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townslore · 6 months

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if you're comfortable, i would love to know more about the akechi npd headcanon. i think it's a rlly interesting take on his character and i wanna learn more abt npd bc i have bpd and ig im interested in what people experience with the other cluster b personality disorders? i just kinda wanna know why you think he has it and also maybe some of the mental stuff he has to experience with it. doesn't have to be detailed or personal i dont wanna make u uncomfy! i just cant stop thinking abt this hc haha :)

im actually on a mental health break right now, but this ask intrigued me so im answering it anyway. first off thank you for staying kind throughout the whole thing :)

its kind of hard for me to really describe why i think a character has/is something, because things like personality disorders are still a wide spectrum and every person experiences things differently, and i dont wanna make it seem like theres a one-way to have npd, but im gonna try anyway!

there is a site which helped me immensely throughout my self-diagnosis, so if you want to read more about the topic than what im gonna say here, here u go:

lets start simple and the thing that makes it most obvious to me: the engine room dialogue.

people with npd can heavily rely on other people for their self-esteem, because narcissists usually have a very low one. thats why they take on many tasks ("i was extremely particular about my life, my grades, my public image—so someone would want me around!") and might overwork themselves for more praise and acknowledgement ("you wanted to be acknowledged, didn't you? to be loved?") because its what they need to not constantly crash. a crash is something that happens when you dont get enough supply—which can be words of affection, praise, acknowledgement, etc—and you internalize it, doubt yourself, feel disgusting and generally you get to a really low point. this is just speculation, but i can see goro having a ton of those, especially during the time the phantom thieves get popular and he becomes public enemy nr 1. thats also why i drew him thinking "i really need supply rn but i'd rather die than ask for attention" because vulnerability is also a big thing people with npd can struggle with. we dont want to be seen as weak—our narcissism is essentially a shield, so we're seen as tough, when in reality, our egos can be very fragile.

one thing that the engine room makes very clear and also other interactions goro has with akira, is that hes very envious of others who have had it better than him. especially someone like akira, who was thrown away by society just like he was, was able to move past it, found friends and is acknowledged by many people. goro is jealous of it all, and thats the thing; people with npd can feel like they're supposed to be special ( and to me, with goro explaining how he got his personas, and how he often calls others stupid, its clear that he does feel that way about himself to a certain degree ) and anyone who threatens that status, anyone who seems much more special than we are is seen as a legitimate threat. its an ugly feeling and it can make us hate even those we love for some time.

this attributes to dysregulation of our emotions too. people with npd often feel their emotions, especially negative ones, way more intense than they actually should be and have difficulty calming down due to that. negative emotions often linger for a long period of time and its hard to move on so we hold grudges. now this might come to no surprise to anyone that goro is a very angry and sad person. especially in the engine room its clear that even after the others extend their hands out to him, its difficult for him to comprehend and he still acts rather mean and calls them idiots for trying to "save" him. when someone with npd is experiencing a multitude of negative emotions, it may cause them to avoid other people or act aggressive towards them because they feel trapped. theres many explanations as to why goro is the way he is in the 3rd semester, and i dont think only one of them has to be correct, but i do think that with the knowledge of whats happening ( like: being under the control of someone else again, or having to work with people who are unpredictable and who have seen you at your lowest point ) makes him act out to keep all of them, especially akira, at bay.

in the duel against akira—im sorry i cant really quote it, i just have a general idea of it in my head rn—i read what he says in a way that makes it clear that he struggles with a superiority AND inferiority complex, which sounds stupid at first i know, but its fairly easy to explain. like i already said, a narcissist's self-esteem is usually pretty low and we rely on others to know how to feel about ourselves. theres two traits of npd that are necessary traits to have: being self-centered and feeling entitled to good treatment, and seeking admiration from others/liking to be the center of attention. so there is some kind of superiority complex going on, at least thats what i would call it in goro's ( and my ) case. we can feel on top of the world in one moment, but once we have a crash or experience intense negative emotions, its back to being the worst human being on earth. i dont think its ooc to say that goro hates himself, as some like to claim he only ever thinks hes better than everyone else. i think that just attributes to harmful stigma. with everything goro experiences in life, coping with narcissism to hide a fragile sense of being just makes sense to me.

theres more i could probably add here but this thing is long enough as is. please do keep in mind that many of my headcanons for goro are me projecting—but that doesnt mean theres no basis for it in canon as well, as i've tried to explain here. at first i actually thought he could have bpd, but i dont know enough about it to really judge that—so it could still very well be that, or both, i dont really know how it works! im rather new to this as well, and at first i was scared of doing any research because npd is so heavily stigmatized. i wish there were more people like you, anon.

if you have any more questions feel free to ask them :)

#letters #goro akechi #persona 5 #when the towns lore #npd

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fortunatelyenchantingtaco · 1 year

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I feel like people genuinely do not get how hilarious swap au for p5 is. Like if you leave their affinities and vibe (akechi can use multiple personas but still can make shadows go crazy and akira has arsenè but he’s also a changeling and a joker so satana is also still there and he can change their appearance and his own appearance however he wants) so it’s like. Akechi is still a little crazy but he was also adopted by Ann and Ryiji and they are like. Yeah he’s a little unhinged but he saved us we like him!!! Friends group to battle your angry issues!!

And Akira is this charming little shit detective with too much stuff inside who still wants to strangle Shido like 20 times a day. And like. Instead of having a mental breakdown killing spree (which Akechi has like ten times while they do their plan of not having him killed) he changes his appearance ten times before them and now he’s SAD and Akechi is like wel I was SADDER when you killed me and Akira is like *gasp* HOW DARE YOU.

I just think Joker if left alone makes show out of basically everything. He just majicks his way out signing and dancing and being the diva and living his Lupene dream the whole way. Also he’s way too easily distracted than Akechi so I think halfway he would be like “you know what i need a vacation shido can suck my-“ and after that they see him only when they came to juzz club and he’s singing there.

Like idk. Swap au is just to unintentionally funny because Phantom Thieves essentially have crazy leader who is one step away from shooting every target but they also love him and he grudgingly agrees. And Ace Detective is just overtheathrical dude who’s also probably makes everything overly sexual and suggestive just to make everyone uncomfortable. And then he’s also incredibly surprised when someone actually responds in kind.

Chaotic evil and lawful evil in their best incarnation.

Like idk it’s the biggest difference in them, Akechi acts because he needs to and just feels so much better when he says what he thinks. And Akira meeanwhile enjoys acting so much he’s just having the time of his life pretending.

#persona 5 #p5 #shuake #idk i love them #akira little shit supremacy #just local showman making show out of every #he’s actually enjoying that #i think that’s the biggest difference?#like akechi pretens and feels good when he drops the act #meanwhile akira’s just having a blast pretending someone new every day #p5 swap au

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cardsthings · 3 years

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P5 Pirate AU That I May Or May Not Want To Write (Or Want Someone To Write For Me)

Captain Akira - Banished Prince, is from some small kingdom but got banished when he unknowingly crossed the king of a bigger kingdom, initially was going to be executed to prevent an incident but was quietly banished instead. Became a pirate because "fuck it am I right?" Steals from the rich, gives to his pirate crew. Is Ren Amamiya when in towns.

First mate/co-captain Goro Shido Akechi - Kidnapped Prince, was taken for ransom by the pirates but the Kingdom never asked for him back. (Must mess with your self esteem, sorry buddy.) Dating Akira in the background. Joined between Yusuke and Makoto probably. Only competent one on this ship.

Best Boy Ryuji - Probably mans the cannons, I dunno, Captain Kidd has cannon arms so why not? Was some guy Akira met after being banished, he worked under Kamoshida (who was in some form of power) and helped Akira to steal all his shit and get a pirate ship.

Best Girl Ann - Has been there since the beginning. IDK what she does yet (look up pirate jobs later). She was a minor noble (lower than Kamoshida but higher than random peasant) whose family was being hosted by Kamoshida. She fell in love with Shiho and found out about how terrible Kamoshida was, also found out about these two guys planning on robbing him blind and maybe killing him(?) and decided she wanted in. Eloped with Shiho when she joined the crew.

Other Best Girl Shiho - Is the one who goes into town usually when they go to port. The only one who doesn't need an alias or disguise because she looks like the normal people around/isn't banished royalty/isn't a known criminal. (Keyword, known.) Assisted in the Kamoshida heist (because she deserves better) and eloped with Ann.

Yusuke - Was a painter, the adopted son of a very rich but not very powerful noble, Maderame. Really liked the sea and often went on merchant ships to personally buy new paints. (not to escape Madarame at all) Joined the crew when a ship he was on was targeted. Assumed dead but is living his best life as a pirate.

Actual Cat Morgana - Do not call him a cat, he somehow knows what it means and will throw paws. Doesn't get along with Ryuji. Also sometimes antagonizes Goro. Lives with Futaba and Sojiro on dry land but sometimes sneaks into the ship.

Stowaway Makoto - Initially wanted to be a naval officer like her sister and late father. Got a little too carried away trying to be useful and accidentally ended up trapped on a pirate ship with nowhere to go but the ocean. Turns out, they are pretty chill pirates and also they are a mess. Eventually joins and becomes an advisor to Akira.

Basically a Child Futaba - Is a child. Not exactly but still, pirate life does not suit her, she can't swim. Lives on land with Sojiro but manages to get information out to the crew about targets when she can (being the daughter of a tavern/inn(?) keeper works out really well for information gathering). Not sure when she and Sojiro met Akira yet but they are family.

Kidnapped Royalty Haru - Was actually really excited when she was kidnapped because her life low-key sucked. She was rich and had a few titles and was like 5th in line for the throne of a small country but she wasn't allowed to do anything and was essentially being sold off to her husband. Gilded cage situation. Her dad actually wanted her back (sorry Goro) but didn't want to pay the ransom. Sent people after her, yay he cares! When she got back, he tried to rush the marriage, boo it was only for political gain! Haru runs off and properly joins the crew. Maybe she sparks something with Makoto later, I don't know.

Strategist Hifumi - Wants to escape her controlling mother so she runs away. Hides away in a church for a while and strikes up a friendship with the priest until Akira finds her. They play shogi where he is impressed by her strategy and controlling authority figures in her life. Offers her a place in the crew which she accepts. Very enthusiastic about strategy and shogi, regularly kicks both Akira and Goro's asses at the game.

Informant Mishima - Was saved by the crew from Kamoshida way back when but was not cut out for pirate life. Got a job at Crossroads and tries his best to give information to the crew.

Performer Sumire - Used to be in a traveling performing troupe of some sort with her sister but was tired of constantly being compared. Notices Goro in the crowd at one of her shows (definitely a date with Akira) and recognizes him. Approaches him after the show and asks to join the crew. Akira is there and accepts immediately because why not. (Goro is not irrationally jealous of her. Nope. Not at all.)

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lovelypersona · 4 years

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I love your fics!....Please could you do a small fic/ with a pregnant s/o with Goro ,Ryuji and Akira ? Like how each of them would treat their s/o when their s/o is pregnant.

A/N: laughs . Reader is GN!

Goro and Pregnant!S/O

Like father like son. Deadbeat dad. Disappears after a week once he said he was gonna get milk from the store

I’m only mildly joking

No, goro would not abandon you or his baby. But he would be the most scared out of the three to receive the news

Please don’t get pregnant until many many years after the main plot where Goro has had the chance to receive therapy

Goro would need a lot of time to get used to the idea of him being a father in the near-future. So, no, he wouldn’t disappear and leave you, but the first few months where you can still do most things on your own and you don’t need to rely on him as much- he’s sort of flighty. Wouldn’t be unusual for him to take off during the weekend, but he’d at least tell you where he’s going and text you when he’s coming back

Just needs a lot of coping and alone time. And then eventually he’ll kick himself in the balls or ask someone to kick him in the balls since he can’t really do it himself

And then he’ll step up and be there for you.

Once he’s ready, he’ll be studying a lot. Reading all the pregnancy books he can and looking at things like the diet you should have and the amount of exercise you should be doing each day and week

If you really want to be a parent with him, and you want to do all of this with him, be prepared for him to be stern and unrelenting. He’s already 80% sure the baby will be mentally fucked up thanks to him so he at least wants the baby to be 100% physically healthy to prepare for that

Of course he can’t actually control the outcome of the birth and how the baby will be. But he likes to think he can

A very protective dad as well. When you’re in labor he definitely doesn’t like the amount of pain you’re in and he’s kind of like “WHY ARE THEY SCREAMING SO MUCH”

Goro you are also screaming. Calm down

But also seeing you in so much pain and all the blood and just all of it during your labor is very uncomfortable for him. He might have to leave the room a few times to catch his breath, but then he’ll come back in and back to your side, holding your hand just as hard as you’re holding his.

I’d talk more on this topic but I have to write for the others so I’m done now

Akira and Pregnant!S/O

When he finds out you’re pregnant, it’s definitely a shocker, but he doesn’t really express it visibly. Kinda just goes still, eventually says “oh. Alright. What do you need?”

Not even sure if he wants to be a dad and if he’s ready, but he’s willing to help you if you need him!

Bad. Smack him. Bad response

Like Akechi, but not at all to a similar extent, he’ll need time to process the information and mull it over. Not because he’s afraid, but because Akira has to assess what he wants

Akira is a people pleaser, a man with many masks. He’s lost sight of himself more than once because at times he’s not even sure who he really is

His wobbling grasp on his own self makes him uncomfortable and doubtful about his ability to be a parent. He’s not sure if he’s the best parental figure for a child

Despite that, though, he loves you, and he wants to help you. He’ll help you throughout the entire pregnancy and either move in with you/have you move in with him.

Your relationship is a bit strained because of the fact that Akira has no idea what he wants, but the two of you make it work and decide not to talk about it for now and just focus on the task at hand. The pregnancy

It’s during the pregnancy that Akira loosens up and slowly gets more comfortable. As your belly grows and the baby starts kicking, it kind of makes him realize twice-over that you really are carrying a kid that’s half-you and half-him

Huh. Funny how that works

Falls asleep with his head on your belly a lot. Hearing the baby is kind of soothing to him

He also tries to participate in your routines and diets as much as he can. But when you’re not looking or he’s out of the house, he’ll drink as much coffee as he possibly can. It’s the one thing he’s lied to you about. He told you he quit coffee for you but it was a lie a bold face LIE

Once the baby is born, that’s the last straw. After being through the terrifying event that is your labor, and hearing the baby cry for the first time, he’s like “oh. That’s my kid. That’s my kid”

Protective dad instincts all of the sudden and doesn’t like the doctors holding his kid at all

He’ll be a fine parent. Akira just doubts himself a lot, but being with you, you’ll help him and you’ll raise your child together.

Proposes to you like 6 months after your baby is born

Ryuji and Pregnant!S/O

You both absolutely got pregnant during your last year of high school wdym lol

Irresponsible SHIT of course he becomes a dad at the ripe age of 19

You tell him about your pregnancy right away, and when you do, he’s definitely in shock as much as you are

Freaks out a lot and yells very loudly and has a meltdown because he’s not at all ready to be a dad and you’re right there with him

Both of you seriously consider giving the baby up or something like that. But eventually you’ll agree to raising the child together

Probably puts a halt on Ryuji’s running career, but that’s fine. You and his new family is much more important to him than his love for athletics

Eventually he’ll get back into it, because you promised him that he would. You also want to see him thrive and you know that track is his passion. But for now, focus on the baby

Because of his knowledge of athletics, though, you’ve officially scored yourself a supportive trainer during your pregnancy! You WILL be walking at least a mile every day. At Least

Ryuji isn’t as fucked up as Akira and Akechi okay lmao he’s very sweet and loving

He also tries to get a handle on his yelling and swearing while you’re pregnant because he doesn’t want to have those habits once the baby is born

His mother is also very supportive and willing to have you live in her house once you become bigger and the baby is born

Ryuji will also start working more seriously to save up money so the two of you can live at your own place eventually, too

Just a lot of part-time jobs, but it’s better than nothing

Also never allows alcohol in the house and says once the baby is born, you can drink if you want, but just don’t do it in the house with the baby around for the sake of his comfort

Not that he doesn’t trust you, it’s just a comfort thing.

He also immediately told all of the thieves that he’s going to be a dad and he was immediately bombarded with shouting and questioning- especially from makoto- but BESIDES the initial reaction, he has all the support in the world from his friends and you guys get a lot of baby clothes and essentials from them. Mainly haru, bc she’s loaded and she loves you and Ryuji very much

Akira is officially the Uncle and Ann is the Aunt. No further questions

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shadow-scenarios · 4 years

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Omggg how you wrote out my request certainly surprised me but I totally enjoyed what you did with it!! And you said that you'd love to write a second part? Well, may I perhaps request that? 👀👀 (P.S.: I'm really relieved that you liked the idea haha, I've been sitting on it for awhile)

Hey again, simulationone!! I’m happy you like the direction I look it in. I was going to have the Reader become Akechi’s Navigator but I think that was a better direction to take it. Also, I tried a different style with this one, so I hope you like it!!

I loved the idea, it was so unique! If you have anything else that you want to request, you’re more than welcome to. By the way, this is suuuper angsty. If you don’t like that kind of thing, skip this post!!

Link to Part 1 here!!

- Nexus.

Trigger Warning: Major Character Death ;; Blood ;; Violence ;; Injuries ;; Swearing

Dance With Justice [2] | Goro Akechi

Perhaps there was a reality where she never had to hurt anyone. A world in which the Phantom Thieves never existed & justice was never an issue. Everyone could simply be happy without any concerns. However, thus was not her current fate.

This was never supposed to happen. She was going to die here, stuck in Mementos until she bled out.

{ Sat, 23 / 10 / 20XX }

Akechi had laid the plan out to her on this day: He had been given an opportunity to meet with the Phantom Thieves at the Shujin Academy. In particular, there was a panel in which a Q&A style show was being held. All they had to do was attend & imply they knew the identities of the Phantom Thieves before he ‘ inconveniently received a phone call ’. Afterwards, the group would be forcibly assembled in the Faculty Room & there they would unfurl the evidence. The photos the both of them had gathered & the video of them disappearing into the Metaverse.

As a result, they would be forced to stop committing their crimes after they took down the Palace of one individual in particular: Sae Niijima. He did admit that he was afraid for the life of his colleague because she was investigating the Phantom Thieves. If they were the perpetrators behind the metal shutdowns, she might be targeted next because she was seen as a threat.

However, there was one thing they were not to be informed about. The additional plan to arrest their leader as a warning of sorts. Additional police forces were to be sent out into the Metaverse & they would corner him when he was alone. It was quite simple but effective. All they had to do was cooperate with them.

This was all communicated to her over lunch in the school rooftop & she nodded, steeling her resolve.

{ Wed, 26 / 10 / 20XX }

Alas, the school festival came too quickly. The first day was ‘ unimportant ’, according to Akechi { although he did look rather embarrassed when she asked what happened with the Phantom Thieves... }.

It was about 20 minutes before the panel was due to start & she had already taken a seat somewhere near the centre. People were already gathered at this point because the Famous Ace Detective: Goro Akechi was going to be answering questions. Frankly, she found it quite creepy the levels most fans went to in order to see him.

Eventually the debate began. Makoto Niijima, student Council President, was hosting & essentially demanded answers related to his detective work reguarding the Phantom Theives. It was immensely impressive how he managed to dance around the answers, giving something vague yet satisfying. Was this is the life of a celebrity?

The question about the identity of the mysterious group soon came up. As her cue came, she texted him & there was the sound of Akechi’s ringtone going off. Silence spread through the auditorium in a strange mix of disappointment & comedic timing. After making a remark along the lines of not wanting to be trolled online, he quickly requested that a break be tacked on.

Quietly, she moved her way across the row & slipped out before the crowd could congest any corridors. The PE Faculty Office was easy enough to find, with many students easily offering directions. Slipping in before anyone else, there he stood.

“ Akechi. Are you ready for this? There’s no going back after we present the evidence. ”

“ Of course. The Phantom Thieves are a menace to society & by getting rid of them, people will finally feel safe in Japan. That’s what you want as well, right? ”

“ Yeah. Murderers aren’t welcome. ”

Once they had all entered, she presented the photographic evidence & introduced herself. Ryuji was in shock. Makoto seemed to be struggling to process the information. Explaining how both herself & Akechi had met, she pressed onto the point: Sae Niijima. She had to be saved from the mental shutdown culprits. An agreement of sorts was made by their rather stoic leader Akira. They would all work together to solve the cases.

{ Wed, 16 / 10 / 20XX & Thurs 17 / 11 / 20XX }

After the initial investigation into Sae’s Palace, keywords & location, these were the days of infiltration, so to speak. The Casino of Jealousy was vibrant & full of money. Coins were messily spread around on every single surface, posters containing snappy tag lines about how winning was key to survival. It was all so decadent. Cognitive shadows lined up for a chance to participate in the game known as the legal system. What a sick way to look at justice.

Despite the crimes they had committed, the Phantom Theives were very casual. They showed no symptoms of guilt nor doubt & insisted on these strangely flashy moves such as the All-Out Attack or the Showtime, in which they would defeat a bundle of enemies all at once. Although they were powerful, did they really feel the need to show off that much?

The other problem was their leader, Joker. He was tenaciously gripping onto both herself & Akechi { or Crow, was it? She never understood the need for the ridiculous code names... } to remain on the front lines to see what they could both do. Despite having bounds of energy at the beginning & regular breaks, it was quite tiring to keep having to constantly battle. Perhaps that was why she ended up being held captive by a Shadow.

It demanded Yen & safety. It was not a substantial amount of money & the Palace’s supposed ‘ Security Level ’ was not particularly high. She had seen how Akira had been picking through remains of the corpses of these beings, as they contained Yen. For some unknown reason during the negotiation, he simply refused to part. Apparently Joker, the supposed leader of the just Phantom Thieves believed some money more important than an ally.

Even as the shadow tore through skin & left almost fatal wounds, it hurt more to reaffirm her belief that the Phantom Theives were merciless.

Waking up was a surprise to be sure. To be greeted by Akechi in the nearest Safe Room asking if she was okay? It was very much a shock. He offered to patch up the wounds that were unreadable by her own hands & scolded her for being so reckless on that battlefield. It was good that both Queen & Mona were on hand, otherwise she would have died. Despite the presence of the other members of the group, this felt like a rather intimate moment.

The two of them kept having these strange moments: Delicately & intimate but as though something was missing.

A touch that lingered for longer than it needed to; Comforting words on a cool evening when she felt upset; Sitting within close proximity despite there being more space for the two of them than needed. Small signs that seemed to be hesitantly trying to convey something.

Even now as she paused to take in his appearance, it was startling. Dressed up in his princely regalia that was his Metaverse outfit, he looked rather charming. With golden tassels & a red cape, something about him seemed to just ooze noble. Though at times he could be slightly extra with the poses he pulled, Akechi was kind.

That was why she never saw it coming.

{ Thurs, 18 / 10 / 20XX }

Signaling for a meeting, Akira explained that they were going to write & send the Calling Card today. The debate about where to send it was long, strenuous & boring. After they eventually decided to be direct by mailing it to the Niijima residence, everyone disbanded for the day.

Aside for Akechi, who invited her to play Darts in Kichijoji. What a strange request.

The atmosphere was actually rather calming. At night, there were few around to disturb them. Handing over 800 Yen to play, the game began. It was nice to simply be able to talk about something unrelated to the Phantom Thieves for the both of them & although Akechi’s aim was unerring, she found it rather difficult to hit the tiny target, let alone land it in a specific place to score as many points as possible. After a while & with some expert advice, there was definitely some improvement.

By the time night struck, she had barely noticed until he had pointed it out. Everything was moving so swiftly. Offering to walk her to the train station, he was ever so polite. Until it rained.

It absolutely poured down with rain as the two of them descended the stairs of Penguin Sniper. Luckily, she had packed an umbrella into a crevice in her bag. The detective next to her? Not quite as fortunate as he sighed. Feeling bad, she offered to share & he accepted with reluctance after realising that it was better than the alternative of running home in the rain.

Being this close was both enthralling & embarrassing. Something about being forced this close to him was killing her. Akechi seemed to be doing alright, staying underneath to avoid both his hair & briefcase from becoming drenched by the cascading water. After a while that was in some respects a long time but in others not long at all, they reached the train station, parting ways when they had a difference in train line.

She knew exactly what she was feeling: There was no use in denial. Repressing such feelings would be more painful in the end. However, now was not the time to tell him. Catching the Phantom Thieves & saving Japan was more important than a high school romance. Filing the secret away for later, it was kept close to her heart.

{ Fri, 19 / 10 / 20XX }

It was almost too easy how quick everything was to fall into place. Putting on her best acting face was difficult but it was a believable lie, especially when most of the stress was based around getting Joker out alive. All their valiant efforts were for nothing. Similar to a spider spinning a web to catch prey, they had fallen victim.

After facing down the shadow of Sae Niijima herself on this strange roulette like battlefield, her desperate desire to achieve victory at all costs was her downfall & as she fell to her knees, clearly defeated, Queen went over to comfort her. Skull took Fox with him to steal the Treasure & once they discovered the numerous police forces that had made their way into the Metaverse, everything was taken up a notch.

Whilst Joker agreed to take the Treasure, thus becoming a distraction, everyone else would take the time to escape back to reality. A makeshift plan but one that would work in both her own & Akechi’s favour. Dashing along the protruding walls of the casino was thrilling as the group moved in sync, grappling along & weaving through like a natural born instinct.

Inevitably, he was captured. The leader of the Phantom Thieves, put behind bars. People would be safe from the mental shutdowns, they would no longer have to worry about having a psychotic breakdown. Without the branch that held them all together, there were no roots. As to not arouse suspicions, everyone parted ways until Akechi stopped her.

“ I... Know it’s rather late & we’ve just been to the Palace but there’s something I need to warn you about in the Metaverse. Will you join me in Mementos tomorrow morning? Preferably before school, if that’s okay with you, ” was all he requested with a ghost of a smile.

“ Sure, I don’t mind. Is there something else dangerous I should be worrying about? ”

“ It’s nothing too urgent but I thought I’d bring it to your attention since we are working on this case with the Phantom Thieves together. After all, we still need to hold the others accountable for their actions. ”

With that, she left. Akechi had always been a reliable source of information, so why would he lie?

{ Sat, 20 / 10 / 20XX }

It was the early morning. Despite the cold, she was in warm spirits as she approached the Shibuya line. Waiting there for her was the Detective Prince himself. Overnight, there was a decision made that once Akechi broke this bad news to her that she would change the mood by confessing. After all, it would be difficult to keep under lock & key.

Fading into the background as other students filtered in, they talked for a short period of time before getting down to business. Typing in ‘ Mementos ’ to the MetaNav was easy enough & there they were, standing at the dusty entrance.

Together, they fought their way down into a few floors below the surface. Although it took longer for them to traverse these levels due to not having a method of transportation such as the Mona Car, the Shadows were easy pickings for the two of them. At least, that is what she thought until two laser blasts from a ray gun burnt into her back.

Standing over her was a very different Goro Akechi to the person she had preciously known. What was once a charismatic smile that could charm anyone become a psychotic grin that looks unnaturally wide. Though she had once thought of his eyes as a storm of emotions, worries about the future & the safety of Japan, they were most definitely a typhoon, pulling victims in to tear them apart without a trace of mercy. Even as he called her a blind fool for trusting him & berated her sense of justice, the burning pain of the wounds that burnt through the Metaverse outfit were clouding her vision. She could have sworn there was the sound of someone walking away but there was too many sensations for her to clearly tell.

No one was going to find a dead body in the depths of Mementos. She found it morbidly ironic that her last thought was that she would never be able to tell Akechi how she truly felt.

Word Count: 2.3k

Publish Date: 06.10.20

#{ crow }#{ oh boy did I want to name this Dance With Justice 2: Electric Boogaloo }#goro akechi x reader #akechi x reader #goro akechi #persona 5 royal x reader #persona 5 x reader #persona 5 imagines #persona #p5r #tw: death #tw: blood #tw: injuries #tw: swearing #tw: violence #{ why is this my longest work what the heck }

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kareofbears · 3 years

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Ok. . . but can you give an in-depth explanation as to how you feel about akeshu?

yes.

rest is under the cut since this is going to be a long answer

im a big big big big big fan of enemies to lovers. love it. loved the initial hate, the heightening tension between two characters with conflicting situations or personality types. i love the anger, the arguments, the sighs from everyone around them because they’re tired of the repetitive beef. during quarantine, i even wrote out and gave a verbal presentation to my beta explaining how an enemies to lovers arc would work through writing and all the needed dynamics in order to justify a person falling in love with their enemy.

and yeah, the process is the best part of it. i want to be able to see the transition between worst enemy to begrudged partner to lover. that’s the best part!!! the character development!!! the molding around each other and learning to accept their character flaws!! the willingness to defend that flaw in front of other people!!

but here’s where the problem lies: akechi goro.

oh akechi. oh akechi goro, the bane of my existence and the object of affection by everyone in this god forsaken fandom. look, i get it. it’s really really fucking hard to resist the charm of akechi goro, i admit it. he’s so interesting, he’s so in-depth, he’s so cool and rugged and he’s such a bastard that you end up kind of being obsessed with him, and that’s fine. I'm also kind of obsessed with him.

but i don't like him. because he isn’t a likeable character. there’s a huge difference between thinking he’s a fantastic character and loving him. because i don't love him. i hate him. i despise him. he’s caused so, so, so much grievance, so much pain to so many characters in persona that it honestly impossible to give him a redemption arc. it’s not possible. even if you go down the Black Star route (amazing fanfic, brilliant work) it still doesn't redeem him. he killed futabas mom (which literally led her to her spiraling depression and self hatred and manifested intense mental illness that led to her isolating herself from the world and made her lose her mom that she loves so much) and killed haru’s dad (how on earth can you justify that one??? god, haru wanted nothing more than to just see her dad happy again) and killed so many other random people!! and don’t feed me that “oh he had a sad life” shut the fuck up literally everyone in p5 had a sob story and you don't see them killing people. he’s complex, not likeable.

but here’s the good part: the game doesn't want you to like akechi. i mean it. they never said what he did was okay (never. they never said it was okay), they never said that you had to like him. all they said was that you had to work with him. even in the third semester, the one people are so insistent on calling a redemption arc, isn’t a fucking redemption arc. they just want you to see who akechi really is!! without the facade!!! all they want is for you to see how complex he is, see him spiral and angry and bitter and they want you to see him turn out the complete opposite of akira.

and here’s where we actually start talking about akeshu

akechi and akira are two halves of the same coin. akira chose the side of justice (by ironically being a criminal) while akechi chose the side of vengeance (which is ironic, since he’s a detective.) see, even with that whole crime vs justice thing, they’re connected. the person who ruined their life is the same person (shido), they both have had hard lives. but they turned out as opposites, with akira having a much better life than akechi--which is why akechi is so obsessed with akira. what does akira have that he doesn't? why did he turn out happy when he’s still miserable? and that creates a tension (which we will talk about later)

akechi and akira are rivals. they are connected, they always will be. it’s a hero/villain narrative that we all love, it’s an interesting character dynamic. it’s fun to see them interact.

but by god, it does not mean that akechi and akira are good for each other. i would go as far to say it would do akechi a huge disservice as a character if you made them end up together.

remember how akechi is a complex character? if akechi ends up with akira, you would essentially be ripping out all of his complexity just to have both of them date. akechi doesn't want to be with akira, and if you honestly think akechi is in love with akira id be surprised because he’s not--he’s obsessed with akira, infatuated with him. what he’s feeling isn’t love, it’s the feeling of frustration. he doesn't care about akira, or anyone. he cares about himself, and that’s it. which is what makes him so interesting because this never changes throughout the entire game!!! that's so FUN!!!

and the game never wants you to forget that complexity!! because they never gave akechi a redemption arc!! they want you to remember him as someone who’s willing to die for himself. (and, in a way, that’s the extent of akechis mercy. because before shidos palace, he wasn't even willing to die for himself, you know what i mean? he was willing to die in shidos palace because that’s what he wanted, he wanted to defeat shidos cognition of himself, he wanted to save the thieves because they were the first to listen to him and understand him, but he didn't really do it out of empathy. he did it because he’d rather die than continue living shidos lie--funny because that how he ‘dies’ in the third semester. nice one atlus)

and i get it. the game gives them such an undeniable tension that its super easy to see it as love, but its not. it’s not love, guys. that tension isn’t love, because what it’s actually tragedy. it’s tragic that akechi can’t have happiness (in canon, at least.) it’s tragic that akira, the person who loves his friends more than anything, who would die saving someone he doesn't even know, it’s tragic that he can’t save someone who’s the most desperate to be saved. and that is why i love platonic/non-romantic akeshu, because i think that concept is way more interesting than them falling in love. it’s about akira’s obvious trauma that he couldn’t save everyone, it’s about akechi’s hard-headedness about not wanting to be saved because he’s been let down too many times for him to ever put trust into anyone again.

it’s tragic. it’s meant to be tragic. persona 5 is a game about fighting for reality, and reality is fucking hard. so the fact that these two people have such a tragic ending despite what we, as an audience, are used to (happy endings), is part of the game. they’re not meant for each other. they won’t work, they don't work. that tension isn't made out of love or sexual tension--it’s stemmed from tragedy and hate and confusion and such a deep rooted sadness from inside of them.

they both deserve better than each other. akira deserves to be with the friends he made in tokyo, and akechi deserves to be with someone (if he lives) who isn’t associated with the metaverse at all. he deserves a clean slate, he deserves a fresh start. he deserves a reset.

and another reason is that akira loves his friends too much. he would do anything for them. it’s supposed to be funny--the wildcard, with no vulnerability, no weakness, has the most weakness out of all of them because he cares too deeply about his friends that if one single thing were to hurt them akira would fold like a deck of cards. you think akira would do that to haru? to futaba? yeah, right. he would never. akira can forgive but he would never forget. he’d never compromise. not for his friends.

so going back to the topic of enemies to lovers--akeshu is not enemies to lovers, because there are certain rules for enemies to lovers. enemies should be fun. it should be people on the opposite team with different perspectives. enemies should not be morally horrific. the ‘enemy’ should be forgivable. both characters should still come off likable. they should both be able to stand up on their own legs as characters even if you take away their love interest. for example, hermione/draco wouldn't work because draco calls Hermione a slur on many occasions. that is not forgivable. if draco instead, i don't know, cheats off her test or something and she gets mad and they have a back and forth thing, then sure, hermione/draco could work.

a fantastic enemies to lovers would be snowbaz from carry on. uh, zootopia? thats a great one. natsume and mikan from gakuen alice is good too!! basically, there’s a lot of actual good enemies to lovers out there. enemies to lovers shouldn't be morally ambiguous. it should be fun. it should be the right kind of tension. the characters should be likable from both sides. and akeshu does not have that.

tldr stan akiryu and akesumi instead

#this took me like an hour to answer #my bubble tea is melting #ask #asks #sorry anon lmfaoooo enjoy my thesis paper

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muzzleroars · 4 years

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So Robin Hood’s timeline is murky most versions have him being an outlaw during the Third Crusade (1189-1192) but the First thing The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood tells you,(if you ignore the preface) is that Robin Hood was an outlaw in the reign of Henry II who was King of England from 1154 to his death in 1189. This supports the theory that Akechi’s first persona was Robin Hood.

P5R SPOILERS UNDER THE READ MORE!

that is a good point regarding robin hood being his first persona - robin hood is a rebel character (like the first tier personas) while loki is a trickster god (like the second tier personas), goro just happens to be able to summon both of them at once. also, we see in his third tier awakening that loki evolves into hereward...hereward is the real-life counter-part of robin hood, which is strongly suggestive of robin being his initial persona given that all of the third tier personas are a return to the thieves’ roots. i understand the opposite view, the people that theorize that robin hood is a persona created in response to goro getting to know akira and having the pure, untainted view of his own justice taking form. additionally, the game suggests loki is the persona responsible for the psychotic breakdowns, and therefor would need to have been a part of goro’s roster early on.

i’ve gone back and forth on this, but right now i personally still think you’re right here - goro awoke to his power at fourteen. he was definitely already in pain and traumatized, but i don’t think he would be pushed to the point of being able to summon loki just yet. in goro’s confidant, he mentions wanting to be a hero when he was younger and given robin’s superhero aesthetic, it’s clear he comes from that feeling. of course, it can still be argued that robin was a result of akira making goro remember those feelings and having them find renewed life, but i think he still had some innocence at fourteen when he fist summoned his persona because he hadn’t been so manipulated and warped by shido. he wanted to save his mom, he wanted to be a superhero for her essentially, and i can see robin hood coming out of those feelings. he can be a righteous hero of justice when he takes down shido, someone who probably felt like a real life villain to him (and honestly was). with a persona like robin, he is undeniably good and virtuous, a hero that avenges his mother and himself from a villain that destroyed their innocent lives. but when he approaches shido with that power...he realizes there’s little he can do with it. he has no clue how the metaverse really works and he needs to listen to shido’s orders to get closer to him...and he feels himself falling as a hero. he has to kill for shido, he continues to taint his vision of a hero and of true justice, and he grows more and more twisted and ashamed with his own acts. that grief, anger, and hatred becomes the ability to summon loki and therefor the power to induce psychotic breakdowns, born out of his own desperation. he may not even see himself as deserving of using robin hood - he’s a hero and goro is not. he uses loki almost exclusively eventually, even if robin hood tells him he understands why goro has done what he has for his justice. goro just...can’t face him, and getting the chance to use him again with the phantom thieves is nostalgic for him. he’s happy to see him again (and it helps him pretend to be a novice as he gets used to handling him again), he’s happy to play the hero and loses himself in the role for a minute, even if he knows it’s a lie. he remembers who he wanted to be and who he can never be now, but i think he likes feeling what could have been.

#goro just hates himself so much it's PAINFUL #and i could just see him finding himself unworthy of robin hood #he's absolutely not of course but he feels it very deeply #but robin is always there to support him and help him #loki isn't the type to offer good advice anyway lol #p5 #p5r #goro akechi #robin hood #loki #p5r spoilers #persona 5 royal spoilers #askmarietheapprentice

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akechicrimes · 4 years

Text

it does matter, actually, that goro akechi is a minor. not because this somehow exonerates him morally, or because this somehow makes him not responsible for his actions, but because persona 5 is invested in children as a source of hope for a better future.

once i saw someone complain that people will defend akechi’s murders on the grounds that he’s a child/minor and how they felt that this doesnt excuse multiple counts of murder. and i was like, ok, well, im not sure anyone was excusing him, but alright, sure. and i’ve seen a few rebuttals to that, one of which is that shido and the other adults in akechi’s life had a responsibility to support akechi in such a way that it didn’t come to murder, and of course it’s on shido to just not be a massive dick who endorses fascism and murders in the first place. and i was like ok, well, this seems a little patronizing and dismissive of akechi’s agency and autonomy, but alright, sure.

in a very roundabout way of explaining my first two sentences, there’s one thing that bothers me lately, and it’s selim bradley from fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood.

for those of us not familiar with fma:b, selim, or pride, is the oldest homunculus/artificial human in the show and the second-oldest villain, despite the fact that he looks about eight years old. of the seven homunculus named after deadly sins, selim/pride is the only one to survive the show--with an asterisk, which is that selim gets the “homunculus” part of him erased by the end of the show. with the “pride” aspect of him gone, selim is mortal, without any special powers, without memories of any of his amoral acts, and is generally just a happy, normal child.

which is a weird exception to fma:b’s general rule in which every other homunculus dies. even fan favorites like greed and envy don’t live, despite the fact that greed and envy are far more sympathetic as characters. selim kills multiple people on-screen, shows zero remorse whatsoever, and is an active helper in all the other mass-murders that the homunculi engineer. selim’s not an innocent in any way. also, he’s like, 200 years old? 300? he’s very old. biologically, mentally, emotionally, selim is not a child.

but fma:b goes out of its way to make sure that selim gets a second chance at a future, just because his body looks like a child’s. cut another way, he gets an exception from a large number of terrible crimes, up to an including participation in genocide, just because he looks like a child.

fma:b reminded me that, outside of tumblr’s purity politics over children, and especially so in japan, children are socially constructed in a very specific way, beyond biological age and legal majority cutoffs.

yes, biological age is a thing. yes, legal majority is a thing. i’m not saying that being a child isn’t a biological thing--it is, obviously. but what i’m saying is that there’s a difference between, say, the sex assigned to you at birth and your gender presentation, to use an analogy. there is a such thing as biological age, but the societal status of being a child of a related but separate thing. and this status of being considered a child is a societal construct.

the social construction goes like this, insofar as i’m aware: children should be good and silent and dutiful and work hard and go to school and listen to their elders, and their elders in turn should do everything they can to guide the children to the right path and build a good society for these children to inherit. (if we want more details on this, please see the entire history of filial piety in asia.)

so that’s a social contract right there baked into the social construct of childhood: children don’t have power, but adults have an obligation to make sure they don’t need power, and to make sure that the future and their children’s futures look bright.

children represent the future, essentially. they’re the next generation. they’re simultaneously without legal rights as adults and in a very vulnerable position, for sure, but they’re also simultaneously considered the country’s most precious capital: quite literally the people who will inherit and lead the country next.

which, personally, i think puts a whole new spin on the phantom thieves in general. they’re not just kids who’re being rowdy or kids telling abusive shitty adults theyre being abusive and shitty--or, they’re kids doing those things, but they’re not just kids doing those things. they’re kids who’ve been specifically let down by adults who did not fulfill their social obligation to them. they’re kids who’ve been abandoned and neglected by the very adults who should have been paving the way forward for them, as society has asked those adults to do, because those adults have instead chosen to line their own pockets and cover their own asses.

so the kids said: alright, well, then i’ll take power for myself, and i’ll make my own future. (which is where we get a lot of those promo slogans of “steal back your future” and junk like that.)

sae’s comments about how adults should do their part to fix the world for the kids is just a resolidifying of the way the world “should” work, and we could talk about her comments on the matter, but actually i wanna talk about yoshida.

i especially want to talk about yoshida because yoshida and shido are the two politicians we see the most of, and both of them spend a lot of time reciting political rhetoric to speak to the hearts of the general japanese populace. we all know the way that shido thinks of japan: a large vehicle that one person is in control of, and the masses just compose the throne upon which the ruler sits.

we also already know that yoshida’s a Real G, but it’s worth really close-reading some of his lines. he speaks a lot about apathy, the lack of caring for each other in society--a general willingness to disregard your fellow man, to not uphold one’s social obligation to each other. but he also talks a lot about the “youth”--which is not really uncommon for a politician, obviously, since politicians are always talking about “the children” and “the kids” and “the next generation” and “those damn millennials” and all that shit.

yoshida instead gives us these fun lines:

A world where the young exist only to be exploited... is a world that must be changed!

And while our society appears to be prosperous, many of our young people are quietly suffering. They lack jobs, security, savings... The next generation will lead us into the future and yet they have no plan for how to arrive there.

Passing on the societal ills we have created to the next generation... is not right!

...the current administration refuses to discuss their plans for the future... Can we really accept such an utter lack of transparency?!

If you make a promise, you must keep it. If you make a mistake, you must atone for it. These are basic human principles that we have all learned from the youngest of ages...

yoshida’s entire thing about how the adults have let the children down isn’t just him saying shit--he’s commenting directly on the fact that the social contract has been broken, and he’s putting the blame on the administration for not upholding their responsibility to secure a future for the children, especially since the children are the future of the country.

this is partly why he doesn’t blame the phantom thieves for acting the way that they do; rather, he seems them as a logical reaction to the injustice that’s occurred as a result of the society that the adults have left for them:

I bet [the Phantom Thieves] are a group of young people. Young people who have experienced cruelty and injustice... They bravely face the societal ills that plague our world without thinking of the consequences.

(i think also in part he admires the fact that they’re anonymous and don’t benefit personally from their actions, which is exactly the opposite of what he did as a young politician. he also doesn’t throw the real embezzlement culprit under the bus to exonerate himself presumably for the same principle of desiring selfless public service instead of personal gain.)

in both the early parts of the s link and later on when yoshida starts talking with matsushita more extensively, akira’s important because he’s young--he represents the young demographic that yoshida and matsushita are discussing the future of. akira demonstrating support for yoshida in a public way means a lot because he’s a minor. matsushita asks akira for his opinions on the phantom thieves and other issues because akira is a minor. akira’s opinion is supposed to be heard and valued by adults, who should take his opinions into consideration and do their best to not let him down.

this is tied into the general thread of yoshida being a person who was self-admittedly just as corrupt as everyone else, who was blinded by glamor and fame and money, who got caught up in political scandal. yoshida’s general acceptance of his mistakes as a human being and politician ties over to his general belief that it’s not that the youth are rebellious no-good teens, but that the youth have been let down by politicians like who he used to be. he blames himself, and because he is not too different from the rest of the older generation and politicians in general, he implicates a lot of the older generation and politicians as also blame-worthy.

his quest for redemption and atonement dovetails neatly with his views on the broken societal contract. taken together, yoshida’s s link implies to us the idea that the entire general older generation in japan more or less owes the children of japan a formal apology, and the older generation better get on their redemption arc and start being the vanguard of the change for children:

The reason [the Phantom Thieves are] causing a stir is because they are addressing the world’s problems. Setting aside whether their actions are right or wrong... there is one thing I can safely say about the Phantom Thieves. A belief with conviction... has the ability to move a person’s heart.

I’m sure you are all aware that I am “No-Good Tora,” the one accused of embezzlement. However, because I was accused like that, I was able to understand the suffering of the weak. Why am I in politics? In the past, it was merely for personal gain. But why do the Phantom Thieves continue to change hearts? I believe they do it for the world and its people. And in choosing to do justice for others, they had no choice but to disguise themselves. No matter what the world says, I fully support them.

I’m just an average citizen. However, I will continue to voice my beliefs. I may not be able to become a Diet member this election... and I may not be able to effect change during my lifetime... but I’ve made my peace with that. I will be happy as long as I can be a meaningful stepping stone for the future of our youth!

okay. so that was a lot of close reading about yoshida. why did we do this exercise, tumblr user akechicrimes.

there’s two takeaways from this. the first is the one that yoshida has already talked about extensively, which is that the phantom thieves are just but not because Fuck Cops and Fuck Capitalism and Fuck Anime Jeff Bezos. the phantom thieves are just because the people who are supposed to be upholding society aren’t doing their fucking jobs. the phantom thieves are specifically saying: we’ve been let down by society, so apparently we have to do everything our goddamn selves around here.

(which also ties in neatly to the general “fuck cops” vibe of persona 5 which, i would like to say, is very specifically “the cops are not doing their jobs.” the TV station scene where akira speaks back to akechi is, if i’m remembering this right, maybe the ONLY time we really hear “akira’s” opinion on the morality of his own activities, which is fascinating because he just does these things without ever justifying himself to the player--anyway, his three options are: (1) They’re justice itself, (2) They’re necessary, and (3) They do more than the cops. so akira can’t ever at any point say that the phantom thieves are bad, but his most interesting and detailed answer is to point out that the cops aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do, so who can really blame the phantom thieves for doing what the cops aren’t?)

the second takeaway is that yes, goro akechi does get more leniency because he’s a minor.

yes. seriously. this isn’t a matter of excusing what he did, or downplaying the fact that he committing murder. i’m not saying that he wasn’t old enough to make decisions (although i would never say that he was old enough to make decisions, because he was 14/15 when he got wrapped up in shido’s conspiracy). i’m also not saying that akechi, somehow for some reason, didn’t volunteer himself willingly, because all the evidence points to the fact that he did (although of course “free will” is also highly circumspect considering his living conditions at the time and the fact that shido makes it clear that he was able to manipulate akechi without ever infringing on akechi’s sense of autonomy). i’m not even saying that akechi was driven to the point of murder and had no other choice (although i think that might also be true as well).

what i am saying is that under the construction of childhood as japan’s future and japan’s hope, akechi is considered a valuable member of society, and is therefore worth saving.

or at least he should be.

akechi says that he’s an unwanted child, but “unwanted child,” according to yoshida’s rhetoric (and a lot of japan’s general rhetoric of children as hope for the future) is an oxymoron. (or at least it would be an oxymoron if japan weren’t so fucking hypocritical.) you can’t not want the future of the country. you can’t not want hope for a good future. the very idea that a child could be not wanted or not valuable doesn’t make any sense, because children are the future--in some ways, whether you like it or not, that child is going to inherit the earth when you’re dead.

the kind of person who’d not want those things is--well, shido. (this is why i used yoshida; yoshida and shido are two polar opposite politicians.) shido quite literally does not want a good future for anyone in the country and quite literally does not want akechi and quite literally does not see akechi, one of the very young-person citizens that shido is supposed to be serving, as useful or valuable in any way unless akechi is directly promoting shido’s fame and popularity. shido being akechi’s father is just a very neat and nice way of literalizing the ways that shido, as an adult, has let down akechi as a child--the ways that shido quite literally owed akechi something to make akechi’s life and future better, and instead did everything awful.

there should not ever be a thing like “unwanted child.” that in and of itself, from the start of akechi’s life, was nonsensical. and to the extent that shido being akechi’s father is allegorical of the ways that shido is a terrible patriarch for japan, i would say that akechi, as an unwanted foster child, is just another allegory for the ways that children nowadays are treated as misbehaving, lazy good-for-nothings who have to work themselves into the dirt to be given half the salary and half the praise. akechi, as an unwanted child, is just the personification and representative of an apparently unwanted generation.

what i’m getting at is that akechi’s status as a minor (and yes he’s a minor even if he’s eighteen; age of majority in japan is twenty)--akechi’s status as a minor is a critical part of why akechi gets a shot at a redemption arc. so yes, actually, the other villains or palace-rulers don’t get redemption arcs because they are adults, who had a societal obligation to do better by their peers and by the children of japan. yes, actually, akechi’s informal “trial” in the hands of fandom is to be tried as a minor and not as an adult. yes, i know kamoshida didn’t kill anyone and akechi’s literal crimes are more morally repugnant, but yes, unfortunately, being a minor does actually exonerate him on the morality spectrum to a degree.

being a child matters in the larger scheme of persona 5′s logic of who owes who, who’s responsible for who, and why we should not be apathetic. adults owe children a better future. adults have been letting children down. adults owe every single phantom thief, including akechi, an apology, a better future, and health and happiness; and they owe that to japan’s future not as a matter of exchange or morals, but simple social obligation. adults are supposed to take care of the kids--full stop.

”okay but @ tumblr user akechicrimes?? akechi KILLED people.”

yeah, i know. i said “being a minor does actually exonerate him on the morality spectrum to a degree.”

what degree? no idea. that’s up to you to decide. if you want to play in the black-grey-white morality scale that only goes two ways, you’re welcome to continue to ask “what degree.” we can argue that being a minor somehow reels akechi back from the “black” end of the spectrum into the “grey” or “white” parts.

but (if i may be permitted to go completely off the shits into things that might make people pissed off at me for saying) i implore you to consider that this two-way scale of morality is not the line of thought that persona 5 is pursuing.

this, again, ties back into the social construction of a child. i’ve said “a child is representative of the country’s future” so many times i think it’s lost meaning, so let me dice it a different way: a child is socially constructed as representative of potential and hope. a child is socially constructed as the capacity for things to get better. in persona terms, a child is the fool at the start of their journey, all futures contained in one present, a vast multitude of could-be’s.

for a game very concerned with japan’s general societal ruin, children are not just in the position of having been let down by adults, but are--as the phantom thieves demonstrate--representative of better futures regardless of how terrible circumstances look in the current day. they are a source of believing one day this sad, depressing story might actually end with “and then they lived happily ever after.”

if i may go even more completely off the shits, take a look at this heckler from yoshida’s s link, which is the one that akira speaks back to in the middle of yoshida’s speech:

...I’ve been wrong this whole time. Even though someone has failed in the past, it doesn’t mean that person can’t try again.

this is to say, redemption arcs insofar as persona 5 (and also persona 5 royal, i think) is concerned is not a question of necessarily addressing the wrongs that have occurred. yoshida sets the bar pretty high in that yoshida does not ask for forgiveness for what he’s done, and instead simply accepts his actions and their consequences without attempting to lessen the blow. he embraces what he’s done in all its awfulness.

but because akechi is a a minor, and because akechi as a minor is getting wrapped up in persona 5′s train of thought about kids as the hopeful futures of japan, akechi is at the very least owed a chance to do better. as a minor, japan is societally contracte to give him the space to have the potential to be better and do better. nobody is obligated to forgive him, and indeed neither royal nor akechi ever seem to entertain this as a valid possibility. forgive, forget, reconciliation, retribution, and resolution seem to be all off the table, as if the very idea would minimize haru or futaba’s losses. the very conceit of the dreamworld in P5R wants to shoot down the very idea that the past can ever, to any degree, be fixed, remedied, or even emotionally resolved. akechi will have always killed wakaba and okumura and this fact will always be awful--full stop.

nevertheless, despite the fact that the past cannot be changed, akechi is still a minor. rather than attempting to resolve the issues of the past, akechi is still owed the space to become a beacon of potential change for the better in the future--which is also known as hope.

i’ve said this in other posts elsewhere, but persona games are like, obsessed with hope. they fucking adore that shit. why not? even in difficult times, even when things are terrible and you’re going through misery, if you at least have hope that one day things will be better, that life will change, that the new generation will step up to the plate and make the story have a happy ending, pain becomes easier to bear. and why not? persona games cover a breadth of difficult topics.

especially in a game like P5, which talks at length about modern day japan’s ailments, what good is it if the player walks away with a defeatist attitude that the future will be terrible?

if reality is malleable like morgana says, isn’t the first step to have hope that this is true?

this post has gone on a lot longer than i thought it would. but in any event. that’s why it is valid to say that akechi being a minor “exonerates” him to a degree.

also selim bradley lives because fma:b concurs that children are a hope for a better future and fma:b is particularly invested in this line of thought because it’s a story about edward transitioning from a child to a young adult who is learning about the ways that the world works and is also still just childlike enough to propose that the world shouldn’t have to work in the bloody, awful way that it does. selim is representative that all children should be given as many chances as possible to do and be better because they are representative of potential. if that wasn’t clear. lmao.

#meta #mine

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takeyourcritique · 5 years

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Makoto Niijima: Good Girl, Bad Writing.

In video games, movies, TV, and books, there are always characters who receive copious amounts of praise. In Persona 5, it is no different. Some characters deserve the hype they get, and some.. do not. In my humble opinion, Makoto Niijima falls into the latter category and in this essay I will explain why, as well as delve into what I as a writer would do to improve her character. Because this is not a hate meta, it is merely me articulating my issues with her character and getting my thoughts in order. (She has potential, it merely needs to be utilized and with P5R coming next year, a girl can hope.)

1. Underwhelming Design

The cast of Persona 5, in contrast to the casts before them, are vigilantes, a band of misfits if you will. The entire theme of the game is rebellion against society and fighting the norm, and the characters should reflect this in their design. The only exception is the protagonist himself because he's on probation and attempting to keep a low profile: that's why he follows the dress code to a tee and appears as gentle as possible, because he's already in enough trouble as is. The first party member, Ryuji, has been a rebel for a good amount of time: his hair is a stark blond (which Kawakami-sensei does not approve of) and he wears a very casual version of the school uniform; substituting a bright yellow shirt for the white of the uniform, wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes, and not wearing his suspenders (they're attached though, at the waist).

Ann Takamaki wears a white clover hoodie under her blazer, red leggings under her skirt, brown lace up boots, and earrings; not to mention her hair, while a natural blonde, is pulled back into cutesy pigtails almost like a teenage Harley Quinn. Yusuke doesn't even go to the same school, so his attire stands out in stark contrast with the main trio. Futaba dyes her hair red and she doesn't go to school at all due to severe anxiety; Haru wears a poofy pink sweater over her uniform with Mary Janes and polka dot tights. They all stick out like little sore thumbs. Except Makoto. She basically also follows the dress code, with a few subtle changes:

•She doesn't wear a blazer, instead wearing a black halter vest over her turtleneck

•Black tights

•Brown boots

That's literally it. Nothing about her stands out, and even in her casual clothing she wears a lot of whites and blacks. There's a monochromatic vibe to her, perhaps alluding to her strong sense of justice and distinction between right and wrong which in and of itself isn't bad! But it doesn't fit with the theme of the cast, Makoto fits in too much with the rest of the world to fit in with them. Just by looking at her, you cannot tell she's supposed to be part of the crew and in all honesty she'd fit better working with Akechi due to their very similar views of justice and morals. Hell, some NPCs are more vibrant design-wise than Makoto is.

2. Her Metaverse design, Persona and codename are contradictory.

Makoto's Persona, Johanna, is based most likely off Pope Joan, (after doing research online and reading Johanna's profile on SMT wiki it seemed the best fit) who was a woman that pretended to be a man in order to rise to power in an otherwise male-only role in the Catholic church. And while the story is intriguing, it doesn't fit Makoto at all: she never pretended to be what she was not and while she's "the voice of reason" she's not the leader of the team; Joker is. This makes her codename, "Queen", even more confusing. Nothing about her costume design looks regal whatsoever; it makes no sense. It feels like writer's favoritism, in all honesty. A better name would've been something more related to the fact that she looks like a biker/executionist hybrid; like "Crusher" or something of more..violent nature.

Even a name related to her wanting to go into the force would've worked well: Chief, Lieutenant, etc. Queen is nice, but it doesn't click with Makoto at all, unlike literally everyone else's Persona and codename. Ann's Persona, Carmen, is a femme fatale that kills men. Captain Kidd is a pirate, an iconic symbol of rebellion; Milady, Haru's Persona, is a reference to a villainess of the same name in the 3 Musketeers; Goemon was essentially a Japanese Robin Hood which fits Yusuke's entire kitsune/warrior aesthetic. Joker's Persona, Arsene, is a direct nod to Arsene Lupin; who was one of Sherlock's rivals and a gentleman thief who left calling cards to the people he robbed and a direct parallel to Akechi.

3. Her introduction as a whole, and to the team, is abysmal.

When Makoto is first introduced to the player, the entire school is in turmoil over Kamoshida's abusive actions towards the volleyball and track team. Many people don't know the truth about what's going on, and others simply turn a blind eye because as an Olympic medalist, the gym coach brings in a lot of popularity for the school. Being the student council president, Makoto has power that many other students do not have; so one would assume that upon learning that a victim was in danger she would spring into action, no?

Wrong.

When Ann confronts Makoto about her inaction, she turns the question back on the blonde, asking "What have YOU done for Shiho?" as if it's Ann's fault that Shiho had been jeopardized (which it was not, Ann allowed herself to be blackmailed by Kamoshida in order, so she thought, to protect her best and at the time, only friend). And she doesn't do anything about the situation, claiming that "It has nothing to do with me." (This is how abuse victims DIE.) Even worse, her elder sister is a prosecutor, she could've easily gone to Sae and asked her to look into the matter. Goro Akechi later calls her out on this, as he should; telling her that she is a "good-girl pushover". And when Kamoshida is punished for his crimes, Ann, who was bullied and outcast, goes to Makoto and apologizes to HER to make amends, as if she were wrong. Makoto then replies "We both made mistakes" in a sorry apology (she doesn't even say "I'm sorry" iirc), and asks if she can call Ann by her first name and without honorifics, which in Japan is a symbol of close friendship. (Edit: this apology actually takes place after Kaneshiro's arc, not Kamoshida's, I misremembered.)

You see, calling someone by their given name, even if you are the same age, has a ton of meaning in the culture. Just a year difference between two people can separate them as senpai and kouhai, and while the senpai can call their kouhai by their first name without raising any eyebrows it's not the same for the younger person. Calling someone by their given name in Japan is a privilege, not a right; it represents trust, respect, everything that Makoto and Ann did NOT have.

Now, let me get this straight.

Makoto did nothing when everybody called Ann Kamoshida's hoe, allowed her, Shiho, Akira, Ryuji and Mishima plus many others to suffer abuse (and Shiho attempted suicide!), gave a laughable apology, victim-blamed Ann; and now she wants to be buddy-buddy? What, in any reality, about that is okay? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But of course, because the writers want us to love Makoto, they have Ann forgive her and let her call her by her first name. And after all that, Makoto is still president, despite her clear nonchalance to the matter. She also does nothing to help the Kamoshida victims after his crimes come to light, when there was literally no excuse anymore not to assist them and help them get back on their feet. Even if she felt powerless with Kamoshida around, that doesn't explain her inaction after he's gone.

Flash forward two Palaces later, when she joins the team. Makoto stalks the protagonist around to gather evidence that he is a Phantom Thief, and then blackmails her way into the ranks. The team of course, is not happy about this at all. Makoto gives them the target; Junya Kaneshiro, who's basically forcing people into debt. The problem here is she has literally no personal ties to him; unlike the main trio all having connections to Kamoshida and Yusuke being Madarame's essential foster son. Tired of Sae calling her useless, Makoto jumps in front of the mob boss's car in desperation (and Ryuji gets her out of the way JUST in time, but he very easily could've died) which puts the entire team in danger and later on is literally pinned down by the mob and the crew have to go and save her because she was so determined to take this dude down she walked into the lion's den without any form of a plan. (He was also going to sell her into prostution to pay off the debt he'd given the Thieves.)

Her Awakening is also really weak: the speech from Johanna is extremely short and then Makoto stomps the ground to avoid falling over, rips off her mask with a bunch of overdramatic screaming (iirc we don't even get to see blood) and whoop-di-doo, she's got a motorcycle! And suddenly, despite all she's done, everybody loves her and thinks she's a total badass when she literally just threw an adult-sized tantrum. The motorcycle itself is also very lazy, it's just a motorcycle with a face. That's it. That's Makoto's Persona. A motorcycle. With. A. Face.

And from then on, everybody's suddenly a-ok and buddy-buddy with Makoto. It's ridiculous and just makes her come off as a Mary Sue because if somebody endangered my life I sure as hell would not be rubbing shoulders with them and I'm quite sure most people feel the same way. And again, after all this, Makoto does not get in trouble or even harshly reprimanded by the school for her extremely reckless actions; when she should have, and had the power to, just call the police or Sae. And all the Thieves somehow are now her friends and she gets to become a superhero.

So let me see if I understand. This girl stalks these people, blackmails them and forces them to go after hardened criminals (she was going to snitch on them if they didn't comply to her demands), goes in guns blazing by HERSELF to attempt to take down the mob boss, has to be rescued..

And gets praised and dubbed a badass for this???

And before you accuse me of having bias against Makoto, let it be known I in no way, shape or form condone Yusuke stalking Ann or Futaba blackmailing the Thieves either. It's. Still. Wrong.

Also, if you unironically think Makoto's stalking is cute, you're wrong. Stalking is creepy, regardless if it's a girl or guy doing it; no one gets a pass.

In addition, Makoto couldn't be bothered to help out at school but then goes after a MOB BOSS and puts herself in unnecessary danger? What's up with that?? If she felt powerless against Kamoshida, why in the world would she take on the Yakuza?

4. Her backstory doesn't mesh well with the rest of the team.

The gang are all outcasts and misfits in one way or another, and their pasts are less than savory.

Protagonist: Falsely accused of assaulting a woman, expelled from school and sent to Tokyo on a year probation despite his innocence, victim of nasty rumors by other students at his new school; abused by his gym coach, no contact with parents.

Ryuji: Abusive, alcoholic father who beat him and llater left him and his mother, abused by his gym coach, leg broken by his gym coach and labeled as a delinquent because his coach lied and acted like Ryuji attacked him, thus alienating him from the track team and by extent; the entire school. Losing his track scholarship because he can't run anymore, ruining his academic career.

Ann: Two parent household but they're never home, leaving her with a caretaker. Faced bullying and isolation due to being biracial (she's a quarter American), only having one friend before joining the Phantom Thieves. Blackmailed by the gym coach and sexually harassed in order to keep this one friend on the volleyball team, labeled as a slut because no one took the time to find out the truth of the matter. Friend is later raped and attempts suicide, Ann attempts to get help from the student council president but is blamed herself for Shiho's predicament. Also judged just for her looks, which she despises.

Yusuke: Biological father died presumably before his birth, biological mother had a seizure and died due to his mentor's negligence. Said mentor then takes Yusuke, a very small child at this point in time, and raises him in isolation. Psychologically (and very likely emotionally) manipulated, Kitagawa grows up in an abusive household and when confronted with the truth, is unwilling to believe it is so (as many abusive victims realistically behave). Later learns the truth about his mother and his mentor's plagiarism and detaches himself from him, but is extremely socially awkward out of touch due to isolation and as a result is isolated at school because no one wants to talk to him.

Futaba: Was blamed for her mother's death (whom she lost at 13-14) and lived with an extremely abusive uncle who underfed her and didn't even let her bathe herself. Developed severe anxiety and became suicidally depressed for over a year, refusing to even come out of her room. Had a friend who was abused by her parents and upon finding out the two fell out and only reconciled years later through the Internet. Bullied in school for her intellect.

Haru: Lost her mother at a young age, engaged against her will to an emotionally abusive, selfish fiancé for the sake of her father's company. Has deep-rooted trust issues due to people being kind to her solely because of her status; or mean for the exact same reasons. Later on lost her father as well at the age of 17, leaving all the responsibility of the company to her as she was the sole heir.

Morgana: Has no memories of who, or what, he used to be and suffers existential crises; suffers from vivid nightmares. Puts up a façade of arrogance to hide insecurities.

Makoto: Mother died when younger, father died in the line of work, older sister forced to become caretaker and work her rear off to provide for the both of them. Pressured into perfection by Sae.

That's.. literally it. Yes, she has no friends at school, but that's by her choice; she isolates herself in her studies and as a result is socially awkward and doesn't know how to interact with people (which makes her even less suitable to be put into any type of leadership position so how she became student council president is beyond me.) Makoto's life is heaven compared to the other Thieves and most of her issues would go away once she gets to college: the rest of the team doesn't have that luxury. By the way, please don't think I'm saying she doesn't deserve to be on the team because she doesn't have as deep a sob story, I'm not saying that at all. It's just that her backstory isn't really utilized as well as it should be and often times conflict is used to try to get the player to feel sorry for her (i.e. Sae calling her useless)

5. Her Confidant is abysmal and cliché.

So Makoto's Confidant actually starts out not half bad! You take her out to play video games and help her come out of her shell initially. But then it shifts to Eiko, an old friend of hers, who is a bad relationship. And this is when the Confidant begins to suffer, because it's not even about Makoto anymore. The president tells Eiko about the danger she's in, and her old classmate does not listen; declaring that since the older girl does not have a boyfriend she couldn't possibly understand. This logic is very flawed; it's like telling a smoker to stop smoking and they tell you "You don't even smoke, you don't know how bad it is". Yet Makoto listens to Eiko and comes to you, the protagonist; and asks you to pretend to be her boyfriend in order to convince her friend that she DOES understand. But it's so awkward Eiko's boyfriend and the girl herself can tell you're not genuine. And you have to keep this up for the rest of the Confidant, not to mention MAX Charm is required from Rank 5 onward in this route. Why?

Because apparently you're not attractive enough otherwise. And it's not even for Makoto, it's for Eiko, to convince her that you're hot enough to compare to her boyfriend; Takase. (Geez, shallow and childish much?) And then at the end of the Confidant, the romance angle comes off as very odd because you're literally treated like an afterthought the entire time and then suddenly Makoto turns around and wants you as her actual boyfriend?? Uh..where was her falling for you during the time spent together? It just feels like it comes outta nowhere, not to mention she wants to be a cop which the law literally ruined Joker's life soooo why is he getting into a romantic relationship with someone who wants to be associated with a source of his trauma? That's like a metaphorical slap in his face.

"Hey, I know you were literally beaten and drugged up, manhandled, falsely accused and put into solitary confinement by the law enforcement, causing you to suffer severe anxiety and you to possibly be scarred forever but I wanna be a cop even though I don't think straight in stressful situations and act on impulse and don't take insults or criticism well; and I want you to stay by my side even though I blackmailed you, stalked you, and endangered your life and did nothing while you were being abused by your gym coach."

(Let's not forget she also didn't say anything about Sae having a Palace until it was almost too late and Joker almost lost Futaba as a result.)

For Valentine's Day she declares "I've been waiting for you for so long" and that genuinely bewildered me because you don't really see her pining at all during her Confidant, nor during other events (the closest thing you get is her clinging to you in Sojiro's house but that's honestly not even romantic that's just her getting frightened and needing assurance in a very unnecessary "ship tease" moment). Same with the scene in Futaba's Palace, while Joker saving Queen was very sweet, he literally would've done that for anybody of his teammates. Makoto is not special in that regard.

6. How to better this character

•Introduce her to the Thieves in a better, more plot driven way, or remove her from the team completely.

Kaneshiro's arc should honestly just be scrapped, it was a sorry attempt to get Makoto on the team. A better time for her to join would be Sae's Palace since she actually has emotional ties to the Palace owner and by this time in the game could've developed to be a better person from the Kamoshida arc, wanting to make things right. This could also be a good start for her and Ann to begin to be on better terms- not even necessarily friends (because after what happened I honestly don't think Ann would want to be friends, at least not close), but learning to at least be civil. That, or she joins out of desperation because she doesn't want anything bad to happen to Sae and as the infiltration continues gets more and more nervous and ultimately rats their plan out (because Makoto as the traitor would be much better, writing-wise).

Alternatively, Hifumi joining instead of Makoto would also be very refreshing with Makoto covering up for them at school and supporting them on the sly.

•Treat her flaws as actual flaws, she's not perfect.

Makoto does have some bad traits, a few being:

•bad tempered

•reckless

•stubborn

•nosy

•hypocritical

•bossy

•socially awkward

But these are almost never treated in a negative light. With the Kamoshida arc and Kaneshiro arc, all is simply forgiven, same with her smacking Eiko across the face in a moment of anger. Even when wrong, Makoto is never wrong per say and this makes it difficult for her to be believable as a character. To fix this, having her suffer the consequences of her actions will make it more realistic. For example, getting Eiko to break up with her boyfriend but cutting ties with her too as a result would give Makoto the rude awakening that you can do the right thing the wrong way and people will not always forgive you for the mess you put them through (nor should they).

Her being punished for unnecessarily putting herself in danger with Kaneshiro would also be understandable (she should've been at least suspended, she could've gotten herself killed, plus all the then existing Phantom Thieves); as well as actually apologizing for the hell that was Kamoshida's drama. And not just to Ann, but everyone who suffered. That would show maturity and a willingness to change, and put her in a better light.

I want Makoto to get mad and she's fully in the wrong and she acknowledges she's wrong, have her recklessness get her or a teammate wounded in battle, etc. And have the others call her out when she's wrong and refuse to let it slide. Have them talk it out, grow as a team. Just..make Makoto fallible, flawed, broken even. She's an orphan, I want to touch more on her having to grow up quickly, feeling lonely and unsure of how to connect with people; talk about how her father is a driving force in her values and morals and how she wishes to honor him by following in his footsteps.

Delve into how she feels less than worthy if she does not achieve excellence but do it in a way that does not demonize Sae unnecessarily and try to make the reader/player feel sorry for her. Have Makoto spend more time with people in her team outside of team duties and while being awkward, genuinely interested and actively working to better her relationships. (She barely interacts with anyone besides Joker, Futaba, and on occasion, Haru) When Makoto is realistically flawed, she then becomes relatable and much more likable.

I want her fears to be plot relevant, not just slapped on for the sake of making her look "cute". Her being scared of the dark was never relevant, unlike Rei from Persona Q who was scared of the dark and had to go through a pitch black room in order to find key cards to help her friends escape a locked room or Yukari being terrified of death and having to come to terms with that. Same with her fixation for Buchimaru, it's cute but it doesn't add any depth to her character whatsoever or even her apparently knowing aikido? We never see Makoto fight outside the Metaverse unlike Chie or Akihiko so it feels like a character trait just slapped on to make her 'cooler'. It feels lazy, because it is. It's like the writers wanted her to be this strong, independent young woman but at the same time a scared, awkward little girl and the two ideas often clash; coming off as contradictory as if they couldn't make their minds up as to who they wanted Makoto to be.

Again, this is not an attack on Makoto fans. If you like her, that's valid and I respect that. I'm merely explaining why I don't and how I feel the writing failed her character and what I believe she'd be if her potential was maximized.

That's all, have a good day.

#meta #critique #persona 5

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townslore · 2 years

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something i feel a lot of people calll a "flaw " in the story is like when people talk about how unfair it is for akechi to die and its like thats kinda the point?? like yes it is unfair and rotted that he doesn't get a chance at a better live when the PTs then a lot of them direct there anger at atlus for doing akechi dirty

yknow what i mean?

honestly i get what you mean and yes it absolutely is unfair which is kinda why i disagree. killing off characters as a form of "redemption" has been done several times before, and people just love doing it instead of, yknow, just writing a good redemption arc. sadly, a lot of people's views on goro are just "cool backstory still murder" and want to send him to jail if he hadn't died, which—no, i also disagree with that. i still think he has to be held accountable but in very different ways, but thats not the point of this so im moving on lol

anyways, killing goro off just sends a very wrong message to the viewer. its the whole "perfect victim" myth debate thats very much present in his character. and just because atlus portrays the phantom thieves as perfect victims and goro not, doesn't mean thats true. ann was ready to kill kamoshida—akira and ryuji also had the best reason to, and morgana even told her its her choice—they claim that they arent murderers, which is true, but what they're doing is essentially stripping away everything that made a person that person, and the morality of that is.. questionable, especially considering what maruki was doing. at any point, any of them could've turned out exactly like goro, if they hadn't had a support system. i know she isnt a pt but what if shiho had tried to kill kamoshida instead of herself? what if yusuke had snapped and just killed madarame instead after he found out what actually happened to his mother? what if haru was mad at goro partly because he took her chance at killing her father? its just.. interesting stuff to think about.

killing off the most traumatized character after he literally just had a mental breakdown in front of everyone rubs me the wrong way, especially considering how many people relate to goro. maybe atlus just didnt think about that—they seem to not think a LOT of things through—and yes, while the point might've been that its unfair, we already know this, given his entire backstory. why does his life have to be unfair all the time? born as a disgrace to the world, his mother killing herself, thrown into an orphanage and passed from foster family to another just because hes not wanted, and in the end, getting manipulated and groomed into killing people at his father's will just because a bitter, angry teenager didnt know any better and was given powers by god. everything in his life has been unfair. a way stronger plotpoint would've been to save him in the end, even if thats not what he wanted—because he deserves that chance the most, in my opinion at least.

his life has been unfair up to that point. he may be surprised, furious and utterly confused at the phantom thieves saving him after he was ready to die, but now he actually gets a chance to live—and not under anyone's thumb. its not what he planned, but a lot of things dont go that way in his life, eh?

#assks #im so so sorry for the long ass text.#i felt like i couldnt really get my point across if i didnt say a lot about it #and dont get me wrong #him dying created one of the most confusing and important and heart crushing experiences in the third semester #and i LOVE the 3rd semester and 2/2 #so thats the whole counterpoint #but again #thats just royal and not vanilla p5 #so take that as you will #long post

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datura-foxglove · 5 years

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Akira/Ren-Ren?

Anon, you have to know when I saw this ask I was tempted to sit here on my laptop and gushed out about this gorgeous boy. Unfortunately it’s already 12 am and I was running out of energy because I just pulled an all-nighter yesterday. Now that I still have about 55% of my energy left after a full day, let me throw a whole essay at you (just kidding, my friends already stuffed my mouth plenty of times with snacks just so I will stop rambling about this boy. I won’t put you to the same pain)

First impression : Eh... doesn’t look that impressive. From design only, Minato is still unbeatable as protagonist. (I managed to avoid all the goddamn spoiler on youtube, though I get spoiled that there will be a traitor on the team)

Impression now : HE. IS. JUST. SO. GORGEOUS??? ON THE OPENING HE THREW HIMSELF OVER THE WINDOW, WHAT IS WITH THAT SLOW MOTION AND BEAUTIFUL SPARKLES. NO, MY HEART----

And then at the end of the game, I was just crying my eyes out and screams “OH MY GOD HE SHOT A GOD IN THE FACE WITH A GUN.” as an avid SMT fan, that was the last bullet needed for him to completely steals my heart. Damn that was awesome. As in general, I just love double-faced characters? (why am I not surprised that I usually like Gemini characters) But from all the Persona protagonists, the execution of Ren’s double faced characteristic is executed so well with his double life as Joker and Ren? As a bonus, his dialogue choices are so wild compared to Minato’s apathetic and Yu’s chad ones. So he is like the combination of everything I liked in a character : double-faced, a troll, great empathy, not hesitant to make his ideal a reality despite having to dirty his hands, repressed anger that blew up in cold fury, black and messy hair, quiet but his body movement speaks more of his moods, absolutely excellent with his hands, stupidly brave, and many more that I have to cut before this truly became a 10k words essay. And his smiles. HIS SMILES. That means his soft, shy smile, his proud grin, his arrogant and cold smirk, EVERYTHING. Oh my god he is truly a debonair with his smile I CAN’T--- I also love how people keep saying that he has a catlike attitudes : love jumping from high places, breaking things, probably will purr if cuddled, sheer grace and amazing flexibility plus balance... as a cat owner, those really attract me. He loves reading books, playing games, and a great cook too how could he be so perfect---

*cough* Uhh... yeah, I love him. I also love how he essentially adopt his friends and confidants? He is like ‘oh, society doesn’t want them anymore? They are mine now, no return.’. His whole groups and confidants are people who the society rejected but he accepted them all. He doesn’t give up on them like how most people are and his confidants returned that loyalty by... well, being his confidants. Though his loyalty to his confidants also means that he is stupidly self-sacrificing and I can’t--- everytime I played NG+ I have to see him being beat up by the police and I’m absolutely livid and sad that he has to go through that. He also knows flower language because he works in flower shop oh my god Ren if you any more perfect than this I will go down my life from now on disappointed that no man will ever be like you--- okay, I seriously has to stop. This is getting too long and you all will see me crying for this boy at this point.

HE LOOKS SO GOOD WITH RED AND BLACK AAAAA--- (DATURA STOP----)

HE WEARS HEELS---- (You guys thought my post about Hibiki is long? Well once I started talking about this boy I can’t stop save me aaaa----)

Favorite moments : THE WHOLE GAME? Ehem, well if I have to choose, his last fight with the last boss is my favorite. It’s just so satisfying to see him breaking the chains around his Persona (which can be a symbol of how he breaks down the chains that society has bound him with) and evolved it to his ultimate Persona which then proceed to shot a god in the face. Plus his last words of ‘steal it, Satanael’ and ‘begone’ are just like cupid arrows to my heart. Aaaaaa---- the ending where he discarded his glasses is also really melting my heart. It’s like he is telling us that he doesn’t need his mask anymore. Also that moment when he jumped down the window, and don’t forget---- (STOPPP--)

Idea for a story : Well, I’m working on a time travel fix it fic. I already got 3 chapters worth of at least 5k words, but I won’t post until I got at least 10 chapters because I have this terrible relationship with multiple chapters fics and commitment. So yeah, probably have to wait a bit with that one. I also have that crossover plot bunny with Devil Survivor, and the obligatory vampire!AU because I’m a sucker for that trope ever since I was in middle school damn it :’D

Unpopular opinion : I prefer his anime name, Amamiya Ren, than his manga one, Kurusu Akira. Both have nice meanings, but I like Ren better mostly because lotus is my favorite flower beside datura. Not to mention despite it’s flaws, I still like the anime better than the manga (my favorite is still Mementos Mission though) and Akira feels like such a common name in anime/manga that Ren feels more unique.

Favorite relationship : As a ship? Akechi. Well to be honest I love them as a ship or just as friends. I love them because they acted as foils to each other really well. Does it excuse Akechi for nearly killing Ren? Oh hell no (why did you think I write Akechi suffering in all of my fanfics?), but that also gives more complexity to their relationship. And I love angst. Which this pair gives really, really well. 75% of their fanfics are angst and I’m living to be torn asunder again and again. The sheer potential the two of them could have is absolutely interesting and my curious mind can’t stop thinking of what we could have had with two wildcards in the team. Atlus, why. (Here is hoping P5R will give me everything I want).

I also love Ren with Futaba. Futaba is just the best little sister material that I enjoyed their relationship so much, as siblings. Well Sojiro had basically adopted Ren at the end of the game so they are canonically sibling anyway. ALSO DID YOU SEE THEM DANCING IN P5D, THEY ARE SO ADORABLE.

Favorite headcanon : Ren is an absolute cat lover and when Morgana joined the team he was ecstatic inside. His phone is filled with Morgana’s cute photos and that is why he submitted to all Morgana’s orders to go to sleep. But he is also a cat and he absolutely purrs if someone plays with his hair.

#amamiya ren #kurusu akira #joker #persona 5 #character ask meme #long post #you can see I really love this boy #and I can talk endlessly about him #I bought ps4 just for him #and then I bought P5D just for him too #and I will buy the limited edition of P5R just for him too #asks #anon #Anonymous

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chainsawbettyloo · 6 years

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Opinion on Goro?

oh gosh, I have so many

Firstly, first and foremost, I love Akechi. He’s my favorite character from Persona 5 and I think he’s utterly fascinating

Secondly, I think the game developers did an absolute shit job of handling his character. They had an absolutely fascinating character on their hands - someone who could have easily been an intriguing villain or dynamic shaky ally but wound up being neither of those things and instead ended up being used as fuel for a predictable, saw it coming from a million miles away twist

Seriously, Akechi’s role in the game is so goddamn predictable that it’s nearly insulting. They literally did nothing to try to dissuade players from thinking Akechi was going to turn on them. I don’t know if that was intentional on their part or not but if it was, then that makes things even fucking worse because that gives no depth, no oomph to his story / character. If it wasn’t intentional then it just proves my point that the writers of Persona 5 were like sober for three days of the writing process, got some really good ideas and concepts out during those three days then got absolutely shitfaced and proceeded to fuck everything up

Thirdly, Akechi would have been a more interesting main villain than Shido. I mean, a wet napkin would have been a more interesting villain than Shido but Akechi would have been vastly better than the stale piece of bread that is Shido. Come on, a villain with the motivation that he thinks he knows what’s best for the world and is going to create a perfect world where only those he deems necessary can live in it and he’s going to be the glorious ruler of that world? Yes, like that hasn’t been done fifty million times before. Meanwhile, Akechi, while his motivation isn’t entirely unique, still has a more creative motive for doing what he’s doing. Not to mention, he’s just, overall, a more interesting, engaging character than Shido. Shido is boring. Shido is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Akechi is flawed, multi-dimensional, capable of easily making himself appear harmless and friendly while hiding a goddamn hellfire of rage. Akechi is a teenager who is so goddamn sick of adults and yet, wants attentions, wants to be loved, wants to have a goddamn place in society. Akechi is someone obsessed with revenge, with his own rage, his own injustices

Akechi has the same power as the wild card, Akechi is the only person who stands as pretty much even with Akira, Akechi is someone who Yabgkjshjfh handpicked out of everyone else in the whole goddamn world, Akechi is, essentially, at the starting point of becoming a corrupted adult so wouldn’t that dynamic have had been interesting, Akechi has a personal connection to the Phantom Thieves, Akechi has got the sympathetic factor going on, Akechi has so much more going for him than Shido does so it makes absolutely no goddamn sense that he was tossed aside in favor of Glasses McGee

Fourth..ly, Akechi fucking deserved redemption. The entire game, the entire premise of Persona 5, is stealing people’s hearts to make them into better people. The entire message is that anyone, even the most despicable human being, can be changed so why. the. fuck. wasn’t. Akechi. afforded. the. same. chance? Why was a child, a fucking child, who had been mentally abused, neglected and turned into a killer by his own father not allowed the same chance for redemption? See, this is where the whole shortchanged comes into play because I don’t know what went wrong here, why the game developers suddenly decided that Akechi, for whatever reason, was going to be thrown away like yesterday’s leftovers because there was so much goddamn potential. He could have had redemption, he could have had this big scene where the theme of the entire goddamn game was solidified in Akechi, by having Akechi admit his crimes, work to take down his Father, to take down Yagjghjgf and then take responsibility for his actions, thus cementing the goddamn theme of redemption

But no, we get a half ass “death” scene where we don’t even see what happens to Akechi. He’s not mentioned hardly at all (or not at all, I can’t remember) in the rest of the game. Basically, his character, which had so much going for it, was left behind, ignored, cast aside and it so pisses me off because he could have been so much more! There was so much they could have done with him! So many aspects, ideas of redemption, corruption, raising above your past or giving into it that they could have explored! But no, no, we get a stupid twist that isn’t even that good and is so goddamn predictable, a boss fight that crams pretty much all of Akechi’s motivations into a span of just a few minutes then a anti-climatic “death” scene. And for what? To prove the point that not everyone can be saved? That’s goddamn fucking bullshit. Don’t pull that kind of shit when it comes to kids, especially not abused kids. Pull that shit with shitty adults but not children. What kind of message is that sending? Definitely not one that’s congruent with the rest of the game so why the fuck even include it? Because you have this character on your hands that you don’t know what to do with so you decide to get rid of him in the least coherent way possible?

Overall, my opinion of Akechi is that he suffers from what a lot of what Persona 5 itself suffers from: inconsistent, shitty writing. I don’t know what happened but there are some parts of Persona 5 that are just fucking spot on then the rest is just be an absolute dumpster fire. Akechi, unfortunately, gets stuck with the most of the terrible writing, which really fucking sucks because he could have, easily, been either one of the most interesting villains or anti-heroes of the entire Persona franchise if he had had a more competent writer at the helm but alas, what we have is just a mountain of wasted potential

#persona 5 #p5 #akechi goro #goro akechi #Anonymous

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treasakamoto-blog · 6 years

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Save Your Heart (Akechi/ Reader)

From the moment you laid eyes on the seemingly kind and righteous detective, you’d known that something much more sinister lurked inside of Akechi. Despite this, you’d always found yourself lured in by the softness of his voice, the warmth in his smile, and the passion in his eyes. You wanted nothing more than to hear Akechi show his true colors.

Akechi had wit unlike no other, always thinking miles ahead of the others. So when Akira and Morgana approached you, sharing their suspicions that the detective had traitorous intent, you were not surprised. Saddened, yes. But not surprised in the slightest.

But you surely had never expected to see a completely unhinged Akechi, using any possible tactic to kill you. It broke your heart. And still, somehow, you found yourself wanting to wrap your arms around him. Had he ever even been hugged? He had tried to kill you. He’d killed Haru’s father. He’d sworn himself to stop Akira’s heart himself. That, of course, had changed after his defeat in battle. He no longer wished to kill each phantom thief. He’d been fully prepared to sacrifice his life to spare yours.

Things didn’t quite result the way Akechi had anticipated. Without hesitation, Akira had halted any plans Akechi had of self-sacrifice and narrowly managed to pull the thieves to safety from Shido’s puppet.

“We don’t trade lives,” Akira had said in response to Akechi’s confused expression.

Several hours later, you find yourself walking alongside Akechi towards the station. Not all was resolved- Akechi would of course be discussing his future with Akira the next day, and you had a feeling Akechi would be turning himself in for his past crimes. But for now, he was alive, and he was at your side. That’s all that mattered to you.

“Well,” said Akechi, exhaustion evident in his tone, “I must thank you for walking with me to the station. I should be going home now. I’m sure I will be seeing you all tomorrow to decide on my next choice.”

As he stepped away from you, you felt a spark of panic, and yanked his arm to eliminate the distance again. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think so.”

“I beg your pardon?” Akechi quirked a brow.

“I remember every word you said earlier, before Akira saved you from the cognition of you. You’ve been alone. I know I’ve only now seen the real you, but I can’t let you go home to an empty home. Not tonight.”

Akechi takes a step closer to you, shifting your hands so that your fingers are no longer wrapped around his wrist, but his hand. “Are you offering for me to stay in your home? Hours after I tried to initiate my own psychotic breakdown to kill you?”

“Second chances?”

“(Y/N), I tried to kill you multiple times. Tonight.”

“I’m in a forgiving mood,” I laugh.

Akechi pulls you flush against him, and your heart swells. He’s trembling, and you know he’s never been so close to another person. He’s scared, and he’s desperate. Several moments of comfortable silence pass, and you start to get dizzy at how unrelentingly tight he’s holding you.

When he finally releases you from his bone crushing embrace, you and the detective make your way towards the apartment that you occupied yourself. As the daughter of two constantly traveling geologists, you were essentially living alone. Your parents loved you dearly, and visited as frequently as they could, but they had decided that it would be unfair to you to constantly have your life uprooted to move to the next place. You’re grateful to that fact now, as you guided Akechi into your dimly lit apartment.

“There’s a guest bedroom, if that’s where you’d like to sleep,” you say softly, running your hand gently through his soft brown hair.

“And if that’s not where I’d like to sleep?” He teases, already knowing the answer.

“Then...you’re welcome in my room.”

“I’d like that.”

Your hands are still connected, even as you show him around the apartment. You quickly realize that he feels the need to be touching you in some way at all times, though you don’t mind it. When you release his hand to point out where you keep the towels in the bathroom, he slowly moves closer, until your arms are touching.

And later that night, when you slip into bed, it doesn’t take Akechi long to pull your body towards him, until you’re completely enveloped in his arms. He holds you like he’s afraid to lose you, like he’s never going to let go. Finally, you’re seeing the real Akechi. For the first time, he’s not distant, and he’s not untouchable. He’s vulnerable, and he’s open, and he’s offering his heart to you the way you’ve offered yours. As you met his gaze, you became more and more certain that there was hope for redemption.

“Akechi,” you murmur.

Again, he’s thinking ahead of you, because he hums out, “I love you too, (Y/N).”

#goro akechi #persona 5 imagines #goro akechi imagine

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fxllen-crow · 6 years

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Verse Mess

‘Kay so uh during my hiatus a lot of stuff happened. And I mean a lot. Allow me to explain under the cut, to save you from me going full Pepe Silvia here.

Alright so, first of all I should mention my multifandom group, Funmond City. A lot happened there, and I would be here all day if I started listing everything but essentially it is an experience that has led to a lot of character development for Akechi. The canon point with this is uncertain due to death rules of the group.

Now then, the group itself leads us to the first verse I’ll be introducing here, and that’s..

hated by life itself || post funmond

After everything that happened in Funmond, Akechi is sent home, he’s sent home and he gets another chance at life, a chance to join the thieves while knowing what awaits otherwise. He is a lot more honest in this verse, but also generally better mentally, as he had the time to work on his trust issues as well as just allowing himself to fall in love with life.

This Akechi realizes he is terrified of dying, because he has lived through at least two deaths in Funmond, and each time has been no less terrifying than the other. Him building healthier bonds within the city as well as participating in the experiments they were all put through led to him developing into a healthier person, a person who doesn’t want to go down the same path he once did..

A person hated by life itself, yet living for every moment of it.

Now, the experiments mentioned above lead us to another fun thing, see.. Due to a small mini event in the group, child versions of a few muses were brought to Funmond instead. That lead to the birth of an alternate timeline.. as well as it’s possible outcomes.

with a thousand lies and a good disguise || accomplice 01

During his time in Funmond, Akechi becomes aware of his future earlier on in his childhood, during his first year of working for Shido. He learns that he has 4 years left to live.. Unless he does something.

And that he did. See, he wasn’t the only child from his world there. Akira was as well, and Akechi used that to the last bit. Slowly, thanks to the foolishness of the present Phantom Thieves and Akira’s naive nature as a child, he ruined Akira’s trust in them. He crushed every last bit of his wish to become the beloved Joker everyone sang praises to and instead..

That wish became the wish to help Akechi, to save him from his cruel fate.

Years later after returning home, the two meet again when Akira arrives to Tokyo, but under widely different circumstances. See, instead of the incident with Shido the reason for Akira’s arrival is both of them convincing Akira’s parents that Shujin was a better choice for their son. And so, he was allowed to move in with Akechi for that purpose alone, because his parents wanted the best for their child. ( How laughable. )

What happens from there on is essentially that Akechi helps Akira awaken to his metaverse abilities but it’s yet again very different compared to the canon because Akira’s goal is no longer changing hearts of others.. It’s making sure those corrupt hearts are no longer spared a day’s chance of spreading their infection.

However, another hero will take Akira’s destinied place..

the crimson musketeers || accomplice 02

And that hero shall fall as well.

See, Akira’s happiness is a rather big priority to Akechi here, both out of guilt for robbing him of a happier future and for the sake of keeping him under control easier, because he has to. Their dynamic here is wastly different due to Akira being much more impulse and emotion driven than he normally would have been, and so Akechi acts as his restraint, as his anchor. This is why he seems more stable and collected than normally, as well.

With that out of the way, it’s time to focus on the matter at hand. See, during their time in Funmond, Akira became a close friend with a certain little girl.. A little girl who just so happens to exist in their world. Samantha Burnett.

The girl who was so very conveniently linked to Shido through her family’s life being ruined through the father displeasing his boss. Considering Akechi’s involvement with Shido’s old business partners, he could easily access her contact information. After all.. Akira would be so happy to save his dear childhood friend from being used by the Phantom Thieves, right?

And so he did, he slowly convinced her to join them, and though she was cold to them at first, they were willing to slowly warm up to her with constant care and effort.

Shall their efforts prove fruitful, they would become a powerful team, a team that could take their destinies into their own hands and crush them to put together a mosiac-like path made of those broken pieces to a future they desire.

gods’ wrath || accomplice 03

Shall the attempts fail however..

Samatha will attempt to rid herself of Akira and Akechi, leaving them for dead inside the metaverse due to her firm hatred towards the two.. or so it seems. This is what leads to Akechi turning himself psychotic for the first time just to save himself and Akira, and from there on.. There will be hell to pay.

This occasion will give Akechi just what he needed to crush Akira’s remaining bits of faith from long ago, the two would have far less things holding them back on their path of justice. Despite all the guilt and blood, they would be victorious, well.. until they realize all of this goes much, much further than what they thought.

In this scenario, afraid of what awaits and desiring the power to change the world for the better, they accept the false god’s offer together, becoming the rulers of society through fear..

And making sure every rotten heart is left to rot for real.

That would be all for today~

#beneath the mask || ooc #long post

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heistcard · 6 years

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Try Again

A New Game + AU for @corvidacee -- The end. That was it, it was over. They’d won, defeated a god, saved the world and all in time for Christmas. A Christmas that kinda sucked, honesty. Everything after the final battle honestly passed in a bit of a blur, a lot of it spent alone if he was honest. But his point was, despite the heavy weight of the losses they’d faced, of one loss in particular that no matter what he did he couldn’t shake, they’d won and it was over. It was time to move on, to reluctantly head back to his hometown and to put the Phantom Thieves behind him. So why was he waking up to a familiar, distinct shade of blue? “Welcome back, my dear Trickster.” That voice.... “Lavenza?” Akira sat up. frowning at his surroundings. Gone was the prison the room had once been, in it’s place, a seamless void of never-ending blue, the Velvet Room’s signature, he’d figured after wondering why everything was the same colour the first time he’d found himself there for a substantial amount of time. Igor sat at a lone desk in the void, across from Akira’s large and admittedly comfortable bed, with Lavenza standing dutifully at her Master’s side. The small attendant seemed to know what he was about to ask before Akira even parted his lips, smiling fondly at him as she spoke up. “Your heart and soul weigh heavy with remorse. You are not satisfied with your ending, are you?” Was he? He should be, shouldn’t he? They’d won after all, and yet.... “I....wanted to save him...” He admitted, gaze cast down upon his tightly clenched hands. “That’s...my regret. I wanted to save Goro Akechi...” “You two were bound by fate till the very end, it’s no wonder you would feel such a way, even despite your differences” Lavenza’s voice is sympathetic, but her smile has an edge that has Akira sitting up a little straighter as he watches them. “What if I told you, we could give you a second chance?” A what? Did he hear that right? He swears, Lavenza can hear his thoughts, because she continues as if he’d spoken aloud. “We can send you back, to the beginning of your journey. We would not do such a thing for just any guest, you know?” She almost sounds like she’s teasing him. “But you have proven yourself exceptional time and time again. We do not approve of the game the God of Control played with you, and we agree the other Wild Card did not deserve his fate. We are happy to give you a chance yet again to foil Yaldabaoth’s game, and change fate” “However, should you agree. We do not have complete control over what happens once you leave this room, and we shall not be able to help you any further. It will be up to you, though you will retain your memories, which will give you an advantage. Do you agree to these terms?” Was that a trick question? A chance to go back? Do everything all over again but this time, he’d know what was about to happen? He had a chance to effect so much. He could save him, stop Akechi, maybe even get him completely on their side. “I agree” Akira gave a firm nod alongside his words. He doesn’t hear the response over the sudden rush of water in his ears, sees Lavenza’s soft smile and Igor’s ever-fixed grin swim before him as the blue fades into black, a lone glowing butterfly flutters in the distance... And Akira wakes up in his old room. His first instinct is to check his phone.

April 7th 2016.

A whole three days before he’s supposed to be shipped off to Tokyo on probation. Akira swallows his panic and shuffles through his memories. If he’s right, he’s already gone through the arrest and court case. His sentence is finalised, he’s just waiting on his parents to arrange the trip. The next thing he does, once he get’s over that bombshell, is check his wallet. How much carried over? Just his memories, or had Lavenza and Igor let him keep something physical? Well, the picture of the team he’d been looking for is gone, but to his muffled shock, all the money he’d had left isn’t. There’s a good 10,000 yen just sitting there, and he knows he has more stashed away in his room. Well, he knows what his first decision to set the ball of fate rolling is going to be. He leaves his parents a hasty, bitter worded note to explain why he won’t be there when they get home, packs a bag of essentials and books the first ride out of town he can find. He’s going to Tokyo. Except, really, Akira needs to plan things out more often, because he forgot the trip from his hometown to Tokyo is a good 5 hours, he evidently hasn’t had anything to eat today if the protests his stomach are putting up are anything to go by, and when he finally stumbles off the train at a random station, he realises the sun is going to start setting any moment, and he’s in the middle of Shibuya. Oops? Turns out, his saving grace comes in the form of a familiar head of light brown bobbing through the thin evening crowd in the distance, and Akira’s legs sprint after him before his brain can catch up. “Akechi!” Shit, no. He doesn’t know you yet, idiot. “S-sorry-” He pants, bending over slightly to catch his breath once he’s caught up with the older teen. “-You...You’re Akechi-san, right? My...My sister’s a big fan and I...didn’t really think before I came over here I’m so sorry-” He can feel his face heating up, his actions catching up with him. He’d just ran after the poor guy like some fan-girl, how embarrassing. But...this could also be his chance. He hadn’t expected to run into Akechi so soon. “Can...um, turn me down if this is weird but can I make it up to you? Buy you a coffee or something?” There was a cafe just across from them. Not as good as Leblanc probably, but coffee was coffee in desperate times.

#v: Continue?

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