Fanfic / You See Them

You See Them is a series of Persona 5 Alternate Universe Fanfic by June-Luxray.

Ren Amamiya has spent his whole life seeing people who no one else can and being called crazy. By the time he reaches Tokyo on probation, he swears to himself that he will never speak to someone who supposedly isn’t there ever again.

Easier said than done as several spirits come calling as he leads the Phantom Thieves.

The main work ran from March to September of 2020. Additionally, a side-story covering interactions with his confidants (including the Royal ones) began on August 31, 2020.

The sequel, We See Them, covers the added content from Royal and began production in October 2020. An Interquel covering the DLC campaign of Persona 5 Tactica, You See Them - Repaint Your Heart, began production in December 2023 and finished in February 2024, with plans of doing the main story at a later date.

The author has also confirmed plans for an adaptation of Persona 5 Strikers.

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You See Them

Tropes in You See Them include:

• Abusive Parents: Ren's parents were not remotely supportive of him having I See Dead People, and regularly insisted that he was hallucinating it. In Chapter 33, Ren says that they were otherwise good parents, but Makoto puts it best:
  Makoto: Just because an abuser is nice to you some or even most of the time doesn’t mean they’re not an abuser.
• Actually Pretty Funny: When Sae sees Makoto and Ren together in the aftermath of Okumura's Palace, Makoto and Haru invent a story of him being gay with Ryuji. A few chapters later, the truth comes out after Sae's change of heart, and her reaction is this trope.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Ren is portrayed as fairly quiet, shy, and reserved; a far cry from his usual portrayal in fanfics.
• Adaptational Wimp: A very downplayed example concerning Ren. In canon, he gets through the interrogation and recruits Sae completely on his own, even through the drugs and beating, and is completely back to normal one day later. Here, he has Makoto's dad with him, helping him remember what to say (and what not to say) the whole time, and needs a couple of weeks to recover from the physical and mental trauma.
• Ascended Extra: Masumi Kitagawa (Yusuke's mother), Wakaba Isshiki, Genkei Niijima, and Ayumu Akechi, Goro's mother, are all side characters here despite being dead in canon (they're still dead, but thanks to Ren that's not as big of a problem as it would be normally). Also, Ren's own parents, who are completely absent in canon, though they're still mostly out of sight.
• The Atoner:
  • Kunikazu Okumura does everything in his power to aid the Phantom Thieves after his change of heart.
  • Ren's parents as well, though they mostly accomplish this by not appearing much.
• Ax-Crazy: Literally, even, for Haru, as in canon. It's not particularly surprising when we see that she inherited it from her father.
• Big "NO!": Kunikazu Okumura gives one after the Thieves defeat him, when Black Mask prepares to shoot Haru.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Ren gives one after his parents try to rationalize abusing him when they knew all along that he really could see ghosts:
  Joker: Shut. Up. Shut up! SHUT UP! You did nothing that ever did me any good, and you damn well know it!
• Big "WHAT?!":
  • Ryuji's reaction in Chapter 21 when Chihaya reveals that the Tokyo Whisperer's organization has already blacklisted Ren. Ann joins him in an even bigger one when Chihaya says it's because of his criminal record.
  • Morgana's reaction near the end of Chapter 25 when he sees the text from Makoto about Kobayakawa's death.
  • Ryuji gives another in Chapter 28 when Ren asks his team if he's not crazy, due to his parents' recent call stirring up doubts about his power.
  • Ryuji, again, in Chapter 31 after Ren's parents reveal through their Shadows that they had always known that Ren really was able to see ghosts.
• The Chain of Harm: The residents of Ren's hometown treated his parents as outcasts because his grandmother could see ghosts and didn't bother to hide it (their Treasure's seed was a brick with a paper attached saying "WITCH"), which led to them abusing Ren in order to get him to stop saying he could as well.
• Chekhov's Gun: In Chapter 21, in response to a question from Yusuke, Chihaya reveals that the only way a non-seer can possibly gain the ability to see ghosts is through a Near-Death Experience. Cut to 21 chapters later, and Goro Akechi gains the ability after the Thieves barely save him from his attempted sacrifice.
  • Crosses over with Chekovs Boomerang when all the Thieves (except for Sumire) get to see ghosts due to Yaldabaoth’s attempt to erase them from existence
• Cliffhanger:
  • In Chapter 14, Wakaba's ghost manifests in Futaba's Palace and tells Ren that it's time to come clean about his power.
  • Chapter 26 ends with Haru showing up at Leblanc carrying an injured Morgana, closing the chapter on her introducing herself.
  • Chapter 28 ends with Kobayakawa frantically warning Ren of Masayoshi Shido's role as the mastermind and, more pressingly, his plan to assassinate Kunikazu Okumura and frame the Phantom Thieves for it.
  • Chapter 31 ends with Ren's parents hanging up on Sojiro after the latter accidentally reveals that Ren told him about his ability to see ghosts.
  • Chapter 42 ends with Akechi gaining the ability to see ghosts, and Okumura's ghost proceeding to summon every single one of his victims' ghosts to confront him.
  • Chapter 50, the final chapter, ends with the lead-in to the new content from Royal: Ren, Akechi, Ayumu, and an unspecified Yoshizawa become aware that everything is going too well, and that something about it is wrong. Doubles as a Sequel Hook.
• Cursed with Awesome:
  • Ren feels this way for much of the story, and it takes a lot of persuasion from his friends (and learning the truth about his parents' abuse) for him to accept that it really is a gift.
  • However, the trope is played completely straight for Goro Akechi due to his previous victims—all of them—taking advantage of his new ability to express their displeasure almost immediately after the power is awakened.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the canonical game, Shadow Okumura was unceremoniously killed by Akechi after the Phantom Thieves left and took his Treasure. In this story, Shadow Okumura died by Taking the Bullet for Haru.
• Dirty Coward: Principal Kobayakawa. Even as a ghost.
• Dope Slap: In the vein of I Heard That:
  Sojiro: Wakaba's always been good at pep talks when she really meant it. (chuckles and smiles) Really shitty at it when she didn't mean it, though. (winces from chill striking the back of his head) It's the truth and you damn well know it, Wakaba.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Ayumu Akechi admits that she can't defend what Goro is doing, but she still loves him since he's her son.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he's upset with her for committing suicide and leaving him alone, it's made clear that despite everything Goro Akechi still loves his mother.
• Ghostly Chill: The only indication of a ghost's presence for those who can't see or hear them is the cold feeling on a person's skin whenever a ghost touches them. The surrounding temperature also drops dramatically with a sense of dread when angry ghosts are nearby, and the effects intensify with more of them around.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Kobayakawa starts working for the Thieves as a spy after he dies, but it's at least partly because he's scared he'll go to hell for his actions in life if he doesn't start trying to do good.
  • Later on, the SIU director joins him, and he states flat-out he's just in it to get revenge on Shido before he (probably) goes to hell.
• Heroic BSoD: After her father's Shadow dies Taking the Bullet for her, Haru goes into shock for a short time.
• Heroic Sacrifice: When Black Mask appears in Okumura's Palace to kill him, he trains his gun on Haru. Okumura's Shadow jumps in front of the gun to protect her, resulting in his death.
• Immune to Mind Control: The ghosts are all immune to the effects of Yaldabaoth's cognitive override, as all of them carry their Shadows with them, and inherently desire freedom from their aimlessly wandering afterlives. Joker points out that their revulsion to the new reality proves the masses don't want it, but Yaldabaoth rejects this and announces his intent to eradicate the "abominations" entirely and erase all doubt towards his worldview.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Ren confronted Shido when he was trying to kidnap/possibly rape a woman because he was led there by the ghost of the woman's sister. It went as well for Ren as it did in canon.
  • While Morgana doesn't leave the team, he does still impulsively go to Okumura's Palace on his own to scope the place out, leading to him and the Thieves meeting Haru.
  • The Phantom Thieves are forewarned of the Conspiracy's attempt to kill Okumura and lay the blame on them, and adjust their plans and calling card accordingly. Black Mask still kills Okumura, because the latter jumps in front of the bullet when he aims at Haru. But because they retooled the calling card to carry a warning about the assassination and also made sure to publicize it, the public's support only decreases to around 50%.
  • The Phantom Thieves steal Shido's treasure and bring down the whole conspiracy with him, and the public's reaction is still to deny the Phantom Thieves' existence and assume Shido is just sick and will get better soon, even without anyone pulling the strings on what they believe. Or, well, without anyone other than Yaldabaoth and his More than Mind Control pulling the strings.
• I See Dead People: Ren has been able to see and hear people's ghosts since he was a child. As it turns out, though, so can Chihaya Mifune. And Ren's grandmother could too - which led to her being viewed as insane, becoming an outcast, and her own family getting the same treatment as her, which led to his parents being Abusive Parents to Ren in an effort to get him to stop saying he saw them as well.
• I See Them, Too: As it turns out, in addition to her fortune-telling prowess Chihaya is another ghost-seer like Ren is, and after a rough start the two of them bond over it.
• It Runs in the Family: Genkei is incredibly intimidating when he gets mad, leading his fellow ghosts and Ren to remark that Makoto and Sae clearly take after him.
• It's Personal: Akechi is, to say the least of it, pissed when he discovers that he was Yaldabaoth's Unwitting Pawn for pretty much the entire story, and promptly buries any issues he has with the Thieves to focus on killing it.
• Jump Scare: The typical response of people who see a ghost appearing/teleporting in out of nowhere, even Ren (who's fairly used to it). Akechi gets it pretty badly a few times. Later on, so does the rest of the team.
• Keystone Army: Masayoshi Shido, in an attempt to secure his power after losing too many sources of income to the Phantom Thieves, uses his knowledge of the Metaverse to fuse all of his co-conspirators' Treasures with his own. He's confident in his Palace's defenses, but if a calling card is issued with the names of everyone involved, stealing Shido's Treasure will change the hearts of the entire Conspiracy.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: The yakuza Cleaner's Shadow leaves Shido's Palace after he's beaten by the Thieves, and Futaba states he's likely going to make it back to his own Palace by the time they send the calling card, meaning he won't be affected by the Keystone Army effect above.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Akechi, after gaining the ghost-seer abilities that Ren has, gets swarmed by the ghosts of all the people he killed, and their eventual decision on what to do with him is that he has to help all of them pass on by dealing with whatever is keeping them around. All of them.
• Loophole Abuse: Invoked. When Yusuke decided to join the team's bet about Ren's secretive superpowers (without Ren's knowledge), Yusuke points out to Ryuji that there's nothing about the bet saying that he can't use "insider knowledge" and as Yusuke already knew Ren's secret during the time he joined the bet, he effectively won. Ryuji and Ann don't really accept this argument, but Ryuji does agree to partially pay up after Yusuke explains that he only went into the bet for Ren's sake.
• Mama Bear: While Wakaba becomes a surogate mother for Ren, her viciousness in wanting to defend him only shows itself after Ren returns from the interogation, beaten to hell.
  Ren moaned and groaned in pain, sometimes even sniffling and softly weeping. Several times he peered up at Wakaba, who had screamed at the sight of him and stopped only at his pained wince.
  She was crying. Crying and muttering that Shido and everyone who had hurt her son needed to be destroyed. That if she was alive, they’d be suffering dearly, tenfold for what they did to him. She sat at his bedside the whole time.
• Morton's Fork: The Phantom Thieves' choice in regards to targeting Okumura after being warned of Shido's plan: if they send the calling card, the assassin will kill Okumura and frame the Thieves. If they don't, the assassin will send a forged calling card, then kill Okumura and frame the Thieves anyway.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Typical of a change of heart, Ren's parents apologize profusely, crying all the while, for what they did. It's far from enough for Ren to forgive them anytime soon, if ever.
• No Sympathy: When the ghosts decide that Akechi's punishment for his crimes is that he's going to help every single one of his victims find peace and pass on, with the addendum that they're probably going to haunt him until he's finished, none of the Thieves offer him even a hint of sympathy; if anything, they're laughing. Ren is flat-out glad that he's not going to be the one who's helping the ghosts move on in this case. Of course, it's justified in that Akechi did help frame the Thieves for Kunikazu Okumura's murder (which he was guilty of), killed both Kunikazu himself and Futaba's mother Wakaba, and directly or indirectly killed every single one of the other aforementioned ghosts...
• Not in This for Your Revolution: Kobayakawa, the SIU Director, and Goro Akechi are decidedly not on the side of the Thieves for the sake of helping people.
• Out of Focus: Aside from Sojiro and the other Thieves, almost all of Ren's confidants are this. The author stated that they plan to cover them in a side story, including the Royal ones, and posted that story shortly after publishing Chapter 45.
• Papa Wolf: Most fathers in the story are this, as much as they can be. Sojiro, Genkei Niijima, and even Kunikazu Okumura after his change of heart.
• Point of Divergence: Ren can see people's ghosts. Nearly every change in the story is a direct or indirect result of this.
  • Futaba's eavesdropping on Leblanc results in her hearing about Ren talking to her mother's ghost, who never hated her. It doesn't make a massive difference for the Palace infiltration, but Futaba does open up to them more willingly.
  • Between Sojiro being brought in on Ren's secret shortly afterward and the ghosts of Wakaba and the Niijimas' father, the Thieves have far more reliable adults in their lives, which helps mitigate some of the worse decisions in the base game, most notably Morgana briefly quitting the group.
• Pungeon Master: Almost as soon as he learns Ren's secret, Ryuji begins cracking "dead" and "ghost" jokes at every possible opportunity.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Makoto gets to give one of these to Kobayakawa in Chapter 26, and it is epic:
  Makoto: You listen to me, you son of a bitch. You were, and still are, even in death, a whiny, selfish, despicable excuse of a human being who is only concerned about his own wellbeing. You got your job as a lapdog of the people orchestrating murders of innocents, as well as the endangerment and injuries of those subject to psychotic breakdown. You had to know all of this if you were going to the police about it, but up until then, you were more than happy to turn a blind eye for your own gain! And what did all of this really get you in the end?! You died! You’re dead, and nothing you had followed you in death. If you want our help, you need to stop your groveling and complaining and help us, you pathetic, self-pitying weasel.
  • Genkei gives one in a later chapter after the SIU director joins their spy network of ghosts:
  Genkei: Listen here, you piece of shit. At least I died in the line of duty for something worthwhile and left something good behind in the world— my daughters. You died, sad and alone, betrayed by your own boss. You have no one and nothing to take pride in, and no significant legacy left behind you because you were too busy kissing ass in hopes of a little money and influence being thrown your way. What little you got counts for jack shit in death. What do you have to still be smug over, you dead sack of shit?
• Reformed, but Rejected: Played with in regards to several bad guys who change sides upon their deaths; the Thieves and their parental figures may not be eager to work with them or forgive them, but they are aware that they can use their help and they, the ghosts, have nothing left to lose.
• Revealing Injury: Joker manages to shoot Black Mask in the shoulder when he shows up to assassinate Okumura, though it's not enough to save him. Okumura later spies on Shido as a ghost and overhears that the medical treatment for Black Mask's gunshot wound was being publicized as an operation for appendicitis - the same reason Mishima had just given the Thieves for Akechi's sudden disappearance from the public eye.
• Running Gag:
  • Ren's utter hatred of "Wraith".
  • Ren getting startled by ghosts appearing in front of him out of thin air. Doubly so when Akechi gains the ability to see ghosts too, since he hasn't had 17 years to get used to it.
    • Whenever his shock is too overt with anyone nearby who doesn't know his secret, Ren blames his surprise on seeing a really big spider.
• Scream Discretion Shot: After being informed that he has to help the spirits of all his victims rest peacefully or they'll haunt him for the rest of his life, the new ghost-seer Akechi marches off to the bathroom, and moments later, everyone else hears a muffled scream of frustration.
• Secret-Keeper: More for the ghost-whispering than for being a Phantom Thief, in this case, but it's the usual suspects:
  • The rest of the Thieves find out, of course; Morgana becomes the first in Chapter 6 when Chihaya tells Ren that she shares his gift, him being in the bag as usual. In Chapter 9, Ren reluctantly exposes himself to Yusuke so the latter's mother can finally be at rest, and Futaba finds out around the same time through her wiretapping. They keep his secret until Wakaba uses Futaba's Palace to expose him to the remaining Thieves in Chapter 15. Finally, Haru finds out in Chapter 27, after formally joining the Thieves.
  • At Wakaba's prompting, Ren also tells Sojiro in Chapter 19. While the old man takes time to adjust, he's as supportive as possible but advises against him telling anyone else unless he absolutely must.
  • Makoto informs Sae in Chapter 39 after she rescues Ren from assassination.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Yaldabaoth tries to tempt Akechi after the Thieves make it to the temple a second time. Akechi responds by shooting him.
  Akechi: Shut up and die!
• Side Bet: Chapter 11 shows that Ryuji and Ann were betting on what Ren's special ability is, and Yusuke—who had already learned the truth—had also put one down. When the truth comes out a few chapters later, Ann and Ryuji refuse to pay him (1000 yen and a 12-pack of jagariko^note Stick-shaped potato chips, a popular Japanese snack and canonically one of Yusuke's favorites) due to him already knowing... though Ryuji concedes to give him the funds for the jagariko when Yusuke reveals he only got in on the bet for Ren's sake; namely, to plant the idea of the truth in the others' heads so they'd be less likely to freak out about it.
• Something Only They Would Say: The typical way that Ren proves his ability to see ghosts to people other than his teammates.
  • "It's Buchi cop time" is something Makoto, as a child, always said to her father when he left for work; Genkei has Ren tell her once his secret comes out.
  • "Remember that black coffee saves you at midnight" was a phrase that Sojiro and Wakaba came up with in just such a situation as one of them being a ghost.
  • Genkei gives Ren numerous things to say during his interrogation that make Sae think of her father and later tells him to ask her if she's "having a Sae sigh," something he used to say whenever she sighed or got huffy.
• Spanner in the Works: Kobayakawa's ghost was able to warn the Thieves that Shido was planning to pin the mental shutdowns on them before they did their raid on Okumura's Treasure, which led to them altering the calling card to warn both him and the general public that they weren't responsible for the mental shutdowns. And later on, Okumura himself is able to piece together that Akechi is Shido's assassin.
• Spared, but Not Forgiven: Goro Akechi is Spared by the Adaptation as below, but the Thieves make it clear that they're only rescuing him at the pleading of his mother, and they still want him to pay for his crimes.
• Spared by the Adaptation: They cut it down to the wire to the point that a bullet has been fired and almost strikes the fatal blow, but the Phantom Thieves ultimately manage to prevent Goro Akechi's death.
• Spirit Advisor: Genkei Nijima plays this role to Ren during Sae's interrogation, staying with him unseen through his ordeal, helping him remember things and prompting phrases to say that makes her think of her father.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Ren is on the receiving end of both sides of this on many occasions from many ghosts. And even the ones that don't get a kick out of scaring him almost never apologize for it.
• Super-Empowering: The only way a non-seer can possibly gain the ability to see ghosts is through a Near-Death Experience.
  • Goro Akechi gains the ability after the Thieves barely save him from his cognitive double on Shido's ship.
  • And later, the rest of the Phantom Thieves gain the ability after the final battle against Yaldabaoth due to the latter's influence erasing the Thieves from existence. A later chapter of the side story confirms that the Thieves kept the power after the events of Royal, meaning it wasn't just from the actualization beginning, and another chapter reveals that it's more likely for the power to awaken among Persona-users. They theorize it was even more likely with the fact that they all knew about ghosts and desired the ability for themselves.
• Tempting Fate: In Chapter 31, after failing to save Okumura, explaining everything about the Phantom Thieves to his ghost and Sojiro, learning that Kobayakawa got a forged calling card, and having to pretend to be gay with Ryuji to prevent Sae from murdering him for dating Makoto, Ren wonders if things could get any worse. Cut back to Leblanc where Ren's parents are calling, and Sojiro accidentally lets slip that he knows about Ren's powers, causing them to flip out.
• The Reveal: Ren finally tells his team his secret in Chapter 15, after Wakaba's ghost proves it in Futaba's Palace.
• This Is Gonna Suck: This is Ren's reaction whenever he has no choice but to tell someone about his powers.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Morgana's reaction near the end of Chapter 24 after the phone call from Ren's parents, tying in with Unstoppable Rage below.
• Touché: From Chapter 6, after Chihaya inadvertently exposes Ren's secret to Morgana, and the latter asks why he had kept it secret:
  Ren: I was scared that you’d think I’m crazy just like everyone else... I see and hear people that most people can’t see or hear, and have no way to prove it but with what they tell me.
  Morgana: I’m a human who lost his true form to turn into what looks like a magical, talking cat because of the Metaverse, an alternate dimension of human cognition. Why in the world would I think you’re crazy, especially after all you’ve done to prove it?
  Ren: Touché.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • Surrounded by his berserk teammates, Ren remains coldly calm before and especially after stealing his parents' hearts due to learning that they had always known he could see ghosts and tried to stamp it out of him through abuse.
• Trauma Button: For the longest time, Ren does everything he can to keep his ability a secret, and just the thought of it being exposed or telling anyone about it puts him in a cold sweat. The first time Chihaya met him and said he was a ghost talker like her (in front of Morgana), he panicked and took off.
  • He also doesn't take it well when people call him crazy, though that changes after learning that his parents always knew he wasn't.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • The general sentiment of the Phantom Thieves towards Ren's parents, who abused and gaslit him regarding his ability to see ghosts, especially after they call in Chapter 24 and reaffirm the treatment. Morgana, the only one who hears it, goes berserk as soon as the call ends, and the sentiment spreads to Futaba, Sojiro, and the rest of the Thieves when they hear it.
    • Kawakami feels the same way when Ren tells her about it.
• Villain Has a Point: When Akechi says that Yaldabaoth ruined his life for the sake of "a fucking game", Yaldabaoth replies, "You ruined yourself; I merely gave you the tools."
• Villainous Lineage: Haru seems to get her sadism from her father: even after the latter's Heel–Face Turn, they both take a little too much pleasure in seeing Akechi get swarmed by the ghosts of the people he murdered.
• Walking the Earth: A pastime of several ghosts, who linger long enough to see everything that the planet has to offer before moving on.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 29 - Despite their best efforts to prevent it and being forewarned, the Thieves are unable to prevent Akechi from killing Kunikazu Okumura after his Shadow dies Taking the Bullet for Haru.
  • Chapter 42 - While it's incredibly close, the Thieves manage to save Akechi's life - and accidentally give him the ability to see ghosts like Ren.
  • In Chapter 50, after defeating Yaldabaoth, the rest of the Thieves all gain the ability to see ghosts, and without any previous indication of Royal content in the fanfic, the Third Semester begins, and at the end of the chapter, Yoshizawa (who has gone explicitly unnamed, leaving her identity unclear) has shown up.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 8, Masumi Kitagawa demands to know why Ren won't help her speak to her son and help her move on, despite them being finished with Madarame ages ago and currently in the middle of Kaneshiro's Palace. While Ren is incredibly reluctant, he has to agree to let Masumi talk to Yusuke the moment they finish with the Palace.
• Xanatos Gambit: The Thieves' answer to the Morton's Fork above: ready themselves in the Palace and publicize a calling card that tells of their knowledge of the assassin. They'll change Okumura's heart either way; if they save him, perfect. If not, at least they diffuse the attempt to frame them, and Okumura's ghost will give them more knowledge of Shido and his conspirators.
• You Can See Me?: I mean, with a title like that, what were you expecting? Becomes something of an Oh, Crap! phrase for Ren, as almost every ghost who he makes eye contact says this, which triggers Ren's anxiety about seeing ghosts.

You See Them - Confidants

Tropes in You See Them - Confidants include:

• Armor-Piercing Response: From Chapter 11, when Ren has to reveal his secret to someone for the umpteenth time (this being before changing his parents' hearts):
  Ren: Whatever happened to me keeping my damn mouth shut about all this ghost stuff?
  Haru: You found your people and no longer have to hide like you did; that's what happened, Ren-kun.
• The Atoner: In Chapter 8, Madarame fits this after he dies in prison, unable to move on due to the emptiness of his life and spending goodness knows how long Walking the Earth to come to terms with himself.
• Big "WHAT?!": Ren does this (surprising even himself) in Chapter 2 after Ryuji admits that he accidentally blew his secret to Mishima.
• Cassandra Truth: Ren's friends reassure him this way in Chapter 11 of the side story, when circumstances force him to reveal his secret to Ohya (the ghost-whispering, that is; she had long since figured out he was a Phantom Thief).
  Morgana: Besides, if she tried to tell someone, who would believe her? She's a known drunkard.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: As Ren has been able to see ghosts since birth, he's had ample time to grow desensitized to the fact that many of the ghosts he sees are partly or fully nude or horrifically mutilated. This is shown in Chapter 7 where they meet a ghost who died with his pants down and another who was decapitated in a motorcycle accident, and Ryuji has to get used to it as well.
• Cursed with Awesome: All of the Thieves are adamant that Ren's power really is a gift, and none more than Yusuke. His quirkiness and passion for art allow him to think little to nothing of the perspectives of others or the gruesome or unseemly appearances of some of the deceased. He comes to understand the drawbacks of the power for the first time in Chapter 8 when, sometime after the events of We See Them, Madarame dies of a stroke and Yusuke has to deal with his ghost.
• Dumbass Has a Point: In Chapter 4, Taiki's ghost needs to clear the air with Kawakami before he and his real parents can move on. Ren tries writing a note with his message, but...
  Ryuji: This is dumb, you know that, right, Ren? She’s gonna figure it out! Won’t matter which way you cut it.
  Morgana: Wow. Didn’t expect the words of wisdom to come from Blondie.
  Ryuji: Ah, shuddup, cat!
• Eye Scream: In Chapter 6, Wakaba attacks Youji whenever he comes to Leblanc. The first time he starts tormenting Futaba, Wakaba tries jamming her fingers in his eyes, and he hisses in pain. The second time, she does it harder, and he screams.
• Foregone Conclusion: Chapters 7 and 8 of the side story occur after the events of Royal, but were posted when We See Them was unfinished. But it's hardly a spoiler that the Phantom Thieves win against Doctor Maruki in the end.
• Intrepid Reporter: Ohya and Kayo, as in canon. After circumstances lead to Ren admitting his secret to them, Kayo deliberately prolongs her unfinished business for as long as possible to make the most of her status as a ghost to uncover as many stories as she can for Ohya.
• I See Them, Too:
  • Kaoru, Iwai's son, also turns out to be a ghost seer, with his deceased mother having watched over him since he was an infant.
  • Shiho also gained the ability after her attempted suicide.
• Lady Swears-a-Lot: Kayo Murakami, Ohya's partner, is unapologetically this.
• Only Mostly Dead: Kayo Murakami, Ichiko Ohya's partner, was left comatose and braindead after a mental shutdown, as in canon. This was enough for her soul to manifest as a ghost despite her body still being technically alive; it's further muddled since Kayo mentions others in the same circumstances have not become ghosts, and they theorize it depends which parts of the brain are damaged beyond repair. Unlike other examples, though, there doesn't seem to be any hope of recovery; the possibility comes up, but Kayo believes that any hope died when she became a ghost.
• Secret-Keeper: It's rather the central point of the story that everyone who knows that Ren is Joker also knows he can see ghosts.
  • Takemi hears Ren mumble in his sleep about being able to see ghosts during the clinical trials; she initially dismisses it, but considers it more after the second time it happens, and becomes certain after Oyamada's change of heart, preceded by Ren being completely certain that Miwa wasn't dead. She also keeps Akechi's secret when the time comes.
  • Mishima finds out on the Hawaii trip thanks to—what else?—Ryuji opening his big mouth. Of course, as usual, Mishima is as supportive as he can be.
  • Iwai takes it more easily than most people since his son Kaoru can also see ghosts; Ren gives away his ability by accident when he sees Kaoru's mother with him and talks to her before realizing she's a ghost.
  • Kawakami is the first confidant shown in the side story that Ren deliberately confesses to, letting her and Taiki have one last conversation so he and his real parents can finally move on.
    • On another note, Wakaba is the only one to learn about Ren hiring her through the maid service, and though judgmental, she doesn't tell anyone else.
  • Yoshida, appropriately, doesn't find out by any arcane means; he discerns that Ren suffers from trauma the same way he himself flinched at "No-Good Tora," but just as Ren helped Yoshida build up his confidence, Yoshida encouraged Ren in every conversation they had. Which leads to Ren telling him everything with no outside influence after learning the truth about his parents.
  • Ohya finds out thanks to Kayo, her partner, having a ghost despite not being technically dead. She gets Ren's help to point Ohya in the right direction, but for once, she tries to be careful so that he doesn't have to come clean about his powers. But between Ren Saying Too Much when he gives her advice and Kayo accelerating the change of heart on Ohya's boss after he doubles her quota again, Ren resigns himself to admitting the truth to her. She takes it extremely well.
  • For an example other than Ren, Shiho also became a ghost seer after her attempted suicide, which she admits to Ann sometime after the events of We See Them. In the process, she learns that Ren was born with the ability and that the rest of the Thieves acquired it on Christmas Eve. Shiho's parents found out and took it about as well as Sojiro did, while Ann accidentally comes out to her parents when the ghost of one of their recently deceased business partners shows up. The conversation that eventually results from that leads to Ann and her parents starting a closer, more open relationship; however, she still doesn't tell them about being one of the Phantom Thieves.
• Shout-Out:
  • In Chapter 7 of the side story, when Ryuji questions Yusuke's decision to be eating ice cream when it's 5 degrees, Yusuke answers, "The cold never bothered me anyway," prompting groans from the others.
  • Also in Chapter 7, near the end of the chapter, Ryuji's mother mentions a therapist that Chihaya knows who's also a ghost seer, one Dr. Sonomura. Or, more precisely, Maki Sonomura from Persona 1 and Persona 2.
  • Chapter 9 has Ren mention a game called Kingdom Spades and how there was originally supposed to be only one "latchkey sword," only for there to turn out to be so many that they stopped feeling rare.
• Something Only They Would Say:
  • Taiki Takase, Kawakami's former student, has a few of these that convince Kawakami that it was really him speaking, including the phrases "que sera, sera" and "math is the devil" as well as a love of history, especially ancient history.
  • Ohya recognizes that Ren really was talking to Kayo due to her crass and vulgar language.
• Terrible Pick-Up Lines: In Chapter 6, Ren tells Sojiro that Wakaba has been telling him all about Sojiro's pick-up lines, and apparently, she liked the bad ones best.
  Ren: She said you ALMOST had her with 'did it hurt when you ascended through the crust of the earth? Because you're hot as hell.'
• This Is Gonna Suck: Ren quotes the trope name verbatim in Chapter 4 when he tries, not really believing he'll succeed, to help Taiki Takase and his parents get closure with Kawakami without revealing his secret.
• Touché: From Chapter 5, after Ren tells Yoshida his secret and Yoshida suggests a government position for helping ghosts:
  Yoshida: Imagine it: Minister of Ghost Affairs! It has a ring to it.
  Ren: Sounds like something out of a book.
  Yoshida: (scoffs) Doesn't the very concept of the Phantom Thieves and ghosts existing already sound like something out of a book?
  Ren: (snorts) Touche, Yoshida-sensei... touche.
• Tranquil Fury: Ren when he speaks to the Takases in Chapter 4, having been made aware of what they were doing to Kawakami and had done to Taiki.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • In Chapter 6, Wakaba is incensed about her brother Youji's behavior from the first time he comes into Leblanc. It gets worse every time, up until the last time when he tries attacking Futaba and then threatens to sue Ren when he trips and falls. She goes so berserk that for an instant, Sojiro, Futaba, and Youji can see and hear her.
  Wakaba: YOOOOOOUUUUJJJJIIIIIIIII! GET AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN AND GO TO HELL!
  • Far more implicit in Chapter 11, but Kayo is livid when she hears Ohya talk about the blatant injustices she noticed in the public record concerning Ren's criminal record.
• Walking the Earth: We get two specific instances of this in Yusuke's chapter of the side story, set after the events of We See Them. The first is Kaneko, the senior pupil of Madarame's who committed suicide and didn't actually move on. Yusuke enthusiastically handles his final regret of conveying the wonders he'd seen from Everest's peak to the ocean floor in an expansive piece of art. The second is Madarame himself who, after dying from a stroke, decides to follow Kaneko's example in an attempt of coming to terms with everything. It's implied it will be a long journey.

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BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT, BOTH FOR THE ABOVE FIC AND THE SOURCE MATERIAL!

We See Them

Tropes in We See Them include:

• Adaptational Badass: Raoul, Ren's Third Stage Persona, was as strong as the other Phantom Thieves Third Stage Persona, but Satanael easily outclasses him. This made him a very powerful Persona on his own merit but something of a Power Up Letdown compared to Satanael. In this story, Word of God confirms that Raoul will be as utterly overpowered as someone who has evolved from Satanael can be.
• Adaptation Expansion: In the game, the treatment center of Maruki's Palace has three questions to identify "abnormalities," with "wrong" answers leading to Shadow fights. This fic adds a fourth question relevant to the fic:
  You have the power to see ghosts, when few others do. While you run the risk of seeming mad, you have a unique advantage. You fear others' rejection, but you want to help others. What do you do?
  A: Tell a small, trusted group of friends the truth so they can support and validate you.
  B: Speak on behalf of ghosts to help them move on, at the risk of backlash from the disbelieving.
  C: Isolate yourself from others altogether to avoid pain and potential embarrassment.
  D: Start a cult and gain money and fame.
  E: Go about your life as normal while ignoring ghosts altogether.
  • In the game, the only time that the Thieves agreed with Maruki was the third question, where when asked what they would do with the power to steal hearts, the "correct" answer was to do what they did: steal evil hearts to fix society. However, they agree with Maruki that the answer to the fourth question is A. Of course, he did base his reasoning on his interactions with Joker.
• All-Powerful Bystander: Averted by Lavenza in Chapters 17 and 18; when Ren is kidnapped by Maruki, she sends Futaba a message to call all of the Thieves together to Leblanc. Then, shortly after they break Maruki's spell, she shows up in person and explains the situation. Bear in mind also that existing in Maruki's reality is strenuous for her; she pushed through it so she could save Ren.
• Always Second Best: The root of Sumire's trauma and troubles; she finally confronts her sister about it in Chapter 11, and while it's not enough to lay her depression to rest, it's a start that they plan to follow up on.
• Ascended Extra: Kasumi's ghost becomes as much a friend of Ren's as Sumire, even before she Awakens to her own Persona.
• Badass in Distress: Ren ends up in this situation when Maruki kidnaps him at his weakest and puts him into a magical coma to prevent him from interfering anymore; Lavenza has to personally intervene to gather the rest of the Thieves and then send them off to save him. Then the actual rescue involves fighting through all of the Personas he had except Satanael, the rest of the Thieves drawing aggro while Futaba focuses on breaking the spell.
• Barred from the Afterlife: In Chapter 14, Ryuji helps out the ghost of his elderly neighbor Hayashi-san pass on, only for her ghost to not disappear. She describes it as hitting a wall and bouncing back. It's implied, and later confirmed, that Maruki had set this up: not only has he barred anyone from passing through to the Sea of Souls, he's trying to summon others back from it.
• Big "WHAT?!": Kasumi’s reaction in Chapter 10 when Sumire says that she’ll keep seeing Maruki and pretending that she’s Kasumi.
• Broken Masquerade: Before it can truly set in, the revelation that a Palace is still active snaps the Thieves and their ghost relatives out of the actualization. That doesn't stop most of them from fully succumbing after New Year's, though...
• Cliffhanger:
  • Chapter 8 ends with Sumire accidentally entering Maruki's Palace...where Kasumi is completely visible, freaking Sumire out and sending her running into the Palace.
  • Chapter 15 ends with Ren having a Heroic BSoD when Morgana, Sojiro, Wakaba, and Futaba succumb to Maruki’s actualization.
  • Chapter 17 ends with Maruki politely kidnapping Ren into his Palace.
• Code Name: As a complement to Sumire's being Violet, Kasumi's is Rose.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: In Chapter 20, when Ren's allies tried to apologize to Ren for betraying him and indirectly hurting him by falling for Maruki's actualization, Ren instead says that he's used to being betrayed in an attempt to assure them. This only served to make them feel worse about the problem instead.
• Didn't See That Coming: Morgana, understandably, is surprised when Kasumi's ghost gains a Persona, something he hadn't thought possible.
• Easily Forgiven: Defied Trope. The Thieves and the ghosts still couldn't forgive themselves for abandoning Ren and making him do all the heavy lifting of freeing them from Maruki's actualization, indirectly hurting him in the process. Hence, after they rescue him, they refuse to cooperate when he vehemently tries to brush it all off.
• Exact Eavesdropping: Dr. Maruki was trying to return Ren's pin but ended up hearing him talking to Kasumi Yoshizawa's ghost. Maruki could only hear half of the conversation, but Ren said just enough for the man to collect all the pieces.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: In a Played for Laughs example, Kasumi Yoshizawa threatens to tell on Ren if he doesn't stop what he's planning to do to Kamoshida... a pity that she's dead and can only tell other ghosts.
  If you don't stop, I'll tell...
  Beat
  ...you win this round, Ren Amamiya...
• The Extremist Was Right: Possibly. Sumire admits in Chapter 11 that she was actually planning on killing herself even before Kasumi died and made her mental state worse. Maruki's actualization might have prevented her from going through with it until Ren and Kasumi were able to snap her out of it.
• Fighting from the Inside: It's strongly implied that Satanael was doing this in Chapter 19 when Maruki manifested Ren's Personas to fight the Phantom Thieves. Maruki notes, with a grimace mind you, that Satanael was "resisting" him, implied to be because Ren himself was still resisting Maruki.
• First-Episode Spoiler: The first scene of Chapter 1 ends by revealing which Yoshizawa arrived at the end of the main story: Kasumi. The actual Kasumi.
• Flunky Boss: In Chapter 19, when the Thieves confront Maruki in his Palace, in a twisted echo of what happens in the game, he manifests the Persona of his prisoner to subdue them. Or rather, Personas; he calls 16 powerful Personas from Ren's heart, with 15 answering the call (all but Satanael), and it's all that the Thieves can do to buy time until Oracle manages to wake the comatose Ren up and force the fight to end.
• Freak Out: In Chapter 7, Ren finally admits the truth to Sumire. She denies it, calls him crazy, runs away, and redoubles on her training and studies to avoid thinking about what she already knows is true.
• Friendly Enemy: Maruki has no animosity towards any of the Thieves, and despite knowing he brainwashed Sumire (and that he's responsible for the world getting warped), neither Ren nor Sumire has any trouble having a friendly conversation with him either. Kasumi, not so much...
• Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: In Chapter 9, the twins accidentally find their way into Maruki's Palace, where Sumire can actually see her. Kasumi tries and fails to convince her of the truth...and after one denial too many, she snaps.
  Kasumi: I can’t do this! I can’t watch you live a lie! Amamiya-senpai was telling the truth—I begged him to come clean, and now I regret putting him through how you reacted! I’m a ghost, Sumire! I‘m dead! DEAD! Kasumi Yoshizawa is dead, but Sumire Yoshizawa lives, and she has to carry on our dream, no matter what anyone says! (slaps Sumire's cheeks) Get it through your head! I—Kasumi—am DEAD, and Sumire is ALIVE! You have to snap out of this! YOU ARE SUMIRE YOSHIZAWA!
• Guardian Angel: Amitiel, the angel of truth, Kasumi's Persona.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Kasumi isn't good at keeping a cool head, and becoming a ghost seems to have only made matters worse.
• Heel Realization: In a minor example, Kasumi—tasked by Igor and Lavenza to help break Maruki's spell—urges Ren hard to break his friends out of it, such that he speaks to the ones not hanging around Leblanc in one day. When Ren brings up near the end that he feels like he's being pushed like he was with Sumire, which had ended badly for him, Kasumi immediately calms down and shows more concern for his well-being.
• Heroic BSoD: Ren has one when Sojiro, Wakaba, and the other Thieves succumb to Maruki’s actualization, literally making himself sick with how overwhelming it all is.
• Heroic RRoD: According to Lavenza in Chapter 18, Ren expended most of his power breaking the other Thieves out of the actualization, all of them in one day. Which, you know, wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that right as he was about to start recovering his energy, Maruki kidnapped him. After that's dealt with, he has to take a day to recover before they start the mission.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Non-fatal but still epic example in Chapter 19: while dealing with the blitz of Personas that Maruki got from Ren, Rose invokes Amitiel to redirect some of their final blows to her, knocking her out of the rest of the fight.
• Hero of Another Story: Dr. Sonomura. In addition to her time in [[Franchise/Persona other games, she's the one who broke Rumi out of her actualization prior to the events of the story.]]
• Hope Spot: In Chapter 19, just as the Thieves are on the verge of defeating Maruki's blitz of controlled Personas, Maria in the background heals all of their enemies and revives a couple of the defeated ones.
• How We Got Here: Chapters 2 through 14 cover Joker's interaction with the Yoshizawa twins and Maruki that occurred offscreen during the main story.
• Immune to Mind Control: Averted - it turns out that, unlike it was with Yaldabaoth, the current Palace ruler can affect ghosts and Persona-users mentally, though certain ghosts seem immune (namely Ayumu and the real Kasumi though the latter may be because she knew about it ahead of time and already rejected it). However, it isn't full-blown Mind Control like Yaldabaoth's - it appears, at first glance, to be a strong suggestion/More than Mind Control. This is later implied to be because Maruki found out about the existence of ghosts thanks to Ren's ability to see them.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • The Thieves succeed in breaking out of the actualization on Christmas Day and become aware of Maruki's Palace in Odaiba. But with the MetaNav undergoing a painfully slow update and no access to the Velvet Room, they can't enter the Metaverse to do anything about it yet.
  • The Thieves are forewarned about what Maruki can and will do, fulfilling their dreams, but they resolve to refuse it in favor of the truth. One week later, everyone but Ren, Akechi, his mother, and the twins have succumbed to the actualization.
• I Resemble That Remark!: In Chapter 20, when Takemi advises the group on how to take care of Ren, who has a cold:
  Ren: I'm right here...
  Takemi: (smiling wryly) I know. I'm telling them this because you're a moron who won't rest unless you're forced to.
  Ren: How dare you call me out on something that is completely true?
• I See Dead People: Thanks to the events in the previous story, it now applies to all of the Phantom Thieves...except Sumire. It also applies to Rumi's husband and daughter, and Dr. Sonomura.
• Jump Scare: Double Subverted. On the Hawaii trip, while Ren is browsing the gift shop, Sumire sneaks up behind him and tries to scare him. He saw her coming, so he’s about to feign being frightened... and then Kasumi’s ghost pops up out of nowhere, yells "BOO!" and scares him for real. The Yoshizawas are both left in hysterics.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Kasumi's death made her even more overprotective of Sumire and outright paranoid about her safety, to the point of initially being hostile to Ren after she learned about his record, and hating Dr. Maruki even after the Time Skip. Taken to the logical extreme when she Awakens in Maruki's Palace, making her a guardian knight with a guardian angel as a Persona.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In Chapter 14, when the train ride finally ends, they remark on it had been a long train ride, appropriate for a long story, with Yusuke comparing it to an author's intervention and Futaba saying that doing that would be some lazy writing, like a bad fanfiction.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Pretty much everyone after they snap out of Maruki’s actualization.
• My God, You Are Serious!: Overlapping with Serious Business below, when Ren first tells Yoshizawa that he sometimes eats snik-snak bars without breaking them in half first, she laughs it off. Later, after they form the Confidant link, Yoshizawa asks if he meant it and briefly but seriously reconsiders whether or not they can be friends.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Maruki kidnapping and later placing Ren in a magical coma references the missed deadline ending in Royal, where Maruki puts Joker to sleep, albeit unlike Ren who was rescued in this story, Joker is stuck in a Deep Sleep.
  • When meeting Rumi, Ren gives the alias "Akira Kurusu", his other canon name choice.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: In Chapter 19, the rest of the thieves all lambast Maruki that any well intentions he had and the sympathies that the group had on him are lost when he not only attempted to decide what would be best for the whole world without the respective people's consent, including barring ghosts from passing on and attempting to summon them back from the Sea of Souls, when Ren demonstrated too much resistance to his plan and refused to stop, Maruki's response was to put him into a magical coma until his new reality became permanent, and then forced all of the Personas Ren had except for Satanael to stop the rest of the Thieves when they came to save their leader. After all of that, Maruki's attempts to justify his actions for the supposed sake of their happiness fell flat.
• Non-Elemental: Kasumi's specialty seems to be Almighty attacks.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Everyone's reaction to realizing that the Metaverse still exists - and that whoever's in charge of it can affect Persona-users and ghosts.
  • Dr. Maruki's reaction after he eavesdrops on Ren and Kasumi's conversation in Chapter 3, subsequently learning of Ren's ability to see ghosts and that Kasumi knows what Maruki did to her sister and is furious about it, which Ren now knows as well.
• Properly Paranoid: In Chapter 7, after Maruki visits, Sojiro is suspicious of him, not only because of his acute interest in cognitive psience but also because he seems to indicate that he knows that Ren can see ghosts. Wakaba dismisses his worries, but we all know that Sojiro is completely correct.
• Revenge Before Reason: When Lavenza and Igor charge Kasumi with keeping the Phantom Thieves on the right track in Maruki's reality, she tries to head this off at the pass:
  Lavenza: ...but remember to not let your own lust for revenge blind you.
  Kasumi: What's that supposed to mean? I don't want him dead, I think. Just... remorseful.
  (Lavenza gives Kasumi a look they don't like)
  Lavenza: ...As you say.
• Secret-Keeper:
  • As in the game, Morgana is the only one to know about Ren's interactions with Sumire. In this fic, he's also the only one to know about his interactions with Kasumi's ghost.
  • Ryuji's mother recognized her son from Shido’s calling card and remembers the events on Christmas Eve. In light of that, Ryuji told her everything and she agreed to keep their secret.
  • In Chapter 26, Ann reveals that Shiho has known their identities since Kamoshida went down and remembers Christmas Eve. But Ann plans to double up on this trope by telling her that she can see ghosts, and she muses on the possibility that Shiho can as well since she had her own Near-Death Experience.
    • A possibility confirmed in Chapter 9 of the Confidants side story. More details in that folder.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: Maruki learns about Ren's I See Dead People ability because he accidentally overheard him talking to Kasumi (Ren had forgotten his second-year pin and he was going to return it before overhearing the conversation). He admits to his knowledge in Chapter 11.
• Serious Business: In Chapter 4, Ren admits that he sometimes eats Kit-Kat—sorry, snik-snak bars without breaking them in half first. All of the other Thieves are legitimately disturbed.
  Futaba: (swats his arm) You monster! Heathen! Demon! Suffer!
  Ryuji: Dude, what the actual eff is wrong with you?!
  Akechi: And I thought I was a sick bastard.
  Ren: It's just candy! I don't do it all the time, even! Why do you guys care so much?!
  Sumire: Because it's unnatural and evil! Forget ghost seeing, this is the most shocking part of your identity!
  Yusuke: How shameful.
  (everyone agrees, including Makoto)
  Ren: Betrayal!
  Makoto: It's okay, I love you in spite of that. Though it is pretty disturbing...
• Sinister Scythe: Kasumi's weapon in the Metaverse.
• Something Only They Would Say: As before, this is the key to making people believe in his ability; at the end of Chapter 5, Ren says "Sometimes you just have to get back up in the saddle" to the brainwashed Sumire at Kasumi's direction. The actualization doesn't break, but it definitely cracks. And in the following chapter, he does it repeatedly to keep damaging the actualization.
• Sucks at Dancing: According to Kasumi, this is one way Sumire is better than her; Kasumi's gymnastic skill never translated to the dance floor and Sumire often got embarrassed by her sister's attempts.
• That Came Out Wrong: In Chapter 20:
  Yusuke: We...betrayed you...
  Ren: Eh, it's no big deal. I'm used to it.
  (everyone but the Akechis look horrified and guiltier)
  Ren: Wait—shit, that came out all wrong. All I'm trying to say is I've been hurt LOTS of times just as bad, if not worse, and, oh, this isn't helping...
• The Password Is Always "Swordfish": In Chapter 29:
  Rose: Do you know how many times Dad set the password on his computer to either of our names? 'Oh, time to reset it? Guess it's time for my other daughter to be the password again!'
  Oracle: That is SO wrong. That's two of the worst passwords he could choose! He may as well just make it one-two-three-four-five!
  Fox: That's the combination on my luggage.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After the first fight against Maruki in his Palace—or rather, after breaking his puppet proxy free of the actualization—the Thieves lambast Maruki for his distorted ambition. Violet cuts deepest by admitting to him that what he did to Ren has destroyed the faith and good feelings she had towards him, genuinely devastating the man. But not enough to make him rethink his plan.
• This Is Unforgivable!:
  • The ghost of the real Kasumi absolutely despises Dr. Maruki for his Brainwashing for the Greater Good act on Sumire. When Maruki admits to his knowledge of her and tries to talk to her, she refuses to hear a word he says. A pity, that, as it would have given crucial insight into his master plan. And while her hatred diminishes somewhat as they infiltrate his Palace, she's never going to condone anything he does.
  • Ironically, both here and in the original game, Sumire doesn't have any resentment towards him at first, since he arguably prevented her from being Driven to Suicide out of despair. But she never truly forgave him for the pain he caused Kasumi, and she refuses to forgive him for kidnapping and drugging Ren.
• Traveling at the Speed of Plot: Most of the first fourteen chapters are just the Thieves taking a train to Maruki's Palace, with Ren recapping his history with the Yoshizawa twins on the way. The cast lampshades how long the ride took when they finally get there, with Yusuke Leaning on the Fourth Wall at least and showing Medium Awareness at most.
• Unexpected Character: While she'd been mentioned in passing a couple of times in the Confidant story, Chapter 30 brings in Dr. Maki Sonomura, professional psychiatrist, ghost seer, and familiar with cognitive matters. She helps Rumi break free of Maruki's actualization and say goodbye to her parents.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • In Chapter 18, Kasumi goes berserk when she finds out that Maruki kidnapped Ren.
  Kasumi: THAT'S IT! I'LL KILL HIM! HE'S DEAD!
  • In Chapter 19, the rest of the Thieves become livid as well, even Violet.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 9: Not only does Sumire completely break free of the actualization in October, but at the same time, Kasumi, a ghost, unlocks her Persona!
  • Chapter 13: During the final battle of the main story, Kasumi ended up meeting Lavenza on her own, who informed her of how big a threat Maruki was about to become. After she reaffirmed an unwillingness to live (as a ghost or otherwise) under Maruki's control, Kasumi was brought to speak with Igor.

You See Them - Repaint Your Heart

Tropes in You See Them - Repaint Your Heart include:

• Adaptational Sexuality: Not that there was any mention or allusion to it in canon, but Guernica expresses herself to be queer in this story.
• Adaptation Name Change: In the original DLC, Tao goes exclusively by Guernica even after she regains her senses. Here, the name Guernica remains associated with the vigilante muralist while Tao sets up a legitimate business, a tattoo parlor.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Not for personality, but for nature. In this story, as in Futaba's Palace, the ghost of the real Luca has replaced Guernica's cognition of her.
• Armor-Piercing Response: After Luca rescues the Thieves, they (mostly Kasumi and Akechi) quickly start interrogating her. Kasumi in particular demands answers, only for Luca's response to - pretty much instantly deflate her.
  Kasumi: What's this about Guernica losing herself? She's clearly insane! Why do you care so much? Who is she to you? How can we trust you? You could just be working for her!
  Luca: She's my sister.
• But Now I Must Go: Upon Jerri's defeat, Luca's unfinished business is finally finished, and after a tearful goodbye, she departs for the afterlife.
• If I Wanted You Dead...: When Joker questions if they can trust Luca, Luca points out that if didn't want them to live, she wouldn't have bothered to help the Thieves escape Guernica - she would just have stood back and let them die.
• Lying by Omission: The only choice left to Joker, Rose, and Violet when they're sucked into the Metaverse with Akechi in the middle of the casino heist. While they cover up the fact that Ren can and has always been able to see ghosts, they tell the truth about Kasumi being one, how she watches over Sumire, how both twins Awakened to their Personas in a mysterious Palace in Odaiba, and how they've been talking things out in Mementos. And when they finish their adventure in the Streets, Ren promises to tell him the truth when the time is right if he's lying, and Akechi is forced to leave the matter aside with the Casino heist so close. The original fic, though, does have a slight Retcon in the engine room to reference this change.
• Point of Divergence: In the original DLC, to preserve continuity in Royal, the Thieves got Laser-Guided Amnesia after freeing Tao/Guernica from the Streets. In this story, the fact that Ren, Akechi, and the twins keep their memories changes Tao's fate drastically. Akechi, in an act of genuinely benign passion, locates Luca's body for a proper burial and rakes her parents over the coals for abandoning her and Tao. Ren gives Tao a business card for Leblanc, telling her to come by if she needs a meal, and she immediately becomes a regular and a confidant (though not a Confidant). And while she plans to set up a tattoo parlor in Yongen-Jaya so she can have some steady legitimate income, she's also adamant about joining the Phantom Thieves' efforts when it comes to helping ghosts, the better to help kids like her and Luca. All in all, a much happier ending.
• Secret-Keeper: Before the Streets fade, Ren gives Tao a business card for Leblanc while Luca whispers one last secret to her. Later, Guernica comes by Leblanc, meeting all of the Phantom Thieves and immediately being welcomed into their inner circle, and it turns out Luca told her that Ren could see ghosts.
• Shoot the Mage First: Luca says that this is Jerri's standard procedure for dealing with ghosts (or at least, Luca and Kasumi) - they can't kill them for good, since You Can't Kill What's Already Dead, but they can Zerg Rush them and prevent them from causing trouble if they try to fight alone.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Even amid the justified mockery, when Tao learns that Akechi has become a ghost seer himself, she says that she saw genuine goodness in his adamancy to get justice against Luca and Tao's parents, and urges that little light to continue growing.
• You Can't Kill What's Already Dead:
  • As a ghost, Rose can take infinitely more punishment than the other Persona-users. Even fatal injuries only result in her disappearing for a few minutes before she regenerates.
  • Jerri implies that this trope has been a thorn in her side when it comes to Luca as well.

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