History FanFic / InTheEyeOfTheBeholder

* CatFight: [[spoiler:Amelia's (solo) fight against her Idol. Because she had accepted it earlier, much of the Idol's power goes to Amelia herself. Being an ordinary high school girl with no concept of combat, it's not really much of a fight.]]

* DishingOutDirt: Medusa, Allie's Persona, specializes in earth spells like Magna.

** Idols, which are a type of Shadow formed from a person's distorted view of who they wish they could be. Unlike the Shadow Selves in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the incorrect thing to do (though Sycophanta believes otherwise) is to accept them as they are (akin to how things went for Kanamin Kitchen in ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight''), but instead to defeat them and convince them of the rightness of the person's chosen path.
** The quartz valley can also produce more traditional Shadow Selves via leftover Idol Nests, but it takes time and the QIB destroys the Shadows before they can fully form.
* EndlessDaytime: The mirror world is almost always perpetually sunny no matter the time of day outside when Lydia and Allie first arrive, but as more and more people enter the mirror world over the course of the story, the sky gets progressively cloudier, and the Shadows get stronger and more dangerous.

* GenderFlip: Unlike [[VideoGame/{{Persona3}} Kotone Shiomi for Makoto Yuki]], Alexander isn't this for Lydia. For one, while Lydia's family isn't religious, Alexander's do attend church, though seemingly out of obligation than faith.

** Rather than [[VideoGame/{{Persona3}} Evokers]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 tarot cards]], or [[VideoGame/Persona5 masks]], the QIB's Personas are summoned via compact mirrors themed after them when not in use, which combust into blue flame to summon them forth. Sycophanta, on the other hand, has red flames. Also, they ''can'' be used in the real world, though it ''does'' take a lot more effort to summon and maintain one there.

* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler:Idol Amelia vs. Amelia herself. Due to how normal her skills are, it comes out as more of a CatFight.]]
* OriginalCharacter: Save for Igor, every character in ''In the Eye of the Beholder'' is an original creation of [=HopeGale=]'s.

* SadisticChoice: When Jacob ends up pulled into the valley, the QIB ends up having to choose between two dungeons; the museum [[spoiler:(Jacob)]], or the cave of another victim [[spoiler:(Rory)]] that sprouted at the same time. After a lengthy debate, they decide to choose the former, partly because a cavern collapse could trap them, and because F.Z. still has memories of being BuriedAlive by her Idol. [[spoiler:Sycophanta ends up recruiting the one they didn't choose, and likely helped Rory to accepting his Idol in the first place]].

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: If this fanfic were a video game, the battle against Nathan's Idol would be this; rather than a straight up battle like with Allie's and Damien's Idols, the QIB and Nathan are forced to play a football game, with the girls stuck at the sidelines and Damien in the field with Nathan and his berserk Idol.

** The entirety of ''All the Myriad Ways'' is dedicated to the concept of what-ifs scenarios, such as Alexander taking Lydia's place.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Time appears to pass quicker in the mirror world than outside it. For instance, after defeating Damien's Idol and returning to the real world, the QIB finds that only 15 minutes passed outside since they entered, despite it feeling like at least an hour for them inside. It is however, a bit inconsistent, ranging from less than half to more then 3 times as long.

** [[spoiler:And boy does [=HopeGale=] deliver. The fight against F.Z.'s Idol starts by an instant knockout of Lydia, disabling the team's resistance to Earth, and a Masukunda (lower opponent's agility). It takes numerous hits to her Electric weakness to knock her down, which they have to do''twice''.]]

** [[spoiler:And boy does [=HopeGale=] deliver. The fight against F.Z.'s Idol starts by an instant knockout of Lydia, disabling the team's resistance to Earth, and a Masukunda (lower opponent's agility) and it took numerous hits to her Electric weakness to knock her down. And they had to do it ''twice''.]]

** Sometime after Jacob's rescue by the QIB and Rory's recruitment to Sycophanta, ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Raging Motors Heptagonis]]'' is mentioned and includes [[CharacterExistenceFailure an actor who died mid-prodcution]] after which the film became a memorial for him.

** The quartz valley can also produce Shadow Selves via leftover Idol Nests, but it takes time and the QIB destroys the Shadows before they can fully form.

* ArcWords: "Beholder", used to describe Lydia in particular, and present each time she manifests a new Social Link.w

* EnemyWithin: Idols, which are a type of Shadow formed from a person's distorted view of who they wish they could be. Unlike the Shadow Selves in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the incorrect thing to do (though Sycophanta believes otherwise) is to accept them as they are (akin to how things went for Kanamin Kitchen in ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight''), but instead to defeat them and convince them of the rightness of the person's chosen path.

* ArcWords: "Beholder", used to describe Lydia in particular, and present each time she manifests a new Social Link.

* HopelessBossFight: From a video game perspective, the QIB vs. Idol Amelia is supposed to be this, with the author stating she ''could'' be beatable with lots of grinding or a NewGamePlus.

** The first time the QIB and Sycophanta meet, the former were soundly defeated.
** [[spoiler:As a result of the valley overloading Amelia's Idol in a gambit to make QIB give up on rescuing the next victim, Mark's was surprisingly easier. The valley had been counting on fearing that Mark's Idol would be obscenely strong just like Amelia's was, but this gambit ultimately failed]].

So that the beauty of growth may be beheld by those near to it.\\

But now, those depths shall remain forever unexplored,\\
As the eye of the Beholder has been shut, and shall never open again.''

-->-- '''Igor, [[PowersThatBe Master of the Velvet Room]]'''

** [[spoiler:And boy does [=HopeGale=] deliver. The fight against F.Z.'s Idol starts by an instant knockout of Lydia, disabling the team's resistance to Earth, and a Masukunda (lower opponent's agility) and it took numerous hits to her Electric weakness to knock her down.]]

** The first time the QIB and Sycophanta meet, the former is soundly defeated.
** [[spoiler:As a result of the valley overloading Amelia's Idol in a gambit to make QIB give up on rescuing the next victim, Mark's was surprisingly easier]].

* AStormIsComing: As the QIB prepares to leave the mirror world following their defeat of the boss Shadow inside Nori's Idol's Nest, F.Z. stops them to warn that as the quartz valley gets cloudier, the day it finally storms will probably mean their toughest battle yet.

* CatFight: [[spoiler:Amelia's (solo) fight against her Idol. Because she had accepted it earlier, much of the Idol's power goes to Amelia herself. Being an ordinary high school girl]]

* EnemyWithin: Idols, which are a type of Shadow formed from a person's distorted view of who they wish they could be. Unlike the Shadow Selves in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the incorrect thing to do (though Sycophanta believes otherwise) is to accept them as they are (akin to how things went for Kanamin Kitchen in ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight''). but instead to defeat them and convince them of the rightness of the person's chosen path.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Quartz, TX is said to be located somewhere between Houston and Galveston, with part of the QIB visiting Houston at one point to attend a con. It's later specified that Quartz is approximately where League City, TX is in the real world, which is equidistant to both Houston and Galveston.

* CurbStompBattle: The first time the QIB and Sycophanta meet, the former is soundly defeated.

** Rather than [[VideoGame/{{Persona3}} Evokers]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 tarot cards]] or [[VideoGame/Persona5 masks]], the QIB's Personas are summoned via compact mirrors themed after them when not in use, which combust into blue flame to summon them forth. Sycophanta, on the other hand, has red flames. Also, they ''can'' be used in the real world, though it ''does'' take a lot more effort to summon and maintain one there.

** The entirety of ''All the Myriad Ways'' is dedicated to the concept of what-ifs.

* CurbStompBattle: The first time the QIB and Sycophanta meet the former is soundly defeated.

* EnemyWithin: Idols, which are a type of Shadow formed from a person's distorted view of who they wish they could be. Unlike the Shadow Selves in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the incorrect thing to do (though Sycophanta believes otherwise) is to accept them as they are, but instead to defeat them and convince them of the rightness of the person's chosen path.

** Rather than [[VideoGame/Persona4 tarot cards]] or [[VideoGame/Persona5 masks]], the QIB's Personas take the form of mirrors themed after them when not in use, which combust into blue flame to summon them forth. Sycophanta, on the other hand, has red flames. Also, they ''can'' be used in the real world, though it ''does'' take a lot more effort to summon and maintain one there.

** Lydia watches things on [[Creator/{{Hulu}} Zulu]], and some shows include [[Series/AgentsOfShield Agents of S.W.O.R.D]] and [[Series/BetterCallSaul Better Call Paul]].

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Quartz, TX is said to be located somewhere between Houston and Galveston, with part of the QIB visiting Houston at one point to visit a con. It's later specified that Quartz is approximately where League City, TX is in the real world, which is equidistant to both Houston and Galveston.

* TheNewTens: ''In the Eye of the Beholder'' takes place in 2015, about three years after ''Persona 4''[[note]]and one year before ''Persona 5'', which wasn't released at the time of this fic's conception[[/note]].

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Lydia watches things on [[Creator/{{Hulu}} Zulu]], and some shows include [[Series/AgentsOfShield Agents of S.W.O.R.D]] and [[Series/BetterCallSaul Better Call Paul]].

** Sometime after Jacob's rescue by the QIB and Rory's recruitment to Sycophanta, ''[[Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious Raging Motors]] [[TheFastAndTheFurious7 Heptagonis]]'' is mentioned and includes [[CharacterExistenceFailure an actor who died mid-prodcution]] after which the film became a memorial for him.

* WhatIf: A few chapters following a battle with an Idol or Sycophanta have an alternate scenario where things didn't quite go the same way, ranging from a NewGamePlus version of the same fight to outright {{Bad Ending}}s with a TotalPartyKill.
** The entirety of ''All the Myriad Ways''

* SadisticChoice: When Jacob ends up pulled into the valley, QIB end up having to choose between two dungeons; the museum [[spoiler:(Jacob)]], or the cave of another victim [[spoiler:(Rory)]] that sprouted at the same time. After a lengthy debate, they had to choose the former, partly because a cavern collapse could trap them and F.Z. still has memories of being BuriedAlive by her Idol. [[spoiler:Sycophant ends up recruiting the one they didn't choose, and likely helped Rory to accepting his Idol in the first place]].

* TheNewTens: ''In the Eye of the Beholder'' takes place in 2015, about three years after ''Persona 4''.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: If this fanfic were a game, the battle against Nathan's Idol would be this; rather than a straight up battle like with Allie's and Damien's Idols, the QIB and Nathan are forced to play a football game, with the girls stuck at the sidelines and Damien in the field with Nathan and his berserk Idol.

* EnemyWithin: Idols, which are a type of Shadow formed from a person's distorted view of who they wish they could be. Unlike the Shadow Selves in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the incorrect thing to do is to accept them as they are, but instead to defeat them and convince them of the rightness of the person's chosen path.

* MakingASplash: [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Ophelia]], Lydia's Initial Persona, uses water spells.

** Rather than [[VideoGame/Persona4 tarot cards]] or [[VideoGame/Persona5 masks]], the QIB's Personas take the form of mirrors themed after them when not in use, which combust into blue flame to summon them forth. Sycophanta, on the other hand, has red flames.
* MeaningfulName: In-universe Quartz gets its name from the large amount of quartz deposits in the area.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Time appears to pass quicker in the mirror world than outside it. For instance, after defeating Damien's Idol and returning to the real world, the QIB finds that only 15 minutes passed outside since they entered, despite it feeling like at least an hour for them inside. It is however, a bit inconsistent, ranging from less than half to more then 3 times as long.

''In the Eye of the Beholder'' is a ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' fanfic that, unlike the games, takes place in the Western world, in particular the United States. [=HopeGale=], the author, was inspired by learning about the infamous English localization of the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, which changed the setting to the United States among other differences, and decided to try writing a ''Persona'' fic taking place in the United States, but built from the ground up to take advantage of the different setting compared to Japan.

* GeniusLoci: The quartz valley appears to be alive, and actively malevolent.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Time appears to pass quicker in the mirror world than outside it. For instance, after defeating Damien's Idol and returning to the real world, the QIB finds that only 15 minutes passed outside since they entered, despite it feeling like at least an hour for them inside.