everything in his apartment, and by extension his life. Including him directly, because of his role as an assassin, hence the handprint on the mask.

The cognitions of the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown victims are very clear compared to the crowd in Stage Tokyo because even if he doesn't acknowledge them on the surface, subconsciously he remembers everyone he's killed and ruined. They're his guilt, constantly clawing and wailing in the back of his mind. He has to tune them out as best he can, or he would have collapsed under the pressure long ago. I've talked about it before, but this is where the literal black mask of his other outfit comes in, the representation of him dissociating from his actions, a knight's outfit to protect himself.

Shooting Shido's cognition isn't hard to explain because it's his end goal made real in play form, including the Akira he would have had to kill to reach that endpoint. But if he'd gone through with the Casino plan and ultimately won, that would have been it. He talked during the aftermath of the fight with Okumura's shadow about what someone is without their desires, and it's truest for him. Goro has spent almost three years doing whatever it takes to bring Shido down at the height of his power. He never planned for after. So if he were to achieve his desire (or have it stolen), he has nothing else but the guilt of everything he did to get there. That guilt, embodied by the victims, coming together into a massive monster that will just continue to advance on him. And in his mind the only way to escape that monster, that feeling, is...

The Thieves ended up fighting with the monster that was left behind mostly because I had a heck of a mental image of the horrible ball of screaming faces and grasping arms, but it can also sort of be read as how even Akechi running away doesn't change the fact that what he did still happened and the consequences still remain for other people to deal with. But I'll admit right now I came up with that after the fact and it was originally just "that seems like a kickass monster; it's like Legion but worse".

So Akechi's mask for act 3 is the facade that he puts up that none of this affects him. The emotionless assassin that doesn't care because shadows are shadows and it's not his fault. And he breaks that mask himself, because that mask only has to last until Shido is gone, and then he can stop pretending that he doesn't care about what he's doing.

Act 4

Stage Mementos is fairly straightforward. Mementos is Black Mask's stomping grounds, the place where Loki most often gets to use his power. So of course you would find Loki there. And Loki warps it into a labyrinth in his attempts to keep the Thieves out and protect Shadow Goro, because he can act independently in the same way that Crow/Robin can.

Loki and Robin really do both want to protect/help Goro, in their own way. Loki leans more towards avoiding the things that hurt entirely, though, whereas Robin will accept pain if it means getting something that will make them happy in the end. That's why Robin is willing to help the Thieves, but Loki would prefer to reject Akira entirely. He's still part of Akechi, though, so he still can be won over in the end.

Finale

Literally the pinnacle of self-indulgence in a fic that at its heart is already incredibly self-indulgent. Well, maybe not, the proposal was probably the pinnacle, but yeah. Anyway. There's a lot here, and half of it is probably me being a giant nerd. I grew up on Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and Sailor Moon and I'm pretty sure it shows. We can also argue, though, that Akechi probably saw anime reruns at some point, considering he's such a big Featherman fan too. He obviously had opportunities to watch TV and/or watch someone play video games.

So, Akechi's shadow being a child is explained in the fic itself, but basically it's because he denies the part of himself that is the child that just wants to be loved. And Akechi's Treasure is his mother, because he blames Shido for his mother's death, because he abandoned them. His mother is the core of his distorted desire to get revenge on Shido, and the physical version of that is his photo of her, the only one he has.

And Akechi's cognition of Shido has warped into a monster because Shido, deep down, feels like an insurmountable obstacle. Akechi knows that he's trapped; he knows that he can't escape on his own. And the cognition is impervious to damage despite its low health because Shido protects himself with other people and doesn't get his own hands dirty. The only way to get past his shield is the method Akechi was using (gain his trust and become so important to him that he can slip through the "shield"), or have help, a thing that he hasn't had until now, but has subconsciously wanted even as he pushes people away.

The giant cognition and the seven pillars and wands of the boss fight, other than being self-indulgent rainbow dramatics and several layers of references (Zelda, Shadow of the Colossus, Golden Sun, plus Power Rangers for the “monsters growing giant” thing), is specifically more pillars than he can do alone. Even with Robin, Loki, and if Shadow Goro could make it up there, there's still four pillars left. But with all the Thieves there, there are enough of them to crack Shido's shield so that the pieces of Akechi can take the cognition down themselves, which contributes to him being able to change his own heart without stealing the Treasure and risking destroying his mental state even further.

All in all, I had a good time doing all of this, and hopefully it all makes sense. There's still a ways to go to the end, but this was a Big Thing that I had planned for a long time, and it turned out pretty awesome. ^_^

#Hours!verse #Hours!lore #god I wrote a 2000 word essay analyzing a thing I wrote in the first place #where's a college professor to give me a grade when I need one

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