ShuAke Shrine

Honey, I'm Home!

Where it all began...

I've seen mentions of Joker here and there in the past but it wasn't until I saw him as a playable character in Sonic Racing Crossworlds that I became curious to learn more about the character and Persona as a whole.

It must have been kismet because around the same time Persona 5 Royal was availble on PlayStation Plus. I decided to give it a try and instantly loved the aesthetics of the game! The UI was unlike anything i've even seen before, so detailed just like its characters and stories. I instantly clicked with the social aspect of the game and even though I was heistant about the turn-based combat at first, I quickly began to enjoy the strategizing involved. I knew I was going to relate to Joker's character within the first few hours of playing. But I did not expect the Shuake brain worms that will soon infiltrate my mind and (punt intended) steal my heart.

One thing to know about me is:



So, with my inherent rainbow tinted glasses, for a brief moment I was leaning towards Yusuke as my imaginary shipping choice for Joker (give us LGBTQ+ romance options Atlus you cowards). But then the unexpected happened...Goro Akechi. From the moment they met and Akechi's handshake turned into handholding I was playing the game like:



After that came the deep conversations and Jazz Jin dates. I haven't played any Persona games before this (after, though, I've played Tactica, Persona 4 GOLDEN, Persona: Revelations, and plan to play the others in due time) so I didn't expect the, what some have called "obvious", twist involving Akechi. I knew he was a "threat" but assumed this sweet but misinformed detective would join the Phantom Thieves and realize their motivations are just. I was so giddy when the team up actually hapened and thought "Okay great, he'll end up befriending the Thieves and become attached to the team and call off the part of the deal where the Thieves have to disband...right?....". Well, if you've played the game (if you haven't you probably shouldn't be reading this; spoilers!) you know that I was sorely mistaken.

FIRST Akechi challenges Joker to a random duel in Momentos? Not me being excited about them spending some alone time as Phantom Thieves before I realized this is a serious duel type situation. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what kind of strange test of morals this is supposed to be? Then this guy hits Joker with "I'm going to be entirely honest with you: I hate you."



Hate???? Is that what you CALL THIS!?:



I was still trying to piece all of this together, I knew then he was the one to get Joker caught in the end but dang I didn't expect him to doom the yaoi the way he did. When he walked up to Joker with that gun I was internally screaming at Akechi, hands clapped over my mouth in shock and horror in the middle of the night trying not to wake up my sleeping partner.

This was me:



The next few in-game days felt so dark. When Joker opened up his texts I would find myself checking his texts with Akechi. This betrayal felt real. However, the Phantom Thieves carried on strong. They infiltrated Shido's palace and I had some time to process everything over some mousey hijinks:



Still, as Joker led his team through battle, stealthy sections and safe rooms I kept having this gnawing feeling...surely we'll have to confront Akechi? Will he come to his senses?? What's going on???



AND THEN IT HAPPENED.



THE ENGINE ROOM SCENE.

...WIP... I'm writing this in bits and pieces in between other tasks heh