#ma'am....

[8eezarchive]

06/06/2026

[p5-apotelesma]

anyone else kind of put off by how they write makoto scaring her friends? idk maybe its just me

like, okay, in tactica especially there are multiple "comedic bits" where they mention how strong makoto is and that she does martial arts. like, they're praising and admiring her skill, or just commenting on it in general. but at one point someone (morgana, i think. and later futaba) specifically say she is "scary" and "terrifying" and it shows them being scared of her. when she reacts to most of their comments like this:

and you know how theres that bit where joker can imagine what it would be like to marry a phantom thief of their choosing? and the makoto in his head gets angry at him for a conclusion she jumped to about joker having someone else? and when joker comes out of the daydream he backs away from makoto and she says he looks pale.

theres a lot of these bits in tactica, but strikers and even the base game isnt saved from this altogether. theres that god damn 'peeping at girls in the hot spring trope' that comes up in every modern mainline persona game. its meant to be funny? apparently? but after the 5th time we see it we're not like. haha dumb teen boys get beat up by angry teen girl over a misunderstanding. we're like. oh. this again.

(i feel like this same 'girl beats up dumb boy' trope spawns from the same place the 'girls beat up ryuji after he almost dies for them' scene comes from. and maybe thats part of why it makes me do the frowny emote.)

ANYWAY

p5r dodged the obligatory hot spring scene, but Strikers did it instead. and makoto beats up the guys even though it was a honest fuck up and they tell the girls they weren't peeping and we the audience know they weren't but makoto beats them up anyways?? and exclaims "fist of justice!!!" ("HAHA MAKOTO SCARY LOL" ???????)

meanwhile she gets annoyed in any other instance when her friends try and reference her fists of justice?? (ryuji tells toshiro to watch what he says if he doesnt want to get pummeled, when he tried to compare makotos punching power to fist of the north star and she gets pissed) sigh. what is this writing. why would she having issue with it? this is a girl who gets so excited watching Yakuza movies that she sits on the edge of her seat with her fists clenched. shes started reading action manga more and actually enjoys it.

even if makoto wants to come off as being serious and put together, and even if she naturally is (moreso than her other friends) she is not immune to the sillies of teenagerhood. she would compare herself to it gladly and wouldnt hit or scold her friends if they did either. because its fuckin awesome. because shes awesome.

like. i'm not the biggest fan of makoto. she's got the lowest blorbo status in my brain out of the whole squad but i don't hate her. there is a good character there, its just. the writers. make. decisions.

makoto spent so long being alone and feeling isolated and like. she says during her confidant that a lot of people just thought she was some kind of cold. robot. so i certainly don't think she would want her friends to think she was in any way unapproachable. or unable to handle the bits.

and i dont think she would want her bit to be 'lol violence funny' (at the very least not to this extent.) i don't think she would want to give her friends any reason to think that she would hurt them. making a "strong woman" character does not mean this character. has to crack her knuckles at her friends and imply shes going to hit them if they say something a little too silly. and play it off as a bit??

like. idk. maybe im thinking about this too much or not explaining this with the right words. but its just one of the many things about the writing choices that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. to me this is completely different from them making her serious about studying and having her get on her friends asses if they dont do well. and her friends not wanting to get a makoto lecture. like oh we better study because if we fail we'll have to face Militant Academic Makoto Niijima because she will organize a tutoring/study session like it's the fuckin navy.

when ann and ryuji first say 'oh man shes scary i dont want to get on her bad side' right after makotos awakening, makoto seems more embarrassed than anything else. and i feel like this is. more true to her character. she lets her anger out in the metaverse and she can do amazing things with it as her drive but shes embarrassed about expressing it. but she comes to embrace this about herself. that shes powerful. and shes proud of it. but that doesnt meant she leans into being someone her friends think is. genuinely scary.

makoto is a terrifying fighter and brilliant tactician in the metaverse but in real life she is not all serious business! she is capable of fun!! makoto is a nice girl!! makoto is a girl who had to grow up too fast and mask her way into the good graces of the adults in her life! so she's awkward around kids her age!! and in situations that arent serious business (that she cant script as well) she isnt always sure how to best interact with her peers! but shes growing! shes going out of her way to experience new things! she wants to better embrace her anger because it means freedom for her!! after a childhood full of holding her tongue!! but she doesnt have a temper that makes her friends the victim of her misplaced aggression! and shes not a buzzkill!

[chamxmxle]

My therapist, when I started talking more in depth about some of my kinks (I've been seeing her for five years but I've always been vague): "ooooh, let me guess - is it pup play?"

[cyberdramon]

I came back from break to some lady talking about JFK and area 51 and he found some machine that detects the cosmos and the giants are coming

[moonbyulz]

Somin - Icky | Suit Dance

[curestardust]

"Roam in Delhi in the company of Tennant" Reverse: 1999 | ‘Visitors to the South’ Garment Collection Tennant Short

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

So i'm working on this post (and I'm nearly done with it so it'll be posted later) where Gaten Matarazzo was recently talking about a fan encounter where this woman in her 40s told him , “I’ve had a crush on you since you were 13.”

And one of the comments (in defense of her) literally said "And what does it matter if she did?"