#mod krist

[lokiarsene]

Krist's translations fuel my romance mod dialogue options (it's either going to be a script for a mod or a fanfiction, I'll decide if I can ever find a translation of Rank 1's "thesis and antithesis" comment)

whoa holy shit, really?? that's so incredibly flattering and exciting! please be sure to link back and credit me if you use them. ♥

[lokiarsene]

Idk if this is common sense (it probably is at this point but y’know lol) I thought it was interesting Akechi, when he was on stage internally monologuing about what he’s done to get this attention, he says “the persona bestowed upon me by the gods” (or something like that) which means Goro himself confirms he gained only one of his personas naturally, which would fit the whole being tested on theory. Again that might be obvious I’m new to this stuff 😅

Interesting! I always forget the game uses the plural “Personas” or “Persona” to mean a plural. If it’s the former, then yeah, Goro’s outright saying he was given one of them.

Thanks for reminding me! And thanks for contributing to the experimentation theory! I was a little nervous to share it, as I was sure people would accuse me of demonizing Wakaba (which they already have, because they’re idiots) and not actually paying attention to what I point at in the game... so it’s very relieving to see other people contribute their thoughts about it!

[lokiarsene]

*backflips into the ask box* Do you have any Akiren headcanons? How about Shuake headcanons? *backflips away*

I don’t have many headcanons for Ren or Shuake, but I can try!

Ren comes from an upper middle class home in a rural town and is an only child/late in life baby. His parents work in military intelligence, which adds to his sore spot and insistence on reforming the country and its corrupt government.

He took dance lessons as a kid (thus why he’s so skilled at it in P5D) and was in the drama club before he got expelled.

He’s always wanted a cat but was never allowed to have one, which is why he spoils Mona rotten and doesn’t mind carrying him around everywhere (plus he’s glad for the friendly company. It helps clear his mind from all the gossip people say about him).

He was raised to be mostly independent/self-reliant, never being a nuisance for others, which gave him this pathological need to help others at the expense of himself.

He’s a Pisces and his birthday is March 15th (ides of March, dundundun). His compatibility with Gemini Goro is a good.

He is extremely gay.

Shuake headcanons... I wrote some in this post the other day about healthy possessive behavior (one of my fave tropes). I can try to come up with some more.

Goro recognized Ren and company at the TV studio because he’d seen them in Madarame’s Palace. He didn’t know what they sounded like, thus his “pancake” slip up.

Alternatively, if you want to imagine him as a disaster gay, he was too distracted by Ren and let that mistake slip.

Mona knows exactly why Ren doesn’t tell the others about his contact with Goro (they’re gay, Harold), and Mona’s trust and lack of judgement is a tremendous relief to Ren--and Goro, since Mona actually talks to Ren when Goro’s around him in Kichijoji.

Ren does tell Ann though, because of course he does. He was there for her when she was vulnerable and terrified, and Ann trusts him more than any other boy in the group. Their support for each other is unconditional.

They have sprawling, seemingly endless conversations. They’ll start on a topic in the cafe or Jazz Jin, part ways, text each other about it when they get home, then continue the discussion the day after. They never really say goodbye in their conversations because technically their talks don’t end. At the most they’ll say goodnight/see you later (Goro does this more than Ren, as Goro likes to let Ren know that this discussion isn’t over, not yet).

Once Ren finds out that Goro once took dance lessons (as well as cooking classes), he insists that they dance together. Well, more like dance off-together. Competitively so. Goro thinks he’s ridiculous but won’t back down from the challenge.

Ann becomes the judge. She always calls it a tie just to watch them grumble.

Ren. Really. Really. Does not care. That he killed Okumura. He’s hurt that Goro went through with the Interrogation Room plot, but gets over that pretty fast since he knows Goro was trapped and his hands forced--and that he, Ren, read Goro’s cries for help and did nothing to answer them. They’re both guilty in betraying each other; that kind of trickery is one of the foundational elements of their relationship. They’re both guilty, and they both know it, and they both refuse to let the other get away with it (re: don’t like losing).

Ren also just doesn’t care about Goro’s murders in general, sorry not sorry.

Ren sends Goro texts and photos after he heads back home, and doesn’t really stop to think why they never come back with an error message.

After Goro gives his testimony to take down Shido, he’s put into a witness protection program and sent to Ren’s hometown to live under a false name. They meet up again at a local cafe-bookstore when Goro sets down a chessboard, arranges the pieces, and tells Ren they have a score to settle.

[lokiarsene]

i agree w you that i dont think goro was dead but i AM rlly confused on what exactly is supposed to happen to a goro that gets the "I want to forget about him but..." timeline, like do we have any clue what exactly is the link between akiren wanting to keep their promise and goro getting escorted by the train in the ending?

it’s just a camera angle switch with the meta purpose of representing hope and holding onto the promise. having ren choose to keep the promise is a meta way of reflecting the player’s desire to see goro again, so the camera angle adjusts so we can see goro walk by the train. it’s quite literally the devs going, “if you want to see goro again, you will.”

failing to complete goro’s confidant, not hitting all the target points in his confidant, choosing to forget about the promise, or a combination of all the above simply results in the true ending’s camera angle not showing goro when he walks past. the camera stays outside the train, showing us only ren’s face and his reaction to something unseen. this is the devs saying, “if you don’t want to see goro again, you won’t--but he’s still there.”

[lokiarsene]

*whispers loudly into hands* Maruki was based on a literal cult leader in Japan called Happy Science with incredibly right-wing, nationalistic views as well as “health and harmony” (re: brainwashing), and Goro Akechi knew that his whole MO was unhealthy predatory bullshit and fucking hated him accordingly, please recognize this

Maruki and Shido are meant to be mirrors of each other, with Shido being honest about his selfishness for taking over Japan, and Maruki deluding himself and others into believing his goals are for everyone’s benefit. Goro is to Shido as Ren is to Maruki--they are both boys kept under their thumb and unwillingly dragged into these men’s machinations. Please recognize this.

You have to advance Maruki’s Confidant in order to secure the third semester--which means that, like Goro was to Shido, the player has no choice but to get involved with this man because the devs wanted you to see the mirrored themes in their behavior and further sympathize with Goro’s position.

(ty to @cincosechzehn for bringing this to my attention)

[lokiarsene]

This is. Extremely far into AU territory. But an AU where both Akiren and Akechi's anger at how unfair the world is and at all the corruption and all the stuff that happens manages to turn into a distorted desire of "I want a better world/life" and it ends up being a double Palace for the both of them.

I fucks with this so hard and yes it absolutely works and I want to see it happens.

Bonus points if they keep it a secret and don’t actually want it to go away (but honestly I’m a big fan of gray moral Shuake where Ren can really lean into his darker elements that the game doesn’t let him explore :/)

[lokiarsene]

I finally got to the jazz club date with Goro and "No More What Ifs" has me crying! Like... How could you? Deny AT LEAST that GORO is fucking smitten with Akiren like ... It's impossible...

That song is so them. There’s two other songs on the OST that are very Them as well. That song in particular is such a slower, jazzier companion to Behind the Mask.

[lokiarsene]

I wonder if you noticed that in the P5R opening, just right before Joker lies next to Akechi, it's shown that Akechi isn't actually wearing his glove!!! Which means that Akechi has given Joker his glove by then! And look at their expressions, they look so content and at peace in that shot!

Good eye! That makes me even more damn emotional about them and that glove. ;; The animators and devs knew what they were doing putting them together like that, and I like the idea that Goro is laying there peacefully, waiting for Ren to drop down and be with him. Weh.