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sillyfudgemonkeys · 5 years

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Kasumi’s PT Outfit Analysis

Tell me what do these two have in common?

If you said “Cat theme” you are correct! If not, well then buckle up my dudes cause this is gonna be fun~! :D (I also want to take the time to point out, while this isn’t want I’m talking about, I do like this fan artist’s perspective on her gloves :D)

I know what you’re thinking, and no I’m not smoking anything I don’t do that, but Kasumi really does have cat thief themed origins (and no not because of the fan art, didja click on it? it’s cute!). I realized it after realizing she was a gymnast and was like “Why? Why does she get a gymnast theme? How does this fit with the outlaw theme? Has there been a thief who had gymnast outfit?....wait....could it be.....omg it IS!” AND THE ANSWER IS YES! 4 thieves actually, 3 are sisters in one series, and 1 is an expy of those sisters by the same author in his other work. If you know who I’m talking about I’m talking about.....CAT’S EYE! (and Phantom Thief 305 from City Hunter, I dunno the meaning of the name tho)

Let’s start with Cat’s Eye (not a 100% expert in it, but I know more than City Hunter tbh). Cat’s Eye is about a trio of sisters (Hitomi the middle who is the main character, Rui the oldest sister, and Ai the youngest) stealing things using their multiple skill sets (such as gymnastics), partially because they want to contact their missing dad who is also a thief (and their attempts to contact him are through the calling cards and stealing the items in hopes he comes as well). And....that’s basically it I think (been awhile since I read the manga and I’m in the process of re-reading it now). Movie wise, it seems they are in the process of trying to rescue him (hard to find info, no eng subtitles for me to watch so efsljdfl;aj).

Anne and Kasumi are the biggest shout outs to Cat’s Eye than anyone else (tho you could argue Cat’s eye is probs the reason Makoto drives a Motorcycle and Futaba is an semi-orange themed tech genius, and Haru who is “Noir” tho I don’t feel like looking up who came first, her or the Cat’s Eye Pachinko machine cause it’s not important). Anne’s outfit is more a shout-out to the Cat’s Eye Movie version while Kasumi’s is more a shout-out to the original manga/anime. Let’s focus on the Cat’s Eye movie for a second tho.

This isn’t the first time Cat’s Eye movie was used as inspiration for Persona. Back in P2 Tamaki Uchida dressed as Ai (the youngest sister of Cat’s Eye, but is the lead role in the movie), as the actress she is based off of (Yuki Uchida) played Ai in the movie.

Anne, however, seems to be based on Hitomi outfit with some Rui flare to it (they differ slightly)

(btw the movie opens up with an anime sequence before going full live action, Hitomi Left, Rui Right I think for both pics, Ai is in the middle for the bottom pic, and recolored Anne for better comparison and also because I can 8U)

I know what you are thinking, “But what about Catwoman????” I think she’s still related to Cat’s Eye tho. Catwoman came first in creation, and Catwoman was the first to use the leather outfits (tbh, mask wise, Tamaki’s mask/ears seem to draw from the Catwoman 60s tv show outfit), and it seems she/Batman were the inspiration for the movie costumes. Also considering how Persona likes to use Batman, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the cat theme stuff was also Batman/Catwoman related as well as Cat’s Eye. So there’s still a connection to Catwoman esp with the movie!

Another possible connection to the movie is Anne’s name, specifically “Anne,” as the person who went by the stage name “Anri/杏里” (I mean Anne is just the 杏 kanji but still) who sings the theme song “Cat’s Eye 2000″ for the movie. Fun fact.

Now let’s look at the manga/anime, where it’s Kasumi’s time to shine (tho Anne will come back up).

As you can see they’ve been redesigned a few times (btw Hitomi’s colors in the first vol of Cat’s eye is actually blue with an orange ribbon, it was changed to yellow later it seems, also the top right is a spinoff manga of Cat’s Eye called Cat’s Eye: Ai where Ai is the MC)

As you can see, the girl who is mostly in the blue is Hitomi, and she has a tendency to wear a chocker with her leotard. Kinda like.......Kasumi!

Recolored with blue to highlight the comparison (also because I NEED COLOR IN HER DESIGN ATLUS LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH DX)

Fun fact, Hitomi I believe is a gymnast and she utilizes her skills as a thief (and thus where we get the gymnast as a thief outlaw theme and why it only works for Kasumi/gymnasts and not runners like Ryuji).

But Kasumi also has similarities between her and Ai, both have red in their theme, both I think are first years. Also, while Ai isn’t as strong or skilled as her older sisters in fighting, she is the most agile (which we don’t know if Kasumi is in the same boat but it’s worth noting just in case). Another thing about Ai, is her connection to Tamaki up above, Tamaki who is based off the actress who played Ai was in the fencing club (which Yuki Uchida was also a fencer), and what weapon does Kasumi wield? A one handed sword similar to other fencers in Persona (like Mitsuru), so woot we’ve come full circle on that! (also if Kasumi is Hamuko reincarnated, or Hamuko’s younger sister, it should be noted that one of Hamuko’s theme colors is orange along with pink and red so fklsdjfsajf; bonus points if that comes true!)

Kasumi’s mask is also probably based on the Cat’s Eye calling card (or at least it follows a similar pattern):

Same point pattern, same eye shape and design (it’d also explain why it’s so thick, cause the emblem is thick looking too 8U)

So I mentioned we’d come back to Anne, and here we are! There is one last thing that is similar to Anne and the Kisugi sisters, and it’s that they are all hafus! The sisters are all half german, and Hitomi looks just like her western grandmother if Hitomi had blonde hair, and later dyes her hair blonde for her thieving:

Also *cough* a pink/red outfit I wonder who that reminds us of? 8U

Now onto City Hunter, which....I think is the biggest evidence that Kasumi was based off these people. And it’s this girl:

The girl with the glasses is the same one as the girl in the same girl in the green leotard (the one in the red isn’t a thief, but was wearing one to match the other girl while they stole a flower).

This is the first episode this girl shows up (only one I’ve seen too tbh), she’s actually 17/a 2nd year iirc.... And guess what her name is? Kasumi Aso. Kasumi is spelled the same way too (aka only in hirigana)! From my research she only steals what is commissioned of her (I think she steals back what is stolen from other people). She has connection to flowers like Kasumi Yoshizawa (Aso is connected to the [black] tulip, Yoshizawa has flowers on her belt). Both are pretty unassuming in their civilian outfits too tbh. (tho slightly off topic, fun fact, there was a Japanese hafu rhythmic gymnast named Kasumi, I’ve been wanting to post about that for awhile but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s who IRL Yoshizawa was based off of)

Sadly I don’t know much else about Aso, I need to read more of City Hunter to find out (even tho she’s not a super main character), and tbh this is where I kinda end with the Kasumi/Anne and Cat’s Eye/PT 305/Catwoman analysis. But I’ll use this time to talk about a few misc stuff and maybe a few theories related to cat themed thief ladies:

P5 probably got the “Thief who works at a cafe during the day (and the Cafe name also is a reference to their thieving as well as possibly housing a cat)” from Cat’s Eye and City hunter (which take place in Tokyo/Shinjuku, tho in different locations), as the Kisugi Sisters work at their cafe called “Cat’s Eye,” and Aso being their expy, also works at a cafe by the same name (tho it’s run by different people cause it’s in a different/parallel universe).

I wouldn’t be surprised if Tamaki’s tendency to house a Nekomata in her workplace to be similar to the kitty (Tiger I think it’s name is) that Ai has at the cafe (esp considering, again, Yuki Uchida played Ai).

According to the Japanese fan wiki of Cat’s Eye, in the sequel “Cat’s Eye: Ai,” the Cafe is moved to a new location, which is Kichijoji, which is the new area that has been unlocked in P5R (maybe a certain cafe will be available for us to wander into? :0 Or maybe Kasumi works at a cafe XP or maybe is connected to the billiards place, tho that DARTSLIVE3 screenshot seems to have a “cafe” poster in the background so maaaaaaaybe that’s a cafe XP)

Part of me wonders if Mitsuru’s Arena outfit is related more to Black Cat, due to the signature “white fur” both characters wear.

Kasumi Y’s hairstyle (aka if her hair was down, so basically we are going off her bangs) is similar to Hitomi (at least the Pachinko machine ver)

Anne’s circle zipper designs might be more of a shout-out to Marvel’s Black Cat, not that Catwoman hasn’t had that as well, but I don’t feel like figuring out who did the circle zipper first 8U

Satomi Tadashi dressed up as Zorro and was romantically involved with Takami. Anne who is a Cat’s Eye expy is crushed on by Mona (who wields Zorro). And Kasumi, another Cat’s Eye expy, looks like a Hamuko Expy, while Mona’s human form looks like a Minato Expy.

Kasumi has a similar black mask with silver line design (not the mask shape itself, the line design) as a woman named “Noir”(?) who appears in the Cat’s Eye Pachinko Machine (yes I did come across interesting things, no I don’t know what her deal is or really who she is tbh cause I think she’s a pachinko original 8U ;w;)

So yeah just gonna kinda end it here awkwardly. FYI this doesn’t mean you HAVE to like her outfit (you have every right to dislike or like it tbh), it’s just a history lesson, and explaining how it fits the outlaw/PT theme, where’s Ryuji’s track or Haru’s ballet doesn’t.

Oh! Edit cause I forgot, if you push her mask up over head, it might look like cat’s ears, just a theory tho (of course it might look like devil horns but so does Anne’s so fklsjdfk;aj;faj;f take this for what you will):

#persona 5 #persona 5 royal #kasumi yoshizawa #persona 2 #cat's eye #city hunter #p5r #p5 #p5tr #p2

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nexttrickanvils · 5 years

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Stray Thoughts

Written for Day 6 of Ryukita Week: Desire

Characters: Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa

Notes: POV switching

--------- It started with a stray thought.

His hair looks soft…

Ryuji immediately shook that thought out of his head because what!?

No seriously, what? Where did that come from!?

Okay... obviously… Ryuji’s just… bored. That’s it. He felt bored during the subway ride, looked at Yusuke, and had a weird random thought. He probably would have had a similar thought if he was looking at Ann or Akira. No he wouldn’t. Besides it’s not Ryuji wanted to like… run his fingers through his teammate’s hair or anything.

Though now that the thought was in his head...

---------

For Yusuke, it also started with a stray thought.

When Ryuji came to the Hideout, wearing a rather loose sleeveless shirt, Yusuke couldn’t help but stare the blonde’s arms. With Ryuji’s background as a former runner, his most prominent feature would be his legs but clearly Ryuji hasn’t neglected his upper body and arms.

What would it be like to touch…

Yusuke caught himself and buried the thought. No. Even in thoughts, he should not be violating his teammate’s personal space. Especially after his abhorrent behavior to Ann in their initial meeting.

He still found his eyes wandering even after they entered the Metaverse.

---------

“Now! Let us strike!”

Ryuji grins as he, Akira, Yusuke, and Makoto leap into action. This was honestly one of the best parts of the whole Phantom Thief thing, kicking ass with his friends. Once the shadows start looking weak, Ryuji launches a mazio. It doesn’t take them out but as they’re trying to stand up after getting fried, Yusuke pulls off some move straight out of some old samurai movie.

He strikes a post (because of course he does) as they fade away.

“And the curtain falls.”

Ryuji finds himself short of breath with a fluttering feeling in his chest…

...Shit…

---------

It’s the middle of the night when Yusuke awakens and is struck with inspiration.

He rushes to set up the canvas and paints, afraid that at any moment he’ll lose the inspiring spark of his dream. He mixes blacks and reds and yellows along with blues of varying shades.

An unknown amount of time passes as the painting begins to take shape. It’s more abstract though perhaps it is fitting given the inspiration is from a dream. Though he can’t remember more specific details, Yusuke can recall the feelings of the dream.

Contentment… and desire.

He begins to add in the other colors and there’s a different energy to them. They should not painted as smoothly as the blues, they needed to be quick and striking like… like...

“...Lightning...” Yusuke whispers in realization.

---------

Ryuji could deal with being attracted to a guy. Took him a while to accept that part of himself and it’s not like he’d shout it on the rooftops but he still accepted it.

But Yusuke? Yusuke!?

Sure he liked the guy enough to be his friend but…

What if this was just a physical thing? Nothing against those kinda relationships but Yusuke deserved more than just a friends with benefits thing. They don’t really hang out without the others, maybe he should try to get to know Yusuke better and ask him…

...Ask him out… DUH!

Before he could somehow convince himself to chicken out, Ryuji grabs his phone from his dresser and sends Yusuke a text.

RYUJI: Hey dude! I don’t got anything to do today, you wanna go out for some ramen or beef bowls?

He placed the phone down and started to read one of the various manga volumes on his shelf. Yusuke might be too busy to reply right away and he was one of the slower texters in the group so an answer might take a while.

Ryuji was about half-way through the second chapter when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and read Yusuke’s reply.

YUSUKE: I have nothing else planned. When and where shall we meet?

---------

They meet at a ramen shop in Ogikubo and Ryuji insists on paying for them both. The ramen itself is well done and Yusuke can’t help but praise it in his own typical fashion.

“Geez dude, I love the ramen here too but I think that might be a bit much.” Ryuji remarked with a laugh

“I am merely giving my honest opinion.”

He suddenly feels an arm around his shoulder and a warmth spreading on his face. (He hopes that Ryuji would attribute it to the steam from the ramen.)

“Hey don’t worry I’m just messing with ya. I’m sure the owners would be thrilled to hear what ya said. Though um… speaking of uh… saying what’s your mind...”

“Ah… yes… to be quite honest there is something I wish to say...”

“I’ve uh been thinking about this… ‘bout you actually and uh...”

“You have been occupying my thoughts quite often and...”

“I think I like you!”

“I believe I’ve fallen in love with you.”

...Oh…

The two stare at each other as they realize what had just happened.

“Dude, did we confess to each other at the same time?”

“I… believe we did.”

There was a moment of silence before Ryuji burst into laughter. The blonde’s smile and laughter were rather contagious and thus it did not take long before Yusuke joined in.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you full on laugh. It’s… it’s nice.”

Yusuke’s blush returned from the compliment, “Thank you...”

He cannot help but recall the dream that made him realize the true extent of his feelings toward Ryuji. That feeling of contentment and desire, he feels them again now though much more intensely than before.

Yusuke admits that he isn’t entirely sure where he and Ryuji go from here but he looks forward to finding out.

#Persona 5 #Ryukitaweek2019 #Ryukita #Yusuke Kitagawa #Ryuji Sakamoto #Anvil Writings

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bluefire-axolotl · 5 years

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Sorry if like you don’t do these but what about a post about if the Blue Exorcist characters had powers. This excludes their powers in the show but probably more along the lines of idk magic powers or something? Superpowers? Idk it’s just a thought of some sort maybe you can build off of you said you were running out of ideas lol, Goodluck!

Okay this is a really cool prompt and I’ve been meaning to answer if FOREVER so here we go:

Rin: I know fire powers is the obvious answer, but I could actually see him with some really cool water/ocean based powers. Something like waterbending but with a more ocean-specific aspect somehow. I just feel like the sea is such a powerful thing, protective yet temperamental in a way that really reminds me of him. Honestly though this is probably just me projecting because I love the ocean and relate to Rin a lot but I think it would work.

Yukio: If I could give Yukio any superpower, it would be the power of mental stability. Unfortunately, as canon shows, there is no way he would have this. He’d probably end up with ice powers. He’s cold, he can be deadly, and he melts under extreme stress. Also, I was just thinking of other possible powers for him, and I came up with the idea that his moles glow and that’s it. It made me laugh, so I’m sharing it.

Shiemi: Listen. In the show, she has plant-based and healing powers. Her fighting style revolves around plants and healing. Plants and healing are like, her things TM. So me saying she would have plant-based and/or healing powers is literally the least original thing I could possibly say. But AAAAAAAAHH, it just works SO WELL for her. Maybe if I combined them in a unique enough way it could count as semi-original and not completely obvious… Maybe she could like, cause flowery vines to grow that can wrap around part of a person and cause different effects based on the type of flowers. So like small white flowers for healing, tiny lavender flowers let her read your mind, etc. Might be a bit overpowered because it’s such a wide range but she’s really cool and she deserves it.

Ryuji: Hnnnnng listen once again I’m going off their canon abilities but fire control. It just fits him okay? His flames would probably be more of a golden yellow color than the bright red he uses through Karura in the manga, though.

Shima: Probably invisibility. It fits well with him being a spy and all, and would help him to sort of… fade into the background, without all the obligations to his family and temple that he doesn’t want. But please, do not actually give him invisibility powers because we all know what he’d do with them.

Koneko: Mind reading. He can’t just dig around in your mind though: he can just tell what you’re thinking at any given moment. He’d definitely use it in all his strategies and become scarily powerful. Hearing all those voices in his head would probably overwhelm him at times, though, so he’d have to find a lot of quiet time to meditate to calm himself down.

Izumo: Something wind-based maybe. Or maybe telekinesis. Actually I really like the idea of Telekinesis Izumo let’s go with that.

Shura: Okay, have any of you seen Madoka Magica? Well, you know how Sayaka can do some cool wavy movements and make a bunch of swords appear out of f u c k i n g n o w h e r e and then fling them at enemies or just actually use them how swords were intended to be used? That. Let her have That. Please. It would be so cool.

Mephisto: He can make anime waifus real. That’s it. I’m so sorry.

Amaimon: emo swamp man gets emo swamp powers. What does that mean? I don’t know. I’m tired. But maybe someone will understand. If this feels like a cop out to you, congrats, you get a cookie. I’m sorry, Amaimon is a cool character who I want to do something interesting for, but I feel like his canon powers fit him really well, so I’m just gonna vaguely shitpost something.

Arthur: Listen I would be lying if I said he wouldn’t have some kind of light-based thing. Maybe he can make and control balls of bright light that destroy most of what they come into contact with.

Lewin: He’s like a… spider man. Not like capitol S Spider-Man, but he’s just a man made out of spiders. He dissolves into spiders sometimes. He can make just one part of him become spiders too, like just his hand. Shima hates him.

Shiro: Okay, here me out: necromancy. He can’t really bring back the dead, but he can re-animate them and make them do his bidding. He doesn’t like to use zombies much, but he does it a lot with skeletons. He starts the Skeleton War. Mephisto plays the sans theme when he’s around and he Does Not Like It.

Alright, there are more characters but it’s 1-am and this is turning into more of a shitpost than anything else, so I’m gonna call it a night. Thank you anon for the cool ass, and thank you for trying to help me make new content.

#blue exorcist #ao no exorcist #ane #ask #thank u anon this was really cool I had a lot of fun with it

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thepathsofdestiny · 7 years

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Logistics

~*~ The love and loyalty among the Phantom Thieves is deep, abiding, and occasionally confusing, which is why they decided to make a chart. The start of my new series, Where The Lines Overlap. Read it on AO3 here. ~*~ It had been Makoto’s idea. Makoto Niijima was, after all, nothing if not organized. Her time as a college sophomore, preparing to take the law enforcement entrance exam, had taught her that things feel so much more concrete once you write them down. That was true for everything; facts, goals, even relationships. What her sophomore year also taught her was that trying to get eight college students with different schedules together in the same room was a logistical nightmare. Truly, being an adult was complicated. But no more complicated than being in love.

That was how Makoto came to be standing in the attic at Leblanc with a whiteboard, markers, and one of Yusuke��s easels, aiming to map out hearts that were long since stolen. That is to say, Makoto was writing everyone’s names in a circle around the edge of the board, while all her closest friends chattered and cuddled in clusters around the room. Yusuke and Haru were sitting on a wooden bench, prim, elegant, long-limbed. Akira and Ryuji were by the windows, Ryuji reaching over to spin Futaba around in her new computer chair. Claiming the couch were Ann, radiant as ever, and Shiho, quiet, attentive- her sun and moon. “Alright!” Makoto called out, clapping her hands together for quiet. “Eyes up!” Her voice held as much steel as a soon-to-be police cadet as it did a lifetime ago, as second-in-command of the Phantom Thieves. In an instant, all eyes were on her. “Now then,” Makoto began, “it’s no secret that we’re all very… close… friends. There are some understandings that have gone unspoken for some time, and I think, in the interest of openness and communication-” “She wants to know who we want to fuck!” Ryuji called out from the cheap seats. “Thank you, Ryuji,” Makoto sighed. “What would I do without you.” “That’s what I’m here for,” Ryuji grinned. “Oh, and uh, sorry about the language, Shiho.” Shiho smiled gently. “It’s quite alright.” “Why do you always do that?” Ann asked. “Do what?” “You always apologize for cursing in front of Shiho,” Ann said. “She’s the only one of us you do that to. Why is that?” “I dunno,” Ryuji shrugged. “She’s, like, a lady.” “What does that make us?” Haru giggled, a faux-affronted hand at her chest. “That’s not what I mean,” Ryuji explained. “Cursing in front of Shiho is like, I dunno, cursing in front of my mom.” “Ew!” Ann made a face. “Don’t think about Shiho like-” “No no no, it’s a compliment,” Akira put in quickly. “Ryuji loves his mom.” “I do,” Ryuji nodded. “I’m flattered?” Shiho smiled. “Moving on,” Makoto groaned. Steering a conversation with these dorks was like herding cats- they never go where you want them to, even if they look cute on the way. “Alright. I was thinking we could color-code our relationships. I brought markers-” “Oh!” Yusuke chimed in. “May I see them?” Makoto passed him the pack. Yusuke studied them, a thoughtful hand under his chin, looking as if he were scrutinizing every individual dot of paint in Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte rather than a 500-yen pack of markers. “Not the brand I would have chosen,” Yusuke muttered. “And an odd choice of medium-” “We’re just. Making. A chart.” Makoto seethed. Yusuke blinked up at her, meekly returning the pack. Makoto saw a hand across the room. “Yes, Akira?” “Which color should we do first?” Makoto sighed in gratitude. “...I was thinking we could start with red, for sexual attraction.” “Why didn’t you just start with a red board?” Everyone turned. Futaba was sitting in her computer chair, knees hugged to her chest. “What?!” Futaba said, defensive. “You’re all super hot!” Futaba saw the face Akira was making and rolled her eyes. “Except you, obviously!” “What about the other colors?” Shiho offered gently. Makoto smiled at her, grateful. “I thought we could use blue for emotional intimacy, and yellow, for non-sexual, physical intimacy. Basically for all the cuddlers.” “Oh, we should have started with a yellow board,” Haru mused. “I suppose all my lines will be green, then,” Yusuke said beside her. “Sex is not something I have a vested interest in.” “Hey, aren’t you two living together?” Ann asked. “Oh, yes, Yusuke’s a lovely housemate!” Haru cooed. “We’re both of us tremendously lonely people with no family to speak of, so we fit together quite nicely. He’s a lovely cuddler, and a lovelier person to confide in. And I get to provide for him. I’m glad to cater to his expensive tastes in terms of art supplies, interior decorating…” “...his regular tastes, like eating more than just bean sprouts…” Akira muttered. “I am regularly dismayed at having to turn my attention away from art and towards such base concerns,” Yusuke said. “What, like feeding yourself?” Akira asked. “Aww, that’s cute, though,” Ryuji grinned. “You two are practically married.” “Except they never have sex,” Ann said. “Uh, yeah. So they’re married.” “Guys, if we could focus for just two seconds…” Makoto sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Excuse me.” “Yes, Shiho?” “May I go first?” Makoto smiled. “Yes. Go right ahead.” Shiho rose, taking the pack of markers from Makoto and standing by the board, studying it. “I’m afraid I’m not as deeply involved in this circle as all of you,” Shiho admitted, sheepish. “Certainly not as much as I’d like.” “It’s okay,” Makoto said softly. “The board’s only going to get more crowded from here,” Akira shrugged. “True,” Shiho said. “Now, what were the colors again?” “Red for sexual intimacy, yellow for physical, blue for emotional,” Makoto said. Shiho uncapped the blue marker. “Well, Akira’s always so easy to talk to,” she said, drawing a blue line between her name and his. “And Ryuji can be surprisingly insightful at times…” “Do you have to say ‘surprisingly’?” Ryuji grumbled, as Shiho connected their names in blue. “And, um,” Shiho hesitated, before switching to a green marker. “...I’ve… grown rather fond of you, too, Mako-chan…” Haru gasped. “She calls you-?! Oh no! That’s adorable!” “And Ann…” Shiho smiled, settling on a black marker. “...well. Do I even have to say it?” Shiho drew a black line between their names. Ann ran up and threw her arms around Shiho from behind, Shiho pulling her hand away from the board before the line became a squiggle. “Oh, Shiho!” Ann wailed, full of an aspiring actress’ staged melodrama. “Oh, Ann…” Shiho purred. “Oh, brother,” Makoto said, but she was smiling just the same. She held up the pack of markers. “Who’s next?” ~*~ They took turns adding to the chart, everyone keeping an eye out for black lines, in particular. Some of those, people saw coming- Akira and Ryuji, for example, since after years of tacit understanding Ryuji was finally able to say it out loud. The room grew warm with Ryuji’s embarrassment and the group’s pride in him, although Futaba had to ruin it, wondering how Ryuji outran his feelings for so long on a bum leg. Some of these, people didn’t see coming- for instance, when Haru came up and drew green lines between Akira, Yusuke and herself, yellow lines for almost everyone else… and a single black line, between her and Makoto. “When did this happen?!” Ryuji had blurted out. “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell,” Haru had said, coy. “This whole meeting is us kissing and telling,” Makoto had to remind them. “When does the kissing start?!” Futaba had cut in. Some of the lines, however, needed a little more fuss. Ryuji and Ann, in particular, had stood in front of the whiteboard, scrutinizing it with the same level of intensity as Yusuke had studied the markers. There was a green line between their names, but Ann had the red marker in her hands, capping and uncapping it, wondering. “I mean… does it count?” Ann asked, completely serious. “It was one time,” Ryuji shrugged. “I don’t think it counts.” “Yeah, but…” “Make it black, you cowards!” Futaba called from her seat in the corner. Ann and Ryuji blushed. They looked, first to Shiho and Akira, respectively, then to each other. “W-We’ll talk,” Ryuji said. “Yeah,” Ann said, capping the red marker and tossing it aside. “You poor dears,” Haru teased. “Three years of this back-and-forth,” Yusuke chuckled. “Hey, remember what I said about you two being married?” Ryuji sniped, but he was smiling. By the time Akira stepped up to the board, it was a tangled knot of color. He turned, catching Makoto’s eyes. “Bless this mess, huh?” he asked. “You love it,” Makoto smiled. “I do.” Akira was going last, so by now, everyone should have drawn all the lines connecting to him. By the look in her eyes, Makoto knew it- but she handed him the pack regardless. When Akira stepped away from the board, there was a red line going around the circle of names, linking his name with everyone- Except Futaba. “What?!” Futaba exploded. “HOW COME HE GETS TO FUCK EVERYONE?!” “Dude!” Ryuji cut in. “Watch your fucking language!” Akira smiled a trickster’s smile as the room dissolved into teasing laughter around him. Makoto only handed him some blotting paper and shook her head, smiling. ~*~ Makoto’s ‘meeting’ concluded with a tangled, multicolored jumble on the whiteboard as well as on the attic floor, Akira having unrolled the spare futon as a makeshift carpet. They all huddled together in a pile of intoxicating warmth, chatting, cuddling, poking at their phones, stretching unselfconsciously across each other’s legs. Futaba was in the corner, clicking through the PC she’d built for Akira during his senior year away from Tokyo, which had taken the place of his work desk where he’d once made lockpicks. She was putting together a playlist- or trying to. Uniting the musical tastes of eight college students was almost as difficult as getting them all in one room. Almost. “Hey, shitlord,” Futaba said. “Hm?” Akira looked up from his seat on the floor. Makoto and Ryuji were sprawled across his legs, watching some MMA fight on Ryuji’s phone. “What’s up?” “I need you to head down to the Triple Seven and get some snacks.” “Why?” “Because I’m hungry?” “Fine,” Akira said. “Pass me my wallet?” Futaba reached out her hand, making grabby motions. “Nope. Can’t get it. It’s too far.” Akira sighed and stood up, grabbing his wallet off the computer desk, six inches from Futaba’s hand. He smiled, and thwapped her on the head with it, tossing it back down on the desk. “Brat.” “Bite me.” The stairwell creaked as Sojiro clambered up into the attic, smiling wryly at the cuddle pile on his floor. “What, are you throwing some kind of party up here?” Sojiro muttered. “It’s always a party when Akira’s around, sir,” Ryuji said. “Hmph. Ain’t that right,” Sojiro said. His gaze drifted to the whiteboard. “What’s this?” “Oh!” Makoto got to her feet. “That’s, um… you see, sir…” Sojiro studied the circle of names, linked together in multicolored lines. He frowned. “...This isn’t one of those ‘jelly bracelet’ things, is it?” “No no no no no!” Makoto said quickly. “I mean, it could be, if you weren’t cowards,” Futaba muttered. “Jelly bracelets? Is that some kind of candy?” Shiho wondered, oblivious. “It’s not,” Akira said firmly. “I… Look, it’s none of my business,” Sojiro said, uncomfortable. “Listen, I’m gonna close up shop. Don’t forget to lock up, alright, son?” “I won’t, D-” Akira caught himself, but it was too late. Everyone was looking at him. “Aww!” Haru cooed. “The paperwork hasn’t gone through yet!” Futaba hissed. Akira stuck his hands in his pockets, weathering the teasing. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face. Sojiro cleared his throat. “...You, uh. You kids have fun, alright? But not… too much fun.” “We won’t, sir,” Makoto said. “She’ll make sure of it,” Ann said, clinging to her arm. Makoto playfully swatted her away. Sojiro smiled and shook his head. “You kids…” Sojiro disappeared down the steps. The attic at Leblanc fell into a comfortable, intimate quiet. Ann’s hand closed around Makoto’s wrist, and she let her pull her down onto the floor, she and Shiho nuzzling into her like cats. Haru was coiled up on the futon, not unlike a cat herself, chatting with Yusuke about plans to decorate the house while he sat drawing her, a sketchbook on his lap. Ryuji was sprawled out in the middle of the floor, one hand in Ann’s hair, the other one poking at his phone. He dropped his phone flat on his chest and looked up. Ryuji reached up, grabbed hold of Futaba’s computer chair, and gave her another spin. She laughed as she went around, Akira’s hand smoothing against her hair as she came to a stop. Akira smiled- and wasn’t convinced he had ever stopped smiling, not since he’d returned after a year away from Tokyo, not since he’d come home to this tangled mess of limbs and hearts. He caught Makoto’s eyes across the pile. “It’s good to get everyone together, isn’t it?” Akira said. “Even if it’s like herding cats,” Makoto mused. “Hey,” Ryuji said, his voice breaking the warm quiet. “Now that we’re all here…” Ryuji sat up, suddenly aware everyone was looking at him. He grinned. “...Do you guys want to make out?” There was a pause, and a murmur. Ryuji blinked, not expecting anyone to actually consider it. “Um,” Ann said quietly. “I’d, uh. I’d be down.” Akira snickered. Then his wallet hit him in the face. “Hey!” Futaba said. “I still want those snacks!’ Akira shook his head and smiled, picking his wallet up off the floor and carefully stepping through the tangle of limbs. “Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone,” Akira said. “Makoto, you’re in charge.” “Understood,” Makoto smiled. Akira took one last glimpse at the chart before heading downstairs. It felt strange to say, but he was glad they had taken the time to write it all down. It felt more real that way. More solid. Not any more solid than the party going on in the attic, but still. Scheduling was going to be an issue, he was sure. He technically had a cafe to run. Makoto, Yusuke, Haru, and Shiho were all going to different schools, and into different fields. Futaba was taking online courses, which, along with ‘me time’, meant she was cooped up in her room and unavailable. Ann was an actress, so her schedule was a mess. And Ryuji, well… Ryuji was still figuring things out. Just like they all were, really. Still, after all this time... It was good to get everyone together. ~*~

#Persona 5 #fanfic #Polythieves #polyamory #Ann Takamaki #Ryuji Sakamoto #Yusuke Kitagawa #Makoto Niijima #Futaba Sakura #Haru Okumura #Sojiro Sakura #Where The Lines Overlap

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