History Fanfic / TheManyQuirksOfPhantomThievery

* ForWantOfANail: The following changes occur that diverge from canon.
** Because Akira actually talks with Morgana about his usefulness issues, the whole subplot where he briefly ditches them doesn't occur.
** Haru joins the group earlier courtesy of Makoto getting attracted to her, though she starts out as a SecretKeeper. She shortly joins the team when the time comes to target her father.
** Sojiro is not only [[spoiler:let in on the loop sooner (it "helps" that he got accidentally sucked into Futaba's Palace), he also becomes a Persona-user (Thaddeus)]].
** Akira's mother comes over [[spoiler:and also becomes a SecretKeeper]].
** [[spoiler:Shadow Okumura doesn't get assassinated by Akechi thanks to the Phantoms' intervention. [[InSpiteOfANail Almost averted]] when Akechi gets to land a shot (with a ''real'' bullet, rendering Dia skills useless against healing them) [[ItMakesSenseInContext even as he was pulled out of reach by a rocket]]. To prevent a real-world assassination after that, Kunikazu was then transferred to a hospital (the shot resulted in him passing out) and under protection courtesy of Yoshida pulling some strings, though he's still left in a coma]].
** Thankfully averted even when Akira [[spoiler:passes out from the drugs]] before he can make the deal with [[spoiler:Sae, since Arsene]] was there to do it in his stead.
** Sae [[spoiler:visits her Palace to confront her Shadow, and by the end of it gains the Persona Athena, and it's distinct in that she ''doesn't'' get a Thief outfit due to the method she gets it (i.e. the same way the Investigation Team sans Yu got theirs).]]
** Sadly averted in regards to [[spoiler:Akechi's fate. And this time, we read what happens on the other side, and he explicitly dies.]]
** In place of the drama of [[spoiler:seemingly losing Ryuji and the girls beating his ass after leaving the Palace on the lifeboat he secured]], with the power of cognition, [[spoiler:he was able to manifest his own ship for everyone instead, though he admits it's because his Seiten Taisei used to be Captain Kidd.]]
** Another aversion: despite Shido working with [[spoiler:the Phantom Thieves to help confess his crimes, the grip from the Conspiracy and Yaldabaoth is too tight. The TV Stations either don't believe his confession or fear that a lynch mob will come down on them.]]
%% ** Akira is able to deduce that [[spoiler:defeating Shido isn't the end of the problem.]]

** Supposedly, there's a LetsPlay/{{jacksepticeye}} joke during [[spoiler:the evolution of Sojiro's Persona to Osiris (which he only reveals later) as he says, "The Boss is back."]]

* HeroicBSOD: Even after stealing Kamoshida's Treasure, Akira, Ann, and Ryuji all have trouble sleeping the following night from the leftover trauma the whole ordeal has put them through. On a more positive spin, this all allows them to bare themselves to each other when Ann calls for a sleepover at her place, leading to the formal formation of the Phantom Thieves in this continuity and the establishment of all three of them as the resident ThreeAmigos.

The author has since made two other fanfics which take place in the same world: ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18092000 The Many Quirks of Girlfriend Thievery]]'', which focuses on [[LesYay Makoto and Haru's blossoming relationship]], and ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15398745 The Many Quirks of Investigation Teamery]]'', which applies the main fic's premise to the Investigation Team of ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and has it's own page [[Fanfic/TheManyQuirksOfInvestigationTeamery here]].

The author has since made two other fanfics which take place in the same world: ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18092000 The Many Quirks of Girlfriend Thievery]]'', which focuses on [[LesYay Makoto and Haru's blossoming relationship]], and ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15398745 The Many Quirks of Investigation Teamery]]'', which applies the main fic's premise to the Investigation Team of ''VideoGame/Persona4''.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:''The Many Quirks of Phantom Thievery'' and ''The Many Quirks of Girlfriend Thievery'']]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Many Quirks of Investigation Teamery'']]
* TheAce: Yu is effortlessly talented at pretty much everything he tries to do.
* AdaptationalContextChange:
** Naoto refusing to come out during the swimsuit portion of the Miss Yasogami pageant was due to embarrassment in canon. In this fic, she has just had a talk with Rise and an epiphany that she doesn't have to care about what anyone else thinks of her nor indulge in Miss Kashiwagi's event of self-aggrandizement, so she calmly declines to participate because she has nothing to prove to her.
** In addition, the pageant having a swimsuit portion in the first place was changed from being a suggestion by Teddie for winning the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, to being something Hanako and Kashiwagi implemented in a vain attempt to boost their egos/chances at winning. Teddie instead becomes a guest judge and uses the opportunity to manipulate the two into shooting down their own chances of winning with their own egos, while playing up the Investigation Team members.
* AdaptationExpansion: The clinic scene that was just used to point out Teddie's lack of skeleton and Naoto's real bust size is used to [[spoiler: reveal that the Team's Personas are slowly giving them added powers to better protect them, from Yukiko and Chie's temperature resistances to Yosuke's dexterity and Kanji's fortitude.]]
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: This bit near the beginning of Chapter 31, after Teddie and Kanji eat through a box of topsicles:
-->He pouted at the paltry pickings of the package. No more pops to pillage? A poor performance, he pondered.
* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: During the visit to Tatsumi Port Island, Yu gets Naoto to meet him in private and reveals his power of entering the TV world... and even holds his katana to her throat to get the point across. Later, [[spoiler: Izanagi appears in Naoto's dreams]] and admits that the secret drinks supplied to them at the club earlier affected him more than he let on.
* ArmorPiercingResponse: Against the battle with Kanji's Shadow, Kanji manages to recover and see Yu defending him, and seeing the guy who bought stuffed toys for his cousin and bailed him out after he got arrested in trouble, shouts that "[his Shadow] can’t start shit with a pal of mine and get the Hell away with it!" Considering Shadow Kanji's desire to be accepted for who he is, the Shadow is taken aback enough for Yu and Izanagi to gain the upper hand.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: In this iteration of the Shadow Rise battle, Teddie surmises that her power is drawn from her pole, given how much she rubs against it, and beats her by tearing it from its mountings, with her still hanging on to it, and slamming her to the ground.
* BadassLongcoat: When Naoto's [[OfCorsetHurts chest binder starts becoming detrimental to her health]], Kanji makes a replacement longcoat for her to [[HiddenBuxom better hide her figure]], since she still has issues in facing her real body. While it does the job well, she also takes a bit of childish pleasure in the way it flutters while she fights Shadows.
* BeneathTheMask: Yu puts up the appearance of the aloof leader when conversing with Naoto, but she can see that mask slip and a genuine smile appear when he gets some messages from his friends on his phone.
* BerserkButton: Yu, [[BewareTheNiceOnes though having a tight rein on his temper]], has let that control slip whenever something triggers one of two things: the canon one of any threat to Nanako's well-being, and the original one of [[spoiler: [[IHatePastMe reminds him of his past]]]]. Examples include:
** During the fight with Shadow Rise, he gets really riled up at her talk about having so many faces yet none of them being the real her, as it reminds him of [[spoiler: all the personas and roles he had to don, utilize and then discard to further the ambitions of the Narukami investment family]].
** The button is hit more directly by Mitsuo Kubo's Shadow, which puts him into an illusion of [[spoiler: his overbearing, business-minded mother, who "encourages" him to chase perfection in both business and schoolwork. The BreakingSpeech by the Shadow about how he's exchanging servitude to his family for servitude to his friends' wishes because he can't stand the idea of losing them drives him to anger]].
** Yosuke calling him "Perfect" to [[HeroicSelfDeprecation put himself down in comparison]] is a shot too close to home for Yu's liking, though it does lead to the two working out their issues with their fists.
** The other button is outright smashed and broken when Nanako appears on the Midnight Channel; Yu goes mad with rage to try saving her.
* BewareTheQuietOnes:
** Yu is normally very placid and even-tempered, but the first time the Investigation Team sees his temper fray is during the camping trip, after the Mystery Food X ordeal left him bedridden. One terse glare and terse word are enough to defuse the arguments between Yosuke and Chie and Kanji without any pushback.
** When he gets the idea that [[spoiler: Naoto used Rise's lack of trust in him to get info on the case]], the idea that he could [[spoiler:use his business connections to ruin the Shirogane name]] goes through his mind, and only his realization that he almost [[spoiler:destroyed Naoto]] on a hunch, using [[spoiler:his old unscrupulous habits]], snaps him back.
* BigBrotherMentor: Yu is shaping up to be this for Teddie, including teaching him to do the right thing, how to be decent, how not to peeve his friends, etc.
* BigEater: Yu is able to wolf down on Aiya's Rainy Day Special like it was nothing, only holding back on seconds because he planned on having fish later. This feat spurs Chie to try and match him.
* BoomHeadshot: Naoto and her handgun do this to her Shadow at the very end of the fight.
* BreakThemByTalking: When faced with Mitsuo Kubo's Shadow ([[spoiler:or the malevolent force behind it]]), it draws Yu into an illusion of his previous life where [[spoiler: his mother pushes him to complete his paperwork for the family company, his father is too weak-willed to protest, and he is nothing more than a servant pushed to always be perfect]], causing him to fly into a rage until Teddie arrives to break him out.
* BrokenAce: Yu Narukami is an expert in exams and sports, is perpetually flush with cash, rarely ever loses his temper and is always willing to lend a hand to his friends. All of that stems from how [[spoiler:his overbearing mother has pushed him to perfection from the word go, expecting him to keep up his schoolwork and his work for the family enterprise without any objections, [[ExtremeDoormat while his father is too spineless to defend him]]]]. Moreover, all the [[spoiler:wheeling and dealing Yu has had to do to get his family ahead, all the acts he's had to put on and roles he's had to play and discard]] have really given him quite the complex, and when these [[spoiler:old habits]] get in the way of strengthening his true friendships with the Investigation Team, it really ticks him off.
* CarFu: The BatteringRam returns as one of Yu's ideas to get the jump on one of those [[MetalSlime glove Shadows]] is Kanji on his bike doing this... with Take-Mikazuchi providing extra RecoilBoost with Zio. And then Naoto gets Sukuna-Hikona to ride along with him for added maneuverability and control, which works out well since the two of them just started dating.
* CallForward: Sometimes in ''The Many Quirks of Phantom Thievery'', [[spoiler:Akira]] mentions how hard it was for him and his mother to grow up in poverty. His EarlyBirdCameo moments of him living in Inaba and Teddie helping him show just how difficult it was.
* CanonWelding: Chapter 61 implies that the events of ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth Persona Q]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth Persona Q2]]'' happened midway through the cultural festival, and while everyone involved has their memories erased, only some TarotTroubles via Margaret hint at what actually happened... [[spoiler:and the fact that Yu found a calling card from the Phantom Thieves in his pocket]].
* CliffHanger: Abundant.
** Chapter 6 ends with Kanji having just taken down a biker gang singlehandedly and getting surrounded by police.
** Chapter 7 ends with Kanji getting thrown into the TV and his Shadow waking up.
** Chapter 15 ends with Rise getting chloroformed to be thrown into the TV.
** Chapter 19 ends with the Investigation Team mobilizing to look for Nanako after she runs away.
** Chapter 20 ends with Naoto confronting Yu and requesting to talk, saying she could go talk to Teddie if he didn't want to.
** Chapter 22 ends with Naoto confronting Teddie after he winds up in a bad part of town, offering to lead him home.
** Chapter 40 ends with Naoto falling asleep...and entering an unknown dreamscape.
** Chapter 41 ends with Yu recognizing Naoto on the midnight channel from her hat.
** Chapter 42 ends with Naoto getting abducted and thrown into the TV.
** Chapter 56 ends with Chie recognizing Yosuke's handwriting as having signed the girls on the Team up for the Miss Yasogami Pageant.
** Chapter 64 ends with Yu recognizing Nanako on the Midnight Channel.
** Chapter 68 ends with Izanagi [[spoiler:losing the internal battle against Yu's tyrannical Shadow, which is now about to take control]].
** Chapter 69 ends with Yu's mask breaking [[spoiler:and revealing to the rest of the team that his Shadow is in control]].
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Yu has more than a few contrasting aspects to Akira. [[spoiler: Akira is a HeroicBastard with a DisappearedDad, loves his mother with all his heart, and grew up in poverty and had to struggle to get by. Yu is a SecretlyWealthy scion of a business family, but his father is an ExtremeDoormat and his mother is a single-minded businesswoman who only sees her son as another business tool, which he resents greatly]]. Both cherish their friends and the bonds they form, but while Akira does so because they encourage to not give in to his angst, Yu does so because they're the first meaningful connections he's formed due to [[spoiler:everything prior being business-related, and he doesn't want to lose them]]. Where Akira is sharp-tongued, quick-tempered, and flashy, Yu is stoic and calm, but merciless in his fury. Oh, and Akira is asexual while Yu is pansexual.
* CrazyPrepared: Yu plans on finding more exit points besides the one at Junes.
** Yu brought his fishing rod along on the camping trip, just in case he finds a good fishing spot... or in case Yosuke gets knocked into the river.
** He also has a mask with lights in case Shadows eventually turn the dungeon dark. And a coffee dispenser for [[CaptainObvious drinking coffee]], [[spoiler:which [[FoodSlap lets him get the jump on]] a Rain Leg Musha that had them all on the ropes]].
* DareToBeBadass: The essence of the advice that Yu gives Yosuke after the latter's personal issues are finally confronted - that letting the world choose your place in it will only make you miserable; only carving out your own place in the world and taking steps to fix your problems will bring you peace.
* DisproportionateRetribution: The aftermath of the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, from Yosuke putting the girls in without their permission and the rest shanghaiing him into participating afterward. While Kanji agrees that he needed the wake-up call, the fact that Yosuke looked completely [[HeroicBSOD broken]] afterward concludes that [[GoneHorriblyRight they might've taken things too far]], and apologizes afterward. Reinforcing the point is the fact that Yosuke didn't know that Kashiwagi wouldn't allow them to back out with their names on the board; if not for her, it would've just been the cheeky but harmless joke that Yosuke intended.
--> '''Kanji:''' You needed a good slap upside the head. I went and kneed you in the groin.
* DramaticIrony: Yu decides that he needs to gain Naoto's trust and thinks about inducting them into the Investigation Team... right as Naoto appears on the Midnight Channel in their attempt to gain a Persona and thus be able to join the Investigation Team.
* DudeNotFunny: This is the consensus reaction for Yosuke's signing-up of the Investigation Team ladies for the Miss Yasogami pageant since the swimsuit portion is hitting Naoto's body complex TraumaButton with a hammer. Once Yosuke gets that, he apologizes to Naoto for doing that. But his jokes to Chie and Yukiko having no trouble doing it don't earn him much sympathy.
* EarlyBirdCameo:
** We see Namatame early on in Chapter 12 as a deliveryman and see him thinking about his mission (and his "success" upon seeing Yukiko and Kanji alive).
** [[spoiler:A young Akira Kurusu]] appears several times through the story, trying to scrape together cash to help him and his single mother. Teddie has taken it upon himself to keep him safe.
* EnemyWithin: Whenever [[spoiler:Izanagi]] is seen roaming through [[spoiler:Yu's friends' dreams]], it's noticed that he has a bit of an axe to grind against his other half, mostly due to [[spoiler:his hidden arrogance and secrets about his business past.]] It's basically a manifestation of the host's self-loathing.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** During the camping trip, Yu is still conked out in the morning, and Yukiko comments that he reminds her of the [[TheWorkaholic overworked]] businessmen that stay at her family inn, only a lot worse. Many chapters later, TheReveal shows that [[spoiler: the Narukami investment family is one of the richest and most influential in Japan, possibly the world, and Yu has had his hand in it from a too-young age]].
** One time, the Investigation Team meets an old associate of the Narukami family that calls Yu the "Wolf of Tokyo", a reference to the ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' film and Yu's business acumen. Later on, some of the team have dreams that warn them of something called the "Howling God" - or, translated one way into Japanese, "Narukami". This comes to a head at the conclusion of Chapter 68, when [[spoiler:Izanagi loses the battle against the "Howling God"—that is to say, Yu's Shadow, which emerges and takes control.]]
* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Yu says as much to Chie and Yukiko about that whole Mystery Food X debacle, and if they end up doing something similar to [[BigBrotherInstinct Nanako]]... [[BewareTheQuietOnes there'll be hell to pay]].
* ForWantOfANail: During the visit to the Amagi Inn, Nanako is a bit more observant and notices that it's the boys' turn to use the hot spring, so the girls decide to have dinner first.
* FunctionalAddict: Almost from the first time they meet, Kanji wonders if Yu might be high given his ever-neutral expression, his appetite, and the strange ideas he comes up with. When he joins the Team and shares his theory, they can't refute him, but Yu's responses leave it ambiguous. Later on, Yosuke and Kanji, after the former saw their leader sleeping blissfully, it only reinforces the theory. They then promise to each other (keeping the girls out of the loop for now) to take off as much workload as they can from Yu whenever possible (if he ''isn't'' high, it would give him more time at home with Nanako).
* GadgeteerGenius: Yu created tracking devices (that looked like [[Film/MenInBlack neuralyzers]]) for his team, as well as a phone mod to respond to them (which he shortly shares with his team). He also has trackers for use in finding more TV exit points besides the one in Junes.
* GameBreaker: In-universe, the group plays ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''. Yosuke describes Meta Knight as "grossly overpowered", an accurate assessment of the character's reputation in that game. However, even his power and Yu's general status as TheAce aren't enough to make up for his lack of experience and he is cut down.
* GamerChick: Chie and Yukiko both play video games in their spare time. When they and Yosuke discover Yu has never played a video game before, they promptly strongarm him into a game night.
* GenderBender: [[spoiler: Teddie manages to form a female human body during the school festival's cross-dressing pageant.]]
* GenderReveal: At the tail end of Naoto's interrogation with Yu and Kanji while they were fishing, after the latter left, the former closed off the discussion with a whisper to the detective's ear as he left.
--> ''"Good day, ma'am."''
* GlassShatteringSound: Rise wants Yu to sing with her for the Junes concert, so in an attempt to loosen up his flat voice, Rise encourages him to think of something he feels really strongly about, and then yell it all out as loud as he can. He does... loud enough to terrify his friends and break all the glass in the room.
* GoneHorriblyRight: In retaliation for signing up the girls for the Miss Yasogami pageant, Yosuke is forced to take part in the [[DraggedIntoDrag "Miss" Yasogami pageant]] and be embarrassed in front of everyone. From his dead expression at the tail end of it, and the unnerved expressions from his fellows as he leaves, the experience [[GoneHorriblyRight completely breaks him instead]].
--> '''Kanji:''' Uh, Senpai. That looked a lot worse than just getting embarrassed, didn’t it?
* GrapplingHookPistol: In Chapter 16, Yu has essentially made a [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda hookshot]] for fighting Shadows with. He first used it to impale one through its mask.
* GreenEyedMonster: Yosuke shows hints of this towards Yu, TheAce and ChickMagnet of Yasogami High, getting even an idol as a girlfriend. It starts becoming more overt during the school festival, where it's Yu's contribution to making the group date cafe a success (using his resources to get food and formal wear) that gets him all the attention and credit, even though the cafe was Yosuke's idea. For extra DramaticIrony, the reason Yu contributed so much in the first place was to make Yosuke's idea a success. Everything finally boils over at the hot springs visit when Yosuke finally shouts his grievances about being OvershadowedByAwesome by every other member of the team, forgetting his motivation to avenge Saki in favor of getting attention, and comparing his hopeless self to "Mr. Perfect" Yu Narukami. What follows is the culmination of Yosuke's Social Link in canon, i.e. [[PercussiveTherapy Yu and Yosuke beating some catharsis out of - and some sense into - each other]].
* HitMeDammit: Double subverted. After his HumiliationConga at the cultural festival, Yosuke finally breaks down and rants about his inferiority complex to the other guys of the Investigation Team, and begs Yu to [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan knock all the crap out of his head with a good hit]]. Yu has none of it, yanks Yosuke to his feet, snaps at him that the world doesn't work like that and a single hit won't solve his problems - if he wants a good hit, he'll have to [[PercussiveTherapy fight Yu head-on for it]], like a man.
* HomeBase: Due to the Junes TV they're using being compromised (its model is about to go out of stock), Yu decides to have it purchased and look for someplace they can use it without being discovered. Kanji provided the location of the old biker gang's hideout in the park near his place. Despite the place looking drab the first time around, Yu was able to have it refurbished with the principal to signing off on a little project, under the pretense of helping teach Kanji the value of hard work, give him something to be proud of, and push the biker problem away from the shopping district all in one move.
* ICanStillFight: Non-battle variant; even after Yu gets his leg busted after tripping on a bottle (read: Shadow Teddie's fight) and has to come into school on a crutch, he still insists on taking part in all his after-school clubs, including soccer and basketball. Yumi, Ayane, Daisuke, and Kou have to practically manhandle him out of their clubs and bar the doors for him to get some proper rest.
* IncompatibleOrientation: Sadly the case for Yukiko, who has a crush on Chie. While Chie doesn't swing that way or return her feelings, she is determined to not let the confession ruin their friendship.
* InspectorJavert: Something like this with Naoto: she knows about the Narukami family's reputation from the beginning and thus has a colder relationship with Yu. At first, she treats him like the suspect he is. After Rise's rescue and Mitsuo Kubo's arrest, she establishes a professional alliance, but both of them maintain a cool distance. She slowly sheds this after she properly joined the Investigation Team. [[spoiler:But she slips right back into it after Nanako's abduction drove Yu completely berserk, and she came to the conclusion that he was still a Narukami, a liability that she never should have trusted]].
* JokeAndReceive: Downplayed, Kanji makes a joke about Naoto stealing cookies from the cookie jar when she was little and her grandfather catching her because of the fingerprints on the jar. Naoto admits that it wasn't cookies, it was a microscope in her grandfather's lab that she wanted for spare parts, and it wasn't the fingerprints that led him to her, it was cookie crumbs on her clothes.
* KnightlySwordAndShield: Thanks to fencing lessons with Yu prior, Kanji also gets a fencing dagger hidden behind his shield as a surprise weapon.
* KryptoniteRing: Knowing the truth about his [[spoiler: past business persona]] could fracture the Investigation Team and let the murderer they're after go free, Yu doesn't want to tell them about it even though it could be for the best. So, he makes a deal with Naoto in that if he doesn't come clean to them one month after the murderer is caught, he wants her to tell them everything she knows about him and the Narukami family, reasoning that someone unwilling to be honest with his friends about such a big secret maybe doesn't deserve to have them.
* LoveHurts: Rise's crush on Yu is thrown off the rails when she sees him [[spoiler: bribing some cops to give them a private moment during the shrine festival]]. It disorients her because she still honestly has feelings for the kind senpai she's got to know and wants to trust him, but wary of [[spoiler: the unscrupulous businessman he's claimed to dislike about his previous persona]], and she ends up asking Naoto for assistance.
* MiniMecha: Kintoki-Douji can operate like this: it has a hatch where Teddie drives it, it can carry another in the cockpit, and said cockpit is even gyroscopic to account for when it rolls around.
* MotiveRant: Post-Shadow Naoto, Yu has another talk with Naoto, this time as fellow Investigation Team members, and it eventually turns into Yu ranting about [[spoiler: how much he [[IHatePastMe hates]] the old unscrupulous habits he mastered as a business-dealing member of the Narukami investment family, and how every interaction with another person was nothing more than a role to be played and discarded, and he's completely sick of it.]]
* MythologyGag: Yosuke reveals that the CEO of Junes is named Seta Souji, another one of the {{Canon Name}}s for the P4 Protagonist.
%% * NewGamePlus: Yu is of this type... insofar as walking into town with a metric ton of cash on hand.
* NoodleIncident: Seeing Marie bring a portable karaoke player into the Velvet Room, Margaret is unnerved until Igor reminds her of some of the things that Elizabeth brought in, including a [[NoodleImplements bubble wand filled with pepper juice]].
* NightmareSequence: In chapter 14, Nanako gets one of these when she nodded off while snooping on Yu once again staying up late. Memories of [[spoiler:her mother's death]] are dredged up, and a proto-Shadow of herself preys on her insecurities. However, [[spoiler:Yu's Persona Izanagi]] comes to her rescue in it.
* OfCorsetHurts: Naoto binding due to her gender complex comes back to bite her in this fic. Because of the size of her breasts, binding them puts pressure on her ribcage and lungs, causing her chronic coughs. [[StatingTheSimpleSolution Kanji comes up with the simple solution]] of just wearing baggy clothes, and Naoto is exasperated that she never thought of that.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: [[spoiler: As a business mogul prodigy for the Narukami investment family]], Yu has made business contacts with both [[CallForward Okumura Foods]] and the Kirijo Group in the past. As part of the latter, he has been to Gekkoukan High and met members of SEES, and during the class visit to the school, he is saddened when Chihiro tells him that the blue-haired boy with the music player (the ''Persona 3'' protagonist) is no longer with them.
* {{Paparazzi}}: Naturally, with Rise in the story, there would be these. Yu once duped them into thinking Risette was at the park at the short mountain hump. Yu's reasons for doing so are because his parents had to deal with them, too, being big business types and easily in reach compared to their superiors. Yu also advised Rise to also go to Tatsumi Textiles to ward them off, which is thanks to Kanji's reputation with them.
* PercussiveTherapy: When Yosuke's inferiority complex [[OvershadowedByAwesome compared]] to the rest of the Investigation Team finally boils over and he confronts Yu about being compared to TheAce, he and Yu end up brawling in the middle of the hot springs, just like the culmination of Yosuke's canon Social Link.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Yu, impressed by Naoto's knowledge of the cases, was planning on inviting Naoto to the Investigation Team, and Naoto herself also wanted to be let in, but the trust issues between the two of them (as well as Kanji accusing Naoto of baiting the TV world killer on account of childish ego) just end up getting Naoto pushed into the TV world before any of that can be talked out.
* PostKissCatatonia: Teddie is left in insensate euphoria after Yu kisses him during the King's game.
* TheReveal: Chapter 36 has Naoto outline the Narukami family, and how [[spoiler: it holds stock in 90% of all of Japan's large-scale businesses, influence in every industry, and is by far the most prosperous family in Japan]].
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: As someone who's ''loaded'', Yu has no compunctions in spending his cash to keep his friends happy, even when it skirts the boundaries of legality. The stuff he does ranges from getting the principal to approve the construction of a HomeBase under the pretense of teaching Kanji the value of hard work, funding the faculty's alcohol supply to keep Morooka off their backs, and [[spoiler: bribing some police officers to give him and Rise a private moment]].
* SeriousBusiness: Yu and Teddie pull out all the stops during their entry into the "Miss" Yasogami cross-dressing pageant. The former uses a voice converter to make himself sound female, and the latter actually [[spoiler: reformats his human body to make it biologically female]]. Kanji calls it cheating.
%% * ShipperOnDeck: Rise to Kanji and Naoto; she's the one who tells the oblivious Naoto that Kanji has a crush on her, and helps cultivate the feelings within her.
* ShipTease:
** Rise and Yu find themselves sharing mutual attraction to each other but [[spoiler: Yu's complex about his business mogul past and Rise's suspicions about him when she sees him bribe some policemen to give them some privacy up on a hill]] make things awkward between them for a while.
** A lot happens between Kanji and Naoto, from him offering to make a more baggy longcoat for her to hide her figure, and even their Personas sharing a high-five after a combination maneuver.
* ShoutOut: In Chapter 44, Shadow Naoto's pronunciation of "laboratory" is a reference to ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''.
* SmartBall: While traversing Naoto's dungeon, when the team expresses concern for Kanji's heightened aggression, he confesses it's over Naoto's boneheaded plan to get abducted by the killer deliberately. Literally no one else, not even ''Yu'', realized it until he said it, and [[BookDumb Kanji]] is understandably bewildered that ''he's the only one'' who figured that out.
* {{Squee}}: When Naoto admits to Rise that she needs help for an upcoming date with Kanji, the sound she hears next is compared to "a fire engine careening through her phone speakers".
* TerrorHero: After [[spoiler: witnessing a poverty-stricken Akira escape from a job that would've locked him in with a man and helping him get home, Teddie finds the man and shows him what he's been working on - [[DemBones the skeleton]] he's been growing inside himself ever since he learned that a human needs bones]].
* ThrowTheDogABone: When Nanako can't find a spot where she can see Yu, Rise and their friends perform at Junes, [[spoiler: Akira]] offers his back. Luckily for them both, Kou and Daisuke are there to offer their shoulders instead. Also, later on, [[spoiler: Akira receives a whole box of store goods for him and his mother from Teddie, and Kou and Daisuke offer to escort him home to keep him from being robbed]].
* TookTheWifesName: While talking with Naoto, Yu reveals that Ryotaro Dojima was actually a Narukami who adopted his wife's surname. Back then, Yu didn't know why he ditched such a prestigious family name, but now he does, given the weight it carries.
* UnclePennybags: In this story, Yu is ''loaded'', due to [[spoiler: being the scion of the Narukami investment family (which is ''the'' most prosperous family in Japan) and being the so-called "Wolf of Tokyo" with his business acumen]]. When he offers a heavy stack of bills to Yosuke when he lamented about letting the Treasure Shadow escape, Yu ''apologizes'' that most of his allowance went to gear. When asked how much he gets from his overseas parents, it's 80000 yen bi-weekly. Other things he's done with his money include pre-ordering a plush toy for Nanako from Kanji (long before he even gets chucked into the TV World), paying Kanji's bail as his "sponsor" after his incident with the biker gang, buying the Junes TV that they use as their portal into the TV world before it gets pulled off the shelves, buying Chie and Yukiko a copy of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' before it's even officially released, and shipping in resources from out of town to make their class's group date cafe during the school festival a success. It's later implied Yu is doing all these favors for his friends because [[spoiler: he's had it hammered into him from birth by his overbearing mother that he has to be a perfectionist people-pleaser to extend the Narukami company's reach]], putting an uncomfortable spin on things. Especially when the favors start veering into ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney territory.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Shadow Naoto spends the first part of the one-on-one with Kanji thinking he was nothing more than DumbMuscle, but Kanji pulling off several feints like delaying Take-Mikazuchi's summoning or revealing his hidden blade behind his shield quickly disabuse it of the notion.
* UnstoppableRage: In Chapter 65, when he sees Nanako on the Midnight Channel, Yu goes '''''berserk,''''' scaring the daylights out of everyone around him and almost killing Taro Namatame twice. The first time, Namatame manages to throw him off with chloroform, and the second time, it's because of a car crash.
* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Naoto asks Rise what she sees in Yu considering what they both know of his [[spoiler: secret unscrupulous business persona]], then quickly tells herself to never speak like that again.
* WhatTheHellHero: Kanji gives one to Naoto when he figures out what she's up to by getting the killer's attention, and calls her out on it. Naoto, however, interprets it as Kanji coddling her due to her age and rebuffs him.
* WholesomeCrossdresser:
** Just like Akira, Yu is apparently a crossdresser, first using such a getup (under the alias Yuri, and even ''sashays'' when walking) in Kanji's dungeon to ward off the attention of the muscular masculine Shadows. In fact, he became the second-girliest one in the room (the first being Yukiko). In fact, the moment he hears about the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, he immediately signs himself up.
--->'''Yukiko''': Chie, I want you to be honest with me. Is it weird I think Yu-kun looks great in that?\\
'''Chie''': I...I don't know.
** Teddie tries following his Sensei's example, but only gets a laugh from Yukiko. He visibly improves during the "Miss" Yasogami pageant... [[spoiler: because he used his power to generate his human body to make it female]].
* WolfpackBoss: Shadow Naoto falls into this vein in this fic, summoning several Domineering Machines to aid it. Kanji orders the rest of the Investigation Team to handle them while [[LeaveHimToMe he takes on Shadow Naoto solo]], saying he's got something he wants to say to them personally.
%% * WolverineClaws: Yu has a pair of retractable ones in his gloves.
* TheWorfEffect: Yu has such a reputation as a Mr. Perfect that anything that seriously harms him becomes all the more terrifying:
** Mystery Food X leaves him a puking mess. Everyone is naturally horrified.
** Shadow Rise severely injures Yu in their fight, and everyone is horrified when he comes to school the next day with a visibly mangled left leg.
* TheWorkaholic: Yu has shades of these when it comes to whatever he sets his mind into doing. It's so bad that it took ''multiple'' insistences from his classmates to take a break, and the rest of his Team even once name-dropped Nanako and what she would feel to keep him from working after his leg injury (from Shadow Rise and Shadow Teddie's battles). He never even played video games before (as they take between ten to a hundred hours, whereas books and movies take at least two). [[spoiler: An illusion from Shadow Mitsuo reveals that he was pressured into this perfectionist mindset in both his business work and his schoolwork by his overbearing, business-minded mother]].
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Yu confesses his true feelings about Rise to Naoto, and admits his worry that if she does know of his [[spoiler: unscrupulous business mogul past]], she wouldn't want anything to do with him. Naoto, who's also been a confidant to Rise about this topic, has this answer:
--> '''Naoto:''' Why would she put this much effort into finding the real you if she didn’t hope that the real you was worth finding?
* YoureInsane: Yu's class representative has this reaction after seeing Yosuke hung from the ceiling after being accosted for signing the girls up for the school pageant, the infamous delinquent Kanji Tatsumi comforting the Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane, Chie drinking coffee straight from the pot, and the school ace Yu Narukami eagerly signing up for a drag performance.
[[/folder]]

* BerserkButton: Yu, [[BewareTheNiceOnes though having a tight rein on his temper]], has let that control slip whenever something [[spoiler: [[IHatePastMe reminds him of his past]]]]. Examples include:

** Then the button is outright smashed and broken when Nanako appears on the Midnight Channel; Yu goes mad with rage to try saving her.

** When he gets the idea that [[spoiler: Naoto used Rise's lack of trust in him to get info on the case, the idea that he could use his business connections to ruin the Shirogane name goes through his mind, and only his realization that he almost destroyed Naoto on a hunch, using his old unscrupulous habits, snaps him back.]]

* BrokenAce: Yu Narukami is an expert in exams and sports, is perpetually flush with cash, rarely ever loses his temper and is always willing to lend a hand to his friends, but that's because [[spoiler: his overbearing mother has pushed him to perfection from the word go, expecting him to keep up his schoolwork and his work for the family enterprise without any objections, [[ExtremeDoormat while his father is too spineless to defend him]]. Moreover, all the wheeling and dealing Yu has had to do to get his family ahead, all the acts he's had to put on and roles he's had to play and discard have really given him quite the complex, and when these old habits get in the way of strengthening his true friendships with the Investigation Team, it really ticks him off]].

* CallForward: [[spoiler: Sometimes in ''The Many Quirks of Phantom Thievery'', Akira mentions how hard it was for him and his mother to grow up in poverty. His EarlyBirdCameo moments of him living in Inaba and Teddie helping him show just how difficult it was]].
* CanonWelding: Chapter 61 implies that the events of ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth Persona Q]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth Persona Q2]]'' happened midway through the cultural festival, and while everyone involved has their memories erased, only some TarotTroubles via Margaret hint at what actually happened... [[spoiler: and the fact that Yu found a calling card from the Phantom Thieves in his pocket]].

* DudeNotFunny: This is the consensus reaction for Yosuke's signing-up of the Investigation Team ladies for the Miss Yasogami pageant since the swimsuit portion is hitting Naoto's body complex TraumaButton with a hammer. Once Yosuke gets that, he apologizes to Naoto for doing that... but his jokes to Chie and Yukiko having no trouble doing it don't earn him much sympathy.

** [[spoiler: A young Akira Kurusu]] appears several times through the story, trying to scrape together cash to help him and his single mother. Teddie has taken it upon himself to keep him safe.
* EnemyWithin: [[spoiler: Whenever Izanagi is seen roaming through Yu's friends' dreams, it's noticed that he has a bit of an axe to grind against his other half, mostly due to his hidden arrogance and secrets about his business past.]] It's basically a manifestation of the host's self-loathing.

--> ''“Good day, ma’am.”''

* GoneHorriblyRight: In retaliation for signing up the girls for the Miss Yasogami pageant, Yosuke is forced to take part in the [[DraggedIntoDrag "Miss" Yasogami pageant]] and be embarrassed in front of everyone. From his dead expression at the tail end of it, and the unnerved expressions from his fellows as he leaves, the experience completely breaks him instead.

* InspectorJavert: Something like this with Naoto: she knows about the Narukami family's reputation from the beginning and thus has a colder relationship with Yu. At first, she treats him like the suspect he is. After Rise's rescue and Mitsuo Kubo's arrest, she established a professional alliance, but both of them maintained a cool distance. She slowly shed this after she properly joined the Investigation Team...[[spoiler:but slipped right back into it after Nanako's abduction drove Yu completely berserk, and she came to the conclusion that he was still a Narukami, a liability that she never should have trusted]].

* CensoredForComedy: In a way, courtesy of Futaba rewriting cognition. While in Okumura's Palace, while cruising across the vacuum tunnels, Akira spouts out a lot of "[[{{Smurfing}} censor]]" words thanks to her.

* CodeName: As per PhantomThief tradition, [[spoiler:Sojiro gets one, and he chooses Boss]].

-->'''Futaba:''' Sojiro, Mona, and me were listening in. It's a unanimous yes on our end. Also, he says to watch your language.
-->'''Akira:''' Sojiro, Mona, or you?
-->'''Futaba:''' Yes.

* MythologyGag: While Makoto was tailing Akira into a bookstore, among his purchases were (besides Literature/{{Konosuba}}) a yellow one featuring [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} a group of teens solving supernatural crimes in a foggy small town, and an amusement part bear suit is involved]]. It also has a video game version.
** Crosses over into RecursiveFiction when characters from VideoGame/Persona4 start making appearances.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: When Akira first awakened Arsene, he had Cognitive Kamoshida trapped behind bars, and both himself and Arsene were fully willing to kill him right then and there. However, when they heard Ryuji in trouble, Akira immediately broke off to save him. Even later, after beating Kamoshida's Shadow, Akira and Arsene were fully expecting Ann to kill him herself, and when she chose to spare him instead, they argued for quite a while afterward trying to make sense of it.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: As part of his late-night shift at Crossroads, Akira learns to pull off dressing like a girl too well, even using his new identity as "Aka-chan" to mess with Ryuji and Ohya at different times. He eventually manages to get the most of the team ([[EveryoneHasStandards except Ryuji]], Futaba, and [[spoiler:Sojiro]]) to adopt crossdressing personalities as well, leading to the creation of "Andre", "Harumi", and "Mako". Morgana is also forced into a Hello Kitty-esque dress, and he doesn't enjoy it a single bit. [[spoiler:Yu has no problem indulging in this as well, making him bond with Akira real quick.]]
** Akira even uses it to keep tabs on Akechi, as not even the so-called "Detective Prince" can recognize his rival DisguisedInDrag.

* AdaptationalContextChange: Naoto refusing to come out during the swimsuit portion of the Miss Yasogami pageant was due to embarrassment in canon. In this fic, she has just had a talk with Rise and an epiphany that she doesn't have to care about what anyone else thinks of her nor indulge in Miss Kashiwagi's event of self-aggrandizement, so she calmly declines to participate because she has nothing to prove to her.

* BewareTheQuietOnes: Yu is normally very placid and even-tempered, but the first time the Investigation Team sees his temper fray is during the camping trip, after the Mystery Food X ordeal left him bedridden. One terse glare and terse word are enough to defuse the arguments between Yosuke and Chie and Kanji without any pushback.

* CarFu: The BatteringRam returns as one of Yu's ideas to get the jump on one of those [[MetalSlime glove Shadows]] is Kanji on his bike doing this... with Take-Mikazuchi providing extra RecoilBoost with Zio.
** And then Naoto gets Sukuna-Hikona to ride along with him for added maneuverability and control, which works out well since the two of them just started dating.

* ForWantOfANail:
** During the visit to the Amagi Inn, Nanako is a bit more observant and notices that it's the boys' turn to use the hot spring, so the girls decide to have dinner first.
* FunctionalAddict: Almost from the first time they meet, Kanji wonders if Yu might be high given his ever-neutral expression, his appetite, and the strange ideas he comes up with. When he joins the Team and shares his theory, they can't refute him, but Yu's responses leave it ambiguous.
** Later on, Yosuke and Kanji, after the former saw their leader sleeping blissfully, it only reinforces the theory. They then promise to each other (keeping the girls out of the loop for now) to take off as much workload as they can from Yu whenever possible (if he ''isn't'' high, it would give him more time at home with Nanako).

* GreenEyedMonster: Yosuke shows hints of this towards Yu, TheAce and ChickMagnet of Yasogami High, getting even an idol as a girlfriend. It starts becoming more overt during the school festival, where it's Yu's contribution to making the group date cafe a success (using his resources to get food and formal wear) that gets him all the attention and credit, even though the cafe was Yosuke's idea. For extra DramaticIrony, the reason Yu contributed so much in the first place was to make Yosuke's idea a success.
** Everything finally boils over at the hot springs visit when Yosuke finally shouts his grievances about being OvershadowedByAwesome by every other member of the team, forgetting his motivation to avenge Saki in favor of getting attention, and comparing his hopeless self to "Mr. Perfect" Yu Narukami. What follows is the culmination of Yosuke's Social Link in canon, i.e. [[PercussiveTherapy Yu and Yosuke beating some catharsis out of - and some sense into - each other]].

* HomeBase: Due to the Junes TV they're using being compromised (its model is about to go out of stock), Yu decided to have it purchased and look for someplace they can use it without being discovered. Kanji provided the location of the old biker gang's hideout in the park near his place. Despite the place looking drab the first time around, Yu was able to have it refurbished with the principal to signing off on a little project, under the pretense of helping teach Kanji the value of hard work, give him something to be proud of, and push the biker problem away from the shopping district all in one move.

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: [[spoiler: As a business mogul prodigy for the Narukami investment family]], Yu has made business contacts with both [[CallForward Okumura Foods]] and the Kirijo Group in the past.
** As part of the latter, he has been to Gekkoukan High and met members of SEES, and during the class visit to the school, he is saddened when Chihiro tells him that the blue-haired boy with the music player (the Persona 3 protagonist) is no longer with them.

* UnclePennybags: In this story, Yu is ''loaded'', due to [[spoiler: being the scion of the Narukami investment family (which is ''the'' most prosperous family in Japan) and being the so-called "Wolf of Tokyo" with his business acumen]]. When he offers a heavy stack of bills to Yosuke when he lamented about letting the Treasure Shadow escape, Yu ''apologizes'' that most of his allowance went to gear. When asked how much he gets from his overseas parents, it's 80000 yen bi-weekly. Other things he's done with his money include pre-ordering a plush toy for Nanako from Kanji (long before he even gets chucked into the TV World), paying Kanji's bail as his "sponsor" after his incident with the biker gang, buying the Junes TV that they use as their portal into the TV world before it gets pulled off the shelves, buying Chie and Yukiko a copy of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' before it's even officially released, and shipping in resources from out of town to make their class's group date cafe during the school festival a success.
** It's later implied Yu is doing all these favors for his friends because [[spoiler: he's had it hammered into him from birth by his overbearing mother that he has to be a perfectionist people-pleaser to extend the Narukami company's reach]], putting an uncomfortable spin on things. Especially when the favors start veering into ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney territory.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Shadow Naoto spends the first part of the one-on-one with Kanji thinking he was nothing more than DumbMuscle, but Kanji pulling off several feints like delaying Take-Mikazuchi's summoning or revealing his hidden blade behind his shield quickly disabuse it of the notion.
* UnstoppableRage: In Chapter 65, when he sees Nanako on the Midnight Channel, Yu goes '''''berserk,''''' scaring the daylights out of everyone around him and almost killing Taro Namatame twice. The first time, Namatame manages to throw him off with chloroform, and the second time, it's because of a car crash.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: Just like Akira, Yu is apparently a crossdresser, first using such a getup (under the alias Yuri, and even ''sashays'' when walking) in Kanji's dungeon to ward off the attention of the muscular masculine Shadows. In fact, he became the second-girliest one in the room (the first being Yukiko). In fact, the moment he hears about the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, he immediately signs himself up.
-->'''Yukiko''': Chie, I want you to be honest with me. Is it weird I think Yu-kun looks great in that?\\

* MythologyGag: While Makoto was tailing Akira into a bookstore, among his purchases were (besides LightNovel/{{Konosuba}}) a yellow one featuring [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} a group of teens solving supernatural crimes in a foggy small town, and an amusement part bear suit is involved]]. It also has a video game version.

* TheMaidenNameDebate: While talking with Naoto, Yu reveals that Ryotaro Dojima was actually a Narukami who adopted his wife's surname. Back then, Yu didn't know why he ditched such a prestigious family name, but now he does, given the weight it carries.

* HitMeDammit: Double subverted. After his HumiliationConga at the cultural festival, Yosuke finally breaks down and rants about his inferiority complex to the other guys of the Investigation Team, and begs Yu to [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan knock all the crap out of his head with a good hit]]. Yu has none of it, yanks Yosuke to his feet, snaps at him that the world doesn't work like that and a single hit won't solve his problems - if he wants a good hit, he'll have to [[PercussiveTherapy fight Yu head-on for it]], like a man.

** One time, the Investigation Team meets an old associate of the Narukami family that calls Yu the "Wolf of Tokyo", a reference to the ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' film and Yu's business acumen. Later on, some of the team have dreams that warn them of something called the "Howling God" - or, translated one way into Japanese, "Narukami". This comes to a head at the conclusion of Chapter 68, when [[spoiler:Izanagi loses the battle against Yu's dark side and the "Howling God" emerges and takes control.]]

** One time, the Investigation Team meets an old associate of the Narukami family that calls Yu the "Wolf of Tokyo", a reference to the ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' film and Yu's business acumen. Later on, some of the team have dreams that warn them of something called the "Howling God" - or, translated one way into Japanese, "Narukami".

'''Yusuke''': ''(shrugs, reloading his gun)'' It was an event the first two, perhaps twenty times. Now, it is simply Tuesday.\\

** Admitting this to Akechi after they beat him in the depths of Shido's Palace also cements the not so different idea idea between them, as well as cementing Akira's lesson that they're stronger than Akechi because they control their rage and fight for the betterment of the downtrodden, instead of Akechi letting his rage and desire for revenge control him.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: As part of his late-night shift at Crossroads, Akira learns to pull off dressing like a girl too well, even using his new identity as "Aka-chan" to mess with Ryuji and Ohya different times. He eventually manages to get the most of the team ([[EveryoneHasStandards except Ryuji]], Futaba and [[spoiler:Sojiro]]) to adopt crossdressing personalities as well, leading to the creation of "Andre", "Harumi", and "Mako". Morgana is also forced into a Hello Kitty-esque dress, and he doesn't enjoy it a single bit. [[spoiler:Yu has no problem indulging in this as well, making him bond with Akira real quick.]]

* BewareTheQuietOnes: Yu is normally very placid and even-tempered, but the first time the Investigation Team sees his temper fray is during the camping trip, after the Mystery Food X ordeal left him bedridden. One terse glare and terse word is enough to defuse the arguments between Yosuke and Chie and Kanji without any pushback.

* DareToBeBadass: The essence of the advice that Yu gives Yosuke after the latter's personal issues are finally confronted - that letting the world choose your place in it will only make you miserable; only carving out your own place in the world and taking steps to fixing your problems will bring you peace.
* DisproportionateRetribution: The aftermath of the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, from Yosuke putting the girls in without their permission and the rest shanghaiing him into participating afterward. While Kanji agrees that he needed the wake-up call, the fact that Yosuke looked completely [[HeroicBSOD broken]] afterward concludes that [[GoneHorriblyRight they might've taken things too far]], and apologizes afterward. Reinforcing the point is the fact that Yosuke didn't know that Kashiwagi wouldn't allow them to back out with their names on the board; if not for her, it would've just been the cheeky but harmless joke that Yosuke intended it as.

* DudeNotFunny: This is the consensus reaction for Yosuke's signing-up of the Investigation Team ladies for the Miss Yasogami pageant, since the swimsuit portion is hitting Naoto's body complex TraumaButton with a hammer. Once Yosuke gets that, he apologizes to Naoto for doing that... but his jokes to Chie and Yukiko having no trouble doing it don't earn him much sympathy.

** We see Namatame early on in Chapter 12 as a delivery man, and see him thinking about his mission (and his "success" upon seeing Yukiko and Kanji alive).
** [[spoiler: A young Akira Kurusu appears several times through the story, trying to scrape together cash to help him and his single mother. Teddie has taken it upon himself to keep him safe]].

* ICanStillFight: Non-battle variant; even after Yu gets his leg busted after tripping on a bottle (read: Shadow Teddie's fight) and has to come into school on a crutch, he still insists on taking part in all his after-school clubs, including soccer and basketball. Yumi, Ayane, Daisuke and Kou have to practically manhandle him out of their clubs and bar the doors for him to get some proper rest.

* MiniMecha: Kintoki-Douji can operate like this, and even has a hatch where Teddie drives it, can even carry another in the cockpit, which is even gyroscopic to account for when it rolls around.

** As part of the latter, he has been to Gekkoukan High and met members of SEES, and during the class visit to the school, he is saddened when Chihiro tells him that the blue-haired boy with the music player is no longer with them.

** Admitting this to Akechi after they beat him in the depths of Shido's Palace also cements the NotSoDifferent idea between them, as well as cementing Akira's lesson that they're stronger than Akechi because they control their rage and fight for the betterment of the downtrodden, instead of Akechi letting his rage and desire for revenge control him.

* FightingYourFriend: The confrontation with [[spoiler:fake Igor in the Velvet Room]] has him command [[spoiler:Arsene]] (who was truthfully a fake created by [[spoiler:Yaldabaoth]]) against Akira and [[spoiler:Robin Hood]].

** Sojiro is not only [[spoiler:let in on the loop sooner (it "helps" that he got accidentally sucked in to Futaba's Palace), he also becomes a Persona-user (Thaddeus)]].

** [[spoiler:Shadow Okumura doesn't get assassinated by Akechi thanks to the Phantoms' intervention. [[InSpiteOfANail Almost averted]] when Akechi gets to land a shot (with a ''real'' bullet, rendering Dia skills useless against healing them) [[ItMakesSenseInContext even as he was pulled out of reach by a rocket]]. To prevent a real world assassination after that, Kunikazu was then transferred to a hospital (the shot resulted in him passing out) and under protection courtesy of Yoshida pulling some strings, though he's still left in coma]].
** Thankfully averted even when [[spoiler:Akira passes out from the drugs before he can make the deal with Sae, since Arsene was there to do it in his stead.]]
** Sae [[spoiler:visits her Palace to confront her Shadow, and by the end of it gains the Persona Athena, and it's distinct in that she ''doesn't'' get a Thief outfit due to the method she gets it (i.e. the same way the Investigation Team sans Yu has gotten theirs).]]

** Another aversion: despite Shido working with [[spoiler:the Phantom Thieves to help confess his crimes, the Conspiracy and Yaldabaoth's grip is too tight that despite Shido's own confession attached, none of the TV Stations believe his records, and those that do fear a lynch mob will come down on them.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: During one of Chihaya's readings while Ohya was observing her, one fortune revealed the following cards: The Fool, Chariot, Magician, Lovers, Emperor, Priestess, Hermit, Heirophant, and Empress. At first glance, you'd recognize the Arcanas representing each of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts... and Sojiro's right between Futaba's and Haru's. And there's also the vision that she experienced as she turned the next card ([[spoiler:Justice in reverse]]) that resulted in her passing out.

* GroupHug: Or "Operation Hug a Lug" as Futaba puts it. Ryuji, Ann, Futaba, Yusuke and Morgana give one to Akira after he admits his insecurities and hidden desire to lash out at the world for the hurt it had caused him.

* HeroicBSOD: Even after stealing Kamoshida's Treasure, Akira, Ann and Ryuji all have trouble sleeping the following night from the leftover trauma the whole ordeal has put them through. On a more positive spin, this all allows them to bare themselves to each other when Ann calls for a sleepover at her place, leading to the formal formation of the Phantom Thieves in this continuity and the establishment of all three of them as the resident ThreeAmigos.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Akira is asexual, but he admits to the other thieves that if any of them wanted to pursue a relationship with him, he’d probably say yes fir this reason. Ann, for her part, does like him that way, second only to Shiho, but knowing that, she feels like she would be manipulating him for asking him.

--> ''Let me put it like this. If someone puts a Kurusu in the ground, they had best be prepared to put the other in jail if they plan on living to brag about it.''

** And then Naoto gets Sukuna-Hikona to ride along with him for added manoeuvrability and control, which works out well since the two of them just started dating.

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Yu has more than a few contrasting aspects to Akira. [[spoiler: Akira is a HeroicBastard with a DisappearedDad, loves his mother with all his heart, and grew up in poverty and had to struggle to get by. Yu is a SecretlyWealthy scion of a business family, but his father is an ExtremeDoormat and his mother is a single-minded businesswoman who only sees her son as another business tool, which he resents greatly. Both cherish their friends and the bonds they form, but while Akira does so because they encourage to not give in to his angst, Yu does so because they're the first meaningful connections he's formed due to everything prior being business-related, and he doesn't want to lose them. Where Akira is sharp-tongued, quick-tempered and flashy, Yu is stoic and calm, but merciless in his fury]]. Oh, and Akira is asexual while Yu is pansexual.

** He also has a mask with lights in case Shadows eventually turn the dungeon dark. And a coffee dispenser for [[CaptainObvious drinking coffee]] [[spoiler:and [[FoodSlap getting the jump on]] a Rain Leg Musha that had them all on the ropes]].

* DisproportionateRetribution: The aftermath of the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, from Yosuke putting the girls in without their permission and the rest shanghai-ing him into participating afterwards. While Kanji agrees that he needed the wake-up call, the fact that Yosuke looked completely [[HeroicBSOD broken]] afterward concludes that [[GoneHorriblyRight they might've taken things too far]], and apologizes afterward.

** We see Namatame early on at Chapter 12 as a delivery man, and see him thinking about his mission (and his "success" upon seeing Yukiko and Kanji alive).

* FunctionalAddict: The Team early on (i.e. just after rescuing Yukiko) wonder if Yu might be high given his ever-neutral expression, his appetite, and the strange ideas he comes up with.

* GenderBender: [[spoiler: Teddie manages to form a female human body during the school festival's crossdressing pageant.]]

* OfCorsetHurts: Naoto and her binding due to her gender complex comes back to bite her in this fic. The constant compression of her breasts and her ribcage is causing problems with her lungs, causing her chronic coughs. [[StatingTheSimpleSolution Kanji comes up with the simple solution]] of just wearing baggy clothes.

* SeriousBusiness: Yu and Teddie pull out all the stops during their entry into the "Miss" Yasogami crossdressing pageant. The former uses a voice converter to make himself sound female, and the latter actually [[spoiler: reformats his human body to make it biologically female]]. Kanji calls it cheating.
%% * ShipperOnDeck: Rise to Kanji and Naoto.

* UnstoppableRage: In Chapter 65, when he sees Nanako on the Midnight Channel, Yu goes '''''berserk,''''' scaring the daylights out of everyone around him and almost killing Taro Namatame twice...and it's not remotely for lack of trying that he fails.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: Just like Akira, Yu is apparently a crossdresser, first using such a getup (under the alias Yuri, and even ''sashays'' when walking) in Kanji's dungeon to ward off the attention of the muscular masculine Shadows. In fact, he became the second-girliest one in the room (the first being Yukiko). In fact, the moment he hears about the "Miss" Yasogami pageant, he wastes no time in signing up himself.

*** His mother Akari Kurusu loves him dearly and visits him in Tokyo a couple of times; she’s a struggling single mother who dealt with depression in the past, but she’s a very strong woman.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:In Yaldabaoth's new world, Mishima was about to be cut down by one of his angels when it was destroyed by Athena, Sae's Persona. She shortly casts Diarahan on him afterwards]].

* CardboardPrison: [[spoiler: Joker could easily escape from prison with his Persona powers. He only stays because by doing so, the police will not pursue his friends. Learning that his friends are working to get him out legaly further encourages him to bear with it until they pull through.]]

** Akira corners a trio of sexual predators tailing him and Makoto this way. His terms: walk way, forget this happened, and don't bother the ladies in the area, or else the video he's caught goes to the cops. Also, he's sent it to all his friends, with instructions to report it for him should he go missing, so no jumping him later to take it back. They decide to take him on right now instead, but he manages to beat them with a chain, Morgana, and a model gun. [[spoiler: He later sent the video anyway and runs into one of the same guys trying to kill Okumura, which he promptly stops.]]

*** His mother Akari Khrushchev loves him dearly and visits him in Tokyo a couple of times; she’s a struggling single mother who dealt with depression in the past, but she’s a very strong woman.

The author has also announced (via responses to reviews) plans for writing ''The Many Quirks of [=SEESery=]'', applying the premise to [=SEES=] from ''VideoGame/Persona3'', once they finish ''The Many Quirks of Investigation Teamery''. And that both a p5 strikers adaptation is possible and both PQ games will be covered as the GrandFinale to the Quirksverse series.

The author has also announced plans for writing ''The Many Quirks of [=SEESery=]'', applying the premise to [=SEES=] from ''VideoGame/Persona3'', once they finish ''The Many Quirks of Investigation Teamery''.

* AssholeVictim: Sugimura, Haru's fiancé. While all the Phantom Thieves' victims count, he notably doesn't get any on-screen comeuppance in the game for his abusive relationship with Haru beyond the Thieves defeating a Cognitive version of him in Okumura's Palace. This time, he ends up [[spoiler:castigating Haru in front of Okumura Foods' vice-president, who immediately terminates their arrangement]]. Also, by Akira's advice, [[spoiler:Makoto harnesses her Persona abilities in the real world, using Johanna's Frei skills to hit Sugimura with 200 rads worth of radiation, enough to cause cancer that can still be treated; she quickly threatens to increase the dosage to a more fatal amount if he continued to harass Haru.]]

* FightingYourFriend: [[spoiler: The confrontation with fake Igor in the Velvet Room has Igor command Arsene (who was created by Yaldabaoth) against Akira and Robin Hood]].

* GiveMeASword: [[spoiler: Midway through the final battle, a crate full of new, more powerful cognitive weapons are launched all the way to where the Thieves are battling Yaldabaoth, Iwai's best work, paid for by President Okumura, launched by Shinya's pinpoint accuracy]].
* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler: Akechi succeeds in tearing of Joker's mask - but this only frees Arsene, the embodiment of Akira's rage, to attack him without Akira's no-killing conscience holding him back.]]