History Fanfic / SpringOfHope

The author is planning a ''''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' fic as a direct sequel, and has created a {{Crossover}} fic with fellow fanfic writer [[https://www.fanfiction.net/~lastdragonborn LastDragonborn]] titled ''{{Persona Q}}: [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10346641/1/Persona-Q-Shadows-of-the-Heart Shadows of the Heart]]''.

-->-- Kazuto [[spoiler: Takeba]].

Kazuto is a wandering young man who's had to constantly transfer from school to school ever since he was born. Having led a rather [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic life prior to the events detailed in the story]], he arrives at the Minatodai Dormitory in Iwatodai, where he intends to reside in for the entire school year before transferring out again. However, he discovers that the inhabitants of said dormitory are part of an elite group called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, whose ''[[GratuitousFrench raison d'etre]]'' has been to annihilate the threat presented by the Shadows - monstrous marauders that threaten the very lives of the people in Iwatodai during a [[TheHiddenHour Hidden Hour]] known as the Dark Hour. [[RuleOfCool And then he gets a pet dragon...]]

The author is planning a ''''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' fic as a direct sequel, and has created a {{Crossover}} fic with fellow fanfic writer [[https://www.fanfiction.net/~lastdragonborn LastDragonborn]] titled ''{{Persona Q}} - [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10346641/1/Persona-Q-Shadows-of-the-Heart Shadows of the Heart]]''.

* {{Adorkable}} - Kaz. ''All the time''. ''[[GibberishOfLove Especially]]'' around Aigis.
* AllLovingHero - To anyone who's not a Shadow, Strega, or [[spoiler: Philemon]], Kaz is this.
* ArtificialIntelligence - Burroughs is this to Kaz.
* BerserkButton - Don't touch the people Kaz loves, or he'll annihilate you. Don't hurt Aigis - ''especially'' not [[LoveInterest Aigis]]. In fact, just don't hurt people in front of him in general. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And don't call him old]].
* BewareTheNiceOnes - Kaz has a great big heart for everyone around him and is willing to do anything to help anyone in need. And if you cross him or the people he loves, he'll be more than willing to rip out your own heart.

* BigBad - The Shadowlord is Kazuto's greatest enemy and is the one who deals a heapload of suffering onto him throughout the story. [[spoiler: Until it turns out that he's merely TheHeavy of the story. The true big bad is '''[[BigGood Philemon]]'''.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest - Kaz reads a book featuring this very trope he ultimately finds to be [[NightmareFetishist absolutely fascinating]] from a storytelling standpoint. In fact, he thought it was boring until he found out this was in it.
* CanonWelding - Canon Welds the ''Persona'' series with several other JRPG series. We've got ''{{Videogame/Drakengard}}'' elements, ''{{Videogame/NieR}}'' characters, elements from the ''[[Franchise/TalesSeries Tales]]'' series, characters from ''[[Videogame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Revengeance]]'', and - of course - ''abundant'' [[ContinuityNod Continuity Nods]] to ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei SMT]]'' games. The author even threw in a bit of ''Videogame/DevilSurvivor'', with Frosty!
* CerebusRollercoaster - Constantly shifts between LighterAndSofter and DarkerAndEdgier than the original game, treating the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism like an actual Slip-N-Slide. Sure, Kazuto has an incredibly healthy relationship with his TrueCompanions, even more so than how the MC does in-game, but then we later on find out that [[spoiler: he's also had a past as a prostitute]].
* CloudCuckooLander - Kazuto. It's pretty difficult to keep up with some of the weird things he does. [[CrazyAwesome Not that that's a bad thing]].
* ChickMagnet - A ''lot'' of women fall for Kaz. [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Hitomi]], [[{{Tsundere}} Amane]], [[LethalChef Fuuka]], [[spoiler: [[LouisCypher Louisa Ferre]]]] (kind of), [[LoveHurts Rio]] and (since she's the LoveInterest and all), [[RoboSexual Aigis]].
* ChildhoodFriend - [[OriginalCharacter Hitomi Tono]] is Kaz's childhood friend. The two have stuck together through thick and thin, having had a tight relationship for many years, which makes it [[spoiler: ''really'' difficult to not feel sorry for them when you discover that Kaz had to prostitute himself for funds to help with Hitomi's medical care years prior to the beginning of the actual story]].
* ChildhoodFriendRomance - Subverted. [[spoiler: Hitomi ''wants'' to have this with Kaz (and she actually gets her wish in one timeline), but ultimately realizes that Kaz loves Aigis, so she [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy decides to concede without any fuss]]]].
* ContinuityPorn - ''Tons'' of it to ''SMT'' games. Not on the level that ''[[Fanfic/FairlyEnglishStory Fairly English Story]]'' was at, but it's prevalent nonetheless.
* CovertPervert - Kazuto hides yuri magazines under his bed.
* CrapsaccharineWorld - [[spoiler: The universe was literally so incomplete that Philemon had to fix it by cherry-picking elements from ''other'' universes]].
* DeconstructionFic - As stated above, the fic deconstructs the concept of [[SelfInsertFic self-insertion in fanfiction]] and [[spoiler:the general video game trope of CharacterCustomization]]. To elaborate...

* {{Determinator}} - Kaz ''won't'' quit. Ever. Especially when there're very high risks at stake. That just makes him stronger.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim - PlayedForDrama. [[spoiler: Kazuto had to prostitute himself to guys as well as girls to fund for Hitomi's medical care]].
* GirlOnGirlIsHot - Isn't that right, [[YuriFan Kaz]]?
* GoodIsNotNice - Kazuto, full-stop. He's pretty willing to do some ''really'' frightening stuff to those who cross him. This overlaps with HorrifyingHero from time to time.
* GuileHero - Kaz [[CloudCuckooLander may not act it from time to time]], but he's shown to be pretty smart. And really good at deductions. [[spoiler: When a murder took place in the school, Kaz was able to find out that it was supernatural in nature before anyone else, just from environmental clues]]. It also helps that he's been exposed to some [[DarkAndTroubledPast pretty weird stuff]] when he was young, so he's a little more GenreSavvy than most of the other characters.
* TheHero - Deconstructed. ''[[TearJerker Heartbreakingly]]'' so. [[spoiler: Kaz was literally ''made'' by Philemon to be TheHero of the universe, destined to become the [[BarrierMaiden Great Seal]] and prevent Nyx from coming into contact with the world. Kaz...isn't necessarily happy with this, because this means that he was never who ''he'' wanted to be - just a creation of someone else]].
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold - [[spoiler: To help with his childhood friend's medical bills, Kaz had to prostitute himself to both men and women]].
* {{Keet}} - '''Kazuto'''.
* LargeHam - Kazuto again.
* LongTitle - The full title is: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES - Spring of Hope.
* LoveHurts - Poor Hitomi...
* LoveConfession - Subverted. Kaz gives one to [[spoiler: Yukari]], but it's more or less platonic. Eventually, [[ChickMagnet other female characters end up giving this to Kaz]].
* ManChild - Kaz is still a little kid at heart, evident by his interactions with the other characters.
* MetaTwist - The fic as a whole. Orpheus isn't his first Persona, it's Thoth. Thanatos isn't what comes out, it's the Demiurge. [[spoiler: And later on, Kaz eventually loses his Wild Card ability]], and then new can of worms upon new can of worms open up, as if you haven't had enough of the twists.
* MysticalWhiteHair - Kaz eventually sheds his normal brown hair and gets this. As opposed to [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]].
* OddFriendship - Kaz is friends with a magic book, a dragon, a [[spoiler: robotic dog]], an [[spoiler: angel]], a being that resides in a realm between mind and matter, a group of people who can summon monsters from their head, and [[spoiler: the BigBad of the original game, Nyx]].
* OurDragonsAreDifferent - Kind of subverted. The dragon seen in the story, Mikaeru, is a character from ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard 3}}'', and is written out as how dragons from that game are Different. Yes, this means that dragons in this rendition of ''Persona 3'' are ''[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight common knowledge]]''.
* PapaWolf - [[spoiler: Don't touch Hamuko, or you won't live to see the end of this [[KilledMidSentence sen-]]]]
* ThePowerOfHate - Surprisingly, Kaz partially runs on this whenever he gets into a scrap. At first, he hated the Shadows and treated them without mercy, and slowly started growing out of this as time went by. [[spoiler: It came back in ''full force'' when Philemon gave TheReveal, though]]. This is a variation of the trope, however, as while TPOH does [[HorrifyingHero wonders]] for him in every fight, he ''mostly'' runs on...
* ThePowerOfLove - If not for the trust and camaraderie he has with S.E.E.S., Kaz would be insane. Or silently weeping to himself in the corner. Or both.
* PragmaticHero - Kazuto ''wants'' to be a traditional Hero. It's just that [[TraumaCongaLine everything else]] is forcing him to be this.
* NiceGuy - Kaz is this through and through. Except when something hurts the people he loves. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Then...]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens - Kazuto has some...issues with religion. Seeing as how the ruler of the ''SMT''-verse is a worship-hungry despot ''FAR'' from the loving God seen in TheBible, it's not very surprising.

* TheReveal - Ohh boy...

* RoboSexual - It's pretty clear Kaz has a ''thing'' for Aigis. They are the OfficialCouple, after all.
* SemiDivine - Kazuto [[spoiler: and Yukari]] turns out to be [[spoiler: [[VerbalBackspace actually]], [[GrammarNazi turn out to be]]]] an Intoner [[spoiler: Intoner''s'']], which is a half-angel. [[spoiler: And then it turns out he's [[AvertedTrope not]], it was all a lie fabricated by Philemon. But he does have an angel for a "mom."]]
* ShoutOut - To a lot of things, really. To ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'', to ''{{Videogame/Danganronpa}}'', to ''{{Videogame/Tekken}}'', to ''{{Videogame/Drakengard}}'', to ''{{Videogame/Kingdom Hearts}}'', [[UpToEleven to]] ''{{Disney/Frozen}}''...it's kind of hard to keep track. Unsurprisingly, the most shout-outs go to ''{{Franchise/Shin Megami Tensei}}'' games.
* [[spoiler: SparedByTheAdaptation - Guess what, little boys and girls? Shinji doesn't die on October 4!]]
* StepfordSmiler - Deconstructed. Kaz hides a ''whole lot'' of issues underneath his smile, and those issues come out whenever something ''real bad'' happens. Which is a lot. So the fic goes high and wide to show just how these issues really would affect a person - and how different that person can be from the happy disposition he puts on.
* TeamPet - Koromaru, of course. But then we have [[Videogame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Wolf]]...
* TookALevelInKindness - Every named character returning from the original game. Even [[spoiler: Ikutsuki and Nyx]].
* TrademarkFavoriteFood - "''Cookies''!"

* TragicHero - See PragmaticHero up above.
* {{Tsundere}} - [[OriginalCharacter Amane Kitamura]] is Kaz's ex-girlfriend and a textbook Type A.
* TheUnexpected - [[spoiler: ''Nyx'' is an ally of Kazuto's in this fic]].
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman - [[spoiler: Kaz is deeply affected by this when he realizes that he's just a replica, forged by Philemon to be TheHero of the universe]].

* CanonWelding - Canon Welds the ''Persona'' series with several other JRPG series. We've got ''{{Videogame/Drakengard}}'' elements, ''{{Videogame/NieR}}'' characters, elements from the ''[[Franchise/TalesSeries Tales]]'' series, and - of course - ''abundant'' [[ContinuityNod Continuity Nods]] to ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei SMT]]'' games. The author even threw in a bit of ''Videogame/DevilSurvivor'', with Frosty!

* TeamPet - Koromaru, of course. But then we have Wolf...

* OddFriendship - Kaz is friends with a magic book, a dragon, a robotic dog, an angel, a being that resides in a realm between mind and matter, a group of people who can summon monsters from their head, and [[spoiler: the BigBad of the original game, Nyx]].

* ChildhoodFriendRomance - Subverted. Hitomi ''wants'' to have this with Kaz [[spoiler: and she actually got her wish in one timeline]], but ultimately realizes that Kaz loves Aigis, so she [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy decides to concede without any fuss]].

The author is planning a ''{{Persona 4}}'' fic as a direct sequel, and has created a {{Crossover}} fic with fellow fanfic writer [[https://www.fanfiction.net/~lastdragonborn LastDragonborn]] titled ''{{Persona Q}} - [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10346641/1/Persona-Q-Shadows-of-the-Heart Shadows of the Heart]]''.

The author is planning a ''{{Persona 4}}'' fic as a direct sequel, and has created a {{Crossover}} fic with fellow fanfic writer [[https://www.fanfiction.net/~lastdragonborn LastDragonborn]] titled ''{{Persona Q}} - Shadow of the Labyrinth''. And he's made a spin-off called [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10592041/1/Spring-of-Hope-Heaven-s-Feathers-Priestess Spring of Hope: Heaven's Feathers -Priestess-]].

* OurDragonsAreDifferent - Kind of subverted. The dragon seen in the story, Mikaeru, is a character from ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard 3}}'', and is written out as how dragons from that game are Different. Yes, this means that dragons in the this rendition of ''Persona 3'' are ''[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight common knowledge]]''.

** BewareTheSillyOnes

* MetaTwist - The fic as a whole. Orpheus isn't his first Persona, it's Thoth. Thanatos isn't what comes out, it's the [[UsefulNotes/Gnosticism Demiurge]]. [[spoiler: And later on, Kaz eventually loses his Wild Card ability]], and then new can of worms upon new can of worms open up, as if you haven't had enough of the twists.

* ChildhoodFriend - [[OriginalCharacter Hitomi]] is Kaz's childhood friend. The two have stuck together through thick and thin, having had a tight relationship for many years, which makes it [[spoiler: ''really'' difficult to not feel sorry for them when you discover that Kaz had to prostitute himself for funds to help with Hitomi's medical care years prior to the beginning of the actual story]].

* BerserkButton - Don't touch the people Kaz loves, or he'll annihilate you. Don't hurt Aigis - ''especially'' not [[LoveInterest Aigis]]. In fact, just don't hurt people in front of him in general. And don't call him old.

* PapaWolf - [[spoiler: Don't touch Hamuko, or you won't live to see the end of this [[KilledMidSentence sen-]]]]

* TheHero - Deconstructed. ''[[Tearjerker Heartbreakingly]]'' so. [[spoiler: Kaz was literally ''made'' by Philemon to be TheHero of the universe, destined to become the [[BarrierMaiden Great Seal]] and prevent Nyx from coming into contact with the world. Kaz...isn't necessarily happy with this, because this means that he was never who ''he'' wanted to be - just a creation of someone else]].

[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9651479/1/Shin-Megami-Tensei-Persona-3-FES-Spring-of-Hope Spring of Hope]] is a ''{{Videogame/Persona 3}}'' fanfiction written by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5001474/Team-Megami Team Megami]].

!!Tropes contained in Spring of Hope that were not included in the original game.

* ChickMagnet - A ''lot'' of women fall for Kaz. And this even applies to [[RoboSexual android women]].

* BerserkButton - Don't touch the people Kaz loves, or he'll annihilate you. Don't hurt Aigis - ''especially'' not [[LoveInterest Aigis]]. In fact, just don't hurt people in front of him in general.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent - Kind of subverted. The dragon seen in the story, Mikaeru, is a character from ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard 3}}'', and is written out as how dragons from that game are Different. But what's so Different is that dragons in this universe are actually ''[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight common knowledge]]''.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent - Kind of subverted. The dragon seen in the story, Mikhail, is a character from ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard 3}}'', and is written out as how dragons from that game are Different. But what's so Different is that dragons in this universe are actually ''[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight common knowledge]]''.

* Adorkable - Kaz. ''All'' the time. ''[[GibberishOfLove Especially]]'' around Aigis.

* {{Tsundere}} - [[OriginalCharacter Amane Kitamura]] is Kaz's ex-girlfriend and a textbook Type A.

It has a premise similar to AFoolNamedFortune and LusnatiStyle, replacing the blue-haired protagonist of the original game with a fresh OriginalCharacter. However, it is ''very'' different from both fics, in more ways than one.

Basically, it's a {{Deconstruction}} of the SelfInsertFic, playing out things how they'd normally play out from the beginning (to the point where the main character's initially named after the author himself) and eventually rearing its ugly, roaring head when you'd least expect it to, shedding some new light on the trope.

Kazuto is a wandering young man who's had to constantly transfer from school to school ever since he was born. Having led a rather [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic life prior to the events detailed in the story]], he arrives at the Minatodai Dormitory in Iwatodai, where he intends to reside in for the entire school year before transferring out again.

However, he discovers that the inhabitants of said dormitory are part of an elite group called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, whose ''[[GratuitousFrench raison d'etre]]'' has been to annihilate the threat presented by the Shadows - monstrous marauders that threaten the very lives of the people in Iwatodai during a [[TheHiddenHour Hidden Hour]] known as the Dark Hour.

And then he gets a pet dragon...

* CloudCuckooLander - Kazuto. It's pretty difficult to keep up with some of the weird things he does. [[CrazyAwesome Not that that's a bad thing or anything]].

* Determinator - Kaz ''won't'' quit. Ever. Especially when there're very high risks at stake. That just makes him stronger.

* StepfordSmiler - Deconstructed. Kaz hides a ''whole lot'' of issues underneath his smile, and those issues come out whenever something ''real bad'' happens. Which is a lot. So the fic goes high and wide to show just how these issues really would affect a person - and how different that person can be from the happy disposition he puts on.

[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9651479/1/Shin-Megami-Tensei-Persona-3-FES-Spring-of-Hope Spring of Hope]] is a ''{{Persona3}}'' fanfiction written by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5001474/Team-Megami Team Megami]].

Kazuto is a wandering young man who's had to constantly transfer from school to school since he was born. Having led a rather [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic life prior to the events detailed in the story]], he arrives at the Minatodai Dormitory in Iwatodai, where he shall reside in for the entire school year before transferring out again.

However, he discovers that the inhabitants of said dormitory are part of an elite group called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, whose ''[[GratuitousFrench raison d'etre]]'' has been to annihilate the threat presented by the Shadows - monstrous marauders that threaten the very lives of the people in Iwatodai during a [[TheHiddenHour Hidden Hour]] during midnight known as the Dark Hour.

[[CrazyAwesome And then he gets a pet dragon...]]

As Kazuto learns more about the secrets of the Dark Hour, he learns more about the secrets of the very universe in which he resides in. Determined to find the truth against all odds, Kazuto struggles with loss, the consequences of revenge, hatred, longing, and more as he strains to stay sane...

* LongTitle