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raguna-blade · 4 years

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So this just occurred to me to think about but shared symbols in the persona series. I’m sure there are others that I miss, especially relevant to the first two games, and right now i’m looking at just the one, but there should be SOME right?

And in this case the one i’m thinking about is glasses. So in persona 4, the glasses the characters wear are used specifically to be able to see through the fog in the other world, that is to be able to better navigate the world that is hidden and obscured right?

Heck, a critical scene in the game shows the absurd difference wearing them makes early on and Narukami hot flinging them away in the final scene is an indication of him more or less coming to fully understand the situation and having “true” sight of what’s going on around him. Which is cool!

But what’s interesting is that none of the Investigation team actually wear glasses in their day to day which is fine really. It’s as much a design thing as a story beat but what i’m getting at is going into persona 5 then, there can be this expectation that if one is wearing glasses they have a degree of special insight/ability to see things as they really are right? Not strictly, but as part of the same story family it’s not like those symbols disappear as a thing in play strictly, they just wouldn’t be emphasized because that’s not really the theme here.

So it’s interesting to me then that every single character who wears glasses normally in this game (with normal including their metaverse selves should they have one) demonstrably has special insight into the world or events going on, or else just general insight. Literally all of them, i’m not joking.

We’ll go in order here, Phantom Thieves>Allies>Foes>Maruki, and there’s probably more i could go into here but for the moment it’s kinda idle thoughts so forgive that.

Protag: So the thing to note is that his glasses are fake right so that may off the bat give you the vibe that this is wrong but well, that literally doesn’t matter for our purposes here. That Protag definitely has special insight into the world and events however is inarguable. Having been cast out of the standard safety net of society he gets a front row seat to a lot of weird things that aren’t immediately obvious. He see’s through the masks of all of the targets to some greater or lesser degree (admittedly not unique to him, but the thieves as a whole), get’s to understand to workings of the world and how it specifically fails outcasts, has inside knowledge on several of the major players (Shido, Maruki and Akechi most notably) that isn’t immediately obvious that they themselves aren’t aware of all the time, and as seen through the Confidants specifically he’s a remarkable judge of character and an expert and understanding people, something he does consistently.

That his glasses are fake actually, now that I think about it, is actually an interesting trait here. They exist solely to put him under the radar, which actually works so there’s that element of understanding appearances, but the fact that he really DOES NOT actually need the glasses to “see” the world accurately perhaps rolls back to his Designated Role as the Trickster (or at least one of them, We will get to Akechi in a second), and his ability to understand how the world works or specifically does not.

Akechi: Akechi is interesting here because in the real world he doesn’t wear glasses, as Prince!Crow he doesn’t either. So...Where does he wear glasses?

As Black Mask. And notably, they’re red tinted lenses, which actually lines up with another thing here. He does have true insight (and he’s sharp as hell we can’t possibly deny that) but he also, notably, has a crazy distorted view of things. As was kinda pointed out during his whole mental break down in the boat, he didn’t have to do like...any of the fucked up things that he did to achieve his goals. Even if he still wanted to kill his dad or just ruin his life he didn’t have to do it the way he did. He’s, one, literally seeing red, but two for all that his vision is keen it’s also more than a little distorted.

But also, as the other Trickster, the more destructive one at that, he also has keen understanding of the world and how it works, breaks down, and utterly screws over those who fall outside of it. Indeed, his insight is miles better than Our protags given he was more or less kicked out of the system from the get go due to family matters and had to actively claw his way back into the system in the first place. But of course, going back to his red lenses, as opposed to Akira who more or less rejects the system and wants to see it broken down one way or the other, Akechi desires to be part of it despite knowing intimately it’s copious failings. He has the vision and the ability to see but also fails to act on it (a thing he explicitly states more or less)

Futaba: Futaba is perhaps the most straightforward here. Does she have inside knowledge of events? Some, given her understanding of Cognitive Psience for sure, but her talents lean specifically in computer stuff, and the varying ways of getting information and such there. Of everyone here her glasses as symbol match up the cleanest with the Persona 4 use, in that her clear view vision is related to the world of cyberspace and how all of that works. That they carry over into her Rebellion outfit likely has to do with her understanding of cognitive psience as well, which while (relatively) basic is still far better than pretty much everyone else in the cast save 1 or maybe 2. It’s worth pointing out that, if I recall things correctly, she basically was the one who put together that entire escape plan for Joker to not get hot shot in the face.

Sumire: Now here’s a fun one! She doesn’t get her glasses until the very very end of the game, when she stops being Kasumi and starts being herself. Another straightforward one in two ways. One, she is able to actually accurately percieve herself as herself indicating clear and unobstructed vision for her self. Easy peasey, but also, of the group she’s the one who most understands what Maruki is doing and why. Despite having issues with his end game, she also makes it abundantly clear that if it weren’t for what he did she probably would have killed herself. It’s an understanding that the others have a little of, but they also don’t have quite as deeply for as long as it went on with her.

Ohya: Straightforward again. She’s an investigative reporter, and a damn good one. She was on her way to cracking something with Madarame, before the story even began she and her partner had some dirt on Shido (which seems on one hand easy cause Shido is kinda sloppy, but also considering the range of influence he has even getting a bit is wild), knows Kaneshiro as a mafia boss despite him not really being arrested, and yeah she just get’s it. She’s sharp.

It’s also noticeable that her glasses are also distorted, in that they’re sunglasses.That’s not “clear” vision since they shift colors. Obviously, she’s going to see things a bit off, and in her case it’s less general insight and more specific to her present circumstances. Relating to sunglasses, at the start of confidant she’s stuck working entertainment stuff which she hates and isn’t fond of, but she doesn’t feel she has other options or the ability to follow her true passions in journalism. And she’s not...really wrong actually. She does have a correct view of the situation, because if she doesn’t stick to what’s what, she’s going to lose her job, but at the same time the degree of resignation is well also wrong, as she get’s into pretty quickly. She still has options, but at the moment she couldn’t really see em.

That they are amber sunglasses and she’s seemingly a depressed drunk i’m sure has no relation.

Sojiro: Sojiro is straightforward really. He understands the world, how it works, how it breaks down, how various things look, has a keen insight into people and events in general, and has insight on the main villain specifically. He’s not exactly trying to upset things no, but he’s made the system work for him to have a peaceful life with his daughter and ward, which is perhaps super impressive given how absolutely obnoxiously petty Shido is.

Kunikazu Okumura: Very simple, he knows exactly who’s involved with the conspiracy. Also tied with that, as he’s also a member of the conspiracy, is a knowledge of how the world as it is works, for better or worse. Like...It’s fucked up, but unambiguously everything he does do actually does advance his goals. As much as it hurt people, as much as it hurt his daughter, it worked. It’s awful, but it worked.

Shido: So...Shido is interesting. He’s especially interesting in comparison to the last glasses boy Maruki, but Shido is interesting especially because well...

Shido is right? Like, his view of the world as it is is kind of unambiguously correct. People in power have the ability to manipulate and reshape the world as they please, avoid the consequences of their actions, the world really is going to shit, and he has the ability to save whoever he wants, and he has connections and power that would allow him to basically reshape things as he see’s fit.

He’s unambiguously correct in this. He understands the world and the systems at play intimately. He understands the people he works with Intimately, to the extent that not only are their cognitive forms almost indistinguishable from absolutely normal humans, but they behave in ways that don’t even necessarily benefit him even in their assigned roles in the cognitive space. I mean look at the Cleaner. He damn near let the phantom thieves walk if Yusuke would have agreed to be his personal artist, and the moment he got his ass whooped he just left.

It is, frankly, a terrifying amount of insight.

But again, his glasses are off color. His view of the situation is, in some way, incorrect, despite this insight. So where does he go wrong?

Once again, as seems to be the case with all of the tinted glasses now that i think about it, the issue lies in self reflection. His view of the outside world and such is correct, but where he makes his biggest mistake lies in both his view of himself as untouchable (he’s not) and that his method of salvation is at all the only one available, or even perhaps tenable.

The second point is perhaps the more critical one. Had Shido used his connections, insight and knowledge for good he could very easily change the situation that was leading to the disaster that he saw himself saving others from. He could make things better if he wanted to, if he thought to, but his failing is that he didn’t and perhaps couldn’t. And critically, his belief that he and his would be able to be safe on that ship for any period of time when the world around it has been utterly devastated is well...short sighted.

Maruki: Last but not least, Maruki. While his insight isn’t perhaps as broad about things, what he knows and what he talks about is...Well. It’s another version of Salvation for sure, but it’s one that the phantom thieves and I think the players have to argue with. Maruki says it extremely clear, it’s better for you to overcome your hardships yourself, it’s better to face your problems head on and fix them that way....But sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you really just cannot do it, you cannot surmount the challenge no matter how much you may need or want to, sometimes you’re just going to be broken and hurt and in incalculable pain and that’s extremely fucked up.And if that’s the case, if that’s how the world is, shouldn’t it change? If the system is broken, if the way the world is is wrong, shouldn’t it be changed?

It’s not unlike the phantom thieves, although the direction and end goal are different.

#Persona 5 #Persona 4 #Shared Symbols #akira kusuru #spoilers #Persona 5r #sumire yoshizawa #goro akechi #futaba sakura #takuto maruki #glasses are deep yo #ramblings

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takeyourcritique · 5 years

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Makoto Niijima: Good Girl, Bad Writing.

In video games, movies, TV, and books, there are always characters who receive copious amounts of praise. In Persona 5, it is no different. Some characters deserve the hype they get, and some.. do not. In my humble opinion, Makoto Niijima falls into the latter category and in this essay I will explain why, as well as delve into what I as a writer would do to improve her character. Because this is not a hate meta, it is merely me articulating my issues with her character and getting my thoughts in order. (She has potential, it merely needs to be utilized and with P5R coming next year, a girl can hope.)

1. Underwhelming Design

The cast of Persona 5, in contrast to the casts before them, are vigilantes, a band of misfits if you will. The entire theme of the game is rebellion against society and fighting the norm, and the characters should reflect this in their design. The only exception is the protagonist himself because he's on probation and attempting to keep a low profile: that's why he follows the dress code to a tee and appears as gentle as possible, because he's already in enough trouble as is. The first party member, Ryuji, has been a rebel for a good amount of time: his hair is a stark blond (which Kawakami-sensei does not approve of) and he wears a very casual version of the school uniform; substituting a bright yellow shirt for the white of the uniform, wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes, and not wearing his suspenders (they're attached though, at the waist).

Ann Takamaki wears a white clover hoodie under her blazer, red leggings under her skirt, brown lace up boots, and earrings; not to mention her hair, while a natural blonde, is pulled back into cutesy pigtails almost like a teenage Harley Quinn. Yusuke doesn't even go to the same school, so his attire stands out in stark contrast with the main trio. Futaba dyes her hair red and she doesn't go to school at all due to severe anxiety; Haru wears a poofy pink sweater over her uniform with Mary Janes and polka dot tights. They all stick out like little sore thumbs. Except Makoto. She basically also follows the dress code, with a few subtle changes:

•She doesn't wear a blazer, instead wearing a black halter vest over her turtleneck

•Black tights

•Brown boots

That's literally it. Nothing about her stands out, and even in her casual clothing she wears a lot of whites and blacks. There's a monochromatic vibe to her, perhaps alluding to her strong sense of justice and distinction between right and wrong which in and of itself isn't bad! But it doesn't fit with the theme of the cast, Makoto fits in too much with the rest of the world to fit in with them. Just by looking at her, you cannot tell she's supposed to be part of the crew and in all honesty she'd fit better working with Akechi due to their very similar views of justice and morals. Hell, some NPCs are more vibrant design-wise than Makoto is.

2. Her Metaverse design, Persona and codename are contradictory.

Makoto's Persona, Johanna, is based most likely off Pope Joan, (after doing research online and reading Johanna's profile on SMT wiki it seemed the best fit) who was a woman that pretended to be a man in order to rise to power in an otherwise male-only role in the Catholic church. And while the story is intriguing, it doesn't fit Makoto at all: she never pretended to be what she was not and while she's "the voice of reason" she's not the leader of the team; Joker is. This makes her codename, "Queen", even more confusing. Nothing about her costume design looks regal whatsoever; it makes no sense. It feels like writer's favoritism, in all honesty. A better name would've been something more related to the fact that she looks like a biker/executionist hybrid; like "Crusher" or something of more..violent nature.

Even a name related to her wanting to go into the force would've worked well: Chief, Lieutenant, etc. Queen is nice, but it doesn't click with Makoto at all, unlike literally everyone else's Persona and codename. Ann's Persona, Carmen, is a femme fatale that kills men. Captain Kidd is a pirate, an iconic symbol of rebellion; Milady, Haru's Persona, is a reference to a villainess of the same name in the 3 Musketeers; Goemon was essentially a Japanese Robin Hood which fits Yusuke's entire kitsune/warrior aesthetic. Joker's Persona, Arsene, is a direct nod to Arsene Lupin; who was one of Sherlock's rivals and a gentleman thief who left calling cards to the people he robbed and a direct parallel to Akechi.

3. Her introduction as a whole, and to the team, is abysmal.

When Makoto is first introduced to the player, the entire school is in turmoil over Kamoshida's abusive actions towards the volleyball and track team. Many people don't know the truth about what's going on, and others simply turn a blind eye because as an Olympic medalist, the gym coach brings in a lot of popularity for the school. Being the student council president, Makoto has power that many other students do not have; so one would assume that upon learning that a victim was in danger she would spring into action, no?

Wrong.

When Ann confronts Makoto about her inaction, she turns the question back on the blonde, asking "What have YOU done for Shiho?" as if it's Ann's fault that Shiho had been jeopardized (which it was not, Ann allowed herself to be blackmailed by Kamoshida in order, so she thought, to protect her best and at the time, only friend). And she doesn't do anything about the situation, claiming that "It has nothing to do with me." (This is how abuse victims DIE.) Even worse, her elder sister is a prosecutor, she could've easily gone to Sae and asked her to look into the matter. Goro Akechi later calls her out on this, as he should; telling her that she is a "good-girl pushover". And when Kamoshida is punished for his crimes, Ann, who was bullied and outcast, goes to Makoto and apologizes to HER to make amends, as if she were wrong. Makoto then replies "We both made mistakes" in a sorry apology (she doesn't even say "I'm sorry" iirc), and asks if she can call Ann by her first name and without honorifics, which in Japan is a symbol of close friendship. (Edit: this apology actually takes place after Kaneshiro's arc, not Kamoshida's, I misremembered.)

You see, calling someone by their given name, even if you are the same age, has a ton of meaning in the culture. Just a year difference between two people can separate them as senpai and kouhai, and while the senpai can call their kouhai by their first name without raising any eyebrows it's not the same for the younger person. Calling someone by their given name in Japan is a privilege, not a right; it represents trust, respect, everything that Makoto and Ann did NOT have.

Now, let me get this straight.

Makoto did nothing when everybody called Ann Kamoshida's hoe, allowed her, Shiho, Akira, Ryuji and Mishima plus many others to suffer abuse (and Shiho attempted suicide!), gave a laughable apology, victim-blamed Ann; and now she wants to be buddy-buddy? What, in any reality, about that is okay? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But of course, because the writers want us to love Makoto, they have Ann forgive her and let her call her by her first name. And after all that, Makoto is still president, despite her clear nonchalance to the matter. She also does nothing to help the Kamoshida victims after his crimes come to light, when there was literally no excuse anymore not to assist them and help them get back on their feet. Even if she felt powerless with Kamoshida around, that doesn't explain her inaction after he's gone.

Flash forward two Palaces later, when she joins the team. Makoto stalks the protagonist around to gather evidence that he is a Phantom Thief, and then blackmails her way into the ranks. The team of course, is not happy about this at all. Makoto gives them the target; Junya Kaneshiro, who's basically forcing people into debt. The problem here is she has literally no personal ties to him; unlike the main trio all having connections to Kamoshida and Yusuke being Madarame's essential foster son. Tired of Sae calling her useless, Makoto jumps in front of the mob boss's car in desperation (and Ryuji gets her out of the way JUST in time, but he very easily could've died) which puts the entire team in danger and later on is literally pinned down by the mob and the crew have to go and save her because she was so determined to take this dude down she walked into the lion's den without any form of a plan. (He was also going to sell her into prostution to pay off the debt he'd given the Thieves.)

Her Awakening is also really weak: the speech from Johanna is extremely short and then Makoto stomps the ground to avoid falling over, rips off her mask with a bunch of overdramatic screaming (iirc we don't even get to see blood) and whoop-di-doo, she's got a motorcycle! And suddenly, despite all she's done, everybody loves her and thinks she's a total badass when she literally just threw an adult-sized tantrum. The motorcycle itself is also very lazy, it's just a motorcycle with a face. That's it. That's Makoto's Persona. A motorcycle. With. A. Face.

And from then on, everybody's suddenly a-ok and buddy-buddy with Makoto. It's ridiculous and just makes her come off as a Mary Sue because if somebody endangered my life I sure as hell would not be rubbing shoulders with them and I'm quite sure most people feel the same way. And again, after all this, Makoto does not get in trouble or even harshly reprimanded by the school for her extremely reckless actions; when she should have, and had the power to, just call the police or Sae. And all the Thieves somehow are now her friends and she gets to become a superhero.

So let me see if I understand. This girl stalks these people, blackmails them and forces them to go after hardened criminals (she was going to snitch on them if they didn't comply to her demands), goes in guns blazing by HERSELF to attempt to take down the mob boss, has to be rescued..

And gets praised and dubbed a badass for this???

And before you accuse me of having bias against Makoto, let it be known I in no way, shape or form condone Yusuke stalking Ann or Futaba blackmailing the Thieves either. It's. Still. Wrong.

Also, if you unironically think Makoto's stalking is cute, you're wrong. Stalking is creepy, regardless if it's a girl or guy doing it; no one gets a pass.

In addition, Makoto couldn't be bothered to help out at school but then goes after a MOB BOSS and puts herself in unnecessary danger? What's up with that?? If she felt powerless against Kamoshida, why in the world would she take on the Yakuza?

4. Her backstory doesn't mesh well with the rest of the team.

The gang are all outcasts and misfits in one way or another, and their pasts are less than savory.

Protagonist: Falsely accused of assaulting a woman, expelled from school and sent to Tokyo on a year probation despite his innocence, victim of nasty rumors by other students at his new school; abused by his gym coach, no contact with parents.

Ryuji: Abusive, alcoholic father who beat him and llater left him and his mother, abused by his gym coach, leg broken by his gym coach and labeled as a delinquent because his coach lied and acted like Ryuji attacked him, thus alienating him from the track team and by extent; the entire school. Losing his track scholarship because he can't run anymore, ruining his academic career.

Ann: Two parent household but they're never home, leaving her with a caretaker. Faced bullying and isolation due to being biracial (she's a quarter American), only having one friend before joining the Phantom Thieves. Blackmailed by the gym coach and sexually harassed in order to keep this one friend on the volleyball team, labeled as a slut because no one took the time to find out the truth of the matter. Friend is later raped and attempts suicide, Ann attempts to get help from the student council president but is blamed herself for Shiho's predicament. Also judged just for her looks, which she despises.

Yusuke: Biological father died presumably before his birth, biological mother had a seizure and died due to his mentor's negligence. Said mentor then takes Yusuke, a very small child at this point in time, and raises him in isolation. Psychologically (and very likely emotionally) manipulated, Kitagawa grows up in an abusive household and when confronted with the truth, is unwilling to believe it is so (as many abusive victims realistically behave). Later learns the truth about his mother and his mentor's plagiarism and detaches himself from him, but is extremely socially awkward out of touch due to isolation and as a result is isolated at school because no one wants to talk to him.

Futaba: Was blamed for her mother's death (whom she lost at 13-14) and lived with an extremely abusive uncle who underfed her and didn't even let her bathe herself. Developed severe anxiety and became suicidally depressed for over a year, refusing to even come out of her room. Had a friend who was abused by her parents and upon finding out the two fell out and only reconciled years later through the Internet. Bullied in school for her intellect.

Haru: Lost her mother at a young age, engaged against her will to an emotionally abusive, selfish fiancé for the sake of her father's company. Has deep-rooted trust issues due to people being kind to her solely because of her status; or mean for the exact same reasons. Later on lost her father as well at the age of 17, leaving all the responsibility of the company to her as she was the sole heir.

Morgana: Has no memories of who, or what, he used to be and suffers existential crises; suffers from vivid nightmares. Puts up a façade of arrogance to hide insecurities.

Makoto: Mother died when younger, father died in the line of work, older sister forced to become caretaker and work her rear off to provide for the both of them. Pressured into perfection by Sae.

That's.. literally it. Yes, she has no friends at school, but that's by her choice; she isolates herself in her studies and as a result is socially awkward and doesn't know how to interact with people (which makes her even less suitable to be put into any type of leadership position so how she became student council president is beyond me.) Makoto's life is heaven compared to the other Thieves and most of her issues would go away once she gets to college: the rest of the team doesn't have that luxury. By the way, please don't think I'm saying she doesn't deserve to be on the team because she doesn't have as deep a sob story, I'm not saying that at all. It's just that her backstory isn't really utilized as well as it should be and often times conflict is used to try to get the player to feel sorry for her (i.e. Sae calling her useless)

5. Her Confidant is abysmal and cliché.

So Makoto's Confidant actually starts out not half bad! You take her out to play video games and help her come out of her shell initially. But then it shifts to Eiko, an old friend of hers, who is a bad relationship. And this is when the Confidant begins to suffer, because it's not even about Makoto anymore. The president tells Eiko about the danger she's in, and her old classmate does not listen; declaring that since the older girl does not have a boyfriend she couldn't possibly understand. This logic is very flawed; it's like telling a smoker to stop smoking and they tell you "You don't even smoke, you don't know how bad it is". Yet Makoto listens to Eiko and comes to you, the protagonist; and asks you to pretend to be her boyfriend in order to convince her friend that she DOES understand. But it's so awkward Eiko's boyfriend and the girl herself can tell you're not genuine. And you have to keep this up for the rest of the Confidant, not to mention MAX Charm is required from Rank 5 onward in this route. Why?

Because apparently you're not attractive enough otherwise. And it's not even for Makoto, it's for Eiko, to convince her that you're hot enough to compare to her boyfriend; Takase. (Geez, shallow and childish much?) And then at the end of the Confidant, the romance angle comes off as very odd because you're literally treated like an afterthought the entire time and then suddenly Makoto turns around and wants you as her actual boyfriend?? Uh..where was her falling for you during the time spent together? It just feels like it comes outta nowhere, not to mention she wants to be a cop which the law literally ruined Joker's life soooo why is he getting into a romantic relationship with someone who wants to be associated with a source of his trauma? That's like a metaphorical slap in his face.

"Hey, I know you were literally beaten and drugged up, manhandled, falsely accused and put into solitary confinement by the law enforcement, causing you to suffer severe anxiety and you to possibly be scarred forever but I wanna be a cop even though I don't think straight in stressful situations and act on impulse and don't take insults or criticism well; and I want you to stay by my side even though I blackmailed you, stalked you, and endangered your life and did nothing while you were being abused by your gym coach."

(Let's not forget she also didn't say anything about Sae having a Palace until it was almost too late and Joker almost lost Futaba as a result.)

For Valentine's Day she declares "I've been waiting for you for so long" and that genuinely bewildered me because you don't really see her pining at all during her Confidant, nor during other events (the closest thing you get is her clinging to you in Sojiro's house but that's honestly not even romantic that's just her getting frightened and needing assurance in a very unnecessary "ship tease" moment). Same with the scene in Futaba's Palace, while Joker saving Queen was very sweet, he literally would've done that for anybody of his teammates. Makoto is not special in that regard.

6. How to better this character

•Introduce her to the Thieves in a better, more plot driven way, or remove her from the team completely.

Kaneshiro's arc should honestly just be scrapped, it was a sorry attempt to get Makoto on the team. A better time for her to join would be Sae's Palace since she actually has emotional ties to the Palace owner and by this time in the game could've developed to be a better person from the Kamoshida arc, wanting to make things right. This could also be a good start for her and Ann to begin to be on better terms- not even necessarily friends (because after what happened I honestly don't think Ann would want to be friends, at least not close), but learning to at least be civil. That, or she joins out of desperation because she doesn't want anything bad to happen to Sae and as the infiltration continues gets more and more nervous and ultimately rats their plan out (because Makoto as the traitor would be much better, writing-wise).

Alternatively, Hifumi joining instead of Makoto would also be very refreshing with Makoto covering up for them at school and supporting them on the sly.

•Treat her flaws as actual flaws, she's not perfect.

Makoto does have some bad traits, a few being:

•bad tempered

•reckless

•stubborn

•nosy

•hypocritical

•bossy

•socially awkward

But these are almost never treated in a negative light. With the Kamoshida arc and Kaneshiro arc, all is simply forgiven, same with her smacking Eiko across the face in a moment of anger. Even when wrong, Makoto is never wrong per say and this makes it difficult for her to be believable as a character. To fix this, having her suffer the consequences of her actions will make it more realistic. For example, getting Eiko to break up with her boyfriend but cutting ties with her too as a result would give Makoto the rude awakening that you can do the right thing the wrong way and people will not always forgive you for the mess you put them through (nor should they).

Her being punished for unnecessarily putting herself in danger with Kaneshiro would also be understandable (she should've been at least suspended, she could've gotten herself killed, plus all the then existing Phantom Thieves); as well as actually apologizing for the hell that was Kamoshida's drama. And not just to Ann, but everyone who suffered. That would show maturity and a willingness to change, and put her in a better light.

I want Makoto to get mad and she's fully in the wrong and she acknowledges she's wrong, have her recklessness get her or a teammate wounded in battle, etc. And have the others call her out when she's wrong and refuse to let it slide. Have them talk it out, grow as a team. Just..make Makoto fallible, flawed, broken even. She's an orphan, I want to touch more on her having to grow up quickly, feeling lonely and unsure of how to connect with people; talk about how her father is a driving force in her values and morals and how she wishes to honor him by following in his footsteps.

Delve into how she feels less than worthy if she does not achieve excellence but do it in a way that does not demonize Sae unnecessarily and try to make the reader/player feel sorry for her. Have Makoto spend more time with people in her team outside of team duties and while being awkward, genuinely interested and actively working to better her relationships. (She barely interacts with anyone besides Joker, Futaba, and on occasion, Haru) When Makoto is realistically flawed, she then becomes relatable and much more likable.

I want her fears to be plot relevant, not just slapped on for the sake of making her look "cute". Her being scared of the dark was never relevant, unlike Rei from Persona Q who was scared of the dark and had to go through a pitch black room in order to find key cards to help her friends escape a locked room or Yukari being terrified of death and having to come to terms with that. Same with her fixation for Buchimaru, it's cute but it doesn't add any depth to her character whatsoever or even her apparently knowing aikido? We never see Makoto fight outside the Metaverse unlike Chie or Akihiko so it feels like a character trait just slapped on to make her 'cooler'. It feels lazy, because it is. It's like the writers wanted her to be this strong, independent young woman but at the same time a scared, awkward little girl and the two ideas often clash; coming off as contradictory as if they couldn't make their minds up as to who they wanted Makoto to be.

Again, this is not an attack on Makoto fans. If you like her, that's valid and I respect that. I'm merely explaining why I don't and how I feel the writing failed her character and what I believe she'd be if her potential was maximized.

That's all, have a good day.

#meta #critique #persona 5

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kyumiterasu · 6 years

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The Beast Within: a Persona 5 AU

In which all the Phantom Thieves, sans Morgana, fall under a curse that turns them into monsters as a result of their personas talking over their bodies. Goro Akechi, who survived Shido’s Palace, is their final hope to free them.

EDIT 9/15/18: changed Futaba’s, Ann’s, and Ryuji’s forms.

EDIT 9/23/18: changed Yusuke’s initial form and Ren’s monster name.

EDIT 11/3/20: Found a wordplay for Ryuji, now integrating it into the finalized names. Also changed the face of Saklas.

THE MONSTER RULES:

When the transformation began, each thief’s mask began to meld with their face. Then their clothing. And then their whole bodies morphed really painfully - their descriptions will come later.

The only way to free a monster is to crack open the beast’s face, which is always a twisted form of the thief’s original mask. Once this is done, however, the beast enters a “desperate” form that increases their strength at the cost of mental vulnerability. At this point, the original persona-user can regain control of their body.

The first form has traits from each thief’s initial persona, and their desperate form has traits from their ultimate persona.

All of them have yellow eyes, a sign of possession.

The Metaverse became parallel dimension to reality - no palaces or Mementos, just a shadow-infested Shibuya in which the monsters prowl.

THE MONSTERS (names a work in progress until 2020):

“Gnarled Rose” (Haru Okumura)

A dress-wearing insectoid; similar to Simone from Nier:Automata and Queen Sectonia from Kirby Triple Deluxe.

Extremely pompous and obsessed with beauty.

Kidnaps shadows and humans to take their nutrients.

Desperate form is an amorphous tangle of thorny vines with a large rose containing Haru’s body in the center.

Attacks with ax-leaves and grenade seedpods (along with vines in her desperate form).

“Lovecraft’s Masterpiece” (Futaba Sakura)

A spider-like machine with a black body and green “tron-lines,” with tentacles for legs.

Futaba’s body is mostly fused with the machinery - she gives off major H.R. Giger vibes.

Emotionless, but with all the mannerisms of an evil A.I.

Dissects shadows and humans to learn all about them.

Desperate form is essentially a mechanical xenomorph queen with Prometheus’ markings.

Uses tentacles and plasma blasts to subdue her foes.

“Jordan’s Ride” (Makoto Nijima)

Imagine a motorcycle rider forcibly fused with its vehicle - that’s this beast. Think of Dan Jordan’s death from A Nightmare on Elm Street: the Dream Child.

Always wants to race or fight, but a sore loser.

Desperate form is like Leviathan (Shadow Sae’s boss form): a large, lumbering bike leader with motorcycle parts and a lower jaw resembling a reverse bear trap (only Makoto’s upper half of her face is visible).

Uses revolver cannons on her wrist to strike from afar, and sharp knuckles and brute force to beat the life out of her opponents.

“Tamamo the Artisan” (Yusuke Kitagawa)

A large silver fox with nine tails bound into one tail by red rope.

Schizophrenic artist with delusions of perfect beauty.

Uses the body parts (e.g. hair for brushes and skin for canvas) of his victims for his art.

His desperate form is a huge (~15 ft tall), partially humanoid fox - think of an antlerless Vicar Amelia (Bloodborne). His fur goes from silver to blue, he gains a huge white ruff of fur at his shoulders, and his nine tails break out of their bindings.

Yusuke’s face isn’t humanoid - rather, he became a full fox to fit his mask.

Slashes prey to ribbons with long katana-like claws, and scorches them alive using his tails to fire his “foxfire” (it’s really ice shards) like assault gun bullets.

“Wily Joan” (Ann Takamaki)

A red cheetah-like wildcat with the face of a lynx and a forked whiplike tail.

Confident and prideful (think Bayonetta with a more sinister edge).

Likes to play with shadows and humans as “toys” and eats them when they’re bored.

In her desperate form, Wily Joan’s fur becomes a mix of blond, red and black and she gains dog-shaped shoulder pads. She can also attack on two legs and resembles the digimon Raguelmon as a result.

Ann’s face resembles a mountain lion’s.

Along with her sharp claws, she uses her tail as a whip and shoots venomous quills like a machine gun from her back and (in her desperate form) her arms.

“Gashing Dokuro” (Ryuji Sakamoto)

A partially-muscled gashadokuro (giant skeleton) made of lead pipes.

He’s very tall - I liken him to Scarlet from Silent Hill Homecoming.

Greedy - strips humans and shadows of their flesh to collect their bones.

His desperate form is a near-starving monkey with fur like stormclouds - it’s like Darkbeast Paarl from Bloodborne.

Uses lead bones and large blasts of electricity to fight.

“Saklas, the Foolish God” (Ren Amamiya)

Resembles a well-dressed Baphomet, with a white goatlike face and a hidden wide maw like 2017 Pennywise.

Unlike the other beasts, Saklas is very well-mannered and polite, but it’s all a ruse to lull his prey into a false sense of security before biting their heads off or swallowing them whole.

His desperate form is the largest of all - it’s a mass of black feathers, horns and wings that’s hard to decipher (I would liken it to Howl’s beast form from Howl’s Moving Castle).

Ren’s face is surprisingly unaltered when Saklas isn’t trying to hide it.

Has daggerlike claws and teeth, along with gun-holes in the bases of his palms (another thing I just made up).

#the beast within au #au #monster #monster au #transformation #p5 #persona au #beast au #corruption #haru okumura #futaba sakura #makoto nijima #yusuke kitagawa #ann takamaki #ryuji sakamoto #ren amamiya

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fictionerd · 6 years

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GOOD. TO. SEE. YOU. FRIENDS!!!

Here we are! The first post of Summer Season 2018 and we’ll be covering Planet With. This series is released on Sundays and can be watched on Crunchyroll.

Okay, so let’s cover what we learn from the first two episodes of Planet With.

In episode one we’re introduced to Souya, a young amnesiac who dreams of horrifying giant draconic creature attacking a city and some one flying off to confront it. See it’s shit like this that causes dragons to have a bad reputation. Seriously I can’t believe these assholes who go around burning whatever the hell they want just because they can breath fire. If it weren’t for them dimensional travel wouldn’t be such a daunting prospect for me. I never know when some one is going to have a traumatic flashback and attack me all because some scaley clown got it into their head to “burninate” something.

Sorry, I’m digressing again. After waking up from his ptsdream Souya prepares to have a normal breakfast with his perfectly normal housemates of a large cat-person and green-haired maid.

Oh wait... My bad. See I’m used to hanging out with a Teddy-Bear whisperer with the ability to access the life’s memory of a version of herself in any given universe, an elf who ONLY exists in the metaverse of the Akashic Record, and most recently a shadow-monster who spent three months pretending to be Swole-Bear. There was also that time I tried to hang out with a copy of a video game character, but we’re not considering that canon anymore. At least not entirely for legal reasons. Oh! There’s also the British man who tears holes in dimensions to fight against “unfair fates” who I’m apparently hosting a podcast with now? My point being that to me the above image is perfectly normal. To most anyone else this is probably at least a three on the Sir Memery WTF chart.

After finishing his veggie breakfast Souya sets off for school complaining about wanting to eat some meat where he bumps into his class rep whose name he has forgotten. You’d think this is just an excuse to set up Tsundere vibes with her, but no it’s far FAR worse than that. See her name is: Kagaratamaha? [wrong buzzer] Hakatamagara? [wrong buzzer] Ta-ka-ma-ga-ha-ra? [Correct Tone]

So Nickname Pending is worried about Souya and how he doesn’t make friends at his new school. This is because she knows what it’s like to be the new kid, and has apparently never watched an anime in her life so she doesn’t quite grasp the concept of “Leave the mysterious blue-haired transfer alone”.

Side Note: This character’s introduction marks the first time I’ve ever gotten a Japanese pun without some one explaining it to me. So allow me to ruin it for you all by explaining it. She offers Souya some of her Hamburger Steak to which he replies with tears of join “Megane-sama” which she mishears as “Megami-sama” and sheepishly replies that she doesn’t think she’s a goddess before immediately realizing what he’d actually said. This leads into the reveal of her actual name which I refuse to ever use the entirety of again because I honestly don’t think the joke is that funny.

Later that day Souya’s shounen receptors begin to tingle as he picks up on the impending conflict of the story. A UFO is sighted offshore headed towards the city. When the air-force is deployed to deal with the object (Picture in header) they find themselves the victim of some strange joyous delusion and leave the object alone. it’s only when seven strange people, apparently psychics of some kind, utilize their powers to confront it is it stopped. We see one of these people enter the object through a “Weak Point” and have his own delusion.

See, his mother was killed in a fire when he was a little boy causing him to become a firefighter. The UFO hits his brain with a delusion of child him being held back from the blaze by a firefighter only for that firefighter to turn out to be adult him. Adult Firefighter Psychic dude runs into the fire, saves his mom, and the two of them walk through the cherry blossoms as he sorts through all the pent up regrets he has about not being able to save her when he was a kid. Only after we’ve conveniently gotten to know this character’s defining trauma does his squad get through to him and break the delusion, then he uses his Psychic Golem Powers to wreck the hell out of the UFO causing it and copies of it that had appeared around the world to disappear all at once. The same can be said for the Psychics who all blast off to separate places to avoid the fate of E.T. one presumes

While all this was going on Souya got a call from Ginko (That’s green-haired maid lady for those not following the series who also don’t care about spoilers). She tells Souya that he has to defeat “it”, but contrary to what everyone in the audience thinks it turns out that “it” refers to one of the Psychics and not the UFO thing. After Ex-Firefighter current world-saver exits the bushes onto a highway he encounters Souya the cat-man and Ginko. Souya is sporting a mask and being basically lead by the nose at the behest of Catman and Ginko. Now hold onto your seats because this is where shit gets REALLY weird.

Catman swallows Souya turning into a mech in the process that Souya is now piloting. They get into a fight with Firefighter dude who summons up his psychic golem thing. After fumbling around at Ginko’s direction Souya manages to pilot the Catmech to victory over Psychic Fireman and retrieves a vial of star-shaped dust that is the “source of his power”. At which point I’m lead to believe that Souya recovered his memories because he shouts at Firefighter to tell his friends that Souya is going to kick their collective asses. This is presumably because he believes them to be behind his ptsdream.

After the credits roll we see a scene where a guy I can only describe a scruffy Alder from Pokemon Gen 5 says ominously that Firefighter dude had been taken out.

So, before even watching episode two I can already hands-down predict that this guy is the Draconic asshole from Souya’s ptsdream. Not sure how everything fits together but my working theory is that Souya’s from another planet that Earth governments or some shadowy organization somehow invaded and stole something from. Souya is a sleeper agent and the “Peas” balloon things are meant to lure out those in possession of the Stolen Macguffin or whatever.

There we have Episode One. Please excuse me now while I go watch Episode Two. Well... I mean you can just keep reading by the time this goes up but... BRB!

[Approximately 30min later]

Well my theory from about two paragraphs ago is up in smoke as soon as the opening scenes of this episode roll in and further dashed upon the rocks by Ginko later in the episode. All things in their proper order.

So Torai (That’s firefighter-guy’s name btw) makes his report to dragon-man about his encounter with Soya and company. The other six Psychic warriors all make jabs at him as though he died even when he’s sitting right there in an example of a gag that is legit funny unlike Tara’s name from last episode. While we’re talking about the exposition meeting may I just say that I feel BETRAYED!

See Dragon CEO guy is as nerdy as I AM! He’s the one who found out that the enemy force is called Nebula. He called the giant abominations “Nebula Weapons” gives Soya and Company the name Nebula Soldiers, and what does he call the Psychic Golems his crew uses to fight? Psychokinetic Mega-God Photon Armor. If I didn’t know better I’d think my pops made him from the same mold as me no less. Oh, and their little world-saving club? It’s the Citizens' Safety Center Special Defense Section: "Grand Paladin". I’m in tears, people, this is a Draconid after my own heart.

So, the “Grand Paladin” peeps implement the buddy system in case they run into Soya again. Meanwhile Soya’s having a sulk because apparently Ginko and “Sensei” dragged him to Earth to be their soldier. He goes out on a walk in Iron Clogs (I’m guessing this is a joke I’m not getting). On the run he meets up with Torai who just happens to have purchased a bunch of meat buns from a convenience store. They have a conversation because Torai is a nice guy (that’s a legit nice guy not the version that’s been turned into a derogatory term by certain groups online). See Torai, while out looking for his attacker couldn’t help noticing what he thought was a middle-schooler sitting on a random bench crying and came over to see if there was anything he could do to help.

He gives Soya a bun they chat for a bit with Soya desperately trying both not to give away who he really is as well as to eat the bun because dammit he just wants some MEAT for once! All of a sudden the evacuation alarm is sounded because this wonderful abomination has appeared off shore.

Nebula really needs to consult a different artist about their designs. I personally recommend @dashfox1artwork.

Robin: Shamelessly plugging your internet friends are we dragon-boy?

Fic: If you’re not going to show up and fight keep your mouth shut Shadow-bear. I’m just doing my part to show that not all Dragons are assholes. Robin: Whatever you say.

So, the six remaining Psycho-God pilots attack the Ugly Bacon Idol and the pink-haired girl of the team, Miu, is the one to enter the core. The hallucination she sees is of her beating her friend Harumi (Pilot of the Bear-armor) at apparently a Judo competition. We find out that Miu has always just wanted to be strong, and we also learn that she IS strong being able to break through the illusion of the Nebula Weapon with relative ease and destroy the thing. It’s at this point that I should mention that a message has flashed before each of the characters who take one of these things out. In Miu’s case the message was “It’s okay to be weak”. For Torai in episode one the message was “I forgive you” presumably preying on his regrets about his mom.

After Piggy McHideous is dispatched the group separates into its pairs and as we expected Soya and Co target the pair with a member who just fought a battle, but let’s back up for a second because there’s some exposition from Ginko during the fight with the Baconator that needs addressing.

She reveals to Soya that Nebula is indeed the name of the group they work for, but there are multiple faction. Ginko and “Sensei” are with the “Pacifist Faction” whereas the Monuments to terrible design sense that have been popping up in the harbor belong to the “Sealing Faction”. Basically think of this as political parties. One wants to prevent humanity from rising up against them one day by brutally suppressing their ability to advance and keep them in a state of complacency, while the other just wants to take away any dangerous toys that humanity might come up with and hope that they can “guide” humanity onto the path of “Love” rather than “Power”.

Hmmm one group bent on maintaining their personal status quo at the cost of anyone else and another that wants to control precisely what power the general populace has access to in order to “guide” them on the “right path”? I wonder where I’ve heard that one before?

Sorry about that. The Writer is coming through me a little strongly there. Point is that Ginko is using Soya to enact social and ideological control... I MEAN to take away the magical stardust that allows the Psycho-God Pilots to do their thing... yeah. Back to the proper progress of the episode: Soya once again pilots his cat-mecha-sensei to fight against Miu and Harumi. It is a pretty fun fight, but all things must go as has been foretold. So after being on the ropes for most of the conflict Soya turns everything around at the last second with a miracle uppercut against the Bunny-god armor. As Miu is falling back to Earth Ginko appears and grabs the stardust vial away from her. Apparently Ginko can just Mary Poppins herself to wherever she pleases? They all land and Ginko’s like “That’s all for today”, but Soya’s having none of it. He’s ready to take the fight to Bear-mech too when all the other Psycho-Pilots show up including CEO Dragonface to say “Checkmate”, and that’s where our story concludes for now.

Y’know I’m coming more and more around to the opinion that we should be routing for “Grand Paladin” here rather than the lady influencing Soya or the massive, faceless organization that wants to turn us all into Proles from 1984. I mean, yeah, they do have the snake-eyed dude. They meet in what appears to be some sort of board room, and the writing seems to indicate that they’re the “Antagonists” if not the villains, but so far they don’t seem to be anything but a collection of well-intentioned if somewhat zany people. Even the big CEO-type with the intimidating presence, as was discussed earlier, is a lovable and hammy goofball.

I love any series that makes its antagonists human. Granted cartoonish villainy and even edgelordiness has its place in stories, but when you can make your antagonists and especially your villains feel human and relatable it just rings home that nobody is the villain in their own story. Everyone has reasons for what they do. They may not have excuses or justifications, but they all have reasons.

For instance, I have a reason for breaking my own rules here by reading my political views into the story.

[pauses for dramatic effect]

Yes, yes I’m sure you’re all very shocked at this revelation. I mean I was so subtle about it (/s). My reason is that when I went back and really thought about what the “Sealing” and “Pacifist” factions of Nebula stood for I (and this is really the nerd behind The Nerd speaking) couldn’t help but see parallels to some of the more distasteful extremes of Conservative and Liberal politics at work. Both sides seek to impose their morality upon others. While one does so by attempting to keep people complacent with the status quo, the other does it by appealing to the rebellious nature inherent in people and channeling it into “causes”.They use guilt and peer pressure to convince people that their way of thinking is correct and I absolutely cannot stand seeing it happen. Especially when they prey upon others using causes that need legitimate champions!

The goals of the “Pacifist” faction are arguably “good”. They are part of a group that has watched humanity evolve and they only want the best for us. They “keep their involvement to a minimum”, but at the end of the day they’re doing the same thing that the “Sealing” faction is doing. They’re enforcing their own will on humanity by taking away humanity’s means to fight against them, or anyone for that matter.

In the anime this is likely because the “Pacifist” faction is short-sighted and hasn’t stopped to consider what will happen to humanity when they take away the only weapon they have against the “Sealing” faction, but in reality? In reality groups like the “Pacifist” Faction either are themselves or contain an element that wants the people they’re disarming to become reliant upon them for what they need. They take away that person’s own weapons and replace them with their own. They dictate the rules of battle and push you to come to them for aid and defense. They accrue personal power and influence at the cost of their followers’ freedom of thought.

These are important things to think about and be on the lookout for, and it’s an issue that is very prevalent in my own life and dealings online. So those are my reasons for why I read political allegory into the factions of Planet With. Now am I justified for doing this when I so often decry others for “reading shit that isn’t there into stories”? No, of course I’m not. Or rather I’m not justified using that argument against people who dropped a show as a result of what they read into it.

I’m not going to lie. I’m inexperienced with expressing views on creative work online, and am overly sensitive to certain things. I’m just as flawed as anybody else. It’s hard for me to understand when people see “bullshit” in something that I didn’t see. It’s hard for me to accept some one calling a show (particularly one I like) “Garbage” when really it’s just not clicking with them. I know that I’ve been guilty of calling a show “Garbage” in my time, but it’s a term I hope to avoid moving forward. I want to live up to my professed belief that there is good to be found in all fiction, even the “bad” fiction. Part of that is accepting the responsibility I tell others they need to accept. To practice what I preach.

If I’m determined that the Audience has just as important a role in creating art as the Authors then I need to learn to accept the interpretations of my fellow audience members, and to feel free to express my own interpretations of things.

[stops to take a break and slide back into character]

Wow... That ended up being a lot heavier than I imagined. What a way to kick off the summer season! There’s more to come but for now I need a break, and the writer could probably use a nap.

Until next post keep talking fiction, friends! I’ll see you soon

#Anime #Planet With #Episode 1 #Episode 2 #Fictionerd #Let's Talk Anime #LTA #Robin

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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How Dark Nights: Death Metal Reboots the DC Universe

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The end of Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 is the last stop of more than a decade of Scott Snyder driving the DC metaverse’s bus. The conclusion to the Dark Nights saga, which started in 2017 with Dark Nights: Metal and ran through an entire Justice League series before concluding here, closes off storylines Snyder and his creative partner Greg Capullo seeded as far back as their first issue of Batman when the New 52 launched.

And with Infinite Frontier and Future State, DC’s next publishing initiatives, on deck, it’s worth taking a look at what Death Metal did so we can try and understand how the pieces fit together. Because if there’s one thing to take away from Death Metal, it’s that everything fits together. Even if you really gotta stomp on the pieces to get them to stick.

THE ANTI-CRISIS IS HERE!

The final couple of issues of Death Metal throw a little bit of a curveball at readers. The entire series has felt like it was heading for a confrontation between Wonder Woman and The Batman Who Laughs, the Jokerized Bruce from the Dark Multiverse who (everybody take a DEEEP breath now) led an army of dark Batmen on behalf of Barbatos, the evil Bat god, in Metal; escaped captivity with Lex Luthor’s help in Justice League; betrayed Lex and usurped his role as evil overgoddess Perpetua’s right hand in Hell Arisen; and had his brain dropped in the body of a Bruce Wayne who had been turned into Dr. Manhattan after being killed by Diana earlier in Death Metal (with a chainsaw made from her invisible jet…just roll with it), giving him the nearly limitless power he needed to betray Perpetua earlier in this series. And from this point forward, we’re referring to him exclusively as BWL. Now let’s all go get a glass of water.

Ok, back? Cool.

So the rematch in the last couple of issues of Death Metal is what the rest of the series has felt like it was building towards. And we definitely get a BRAWL: Diana, charged up with Anti-Crisis energy (we’ll get there), is a giant embodiment of her golden lasso, and several times in the issue, she punches BWL so hard he traverses the history of the DC Universe.

But it turns out BWL isn’t just fighting to dominate the entire multiverse. The Hands are returning.

The Hands and the Green Lantern Connection

You know how DC time travelers can’t go back and watch the beginning of creation? Whenever they try, they just see a giant hand. This is pretty well established, going back to John Broome and Gil Kane’s old Green Lantern story about Krona, the Guardian scientist who first attempted to see the dawn of time.

Turns out, the giant hand is part of a race of them: enormously powerful cosmic entities that bear a passing thematic resemblance to Marvel’s Beyonders, only sized up in power a few times. That hand we see when Krona tries to violate the laws of the multiverse, it belongs to Perpetua, and she’s one of them. Now they are coming to judge this local multiverse, and Perpetua and BWL both think it’s going to go poorly. So poorly, in fact, that BWL is asking Diana to join her Anti-crisis energy with his, as it’s their only hope of preventing The Hands from sweeping everything away and starting over.

Crisis Energy and Anti-Crisis Energy

Oh that.

Perpetua and BWL power themselves up first (in Justice League and Hell Arisen) by harnessing the unseen dark forces of the multiverse – the invisible spectrum that manifests as John Stewart’s Ultraviolet Lantern powers, or the Speed Force’s opposite number, the Still Force, for example. They eventually graduate to eating universes to expand their power. These are examples of what Death Metal categorizes as Crisis Energy.

Diana is charged with its opposite: Anti-Crisis Energy. This energy is produced by the connective tissue of the history of the DCU, by the totality of the DC Universe’s history. That’s why “everything counts” in Death Metal #6 was a big deal: it was a massive power up for Diana. It’s also an interesting meta critique of DC’s history of reboots.

Crisis Energy is described *by Diana* as being selfish and short sighted, focused on short term gain at the expense of respecting the sweep of history. Anti-Crisis energy is constructive, drawing strength from the depth and breadth of 80 years of DC continuity.

We have to be careful assigning authorial intent where none may exist. But it is certainly a valid read of Death Metal to see criticism of DC’s accelerating continuity reboot cycle built in. It doesn’t take an enormous leap of logic to transpose Crisis Energy and all of Diana’s critiques over to Crisis Events and some of the fan criticism – short term sales boosts at the expense of the richness of an 80 year publishing history.

Who Was Right? Wonder Woman or the Batman Who Laughs?

Diana, of course. She refuses to give into BWL’s cajoling, punches him through continuity a few times, and eventually meets The Hands, who come to her wearing the form of…her.

More specifically, they show up as Golden Age Wonder Woman.

The Hand she speaks with explains to her that they were going to sweep away Diana’s multiverse because of its propensity for gross selfishness, but Diana’s personal heart and generosity touched them, so they’re giving the DCU another shot. Only this time, they’re putting everything back in place: the full history of the DCU, along with a blossoming multiverse. And it’s heavily implied that the barriers between worlds in this multiverse are going to be…less walls, and more suggestions. The price the Hand extracts for this boon is Diana’s existence: she ascends, no longer living as a physical being on Earth Prime. Instead, she joins the Hands protecting the new multiverse from a hinted at but as yet unstated threat.

It’s worth noting here that this evolution of the DC multiverse somewhat mirrors Snyder’s evolution as a writer at DC. His early Batman work, on the “Black Mirror” arc of Detective Comics, and early in his New 52 Batman run is very carefully plotted and paced. They’re written more like traditional detective/horror stories. Similarly, the DC multiverse has been slowly returning to continuity since Infinite Crisis and 52, only very slowly, with rigid rules and boundaries about what constitutes the new multiverse. Remember the Orrery of Worlds?

The difference, in both Snyder’s style and the cosmogony of DC’s multiverse, are the rules don’t matter anymore. Death Metal, both in how the story is told and where it leaves the DC multiverse, has a certain “FUCK IT, EVERYBODY HAVE FUN AND WE’LL CLEAN UP LATER” vibe to it and if we’re being entirely honest, that’s kind of exciting.

What Does this Mean for the Future of the DC Universe?

I’ll admit, it hits a little different landing after a year of wild rumors about the future of DC’s publishing line. The journey of Death Metal saw a bunch of new bosses coming in and rumors and threats that they were going to rip the DC Universe down to the studs, and whatever came next wasn’t anyone’s business.

The end of Death Metal is a jubilant explosion of everything bright and beautiful about the DC Universe – our heroes have made it, and not only did they survive, but they did so specifically because everything in their publishing history saved them. Everything counts now, everything happened, everything mattered, and it’s that counting/happening/mattering that saved the day. And then Black Canary, Superman, Wally West, and Batman play a big metal concert for all the celebrating heroes. With Jarro on cowbell.

Future State is the next step, in-universe and out of it. Death Metal closes with a group of heroes and villains – Martian Manhunter, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, Lex, Talia, Vandal Savage, and maybe Wally West (it’s not explicitly clear that he’s part of the group and not just visiting) – gathering together to talk about the cosmogony of the new omniverse. Hypertime is healing, the multiverse is growing so infinite that it’s now the omniverse, pasts and futures are opening into what Wally calls an Infinite Frontier (NEXT PUBLISHING PHASE MIC CHECK!). But Earth Prime is no longer the center of the multiverse the way it once was, as you can see from your handy dandy Multiversity map. It’s replacement is actually two worlds: one yet unstated, and one the group of DCU bigwigs is calling…the Elseworld.

After reading the first batch of Future State books, one could be forgiven for assuming many of those stories take place there. Each book has a blurb about the saved multiverse, and the wealth of new possibilities growing out of the ashes of Death Metal. These books are dripping with multiversal references. But I think that’s beside the point – some of the Future State stories will end up being Elseworlds tales; some, possible futures; and some will slowly integrate to regular continuity. I think the variety is the actual point here; variety of settings, variety of stakes, and a variety of stories and storytellers.

One would think that emphasizing variety might also lead to variances in quality, but the hit rate for the Future State books is remarkably high. These books are genuinely exciting to read. Several of them look nothing like what DC has been doing before, almost to the point where we can hold a funeral for DC House Art Style.

The characters are certainly vastly different from what came before, and a couple of them are going to be absolutely huge – watch Yara Flor, the new Wonder Woman. If Joelle Jones’ first issue of Future State: Wonder Woman is any indicator, she’s going to be extremely popular.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It has been a long, and sometimes very odd journey to get here, but between the power chords of hope from the end of Death Metal and the completely new jams being played in Future State, it’s hard not to be cautiously optimistic about the future of the DC Universe.

The post How Dark Nights: Death Metal Reboots the DC Universe appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38iD7SX

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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ask-the-phan-site · 5 years

Text

Phan Cam: A. Nigma of the School

>A. Nigma High School. Even though we’re just standing in front of it, we can already feel the mysterious vibe coming off of it.

Spirit said he’ll be waiting for us in detention hall. Wherever that is.

Finding it won’t be easy. This school is different from the ones we’re normally used to. Plus, we have that to worry about.

>Yusuke was pointing at some strange looking people in white.

...

Are we going to be okay here?

Not to worry, I have this. Straight from the desk of Max Modell. A message to Principal Gerneral W. Barrage allowing us to come to the school to seek out students would like to transfer to Horizon High.

>We go inside the school. The weirdness was stronger than ever. Even though a lot of things looked a bit normal. We go inside the principal’s office. Even this Barrage guy was an odd character just by looking at him. He takes the message and exams it carefully.

... APPROVED!

For real!? You’d do this?

Barrage: I’ve met Modell from time to time and I’m willing to give his idea a chance!

Thank you. I’m sure Max will appreciate it. In fact, there’s a student here at this school we’d like to interview first. Lee Ping.

Barrage: Ping!? You’ll find him and his little hooligan friends in detention hall in the basement! ... Here’s a map.

>He hands us a map and we go well on our way. After a while, we found the detention hall in the basement. We came in and the first thing we noticed was...

Zzz...

Uh. Hello?

???: Don’t bother.

>We turned.

The guy’s pretty much gone at this point.

Really? How come?

Lee: ... It’s a long story. Right now, Chaz Monerainian is our bigger concern.

Oh! Ve’re finally going to do ze Phantom Zeiving!

Hold it, Holger. We don’t know if we’re going with them.

Actually, we don’t mind if you want to help us. From what I’ve heard, Biffy kun, you’re good with communications. I think you and Futaba might work together fine you would.

Futaba: She’s got a point.

Listen to the chiquita, Biffy. These guys are professionals.

What did you just call Haru?

>Camillio was a little intimidated by Makoto’s glare.

Lee: (quickly) Okay, let’s just check the school new. It should be on by now.

>Biffy takes out his laptop and accesses the school’s website.

Hello, A. Nigma High! I’m Chaz Monarainian.

And I’m Tina Kwee. We’re here to give you the latest at our school. First off-

Chaz: On to Chaz’s Corner!

Tina: I don’t know, Chaz. Isn’t it a little early to-

Chaz: Yeah, yeah, that’s nice, Tina. Anyway, on to our main story.

I can see what the request meant. This guy’s really of himself. He keeps cutting her off.

Chaz: We just received word that eight representatives of Horizon High School (nine if you count their cat) have come here to scout for anyone who is interested in joining their school. I know I might like to try.

Tina: (groaning) Do you even know anything about science?

Chaz: I have a cousin in New York who went to Osborn Academy. How hard could it be?

>Tina just facepalms herself.

Makoto: I feel sorry for her.

Biffy: Did he say you have a cat?

Finally! I thought you guys forgot about me.

Biffy: (gasping with starry eyes) You do have a kitty!

Ren: This is Morgana. And I take you like cats.

Mew!

Biffy: Looks like Mrs. Rumplekittykat likes him... Does Mogana have a mate yet?

Hell no! I already have eyes for Lady Ann.

He says he’s not interested.

Lee: He’s right. Besides, didn’t she already have kittens?

Biffy: You never know.

>Just then, the door slams open and two people come in. One of which is very furious.

Camillio: Vaya, chica. Sabemos que estás molesto.

Tina: Upset doesn’t even cover it! I can’t believe Chaz blew me off like that again!

Better calm your girlfriend, Lee, before she tears the place up.

Lee: Right... By the way, how... On second thought, never mind, it’s you after all. Of course you knew we would be here.

Serpent: Well, it is your place here at school even though you don’t have detention anymore.

Lee: Gotta find someplace we can meet without Barrage or the Cleaners listening in. And we all know Sleeping Ugly over there won’t say anything.

>He was pointing at the sleeping teacher.

Serpent: Be nice to the man. We don’t know if he’ll ever wake up again.

Tina: Alright, we made you Phantom Thieves famous for helping the school with Horizon High, you better return the favor.

Relax, lady. We can do this.

Makoto: We already checked the Nav with Chaz Monerainian. He has a Palace here at this school. Now we just need to know what he sees this school as.

Camillio: The Nav? Oh, that’s what Lee talked about.

Akechi: Yes. To take us to the Metaverse, we need to give the Metaverse Navigator who are target is, a place that the target hold significance to, and what the target sees the place as.

Ryuji: We have the who and the where. Now we need the what.

Tina: If that’s it, I guess we can help with that.

Biffy: My first guest would be a TV station since everyone in his family are pretty much reporters.

Ren: Let’s try it.

>I enter what Biffy said into the Nav.

Nav: Conditions have not been met.

Tina: I guess that would be a bit too obvious.

Futaba: It’s got to be someplace that fits his ego. Maybe a temple.

Nav: Conditions have not been met.

Camillio: How about a circus since media is kind of like that.

Nav: Conditions have not been met.

Holger: How about a zearter?

Ryuji: Zearter?

Serpent: I do believe he means theater.

Lee: Chaz is also a member of the drama club and plays the lead often.

Nav: Condition have not been met.

This is going to be tougher than I thought.

Serpent: If you like, I do have resources that could help us determine what his Palace is.

Makoto: At this point, we’re out of options. I guess.

Serpent: Good... Because I already did it.

>He takes out his phone. It was a recording of Chaz in his home talking to himself in the mirror.

Chaz: Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

Are you serious?

Chaz: I am so well loved in that school. It’s almost like being in a fairy tale. Now if only that Tina Kwee wouldn’t be such a hater.

Serpent: Shall we try? It sound like fairy tale is just a good an answer.

>We all agreed and Serpent enters the keyword.

Nav: Results found.

Lee: Do I even want to know why you have cameras there?

Serpent: (annoying laugh) Not really.

Ryuji: So, let’s get going in.

Holger: Oh, can ve go in, too?

Tina: That’s right. I’m a bit curious about this Metaverse. Don’t worry, I won’t talk about it on the news.

Ann: Are you sure? It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen.

Lee: We’ve fought an evil cult, clones, weird robots, monsters, and of course, a cybernetic principal. I think that about this time, there’s nothing left to scare us.

Tina: Except that classes are about to start.

Lee: Oh, right. It’ll wait after school.

Ren: Good. We’ll be waiting. In the meantime, we’ve got some students to interview.

>After almost a whole day, school was over for the day. We were waiting in front of the school.

Ren: Okay, what have we got.

Ann: Let’s see. Two older guys called the 15th Graders seem to be interested. They have a lot of experience in shop class. A couple of Skaters also seem interested. There’s also the Dudes of Darkness, the Tree Huggers, an Outcast named Deuce Markowitz, the entire Genius Club, and even a Glamazon who wishes to remain anonymous.

If it’s Kimmie McAdams, she’s definitely not in.

Ryuji: Yeah, I heard she’s a total bitch... Maybe we should go after her after this.

Morgana: We’ll have to discuss it later. Here come the Detentionaires.

>The others came.

Okay! Ve’re ready!

What the!? Why are you in that!?

Lee: Because... He’s Holger. It’s what he does.

So he’s the positive type. That’s good.

Holger: Yes. And yet, not many people in school vant to hang out with Holger.

So is everyone ready?

Everyone: Ready!

Ren: Then let’s go.

Nav: Beginning navigation.

>A red wave passes us and the school was replaced by a fairy tail forest that has more of a sinister feeling to it.

(Insert song: You in Wonderland)

Tina: (a bit amazed) Wow.

(laughing a bit) Looks like you weren’t kidding about not being surprised.

Biffy: But I am amazed that you can talk... RKK, can you talk here too?

Rumplekittykat: Mew!

Biffy: (disappointed) I guess not.

Well, there aren’t many like Mona. That’s for sure.

Tina: So this is the world in Chaz’s heart. He thinks this school is some kind of fairyland where he’s king.

Then we’ll just have to dethrone him.

It’s not the first time we took down a king and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last.

Let’s take a look around.

Spirit: (will be called that while we’re in the Metaverse) Right. Everyone, stay close together... You especially stay close to me, Tina.

Tina: I’m not sure whether I should be flattered that you want to protect me or insulted that you think I can’t defend myself... But I guess I can stay close just in case.

>We venture into the Palace. It really does look like something out of a fairy tale.

Oracle: It looks like I’m picking something up. Look over there.

>We happen across what looks like a wanted poster on a sign.

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: Tina Kwee

Crime: For going up against our most glorious king.

Tina: (really angry) That jerk!

Hold on. It looks like there’s something under here.

>I lift the poster and see something carved on the sign.

Joker: Fox, can I borrow some paper and pencil?

Here. What is it?

Joker: We’ll see.

>I place the paper on the sign and begin rubbing the tip of the pencil on it. Then, an image appeared on it.

It looks like this sign is a map.

It is! Well done, Joker.

Camillio: Okay, homes. Can we get out of here? I get the feeling that-

>Suddenly, an arrow is shot. Luckily, it missed Camillio by an inch. It was shot by a Shadow that looked like Robin Hood.

Shadow: Stand and deliver, knaves! For our glorious King Chaz!

Crow: I’ve never known a Robin Hood who would say that.

Shadow: Never mind that. You have in your company, Public Enemy Number 1.

>He was pointing at Tina.

Tina: Over my dead body!

Shadow: So be it. The kind did say dead or alive.

Oracle: We already know this guy’s weak to Electricity and Curse attack. Joker, Skull, it’s your time.

Joker: Good. It’s been awhile since Arsene was out. Let’s see if he’s still got it. Persona!

Skull: Persona!

Queen: I’ll help as well. Persona!

Spirit: I’ll go, too. Persona!

>Spirit summons his Persona, Tokebi.

Oracle: Here come the buffs! Persona!

>Necronomicon boosts our stats. Archangel uses Psi on Spirit. He dodges it. Arsene uses Eiga. It knocks him down.

Joker: Let’s do this!

>After the attack, Archangel is still up. Captain Kidd uses Zionga. It knocks Archangel down again. He don’t do an All-Out-Attack this time and Captain Kidd uses Assault Dive. Tokebi uses Dream Needle. It didn’t put him to Sleep this time. Johanna uses Flash Bomb. It made him Dizzy. Archangel comes back up. He tries to attack us with Vajra Blast. Luckily, because he was Dizzy, the attack wasn’t very strong. Arsene uses Giant Slice. It was strong because of the boost and that Archangel was Dizzy. Captain Kidd uses Assault Dive again. Then, Tokebi uses Zionga. It knocks him down.

Spirit: Alright, let’s pile on!

>After the attack, the Shadow was gone.

Spirit: Wasn’t that tough.

Tina: I can’t believe they would do this because of me.

Serpent: You can still back out of this if you wish.

Biffy: Heck no. We still want to help.

Holger: Lee of Ping is our friend. We want to go help him.

Crow: Alright. But when the heist execution happens, we ask that you stay behind. We need someone to keep an eye on Chaz and it might get much too dangerous.

Camillio: No hay problema, hombre. We’ll make sure everything’s fine.

Joker: Alight, then it’s settled. We’ll do this.

>We all agreed and leave the Palace for now.

>We’ll be back for the Treasure.

#phantom thieves cam

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ryuji-skullmoto · 7 years

Text

first impressions & thoughts on P5 (spoilers till May 2nd):

first of all, let’s get this out of the way: HOLY SHIT this game looks cool, I’m loving the aesthetics, and it’s all so flashy flashy flash flash! and it’s not style that overpowers the game itself, no, I feel like the strong aesthetics really enhance the feels of the game.

so, much like in two previous Persona games, the story takes place in modern times. and I really do mean modern. gone are all flip phones, here cometh the new technology with smart phones and social media. and I really do love how these things are handled by the story; people will debate whether the Phantom Thieves truly exist on forums and your friends will text you all the frigging time. I’m still early in the game, so I’d be interested to know if the social media aspect will play a bigger part than an approval poll in the future.

and the theme of the game being rebellion, this feels like the most political Persona game in a while. I might not have had the opportunity to punch any Nazis in the face (yet) but in the world of corrupted and fascist AU Japan, it’s easy to find theme that comment on our current world and theme that feel familiar. the world of P5 is full of shitty asshole adults that abuse their power, and it truly pumps up the characters (and the player) to fight the power and change the people’s hearts. as a game, it’s also very dark. and where P3 was also very dark, yes, but it was mostly beautifully dark and melancholic, sad. where as P5′s darkness is full of anger and rage. Phantom Thieves first target end up being a complete shithead PE teacher, who abuses his students, sexually harasses girls (trigger warning: heavily implied rape. yeah...), and gets away with it all because of his prior successes. it all culminates when a students tries to kill herself. yeah, super heavy stuff. it makes you uncomfortable, but it’s obvious that that’s the meaning. the story’s not trying to be sensational just to get a reaction of the player. and when you finally get your showdown with the Shadow asshole himself, it feels so good to take them down for all that they did. my only question is, that is any of the future targets going to be more unambiguous about how evil they are? not sure if it would really fit the theme, but it would be interesting to see how the game and the characters would handle that, especially because stealing a marks heart could end up being fatal.

oh yeah, characters! let’s just say I fucking love them all! the contrast of people’s first impressions of Yu and Akira is really stark. while everyone in Inaba seems to fall in love with Yu immediately (whether it makes sense or not), everyone sees Akira as nothing more than a criminal. the world around the protag is harsh and will give you nothing for free, but I have to say I like being the underdog. I always found everyone’s admiration of Yu kinda fake and almost mandated by the game and it’s story (which is why it’s a big part of Yu’s character in NTL), so having a character who has to start from the bottom and slowly change everyone’s opinion of themselves is a cool concept, and I can’t wait so see what they do with it.

Ryuji is my fucking son, I love him so very much. you could say that he’s nothing but a fusion of Yosuke and Kanji, but that would be giving him way too little credit. yes, the similarities are there, for sure, but he still is his own character. he’s a guy who’s had it rough and who people won’t give a chance because of his history, but it’s obvious he’s passionate and loyal, someone who’s not afraid to stand up for his friends. Ann is a dear! she’s such a sweetheart who can still kick your ass if you manage to anger her. also, I just love the fact that when she gets captured on her first trip to the Metaverse, she frees herself. yeah, protag, Ryuji and Morgana are there, but she breaks the chains herself. she’s a bad ass, and I’s trust her to protect my ass any day. also I love that while she’s super beautiful, they didn’t make her ditzy or anything like that, something that many people feared. and Morgana, who the longest time I thought was a she (I’m so sorry, Morgana!). Morgana’s awesome, and I just really love the design of his (???) both forms. even though sometimes I feel that Morgana really could talk a little less and not force me to go to sleep on time, lol! but I’m intrigued about the story behind how Morgana became a cat and all. are you getting some Teddie vibes? because I’m getting some Teddie vibes.

but what I truly love the most about these character, is that how easily relatable they are. much like with the Investigation Team, the Phantom Thieves feel real. (this was one of my biggest gripes with P3, I just couldn’t get a good grasp of the characters in that game.) I also feel like the character writing is at it’s best. while yes, I’m still very early in the game and I’ve read about the most problematic aspects of this game, it’s still a major improvement, and I truly hope Atlus will continue on this path. and maybe one day, will have our bisexual protag. also, let me choose my gender, please. but I’m getting off topic. like I said, the characters are relatable for anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast, and really point me someone who hasn’t. you really want to see these characters succeed and grow and just be happy.

and while the premise isn’t quite openly laid out (it’s not like “there’s a murderer loose, y’all need to catch him”), the world and the characters have me intrigued. while you might know, I’m a big fan of stories that are more down to earth, and about less fighting gods, I’m truly enjoying the ride P5 has put me on so far, and I can’t wait to uncover more of the secrets of the Metaverse and the world of Persona 5.

#but I want to know what y'all think!#but no spoilers mkay!#I might be busy with life and I hate not having all the time I want to play this game #but I really want to babble about this game with someone lol #this game has really been on my mind like 24/7 this past week #me rambling #Persona #p5 spoilers #holy shit it's almost 4am!!!!! I should go to sleep..........

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