Fanfic / Monsters and Magic

"In this world, there are things that are not seen, but are to be believed. Magic exists, hidden away in the shadows for their own protection..."

Monsters and Magic is a fanfiction series based off of the Persona franchise written by baileek313 on Archive of Our Own. The primary concept is that the main casts of the Persona series have been changed into some sort of magical or supernatural being. With the change comes a ripple effect that can be felt throughout the story in various different ways, from minor changes to fit in with this new world some characters' stories being rewritten entirely.

The author also has a Tumblr where she posts and reblogs more content for the series. It can be found here, (please note that there are numerous spoilers about the story, read at your own risk!

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Monsters and Magic provides examples of:

In General

• Adaptational Species Change: Most, if not all, of the main Persona cast throughout the series are changed from being human, or mortals, to monsters or witches, or non-mortals.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Rather than summoning Personas, manifestations of their subconscious, to fight for them, they simply use magic spells instead.
• Alternate Universe: Unlike in canon, the main casts of the Persona series are made out to be supernatural beings. The abilities that they are given from this also replace their Persona powers from canon, making Personas non-existent in this universe.
• Black Magic: Tends to fall to the antagonists of the series, either through their own powers or through the magic of other cast memebers.
• Cerebus Syndrome: Present throughout the series, primarily due to the casts being comprised of teenagers who are bound to do dumb and comedic things, despite all the heavy and dramatic plot going on. This is usually done to help relieve tension between heavier chapters.
• Interspecies Romance: A majority of the ships found in this series, seeing as nearly all the casts are different magical beings.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Several of the characters are half-human, half-monster or some other mixture. For example, Yukari is half-harpy and half-witch and Junpei is half-dragon and half-human.
• Magical Eye: Minato's right eye is usually covered by an eyepatch to hide the sigil that resides there. The sigil protects him from the effects of Nyx's Shadows specifically and their influence.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: A vampire's eyes in this series will glow red when they're angered or using the full extent of their powers.
• Related in the Adaptation: The Persona 3 Protagonists - given the names Minato Arisato and Kotone Shiomi - along with the Persona 5 Protagonist, Ren Amamiya, are all related in this series as opposed to their canon counterparts. Within Monsters and Magic, all three are cousins through their mothers.
• Silver Bullet: Throughout the series, silver works as a deterrent against magic - witches' magic in particular. If werewolves come into contact with it, it will burn their skin. It also serves as a poison if it somehow gets into their system. The fact that Shinjiro survives being shot with a silver bullet is brought up time and time again to be a miracle.
• Viral Transformation: Vampires and werewolves in this universe are able to transform human beings with a bite (and a few other steps in vampries' case.) Ken and Shinjiro are a perfect example of this, as Shinjiro was the one who bit and turned Ken when about a year and a half prior to the start of Make Every Moment Last.
• White Sheep: Ryoji Mochizuki when compared to his parents.

"Make Every Moment Last (Persona 3)''

• A Boy and His X: Minato and Koromaru. In the story, Koromaru takes the role of Minato's familiar - a shapeshifting being that binds their soul to a witch's.
• Abusive Parents: Ryoji's parents. His mother, Miyako, is shown repeatedly to be twisted and takes it far enough that she uses her own child as a vessel for Death. Her husband, Ryoji's father, is less on-hands than his wife, but is mentioned to be neglectful and did nothing to stop Miyako's plans or actions.
• Awkward Kiss: One occurs between Ryoji and Minato in Chapter 50. Though meant to be a confession, Minato notes that it was sudden and rough enough to make his lips feel bruised.
• Big Brother Instinct: While technically cousins, Minato is still very protective of Kotone and gives anybody who even thinks of hitting on her some very dirty looks.
• Big Damn Heroes: Happens on several occasions.
  • Averted somewhat with Minato during the Magician Shadow. While he deals a great amount of damage, he quickly ends up collapsing and needs to be rescued. He gets this un-averted moment later during the June Full Moon when he refuses to leave his team members to perish at the hands of the Emperor and Empress.
  • Shinjiro on two occasions, both involving saving Minato from some kind of danger. The first happens when Minato, Ryoji, Yukari and Junpei go looking for information on Kotone's disappearance prior to the June Full Moon. Being the little shit that he is, Minato picks a fight with a few of the punks hanging out around Port Island Station, a choice that leads to him nearly being strangled. The second occurs a few months later during the September Full Moon and the fight against the Hermit Shadow. Due to his connection with Koromaru, Minato also feels the brunt of the electrical damage that the dog takes, rendering him immobile. Shinjiro knocks him out of the way of the second attack that the Shadow throws in his direction before it can hit him.
  • Ryoji is an example of this twice as well - once to take down the Magician Shadow after Minato uses up all his strength against it and again during the August Full Moon while his teammates are incapacitated.
• Black Eyes of Evil: Ryoji when Death has fully gained control of his body.
• Blank White Eyes: Fuuka's eyes do this whenever she's using her foresight ability.
• Boy Meets Ghoul: Junpei and Chidori after Chidori's unexpected resurrection.
• Creepy Child: Minato when he was younger due to the unknown origin of the sigil placed over his right eye.
• Curse Cut Short: Minato in Chapter 52. Due to a rule that Mitsuru puts into place following Ken moving in, S.E.E.S. is forbidden from cursing in the dorms. However, since no one told Shinjiro about this, it is implied that he's cursed in front of Ken, leading the boy to know exactly what Minato was about it say.
• Demonic Possession: Death's possession and use of Ryoji as a vessel is often described as this directly by the cast and Ryoji himself.
• Did Not Die That Way: Yuriko and Daichi Arisato, Minato's parents. While Minato initially believes they died in an accident while working, it is later revealed that they were murdered trying to stop Miyako Mochizuki and Ikutsuki respectively.
• Everybody Lives: Shinjiro, Minato, Kotone and Ryoji all live at the end of the story, unlike their canon counterparts.
• Evil Matriarch: Miyako Mochizuki, Ryoji's mother.
• Family of Choice: S.E.E.S. is portrayed as this. Minato even admits that they've come together as a family towards the end of the story.
• Her Boyfriend's Jacket: Before parting a week before the final battle, Ryoji gives Minato his signature scarf as a way to promise he'll come back alright. Minato wears it up until the end of the fight against Nyx.
• Heroic R Ro D: Averted. Minato nearly burns himself out searching for a way to save Ryoji and stop the Fall from happening. Luckily, S.E.E.S. realizes what's going on and steps in to help.
• How Did You Know? I Didn't: During the May Full Moon, Minato pulls the brakes on the monorail to stop it from crashing. Not even a few minutes later, he admits that he didn't know which one was the brake and randomly pulled a lever. It was only by luck that it happened to be the right one.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Minato is very anti-social when he first arrives at Iwatodai and would rather be left alone for most of the time he's there. It takes time for him to warm up to everyone.
• Losing Your Head: Akihiko since within the story, he is a Dullahan — a being from Irish folklore who is able to remove their head without consequence. Played for Laughs when Junpei and Minato learn about this when a Shadow knocks Akihiko's head off of his shoulders.
• No One Should Survive That!: Shinjiro - a werewolf - after getting shot with a silver bullet, which has been mentioned to be like poison to werewolves.
• Repressed Memories: Minato cannot clearly remember his life prior to his parents' deaths (especially when it comes to said event itself). However, as the story progresses and Minato starts to come to terms with his magical powers, he begins to remember what had happened the night his parents were killed.
• Secret Relationship: Ryoji's and Minato's relationship at first, as Minato is uncomfortable with the possible attention from the rest of the team and Ryoji does not want his mother to find out. Eventually subverted when Minato accidentally outs it. S.E.E.S. (aside from Junpei) however, explain that they already had an idea of what was going on.
• Seeing Through Another's Eyes: Mitsuru's telepathic ability allows her to do this with those she's close to.
• The Defroster: Ryoji takes it upon himself to break down Minato's walls when he first joins S.E.E.S., eventually succeeding.
• Willfully Weak: Minato, at first, refuses to use his magic out of fear of being unable to control it. Part of his development is him learning to control his power.
• You Can't Fight Fate: When Minato is told that his fate is to fight and protect the world from catastrophe, he declines it and states that he'll be the first to defy his destiny. Ironically, it is later that by fighting against Fate, Minato fulfills his own.

"Lives on the Line; Winner Takes All (The Answer)''