subtlemotion:

Dojima, you’re home almost every night in winter except for tonight. 

You’re out visiting Adachi for his Birthday, AREN’T YOU?!

/sob

I accept this as reality oh my gosh

imprudentstitchez:

I will forever be impressed by my luck by when I went to Small Wonders to get Chelsea a present yesterday, since her other gift hadnt come in the mail yet, and saw only 3 of these grab bag keychains left for p4 and, not being able to decide, got all 3 (also because hey if one of them was Kanji I wanted it dammit!).

Excited I had opened them then and there. First one - Jiraya. Cool! I knew I had a friend coming to the party cosplaying Yosuke, it’d be a cute little surprise present for the non bday girl.

Open the second one - Izanagi! SWEET MY SOUJI AND BDAY GALS PERSONA!!!! WOW WHAT LUCK THIS WILL BE THE BEST LITTLE ADDITION TO HER COSTUME AND REAL LIFE especially with Tobi having gotten a keychain with the arcana card on it or whatever the tarot card thing is called

One more bag left to go. Open it. MOTHER FUCKING TAKE-MIKAZUCHI!!!! YOINK MINE!!!

So I got Kanji’s Yosuke’s and Souji’s personas and wow i was so happy especially since i was in what I had of my Kanji winter casual outfit with my black hair slicked back like his.

It was then a joke after present opening (where chelsea got her amazing vita as a gift pitched in for by a few of us) as we walked back to my car to put the stuff away for safe keeping that Kanji gave up his hair bleaching for a few months (hence why my hair was black), Yosuke gave up most his own hair care products and Teddy somehow staved off popsicles or something to help pitch in for senpai’s gift~

I also fell in love with take-mikazuchi since hes a buff babe and now plan on making a teddy bear sized plushie of him…. maaaaaybe a really frikken big one like 4 feet tall also, eventually >w>

Your luck is amazing and that was a beautiful moment oh my god. Matching chaaaaaaarms <3

Can anyone tell I’m excited for Golden yet?

Conjecture on the Origin of Teddie

Just some thoughts I had on the nature of Teddie. Spoilery, for those who don’t know just what he is, but I assume if one is traversing the Persona 4 tags, they probably have gotten beyond the point of first game spoilers. Otherwise, feel free to turn away upon finding this. It’s all my own conjecture, really, but I feel it’s a good topic to touch upon. I’m also kind of writing this as I go haha, but oh well.

Though I do like, from time to time, to imagine Teddie to be more than what he is—a mere shadow, nothing more than a direct reflection of the inner human heart—I know he is nothing more than that. Unless atlus refutes its earlier canon, he is not an amnesiac king ala Nanako’s imagination. He is not a child who lost himself in the shadow world after being pushed in (though I have a fun time imagining that and am guilty of fanart of just such a subject), nor is he anything truly important like he was so desperate to believe.

He’s just a shadow. Nothing more. Nothing less. He is born of human pain. They are the negative aspects of the human heart.

But then, Teddie is so different. Desiring human care and acceptance, Teddie reformed himself into the cute, loveable imagery that we first see him as in order to be well-received and accepted by humanity. He is both childlike and yet, strangely mature to a certain extent. Not responsible, per se, but in the midst of maturing into something beyond a simple caricature of wide eyed innocence. Desiring peace and to be alone in his own world where he can live without being judged or disturbed, but reaching out to the first human touch; desiring so strongly that he leaves behind his own world just so he doesn’t have to feel lonely anymore. Think of the Teddie we first meet—a cowardly creature shying away from anything that might disturb or not accept him, to a dependent, cheery, bubbly young boy who clings to the outstretched hands around him with joviality.

Isn’t it odd, that something born of pain and the negativity of the human heart could feel such positive human desire, just like we all feel?

But wait….Think. When do we feel this desire for acceptance the most strongly, the most vividly?

Here I present to you my views on the origin of Teddie.

Teddie, the young, exciteable, naive, and yet, growingly unsure and maturing boy, is a shadow born of the loss of innocence.

When a child grows into the first years of puberty, they experience a shift wherein they are expected to not only care merely for themselves (a psychological normalcy for children in which they are only capable at looking at things in terms of themselves) but also for those around them. It is jarring and terrifying, this period of life where we are forced to find out who we are and what our roles in society will inevitably be.

Teddie is that loneliness we experience in that period of change, where, not knowing how to handle how our emotions, body, and responsibilities are changing, feel confliction, emotional distress, and even rebelliousness to certain extents. He is not quite innocent, but he is not mature either, both of which are demonstrated by his flirtatious nature in which he clings to fun phrases he doesn’t necessarily understand such as “scoring with hot studs”.

If we look in terms of Erik Erikson’s developmental stages, he is clearly the shift of adolescence, Identity v. Confusion, which coincides with his declining abilities to locate people. To quote an article on this stage,

Our task [in this stage] is to discover who we are as individuals separate from our family of origin and as members of a wider society. Unfortunately for those around us, in this process many of us go into a period of withdrawing from responsibilities, which Erikson called a “moratorium.” And if we are unsuccessful in navigating this stage, we will experience role confusion and upheaval.

Role confusion and upheaval, indeed, if we think of the nature of his shadow.

He struggles to separate from his “family of origin” (shadows) to become something more human-like, and in the process, develops his own concrete persona; but in that inner struggle of “am I human or am I shadow” he loses his more shadow-based abilities, has an inner crisis, grows a body, and eventually finds a new place to belong in the world as he struggles towards adulthood.

Sounds a tad like puberty and the loss of innocence, doesn’t it? (For cutie friendship reasons I also like to imagine he was born of Nanako’s loss of innocence and feelings of loneliness, but she’s not quite that far in development yet. But hey, a girl can imagine.)

Seta Souji v. Narukami Yu: The Difference in Characterization

toguchin:

I’m back with more long analysis posts, this time exploring the differences between the two takes on Seta Souji (of the manga) and Narukami Yu (of the anime/arena), the protagonist of Persona 4.

One might say, why, they’re the same character, Toguchin. How might there be a difference in characterization in this super sweet, stoic guy?

I would respond with ‘easily’. (Though I will preface this with stating that I am not quite as familiar with Souji due to being unable to find chapters past Kanji.)

Honestly, even between the Narukami Yu of arena and the Narukami Yu of the anime, there’s a huge difference, but I won’t get into that. On some levels, the Yu of arena is somewhat synonymous with our Seta Souji. 

Let’s start with Souji, shall we?

The very first lines we get out of Souji in the manga are his discussions of the fact that he moves around a lot. He states, in the first few pages of the first chapter (and I quote)

“I, who must continue with my school life, will have to eventually leave the city like my parents and go stay with my uncle for a year. Inaba District: My mother’s home town…..Yes, I’m already used to it. What I always keep in mind in all my transfers is to live while keeping a good distance from [people].”

First off, I’d like to point out that this is very formal speech for a sixteen year old boy, translators choice or no (for the sake of characterization, I’m going to say this is very much Souji, as it fits in with his personality).

This is a boy raised by very professional parents, who are rarely around, and very formal (I’m going to cite the amazing “Ties That Blind” fic for a wonderful look into his parents, who are so business-oriented that they largely cannot be bothered to try and raise their own son.) ways of acting. They show little care for Souji’s development rather than raising him to be just like them—Serious, professional, cool and independent. He is a great cook because he has had to be self-sustaining, showing how little his parents are around. He wears his uniform with its well known, relaxed, and confident messiness, showing that he has a slight deviation from his parents’ lifestyle, and a slight inclination to go against how he was raised (a subtle forshadow to his characterization 180?)

Moreover, because of the pain of seperation mixed with the business-like environment, he hides behind a poker face and distances himself emotionally to avoid the pain. Typical traits of someone that is used to this kind of lifestyle.

Now I want to compare this to Yu.

For all that we see of Yu, we never hear anything like this from him. In fact, from the get go he is warm and receptive to people trying to connect with him, if not slightly awkward in his interactions, remaining quiet, going with the flow, and letting one Ebihara completely step all over him while feebly trying to protest. (One might say he lacks Understanding, Diligence, Courage, Intelligence, and Expression, ha.)

He is very formal to the point of awkward, wearing his uniform buttoned to the throat until he becomes confident upon getting a super cool punk banchou persona along with just an air of oddity around him. (“Something bit me. I’m crying”….”No you’re not.”)

I would go so far to say that the Yu of this interpretation never knew he was so alone before gaining such friendships, because of his initial lack of ability to interract and his quick warming up.

It is only when his friendships come in danger that he realizes how much he needs them in his life that he starts to break down, and that happens in two instances!

The first is in the Mitsuo episode, where he considers for the first time how painful it would be to be apart from his friends once he leaves. Then, caught in an illusion where his friends desert him, he panics and nearly begs each of them to spend time with him; when that fails, he breaks down, retreats inside himself, and becomes a recluse, shown visibly by his stats counter becoming completely empty. When attacked by shadow Mitsuo, he panics and gives up, nearly dying; when rescued and brought back to the real world, he then proceeds to summon a persona of EVERY BOND he’s made thus far as a ha ha to Mitsuo, and exclaim that he is “not empty”.

The second time is, of course, in the True Ending episode, where the loss of his friends literally drives him /insane/.

He has a complete mental breakdown, and actually faces his shadow, who claims, for the first time, that he was so alone before, and that he needs his friends to move on.

I would also like to bring up the story of Jack Frost that Margaret tells in the anime, a complete metaphor for Yu that was definitely not just there for smiles.

In this story, Jack Frost, so alone, wishes for a friend for just one day. He gets that wish. But when the day is over, his friend has to go, as per the wish. He then laments that he wishes he’d never made the wish at all, for now he knows loneliness.

This was, naturally, meant to foreshadow Yu’s feelings of loneliness, and the idea that he never knew he was so alone before his friends.

With all the information taken into consideration, I thus present the central difference between Souji and Yu:

Souji, knowing the pain of loneliness, became a detached, mature, and aloof individual who vowed never to let people into his life, but opened up when he experienced true bonds for the first time.

Yu, never knowing how lonely he truly was, was a socially awkward teenager, who was fully receptive to human touch, but developed what those in psychology might consider an ‘insecure bond’, where he panicked at the first sign of seperation from people, and had a breakdown because of it; however, he realized his ‘shadow’ in his reliance on his friends and his loneliness and set out to be a better person.

Both are well developed characters with much chance for growth, and I find it incredible how different and equally well-done they both are.

ahhh I’m so tired why did I write this haha will fix inconsistencies tomorrow

Reblogging myself to add something from a discussion I had with Kevin that I find very ironic—The fact that the very thing that gives Yu his strength—ie his friends—is also his greatest weakness. Bonds of friendship is true power, indeed.

Seta Souji v. Narukami Yu: The Difference in Characterization

I’m back with more long analysis posts, this time exploring the differences between the two takes on Seta Souji (of the manga) and Narukami Yu (of the anime/arena), the protagonist of Persona 4.

One might say, why, they’re the same character, Toguchin. How might there be a difference in characterization in this super sweet, stoic guy?

I would respond with ‘easily’. (Though I will preface this with stating that I am not quite as familiar with Souji due to being unable to find chapters past Kanji.)

Honestly, even between the Narukami Yu of arena and the Narukami Yu of the anime, there’s a huge difference, but I won’t get into that. On some levels, the Yu of arena is somewhat synonymous with our Seta Souji. 

Let’s start with Souji, shall we?

The very first lines we get out of Souji in the manga are his discussions of the fact that he moves around a lot. He states, in the first few pages of the first chapter (and I quote)

“I, who must continue with my school life, will have to eventually leave the city like my parents and go stay with my uncle for a year. Inaba District: My mother’s home town…..Yes, I’m already used to it. What I always keep in mind in all my transfers is to live while keeping a good distance from [people].”

First off, I’d like to point out that this is very formal speech for a sixteen year old boy, translators choice or no (for the sake of characterization, I’m going to say this is very much Souji, as it fits in with his personality).

This is a boy raised by very professional parents, who are rarely around, and very formal (I’m going to cite the amazing “Ties That Blind” fic for a wonderful look into his parents, who are so business-oriented that they largely cannot be bothered to try and raise their own son.) ways of acting. They show little care for Souji’s development rather than raising him to be just like them—Serious, professional, cool and independent. He is a great cook because he has had to be self-sustaining, showing how little his parents are around. He wears his uniform with its well known, relaxed, and confident messiness, showing that he has a slight deviation from his parents’ lifestyle, and a slight inclination to go against how he was raised (a subtle forshadow to his characterization 180?)

Moreover, because of the pain of seperation mixed with the business-like environment, he hides behind a poker face and distances himself emotionally to avoid the pain. Typical traits of someone that is used to this kind of lifestyle.

Now I want to compare this to Yu.

For all that we see of Yu, we never hear anything like this from him. In fact, from the get go he is warm and receptive to people trying to connect with him, if not slightly awkward in his interactions, remaining quiet, going with the flow, and letting one Ebihara completely step all over him while feebly trying to protest. (One might say he lacks Understanding, Diligence, Courage, Intelligence, and Expression, ha.)

He is very formal to the point of awkward, wearing his uniform buttoned to the throat until he becomes confident upon getting a super cool punk banchou persona along with just an air of oddity around him. (“Something bit me. I’m crying”….”No you’re not.”)

I would go so far to say that the Yu of this interpretation never knew he was so alone before gaining such friendships, because of his initial lack of ability to interract and his quick warming up.

It is only when his friendships come in danger that he realizes how much he needs them in his life that he starts to break down, and that happens in two instances!

The first is in the Mitsuo episode, where he considers for the first time how painful it would be to be apart from his friends once he leaves. Then, caught in an illusion where his friends desert him, he panics and nearly begs each of them to spend time with him; when that fails, he breaks down, retreats inside himself, and becomes a recluse, shown visibly by his stats counter becoming completely empty. When attacked by shadow Mitsuo, he panics and gives up, nearly dying; when rescued and brought back to the real world, he then proceeds to summon a persona of EVERY BOND he’s made thus far as a ha ha to Mitsuo, and exclaim that he is “not empty”.

The second time is, of course, in the True Ending episode, where the loss of his friends literally drives him /insane/.

He has a complete mental breakdown, and actually faces his shadow, who claims, for the first time, that he was so alone before, and that he needs his friends to move on.

I would also like to bring up the story of Jack Frost that Margaret tells in the anime, a complete metaphor for Yu that was definitely not just there for smiles.

In this story, Jack Frost, so alone, wishes for a friend for just one day. He gets that wish. But when the day is over, his friend has to go, as per the wish. He then laments that he wishes he’d never made the wish at all, for now he knows loneliness.

This was, naturally, meant to foreshadow Yu’s feelings of loneliness, and the idea that he never knew he was so alone before his friends.

With all the information taken into consideration, I thus present the central difference between Souji and Yu:

Souji, knowing the pain of loneliness, became a detached, mature, and aloof individual who vowed never to let people into his life, but opened up when he experienced true bonds for the first time.

Yu, never knowing how lonely he truly was, was a socially awkward teenager, who was fully receptive to human touch, but developed what those in psychology might consider an ‘insecure bond’, where he panicked at the first sign of seperation from people, and had a breakdown because of it; however, he realized his ‘shadow’ in his reliance on his friends and his loneliness and set out to be a better person.

Both are well developed characters with much chance for growth, and I find it incredible how different and equally well-done they both are.

ahhh I’m so tired why did I write this haha will fix inconsistencies tomorrow

askyosukeandsouji:

Other than bothering Yosuke, I’m spending my summer studying and working.

( thxu 2 toguchin for the idea ehehe )

Fuck guys my daughter is the best I can’t kjglj;djkld;klhfkldjkfkdljff

silent-heel:

I beat Persona 4 again and got the True Ending. I knew it was going to happen, but I totally lost it and bawled my eyes out. Given that I have spent 288 hours of the past few months on successive plays (partly because I didn’t get the True Ending the first time, and partly because I had difficulty walking away) it’s kind of nice to move on to a different game, but I’m legitimately sad that finishing P4 means that I don’t get to continue hanging out with the friends I made in that universe.

I was trying to describe it to other people, and my mom compared it to how she wants to keep reading about characters after she finishes a book, but it’s SO much deeper than that. You don’t personally interact and converse with those characters. I’m walking away from P4 feeling like I made a difference in people’s lives and helped them work through their problems, and I’m walking away feeling like I, myself, have grown as a person and learned a lot from these experiences.

People who haven’t played it will probably never understand why I’m so moved by this video game, and that’s fine. I’m content to live like Fox Mulder, content with what I know to be true and not caring that people think I’m crazy. Needless to say, despite that I don’t really go for handheld gaming, I’m getting a Vita, just for P4: The Golden. I’ll try to be good and play through the stack of games I haven’t gotten to yet until that comes out, but until then, I’m going to miss everyone.

Oh hey look it’s my opinion exactly. I don’t think I could have worded it any better.

quiet sobs I miss them

Persona 4: the Golden

voiceofthetunnels:

Yeah, whatever.

Can I date the guys or not?!

Every bit of this post is me.