#but yeah play with izanagi it’s SO funny

[m0e-ru]

I want to bring this into your perspective and see if you agree with it. Because I've been thinking and wanted some thoughts and from other people. Everything in Persona is controlled by the Human Mind (like P3-5 because idk P1-P2 ;n;) Didn't everything come into existence because its what humans desired? In this case everything like the gods are personifications of what humans wished for (spending on the game except P3 because thats actually god of death)

spoilers for every 4 and 5 base game and spinoff

anon darling sweet this has literally been my brainrot for the past year

(I don't know how long this'll get since im tired but hey! I'll stuff things under the cut)

I'm particularly focused on 4 and 5 as seen in above, so my interpretations will be based on that fact as i have yet to play 1 nor 2, while 3 is unfortunately blurry to me (SAYS THE ONE WHO WATCHED A 10 HOUR CUTSCENE COMPILATION ON 4X SPEED. but i understand that nyx herself is. uh. an alien--an actual god. a /gets run over before i continue making more assumptions/)

As the gist of it, yeah! Human collectives desired one thing so much that it gave birth to a godly power, the so-called "Deities" of the Persona series.

"Deities," born of the collective human unconscious, are manifested from the cognition of what said collective unconscious has for the god of the same name.

Izanami was draped in white and was actually a corpse with burnt flesh hanging from bones underneath. Just like the myth where Izanami was a lot more attractive before she died and was rotting away in Yomi.

Kagutsuchi is, well, an entity of fire from the myth's god of fire (who also burned Izanami to death haha), deciding to burn things down to answer the desire for solitude

Mikuratana has the motif of magatamas on its wrists, similar to the myth where it was literally just Izanagi's necklace.

Unfortunately I have not much to say for the 5 deities with their gnostic myth and lovecraftian lore, so I only assume they manifest the same way from my observation.

That being said! No! None of these guys are reincarnations! Make all the "fighting my ex in front of the gas station" jokes all you want, that's not your ex! Izanagi is also a manifestation of the human heart in the form of a Persona inspired by bancho's thoughts of the myth's Izanagi which is why is looks kickass and has a funny coat. They've literally just manifested with the same name (their forms being inspired from however the human unconscious thinks of said mythological figure resulting to their appearance manifested)! The joke gets bland overtime, okay?? I don't even know how you people actually genuinely believe the reincarnation bullshit--but anywho

For this reason and as personal preference, I'd rather refer to them as "deities" as opposed to "gods" in discussion, as I reserve that term for figures they're inspired by. But yeah, more casually you'll see me toss terms around.

Deities out of the way, then there's the "world of the human unconscious." Said to "have always existed," "be born from human hearts," "be affected by human hearts," "exist within humans themselves."

In 4's case, the human unconscious had always been a lush and vibrant forest filled with life. Just like how Teddie remembered it being, before human desire grew out of bounds and turned it into the "hollow forest." In this case, it became devoid of life as fog engulfed it, all for the sake of keeping the Shadows at peace when their desires changed and they wouldn't stay calm unless their vision was obscured from the truth.

(This is mind, I am speaking without Golden's "Hollow Forest" which I would rather refer to as "Marie's Tomb" to make things clearer. And because I honestly saw it as a poor attempt to connect Marie to Izanami when it was just... unnecessary and lore shattering and baababababa you get the point.)

Following this, it also reconstructed itself as a TV station. All for Shadow selves to manifest and broadcast themselves through the Midnight Channel. Human desire at the time being, "Humans ache to expose their suppressed sides, while the prying eyes around them are curious to see them laid bare," after all.

Don't ask me what happened in Arena--in fact, lore was thrown around like a poor marketable plushie where it might've been thrown out the window at this point. Spinoffs have their charms...and their bullshit.

However, while Inaba's world of the human unconscious was clearly shown its "before" and "after" it was corrupted by bloated desire to hide the truth (base) and the wish for self preservation and solitude (arena), Tokyo and the rest of Japan's state of the unconscious was never shown, as no one's been able to return when their access to that world has been restricted.

But recalling the fact it "has always existed in human hearts" may imply it wasn't all organic and...bloody. Just like Inaba's forest never being so foggy--or the fact it turned into something other than a forest at all.

Now! Why do I say "Inaba," and "Tokyo," ("Japan" too, I suppose), and possibly "Metropolis" as that's where 4's Dancing took place (the one Bancho, Rise and Naoto stay in, in context of the IT), separately?

Referencing the Golden Premium Funbook's Persona Team comments, each "collective" has its own world and can give birth to a deity. Which means that the "TV world (the forest)" is Inaba's unconscious, and the "Metaverse" and "Palace" nonsense is Toyko's (ayayayaya I can talk about how I see Strikers' lore in all this but NOT NOW im so sorry). The TV world can only be accessed in Inaba because it exists there.

I can say a lot more about the "human unconscious" like how the Midnight Channel works, or how deities are the ones to bestow access to their respective worlds of their human unconscious but I'll leave it here for now! Like I said, I'm heavily rotted with 4, then 5, but not so much 3 and nothing of 1 or 2, as seen in this interpretation. But thanks for asking for my thoughts! I'm happy to share! (and constantly go on several tangents and forget my main points WHOOPS but yeah!! i have thoughts. my brain is. brimming. with 4 thoughts.)

#persona 4 spoilers #persona 4 #persona 5 spoilers #persona 5 royal #persona 5 strikers spoilers #p4 #p5 #p5r #p5s #sulululat #pagsususuri #assk #anon #//yeAHHH this was part of the now defunct iznmipedia im so sorry to that poor project i'll just be ranting when i want to lol #//also yeah!! thats vl behind the scenes hehe idk omisan looked funny fdjsaebfgvsd #//you can find my (bad) tls of the funbook somewhere in my blog i am...too lazy to lookfor it rn lol #//sorry if i sound salty idk ive been peeved about the community's widely understood fanon which im not meant to argue with bc.people #//yeahyeah poor storytelling or whatever bah i dont want to fight. see what you want to see or whatever mimi said #//but yeah say thanks to this anon for accessing this part of my brain ily nonnie

[telehxhtrash]

How important do you think religious imagery and themes will be in the future of HxH? I know you've pointed it out with Kurapika and mentioned some stuff in that last ask, but now I'm super curious. I might be misremembering, but wasn't the testing gate at the Zoldyck mansion also called "the gate to hell"?

I think religious imagery has always been important in HxH! There are a lot of things that are rooted in religious imagery, off the top of my head there’s Kurapika with a lot of his religious symbolism, there’s also Ging that encompasses buddhist philosophy, obviously Chrollo Lucilfer and his 12 apostles followers, Hisoka posing as the “Judas”, I think I read that Chimera Ant Arc’s story was based on something religious but I honestly can’t remember where I read this so take this with a grain of salt, there’s the whole Gon being reborn and saved by Alluka, Togashi also represented the Royal Guards on one of the volume covers using religious imagery (i can’t find the post i’m sorry!!) and the most important one to me so far is the entire Succession War arc that’s just religious symbolism galore, from Morena to Tserriednich to the general plot itself.

I promise I’ll make a post on this because I really really want to go over this, but I think religious imagery and themes are gonna be extra important this arc. I’m pretty sure the plot of succession war follows so closely St Brendan’s story that it’s possible to foreshadow the plot and outcome of the arc based solely on the religious imagery Togashi used. I don’t have the brainpower to go into detail rn, but if everything goes to plan, I should be able to finish writing it soon. But based on a few things, I think religious themes will help us predict the plot of succession war!! 

I think religious imagery and themes in HxH are meant to sort of highlight the narrative of the story : healing, second chances, growth, rebirth. I think Togashi is picking religious symbolism to sort of elevate those themes and emphasize them if that makes sense? Religious imagery is usually used in HxH as a way to highlight the positive message of the narrative. It’s sort of like a second layer to emphasize the message of the story to me. Idk if that makes a lot of sense HAHA but yeah that + it’s also there to sort of be a basis for the plot of the current arc. But once again, if my theory on Kurapika’s fate is right (i promise ill write the post cuz i probably dont make a lot of sense rn), then the symbolism would be here to highlight the narrative of rebirth.

As for the testing gates, yes!! The guide says the gates are also called “the Gates to Hades”, and in japanese, 黄泉への扉, “yomi he no tobira”, “the gate to Yomi”. In Japanese culture, from my quick wikipedia search, Yomi is the land of the dead. It’s not Heaven, it’s not Hell, it’s the Underworld. This is where the deads go, and unlike Hell, they aren’t punished for their past sins, they just.... keep on rotting there forever. It’s the place where you go after you die no matter your past actions. The deads keep on living a gloomy and sad existence forever. So it’s not really religious imagery, but sort of cultural imagery? Kind of like Tanabata! I think it was meant to highlight that the place Killua is going back to is a dark terrible place, where if he stays, he’ll live a meaningless, gloomy, empty and aimless life forever. This denomination is meant to enhance the idea that the Zoldyck Mansion is a terrible place where Killua would keep on rotting forever.

I’m not too knowledgeable on this since literally all I’m saying about Yomi comes from a 10min google search but it’s interesting to note that this idea of reunification is also present in Yomi’s lore, since in legend, the god Izanagi undertook a journey to Yomi in hopes of retrieving the goddess Izanami that was rotting there. So culturally speaking, when Togashi compares the Zoldyck Mansion to Yomi, he also redirects japanese readers to this lore and this idea of someone undertaking a journey to bring someone else back from there, just like what Gon is doing!

Also, I’m not good at Greek mythology at all, so this is also the result of my googling skills once again, but it’s worth mentioning that Yomi is oftentimes translated as Hades, and Viz used this translation.

So this also takes us to Greek mythology, where there’s also a similar story involving Hades and a journey to the underworld... Orpheus and Eurydice’s story. I’ll let you read on the details if you’re unfamiliar with it, but basically, Orpheus took at trip to the underworld to save his wife Eurydice. Anyone would’ve died doing so, but Orpheus is protected by the Gods and managed to make it through various life-threatening situations. So while Orpheus didn’t manage to save Eurydice, there are still some elements that are similar to Gon and Killua’s situation in their story. It’s also funny to note that the greek underworld is kept by a three headed dog, Cerberus, just like the Zoldyck Mansion is protected by Mike, a huge dog, and there are also 2 other dogs guarding the Mansion. (seen on chapter 323)

And I love that this is intertwined with the Tanabata legend as well, the reunification of lovers.

So I’d say when it comes to the testing gates, Togashi played with japanese lore and greek mythology to reinforce the idea of taking a journey to save someone and being reunited after a rough journey. He managed to weave together Greek lore with the notion of the Underworld and Orpheus & Eurydice’s story and Japanese lore with Izanagi’s journey to save Izanami from Yomi and finally Tanabata, the legend of two lovers reunited by birds (Canary :3) after being separated.

I got kind of carried away but I guess my point is that Togashi loves to play with cultural and religious references to bring a second layer and emphasize his narrative, which is something that I greatly admire!! 

Thank you so much for this ask I learned a lot about Japanese and Greek lore, so this was fun !! This was a bit messy so I’m thinking of maybe properly writing a post on the lores of the testing gates and how they intertwine because this is very interesting. I had no idea this was a thing until you sent me this ask and I had to look at Japanese scans!! So thank you!! I’ll definitely write my post on Kurapika & religious imagery, and I might put together this post on Yomi, the Unwerworld and Tanabata. Ty for this ask I hope i replied to your question! 

#thoughts #my meta #meta #im tagging this as meta until i write an actual post

[jesterofinaba]

:👫 I'm very interested

Send me 👫 and I’ll write 4 headcanons on our muses’ relationship! - SEND THESE IN I LOVE THESE KINDA MEMES 🥺

They bicker like siblings. They’re both kinda forced to tolerate the other’s presence, really. Rise and the rest of the IT owe them finding each other - and discovering the truth about Izanami - to Adachi, and Adachi owes them his life (literally) and for them showing him that he was an idiot for wanting to end the world. So they’re not going to seriously harm the other, and they still dislike each other, but they’re not afraid to insult the other one no matter what.

Since Adachi was DLC and free play only in P4: Dancing, I like to think he was pulled out of prison one day and asked if he wanted to take free dance lessons after the Love Meets Bonds festival alfjsf. Adachi said sure, what else is he doing today (and also it’s something he’s always wanted to try). They have Rise teach Adachi the moves they’ve choreographed for him, and neither of them are happy about it. But Adachi’s actually a pretty good dancer, and he’d be very smug about it.

I think it’d be funny if Adachi played navigator for Rise once, a la Ultimax where Adachi’s navigator DLC. His advice is helpful and not helpful at all at the same time, and he laughs at her when she messes up. (though taunting someone’s Adachi’s common tactic to get people to be stronger, but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna be any less of an asshole).

Adachi, one day when he’s given leave from prison, sees Rise performing on a TV in a Junes store window - maybe it’s even her summer concert with her friends. All of them, Rise in particular, look so happy to be there, and Adachi just watches for a second, stunned. Then he just kinda smiles and shakes his head and walks away. He feels like he should be angry, but he isn’t. But they’re doing what you didn’t get to do, thinks Magatsu-Izanagi, and Adachi’s just like “yeah, but the kids deserve it after the hell I put them through. Not my problem anymore. Let ‘em be happy.”

#nabigeshonidol #[squeezes adachi to get every drop of emotional maturity potential possible] #[this is kinda before your main verse but i think them interacting in your p5 verse would be super fun too] #𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 [ ASK ] #𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚠? [ HEADCANON ] #𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 [ OOC ]

[puppyluver256]

Okay, so since I mentioned it, here’s some ideas I’ve for for an SFM x Persona AU.

Flower Kid’s the wild card (going by the rules for P3 and onward for this as that’s what I’m more familiar with), meaning they have the contract with the Velvet Room and can use multiple Personas.

Most of the Persona users are gonna be the kids (some of ‘em aged up so that they’d all be in the same school, not for any weird reasons), with only one adult I can think of atm who’d have one and also be on the protag team.

There’d have to be some finagling with social link/confidant assignment because there are 22 major arcana and 24 viable SFM characters counting FK and Habit, but thankfully P3 FES and P4G provided some extras from non-standard tarot decks to make everyone fit yaaaayyy

Storyline ideas: FK is sent to live with a friend of their mom in a small town for a while for as-of-yet undetermined reasons. That friend is Kamal because I both want him to be heavily involved in the “main” plot and need someone to pass on the details of a certain event that unknowingly kickstarted the story’s major conflict.

Apparently a few years ago his former boss (and budding love interest) just...vanished without a trace. No one had any clue where he went and it was the talk of the town for a while after, but the disappearance was never solved. Kamal believes he’s still alive somewhere, even though hardly anyone else thinks so given the timespan between then and present.

First night they’re staying at Kamal’s place, the TV in FK’s room acts up a bit. Starts playing this weird late-night puppet show for some reason? (yeah you can tell where most of my Persona love is funneled here, Midnight Channel homage combined with the PSAs hehehehe but that’s as far as it goes, we’re not jumping into TVs here)

FK goes to school and meets two of their classmates, Nat and Trevor, and Trev immediately starts getting into the conspiracy theory stuff while Nat’s tryin’ to get him to not overload the new kid. Though even she has to admit this town has had some weird things happen, like that old couple a few months ago who disappeared only for their dead bodies to show up again days later, teeth gone and flowers somehow growing from their insides? And someone else has gone missing lately, some real estate lady that no one liked. Guess who shows up the next day in the same condition as the old couple? Whu-oh.

One thing leads to another and this trio somehow stumbles into an alternate dimension of sorts. The “other world” in this AU consists of gardens that find a person with serious pent-up emotions and target what’s really eating them inside and bringing them down in order to, well, prune those bad feels for lack of better phrasing. The shadows there believe they’re making people happy, but you can probably guess that ain’t the case

This is where they get their Personas! Idk what Personas they’d have (except I think it’d be funny if Nat’s was Alucard because vamp fam jokes and idk if he’s this way in anything else he shows up in but the one I vaguely know is half vamp too) but regardless FK, Nat, and Trevor are the first three of the Persona-using protag team.

In a vein similar to P4′s floating cards, P5′s masks, and *ahem* P3′s method (not describing for reasons of suicidal imagery, even though there’s no actual death involved), the Persona-users in this AU get flowers that appear on their chests while in the gardens. And yes, the flowers I imagine they’d have are the ones I’ve been putting in the backgrounds of my Habitician illustrations. :3c

There’s this weird long-haired kid that keeps showing up and only FK can see him for some reason? He seems to know things about the gardens (which he collectively refers to as Eden) and gives them advice for a while. He’s very protective of that potted plant he carries around, too...

Social Links abound! So many Social Links. Everyone gets a Social Link!

Igor remains unchanged, because he’s friggin’ Igor that’s why. The Velvet Room assistant this time is a more human-looking variant of the Carlas, specifically the fortune-telling one. Her hair would start off the same color as every other Velvet Room assistant sans Marie, but at some point she’d wanna get it dyed the same color that her original SFM counterpart’s is. I imagine she’d be a lot like Elizabeth in that she’d not just have fusion requests but also want random items or to visit the town with FK for funsies.

Oh yeah, I should probably talk about Habit in this AU, huh. Well...let’s just say Kamal was right about him still being alive and kicking. ;-)

(spoilers he discovered Eden as well, started calling it the Habitat and set about making it his own in order to make people happy, or that was his intention and now it’s just spiraling all kinds of wrong)

FK’s ultimate Persona and Habit’s? Nearly the exact same. Think Yu’s Izanagi vs Adachi’s Magatsu Izanagi, except Habit’s version of this shared Persona isn’t even close to being an Obviously Evil Duplicate. Just slightly altered aesthetic, maybe a shifted color scheme, nothing too drastically different.

If anyone has any more ideas, especially for potential Personas the characters could have, feel free to throw ‘em at me! I really wanna start thinking of what arcana they’d all be too, but I’m confident enough in my knowledge of tarot to figure that out pretty well on my own. As both a NiGHTS fan and Persona fan, I probably know too much about tarot than anyone who doesn’t actually use the cards reasonably should. (and yeah, if anyone’s curious about the NiGHTS thing, fan favorite boss Jackle throws tarot cards atcha and that’s how I got interested in the subject XD)

#smile for me #shin megami tensei #persona #smile for me au #arcana lily

[ohlookashinysquirrel]

Baths and Thunderstorms (another Souyo/Vasha story)

Just a little bit of fluff for @herogenkaku​. We were talking about Vasha, and how, with Souji being a cat whisperer, it would take some time for Yosuke to realise he wasn’t bad with them either. (There will be more Vasha, and I’ll be posting it on Ao3 as a series when I have time.)

“Ow! Dammit cat, don’t- enough with the claws, argh!”

There was a massive splash - too sudden to give Yosuke time to react - which cleared to reveal a disproportionately small kitten, clinging balefully to the side of the bathtub. Looking down at his drenched outfit, the brunette sighed.

“Maaaan, cat… I know you don’t like me, but whatever happened to gratitude? I’m the one who pulled you out of the gutter, you know!” As he said this, a chuckle sounded behind him, and he turned to see Souji standing in the bathroom doorway.

“I don’t think she’s forgotten, Yosuke.” The silver-haired young man smiled as he walked into the room and knelt in front of the bathtub, next to the brunette. He lifted the now-docile kitten up, reaching for the bottle of pet shampoo that was sitting next to the tub. “I don’t think she dislikes you, either.”

“Says you, the cat whisperer,” Yosuke groused, watching his boyfriend deftly bathe the kitten. “She hates me, I know it. I can’t even wash her. The only thing she thinks I’m good for is opening cat food cans.”

“Nah, that’s not true. Right, Vasha?” Rinsing the small, black-and-white kitten off, Souji picked a towel up and gave her a vigorous rubbing-down before putting her onto the floor. She staggered once or twice, trying to regain her balance, shook herself - which managed to splash both young men - gave a plaintive mew, and ran out of the bathroom so quickly that they could hear her skid on the hallway rug. Yosuke sighed.

“I can’t even get our cat to like me,” he grumbled. Next to him, Souji just chuckled again.

“I’m telling you, she likes you just fine. I’ve just lived with cats for a lot longer, and I know how to read them,  you know?” Standing up, he offered a hand to help the brunette up; once Yosuke was on his feet, however, Souji didn’t let go. “Hmmm, she really drenched you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. At least I wore something that needs washing, anyway.” Looking down at himself, the brunette’s shoulders slumped as he saw just how soaked he was. At least they had a full, all-in-one bathroom that they weren’t going to need to clean; it was a lot nicer than their last apartment, which only had a small, separate bath and shower. “I’ll go change, I guess, and dry off-” He started to pull away, but Souji wouldn’t let go of his hand. Looking up, Yosuke couldn’t help smiling at the look on his partner’s face.

“Mmmm, I’ve got a better idea. That’s a lot of water, and you seem kinda chilly. How about we get you warmed up, first?”

Souji was already leaning in, his lips curved in that sexy smile that Yosuke had always loved, and the brunette smirked. “With a warm shower, you mean?”

“For starters, at the very least.” Wrapping an arm around Yosuke’s waist, Souji pulled him into a deep kiss, sliding his other hand up under the brunette’s wet shirt, splaying his fingers against Yosuke’s back. The brunette shivered - both because Souji was very warm and in comparison Yosuke was very cold, and because his boyfriend’s touch sent sparks through him, every time. Sliding a hand up, Yosuke tangled his fingers in the messy silver hair as their hips bumped gently together.

“What about your paper?” he murmured between increasingly breathless kisses. His shirt was already halfway off one shoulder, and he was making short work of the buttons on Souji’s sweater.

“Done, proofed, and submitted. The rest of the weekend is ours.” The words were punctuated by sharp, burning kisses along Yosuke’s collarbone, and the brunette knew he was going to have to wear his turtleneck to work on Monday.

At least it’s the right season. Yosuke chuckled, remembering their first makeout session, years before, under the Dojimas’ kotatsu, when Souji had been wearing the only turtleneck he’d owned at the time. They’d come a long way since then, but at the same time, nothing had really changed between them - something for which the brunette was grateful every morning when he woke up with Souji buried under the covers next to him, every evening when he came home to see a pair of worn sneakers waiting at the front door, every night when he saw Souji’s gentle smile across the dinner table, or next to him on the couch as they ate pizza and played video games.

“Mmmm. I don’t work until Monday, so we’ll make the most of it.” Closing his eyes, Yosuke pulled Souji in for another kiss; Souji must have been able to read the brunette’s thoughts through his lips, because Yosuke felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist as his boyfriend pulled him even closer.

“I love you, too, partner,” Souji whispered, in the space between them. Yosuke just smiled, pulling him backwards towards the shower.

A few days later, Yosuke hurried home, umbrella in hand, as a thunderstorm raged overhead. It was one of those weird storms where the rain was minimal, but the cloud activity was heavy; he found himself smiling a little as he thought about Souji’s persona, Izanagi. Wild thunderstorms, where the lightning was mixed with wind, always made him feel a little nostalgic.

After all, we’re like yin and yang - two sides of the same coin. A red ribbon of fate.

Pushing the door to their apartment open, he was surprised to find himself greeted by a panicking kitten whose hackles were up, and whose voice was raised in a string of terrified, high-pitched mewls. He looked for Souji’s shoes, but they were absent; he remembered the text he’d received, that his boyfriend was going to be home late since he had to stop by the library, and he frowned.

She might not like me, but I’m not gonna make her stick it out until Souj gets home.

“Shhh, Vasha, it’s okay.” Shucking out of his wet jacket and shoes and dropping his umbrella into the stand next to the door, Yosuke knelt down and held out his hands; the kitten rushed straight into his arms - much like she had when he’d pulled her out of the gutter - and he couldn’t help smiling a little, running his hand softly over her small, trembling form. Crooking his arm, he held her against his side, mimicking the way she’d been tucked into his jacket that day; carrying her into the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water with one hand and headed for the living room.

By the time he took a seat, Vasha wasn’t shaking nearly as badly as she had been, and he felt the faint rumblings of a purr starting up - although it hitched and quieted every time a peal of thunder shook the apartment’s walls. She’d pushed herself further into the crook between his arm and body, and her face was buried tightly against his arm.

“Oh, man. It’s funny that you love Souji so much, when Izanagi is a god of lightning, but- well, no matter. He’ll be home, soon, I promise. You can stay here until then, okay?”

It wasn’t too long before he heard a key in the lock, followed by the general sounds of someone pulling off their coat and shoes; Souji came into the living room shortly after and stopped short at the sight of Yosuke, sitting with Vasha on his lap.

“Thunder’s got her scared, eh?”

“Yeah.” Yosuke nodded. “Guess it reminds her of the night we found her. It was storming pretty hard before I left work; I guess she’d been stuck out in it. Poor girl. You should take her now, though. You’re better at this sort of thing than I am.”

“Mmmm.” Frowning a little, Souji took a seat next to Yosuke. “It’s okay, Vasha. We’ve got you.” Reaching out, he put a hand on top of her back; she jerked her head up, but at the sight of Souji she calmed down a little, and her purring got louder. Yosuke felt a hint of regret at this - there was something nice about having her depend on him when she was so scared - but he loosened his arm so that Souji could take the kitten.

His partner wrapped his hands around Vasha, starting to lift her up, but was thwarted when she reached out, hooking her claws in Yosuke’s pants leg. The brunette yelped, and Souji winced, trying to detach her; every time he’d get a paw free she’d clamp it right back down, and as soon as he let go she pushed herself right back into the crook of Yosuke’s arm. Souji chuckled.

“I guess she’s staying put. I told you, Yosuke, she likes you just fine.”

“I... guess so.” For all that the prickles of her claws had brought tears to the brunette’s eyes, he couldn’t help smiling down at the little black-and-white lump on his lap. “I guess it’s alright if she can trust me to protect her from thunderstorms and feed her.”

“Mmnn. I always knew you were a valiant guardian.” Souji slid over so that he was sitting hip-to-hip with Yosuke, and wrapped an arm around the brunette’s shoulders. Yosuke, muttering something about stupid and cheesy, leaned in, and somehow the storm outside didn’t seem so loud anymore. Sure, they’d need to get dinner - and Vasha would start begging to be fed in about half an hour - but for now, they had time to enjoy the storm together.

#p4 #persona 4 #souyo #souji x yosuke #yosuke hanamura #souji seta #yuyo #vasha #long post #fanfic #fluff

[purplehatwithpins]

Persona 4: Two Years Later!

Narrator [ Yu ]: It's been about 2 years now since the mystery in Inaba was solved. Everyone has grown up a lot since I was here last. Yosuke has become the manager of Junes. Chie is currently in college for becoming a police girl. Yukiko has completely taken over the the Amagi Inn. Rise went on to do a television show for kids. Kanji and Naoto got together and now own a sewing shop together. Teddie still works at Junes with Yosuke. And Nanako just started the third grade. As for myself? Well, I guess I still have to figure that out. But for now, I'm staying for a month at my uncle's place because of my parent's going on some work-related trip. -sigh- It'll be nice seeing everyone again. Well... I wonder what this story has to bring for us today.

[ The story starts at Junes, music playing and you hear a bunch of people in the background. ] -Yosuke runs over to see Yu.- Yosuke: Hey, partner! It's been a long time! Yu: ...! It's Yosuke! Nanako: Yay! Yosuke-kun's here!~ Yosuke: The one and only, Nanako-chan! Teddie: And Teddie's here as well! Nanako: Teddie's here too?! That's so awesome! Yu: How was your shift today, Yosuke? Yosuke: Man, it was brutal! We have to pay off a debt since SOMEONE ate all our grilled steak! Teddie: Hey! It wasn't MY fault the steak was so good! Yosuke: Those were for the OTHER customers though! -sigh- No use worrying about it now... Yu: You know, I wonder where the others are today... Yosuke: I got a call from Chie a few minutes ago saying she was going to come to Junes after she got out from school. She should be here any minute now... Nanako: Everyone's coming? This is so awesome! I can't wait until everyone shows up! Yosuke: Man, Nanako-chan. You're really fired up, anything special coming up? Nanako: There is a festival coming to town this weekend! I really wanted to go with all of you! Rise: Sounds like a lot of fun! I am SO in! Yosuke: Hey, Rise's here! Kanji: Yeah, I'm here as well. I brought Naoto with me. Naoto: Hey everyone. So what's this about a festival? Nanako: Well, I saw it on a flyer. EVERYONE dresses  up in costumes and there's lots of games and karaoke and a ton of other events! Naoto: -starts to blush- C-costumes? What KIND of costumes? Yosuke: ...What, are you scared Naoto? Naoto: -maintains her composure.- That's preposterous. I'm not afraid of wearing some... costume. Rise: Fine, it's settled then. We're all going to the festival! Teddie: Hey, I just noticed... where are Chie and Yukiko? I thought they'd be here... I still have to sco-- Chie and Yukiko: HEY EVERYONE. - Everyone shouts in fear: AH! - Yukiko: -Has a laughing fit.- You should all... -giggles.- See your faces.... - Yukiko bursts out laughing even more. - Yosuke: Oh boy, more of her laughing fits... Nanako: You two are funny! -giggles a little.- Kanji: H-hey... Don't do that again, I nearly crapped myself... Chie: It was just a joke, Kanji... jeez... Teddie: Anyways... I'm totally gonna go to the festival! Now who's in? Yu: I'm in. Yosuke: I'm in! Chie: I'm so in! Yukiko: I'll go! Kanji: No way I'm missing this! I'm IN! Rise: I'm in! Naoto: If everyone goes, it can't be helped. I shall go as well. Nanako: Yay! Everyone's going to the festival! Now I CAN'T WAIT! [ Yu and Nanako: ...At Night! ] - TV background is playing, while Nanako is talking to Yu about the festival, suddenly Dojima comes home. - Nanako: Daddy! - runs over to Dojima. - Dojima: -sound like you just got hugged.- H-Hey there Nanako, how was your day? Nanako: I found a flyer today~! Dojima: Uh-huh...? Nanako: And it said that there was a festival this weekend! Dojima: REALLY now?~ Nanako: Yeah! Big bro was planning on taking me! Dojima: May I see the flyer? Nanako: Uh.. sure, here! - Nanako hands Dojima the flyer. Dojima mumbles the words written on the paper. - Dojima: Well this really isn't a.. "festival" per-se... This is moreso a... convention. Yu: A convention? Dojima: They are these giant events where you wear these ridiculous looking costumes and you walk around for hours. You can buy a bunch of odd stuff there as well. And they have this costume contest at the end and they judge who the winner is. It's all kinda weird. But hey, that's just my opinion. Nanako: How do you know about it all, Dad? Dojima: Well, the police force is doing security for the convention this year, and lots of people had to fill me in on it. Nanako: Well... that sounds even MORE fun than just a regular festival! What do you think, big bro? Yu: A convention, huh? ...This sounds like a little bit more work than expected... [ Yosuke and Teddie: The next day! ] - Yu is in his room, and he gets a phone call. - Yosuke: Hey, Yu! We're all gonna consult about the festival that's coming up at Junes! Make sure to bring Nanako with you! Yu: That I can do. Yosuke: Great! I'll see you there! [ Yu: At Junes. ] Yosuke: So I had this great plan when we get there, we're gonna go to all the rides and get some popcorn, and maybe after all that, we can see some fireworks! Yu: Uh... Yosuke? Yosuke: Yeah Narukami? What's up? Yu: I-I don't think this is really a "festival". Did you "really" look at the flyers posted around town? Yosuke: Yeah...? Yu: It's a convention, not a festival. Yosuke: W-what?! Give me a flyer! - Yosuke reads the flyer. - Yosuke: Yu is right... It's a convention. Not a festival... Naoto: So it's a convention. I've heard of those. They only come around Inaba once every couple of years. There's music and contests, and Q&A for all these famous actors, voice actors and musicians! Yosuke: So it would be people like Rise coming to these conventions? Rise: Yeah, there were a lot of times I was asked to do these conventions. I never had much fun because I was constantly surrounded by guards and I had to go from panels to signing autographs for fans... it was just all the boring glam stuff... But to be on the other side of it, it's gonna be really nice! Kanji: Hey! I just thought of an idea! Naoto and I run a sewing shop! We could make you guys the costumes! Chie: Kanji, the convention is in 5 days, how are you gonna make all of us costumes in 5 days? Kanji: Don't worry, I got SOMETHING up my sleeve, don't you worry! Naoto: -sigh- I have a really bad feeling about this. Nanako: What are you all going to dress up as? Teddie: To be perfectly honest... I have no idea... Yosuke: Me neither. Yukiko: Why don't we dress up as our Persona? Yosuke: Yukiko! Nanako doesn't know about that yet! Nanako: Oh, don't worry. Big bro filled me in. Persona are beings that reside in you after you face your Shadow. Yosuke: Partner, are you sure that was a good idea? Yu: It's all good Yosuke, it won't do her any harm. Besides, the mystery has been solved for 2 years now. - Everyone kinda stops for a minute. - Everyone except Nanako: 2 years... Chie: It really makes you think, you know? All those Shadow we fought... Kanji: Yeah, we kicked some major butt back then. Naoto: It was hard. But it was because of us that the world has been saved from the evils of the Midnight Channel. Yu: The Midnight Channel, that's something I haven't heard the name of in a while... Yukiko: Getting back to the idea of dressing up as our Persona, who would be into doing that? Yu: I think that would be a pretty good idea. Rise: But what would Nanako-chan wear? She never had a Persona in the first place... Nanako: Don't worry Rise-chan! I've got something I can wear at home. Teddie: I'm into being my Persona for a day~! That would be awesome! Chie: Man, that would be really cool! I would love to dress up as my Persona! Kickin' butt wherever I go... I'm in, where do I sign up?! Kanji: Alright, since all of you are so keen on the idea, give me a sketch of your Persona, and I'll start on the costumes tonight. And Naoto will help! Naoto: That seems fine. Yosuke: You look a little more relieved we thought of being our Persona for this convention. What, did you think we'd put you in some kind of bunny suit or something kiddish like that? Naoto: Well... I... Yosuke: Don't worry, I'm just yankin' your chain. Yu: So it's settled, everyone is going as their Persona. Everyone except Yu and Nanako: Yep! Nanako: Seeing all of you so fired up about this convention makes me so happy. It's giving me jitterbugs knowing how these costumes will turn out! Kanji: Nanako-chan, if you want... I could make you something as well... that's if you want me to. - Nanako's face lights up. - Nanako: You'd do that for me?! Thank you SO much! Kanji: Well...I... I didn't want to make you feel left out since everyone else is getting their own costume. Nanako: You're the best! Yu: Alright Nanako, I think it's time we both get back, it's time to get dinner started. Nanako: -sigh- Okay... See you all soon~! Everyone but Nanako and Yu: [ Different variations of saying goodbye but make sure you say Nanako somewhere in the goodbye. ] Yu and Nanako: At Night! - Yu is drawing Izanagi, and Nanako enters Yu's room. - Nanako: Hey big bro! Yu: Hey there Nanako. How are you doing? Nanako: I'm a little bit tired from today. - Nanako sees your drawing and she lights up. - Nanako: Woah! What's that? Yu: That was my Persona. Back when we were solving the mystery case. Nanako: He looks REALLY cool! Yu: You could say that... Nanako: -chuckles.- You know, I wish I had a Persona just like all of you had. They look so cool. Yu: Having a Persona is a lot of responsibility. Nanako: I guess your right... - Dojima comes up, and he looks over at Yu. - Dojima: Sorry Nanako, it's time for bed. Nanako: Awhh, but Dad... Dojima: You must be very tired from today, why don't you brush your teeth and jump in that comfy bed of yours and see how you feel then? Nanako: Well.. okay! See you tomorrow big bro! Yu: See you in the morning. - The door closes. - Yu: -sigh- Man, this is gonna take forever to get done... I better get back to i-- - Suddenly, Yu starts to feel really weird. He hears a heart beating. - Yu: What's going on?! Who's there?! - Yu stares at the TV, and it turns on. - Yu: What the hell? I thought we beat the Midnight Channel once and for all! - A child-like voice starts to screech out for help. But it cuts in and out so it's almost inaudible. - ???: Help! S-meon-! H-l-help me! Plea-- - The message cuts out and the TV shuts off. - Yu: ...Shit. - Yu slams his hands on his desk. - Yu: I gotta call Yosuke and tell him what's going on! - Yu grabs his cellphone and gives Yosuke a call. - Yu: Come on Yosuke, pick up... pick up...! - Yosuke picks up on the other line. - Yosuke: Hey dude, what's u-- Yu: There isn't any time for joking. I just saw something on the Midnight Channel! Yosuke: What?! I thought it was gone for good! I thought we defeated everyone! Yu: ...I guess there's one more. Yosuke: Meet me tomorrow at Junes. I'll call everyone else as well to meet up. Yu: That's great, Yosuke. [ Yosuke and Yu: At Junes! ] Chie: So, what did you see when you looked at the Midnight Channel, Narukami? Yu: It was Nanako... Kanji: How could that have been possible?! We already beat Adachi and that Izanami person. Who else could there be?! Naoto: There aren't any clues. Who in their right mind could have done something so cruel? Teddie: I've checked all around Junes... I don't seem to have a clue on where Nanako is. Yosuke: Shit! We HAVE to find her! This is Nanako-chan we're talking about here! Dojima-san already lost her once! We CAN'T lose her again. Chie: Alright, we gotta be rational here. Does anyone have any clues on where Nanako-chan might be? Kanji: Well, remember how she was really excited about that convention or something? Maybe she went out to find a costume or something. - Yu flashes back to last night. - Nanako: -chuckles.- You know, I wish I had a Persona just like all of you had. They look so cool. - Flashback ends. - Yu: Nanako said something to me about wanting a Persona last night... Everyone in the "Investigation Team" except Yu: What?! Yu: I guess maybe when we saved her two years ago, she saw us fighting for her, and she gained inspiration. And when she saw me draw my Persona for the costume for Kanji... Chie: We need to focus where she might have gone... Yosuke: Well, Narukami did say last night he saw the TV go all weird last night, like when the Midnight Channel was around. Maybe she's in there! Teddie: It's been a long time since I've been there! Yosuke: Why didn't you CHECK there? It IS where you live! Teddie: Sorry! I just got so accustomed to this place, it never crossed my mind! Hrrrmph, you're being BEARY mean to me! Naoto: Enough of the banter right now, Nanako is in serious danger! Rise: I completely agree. Let's go and save her! Everyone: Right! - The Investigation Team goes into the Midnight Channel. - Yosuke: Man it's been forever since we've been here. Teddie: But it looks exactly the same from when the Investigation Team first got here! Rise: Let's try to locate her. I'll try with Himiko. Teddie: And I'll try with my scent! Kanji: Alright everyone, we'll call this.. "Operation: Save Nanako-chan!" Everyone: Yeah! - Chie and Yukiko: A little while later. - Rise: ... I found something! Chie: What'd you find? Rise: It's blurry, but it's definitely Nanako-chan! Yosuke: Let's go find her then! Yu: Before we do that, let's make sure that we're all prepared. Is everyone ready? Yosuke and Teddie: Ready. Chie and Yukiko: Ready. Kanji and Naoto: Ready. Rise: I'm ready as well. Yu: Well, let's get going! - Kanji and Naoto: At the dungeon! - Teddie: Woah! It's a giant playground! Yosuke: Well of course it is, this is Nanako-chan we're talking about... Yu: Alright, let's go in! - Yu and the others go in, and they suddenly see Nanako, and her Shadow. - Teddie: Nanako-chan! Chie: Oh no, Nanako! Shadow Nanako: Why don't you just give up on life? You're always so weak, you're basically a doormat for everyone to walk ALL over you! It's hilarious! Nanako: What are you saying? That makes no sense! Shadow Nanako: Ever since your mom died, you've been nothing but soft! You've never really done anything for yourself! You've deluded yourself into thinking that everyone comes first. But in THIS world, honey... it's all about you! Nanako: That's totally not true! Shadow Nanako: Right... just like how all those people behind you actually think you're their friends! They only think of you as the little sister! They don't care about you at all! Nanako: ...! No! You're wrong, they care about me! Shadow Nanako: Oh? Then why does your "big bro" always ditch you to hang out with his friends? You're family~! He should hang out with you more! Nanako: S-stop it! Shut up! You're wrong! Shadow Nanako: How can I be wrong? I know every little thing about you. I AM you after all... Nanako: NO! YOU'RE NO-- Yu: Nanako! NO! DON'T SAY IT! Nanako: YOU'RE NOT ME! - Shadow Nanako transformed into a mutilated looking doll with scars and bandages. - Nanako: W-what's going on, big bro?! - Shadow Nanako laughs manically. - Shadow Nanako: I am a shadow! The true self! I'll show you the truth, that you're just everyone's doormat! Yosuke: Nanako-chan, get out of the way! Nanako: Wha-- - Yu saves Nanako by holding her tight and throwing himself out of the way. They both hit the ground before Shadow Nanako could hit them. - Yu: I gotcha. Nanako: Big... bro... - Nanako faints. - Yosuke: Susano'o! - Susano'o attacks Shadow Nanako with Garudyne. - Shadow Nanako: Agh! That stung! Kanji: Let's get 'em! - Kanji's Persona attacks Shadow Nanako. - Shadow Nanako: That won't WORK! - Shadow Nanako grabs Kanji's Persona and throws it to the ground and sends electricity through it. - Kanji: -screams out in pain.- Rise & Naoto: Kanji! Kanji: Don't worry about me, worry about kickin' some ass! Rise & Naoto: Right! Yukiko: Let's go! - Yukiko uses Agidyne on Shadow Nanako. - Shadow Nanako: Agh! You're starting to really piss me off! - Shadow Nanako begins to morph. - Chie: She's changing! Teddie: This is bear-y bad! We gotta take some cover! - Shadow Nanako morphs into a more agile, and faster form. - Rise: Oh no! Her speed just increased exponentially. And I can't read her weaknesses! Watch out you guys! - Kanji, Yosuke, Yukiko and Chie attack with all four elements, but to no avail. - Yosuke: What's this thing made of?! Shadow Nanako: Your worst nightmares! - Shadow Nanako attacks Jiraiya and Yosuke, and they fly into the wall. - Yosuke: Ah! Shit, that hurt. Yu: I gotta do something to help. Izanagi! - Izanagi comes to his aid, and attacks Shadow Nanako. - Yosuke: Way to go, partner! Shadow Nanako: GRAH! You've ALL BECOME A PAIN IN THE ASS! PREPARE TO BE ASSIMILATED INTO THE GROUND! - Shadow Nanako sucks Nanako up into a ball of energy. - Yu: NANAKO! NO! Everyone except Nanako: NANAKO! Teddie: Oh no... Nanako... Yu: I can't forgive you for doing this... Nanako is my FAMILY... You'll be sorry you did that! - Izanagi reforms into Izanagi-no-Okami. - Yosuke: Woah! Dude... that looks so awesome! Chie: Is that what Narukami used to destroy the Midnight Channel last time? Kanji: I guess so... Kick it's ass, dude! I'm countin' on you! Rise: We're ALL counting on you! Yukiko: Do it for us! Teddie: You can do it sensei! Naoto: Fight... and win for Nanako! Yu: You got it. Izanagi! - Izanagi-no-Okami uses Myriad of Truths on Shadow Nanako. - Shadow Nanako: No... this can't be... I can't lose! I can't lose to some pathetic teenagers! - Shadow Nanako cries out in pain. - Shadow Nanako: NOOOO! - Shadow Nanako falls to the floor in human form. Nanako reappears. - Nanako: ...I finally understand what you're getting at. I was never really assertive in what "I" wanted... I never told big bro what "I" wanted... But now I don't want to be walked on anymore. I want to walk WITH him. To my future. ...In any case. You're a part of me. And I'm a part of you. - Shadow Nanako's body dissipates and a Persona of Nanako's comes and greets her. - Nanako: Big bro! I've finally got a Persona of my own! Isn't that awesome? Yu: That's great, Nanako! Nanako: I'm finally one of you guys... Yosuke: But Nanako-chan, you were ALWAYS one of us. Nanako: R-really? Chie: Right from the start! Nanako: Wow! Thanks you guys! Yukiko: You didn't need a Persona to be "one of us". You were our friend from the beginning because you were KIND to us. Rise: Yeah Nanako, you're always so cute and nice! You always brighten my day when you're with us at Junes! Nanako: That's so nice coming from you guys! Naoto: You're a great girl. You make all of our days much better, just by your presence. Kanji: Yeah, when it comes to bein' cute and all... you kick butt! Nanako: -laughs- Thanks, Kanji-senpai. Kanji: Awh, shucks. D-DON'T BE TELLIN' EVERYONE I SAID THAT. - Everyone laughs, except for Kanji. - Yu [ Narrating. ]: And so, Nanako was able to face herself. And as for the convention... Yosuke: Wo-hoah! Kanji! This is awesome! Yu: This is great, Kanji. Pretty snazzy. Chie: Man, this kicks some major can! Yukiko: I love the design patterns you used! They're great! Rise: It's so CUTE! I love it Kanji-kun! Teddie: This is bear-y awesome Kanji! I love it. I'd wear it everyday if it weren't for my bear costume! Nanako: And you even did mine, Kanji! You're the best, Kanji-senpai! Kanji: -laughs, whilst blushing.- T-thanks you guys! Yosuke: Hey, you know... come to think of it. Where's Naoto? -Naoto opens the changing room door.- Naoto: ...I-I think it's nice... Rise: Woah, Naoto! You look really great! Kanji: I-uh... -Kanji blushes.- Yosuke: What, you got somethin' for Naoto, don'tcha? Kanji: H-hey! It's not LIKE THAT! GET BACK HERE, SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS! - Everyone laughs, while Kanji chases Yosuke around the convention. -

#This was gonna be an audioplay but-- #whatever #somewhat fanfiction? #persona 4 #I got bored one day #this was a while ago #i made this ages ago #persona #Shin Megami Tensei #yu narukami #yosuke hanamura #chie satonaka #yukiko amagi #kanji tatsumi #rise kujikawa #naoto shirogane #nanako dojima #ryotaro dojima #shadow nanako