#this could also be called: the one where naoto is absolutely pissed off that no one told him that his son could legitimately be in danger

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

That stuff about anime characters being trans always riles me up because it's such a confusing, stupid thing to say and I don't think they know what they're trying to say either.

Are they saying Tomo wants to transition to being a boy? Because she fucking doesn't. That's the whole fucking point of the series! She's a girl who wants to be seen as girly!

Are they saying Tomo was a boy who transitioned? Because once again that verifiably isn't true. It's not mentioned or implied or even vaguely possible to interpret that as being something that happened.

But it's worse! SO MUCH WORESE that they are either implying Tomo is some kind of poorly passing trans girl, because she's bigger and stronger, which goes absolutely against the whole concept of passing and gender identity and everything these people say they believe in and value... BUT I'VE ALSO SEEN SO MANY QUEER PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPER OBSESSED WITH THE IDEA OF GLORIFYING UGLY TRANS PEOPLE FOR BEING UGLY AND POORLY PASSING

Or or or..... are we supposed to think Tomo is a girl masculine girl that wants to be boy that wants to act girly because she's a trans boy that's gay? Because where the fuck is that coming from?

And I keep seeing this sort of THIS CHARACTER IS TRAAAAAANS stuff happened to so many characters like Deku and Bakugou and Link and Samus of course and Naoto (but not Chie I guess!) and all of these other characters that are just slightly outside of their gender roles and these people can't explain what they mean or what it's supposed to entail! They're just obsessed with the idea that breaking a gender stereotype in any way makes a character TRANS in some non-specific way and it drives me totally fucking insane because it doesn't make ANY sense!!!!

So for me specifically when it comes to calling any character trans, especially now a days, in any medium whatsoever, it denies and erases culture.

I'll explain. Japan specifically doesn't have a very large trans population. And it's not because they are "oppressed" it's because over there if you are believe you are trans rather than rush to transition you like lunatics, they do their job and put you into therapy. Why? Because being trans should not be a trend. Being trans should not be a fad. Being trans is what it's always been which is a mental illness stemming from extreme body dysphoria. As such being "Transgender" or as it was known previously, being "Transsexual". was a mental illness under the classifications of the WHO.

However in the last 5-10 years they rescinded that classification. Not because they no long view it as a mental illness. No. But because they wanted people who were trans to stop being, "Stigmatized". The irony behind this having been done was that for actual people who were trans, their insurance no longer covered their transitions. The WHO actually screwed over the entire trans population in one sweeping move.

But more than that, many people were also pissed, myself included, because removing something as a mental illness classification was damaging 3 fold. How?

The above reason about cutting off insurance.

It basically said, "If something is a mental illness we should actually continue to stigmatize it hence why we are removing it"

And it pushed an impossible standard, where now ANYTHING could be removed as a mental illness, just because it is, "Stigmatized". Like say Bipolar disorder. Or maybe Psychopathy. Extreme cases of OCD. Turrets. Literally anything that is stigmatized could be removed from classifications, AND be subject to the above two problems all over again. Specifically number 1. Losing the ability to have insurance treat it.

But my over arching issue with calling anime characters trans is again that it ignores Japanese culture. Hell it ignores most cultures on earth. Consider this. A girl is born and in the womb she was exposed to high levels of testosterone. And when she is born, she ends up taller and slightly more masculine than other girls. If you tell her that she is a boy you are doing 2 things.

You are telling girls that they are not allowed to act outside of YOUR definition of feminine. And you are saying that because she does NOT match your exact definition of feminine, she'd be better off as a man. Or maybe she sees that as you telling her unless she transitions, (a process including a life of body altering chemicals that you can never stop taking, but also likely a life of body altering surgeries and potential of many complications in the future, as well as the inability to ever have kids, or to ever actually enjoy sex.) she will never be happy or find someone who loves her.

People don't have any clue how damaging that is. And of course they don't. Detransitioners are growing in number by the day and the internet PURGES them. They are bad for Big Pharma of course they are purged. Can't let those, ugly, clearly bigoted detransitioners ruin your ability to sterilize the youth am I right? :D

My sarcasm aside, imagine how upsetting it must be for a girl growing up now. Imagine being like Tomo from the manga and anime. Could you imagine what it does to your psyche when everyone tells you that a character similar you isn't a girl. And not for any valid reasons. But because they decided, "Oh well she doesn't match what I PERSONALLY view as a girl, so she's a man actually". WHO THE ACTUAL FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE to tell others what is and isn't allowed to be feminine and masculine?

Who the fuck are you to decide what being trans is?! Because I can tell you what it's not. It's not a boy that likes to wear makeup sometimes. It's not a girl that happens to like wearing jeans. It's not a drag queen. It's not a girl that likes to keep her hair short. NONE of those things MAKE you trans. You know what does? Extreme and RARE cases of gender dysphoria. And I'm sorry to tell you, that's NOT all of a sudden 30%-50% of the population. This new shit? It's social contagion. It's girls being forced to see only fans models other types of models all day every day on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and over platforms. And when you have to compare yourself to THAT all day every day? Yeah I can see how some girls would be like, "You know maybe life as a man would be better."

Never you mind that 70%+ of Females that say they are trans are either on the spectrum, OR later realize they are lesbians. Or both. Kind of makes me feel like modern trans activists are honestly just fucking homophobes. Because I guess it's not gay if you are trying to be the opposite sex.

Long story short, In the 90's and 00's there was a war waged on gender norms. People were tired of girls being called too manly or boys being called too feminine. And yet now that's not only exactly what we are telling them, but we are also pushing sex change surgery on them if they are those things. So we not only brought back gender norms. There is a radical sect of people ENFORCING IT through indoctrination and love bombing.

And I WILL be called transphobic for this post and you know what? I don't care. Because I know I'm not. And forgive me for not wanting my friends to be lapdogs and bitches to big pharma for the rest of their lives, because some moron on Tumblr told them they are not allowed to exist as they are, because they are not feminine enough.

FUCK YOU you homophobic, misogynistic piece of shit. (Not directed at you anon. Directed at the person that made the "Tomo is trans" post)

[bravelywego]

An Important Conversation

@ribbedxgloves

Summary: Naoto, for once, was locked out of the loop and has a lot to catch up on. ALSO known as: Naoto learns too late about literally everything that has happened so far and this will not stand any longer.

Takes place after Kamiizumi was shot, but before he was released from the hospital.

“I should be extremely pissed right now.”

“Father—”

“Fuck it, I’m pissed!”

“I think this is the first time I’ve heard you swear.”

“Please don’t deflect our important conversation right now, Nobutsuna!” Naoto huffed, glaring at Kamiizumi across the hospital room. Nobutsuna Kamiizumi sat up in his hospital bed with a sheepish, but guilty expression on his face as his dead father stared at him. “Do you realize how dangerous this was!? Everything involving the Sword of the Brave—I could have helped if you asked me!”

“I thought you knew the gist of what was going on!” Kamiizumi protested as best as he could, shaking his head. “Did Sean not tell you anything about the fact that my therapist could possibly be a demon and that he sent a team to stalk her and the others she as associated with?”

“He did tell me the beginning bits, and I knew about him and Sadira sending stalkers to Lavinia, Felix, Eden and Arganan, but I didn’t know that Faye was actually back. Plus, I didn’t know that one of her associates is a man that died two-hundred years ago called Cassandra Gladstone is possessing Max’s body, of all things!” A shudder spread throuhg Naoto’s spine at that. “I really hope for my sake that Cassandra doesn’t know a thing about Max back when he was alive...not sure how possessing a dead body would work.”

“I don’t know, either.” At least with Azami accidentally being bonded to Janne, both of them were conscious beings even with Azami being dead. Max’s body was an empty shell with Cassandra’s spirit in it, which seemed much more dangerous. What if Cassandra had both Max’s powers and his own back from two-hundred years ago? What then?

“If he remembers anything about Max’s life before he died while stuck in that body, that also means he’ll remember the regrettable game of strip poker I had with Max before he died.” Naoto muttered, pacing around the room. That part just sounded...ugh. No. “I don’t want to have to explain that to him if we ever meet!”

Kamiizumi had a feeling that yes, Naoto probably WOULD have to explain that at some point. “Well, Cassandra promised to work with us, as far as I heard from the others...or rather, Lavinia forced him to or else she’d kill him, so.” 

“I will say, she was quite smart sneaking in the way she did. Pretending to be a human...she and Felix could be more dangerous than anyone.” Naoto shook his head lightly. “They might be allies for now, but...”

“You don’t trust them?” Kamiizumi frowned.

Naoto sighed, looking him in the eye. “She was a fake therapist, ‘Tsuna. Do you honestly think I would trust her, her husband, their mutual lover and Eden?”

“...fair point.” Even Kamiizumi knew it was bit, er, unhelpful for gaining trust. “But she actually did help me with a few things, so I suppose the therapy wasn’t entirely wasted. She still offered to do sessions for free after we found out she was an archdemon!”

“Let’s...sort that out after we figure out how to stop Faye and everything. Plus, Apollymi has a new boyfriend and no one told me?” Naoto looked towards Nobutsuna with a raised brow. “Is he nice?”

Kamiizumi nodded quickly. “Very nice. Extremely different from Geist, though—he doesn’t know a thing about fighting, is extremely new to the supernatural forces that we all know about, and he doesn’t have any supernatural ability of his own.”

Naoto couldn’t stop himself from smiling at that. “Eidolon told me that the poor man tried to hit him with a frying pan when they first met, before apologizing profusely after realizing who he was.”

“What?” That was new news to Kamiizumi’s ears. “I didn’t know that.”

“Eidolon just visited him the other day while Apollymi wasn’t around. That’s how they met. I don’t blame him for doing so, considering the bond he shares with her despite her and Geist breaking up...” Naoto moved to sit down in a chair by Kamiizumi’s bedside. “But really, next time—PLEASE let me know if you need help. And preferably before you get yoruself hospitalized again! You have a wedding coming up, too.”

“Right.” Kamiizumi offered his father a soft smile. “I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”

“Of course you will.” Naoto smiled back. “Because you’re my son. I know you will.”

#ribbedxgloves #Lingering Ties (AU verse) #drabble #this could also be called: the one where naoto is absolutely pissed off that no one told him that his son could legitimately be in danger #AND HE IS MIFFED XD #kamiizumi: i promise i'll let you know if things are getting complicated #naoto: PLEASE do. aaaa

[ravenoftheskyes]

Personas, Wildcards, and Families. (Part 1)

(AN: Time to start writing again! This is supposed to go to with my Mako-Fam fic that’s up on my blog, but it’s not necessary to read it to read this one. Once again, inspired by the Mako-Fam au on @thieves-in-the-palace’s blog. Also still a bunch of ships. Not gonna tag them all this time. This is gonna be Multipart Bc I kinda hit the paragraph limit.)

Makoto walks into her home, exhausted after a day of running around in Kaneshiro’s palace. The thieves were close to the treasure. A bit more and they could send the calling card. Makoto walked into her room and immediately fell asleep on the bed.

The next morning was luckily a Sunday. Ren had said they weren’t going into the palace today, citing the fact that it was Ryuji’s birthday and he needed to hang out with his boyfriend. Sae was out and Makoto was alone. Until she heard a knock at the door. She walked over and opened the door to reveal...

Akihiko Sanada, Chie Satonaka, and Naoto Shirogane. According to most people, the two officers and the detective were the best trio you could have on a case. Smart, Courageous, and Strong. However, Makoto knew them as her family. She stepped aside to let them in.

“Hm, Teddie’s here too?” She asked them, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah...” Chie said, trailing off at the end.

“It’s beary quiet in here!” Teddie said to absolutely no one. Bless him and his talent for bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.

Small discussions grew and the house was filled with conversation and laughter. Teddie walked off to take a call from Yosuke.

“Yosuke and Sensei said that there was something important we had to talk about!” Teddie exclaimed.

Akihiko, Chie, and Naoto knew that it was probably some Shadow Operatives stuff, or something else important, but they hesitated to leave Makoto alone in the house. They knew how it felt to feel alone.

“Go. I’ll be fine.” Makoto said to them, not dulling their worries. But they had to go. So they did.

“We’ll be back soon.” Naoto promised the girl.

Makoto wanted to tell them everything. About how her persona made her feel. About everything they did.

Little did she know, there was a discussion going on.

Teddie walked over to a table.

“She’s awakened to her persona! My nose knows!” Teddie said to the rest of the Shadow Operatives.

“What did we tell you?” Minako said.

“How did you three know?” Mitsuru asked the Wildcards.

“Those labyrinth things we told you about. She was there, in the second one.” Minato said, for once not half-asleep.

Ken piped up from the back, asking about why only they remembered the labyrinths.

“Wildcard magic.” Yu said, and everyone accepted the answer.

“The real question is, how do we talk to her about it? Only other persona users understand personas. She isn’t going to tell us about it.” Akihiko says.

“...I don’t think they’ve gotten their permanent Navigator yet. It’s a bit too early to talk about them with her.” Yu says to the teams.

And so they agree to wait a few months. To let her team gain strength. To have her increase her bonds. Let her connection with Johanna get stronger. Let Queen rise to the occasion.

A couple of months pass. Futaba, Haru, and Goro join the team. Makoto and Johanna get better. They all agree that it’s time to reveal their Personas to her.

They come to Makoto’s house during a bad point. Sae’s doing her whole win/lose thing again. Sae hasn’t been acting right for a couple of years now.

“It’s either a win or lose, Makoto! You can’t lose!” Sae yells out to her sister.

“Sis! Calm down, please!” Makoto yells back, desperation evident in her voice.

Chie, Akihiko, and Naoto rush in.

“Sae! Calm down!” Chie yells out.

“She needs to learn! She’s not going to make her way in this world without knowing that losing is to be avoided!”

“But, Sae! Losing is inevitable! You aren’t going to win everything!” Naoto yells out.

The air becomes tense. It seems to be crackling with electricity. And did it just get colder in here?

“What do you know?! Everyone loves you! You’re winning 24/7!” Sae screams out.

The three of them get flashbacks to the fear during foggy days and full moons. To feeling hopeless and yet, continuing to fight.

“We’re not winning all the time.” Akihiko says to her, as he remembers October 4th, where his best friend, his brother, his rock since Miki’s death, fell into a coma that he wasn’t supposed to recover from.

“We lose a lot more than you think.” Chie whispers, as she remembers her shadow. How it said she only kept Yukiko around for her looks. How it said she didn’t really love her.

“It takes losses to get a win.” Naoto mutters, at a barely hearable level. She remembers Heaven, Nanako’s little place in the TV World. How it broke everyone, little by little when the girl died.

But then they remembered how Shinjiro woke up from the coma, how Chie’s shadow helped her save Yukiko, how Nanako came back to life.

How Nyx and Izanami were defeated. Even if for a few months, the Arisato Twins had to die. Even if for a few moments, the entire Investigation Team sacrificed themselves for their leader. Things worked out for them, because they were willing to take losses for the wins. Adachi, Takaya, Ikutski, Namatame... inconsequential at this point.

Until Sae screams out.

“What have you lost?! Don’t try to patronize me by telling me you’ve lost things too! Get out! And don’t come back!”

Okay, the air isn’t just crackling anymore. Makoto can feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. And seriously, when did it get so cold in here?

The three of them leave, not wanting to make things worse. Naoto pulls her phone out of her pocket, ever so slightly. Makoto gets it. Text them later.

And then Sae says that Makoto isn’t allowed to contact them anymore. She should just forget about them.

But Makoto’s a phantom thief now. She’s not going to go down so easily.

The next day, she asks Ren if she could borrow his phone. Ren gives it to her.

To: Naoto Shirogane

Ren: Aunt Nao, it’s Makoto. Sae said I couldn’t contact you anymore.

Naoto: ALRIGHT, I’LL TELL EVERYONE ELSE.

Ren: Class is about to start, so I have to go.

Naoto: WE’LL FIGURE THIS OUT. DON’T WORRY.

Makoto hands Ren his phone back, and bolts to class. She makes it with a few seconds to spare.

Now, Naoto’s at the police station. She switches text conversations.

To: Persona Losers

Naoto: WHO CHANGED THE GROUPCHAT NAME THIS TIME?

Yosuke: naoto stp txtin lik that.

Yu: Partner, your texting isn’t any better.

Yosuke: cmon ptnr

Minato: I’ve got a class going on, text fast.

Naoto: SAE SAID THAT MAKOTO COULD NOT TALK TO US ANYMORE.

Minako: Oh no.

Minato: Minako, you’re supposed to be watching my class?

Minako: Right, sorry!

Junpei: btw I changed the gc name

Yukari: I’m telling Mitsuru.

Junpei: wait no

Yukari: Too late, my beautiful wife is pissed.

Yukiko: Do you have to bring up the fact that you’re with your wife at every turn? I’m home in Inaba while my gf’s in Tokyo and I miss her.

Chie: I miss you too...

Akihiko: Back to the point at hand.

Minato: What, you don’t miss me?

Akihiko: Babe, this isn’t the time.

Minato: I know.

Minato: Oh, I’ve got to go.

Minato: Bye <3.

Naoto: I SHOULD GO AS WELL. GOODBYE.

Yosuke: bye u 2.

Akihiko: skshdjshshsisj

Chie: I can’t believe you killed Akihiko

Naoto pockets her phone, and walks over to Akihiko and Chie.

“So, can’t handle affection?” Chie teases a red-faced Akihiko.

“Shut UP. Can we get back to the point?” He replies.

“As much as I’d love to join in on the teasing, he’s right. We need to talk about Makoto.” Naoto joins in on the conversation.

“Yeah, how are we supposed to talk to her now?” Chie asks.

“We could... wait for her to tell us?” Naoto mutters.

“Naoto, are you kidding me? She doesn’t know we have personas. She thinks we’re not going to believe her.” Akihiko says to her.

“Okay but how do we do either? Sae’s cut off all communication.” Chie interjects.

“Rise or Fuuka?” Naoto asks.

“Rise’s on a tour and Fukka’s on special assignment back home.” Akihiko tells the detective.

“What about Mitsuru or Teddie?” Chie asks.

“They’re also busy.” Naoto says to her.

“...Teddie’s busy?” Chie says, shocked.

“Yosuke’s making him work double-shifts back home to pay for all the topsicles he’s been eating.” Naoto says, stifling a giggle.

“Wait... can’t we just talk to her on the way to school?” Akihiko whispers.

“...”

“Why didn’t we think of that?!” Chie exclaims.

The next day...

Makoto walks off the train, meeting with Ren to have a quick conversation.

“Hey, Makoto!” Chie yells out as they get close to her.

“Oh, hey! You want to talk right now?” Makoto asked them.

“We know you have school soon, but we have to tell you something. Could you come over to the place we’re staying after school?” Naoto asked them.

“Sure...” Makoto replied, feeling a bit nervous.

Makoto walked over to the small house where they were staying for the week while they worked on the case. She walked in, still feeling apprehensive. The Okumura incident had just happened, and they were cops. What if they realized that Makoto was a Phantom Thief?

“Makoto, we need to talk to you about something.” Naoto said, at a table in the middle of the living room.

Oh, no Makoto thought to herself. She’s been busted.

“Tomoe” Chie said to Makoto.

“What?”

“Tomoe, my Initial Persona’s name.” Chie told her.

“WHAT?!” Makoto screamed out.

“Sukuna-Hikona”

“Polydeuces”

“SERIOUSLY?! I’VE BEEN WANTING TO TELL YOU ABOUT JOHANNA FOR MONTHS NOW!” Makoto continued screaming.

After a while, Makoto chilled out.

“So, where do you go to fight Shadows?” Akihiko asked her.

“You guys don’t go to the Metaverse?” She asked them.

“No, Akihiko went to a place called Tartarus, and Chie and I went to the TV world.” Naoto replied.

“Wait... so the stories about the Tower at Midnight and the TV murderer... those were your persona exploits?”

“Yes” the three of them spoke in unison.

“So all those weird names... they were the names of everyone’s personas?”

“Yes!”

“Quick question, Lucia is who’s persona?”

“Fuuka’s.” Akihiko told her.

“So... should I take you to the metaverse?” She asked them.

“We’d appreciate it.” Naoto told her.

And so Naoto takes the three into Mementos.

“It’s very... red.” Chie supplies, unhelpfully.

“Whoa, what happened to your clothes?!” Naoto yelled out.

“Your clothes don’t change?” Makoto asked them. “Then how do you summon your personas?”

“How do you summon yours?” Akihiko asked.

“Oh, like this.” She said, as she removed her mask to reveal Johanna. “By the way, this is the Metaverse. Call me Queen. That’s my codename.”

“Well, Queen, we summon our personas in... other ways. It’ll be easier to show you.” Naoto tells her.

Naoto and Chie pull out a pair of glasses each, as Akihiko pulls out... a gun?

“Polydeuces!”

“Tomoe!”

“Sukuna-Hikona!”

They each summon their personas. Makoto stands there, shocked. And then one idea pops into her head.

“So, the ones from the TV world are the only ones that don’t have edgy summoning sequences?”

“Yes” Naoto tells her. “It’s kind of disturbing how the Phantom Thieves and SEES summon their personas.”

“It’s to signify acceptance of death, Naoto.”

“Still concerning, Akihiko.”

“I mean, the mask is supposed to signify your true self and how you break free from society’s way of saying what you are.” Makoto interjects.

“Still freaky!” Chie yells out.

“Wait... why did you summon your initial personas? Why not your ultimates?” Makoto asks.

“We’d rather show them off in a battle!” Chie yells out.

And then they see a shadow.

“It’s been too long since we’ve done this.” Naoto smirks, as she gets her gun ready.

“Yeah!” Akihiko and Chie scream out in unison.

Makoto goes for the attack.

Two High Pixies.

The battle goes by smoothly, and Makoto makes a mental note of their elements.

“What?! Why did that look like a persona our leaders could summon?!” Chie yells out.

“You mean your leaders don’t recruit personas by negotiating with them?”

“No, just fighting Hableries and Mayas.” Naoto cuts in.

“...What?” Makoto asks

“You... don’t know what a Hablerie or a Maya is?” Akihiko asks her, shocked.

“No, we fight shadows like Pixie or Bicorn...”

“Wait... what... so your Wildcard gains new personas by negotiating with these shadows and they just enter his heart?” Naoto says, with a perplexed look on her face.

“Yeah. How do your leaders get them?”

“Uh, our leaders just say a bunch of Tarot Cards appear in front of their faces and they choose as many as the weird voice allows them...” Chie says.

“That’s... weird”

“We know” the three of them say in unison.

And then chains start rattling.

“We should get off this floor...” Makoto mutters

“Definitely.” Akihiko says.

“What’s the problem? So, the reaper’s in a treasure chest.” Chie adds.

“Looks like the reaper follows Tartarus’s rules here.” Akihiko says.

And then the sense of dread meaning the reaper’s close by comes.

“Run!” Makoto yells, and they all take off towards the stairs.

After three dead ends and almost getting caught twice, they finally make it to the stairs.

“God, I miss the Monabus at times like these.”

“The what?” Naoto asks her.

“Uh... one of our team members is an anthropomorphic cat that insists he’s not a cat and he can turn into a van.”

“Oh. So a mascot.” Chie says “Kind of like Teddie or Koromaru.

“What about Teddie? And Koromaru has a persona?!” Makoto says.

“Teddie’s not actually a method actor. He’s a weird mascot bear suit shadow that grew a body. We don’t get it either.” Naoto supplies.

“And uh, yeah. Koromaru has a persona too. He can’t talk or anything. He’s just a dog.” Akihiko tells her.

“...Damn. Next thing you’re going to tell me Aigis is actually a robot.” Makoto said with a chuckle.

“She is.” Akihiko tells her.

“...What?”

“Aigis is actually a robot” Naoto says.

“Anything else I should know?!” Makoto yells out, which was probably a bad idea considering they were in the middle of Mementos.

“All those crazy stories we told you? Cover stories. Yu and Yosuke did not meet shopping for a TV. They met on the first day that Yu was in Inaba, at school and a couple days later, He, Yosuke, and I fell into the TV world and met Teddie.” Chie tells her.

“...I’m surprised you didn’t spill any of this when you took Goro, Ken, and I to Karaoke and got wasted.” Makoto said.

“Don’t remind me, the hangover was terrible.” Naoto stated, clutching her head.

“Didn’t Ken film everything...?” Akihiko asked her.

“Yeah. I have the video. So does Goro. ‘Blackmail Material’ as he called it. I’m just planning to use it whenever you try to act like mature adults.” Makoto says, stifling a giggle.

“What was the highlight?” Chie asked.

“It’s a tie between Teddie getting wasted and trying to score with everyone there and you and Yukiko forgetting you’ve been dating for the past 5 years and kinda just... getting together.” Makoto says.

“...How much did we drink?!” Chie yells out.

“Just know that Minato, Minako, and Yu are very sappy drunks.” Makoto says.

“Wow, wildcard squad actually shows some emotion?” Chie jokes.

“Wait. Minato, Minako, and Yu are the wildcards?” Makoto asks her.

“Yes, they are.” Naoto tells her.

“...So that’s why I was getting a similar vibe from them and Ren.”

“Ren... so that’s the name of your leader?” Naoto asks.

“Yeah, do the Wildcards always lead?” Makoto replies.

“Yeah. They’ve just got this natural charisma that makes everyone fall in love with them. They’re insanely flirty if you give them the chance to be.” Chie tells her.

“So it’s not just Ren. Wildcards are just gigantic dorks that can make you fall in love with them at the drop of a hat.”

“Yes!”

“Aren’t some of the personas they can summon kind of... concerning?” Makoto asks them.

“...We just ignore them.” Naoto tells her.

“We should probably get back soon, shouldn’t we?” Makoto asks them.

“You’re right, time passes here too.” Chie says.

“There’s no limit on how long you can spend in here, right?” Akihiko asked.

“Nope, just that all the time you spend in here translates into the real world. We came in at 8:24. Sis is going to be really upset if I don’t show up soon.” Makoto said.

“She’s right. As fun as it is fighting shadows in a new place, we can’t risk burning ourselves out.” Naoto mutters. “Not to mention Sae.”

“Yeah. I should get home. See you guys later!” Makoto tells them.

Makoto leaves Mementos, and turns to go home before realizing she has one more question.

“When did you three get your personas?” She asks them.

“Third year of middle school.” Akihiko tells her

“First year of high school.” Naoto speaks.

“Second year of high school.” Chie states.

“So, all before me, huh? I got mine in June of this year.”

“That just means you’re more ready for it.” Naoto tells her with a smile.

“Yeah. Wait, does Ken have a persona?”

“Yeah. He got it in elementary school.” Akihiko tells her.

“That young?!” Makoto screams out. After she comes to terms with the fact that literally everyone in her family besides her sister has a persona, she waves goodbye and walks home.

“Where have you been?” Sae asks her.

“Isn’t that Uncle Akihiko’s line?” Makoto quips.

“Don’t talk about him. Right now, all I’m focusing on is the Phantom Thieves. We’ve got intel that they’ll be infiltrating somewhere soon.”

Makoto makes sure she doesn’t visibly flinch. She knows the plan, but it still scares her. She still can’t believe Goro betrayed them. Betrayed her. His heart’s turned bitter. He’s done unforgivable things. And now he’s planning to kill Ren.

God, I should call Haru tonight... Makoto thought to herself. She needed her sweet, fluffy, girlfriend’s help to deal with everything tonight.

To: Haru Okumura

Makoto: Hello.

Haru: Hello.

Makoto: So you remember how I told you about those crazy adults that are pretty much my family?

Haru: Yes, I remember.

Makoto: They’re Persona users. All of them.

Haru: Wait, seriously?

Makoto: Yeah. I just took them into the metaverse and they summoned their personas easily.

Haru: How long have they had them?

Makoto: Since they were in high school.

Haru: Do any of them use axes?

Makoto: Yeah, Uncle Shinji.

Haru: I’ll have to “axe” him some questions.

Makoto: Haru... Please...

Haru: That was good, and you know it!

Makoto: Fine. I’ve got to go now, though. Got to get to sleep. Night, babe!

Haru: Night, Mako-chan!

Makoto stayed awake in her bed for a while. Her mind was flooded with information. They were going to infiltrate Sae’s palace on the 20th. Ren would be captured. She decided to go to the shrine tommorow. For this plan to work, the thieves would need all the help they could get.

Finally, the 20th arrived.

Joker, ever the showoff. Jumps out a stained glass window. Gets caught. Now the waiting.

...The waiting’s always the hardest part.

Makoto relaxes. Thinking that Ren had never let them down before. He won’t let them down this time.

...Right?

Makoto’s phone starts to ring.

#makoto niijima #akihiko sanada #naoto shirogane #chie satonaka #persona 5 #long post #im too lazy to tag all the ships lol