#for p5 i also really like makoto but i dated haru so...yusuke

[littleshysheep-at-da]

All my Persona Series Ships!

(Felt like Posting this here, keep y’all Updated. I made this as Google Doc to send to people when I know they also like Persona so I don’t have to say it everytime)

I actually am a crazy Shipper, strongly dislike when people don’t Ship or break my Pairings, and am OTP/OT3 for life. I just also have Self Restraint and Common Sense, so I understand Shipping's all about fun (and doesn't have to be Canon Compliant or make sense) and to not be an asshole to other people having their own fun.

Also adding Sexuality/LGBTA+ Headcanons for ones I have them for (but I don't have them for every Ship or Specific Character). Also yes I am caring about Name Order here.

-Persona 5 (and it’s many Spin-Offs):

Akira (Gay) x Goro (Demi)

Ann (Lesbain) x Shiho

Haru (Bi) x Ryuji (Bi)

Futaba (Ace) x Yusuke (Ace Pan)

Makoto (Lesbain) x Kasumi (Bi)

Toshiro x Eri

Sojiro x Wakaba

Sae x Kawakami

Tae x Chihaya

-Persona 3:

Hamuko (Bi) x Minato (Bi)

Aigis x Hamuko or Minato

Ryoji x Hamuko or Minato

Fuuka x Natsuki

Mitsuru (Lesbain) x Yukari (Bi)

Junpei (Straight) x Chidori

Shinjiro (Bi) x Akihiko (Bi)

-Persona 4:

Yosuke (Bi) x Souji (Pan)

Yukiko (Bi) x Chie (Lesbain)

Naoto (Nonbinary) x Kanji (Pan)

-Persona 2:

Tatsuya (Bi) x Jun (Gay)

Eikichi x Miyabi

Ship Numbers (because Autism)

P5 = 9 | P3 = 7 | P4 = 3 | P2 = 2 | Total 21

Gender Breakdown 18/21 Ships

(not counting Kannao or Aigis and Ryoji)

M/F = 7| M/M = 4 | F/F = 7

Other Ship Notes:

I personally DO NOT see the Protags as self inserts. I think they all have their own personalities. So I don’t really have any self insert ships were I ship them just because I want to date a character, but I do understand some people have those.

Akira and Goro are a massive call back to Tatsuya and Jun from Persona 2, and Tatsuya and Jun are written with the intent to be romantic. Though I think after the third semester I usually don’t have to explain why I feel like Akira and Goro is an obvious Ship, it’s one of those you can totally have a different preference but you understand what I'm getting at right?

I reeeally hope I don’t have to explain that Futaba and Akira are in sibling dynamic so Shipping them would be gross.

Kasumi’s infatuation with Akira makes ZERO SENSE. The only people who see through your delinquent deguise is Goro (because soulmates narrative foil) and Ryuji (who doesn’t see through he’s just a good boy who trusts everyone), so Kasumi seeing through it makes NO SENSE. If she were to follow anyone around saying “Senpei” I think it would be Makoto.

Rise’s feral one sided thirsty crush on Souji is very funny to me (and I love playing it for comedy) but I don’t think he would ever reciprocate it. Her love just feels a bit too superficial, and Souji has too many issues of not being seen for himself for me to like it as a Ship.

I do think Yukari had a crush on Minato and I think Minato would be willing to try dating her, but I feel their love languages would be too different and it would end in disaster. Minato seems like the little actions and subtle comfort where Yukari seems like she would want big romantic gestures (something Mitsuru would do for her).

I will say with all Persona Romance Routes I am very much not a Fan of the Pandering that is “Girl likes you for no real reason” (it’s honestly just a boring Romance to me) and would’ve liked if more of the Girls just weren’t Romanceable so we could just have more Male/Female Friendships. I feel (aside from the stand out VERY BAD ones) a lot of the Romance Routes aren’t that bad, just don’t mesh well with the Tone and Tension of the rest of the Game (they’re kind Mundane and Boring in comparison to the Relationships I ACTUALLY Ship). But my Opinion on Persona Romance Routes as a whole would be a completely different discussion than Ships.

#trash meme #persona 5 ships #persona series #I’m not tagging all the character names #I don’t know all the ship names (or some don’t have one) #only tagging the ship names I know #ShuAke #RyuHaru #yutaba #ShihoAnn #yukamitsu #KitaHamu #souyo #kannao #yukichie #tasujun #Headcanons and opinions

[diviinepillar]

Since its pride month, here's some headcanons for the Phantom Thieves + a few other p5 characters!

Joker/Ren/Akira - Demi, and has really only loved one person in a nonfamilial way. Also too busy to dedicate time to a relationship.

Morgana - this one is arguably canon, but a trans boy. He is a baby, though, so i havent put much thought into his romantic interests.

Ryuji - Bisexual disaster. Literal embodiment of that meme where "nobody wants him" but only because he is so dense they throw in the towel.

Ann - Also bisexual, but not a disaster like Ryuji. Happily dating Shiho imo

Yusuke - MLM, and asexual.

Makoto - WLW and happily dating Haru. This is canon as far as im concerned.

Futaba - Aromantic Asexual, but thinks dirty jokes are funny.

Haru - Pansexual, but only has eyes for Makoto.

------Some Others------

Akechi - MLM, but so dedicated to revenge he is not pursuing romance or even interested. (It also doesn't help that the one person he might like doesn't return the feeling at all because of the way Akechi treats him)

Sumire - demisexual, but has bigger concerns at the moment than dating.

Ohya - Actually married to the girl from her confidant

#p5r #p5 joker #persona 5 #sumire yoshizawa #ren amamiya #ryuji sakamoto #morgana #ryuji #ann takamaki #ann #yusuke kitawaga #yusuke #p5 #makoto niijima #makoto #futaba sakura #futaba #Haru Okumura #haru #goro akechi #akechi #and ohya #thats important

[arcplaysgames]

someone asked me a while about about my ideal persona cast using the P3/P4/P5 casts and i didn't answer because this was back when we just got futaba so i didn't know

now I feel I have a bit more of a handle so

The Protagonist: femmeswap Joker. yes i still want to be able to play a girl so fucking bad and i'm mad the game will not let me. i feel like Joker and FeMC would be tight bc they are both fucking weirdos.

The Best Friend Guy: i am agonizing over yosuke vs junpei but I'm gonna say Junpei because I liked having a bro that much. I like Yosuke but only when he's devastatingly closeted and in love with P4MC. I would be friends with Junpei IRL.

The Uncool Girl: I really like Ann but Yukari was great, she was gay as hell, and she had a very interesting arc. I liked how she gave huge "girl friend who secretly dislikes you and is just being nice" vibes but evolved into an extremely sharp plot catalyst who asked smart questions and was super perceptive.

The Polite Girl With A Family Legacy: Makoto was never in the running here, but Yukiko vs Mitsuru is hard. Mitsuru has nonbinary swagger and a motorcycle, but Yukiko is actually really funny and charming...... I'm gonna say Yukiko by a hair.

The Weird Loveable Dude Who I Personally Wanna Date In Each Game: Yusuke vs Kanji vs Akihiko. god, don't make me pick between Akihiko the Autistic Boxer King and Kanji the literal best character in P4. I refuse to pick. Both win.

Yusuke loses because the game forgot he's a loveable weirdo about 20 hours ago and he's just another voice in cutscenes now and i'm sad about it.

The Navigator: oh my god Fuuka vs Futaba is so fucking hard. I wanted to date Fuuka so bad and she's still the most useful of the actual navigators, she's the only one who just gives you a full scan of the enemies when you ask. but Futaba is a fucking delight and her struggle with agoraphobia and social anxiety isn't played up, it's so on point, yeah I'm gonna go Futaba but Fuuka, I still love you!!!!!

Late-Comer Who Doesn't Get Enough Screentime: i don't want to blow any minds but i think i like Haru the most out of these, I'm really loving her Empress arc. Naoto was super interesting up until they joined the party, then the game got scared to do anything with her. nah.

The Guest Party Member: Shinjiro vs Akechi. SIGHS. it's gotta be Akechi unfortunately.

The Mascot Animal: Teddie, no question. Morgana is a close second but I cried about Teddie. hmmmm but morgana is a cat that lives in your school bag......... NO it's teddie! I can't not reward Sam Reigel for the fucking WORK he did!

The Special Edition Character: Marie. Kasumi has suffered soooooo much from feeling tacked onto the story in an extremely sloppy way. With Marie, that... kind of was perfect given who and what she was, it almost aided in the feeling of her as a superfluous vestigial limb of the game that you opt-into caring about. Also her becoming a weather forecaster was hilarious. Kasumi really really needs some fucking edge.

(also, random complaint, Maruki feels MUCH LESS TACKED ON than Kasumi, so i KNOW they could have done a better job integrating her. whatever.)

Velvet Room Attendant: Margaret. I'm sorry, I'm shallow and she's incredibly hot and that line asking the PC to entangle her in his thread of fate was hot. Also the moment she kisses the PC is great. Sorry Liz.

Bad Vibes Bad Guy: Ryoji vs Adachi vs Akechi. This is impossible because all three of them are atrocious in their own ways. Also, I haven't seen Akechi's dismount yet. HOWEVER..... as fun as Akechi shooting Joker was, and it was very fun, I don't think he comes close to P4MC vs Adachi in Yamano's room. The framing, the cinematography, the sudden shock of his Arcana changing, it was phenomenal. JYB absolutely killed that performance. Adachi.

Last Minute Baddie No One Cares About: Izanami vs Shido vs huh p3 doesn't have that huh. I'm gonna say Shido because no I don't care, but at least he's been mildly set up as the baddie where izanami, all you get is Edogawa giving you a four minute lecture on the creation myth of Japan and then you gotta remember that 40 hours later when the fucking gas station attendant turns out to be evil. It's dumb. At least Shido has backstory with Joker.

that was fun! it's interesting to see the reused tropes and pick which i like.

#persona liveblog

[god-of-a-thousand-demons]

Bored so here’s all my ideal p5 romance dynamics bc I have very specific tastes. Just joker x [ ] for now bc that’s A Lot all at once

Pegoryu: when they’re passionately best friends in love. Truly “you’re my one and only” vibes. I like when they get so overwhelmed with their crush and when their angst feels like the world is ending bc they love each other so much. Also love when they’re being complete dumbasses both as friends and when pining

Shuann: their canon dynamic tbh. I really value their friendship and how they talk about their emotions and confide in each other. They are very romantically in love in my ideal dynamic, like crying bc they look at the other and feel so happy and grateful to be together type thing. Also kinda cheesy and flirty and dorky

Shukita: them as partners, equals, comrade, companions. Most joker ships have a “baby” and “the one who takes care of the baby” vibe and normally joker is the one taking emotional responsibility of the relationship but with yusuke I feel like he can relax and be himself and not have to worrying about as many things because yusuke is always on his side and he’ll take care of him too. Yusuke gives joker a chance to let his walls fall and I also love how much devotion respect and love he has for joker so when I find those vibes it’s >>>>>>

Shumako: I actually do enjoy shumako but in a very specific “senpai and kouhai” kinda way. Not in a weird way but similar to shukita I like joker being makoto’s baby. She is the younger sibling so her getting the responsibility to take care of someone seems really important to her, she’s really good and reliable and capable of being responsible for someone else + enjoys it, and I just think it’s so cute how much respect and admiration joker has for Makoto, which absolutely makes her melt. It’s very much half shameless flirting to make her blush and half embarrassingly sincere reverence and then Makoto gets to take joker out on dates and guide him as a mentor and be his companion? That’s the good shit right there

Shuharu: a mix of Shumako and shukita but also different. Again with the senpai / kouhai thing but very much so the equal partners thing but also just Something Else. Their canon relationship tbh. Haru and Joker have SO much respect for each other it makes me dizzy. They are both in this strange place of feeling like outsiders in the group, not in a bad way, but just somehow separate. Observers watching around them instead of actively participating and they find comfort in each other for having that same feeling. Shuharu’s relationship is so great to me it’s hard to put into words I love them so much

Shuyuu: how do I even begin to explain the very specific portrayal of shuyuu I enjoy. I guess “I am thou thou art I” ??? I really vibe with them just having this Understanding. I love yuuki’s canon respect for joker and I really really love imagining joker slowly finding himself in love with a boy that is so hurt and yet so kind. I love them being friends, I love them being partners in what they do, I love them valuing each others opinion and feelings and thinking of them in everything they do. I just love them being super in love basically lmao

Akeshu: good god okay how do I do THIS ONE? It’s not. *sighs, groans, throws up* it’s not exactly like how everyone else likes them, which is the deranged and fucked up and such which can be fun but that’s not what They Are to me. If shuyuu is I am thou thou art I through a shining mirror, akeshu is I am thou thou art I through a murky puddle. It’s about the what could’ve been and how similar yet different we are and the betrayal of putting everything into something and getting nothing and against all odds some bastard still trying to understand you. Honestly I mostly see akeshu from akechi’s side. His feelings are so interesting that they take up all my thoughts about them. And then from jokers perspective it’s just. Sad love. He knows he can’t do anything for akechi and it depresses him so much and yet he loves him anyway because he can’t help it. They are souls meant to be together and yet they keep being ripped apart, is how I see them basically

Also no one really cares but shufumi: I think they’re really cute as competitive dorks and also kids who understand full well what it’s like to be under an adults thumb and the things you do that don’t change things because you can’t but help you stay sane. They kinda feel like abused kids bonding over that in my head and making a friendship in spite of their lives

#og

[cardsthings]

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.)

#persona 5 #P5 #Akira Kurusu #Ren Amamiya #Persona 5 Protagonist #Goro Akechi #Ryuji Sakamoto #Ann Takamaki #Shiho Suzui #Futaba Sakura #Morgana #Makoto Niijima #Haru Okumura #Yuuki Mishima #Hifumi Togo #Sumire Yoshizawa #Yusuke Kitagawa #Shuake #Akeshu #I want to write this #But I don't know if I can #Maybe I could oneshots #If only I could draw because I would make art for this like no tomorrow #Pirate AU #I want to see the gang in pirate clothes #I don't know if anyone has already done something like this #Please send it my way if they have #Long post

[icipersona5-pricefamily]

Who are your Top 5 fave Phantom Thieves of Hearts?

It could be just one or two, but sometimes you can't help it, but to love all of them. But there's always a fave or two and sadly a dislike. But let's focus on the top faves. Honestly for me... it's hard to chose. I mean I have my two faves, but do I have my top 5 faves? 🤔 Hmm... well, most do share the same spots... And please don't be mad at choices! 🙏 We all can't like the same the thing or person after all. Anyway! I will expose my top 5 and be warn, there are spoilers, so I advise you not to look at the list until you played the games or seen the walk through. If you like to spoil yourself, go ahead....

5. Sophia/Sophie. Why her? Well, she's adorable and an AI who has a Persona. She's not the first technology thing to have one, of course. But I like her plot and how she's trying to learn what a heart is. She has YoYo as her weapon which is cool and despite many let downs, she had learn from her teammates and understand what it means to be a Phantom Thief of Hearts. As the story goes, she was slowly losing her robot like voice and to find out how she was created! I like it! I'm gonna miss her...

4. Futaba Sakura/Oracle (Navi in Japan). Why? I just like her personalities and how she's a great hacker while trying to be outgoing. (You can do it, Futaba!). She's funny and I love her siblings relationship with Ren/MC and Yusuke. Her past was so sad and I just wanna hug her. I am glad she has an adopted dad like Sojiro and how she was willing to change her heart to save him. I'm really glad in Royal she has her victory pose after the all out attack. I just wish she'd had one in Strikers when things are looking bad, she actives her showtime to fully heal the HP and SP. PS, I love her UFO like Persona!!

3. Yusuke Kitagawa/Fox. I love this dork! He is beautiful, such a soul of an artist and kinda gullible in most things. He's a sweetie and never miss an opportunity to art. What happened to him in the past and in P5, I wanna protect him. I'm glad the Phantom Thieves came in to help and he becomes one. His relationship with Futaba is funny. They're like siblings to each other (Sorry to those who shipped them!). And he's sort of the first for Futaba to interact with. I do worry about his money situation, but he seems to be doing okay. I really wish Atlus added that you could date guys, I mean they made you date older women, but not a guy at close age to? O.o Anyway, Yusuke is a funny and sweet guy, kinda naive but a good guy. Kudos to the voice actors, both English and Japanese.

2. Morgana/Mona & Ryuji Sakamoto/Skull. Eh? Two?! Hey, it's hard to chose, okay? =3= Now why? Let's start with Morgana... He's a talking cat and he's adorable! (Morgana: I'm NOT a cat) Hehe... Anyway! He's like a mascot yet he's strong and wise in most situations. Despite being a cat in the real world, he still hangouts with the team to join in the fun. I love how he's smitten over Ann yet acts like a gentleman (sometimes) towards her and the fact he can become a bus (and helicopter in Royal) is awesome! I feel bad about when Morgana started to feel useless to the team and no one notice it until Haru appears as a thief. But I am glad he'd came back and to learn his past, wow! I nearly cried at the end of P5. I kinda wish he a human form like Teddie, but at least he kinda did in Royal. And I really wish his cat sprite has more reactions and stuff. The fact his Persona is Zorro... pfft X3c It's like Puss in Boots in Shrek! Now, Ryuji... He's such a good boy with a temper, but he has reasons why. Despite that, he's a good friend and never abandons his friends. Thanks to the MC, he slowly becomes who he should be and I'd a funny guy. I feel bad that his track team treated badly because of what happened and I kinda get it, but still... Anyway! He's like the loyal friend who got your back and is willing to stand up for his friends, even his life to save them. He even didn't judge the MC and becomes his first friend of Shujin Academy. Now, why both on the top fave 2? Well, they always bicker at each other yet they kinda get along sometimes. They both are close to the MC and they're funny like Yosuke and Teddie in P4. Glad their relationship had grew in Strikers and the fact that they are not afraid to blunt insults to each other. At least they're good friends.

Now, the top most fave(s), drum roll please........................

1. Ren Amamiya/Akira Kurusu/Joker & Zenkichi Hasegawa/Wolf. Again another spot is share! And before Strikers, Joker is still my top fave then Zenkichi came in, it's a tied. Let's start with Ren. Ren is handsome! He's cool and mysterious! The plot for him is perfect and how his Persona is Arsene is even more perfect. The background of his shows how hard life is, despite doing something good, he get punish in the end? That's bull crap and everyone treated him like he's a bad boy when he's not. Thankfully, he made friends and people around soon learns he's not a bad boy at all. Ren is charmer and he's still the guy who is willing to help those in need, of course that's up to the player. I do wish in Strikers that it kinda shown his distrust and trauma of the police. I would protect him and make any cops stay a safe distance from him. (Sorry Zenkichi) At least he kinda got his life back thanks to his friends and allies. Did I mention I like him? Seriously I do! 🥰 He's handsome and his smile... Sorry! Now, Zenkichi... This guy is a goof ball, the only adult of Phantom Thieves of Hearts and is a cop! Well, PubSec. He's like Dojima and Sojiro in one, sort of. At first, I did distrust due to he's a cop and all, plus you know in P4 and with Goro. I wasn't sure about him until I had watch the walk through and when first seeing him and when he'd laughed, I thought 'I might like this guy, but let's wait and see'. Now, I thought he would be a comic relief which he sort of is while still not trusting him until we learn he's a dad and how he'd lost his wife which 'Wait! He's a dad and had a wife who was killed in hit and run? Dojima 2?!' OwO I was surprised. Of course, not exactly the same, but similar plot. We get to learn about his past, his relationship with his daughter and why he was using the Phantom Thieves for such case. I start to feel bad for him and his daughter, heck even the Phantom Thieves felt bad. At some point, I did started to like him and Zenkichi was starting to bond with them and they even started to think as him part of the team. Once Zenkichi reveals why he'd hadn't caught the killer, I truly feel bad and understand why he let the killer go. Then boom! He has a Persona that fits him perfectly and such a cool Phantom Thief attire! 😳 That's when I fallen for him 'Dang it! First Joker now him!' He became like a dad of the team, always reminded them that despite what happened to the Monarch, it's still wrong what they're doing now. Despite how old he is (He's in his 40s) he can still fight and is cool! Still a goof ball good looking guy. Now, why both on the same spot? .....I love both them equally! 😍 They're both cool, good looking and those smirks... How dare Atlus did this to me?! I love their Personas. I wish we could see them having bonding moments though. *clears throat* Anyway. Because how I like them, as always I had created OCs to be with them. Hehe 😅

Now, for the rest of Phantom Thieves of Hearts. I do love them all, truly. Makoto is cool and she's the mom of the group. Ann is good friend to hangout, plus she's caring about others who had suffered. Haru is a sweetie who has scary side to her (Do not let her drive). Goro is someone that you wish he had saved sooner and yes I did hate him but I feel bad for what happened to him. Sumire, I wasn't sure about we had learn her background and wow! What a twist. I did call her a hypocrite while I can see why she thought that the people don't help themselves when reality the thieves gives courage and they done something to move on with some help, unlike what she did but I get it and I do like her persona.

Who would I want to be part of the team? Hmm... Hifumi since she was gonna be part of the team, but sadly that was cut off. She would've been better as a thief. Maybe Mishima, maybe! Sojiro... What?! It would've been cool, although he isn't young as he use to be, still. Lastly Maruki. I am surprised he doesn't count to be part of the team, but I guess it's because his Persona was kinda controlling him (I can't remember 😅) and didn't join the team. He would've been a neat addition to team, being a dad/uncle of the group. I feel bad for the guy and I get why did all that yet what about him? Doesn't he deserve to be happy to? Also... what happened to his girlfriend after the Metaverse vanishes in Royal? Anyway, he still like a sweet guy to me and I kinda wish Royal was mentioned in Strikers, but Strikers is technically a sequel/spin off to P5 since Strikers was part of P5, but it was too long and got cut. Hence of no mentioning of Royal.

Whew! Anyway! No hate on this, not everyone agrees with my choices and it's different from everyone opinions. But what about you guys? Got top faves and wish who would've been part of the team??

#persona 5 #persona 5 scramble #p5s #p5s spoilers #persona 5: strikers #p5 #sophia (persona 5) #futaba sakura #zenkichi hasegawa #yusuke kitagawa #morgana #ryuji sakamoto #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #phantom thieves #p5r #persona 5 royal #p5r spoilers

[discountdyke]

p5 rambling

the thing thats so funny to me about akira is like hes definitely bi but i cant picture of him with literally any of the girls. i understand that as a silent protag the whole dating thing is mostly about fulfilling the players desires (and lets be honest, we’re thinking of a male player here) but looking at akira as a character it just....

u have ann being the Blonde but her whole link is about impressing her Girl Best Friend, makoto the good girl who’s actually a bad girl (but good enough to be tasteful to a man) whos support revolves around helping her girl best friend, haru only latches onto akira bc he helped her escape her abusive fiance so thats just a terrible start for a relationship and shes...gap moe i guess, futaba is both the little sister trope (in a bad way 😐) AND a gamer girl in a way i find difficult to describe outside of the word cringey and her support involves akira literally teaching her how to leave the house....the balance is awkward and once again he helps her connect with a female friend. sumire is....in need of a lot of therapy and definitely not in a place for a relationship, and hifumi who honestly might be the most believable gf out of all of them but again youre...playing shogi and then u find out shes literally not even that good. then u have kawakami which is self explanatory, ohya who...once again needs help regarding her female companion (and frequently references the age difference), tae who....doesnt seem interested in him until link 9 anyway bc shes busy trying to repair her ruined career. also like the fact that shes a full medical doctor how fucking old is she? would u want to date a teenager if u were a 30 year old doctor?? these three fall into the older woman stereotype and chihaya is also escaping abuse.

just literally most of them dont seem interested in him and again while hes a silent protag i just didnt see like...any chemistry anywhere at all, other than rank 9 when u get the obligatory “haha were u helping me bc ur a cool guy or....something more?” which in some cases felt way more forced than others. not to mention regardless of gal pals ann and makoto give off extremely lesbian vibes. like haru is really the only one i can see actually having feelings for akira but again, thats bc she literally just escaped an abusive relationship and is clinging to the first decent man around which is understandable! but i dont get the sense he has feelings in return.

all of this to say i think out of everyone yusukes support is the most romantic. hes just taking u on dates. the whole boat thing sounds like something a closeted teenager would do like “haha wow this is a date spot? crazy i didnt realize...wanna hang out anyway? haha not like were gay”. also akechis obviously but thats bc hes narratively important akira has to have strong feelings either way. 

like i get it i really do the supports are about helping a character with a problem in 10 installments but most of them just have very little romantic base and chemistry. anyways what im really saying is that akira is bi but he cant date any of the female supports bc they all have girlfriends or arent into guys. 

#talking tag #p5 / #things i think about at work #anns is my fave bc its just. 'wow i love my friend so much. anyways lets date i guess' #also makotos like girl come on. come on. #also ppl argue back and forth about whether its 'okay' to romance futaba vs sumire and like #tbh i think theyre both very stunted when it comes to maturity #but i think what we really need to talk about is how they thought it was okay to #make futaba drop some shitty gamer term in every other sentence in her support #please i can only hear her say kek so many times before i want to give up #shoutout to ryuji for being my valentine twice even though that scene is wildly homophobic <3

[muzzleroars]

So I know that the "DreamBoat Daddy Dating" AU is about gettin' with your favorite older P5 father figure, but what if there was an option... To be a father/parental figure... To the Phantom kids? My initial thought was triggered by that one crazy anon gunning for Shido but still treating Goro like a son and it got me back on my bullshit. There needs to be a route option where all the kids are my babies now-yes, even you Goro, you will get a good parent even if it means I'll be shot for it!

SO CUTE....so many of these kids need a good father figure (futaba is really the only one that’s set) or like just a parent in GENERAL. like. all of ryuji’s male “role models” were literally awful, just in life and to him in particular, and he deserves to have someone that’ll just tell him he’s doing great!!! play baseball with him or something!!! and ann is always left alone, her parents seem to never even like??? be home in the game??? (i think they came home in mementos mission but like in canon uhhhhh ??) let her have a dude in her life that ISN’T hitting on her for ONCE too good god!!! let her live a normal life!!! yusuke is similar to ryuji - he needs to have a dad that just encourages him AND BUYS HIM SOME DECENT MEALS. like just seeing yusuke and how thin he is, the player is like UHHHHH HERE’S LUNCH instantly ksdfdgfh makoto lost her dad violently and suddenly, and she really has no adults that are looking out for her, just asking her how she’s doing or giving her advice on what to do (which she desperately needs since even grown-ass people are relying on her). haru like PLEASE she needs an adult that actually speaks to her like she has value as a person and also needs someone that just asks her how she is!!!! she has no adult support (until the end of her confidant route, but she wouldn’t want to rely on him for too many personal things). AND REALLY SOMEONE JUST TELL GORO HE’S DOING GOOD AND JUST LET HIM REST FOR FIVE SECONDS. he so deserves to have someone that actually cares for his wellbeing, that doesn’t need him to perform 24/7 kfgdfghgfh and then akira in this case is literally like “oh thanks!! it’s fun learning what it’s like to have a human dad!!” ANYWAYS most of these kids just need a good dad in their lives to take care of them and i approve of adopting them all. 

#futaba is literally the only one that's good dkfgfhg #and akira is here to learn about human parenting #somehow...a lot seems better than his dad... #or maybe it's just more fun lol #BUT PLEASE GET THEM A PARENT #A PARENT THE ACTUALLY PROTECTS THEM EVEN A LITTLE #p5 #Anonymous

[it-will-not-last-the-night]

PQ2 - End

As I did expect; making sure I was able to comfortably beat the Velvet Rangers first did mean Enlil, though visually impressive, wasn’t a difficult fight. I simply equipped Ryuji with the Omnipotent Orb and had him All Guard every turn and this left Enlil unable to do anything whilst the Joker, Mitsuru, Chie and Ann wailed on them.

The ending was honestly good though, very emotional, heart-tugging, I honestly haven’t had this much fun finishing a game since J.J. Macfield and the Island of the Missing. 

PQ2 is honestly a gem I feel. Beyond fun mechanics that I found easy to get back into even after long gaps, it balances the character development of an enormous cast very successfully, with only some issues.

Even though I knew nothing of P3 or P4 the game conveys their characters in a way I found enjoyable and easy to sink into, and that is really no small feat considering that the cast is, honestly, just insanely large by the end. 

I enjoyed Enlil as an antagonist for the most part, though they could definitely have used a little more substance in the plot, but this game, overall, was less focused on it’s villain and more on it’s protagonist, and that’s fine.

To that end Hikari: the game is honestly the story of her character development and I loved her. It’s a pity we don’t see much of her in the fandom, because I honestly adore Hikari and find her enchanting and relatable in a number of ways.

Her farewell to the friends she made at the finale of the game was genuinely touching.

In general the farewells at the end are emotional, and I enjoyed them all, event he little nod to Akechi’s own mixed feelings, clearly dealing with something, as he is the most hesitant of the Phantom Thieves to finally exit the theatre after they have learned they will forget everything once they are outside. A nice touch!

Of course, because it is me, I do wish to gush briefly about Ryuji: OH MY GOSH I love his dynamic with Hikari? But, also, I just love him in this game? He comes across in PQ2 as if he has matured from his incarnation in the vanilla game. Not only is he the character, along with Futaba, who spends the most time supporting and speaking with Hikari, but even in the ending when most of the Thieves all express varying degrees of excitement or forced enthusiasm about returning home, Ryuji is the one who most noticeably feels sad about the whole affair, expressing how he suddenly misses everything they’d gone through.

On the note of Ryuji and Hikari’s bond: I had thought it mostly just an accidental outgrowth of Ryuji’s common role as an externalization of Joker’s words, but when I watch the ending perhaps it is more intentional than I thought. Noticeably Futaba and Ryuji deliver the closing lines to Hikari, Ryuji is the one who, as she tears up, tells her to remember to keep her promise to invite them to see her movies and in the post-credits scene Ryuji is the character who feels they NEED to see her movie when they find a flyer for it, going so far as to clutch at his head because he, without knowing why, just knows he HAS to go do this. Furthermore, the cutscene as Hikari says her final goodbye and leaves, is framed around a small group of characters: Ryuji, Futaba, P3FemPC, Yukari, Mitsuru and Morgana. Among those Ryuji, Futaba and P3FemPC are the characters with the largest interaction with Hikari throughout the game, and I honestly have adored those four together.

I honestly have no idea why I am typing this, the game is dated and I believe interest in it limited, but I’d recommend any fan of Persona who hasn’t given it a try to do so, if only because the story and characters are honestly well executed, better in many ways than Vanilla.

To be frank; whilst Vanilla has moments that legitimately make me depressed, the scene in Shinjuku and the scene after Shido’s Ship, even at it’s worst PQ2 never has it’s characters be that mean to each other. Even when they jibe or insult they never cross a line to abusing or accosting, and they never all single out one character to relentlessly, constantly, deride.

A breath of fresh air really!

Anyway; I loved the game, I had fun, now I guess I wait for Scramble to become available, and I hope we get to see more of the P5 cast still in future (ALSO ATLUS JUST LET ME HOOK THE PT’S UP WITH EACH OTHER OR DATE THE BOYS PLEASE I WANT TO GIVE THEM LOVE TOO THEY DESERVE IT).

For fun below the divide I’m just gonna mention the relationships, romantic or platonic I’m not going to bother much with a distinction, I really have come to like following this game even though, I am sure, they are all crack.

Enjoy:

Chie/Yukiko: Whether best friends or girlfriends no pair of characters in the P4 cast seemed to, from the outset, come across as obviously as if they are close. The two seem to complement each other well, know each other well and play off each other well and are always delightful and entertaining to watch.

Mitsuru/Junpei: I talked about this one before; I just honestly loved their Ticket and found it endearing how both, in their interactions with each other, were almost Tsundere-ish in admitting to private desires to get along, and take care of each other dearly, but struggling to break through the shell of the other to confess this. 

Ryuji/Hikari: Talked about this one at massive length already; suffice to say I honestly loved their interactions so much and, along with Ryuji’s interactions with Sophia I have seen now in Scramble, Ryuji radiates enormous, powerful, Big Brother/Father energy. Which I think is great? What better arc for Ryuji than, a person who’s life is overshadowed by his awful father, to turn out to be a wonderful father himself.

Yusuke/Yukiko: These two just get each other. Honestly they just click. They tune in to the same cosmic wavelength and leave everyone confused as they naturally just synch up. It is a pity as the game enters its later stages we see less of them, in the early game they are a treat.

Ken/Akechi: Ken and Akechi just are perfect, wonderful, foils to each other and it’s almost a pity the game can’t actually go the full way with it because Akechi’s secret can’t come out. This leaves it as a tease, the suggestion, of what could be, but that’s still plenty good. I also find it always interesting to see Ryuji and Akechi, two boys heavily formed by an abusive father, both in their own explicit words state outright they relate themselves to Ken in some way. With Akechi, because he is so good at wearing masks, I wonder how true it is when he relates himself to Ken, it’d be interesting to know if this is one of his lies to maintain his façade, or a bit of his true self creeping out as it often does. 

Joker/Junpei: I don’t know why I like these two? But Joker comes across as really fond and supportive of him with his consistent chances to shout out “Junpei! Master Detective!”

Yukari/Junpei: As I said in my head I go back-and-forth whether this would be endearing or a toxic hate-love relationship. There’s no denying, though, that these two interact more with each other than anyone else in the P3 cast, they’re the Yukiko/Chie in that sense, if Yukiko/Chie consisted of a lot of barbs and harsh words. We actually get a glimpse of what, I feel, is a healthier dynamic for the two in P3FemPC’s world in the epilogue, where Yukari is still barbed but rather than deflating Junpei ripostes back, this automatically makes it seem less mean-spirited heckling and more two people, comfortable with each other, bantering.

Futaba/Hikari: This one is the obvious choice since the game is obviously going out of it’s way to make this an important relationship. Futaba sees herself in Hikari and appoints herself like an older sister to help her. It is adorable and amazing character development as the socially reclusive and shy Futaba clearly forces herself out of her comfort zone to prove to Hikari that she can change and that she is not a lost cause. Along with Hikari it is, perhaps, Futaba who is the true MVP of this entire game. 

Futaba/P3FemPC: Futaba gets some lovely Sister-like sequences with the incredibly fun and social P3FemPC, who Futaba is clearly in awe of. It is a pity that these really only happen in the early game, I’d love for them to continue, but P3FemPC as the big, fun, sister figure of Futaba is fun.

Ryuji/Yukiko: This one is just because the ending of Haru and Yukiko’s ticket has one of the funniest bit ever when Haru and Yukiko decide they want to ‘play’ with Ryuji and Yosuke. Yukiko’s ‘Will you devote all of your being to the name of the Amagi Family?’ is wonderful and I can just imagine Ryuji’s reaction to such a frank proposition. 

Mitsuru/P3FemPC: This one was actually surprising to me but Mitsuru really has something of an almost maternal instinct for P3FemPC. She seeks to console her and let her know she is valued, even if Mitsuru is poor at expressions of affection, as seen in Junpei’s case as well. In many ways it strikes me as a more sympathetic Sae/Makoto. Mitsuru clearly cares for the P3FemPC and is aware of her disconsolate feelings, but struggles to find the words to comfort her, but doesn’t let that stop her trying. 

#persona 5 #persona #p5 #pq2 #hikari

[ffamranxii]

First Impressions Of P5 Characters VS What I Think Now

PROTAGONIST

Then: Ren Amamiya. Soft boi. Good boi. Who the fuck is Akira?

Now: Hooooo boy let’s unpack this three in one character, my friends. Ren is still a good soft boi who did nothing wrong. Akira Kurusu, however is a bastard in love with a feral boy and is the sarcastic fuck. Joker? Goddamn, Joker is a maniac from the depths of hell. What is heterosexuality

RYUJI

Then: Vulgar Boy! He must be the Best Friend(TM) of Ren

Now: Ryuji is best boy and he and Ren are in love and this is a Ryuji hate-free zone!! T^T

ANN

Then: Oh she’s cute! If she’s the Lovers, I’m gonna ship her with Ren!

Now: Gaaaaaaaaaaay. Ann x Shiho are OTP

MORGANA

Then: She’s so cute I want twelve!!!

Now: Omg I fucking hate this fucking cat if this motherfucker shits on my bb Ryuji one more time I stg I’ll punt him across Tokyo DO NOT TEMPT ME

YUSUKE

Then: Asexual weird AF art boi

Now: Asexual weird AF art boi with a tragic past who is still deeply hurting, and loves lobsters and is definitely best friends with Futaba

MAKOTO

Then: Eh. Whatever.

Now: I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS OF USELESSNESS AND YOUR DIFFICULT HOME LIFE WHERE YOUR FAMILY TAKES THEIR FRUSTRATIONS OUT ON YOU GIRL YOU ARE VALID 😭😭😭 Also bisexual. Was attracted to Akira for the DANGER but then set eyes on Hifumi and was like “Akira who?” Angry badass.

FUTABA

Then: Cute little ginger nerd! I’m love her

Now: 😳 Bb I will love and protect you with Coffee Dad for as long as you live, holy fuck, you need so much therapy, also I think you’ve broken several laws both national and international. Her chat name is CoffeeGremlin you cannot take this from me. NO ONE SHOULD BE DATING FUTABA SHE IS A VICTIM OF HORRIFIC TRAUMA AND ABUSE AND NEEDS TO WORK ON HERSELF BEFORE GETTING INTO A RELATIONSHIP

HARU

Then: What a cute little floof! She is sheepwife

Now: Oh god there’s a lot of trauma and emotions to unpack here. Sheepwife 😭 The game makes it seem like you get over your father’s death so quickly but your whole confidant is a metaphor for the close relationship you two used to share and you never really truly get any closure 😭 Sheepwife is one of the most tragic characters because of this. T^T

GORO

Then: This bitch is Light Yagami. I bet he kills someone.

After vanilla: Motherfuckin Light Yagami... but at least there was a reason for his crazy, I guess. Sad

After Royal: 😭😭😭 GORO IS THE MOST TRAGIC CHARACTER AND I CAN’T BELIEVE LITERALLY EVERYONE IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE HAS USED HIM - EVEN AKIRA CAN USE HIM IF YOU PICK THE SHIT OPTIONS - HE MUST BE PROTECTED BECAUSE AKIRA LITERALLY BENDS THE FABRIC OF FUCKING REALITY TO GET HIM BACK AND THEN HE FUCKING GETS KIDNAPPED TO KYOTO?! HOW MUCH MORE SUFFERING MUST HE ENDURE ATLUS JUST LET HIM BE HAPPY 😭😭😭

SHIHO

Then: So cute. I hope she’s a Phantom Thief

Now: Honorary Phantom Thief. Ann’s wife. Fuckin fight me

MISHIMA

Then: *Regina George voice* omg he is SO annoying

Now: Best boi. A good boi. Honorary Phantom Thief fuckin fight me. Mishima is a victim of horrific abuse at the hands of Kamoshida and is treated like shit by both the game and the fandom and I just... don’t get it??? Hug your Mishima today

HIFUMI

Then: Ooooooh pretty please be a Phantom Thief you know she’d be something quintessentially Japanese-themed, she and Yusuke would be aesthetic goals

Now: SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PHANTOM THIEF AND THEY CUT HER? Bullshit. Still a Phantom Thief fuckin fight me. Definitely made the first move with Makoto. Into kinky sex.

KASUMI

Then: I love her

Now: D: I’ve only had Sumire for a day and a half but if anything happens to her I’ll kill everyone in this fandom and then myself. How is she not the protagonist or secondary protagonist of Persona 6? She would basically be just like Maki from P1! That is a HUGE story and they just... you know what FUCK you Atlus. ALSO REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT HOW NO ONE SHOULD BE DATING FUTABA BECAUSE SHE’S A VICTIM OF HORRIFIC ABUSE AND TRAUMA AND NEEDS TO WORK ON HERSELF BEFORE GETTING INTO A RELATIONSHIP? REPLACE FUTABA WITH SUMIRE THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK

#romancing kasumire makes me so uncomfortable #she needs therapy not dick #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p5r spoilers #p5s spoilers #because kyoto #also it’s no secret i really fuckin hate morgana #i was all set to love him #and that fucker betrayed me #im salty

[untaintedtea]

10 favourite characters from 10 different fandoms

Tagged by @elmha and @yennas thank you! I think it's pretty obvious what my favourites are from the fandoms I draw often, so I'll pick characters I haven't drawn from other things:

Bea Santello (Night in the Woods)

Beth Harmon (The Queen's Gambit)

Edelgard von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Inej Ghafa (Shadow and Bone [I Cannot Read ok lmao])

Legoshi (Beastars)

Megaera (Hades)

Mitsuri Kanroji (Kimetsu no Yaiba)

Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach)

Yor Forger (Spy x Family)

Yusuke Kitagawa (Persona 5)

Tagging: @euxiom @frogprincelucio @girlierest @littorallbones @maybeimawhale I feel like this has been around recently/I haven't done tags in a while so @ everyone do it if you want!

#for p5 i also really like makoto but i dated haru so...yusuke #if yusuke was romanceable it would be an even harder choice lol #actually sae might be my fav but yusuke is playable so...anyway #(not as a romance tho yikes. i considered hifumi too lol) #anyway maybe this reveals some stuff to some of you bc #i def have or would have a hard time drawing many of them lmao #memes of sorts #might put myself on the waitlist for the grisha books but idek

[thecorpulentbeagle]

P5 Shipping Round Robin: Day 3

I know both of these characters are HUGELY popular in the fandom, so I definitely put a little bit more effort into this one to make sure that it’s fantastic! It’s a little longer to make up for the first two being rather short.

Here is the fanfiction.net link.

Please enjoy this next part of the P5 Shipping Round Robin Challenge!

P5 Shipping Round Robin Challenge:

Movie Date:

Futaba x Goro

-Phantom Thieves-

“The movies?”

“Like a date?”

“W-what do you mean date?”

“Futaba and… Akechi?”

An explosion of disbelief was currently rocking the Phantom Thieves hideout. Every person was shocked to learn about what was going to be happening later today.

Akira nodded, looking a little stunned. “I’m not sure. All that I know is that Futaba and Akechi will be going to the movies later today. Together. With each other.”

“What the hell, man?” Ryuji shouted, standing up from the chair that he had been leaning in. “She knows as much as we do that the guy’s sketchy as hell! What is she thinking?”

“Clearly there must be more to the story than this,” Yusuke pondered, rubbing his chin. “Futaba is an intelligent individual, and we’ve expressed our concerns to her.”

“Perhaps she’s trying to extract information from him?” Makoto asked hopefully, tapping one of her textbooks nervously on her leg.

“Yeah! That’s exactly what’s going on!” Ann nodded her head furiously. Morgana was currently sitting in her lap, and he shook his head dejectedly.

Haru took notice. “Mona. What do you mean by that? Do you know something that we don’t?” All heads turned towards the cat advisor.

He lifted a paw. “Futaba was talking with me a few minutes ago. She seemed… really pumped. Like she couldn’t wait for this to happen.”

There was a full minute of silence at his words. Everyone in the group fidgeted uncomfortably. Futaba couldn’t really be going on a romantic excursion with Akechi… could she?

“Well, I don’t like it!” Ryuji raged, punching the table and causing it to shutter. Yusuke’s snacks fell to the ground, which caused the artist to look at the blonde in annoyance. Ryuji shrugged sheepishly.

“Whether we like it or not doesn’t matter. This is clearly happening,” Makoto reasoned, trying to calm everyone down, though she felt a bit of anger herself. “I suggest that we obtain more information before jumping to conclusions.”

“Hm. When does Futaba leave for her potential date, Akira?” Yusuke asked, turning to look at their leader, as did everyone else.

The boy was currently staring off into space, clearly distracted. When he did not respond, Haru tapped his shoulder.

“Akira? Did you hear Yusuke?” She looked at him with concern.

Akira started. “I… uh… Sorry, Yusuke. What did you say?”

The group looked at each other. They had never seen their leader so out of it before. Apparently, this was affecting him a great deal.

Yusuke cleared his throat. “Do you know when Futaba is to depart for the theater?”

Akira nodded. “She told me that the movie starts at noon, and that they wanted to meet each other 15 minutes before it started.”

Ann looked at her phone. “Got it. So that means we have about 10 minutes to figure out what’s going on.”

Haru moved her hand from Akira’s shoulder to rub his back with soothing motions. “But before that, what’s wrong, Akira? You seem… deeply troubled by this.”

The group waited to hear his response.

Eventually, Akira sighed. Sitting up a little straighter, he murmured, “It’s… well… I think I’m just bothered that Futaba is going out with someone.”

Ryuji winked, trying to break some tension. “Gotcha. You jealous of Akechi, dude?” Ann slapped the back of his head, which caused him to sputter and shove her back.

Akira barely noticed their squabble. “No, not really. I just…. want to make sure that she’s safe. I know she knows what she’s doing but… I don’t know. I can’t help but worry.” He scratched the back of his head. “I know that doesn’t really help, but I’m not really sure what’s going on myself.”

Makoto shook her head gently. “Don’t say that. You know the best out of all of us that emotions are complicated, but they all deserve to be felt. Besides,” she sighed herself. “I think I understand what’s going on.”

Yusuke, Ann, Haru, and Morgana nodded. Ryuji looked at them with confusion. “How’s that?”

Makoto continued gently. “She’s your family.”

Akira flinched. True, they were close, but could they really be considered that? He had always felt somewhat intrusive, like he had butted into the family dynamic between Futaba and Sojiro, but he loved being able to be a part of their relationship. He had never really been close with his parents, and Sojiro really did feel like a father to him. Which meant that Futaba was…

“Like a little sister?” Ryuji finished Akira’s thought for him. The blonde looked hard at the leader of thee Phantom Thieves. “Yeah! I could totally see that! Yo, that’s adorable!”

Haru giggled. “I agree. In truth, I feel that way about Futaba sometimes myself.”

Ann, Makoto, and Yusuke nodded. “Agreed.”

“And I think that’s why you’re all so bothered by this.” Everyone snapped their heads to look at Morgana. “True, Akechi’s a little scummy… but you guys don’t want your little sister going out on a date with someone. You want to protect her!”

The group stared, wide-eyed. Could that be the case?

Makoto nodded. “I think I see your point. Perhaps we all want to be the protective older sibling to her.”

“That’s… interesting.” Ann chuckled nervously, looking at everyone else’s somewhat apprehensive expressions.

“Well then. I think that decides it. We must learn more about this situation in order to protect Futaba!” Yusuke declared. “We must be her responsible older brothers and sisters!”

“Dude…”

Suddenly, the group heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They all quieted down at once, wondering who was approaching. Even though they weren’t talking about official Phantom Thieves business, it was a habit to immediately shut down a conversation when an outsider was within potential earshot.

Sojiro’s head popped up, looking over the group with mild annoyance. “Keep it down up here, you kids. You’re gonna scare away all of my customers”

The group sheepishly apologized. But Akira used this as an opportunity. “Sojiro! Has Futaba left for the movies yet?”

Sojiro nodded. “She did. She seemed pretty excited. You missed her by about two minutes.”

Akira turned towards his friends, his face becoming serious. The members of the Phantom Thieves felt the shift in the atmosphere. Akira had just become Joker, and they were ready to follow his orders.

“Let’s go, everyone!” Akira commanded. Everyone who wasn’t already standing stood up immediately.

“Hey! W-what the –?” Sojiro was suddenly shoved out of the way as the group of teens suddenly surged downstairs. Rubbing the back of his head, he muttered, “Those damn kids…”

Luckily, the theater was the one close to Leblanc, so the group did not have far to travel. Their serious demeanor attracted a few stares, but it also caused everyone to stay out of their way.

After a few minutes, they approached the ticket counter. It was then they realized that they wouldn’t be able to storm the movie theater like a palace – they would have to pay for entry.

Haru stepped forward. “Leave this to me, everyone!” She flashed a credit card towards the young woman at the counter. “Six tickets, please!”

Once the large group had taken care of their tickets, they made their way to the theater that held the movie Futaba would be seeing with Akechi.

They hadn’t even stopped for concessions, although Ryuji and Yusuke had attempted to. The girls and Akira had to physically drag them away from the counter.

They finally approached the theater, and they quietly snuck inside. They scanned the area.

“Man, I wish we had Oracle for this one,” Ryuji muttered, trying to see through the darkened theater.

“I agree. Hm… oh! There she is!” Makoto kept her voice low but excited as she pointed through the crowd. Everyone’s head snapped over.

Towards the front of the theater, they could see Futaba sitting by herself, skimming through her phone.

“The bastard abandoned her! I’ll kill him myself!” Ryuji cracked his knuckles threateningly.

“I’ll help,” Ann growled.

“Everyone, please calm down!” Haru waved her arms frantically. “Look, Akechi is right over there, see?”

The group directed their gaze towards the stairs, where Akechi was currently descending, with a large bowl of popcorn in his grasp. He sat down next to Futaba, who immediately began to take some.

“Oh. Well then… never mind.” Ryuji lowered his hands back down to his sides, and Ann lost her threatening posture.

“Anyway, the film is about to begin. We should find our seats,” Yusuke pointed out.

Akira nodded. “Agreed. We’ll sit a few rows back behind them. That way, we can watch them, but they won’t be able to hear or see us.”

Morgana, who was currently in the boy’s bag, nodded. “Good thinking, Joker.”

The group stealthily walked down to the aisle that was three rows back from the couple. They took their seats, glaring daggers at Akechi’s back.

“If he lays one hand on her, he’s dead!” Ryuji muttered.

“I might have to have Sis start a comprehensive investigation on him,” Makoto added.

“Or I might have to miss my target and accidently… shoot him with my grenade launcher the next time we’re in a palace.” Haru’s eyes gleamed.

“Or I might have to slip him something in his coffee the next time he orders one.” Akira leaned forward in his chair, not blinking.

“All of these ideas sound perfect to me. Perhaps I could illustrate the result.” Yusuke was doing his finger-framing, and this time, he was focusing on Akechi.

Meanwhile, Futaba and Akechi were currently munching on some popcorn, watching the opening advertisements.

Futaba giggled. “I wonder if they know that we can hear everything that they’re saying.”

Akechi chuckled. “Most definitely not. Though I must say, I am somewhat fearful for my life after hearing all of this.”

“Aw don’t worry! They’re just worried we’re on a date.”

“Ah I see. So that’s how you incorporated my reward into your reward?”

“Exactamundo! You pay for the outing, and I make them squirm. But next time, we won’t end things in a tie!”

“Oh. You seem to have a lot of confidence for someone who was almost beaten at her favorite video game.”

“You are so on. We’re totally having a rematch after this!”

“Perhaps we can advertise it to your group as… Netflix and Chill?”

“You are so evil, Akechi.”

So this was technically not a “true” romance one-shot, but there were elements of it because they thought she was on a date. Kind of flipping the idea of this challenge on its head. By the way, I totally imagine Last Surprise starting up once Akira enters Joker mode. See you tomorrow!

#p5 #persona 5 #p5roundrobin #futaba sakura #goro akechi #futago #futaba x goro #futaba x akechi #goro x futaba #akechi x futaba

[chisaki]

hope you don't mind, but if you're still doing those "003 + character" stuff then would it be ok if you did Makoto and Futaba?

I FORGOT TO ANSWER THIS ASK BECAUSE THIS IS MY FIRST TIME ON TUMBLR ON MY COMPUTER TODAY. I’M SUPER SORRY.

Makoto:

How I feel about this character: I LOVE her. She was the character I first fell in love with when the characters were just being introduced and I also loved that she was voiced by Rina Satou. I’m not entirely sure if she’s still my favorite girl anymore. I think Futaba beats her now. And maybe Haru as well? (Makoto and Haru are probably tied tbh)

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Here comes the rarest pair in all of existence but I’m gonna say it: RYUJI. Like…he compliments her daily and she at one point said “you better keep your grades up or you’ll be punished” and when they were deciding on her code name, he was completely under her thumb (as Ann would put it). I also like her with MC and Ann.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Haru? Well, maybe that’s not entirely true? I see cute fanart of them and reblog it, because I can see them work. Maybe Futaba or Yusuke instead?

My unpopular opinion about this character: Hm, well, she’s actually the most popular girl character (in Japan anyway), so I dunno. I guess a lot of people in the fandom think she’s super boring and not a true part of the group because she’s never had anything bad happen to her (at least, not to the degree of the others) and I 100% disagree and anyone who says that clearly did not play the game. Her father died. Her mother is dead, too (I think). She only has her big sister, who calls her useless and says that she’s “eating away at her life”. Not to mention, the actual PRINCIPAL of the school. Someone who is supposed to care about their students, blackmails her! And as much as I love Ann, she was a hardcore bitch to Makoto in the start (and, of course, Makoto was to Ann as well, but she was worrying about the whole blackmailing thing and trying to be useful). Like, people seem to forget that Makoto is STILL a highschooler. She’s not some cop (even though she wants to be police commissioner) or detective, so why does SHE have to do the police’s job and try to find out who the Phantom Thieves are? It’s bullshit, and that whole school did her dirty.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I dunno really. I kinda wish we had gotten more Ann/Makoto girl moments, because that was super precious when the two were apologizing to each other and bonding.

Favorite friendship for this character: Ann and Haru

My crossover ship: Don’t have one.

Futaba:

How I feel about this character: I love her. Definitely best girl of P5 (in my opinion. Even though Makoto had started that way). Although best girl (to me) will always be Naoto, Futaba is a very close second. I also love that she’s a character I really identify with. Like, I basically am Futaba (with a bit of Ryuji), save for the whole hacker thing because I’m dumb. But our personalities kind of are the same, and the fact that we have really bad social anxiety and are NEETs.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Ryuji (I ship Ryuji with everyone. Forgive me), Yusuke, and at first, I wasn’t keen on the MC ship, but I’m gonna romance her this playthrough and at first, she seemed too sisterly for MC but I kinda like the ship now.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Ann possibly. I see Ann as a big sister for Futaba. I see all of the girls as big sisters for Futaba, actually.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Again, she’s one of the most popular characters, so I don’t really know. Her fashion sense is actually my favorite out of the PT (not talking about her thief outfit. Best thief outfits belong to Ryuji, Joker, and Haru). I guess I don’t think she’s too young for MC (like a lot of people seem to think). If MC can date Makoto or Haru, or his teacher/doctor/some random chick on the side of the road/an alcoholic journalist, then news flash: He can date someone one year younger than him.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Wish we could have seen her with pigtails, or a ponytail.

My favorite friendship for this character: Ann, Makoto, Haru

My crossover ship: None.

Thanks for the ask!

Send me a fandom, ship, or character!

#asks #anon #persona #p5 #persona 5 #makoto niijima #Futaba sakura

[spoofenshmirtz]

i’m in a Mood so have some quick notes on what the hell my akira is up to post-p5. since everyone plays him the way they want and have their own interpretations of him and what he’d be up to, i thought it’d be fun exploring that a little bit!

doesn’t stay for long in his home town post-game. like there isn’t exactly a lot for him to do here, he’s already out of touch with any friends he had before he was put on probation and any attempts to reconnect only end up awkward and weird, particularly since he, himself, has changed so much over his year in tokyo. people don’t really know how to treat him, and despite his overflowing charisma and kindness, he’s still tainted by the crimes he didn’t commit and people find him hard to approach.

his parents are glad to have him back; however, they’re as unable to give him the emotional care he needs as they were before. i hc them as good parents on the surface, but unable to connect deeply with their only son, leaving him sort of emotionally neglected throughout his life. they had a good life together on the surface before akira was put on probation, but now that he’s experienced what it’s like to have people care for him deeply, he gets antsy being around his parents. they notice and don’t blame him for leaving something like halfway through his third year to return to tokyo.

he continues dating haru despite the distance. she occasionally visits him while he’s still in his hometown and tries to be very considerate of him, despite very obviously needing him there for herself as well. when he tells her he’s coming back to tokyo she can barely contain her happiness and relief at having him closer to her, seeing as she’s still bound by university there and can only make so much time to come visit him. eventually, they open their very own café together, haru as the manager and akira as her assistant manager. but it’s very much a joint effort, and haru accepts akira’s support and help wholeheartedly, which is why they can open their place before haru even finishes uni; akira doesn’t really know what he’d study there, so he decides to focus himself entirely on their café and on being a good “househusband”. people who come to their café quickly see how loving and caring they are of each other and their place becomes a popular place for couples and dates when rumors about how their coffee gives luck to relationships start spreading. they laugh it off but still give each other meaningful glances.

they also have their very own garden that they take care of, together, and grow coffee beans for their special blend! morgana’s also hanging around their café most of the time, and some customers become regulars just to come hang out with the cute kitty. morgana is mildly offended but has started accepting and appreciating pets much more after accepting that he was never human to begin with (although he’s still going to become one! definitely!)

akira’s friendships with the rest of the phantom thieves remain constant, of course. they all support he and haru’s café by becoming regulars and dropping in as often as they can to say hello and update them on how their lives are going. ryuji starts running again, ann starts modeling more seriously (and occasionally brings shiho to the café, at which times akira and haru always glance meaningfully at each other and offer them lots of goods “on the house”, especially their more romantic options), yusuke becomes a more well-known artist with pieces that are known to touch people at the core, makoto starts working her way up in the police force, and futaba finishes high school (and although dealing with other people is still hard, she finds lots of comfort in going to akira and haru´s café to hang out, pet morgana, do her homework. akira always gives her a coffee on the house, “but you’ll have to pay for refills, i can’t have you freeloading here”, at which she always sticks out her tongue at him defiantly).

other confidants also continue checking up on him, most becoming regulars at their café. sojiro won’t admit it, but he really likes their house blend and comes by a bit too often for someone who has his own damn café to take care of. although he does eventually close down leblanc, “to give newcomers a chance in the business,” he says with a smirk and quickly becomes a treasured regular. sae looks in every now and then to check up on akira and update him on how her life is holding up. others drop by occasionally, some more by chance than others, but everyone agrees that haru and akira’s café is a special space for comfort.

akira never truly gets over akechi. he held complicated, contradictory feelings for him before the events that unfolded in shido’s palace, and afterwards any grudges he may have held all but faded away to leave room only for massive regret. haru knows, of course, and allows him space to grieve while supporting him wholeheartedly. it does take him some time to fully open up to her, seeing as he’s used to being someone others rely on more than relying on others himself, and while the things he reveals once he’s opened up are painful for her to hear, she’s still happy that he trusts her enough to rely on her. she doesn’t personally forgive akechi, but she gives akira the space he needs to get over him and remains a constant source of emotional support for him. it takes a year or so, but eventually the nightmares become few and far between and he can dedicate himself more fully to he and haru’s craft.

(if akechi ever returns from the “dead”, he’s afraid to approach akira out of fear that he’ll throw the life akira’s made for himself off balance. but accidentally bumping into the phantom thieves one by one, he’s forced to accept that he’ll eventually run into akira as well. haru, who he meets last, tells him very firmly to let akira know he’s alive; she’s personally seen the suffering he went through grieving him, and believes he has a right to know, regardless of what it may mean for the relationship she’s built with him. akechi enters their café one day with an apologetic smile on his lips, akira drops and shatters a cup he was wiping, then steps around the bar to punch akechi in the face and then hold him close for a good fifteen minutes, crying into his shoulder. haru looks on with a melancholic look in her eyes and silently decides that she’ll let akira decide what’s best for himself; she’ll be content supporting him in whatever decision he makes. akira and akechi slowly build a close friendship and come to trust each other, and one day, akira surprises haru by asking if they can hire akechi as well. the three of them eventually become close, and even if haru doesn’t forgive akechi for the act of killing her father, she comes to accept him for the person he’s become, and she’s overjoyed when she realizes she and akechi can coexist in akira’s life.)

#this felt weirdly cathartic to write lmfao #personablogging #OBVIOUSLY theres spoilers under the cut dont click through if you worry abt those #spoovy's thoughts

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

U R entitled to your own opinion. but still what could've been so messed up for you to hate it? I remember you fangirling about Anne back when only the Japanese version was released back in 2016.

Summary (and incomplete list) of my problems. 

Yeah as I played the Japanese ver the first time I was focusing on the positives.....after I finished I...it felt off......tbh it felt off while playing it but I didn’t notice/refused to listen to it cause I was waiting to see things unfold. And while I understood what was going on, there was some crucial information (at least crucial for me to process it correctly) I knew I was missing cause of the language barrier. 

After a 2nd time through I saw it..... I saw how all the antagonists were.....not well written besides Kamoshida and Sae (and even Sae could’ve used some tweaks to her motive, tho not as much tweaks as the rest of the game I think needs). I saw how there was a lot of similarities between P4....and not the good time......it felt pretty copy paste....and tbh if it was going to copy and paste one of the past game’s formula.....it should’ve been P3′s.....But hey...that would’ve mean that Atlus would’ve had to write more overarching arcs in P5 like they did with P3, and we can’t have that kind of effort...... The lack of overarching arcs really hurts Anne, Ryu, and Yusuke (who, even in my first playthrough, I felt he literally dropped off the face of the earth after I finished the dungeon, not his arc where we see Madarame’s confession, I literally forgot Yusuke was there right after I finished the dungeon with like a month to go before the confession). Haru and Goro get screwed in their own way. I felt like the game relied too much on Makoto and Futaba to do stuff (it felt like they were doing everything, barring the MC of course). It didn’t feel much like a Phantom Thief game (tho it takes a bunch of the story cliches without any of the fun). I never felt like I had freedom.....which is a problem when the game’s theme is freedom. Not with the MC’s dialogue, he has like one personality to choose from (which for the most part feels like it’s mostly “jerk, sassy-jerk, funny-jerk” like it’s worse than the PQ options). The endings suck in terms of freedom of choice, it’s like 5 steps backwards from P4 which is wrong since they should’ve at least taken a step forward from P4 considering P5 is next gen and P4 was made on a shoe-string budget. The dungeons...oh my gawd..... Give me P3/4′s any day. Yes I like the randomly generated one’s cause it gave me more choice than P5′s. P5′s were good the first time through, but they are such a slog after that. It’s not that P5′s are big, but it’s that they aren’t bigger! Give me an option on how I want to approach the treasure! Give me a short route, a fast route, an easy route, a hard route, a long route, a medium route, and make it so I can back track and go through all the routes if I want. Give me incentive to take the longer/harder route (better weapons, loot, items but of course it’s harder, higher risk means higher reward), give me the short/fast route so when I’m replaying for the 53rd time I can just skate through that without having to spend an hour going through a dungeon I’m destroying (it says something when the dungeon is so long that it’ll take someone an hour to run through the dungeon on NG+ on safety, while it takes maybe 10-30 min to speed through P3/4 on NG+ regardless of difficulty. Like...god....thinking about playing P5 NG+ on the hardest difficulty must take them like 2 hours a dungeon or more @.@). But yeah I never felt free in the game, the characters never felt free in the dungeon setting (AND THAT’S WHAT ATLUS WOULD SAY IN THEIR INTERVIEWS! The characters are suppose to feel more free in the Metaverse! WHY IS IT THEY DON’T FEEL LIKE THAT WHEN I PLAY?????)

Actually bouncing off that, I hate the characterization inconsistencies. Anne and Ryu get the worst of it, but this also applies to comments on Anne/Mako’s thief outfits too. I love Anne I do, but Atlus screw her and everyone over so bad. She’s suppose to speak out against sexualization but then gets sexualized in her own game. And not even in a “I’m being confident and am being sexy cause I want to” fanservice it’s always “someone is looking at me and I’m uncomfortable and don’t want to be looked at” fanservice...... And the former seems to be what they might’ve wanted to do, the artbook stating her short skirt as a reason.....but then the rest of the game is just her hating her outfit and it’s like “WHAT?!” And it doesn’t help the Devs were like “oh yeah we thought that’d be cute.” NO! NO IT’S NOT ATLUS! I’d give you a pass with her wearing it the first few times and then getting used to it and owning it (cause that’d be growth), but no.....not for 98% of the game......  And then Ryuji, he’s all “protect women’s honor” when it comes to Anne being creeped on by random guys, but as soon as he gets the chance to be a creep he takes it. And it really just messes with his values, or how we see his values in that regard....all cause Atlus wants a cheap laugh. Same goes for the MC, the whole reason he was in that mess was cause he was protecting a woman, and he also creeps on Anne a little (tho not as enthusiastically as Ryu, and you could actually be dating her by those times so you could say that Anne’s actually fine with him doing it). And then Makoto.....her’s is minor but it also deals with her outfit, tho iirc it’s only really during the Mementos convos (and Anne’s does too, but it also happens outside in that and her arc’s theme in dungeon one is also a big factor in why it’s bad), but it’s still there. Anne and Makoto’s views on their own outfits muddles how the game address why they are dressed that way. We get “it’s your will of rebellion” but we have a variety of reactions. Ryuji’s was what I expected everyone to be like aka “mine’s pretty cool, but your’s is strange” kinda thing....cause they seem like it’s tailored for them......And yeah you can say “oh the big bad had some influence in it” but.......that’s just.....weird and it really muddies something that could be easy to grasp.....I mean the outfits kinda do a good job at reflecting their Personas! And, at least with Hashino, everyone seems to like their Personas.....WHICH MAKES SENSE! SO WHY NOT MAKE THE COSTUMES MAKE SENSE EVEN THO THEY ARE ALIGNED TO MAKE SENSE AND lkfelnfsd;aknfal;f AHHHHHHHHHh!!!!

Sorry that’s all I can go into for now. You don’t have to agree with it of course but......it’s just......a lot of things....piled on......and....why....why is it like this..... @.@ ;w;

[icecreambat]

Story time: Dating everyone in P5 turned Joker into a sociopath

The first time I ended up dating more than one girl in a Persona game, it was an honest accident. I’d already imprinted on Chie in Persona 4, and had no idea comforting Yukiko during her social link would turn me into a two-timing douche. A quick save-state reload rectified this mistake, but it taught me an important lesson: in Persona games, monogamy is not the limit of your teenage life.

As Persona 5 rolled around, I grew fond of Makoto on my first playthrough. With her on my side I experienced the Phantom Thief thrill ride, maxing my social links while gently turning other girls down. It wasn’t until the NewGame+ that I wondered: wouldn’t it be interesting to try the multi-dating thing? That way I could fast-forward all romance scenarios and not watch them on Youtube later like a loser, duh. If this game was intentionally giving me the opportunity to be Tokyo’s biggest Don Juan, then by Mona, I’d do it!

Little did I know, though, that as I embarked on a quest to bag all the single ladies* the whole atmosphere of the game changed. What had been a more or less generic adventure about truth and justice took on some… rather disturbing undertones, ones that went beyond the actual dating scenarios. In fact, the game turned out to be such an interesting social experiment that I wanted to write about it, so here I am. So, this is a recap of how dating multiple people in Persona 5 turned my Joker into a sociopath.

* except for Makoto, because a) I already romanced her before and b)…. it didn’t feel right, her being my first and all. SO SUE ME I’M A LOSER AFTER ALL

So. Here we are again, moving to Tokyo, whoop de doo. NewGame+ means not having to waste days on working out the ropes, so you can focus on the stuff that matters: getting as overpowered as you can in the least amount of time possible. For me, this meant maxing out Kawakami’s social link as fast as I could, because her bonuses are pretty swank – I really could have used the post-Mementos or post-palace massages during my first playthrough too, but kinda forgot about her right after Operation Maidwatch. Well, no more! I was bringing that teacher home left and right at every possible instance, so obviously I ended up maxing her link first. Ergo, we entered a relationship. 

I’m not gonna lie: the Kawakami romance is some weird (and arguably illegal) shit. Maybe that kinda set the tone of this adventure from the start, giving me an mc who was 100% ok with romancing his homeroom teacher slash part time maid. Uh… huh. Given that my suspension of disbelief went out of the window right about there, it was easy to pick the “omg i totally like, care about you and stuff” dialogue options that went with it; I mean, I was doing this for science and stuff, no big deal.

That’s why it surprised me that when it was time to romance the next (un)lucky girl, I felt like shit about it. Not because of Kawakami, but because Ann wasn’t some ludicrous dating option pulled out of the “lol what if we let the players date everyone!!” shitpost book. Instead, Ann and the mc had already been through Some Shit together, best friend suicide attempts and sexually abusive PE teachers included, and she was a teenage girl looking for her place in the world. So when Ann confided in me about her feelings and told the mc she loved him, “returning” her feelings –while knowing I was already dating my…. uhh, homeroom teacher slash part time maid– genuinely made me feel like the absolute scum of the earth.

“I can’t do this,” I thought at this point, “Even if these are fictional characters in a fictional game, I feel like shit lying to these girls that I care about them, because obviously that’s not true if I’m so callously dating someone else behind their back. How can people do that in real life if I can’t even do it in a video game? Oh, naïve me! Because my lesson in the callousness of man had only just begun.

Anyway, so. Here I am, dating Kawakami and Ann. I think I figured that lying to my teammates didn’t Feel Very Good so headlining for randos seemed like the better choice to make next: Ohya the reporter ended up being the third girl I romanced, and it was relieving she seemed to understand the unlikely nature of our relationship. “I get that we probably won’t stay together forever,” she was telling me, almost like she knew she was only the third wheel in my extended trailer truck, headed to nowhere fast; the same kinda goes for Tae, the punk rock doctor, whose reservedness somehow made it easier to ignore the serial cheater vibes in the dynamic.

Chihaya, on the other hand, was different. Seemingly a little younger than the other grown-ups, she was already a lot more straightforward about her interest in the mc, and harbored all sorts of weird fantasies about them staying together forever. Which is exactly what I told her would happen. Not! Funny that for a fortune teller she couldn’t see I was also spouting this same shit to four other girls, huh? Chihaya reminded me of Ann, in a way, which is why the Bad Feels actually started to resurface here – it’s one thing to lie boldly in the face of girls (women) who aren’t really that invested in you to begin with, but when it’s people who actually believe said lies… well.

Now, I know, I know. There’s no actual reason to feel guilty, because these choices don’t affect the gameplay in any way. Whether or not the mc is an asshole in some ways will still result in everyone loving the shit out of him, and being sad when he leaves. Sure, there’s the scene after Valentine’s Day where you get beat up for being a cheater and the girls kind of call him out on it, but that’s about it; this isn’t Mass Effect, you can’t go full renegade, etc. etc. But even if the game barely acknowledges the clear disparity in the mc’s words and actions, it’s really hard to overlook as the player, and as I said, it kinda changes the tone of the whole game.

You see, during the course of the story the mc ends up establishing a whole bunch of social links: Ryuji, Yusuke, Mishima and even Sojiro are but few of the guys you end up making heartfelt bonds with too. Only problem is, once you go the Lie Route with the girls, the mc hardly comes across as any more honest with the guys – and this is what really puts a spin on his reliability. Everyone’s always going on about what a great guy he is, but none of them know what a quadruple-timing, lying asshole he is at the same time. And why would they? All he does is tell people what they want to hear!

Apparently the devs of Dream Daddy wanted to challenge the notion that this kind of behaviour automatically leads to “good endings” in visual novels, because it only makes the mc seem a little sociopathic. Sure enough, that’s exactly the word I would use to describe how my mc started to come across in all his social interactions in P5. Well, not all, actually; there was one character whose exchanges with the mc came across as genuine even when virtually nothing else did. Yeah, you guessed it: Akechi.

I’m taking a brief interlude here to talk about Akechi, because my social experiment with the mc’s romances actually ended up underlining how similar he and Akechi are as people. It’s what the game hints at continuously with the whole ~two sides of the same coin stuff anyway, but the point really gets hammered home when you repeatedly watch the mc fake his way through life just like Akechi puts on his own double persona (pun not intended). In that sense, it’s only natural that the two would recognize each other as equals, and that their interactions ring more sincere than any other discussion they have in the game.

But back to serial dating, if you will. After Chihaya, I started dating Hifumi the shogi girl, but to be completely honest I sort of mentally fazed her out; with every new girl I tricked into dating me, the initial unease seemed to diminish until I couldn’t remember what had made me feel so disgusted in the first place. I mean, I was already lying to so many people, what did it matter if I lied to one more, right? It’s not like I actually hung out with anyone ever again after I “entered a relationship” with them, and it’s not like my actions carried over to pre-scripted cutscenes, so who cares, right? Nobody (well, apart from a physical game engine) was forcing these girls to believe my bullshit, so really, the fault was theirs for being so gullible, right!!11

…Well, I might have been able to go along with that type of douchebag logic if I’d only kept dating randos. Since I skipped Makoto, the next girl I got cozy with was Futaba… and this is where the skeezy-ville started to nag on my consciousness again, because like with Ann, you know that Futaba’s been through A Lot: she basically spent the past couple of years as a hikikomori, convinced that her mother committed suicide because of her. Trust is a really big thing for her, so throwing a cheating mc into that equation gets really ugly when you think about how he gains that trust just to betray it. When you add in Sojiro, you’re essentially screwing both of them over while pretending to be a happy little family. If you take these events at face value, it kinda makes you wonder: seriously dude, what on earth is your damage?!

If that wasn’t disturbing enough, we finish with Haru. She is also running from one abuser but, if dating a cheating mc, kind of ends up in the arms of another. Although she enters the story fairly late in the game, it’s no less shitty to listen to her be so grateful for your “support”, knowing you’ve sat through variations of this scene with half a dozen other girls already. I just kind of kept staring at the mc’s poker face (pun not intended, again) while wondering how much worse it seems that none of these choices affect anything tangible in the game, even when the whole theme is helping other people (and shitty authority figures, sure, but mainly helping people).

And you know, it’s really that endless poker face that gives the whole thing such a weird ass vibe: this is a 17-year-old kid who’s moved to Tokyo for a year, and ends up constructing a meticulously crafted fake personality that has everyone treating him like the greatest guy on earth. If you perceive this as the intended story (as opposed to the mismatch of a fixed script and optional gameplay choices that it actually is), Persona 5 suddenly becomes a story much darker than its original premise. Who is the real mc, and why is he doing any of this? What is his actual sense of truth and justice, if he spins it so grotesquely to suit his given situation? How troubled does he have to be for this kind of behaviour to emerge, and what caused it?

I know getting busted on Valentine’s Day is played mainly for laughs, but when you put all this together it’s obvious just getting dumped doesn’t even begin to cover the actual consequences of the mc’s actions should have. For the 100% fake personality he’s clearly constructed up until this point, how anyone can still follow him into the depths of Mementos is beyond me. But hey, I know we’re not operating on earth logic here.

Still, as I mentioned, this levels the mc with Akechi a lot – suddenly it’s very hard to condemn Akechi, even in theory, for the route he ended up taking in life, because isn’t the mc basically doing the same thing? Taking advantage of as many people he can to advance his own ends, with the only difference that he ended up on the winning side? Not only that, but it makes it harder to root for the “good guys”, knowing that you’re not a good guy – you’re just some guy with a big enough charm stat to make people follow your fake ideals, whatever those might in reality be.

Personally, I was also surprised at how easy it was to go from “this is horrible I hate this I can’t lie to these girls” to the “eh whatever, I’ve done this long enough that I’ve distanced myself from giving a shit”, then back to “oh shit oh shit this is so wrong” over the course of a single game. I know this sounds like a hyperbole, but in that sense I’m… actually not that surprised at how people find themselves ignoring those same patterns in real life. Which is why it’s so disheartening there’s only one scene dedicated to the consequences; it would be so interesting if there was something more tangible to remind the player that yeah, you’re entitled to picking these options, but it does turn the mc into someone pretty damn messed up.

I mean, damn – by December I’d maxed out all my social links, and suddenly had shit all to do, and because I couldn’t sit through a single fake date with one of my fake ass girlfriends again, I ended up making my mc train every day and night just so I had something to occupy my time between going out and murdering things in Mementos and/or a palace. Watching him do shirtless pull-ups in his room I sorta realized: Oh my god, I turned my mc into a high school version of Patrick Bateman. This game sure took a turn.

So I suppose the point of this story time is that while dating anyone in P5 (and most Persona games, I’d assume) is ultimately only a gameplay element meant for the player’s extra entertainment, sometimes those seemingly superfluous gameplay elements can turn into unintentional story elements – in this case, an experiment of how easily lying to one person turns into lying to everyone, and how sometimes it’s not that easy to tell at what point you stop being genuine at all. Wow, them video games, huh? Always a source of profound inspiration.... or something.

#persona 5 #idk what to tag this #maybe i'll add a new category for my rantings #and call it #story time #ok for the sake of archiving i'll also add #meta