Randomly Fiddled With The Colors And Used A Bit Of The Real Kasumi's Sprite For The Eye Lashes And Beauty

Randomly fiddled with the colors and used a bit of the real Kasumi's sprite for the eye lashes and beauty mark and voila! What if though...

Weirdly enough, the screencaps for the CG cutscenes seem to be a lot easier to edit than the anime ones. Probably because they're usually much better quality whereas the anime ones just vary in quality (mostly shit though).

Seriously though, while probably done before, an AU where she survives but fails to save Sumire does have potential. Her Persona would either be the commonly HC'd Odette or the one I was picking for an AU I have where she survived, "Nettchen" (after the version of Beauty/Belle in the German variation of Beauty and the Beast titled, "Little Broomstick").

OG screencap I took, not TOO different as you can see but still:

This is the last one I promise ok? Just that famous "Stay" ending screenshot. I should maybe give a name for this AU???

OG Screenshot for comparison:

So here are some quick Aesthetic Boards I did based on an idea that hit me, Monarch Maruki and Sumire (more context further down below):

Monarch!Sumi Aesthetic Board with a fairytale/Swan Lake theme: "Shattered Princess KaSumire"

Monarch!Maruki: "Sorrowful Savior Takuto"

This was an idea that hit me while chatting on Discord: So basically, if you don't complete Maruki's Confidant you'll be barred from the 3rd Semester and get the Vanilla ending instead right? Wellll... Considering all that, this means that he and Sumi will be left to their own devices... As in their own problems won't be solved. Sumi would more or less remain in her Kasumi delusion until the filter potentially wears off and Maruki disappears to god knows where.

The unwitting inaction from Joker would then have MAJOR consequences in Strikers since that game can take place after either timeline... Either one or the other or even both fall prey to EMMA and become Monarchs themselves:

Maruki is self-explanatory as his desire to help people consumes him and kickstarts his self-destruction, warping his cognition and wanting to spread the Jail's influence further. People who have their desires stolen would just be mindlessly happy and "cured" of trauma or hardships (big or small). Much like canon, he thinks he's "helping" them. Maruki's "crown" would be a gold crown of thorns (biblical influence anyone?), representing his savior/martyr complex and how much he's really hurting. Removing it represents him renouncing his "godhood" and taking steps to move on and heal himself.

Sumi's is more or less revolving around herself and desperation to keep up the Kasumi filter/charade. Her own delusion and self-hatred festering. It's basically her living an ideal fairytale and not wanting to leave it. Anyone who got their desires stolen would join the Kasumi delusion. Basically, they all would view her as her dead sister and address her as such. Her "crown" would be her sister's red ribbon that her Shadow wears and then removes, symbolizing her finally letting go and developing her own identity and independence.

Idk, I just feel like with all horrifying implications that the now optional Vanilla ending are giving out... I feel like they would be easy prey to EMMA. Especially at their most vulnerable states. They both have the blueprints for having a Jail; Just need a design, layout, cores, trauma cells, etc.

Honestly, even when I still have my own criticisms with how she was handled and how some things could have been improved, I agree fully! Strikers even kinda calls out the, "tear it all down" mentality with Akane to an extent which I thought was good! It's not trying to give an "OMG ACAB" message. It's more nuanced than that.

But really though, great take!

Aight so this may be my hottest take to date but having seen the discourse around Makoto on this site it must be said: People accusing Makoto and the entirety of P5 of bootlicking are fucking idiots.

Now, while IRL I'm under no illusion of the heroic 'good cop' that means to cure the corruption of the police force from the inside (given that most either quit or die doing so), P5 makes a very concerted effort to show on a more fantastical scale that it's not the individual that needs changing but the system.

Kamashida, Kaneshiro, Shido, by Qlipoth World they're among the rest of the disillusioned masses who in all facets of society, the police, education, crime and politics, turn a blind eye in apathy. That's why the final boss of vanilla P5 isn't Shido, the one corrupt individual who we'd all like to think is the source of all wrongs in society, but Yaldabaoth, the embodiment of the system that perpetuates it.

After the defeat of Yaldabaoth begins what we and the Thieves hope is a new day, with the metaverse gone the Thieves must now act to change the system through their actions in the real world, and this idea is furthered by the adult confidants of the game. Adults, who at the beginning of the game are all viewed by the player and the Thieves with animosity, who we see through confidants like Tora and Kawakami, are trying to change the system.

Makoto becoming a police officer is not only reinforced by her history with her father but as exemplified by Sae becoming a defence attorney is a statement that the system CAN change, not that we should seek to tear it all down but to make changes through policy both personal and political to do so. Almost as though that's the only things are gonna get better in real life.

"Megatron... Begone!" // "Pillage him, Satanael! ...Begone!"

Persona 5 Strikers | ▶ dev. ATLUS