#saying all this it makes me rethink the fact that i use to put mika in this category | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

brainworms-all-night-long · 10 months

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So I've been randomly thinking like haha Sonic would be such a Mondstadt character, he's already an orphan with a knack of adventure freedom based mindset and zero self preservation he'd fit right in but a feew strings of thoughts later and it hit me that Mondstadt parents kinda suck????

A city of freedom with its entire economy reliant on selling alcohol is suprisingly a perfect recipe for creating mentaly ill children that probaly say "I don't have it that bad" to themselves on daily basis.

This post is kinda long but I just needed to put all this word salad somewhere, it has been stewing in my brain ever since Mika came out and it was finally put to words.

Like we have probably the most agredious example in Diona who is a child bartender that hates alcohol sounds contradictory right? Exept she hates alcohol because her dad spends more time at the tavern than with her, and she's a bartender because she wants to make the most revoting concoctions imaginble so people will stop drinking alcohol, while also wanting to destroy the wine industry. All of which sounds silly and over the top, but in her lonely child brain it just makes sense to get rid of the thing her dad chooses over her on the daily, right? All the while she is suffering from succes and subsequently exploited by every adult around her, because of her very neat power which turns every drink she makes into the most fantastic of beverages, no matter the disgusting ingredients used in the proces, and therfore makes the bar she works at a popular destination for drunkards. She just wants to have a dad that cares more for her than the bottle.

Next is Mika, a cryo vision bearer who's character story's first lines read "Mika comes from a loving family" which sounds sweet but suprising for a cryo character, kinda? Exept reading down you realize they might love their child but they, don't really do the whole.. parenting part. They're advetureres that are rarely home and Mika's older brother is usually too drunk to care and has to be covered up for way too often for slacking off on his job as a knight, which forced the poor boy to basically raise himself and steadily develop every anxiety and self esteem disorder and issue there is, because throughout his childhood until now he could never rely on anyone else, be it physicaly or emotionally.

Speaking of adventurer parents that are rarely ever home, Fischl spent most of her days engrossed in library books to distract her from reality of her parents also more ofthen than not fucking off on adventurers without her. In her years she was getting lost yet all too aware in a coping mechanism of play pretend of being an all powerful princess from another world that was exiled and nearly was drained of all her power, while running away from the fact that more emotional attention was given to her by a supernatural raven made of electricity she gained after having a breakdown in a library over her messy identity than her father that shattered her entire sense of self one day. Also more of an angst headcannon but it's possible she joined the adventurer's guild to get closer to her parents while also show them her powers as Fischl just make her one of a kind and most efficient in the field of investigation. But just a thought.

And questionable adventurer parents don't end there because god I have so much to say about Razor but can't atcually articulate it cause theres so little known about them so much is just left for guessing?? The kid was raised by a wolf pack lead by an undead spirit of a demigod composed of ice and wind taking on the form of a seven meter tall wolf. And his human parents, we don't know if alive or dead (they're 100% dead), named him. Razor. Like what the fuck, who names their child like that, put that bottle down and rethink that name. I get it has been nine months since last you had some but by god, Adventurer or not, as a nickname it's ok but girl, he's not a sonic character. Don't name your newborn child as if he was a sonic character. Also that whole being raised by wolves thing, how did that happen???? How and why did he end up in a forest not too long after he had been born, why did no one besides Varka knew about him really and, I mean the kid is now a part of the pack so you can't just take him but why the FUCK WAS HE LEFT WITH THE WOLVES. My working theory is just that his parents were fascinated by wolves and researched them from a safe distance until one day uh oh monsters struck, they got killed conveniently right at Andrius' doorstep who was like "damn you gonna drop your baby here like that- oh oh shit youre dead. Damn my bad what am I supoused to do with this thing tho, I can't leave it there to die too ah fuck-" and adopted the human child known as Razor because the husband was too drunk to stop his also drunk wife (ok I'm exaggerating this a bit but why is his real actual name Razor) and everyone just assumed both the parents and the child died than and there so no one bothered to look for Razor until Varka stumbled upon him that day. But that's literally just a theory/headcannon because Hoyo is allergic to giving us straight answers to character lore questions.

Bennett is a slightly special case because he was- actually one does not know if he was abandoned, his was family killed, or fell as first victim to his luck or if he just spawned in hell one day, but that doesn't really matter because he got cool adoptive adventurer dads that clearly cared for him deeply despite his curse and whatnot when he was a young kid. Exept now his dad's are really old, like have trouble taking care of themselves old. Which leaves Bennett, a former social outcast child(he has friens now that care him), to take care of –we don't actually know how many– old men, some with probably have severe past adventurer injuries. So yea on top of barely surviving the next day because the gods hate him, he also has to work for free as a caretaker of his own parents (but here I can't really blame them cause they're old and did their best while they could)

I don't know anything about Noelle or Sucrose's parent situation. I know there was some messy custody and breakup stuff happening with Jean and Barbara's parents that left an everlasting impact on their relationship as sisters and Albedo's mom caused the apocalypse, but he's not really a mondstader or a teen so he doesn't count

And yea theres Kaeya's and Diluc's dads respectively but Kaeya is not from Mond either and Crepus is dead but seemed to be a nice dad and this post is already way too long so please can we get more lore on these children and some theraphy would be nice too actually.

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raccoonwritings · 5 years

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I’ve Booed You

Haunted House AU: Part Boo of 3

This is pure fluff and indulgence, I promise. (with an added sprinkle of angst, I’ sorry, I promise it will be resolved quickly.)

What happens when two pining idiots have to work together on a haunted house? Injuries, flirting, and wooing, apparently. Cue intervention by the girl squad.

“This wasn’t exactly how I anticipated you pulling down my pants.”

Did Lucas hear that right? No, he couldn’t have. Did Eliott just say that he wanted Lucas to take off his pants…that he anticipated it? His breathing was getting heavier and he couldn’t focus. The band aid was placed on crooked, but he didn’t care, not even at all. His pants are a bit tighter after the last sentence that came out of Eliott’s mouth and he needs to get far away from here to sort himself out and calm down.

“I’m just going to run to the bathroom really quick,” Lucas doesn’t even stay to hear Eliott’s response. He bolts to the bathroom, which is on the other side of the house. He reaches the bathroom not a moment too soon and squeezes himself inside the tiny cubicle-like lavatory. Locking the door safely behind him, he looks in the mirror and comes face to face with red cheeks and wide eyes. He splashes some water on his face and pats it dry before using the toilet and promptly washing his hands. Lucas lets himself breath for a few minutes, focusing on counting his breaths to slow his racing heartbeat.

Eliott is just a person, he thinks to himself. I can talk to him and it’s fine. Just as long as he doesn’t flirt. Then I can’t talk to him.

He can’t wait in the bathroom forever, even though he wishes he could. He decides it’s time to face the music and he opens the door slowly, only to come face to face with the person he was trying to get away from.

“Are you okay?” Eliott says, looking genuinely worried. “You ran off so quickly I thought that I had upset you.” He takes a step into the bathroom, forcing Lucas back inside and almost against the wall. Lucas was trying to avoid thinking about how much he’s thought about this – being pressed into the wall by Eliott. The situation wasn’t helped by what Eliott was wearing and not wearing.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I jus-” Lucas was cut off by Eliott’s hands which were now pressing against his forehead.

“You look really red, are you sure you don’t have a fever?” Eliott’s hands moved from his forehead to his cheeks, cupping both of them and ensuring eye contact with Lucas, who could feel his cheeks getting even hotter. “You’re really hot, Lucas, both look wise and temperature wise.”

Beep, boop. Lucas’ brain is officially nonfunctional. Please hold any inquires until a later date.

“Lucas? Hey?” He comes back to reality when Eliott’s thumb rubs circles on his cheek. He gazes up to see Eliott’s bright smile, which softens when their eyes connect. “Everything okay?”

Lucas gives him a slight nod and a gentle smile. “Mhmm, yeah.”

“Good, can we go do my makeup now?” He asks softly and the butterflies in Lucas’ stomach are a flutter at the gentleness.

“Yeah, okay.” Lucas’ vocabulary is bigger, he swears, but right now it’s all he can manage. He thinks this must all be a dream and he is going to revel in it all he can before it’s over.

The door had previously been closed, Lucas assumes from when Eliott entered and cornered him. Eliott grabs the handle, and Lucas really must be seeing things because it separates entirely from the door. This must be a prank and the girls have to be behind this. There isn’t another explanation.

“Um, I think we have a problem,” Eliott says, laughing nervously. Yeah, no shit.

“I think that’s obvious, considering you’re holding half the door handle in your hand,” Lucas responses with a bit of sarcasm. “Got any ideas of how to get out?”

“Well, we could just call one of the girls to come and open the door?” Eliott offers as more of a question, but it seems like a viable option to Lucas.

“Yeah, lets try it. Give Manon a call, she’ll answer pretty fast.” Lucas watches as Eliott pulls out his phone and clicks on Imane’s name. “Didn’t you hear me? I said Manon, not Imane.” Lucas demands.

Eliott gives him the side eye. “Yeah, I heard you. I’m just not following your advice.”

Lucas scoffs. How fucking rude. Why does he like Eliott again? Maybe he should start rethinking his feelings. He continues watching Eliott message Imane, although Eliott has turned away so Lucas can’t see exactly what he’s saying.

“What’s going on? Is she-”, Lucas is interrupted by a loud, horrifying scream and the lights going out. He could feel his heart begin to beat faster and, despite knowing that he’s in a haunted house and that nothing is actually going to hurt him, he still hates the dark. He tries to slow his breath, which is rapidly increasing, and Eliott takes notice.

“Aw, are you scared?”

“Shut up.”

Eliott turns on his phone light, and damn, maybe he does have some good ideas sometimes. Lucas goes to do the same, but his phone is incredibly low on battery and he needs to be able to text Mika to let him in tonight because he forgot his key. He’s a teenage boy who forgets things sometimes. It just be like that. “Um, my phone is almost dead and I would use it for some light, but I kinda need to make it last.” Lucas bites his lip.

“That’s okay, we can just use mine.” Eliott smiles and is breathtaking with the light illuminating his face. He could really stare at it all day, but right now he had to focus on the fact that he and Eliott were in tight quarters, in the dark, and had to make sure that he didn’t accidentally move and hit something he isn’t meant to touch.

When Lucas looks up, he sees Eliott’s attention is on him and there’s something in his eyes that Lucas can’t quite discern. Attraction? Desire? Lust? Lucas really must be imagining this. He tries to focus his attention on anything else, but when he moves his eyes off Eliott, the phone light goes out. The panic rises. He can’t see anything and even though the bathroom is relatively small, he can barely make out shapes.

“Eliott?” He extends his hands outwards and discovers nothing in front of him, which means Eliott has moved somewhere else and has managed to do it insanely quietly. The dark shouldn’t scare him this much – its not rational and he knows that – but with the screams coming from outside, he can’t help but get a little nervous. “Eliott? Stop this isn’t funny.” When he gets no response, he reaches for the door with a half a handle that he knows is right in front of him and manages to get there in a handful of steps. He places his hands up against the door and tries to find a way to unlock.

That’s when he feels a breath against his ear, “You sure you’re not afraid of the dark?” The light switches on and Eliott is just centimeters away, with his mouth breathing on Lucas’ ear and neck. The warmth makes his dick twitch and he tries to ignore it, but Eliott moves closer, almost flush up against his back. Fuck, he can feel everything. That costume leaves nothing to the imagination.

“No, I’m not afraid of the d-dark,” Lucas stutters, only because Eliott’s hand finds his waist and holds him in that position.

“Positive?” Eliott grins against Lucas neck and he has to get out of this position or he’s not going to be able to control himself. He spins around, finding a sweet spot in between the door behind him and the body in front of him.

“Positive. Do you have to be so close?” He doesn’t bother masking his annoyance.

“Sorry, when you have a hot boy in a dark room and no way to get out for a while, you don’t let the opportunity slip by.” Eliott looks down and meets his eyes again, which are so, so blue even in the pale light. Lucas’ mind halts and what he’s able to say isn’t the most eloquent.

“Ah, wah-” Lucas’ rambling is halted.

“Just say no if you don’t want this.” There isn’t time to process the words before Eliott pushes him against the door, the hand on his hip tightening it’s grip. The light goes out again, Eliott’s other hand finds it’s way to his waist and suddenly, there’s something warm and wet – Eliott’s lips, Lucas realizes – are his neck. His eyes flutter shut and his arms wrap around Eliott’s neck and pull him as close as possible. God, how Lucas has wanted this.

Eliott’s lips are slightly chapped, but the kisses on his neck are warm and wet, and it feels heavenly. Soon, there’s kisses peppering his jaw and his mouth hangs open with a loud release of breath. The lips find their way to his mouth, colliding, causing Lucas to moan and opening up his mouth just enough for Eliott to slide his tongue in.

The kiss is hot and desperate and everything Lucas needs, wants, desires. Their tongues are fighting, their hands don’t know where to go – Lucas’ eventually gripping tightly to the hair at the back of Eliott’s head and Eliott’s circling around to grab handfuls of Lucas’ ass – and their crotches are lining up perfectly, grinding and moving against one another and so deliciously hard.

He can feel Eliott’s hands lift him up against the door and he finds a place between Lucas’ legs so they can wrap around his waist. Their mouths detach for the first time in what seems like a cross between minutes and hours when Eliott goes to suck on his neck again.

“Fuck, Eliott,” he breathes, “please touch me.” Eliott sucks harder and uses more of his weight to support Lucas so he can use one hand to cup the bulge in the front of Lucas’ jeans. “AAAH,” he near screams at the friction and the thought that it’s Eliott’s hand that’s applying pressure where it’s so desperately needed. Lucas is enjoying everything so much, but he needs more. “Please mor-”

That’s when the door opens, and Lucas can hear his friend’s voices as he and Eliott are sent flying across the bathroom, landing on the floor, Lucas on top of Eliott. They must have made a lot of noise cause he can hear Yann curse and request that the lights be put back on.

When the lights reveal Lucas and Eliott on the floor of the bathroom, hair touseled and pants tight, Arthur realizes that they really should go find another place to smoke. “Hey, maybe we should go find another place to smoke.”

Lucas scurries up, slightly embarrassed at the state his friends have found him in, and feels the need to interject. “No guys, its okay, you can use it. We were done in here, right dude?” He turns to Eliott, whose face slightly drops, but smiles bitterly.

“Yeah, dude, that’s fine. We’re done anyways. See you around.” Eliott doesn’t look at him a second time before leaving the bathroom and Lucas’ heart drops.

He really is a disaster.

#elu #elu fic #eliott demaury #lucas x eliott #lucas lallemant #skam fr #skamfr #skam france

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piahautea · 6 years

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Appreciation Post: My Lovely Barkada

I’ve always been the stick-to-one type of friend.

Back during the first two years of junior high, you’d only see me with just one friend. One lunch buddy, one fair week constant, one automatic partner, one let’s-go-to-the-library-during-intrams-instead co-lazy bum, one companion and one everything. But never really the more meaningful ones like: a confidante, a tell-me-your-secrets-they’re-safe-with-me type of chill, a laughing comrade or a wingman /pagdating sa mga crushes na iyan/. That was until I met each of the cartoon people above.

This post is dedicated to them. The not-so-small barkada I never thought I’d have. They've also been so supportive of my blogging ever since and I want y’all to meet them! Somehow you may also try to see a part of yourself in them with their little intro’s /but that's only if you want to/.

A little disclaimer by the way: Their art banners are filled with silly deets about them while their actual descriptions are a lot graver; although, it's still sounding a lot like silly Pea wrote them, aye.

This is Leila. Leila’s been one of my best friends since 10th grade. I never thought we’d be in the friendship situation we have now because I only thought surface-level bros were all we'd ever be. But, nah. What are those for anyway? She was the quietly-acing-my-way-in-the-honor-rolls type. And, well, I was trying so hard to be that student. But we just randomly sparked up a convo about my blog and her love for Niall Horan and then she became my confidante in an instant with her shipping me so hard with a Tumblr boy that I used to like. In the things I thought highly impossible for myself, she believed I could turn them around in my favor and she stood there behind me with her hand on my back. She’s the best. I still wish she'd become a doctor, even though she's already faced towards a different track.

This is Margaux. When she spots you and you tickle her fancy, she’d probably talk to you. Basically, that's what happened to us. We were just batchmates in the same baking class. That changed when we bumped into each other at a charm store; she saw me first, tapped my back and said, “Hi!” like it’s nothing. Post the little meeting and the year after, we became classmates. And then I knew that smiling was her best asset and her laughter was her best type of music. She’d made me cookies and a chocolate-mint birthday cake for my 18th because that’s her. You hear little words and phrases like pastries, being top-level artsy, beauty queen pageants, genuine grins, dressing up for fun and you got it. That’s still gonna be her.

This is Froilan. If you know me well enough, you’d know that this dude’s been one of my constants since the beginning of time /‘di naman haha since 9th grade lang siguro/. You'll see him almost everywhere I go and part of almost everything I do. We’ve also been constantly teased by past classmates about us having that chemistry and that maybe we were already secretly a couple. All I can say is, nope. We’re merely bros. I love him, though. In the gayest way possible. He’s amazing in general. He loves getting and slaying the D so much. Drawing, dancing and designing *wink wink*. I’m never afraid to be myself when I’m with him and for that I’m eternally thankful. He’s also my punching bag hehe he enjoys the force of my knuckles kissing and smashing his fudge brownie skin /poetic/.

This is Nesli. She’s the first friend I’ve ever made in our circle. We’ve been together since the 7th grade and mutually sworn to be each other’s best friends during 8th grade. She’s also one of my confidantes. And the one who’s literally seen me in the good, the bad & the ugly and has still loved me no matter what. She has a heart large enough to fit in giraffes, all her favorite Filipino & European dishes, historical fiction books, her family, her art, her hoes and all her other friends. She’s my happy pill, tbfh. She’s going to make it big in the animations field or in any other field because she’s that flexible. She can write, draw, paint /in both the common mediums/, care for wildlife and humanity vividly. It's such a cakewalk to believe in what she's capable of because when she dreams, she dreams with her eyes open and with stellar passion running freely in her veins.

This is Brian. He’s one of my sister’s former tutees. I’ve heard stuff about him being sassy and loud /which he was/, but our friendship was a bit like of a plot twist. An unexpected thing. Although believe me when I say this: my sister predicted that we’d be the best of friends in the future. And she was right about it. 9th grade and I can still fondly remember it all. We’d sit in a corner where people weren't around to sing Defying Gravity because it was his fave and I was his fave duet partner, too. Sooner or later, we begun that singing routine. He easily became the person I’d always wanna sing with and now he’s worked his way to get into theater by switching schools for both SHS and college. I love my theater geek friend /who apparently knows how to get wasted now/. And I miss having to deal with him and his antics everyday.

This is Gia. Being friends with her was also an unexpected one. She’s quiet and was only the closest to Cather /you’ll get know her later/. We’d never really had those talk-talks until the final years of junior high. She lent me her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and it opened me to widen my reading choices. We also discovered each others’ love for indie/alternative rock music. She loves Nirvana, blink-182 and The Killers and it killed me. I’d also boast to those who love her brother’s band from the indie OPM scene that I’m friends with the vocalist’s baby sister because Hello? it’s not everyday you get to be friends with someone who has blood thick and rich of musical notes and art. She's an epitome of those two things.

This is Mika. Mika was Froilan’s friend first. And then she randomly talked to me in class and we became instant friends who loved hugging each other. She’s the type to get crafty and make you keychains or little drawings of your favorite things for Christmas or your birthday. She’s the sweetest soul and she likes to share stories with you; it doesn’t matter how long you’ll chatter with her. She’s also super smart! She helps me with all the Math help I needed back when we still had to take Math. You would just never see an honor roll without her in it. And yes, she had a phase with Big Time Rush back in junior high. But now, it seems like she’s also been bitten by another Kpopper /probably a friend from outside the circle/. She's the kind of treasure I'd like to keep with me anywhere I go.

This is Carmela. This one’s another plot twist kind of friendship. Like Margaux, she’s also extremely loud and friendly. Like randomly-popping-into-your-face kind of friendly. She’s chatty but it’s a reasonable kind of chatter. She also dances like a pro. I envy her grace on the floor and the flat stomach she'd cultivated out of that. We may not have the same amount of time as we had before but we see to it that no matter how busy we are, we’d never fail to exchange short stories and warm hugs when we see each other. Also, yes, she is my co-bully when it comes to Froilan. Everything she does to put him in artless misery cracks me up every time /that’s how we roll/.

This is Seline. I’ve only known her this year but since then, she’s already been one of my closest friends in class. We just vibe well and we could talk about anything in the pop culture spectrum or just anything Tumblr and art-related. I love how her mind just works like a charm and concocts puns real quick. I love how she'd update me and tell me stories about her dogs and their newborn puppies because we share the same love for these critters and it just makes me giddy every time. Because of her, I’m starting to rethink my stances on animated films /because I’m not big on those/. She makes some of the greatest digital artworks I’ve ever seen and I can’t wait to have more cafe adventures with her and our other amigos and to visit her in Benilde by the time we reach college.

This is Cather(ine). Like Nesli, we’ve been friends since 7th grade and best girls since the 8th. She’s the cutest /next to my spot/ in the group and makes equally-adorable reactions to everything she sees. It kind of takes her a while to do almost everything she has to do but it adds up to how she handles anything with the utmost love and care not anyone would ever spare time for. She's also loud whenever she opens her mouth to speak /e.g. when we're in the car and it's quiet, she would completely ignore the silence and start a quickfire with her words but that's okay because she can never be irritating to me at all/. I love her that much. I hope she’d find solace in the fact that she’s a bright, bright kiddo who would slay any scientific fate she’d choose. I’d always have her back as she's always had mine.

When we met, it suddenly just made sense to meet altogether, too. It wasn't like our personalities were so similar with the other that we just had to gather around a campfire and talk about starting a tribe or something. Our personalities differ; but in such a way that we complement each other, filling gaps that needed a little something of this or that. But about the tribe thing, yes we do gather. Annually. For Christmas. And it has to be in a different house each year until we get to be in everyone's humble abodes.

Ladies & gents, this is my second ohana. My very own battle cohort. Top 1 in my small list of kada’s. My most favorite non-blood related people in the universe. I used to be a stick-to-one kind of person. Now, I'm mostly a stick-to-ten.

#friends #personal

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symphonicwinds · 7 years

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Sophia reviews P5 Confidants Pt. 2

If you haven’t read the explanation/seen the first part of this series, please click here! This part covers Arcanas 5 - 9 (Hierophant to Hermit). As always, this post contains late ass spoilers so please read at your own risk!

The next part will cover the next 4 -5 arcanas, so stay tuned!

V. HIEROPHANT – SOUJIRO SAKURA

BEST LINK IN THE GAME.

Sorry. I just, holy shit you guys. Soujiro’s link is the best link in the entire game. Hands down. No question. I love Soujiro so much.

I think Soujiro’s link succeeds where other links don’t in a few ways.

1. Coffee/curry making

The coffee/curry making mechanic is great because not only does it allow you to make SP healing items, but it allows you to bond with Soujiro outside of his social link. You also get to learn new facts about coffee, similar to Catherine’s alcohol system, making it pretty much my favourite nighttime mechanic. It makes Soujiro’s social link easier to max, it gives you an SP healing item and you get to hang out with Soujiro, who is like, the best non-party member in the game. There is no downside to making coffee.

2. Futaba and Soujiro in one link? Sign me the fuck up

I’ve mentioned before that Persona 5’s confidants are great because they often involve other characters outside of the protagonist. Soujiro’s confidant is unique in that it heavily involves Futaba, rather than a minor character. So not only do you get character development from Soujiro, you also get character development for Futaba! Seeing them bond and become closer is the most heart warming thing in the entire game. You can also see how much Soujiro loves Futaba, not just because she’s the daughter of the woman he loved, but for herself, and seeing how far he’ll go to protect her (and later you) literally melts my heart.

3. Soujiro gradually warms up to you

At the beginning of the game, Soujiro treats you as little more than a burden to him, and often threatens that he’ll kick you out if you cause any trouble. However, as you advance his confidant, he slowly warms up to you, and by the end of it you, him and Futaba are basically an adopted family. And can I just say that this family dynamic is great because it emphasises that everyone chooses to be together? It’s definitely a family built on love and trust, created over time and I absolutely adore the Sakura family.

4. Great dynamic between strength and vunerability

While you see Soujiro at a lot of his weakest moments throughout his story (main story and social link), Soujiro never appears weak, in a way where he needs rescuing. Obviously you do end up rescuing him in the way of stealing Futaba’s uncle’s heart, but he never shows signs of weakness throughout the game. He is incredibly resilient, which is admirable, but you know that he is not perfect and that he is incredibly vunerable, especially when it comes to Futaba. It creates this weird mix between wanting to protect him, but also respecting him for his own strength, which he has in spades.

5. Great synergy between main conflict and side conflict

Soujiro’s social link succeeds where Haru’s fails in that it handles multiple issues extraordinarily well. It focuses his relationship with Futaba and his issues with Futaba’s uncle as the central plot, and smaller moments are devoted with resolving Soujiro’s feelings for Wakaba, Futaba’s mother. Both stories are presented so well, and it makes Soujiro an incredibly interesting and dynamic character.

As I previously mentioned, Soujiro’s confidant skill is allowing you to make coffee and curry. The farther you level his confidant, the better you get at making curry and coffee. This is introduced early in the game and his food will be ABSOLUTE LIFESAVERS in Palaces, and at this point of the game the best SP healing items you can get are pop cans that heal 5 SP, in contrast to the coffee which heals 30. The only downside to this is that it takes time to make, but again, you get to learn about coffee and hang out with Soujiro! Guaranteed to have a good time.

VI. LOVERS – ANN TAKAMAKI

Ann is… one of those confidants where I like her in the main story, more than her social link.

I sympathize with Ann a lot because I can personally relate to her story in game. I also think that she’s adorable and I love her relationship with Ryuuji.

But her social link. Oh man.

I had originally decided that Ann was best girl, early on in the game. She was it. She was going to be my waifu. But then I did her social link, and I just, couldn’t do it. I felt like her social link was weaker in comparison to some of the later links because I didn’t find her story that compelling. I appreciate aspects of it; her, realizing that she loves modelling and working hard at it, her relationship with Shiho and her dealing with Shiho’s recovery, but these things were overshadowed by what I disliked about the link. I didn’t really like Mika, and the use of her as a foil for Ann wasn’t that effective for me. I think it would have been better if Ann had reached her “cap” when it comes to her modelling career, and then from there she can realize that she needs to work hard in order to get what she wants. Mika completely fell flat for me as a character, and all of her interactions with Ann were very unenjoyable and borderline unpleasant to watch.

Ann’s link definitely had the Protagonist as a cheerleader to Ann’s pursuits. And as much as that can be applied to literally every social link, I didn’t feel like the Protagonist was as active in Ann’s story. Obviously the outlier here was when the Protagonist gets to tease Ann to make her “stronger”, but that aside, he felt like he was watching, rather than getting involved.

All of that aside, I think my biggest issue with Ann, not only as a character but with her social link, is that it feels like you mixed Rise and Chie’s social links from Persona 4 and put it into one person. Ann, also feels like a mix of Chie and Rise. I don’t really like saying that about the Persona 5 characters, because overall I feel like they’re all diverse enough to be considered their own people, but Ann is pretty much my sole exception to this. In short, there were times where Ann really felt like Rise (modelling and bubbliness) or really felt like Chie (with the “getting stronger” objective and her feistiness), and I did not enjoy the times where Ann felt like Chie, just because I don’t like Chie.

And with all of those things together, Ann’s social link is probably one of the more weaker ones in Persona 5. It’s not bad, but I simply didn’t enjoy it as much as the others.

Ann’s unique confidant boost is making negotiations with Shadows easier. This isn’t really that great, just because literally every party member gains this ability as well, so it doesn’t really give the player incentive to level her confidant for the sake of her bonus.

VII. CHARIOT – RYUUJI SAKAMOTO

I liked Ryuuji’s link. It is not one of the best, I enjoyed it and I liked seeing Ryuuji outside of the Phantom Thieves.

I think Ryuuji’s link is good because it showcases Ryuuji’s character well. The Ryuuji in his confidant is very different from Skull/Phantom Thieves Ryuuji, as he’s a lot more soft spoken and caring in this. Obviously some of his brashness and anger is still there, but his link reminds you that Ryuuji isn’t just some thickheadded idiot, and is more perceptive and intelligent than what you see in the main storyline.

I think my biggest issue with Ryuuji’s link was that it wasn’t really about Ryuuji. While it did show Ryuuji in a softer light, in a way, Ryuuji was sidelined in his own confidant in favour for his track team. It’s not enough of an issue for you to say, forget that this is Ryuuji’s link and not the track team’s link, but I kind of wish that it was a bit more centered around him. But what was there was incredibly solid, and I liked seeing Ryuuji plot his little missions to eavesdrop on the new track coach, and him obtaining the resolve to train on his own, rather than depending on a team.

Ryuuji’s unique confidant boost is the ability to INSTANTLY KILL ENEMIES that are weaker than you and take their personas if you have room. This is actually, really really great. Especially when you’re combing Momentos for targets on high levels, it makes Momentos traversing a breeze. Also, if you power grind to 99 to fuse all of the personas/fight Caroline and Justine, it makes the last dungeon a freaking cakewalk.

VIII. JUSTICE – GORO AKECHI

Goro’s link is another link that advances as the story advances, so I’m going to talk about Goro’s relationship with the Protagonist and him as a character in general.

Goro is my favourite character in the whole game.

I’m not going to lie. Totally had a crush on Goro since day one. I have a thing for pretty boys, and I genuinely, genuinely thought that Goro was earnest in his sense of justice and in catching the Phantom Thieves.

I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.

I was kind of hoping that he wouldn’t be the traitor because he was the Justice Arcana, and how could he be evil when he shares an arcana with Nanako Dojima? But he was.

It’s wrong to say that Goro is evil though. It simplifies his character when he is the most well written and the most underutilized character in the whole game.

What makes Goro’s character work is the Reveal. Again, I did not anticipate him being evil at all, and it shocked me that he was. Similarly to the Fake Igor, learning about his backstory and his plans makes you rethink every single encounter and appearance you’ve seen. And, even though his pride did not allow him to see his father’s plan to dispose of him after the election, you have to give him credit for being able to create/conduct such an elaborate plot against the Phantom Thieves.

Goro is a murder. He’s also a sociopath. But he is a product of years, and years of emotional abuse, and being absolutely starved of any love and affection. What makes Goro compelling is that he didn’t have to be evil. That, as Yusuke said, any one of the Phantom Thieves could have became like him if they hadn’t met the Protagonist. And he acknowledges this! He knows things could have been different, but they aren’t and that’s what makes his character so tragic. And despite loathing and being extremely jealous of the Protagonist, he genuinely cares about them, from not exposing Morgana’s identity to Shido to “sacrificing” himself to allow them to escape. He had experienced genuine care and love from the Protagonist, when it was already too late, and that’s what makes him a fantastic character.

When it comes to his relationship with the Protagonist, their bond is subtle, but impactful. Even though Goro knows who you are and your identities, he still confides in you, about his past in Leblanc and of his tiredness of being the Detective Prince. I’ve seen some people critique Goro’s social link because it doesn’t seem to make sense in certain areas why it would increase, but I feel like it’s your subconscious trust of Goro, even if it’s not openly displayed. All of this cumulates in the final battle with him, where, despite fully knowing that he had killed both Futaba and Haru’s parents, that they were willing to team up with him to take down Shido. I found this moment to particularly impactful because it also, ultimately changes Goro’s mindset too, as this offer is what provokes him into saving you from Cognitive Goro and telling him to avenge Shido in his honour.

Unfortunately, other than basic party skills, Goro does not provide any sort of social link bonuses. That isn’t something you really neeed to worry about, because he’s a story progressing social link and maxing him is part of the true ending but it still kind of blows that he doesn’t really add much to your gameplay :/

IX. THE HERMIT – FUTABA SAKURA

Futaba is definitely one of my favourite characters in the game, and she was more a little sister to me than Nanako ever was. Between her confidant, Soujiro’s confidant and the main story, she probably gets the most screentime other than the Protagonist. And her confidant is solid too!

Futaba’s social link is similar to Ryuuji’s where her personality really shines. She is incredibly endearing in her attempts to intergrate herself into society/fulfill her promises, and there was a good mix of humour with serious moments, similar to Yusuke’s social link. Futaba’s link was more successful than Yusuke’s in that she made me laugh! Futaba is genuinely an enjoyable character to watch, with all of her erratic behaviours, and it offset the more serious parts of her social link quite well. I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a bad thing, but I felt like the humour outshone the serious issues in Futaba’s social link.

Futaba’s other friendship is with her friend Kana, who she wishes to reconnect with. Although Kana is not explicitly shown in the entirety of her link, she works because she is a support to Futaba’s development, and acts nicely as Futaba’s motivation to overcome her social anxiety and past trauma. Again, this allows Futaba to remain the center of her link, while the other characters support her, in contrast to Ryuuji, who got overshadowed by the track team.

As a romance option, oh boy. I’m not surprised that Futaba is popular as a lover, because she so freaking endearing and adorable, especially when you confess to her. Her link is also fairly obvious in showing her affection for the Protagonist, and it legitimately hurt me to reject her. While I personally see her more as a little sister (especially with her Japanese voice actress making her sound a lot more childish and zany), her romance link is TOP NOTCH.

Futaba’s social link bonuses are probably one of the best of the game, as she gives you a variety of supports in battle, from things like evasion/speed ups to free heat risers and SP healing. She can also figure out the layout of various Momentos floors, and replenish treasure in palaces/Momentoes, making her supremely useful and worth your time to max out, above other characters.

#persona 5 #p5 #p5 spoilers #akechi goro #goro akechi #soujiro sakura #sojiro sakura #ann takamaki #ryuuji sakamoto #sophia's thoughts

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