It was going so well. They'd won. They'd stolen the world back... So why is Joker's reward another world on the brink of ruin? Crests? Magic's real here? And now teaching? Next you'll say the Metaverse is here in Fódlan as well... Okay, that was sarcasm but sure, why not? A Phantom Thief's work is never easy, or ever done it seems.
Professor Joker is a Persona 5/Fire Emblem: Three Houses crossover fanfic by 0n3dge. Taking place after the final battle of the original Persona 5, Ren Amamiya is transported to the world of Fodlan and is subsequently recruited to teach the Black Eagles at the Officers' Academy. The story is cross-posted on AO3
and Fanfiction.net.
Be warned of spoilers for both Persona 5 and Fire Emblem Three Houses.
Professor Joker contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Ren is thrown for a loop when he first meets Hubert, who reminds him of Akechi, since they have the same English dub voice actor, Robbie Daymond.
- Big Eater: Byleth notes that mercenaries don't always get to sit down and have a bite to eat, so she savors every chance she gets at a good meal. At one point, she uses her Divine Pulse to rewind time just to eat the same plate of curry she scarfed down a few moments prior instead of asking for seconds.
- Combat Pragmatist: Ren, naturally, has no qualms with fighting dirty. With the revelation that he will have to lead students on monthly excursions to dispose of bandits, he hopes to instill this mindset into his students so that they will be able to survive.
- Cowardly Lion: Bernadetta is as socially withdrawn and nervous as ever, but time and time again she proves herself a vital asset in the right circumstances. Namely, she wastes no effort in landing three consecutive shots in the center of a target when Ren promises to give her the rest of the day off, and she ends up being the deciding factor that allows Edelgard's team to win Capture the Flag.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The mock battle ends in an overwhelming victory for the Black Eagles without them losing a single member.
- Experienced Protagonist: By this point in time, Joker is at the height of his skill and knowledge. Granted he has lost a majority of his powers, but he knows how best to work with what he has.
- Gratuitous Japanese:
- The students and faculty start calling Ren "Sensei", the Japanese word for "teacher", to differentiate him from Byleth, his co-professor.
- Ren and Morgana will talk in Japanese when they're by themselves, as evidenced by italic text. Anna is also revealed to know Japanese, though on her end, it is because she picked it up from one of her sisters from Hoshido.
- The codenames for the Phantom Thieves born in Fodlan take after words from Japanese origin, contrasting how the original Phantom Thieves of Hearts used English words for their codenames.
- Meaningful Name: The codenames for the new Phantom Thieves hold some meaning for the person in question.
- "Rokuō" translates to "deer king." Fitting for Claude, the leader of the Golden Deer.
- "Mana" is derived from the magical energy that sorcerers call upon when they cast magic. Fitting for Lysithea, the spellcaster of the group.
- Mythology Gag:
- The manner through which Claude and Lysithea awaken their Personas is by confronting and accepting their Shadows as a part of themself, which is more in line with how someone gets their Persona in Persona 4 than Persona 5. The author pushes this connection further by including "I'll Face Myself-Battle" as the track that plays when Claude confronts his Shadow.
- As Female Byleth, the player could poach Sylvain from the Blue Lions simply by talking to him. Here, Sylvain quickly transfers to the Black Eagles after the mock battle, and while he claims to have transferred so he could learn from the winning class, Ren deduces from how Sylvain quickly ran the idea by Byleth that it was largely because he found her "easy on the eyes," which Sylvain doesn't deny.
- Jails from Persona 5 Strikers make an appearance as separate areas gated by jail cell doors in Mementos, with the combat in Jails shifting to the trademark mob fights of Dynasty Warriors. Hilariously, the notion of Dynasty Warriors-inspired combat set in Fodlan brings to mind another one of Koei Tecmo's games: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.
- On the topic of crossovers, the protagonists of the last crossover involving the Fire Emblem and Persona/Shin Megami Tensei universes were Mirage Masters who could each call upon the power of a specific character from the Fire Emblem franchise. In this story, the Fodlan-born Phantom Thieves follow a similar trend with their Personas. As of now, Claude has Robin and Lysthiea has Nyx.
- Shrinking Violet: Bernadetta, who Ren likens to Futaba before her change of heart. As a result, Ren is able to use that experience to get closer to Bernadetta the quickest out of everyone at the academy.
- Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration:
- Ren is still able to use his Third Eye to scan the area for hidden foes and secrets. This also has the side effect of letting him see and commune with Sothis at Byleth's side.
- Arséne's immunity to Curse magic and weakness to Bless magic is translated as an immunity to dark magic like Miasma Δ and weakness to light magic like Nosferatu, respectively.
- Mementos returns as an explorable area for the Phantom Thieves, but based on the collective unconsciousness of the people of Fodlan. As a result, Mona can't turn into his bus form, since Studio Ghibli (and movies as a whole) don't exist in Fodlan, and Shadows can take on the form of Fire Emblem enemies like the Risen from Awakening.
- The Stoic: Byleth doesn't let herself emote easily as a result of her mercenary upbringing, though she's also aware of how this makes her come off as aloof to her students and is trying to get better.
- Supreme Chef: Ren is able to replicate Leblanc's signature coffee and curry combo, which garners universal praise from the students and faculty. Even Seteth and Rhea, who are suspicious of Ren's lack of concrete past in Fodlan, can't deny that he at the very least makes an amazing cup of coffee.
- Tarot Motifs: As Ren grows closer to some of the characters in Fodlan, he will forge confidant links with them, and just like in Persona 5, each confidant is represented by an Arcana from the tarot deck. Notably, the confidants he has in Fodlan do not have an effect on the ones he currently has in Tokyo, meaning two characters can have overlapping Arcana.
- Temperance - Byleth
- Hermit - Bernadetta
- Fortune - Linhardt
- Priest - Hanneman
- Aeon - Sothis
- Tower - Seteth
- Merchant - Anna
- Moon - Lysithea
- Sun - Alois
- Hanged Man - Hubert
- Judgment - Rhea
- Magician - Claude
- Strength - Edelgard
- Devil - Manuela
- Teen Genius: Ren is seventeen, around the average age of a student at Garreg Mach, but he also possesses all the skills he has acquired over the course of Persona 5, including combat prowess and crafting. As a result, he is seen as this by the other faculty and students.
- You Remind Me of X: Several characters of at Garreg Mach remind Ren of his friends and confidants:
- Bernadetta: Futaba
- Alois: Yoshida
- Hubert: Akechi
- Your Days Are Numbered: Lysithea, as was the case in the games, has a shortened lifespan due to her dual crests. Her self-destructive behavior as a result of her limited time causes her to become a target in Mementos. Eventually becomes averted after Joker, Mona, and Rokuō confront her shadow. Joker absorbs her Minor Crest of Charon, nullifying the effects of Lysithea's curse to the point that it won't kill her.
