History Fanfic / PersonaTheSougawaFiles

* ThreeAmigos: Rina, Hikaru, and Izumi are essentially the core party, and are treated as three close friends before they start recruiting more people.

* {{Bishonen}}: Both Kazuki and Arata, though Arata falls into this more. People have even [[ViewerGenderConfusion mistaken him for a flat girl at first glance]].

* AdultFear:
** Imagine if your kid or someone you’re otherwise closely connected to got sick and suddenly experienced a massive change in behavior.
** [[spoiler: Worse yet - imagine finding out a crime lord is after, essentially, your kid via the crime lord bursting into your home, beating you to near death, destroying all of your belongings, and leaving behind a threatening note for your kid]].
** It gets really bad in the endgame: [[spoiler:imagine if said essential kid was mercilessly beaten down and mocked to the point of losing her spirit, and you're completely unable to help because you've been infected by the sickness listed above]].

* HypotheticalCasting: Arsene has responded to an anonymous question about which [=VAs=] she would pick for the Freedom Fighters (including the main villains) on [=Tumblr=]:
** Rina Oshiro: Creator/ErikaHarlacher
** Hikaru Hayashi: Creator/YuriLowenthal
** Izumi Akiyama: Creator/WendeeLee
** Wilma Hanley: Creator/ChristineMarieCabanos
** Ryouichi Fukui: Creator/TroyBaker
** Tamiko Maeda: Creator/KiraBuckland
** Kazuki Nakajima: Creator/TravisWillingham
** Arata Kobayashi: Creator/BrycePapenbrook
** Nobuyuki Itou: Creator/SteveBlum
** [[spoiler:Yuudai Honda]]: Creator/TheAutarch (Alex Rochon)

* RealityEnsues:
** The Freedom Fighters think it best to keep going against Nobuyuki despite him being Sougawa's biggest crime lord, as they can take on his men individually. [[spoiler:This gives Rina a nasty shock when she comes home to find Nobuyuki attacked her apartment and her sister personally]].
** Even though the Freedom Fighters are doing all they can to keep up with the Shadows, as an alien species they simply prove to be growing too powerful. [[spoiler:While they defeat Shadow Arata, he's able to one-shot most of them left and right. The team decides to shift to attacking at the source]].
** Yuudai, a normal human (albeit with gadgets), deals with eight Persona users at once [[spoiler:by running away. He even says [[LampshadeHanging the party's crazy to think he's going to fight them]]]].

* HypotheticalCasting: Arsene has responded to an anonymous question of which [=VAs=] she would pick for the Freedom Fighters (including the main villains):

* BettyAndVeronica: Wilma and Kazuki respectively, to Rina. Wilma is sweet and awkward, Kazuki is dark and suave, and Rina has romantic interactions with the both of them. [[spoiler:Kazuki does confess his interest in her, but she turns him down - Wilma wins]].

* {{Flanderization}}: An invoked in-universe example. The Shadow Selves all reduce the characters to one overdefining trait - Hikaru's heroism, Izumi's aggressiveness, Tamiko's eccentricities, etc.

* TheGoomba: The Gremlin series of Shadows serve as this - it’s the first Shadow Rina fights and they show up a few times later, still pretty weak.

** Rina and Hikaru rescue Izumi cause she’s Hikaru’s best friend, and was also responsible for giving Rina the willpower to stand up to her Shadow.

* BadassAdorable: Wilma and Tamiko are cute [[{{Adorkable}} dorks]] who are able to kick a lot of ass in a fight - Tamiko while being the [[BadassPacifist navigator]]!

''Persona: The Sougawa Files'' is a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' fanfiction written by Arsene_Phantom.

* SequelHook: The very first of the bonus chapters is [[spoiler:a chat between two individuals known as Yuina and Kanako that never appeared prior. It's implied they're going to be central characters in a sequel, as Arsene has expressed interest in writing a second story with a new cast]].

Arsene published the first chapter of a sequel, Persona: The Okabe Files, on May 30, 2020.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
** If Nobuyuki hadn't sent his men to kill the Freedom Fighters, they would likely have no idea of his existence. While they may have found out later, it could have bought him some crucial time.

As of May 2020, Arsene has confirmed she's working on a sequel.

* HalloweenEpisode: The second and third bonus chapters focus around the gang having some fun during Halloween. Everyone has a costume, of course - Rina dresses up as a [[GreatDetective detective]], Hikaru goes as a [[KnightInShiningArmor knight]], Izumi goes as a [[GladiatorGames gladiator]], Wilma goes as a superhero called [[TheCape The Mottled Minder]], Ryouichi goes as a {{Cowboy}}, Tamiko goes as a CuteWitch, and Kazuki goes as a [[ClassicalMovieVampire vampire]]. Arata [[spoiler:and Satomi]] presumably don't have costumes, as they stayed at the Sougawa Clock Tower to hand out candy.

* BattleCouple: Hikaru and Izumi.

* BettyAndVeronica: Wilma and Kazuki respectively. Wilma is sweet and awkward, Kazuki is dark and suave. [[spoiler:Wilma wins]].

** Rina is kind and understanding, as expected of a Wild Card. She's also the strongest Persona user by ''far''.

*** [[spoiler:Yuudai mentions that if Nobuyuki gathers enough Shadows, he could control the entire city. Seems a little oddly specific - it's a clue towards the Mother Shadow's existence and the fact that Nobuyuki knows way more about Shadows than he lets on]].

The fanfiction is currently ongoing. It can be read on Archive Of Our Own [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14831952/chapters/34327386 here]].

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Shadow Ryouichi is by far the most cheerful and carefree of the Shadows... but when things don't go his way, he proves to be dangerously cruel.

** Shadow Selves [[spoiler:and Grendel]] speak in both bold and italics.

* CallingYourAttacks: A few Persona users do this when they're starting out. Hikaru is one of the only ones to do it frequently. His Shadow does it as well.

* DarkestHour: By far Chapter 107. [[spoiler:Rina's suffered a massive loss to [[BigBad Yuudai Honda]] that's left her unable to summon her Personas. She finds her sister infected with Shadows and can't use her Personas to fight them, leaving her broken and sobbing over Furuta's body - not helped by her sister encouraging her to abandon her team. Thankfully, things start to get better after she has a chat with the folks at the Velvet Room]].
* DealWithTheDevil: Shadow Rina extends Rina the offer of fully merging with her. Thankfully, she refuses.

* EvolutionPowerup: When the party's Personas evolve, they're distinctly more powerful. [[spoiler: When Hikaru gains Hrothgar, he's able to effortlessly take out a large group of Nobuyuki's grunts alongside Izumi's newly evolved Persona]].

** Yuudai Honda is actually a pretty friendly guy, [[spoiler:even after TheReveal. Unless you interrupt him]].
* AnAesop:
** If you feel like you’re trapped, there is always a way out. You just have to find it. And you may not be able to find it on your own.
** Freedom and happiness cannot necessarily coexist, but it's better to be free and inconsistently happy than being forced to be happy with no freedom.

* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Inverted. When it comes to Shadows, the female party members' issues have included [[spoiler:self-destructive goal pursuing, conforming to society just to make people happy, and suicidal depression due to nobody sharing a worldview]]. The worst male one is [[spoiler:Arata having an identity crisis]].

** Tamiko and Ryouichi have some of this - the two obviously care about each other a lot, to the point where Tamiko is implied to be slipping into depression when Ryouichi is taken over fully by his Shadow. [[spoiler: Then again, if Chapter 34's ending is to be believed, those are just her own Shadows, but even then, the fact that they start popping up after Ryouichi's disappearance is more than just a coincidence]].

** Personas speak in italics.
** Shadow Selves speak in both bold and italics.

* AffablyEvil: Some of the Shadows are surprisingly cordial - mostly the ones in the latter half of the story. Shadow Tamiko is a downright FriendlyEnemy, Shadow Kazuki's unfailingly polite, and [[spoiler: the white half of]] Shadow Arata is always pleasant and polite.
* AnAesop: If you feel like you’re trapped, there is always a way out. You just have to find it. And you may not be able to find it on your own.

* BigBad: Nobuyuki Itou, the biggest crime lord in Sougawa, is the main antagonist in control of the Shadows and seeks to rule over Sougawa with an iron fist.

* DareToBeBadass: How Gilgamesh gets Rina to start fighting.

* MysteriousStranger: [[spoiler:Shortly before confronting Nobuyuki, Rina is saved from a deadly fall by a strange, armored figure. At first it seems like they're an ally, but several chapters later, they reappear - and they nearly choke Rina out, only thwarted because of Clerval's interference. It's unclear where their allegiances lie and what their motivations are, though they seem to be working ''for'' someone]].

** [[spoiler:Then comes the true main antagonist - Yuudai Honda, an extremely popular businessman with access to even more resources than Nobuyuki - and a far smarter villain, at that. He's also backed up by an EldritchAbomination]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[ArcWords To freedom.]]''[[note]]From left to right: [[BattleButler Arata Kobayashi]], [[GentlemanAndAScholar Kazuki Nakajima]], [[TheParagon Hikaru Hayashi]], [[FaceOfAThug Ryouichi Fukui]], [[TheHero Rina Oshiro]], [[{{Tomboy}} Izumi Akiyama]], [[FunnyForeigner Wilma Hanley]], [[{{Chuunibyou}} Tamiko Maeda]]. [[/note]]]]

* AdultFear: Imagine if your kid or someone you’re otherwise closely connected to got sick and suddenly experienced a massive change in behavior.
** [[spoiler: Worse yet - imagine finding out a crime lord is after, essentially, your kid via the crime lord bursting into your home, beating you to near death, destroying all of your belongings, and leaving behind a threatening note for your kid.]]

* AlwaysABiggerFish: [[spoiler:The Lasher in Shadow Tamiko's dungeon is taken out before it can actually combat the party by Nobuyuki's grunts, Jim and Gerald.]]

* ArcVillain: The fic is split up into a fairly simple pattern after the core trio of Rina, Hikaru, and Izumi meets up: Character is revealed to have Shadows; Freedom Fighters do the first half of their Shadow's dungeon, with usually a chapter or so in between; Freedom Fighters have a showdown with the Shadow. The arc villains in order are [[spoiler: Shadow Wilma, Shadow Ryouichi, Shadow Tamiko, Shadow Kazuki, and Shadow Arata.]]

* BaitAndSwitch: The second challenge in Shadow Tamiko's dungeon features [[spoiler:the group being forced to combat a Sadistic Lasher without the help of their Personas. Before it can get a single attack off, it's killed in one shot by Nobuyuki's men, and the real battle is against them, with Shadow Tamiko allowing the group to use Personas and even helping them in combat.]]

** Izumi and Hikaru: Don't hurt the other. Izumi goes on a rampage against [[spoiler:Shadow Tamiko]] when Hikaru falls, and Hikaru reacts with brutal TranquilFury when [[spoiler:Shadow Kazuki knocks out Izumi.]]
** The entire team: Hurting Rina. The Freedom Fighters greatly respect their leader. [[spoiler:When Nobuyuki attacks her apartment, they unanimously decide to go after Shadow Arata earlier than scheduled and Nobuyuki becomes their next target in short order.]]

*** Shadow Wilma: Don't interfere with her attempts to make people happy... [[SeriousBusiness or call her lightsabers pulse blades.]]
*** Shadow Ryouichi: [[HairTriggerTemper Pick one.]]

*** Shadow Kazuki: [[spoiler:Don't cut off his tail.]]
*** Shadow Arata: [[spoiler:Don't break his masks.]]
** Nobuyuki Itou: Don't betray him. [[spoiler:When Arata betrays him, he shows the first signs of anger ''ever,'' and when Rina tries to catch him off guard by bringing Yuudai's betrayal up, Nobuyuki simply dismisses his second-in-command as if he were a standard lackey.]]

** Shadow Hikaru briefly mentions that [[spoiler:his friend died because of him.]] This is elaborated on in the third chapter of Hikaru’s Social Link.

* EldritchLocation: Every location taken over by Shadows, starting from Shadow Wilma and beyond, warps places into this. The worst example is Shadow Arata's, which [[spoiler: somehow manages to fit an entire ''outdoors'' village ''inside'' an abandoned prison.]]

* EvolutionPowerup: When the party's Personas evolve, they're distinctly more powerful. [[spoiler: When Hikaru gains Hrothgar, he's able to effortlessly take out a large group of Nobuyuki's grunts alongside Izumi's newly evolved Persona.]]
* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Inverted. When it comes to Shadows, the female party members' issues have included [[spoiler:self-destructive goal pursuing, conforming to society just to make people happy, and suicidal depression due to nobody sharing a worldview.]] The worst male one is [[spoiler:Arata having an identity crisis.]]

** Ryouichi was starting to hurt people before the Shadows took him over, but what spurs Rina into action is [[spoiler:him almost getting into a fight with Hikaru.]]

** Rina seeks to befriend Kazuki and prevent him from falling into the same pitfall as she did. [[spoiler:Things get even more personal when she has an argument with him and inadvertently believes herself to be the cause of his Shadows.]]
** Arata is Rina's butler, so the connection is obvious. [[spoiler:Furthermore, since Arata turns out to be working for Nobuyuki, Rina's driven by her desire to find out his true nature.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Arata Kobayashi, Rina's butler, turns out to be working for Nobuyuki. Luckily, he gets better.]]

* MysteriousStranger: [[spoiler:Shortly before confronting Nobuyuki, Rina is saved from a deadly fall by a strange, armored figure. At first it seems like they're an ally, but several chapters later, they reappear - and they nearly choke Rina out, only thwarted because of Clerval's interference. It's unclear where their allegiances lie and what their motivations are, though they seem to be working ''for'' someone.]]

** [[spoiler:Shadow Arata, after he transforms, takes out every Freedom Fighter he comes into contact with in one shot. This is a warning sign to the Freedom Fighters that the Shadows are getting too strong and they need to strike at the source.]]

** The Freedom Fighters think it best to keep going against Nobuyuki despite him being Sougawa's biggest crime lord, as they can take on his men individually. [[spoiler:This gives Rina a nasty shock when she comes home to find Nobuyuki attacked her apartment and her sister personally.]]
** Even though the Freedom Fighters are doing all they can to keep up with the Shadows, as an alien species they simply prove to be growing too powerful. [[spoiler:While they defeat Shadow Arata, he's able to one-shot most of them left and right. The team decides to shift to attacking at the source.]]
** Yuudai, a normal human (albeit with gadgets), deals with eight Persona users at once [[spoiler:by running away. He even says [[LampshadeHanging the party's crazy to think he's going to fight them.]]]]

* RewatchBonus: There are quite a few concerning Arata. [[spoiler:As just one example, he's the only one who knows about Nobuyuki, and during that particular conversation, he specifically says he's not a man Rina should cross - which now comes off as a ShameIfSomethingHappened moment.]]

** Despite their orientations being unclear, Rina and Wilma have fairly intimate gestures that can come off as a little more than just friendly touching. WordOfGod is even that Wilma has a crush on Rina - even if Rina sees her as more of a big sister. [[spoiler:However, Rina's feelings appear to have changed, if Chapter 91 is any indication.]]
** Tamiko and Ryouichi have some of this - the two obviously care about each other a lot, to the point where Tamiko is implied to be slipping into depression when Ryouichi is taken over fully by his Shadow. [[spoiler: Then again, if Chapter 34's ending is to be believed, those are just her own Shadows, but even then, the fact that they start popping up after Ryouichi's disappearance is more than just a coincidence.]]

** In Chapter 3, there’s a passing joke meant to invoke [[Series/TheJoyOfPainting Bob Ross.]]

** The next Shadow, Shadow Kazuki, is [[spoiler:directly tied to criminals, even if he's not one himself. This marks the first time the Freedom Fighters have to deal with actual legal matters.]]
** Shadow Arata comes after, and he's [[spoiler:the only Shadow directly tied to Nobuyuki, the main antagonist.]]

** Hikaru Hayashi comes off as a cheery young man determined to be a hero, who's charismatic and fun to be around. [[spoiler:However, his Social Link reveals he has major parental issues and feels practically burdened by reality, and he uses his Persona as a means of escape.]]
** Tamiko Maeda is the resident {{Chuunibyou}}, and she's energetic, kind of silly, and friendly to others. [[spoiler:Her Shadow reveals she's been struggling with suicidal depression and loneliness because nobody else sees the world the way she sees it.]]

* TraitorShot: [[spoiler:At the end of Chapter 73, Rina leaves from her chat with Arata. He quietly gets in the elevator, and then says...]]

* VileVillainLaughableLackey: Nobuyuki and Yuudai share this dynamic. Nobuyuki is ruthlessly stoic and willing to do the most vile things to achieve his goals. Meanwhile, while Yuudai is smart, he's generally bumbling and silly.