Supernatural Serial Killers ... Why Not?
is an OC-insert fanfiction of the game Persona 4 written by Anime PJ. It was published on 12 March 2016.
"Getting a new neighbour is always interesting. It's made even MORE interesting when his arrival happens to coincide with the beginning of a murder mystery. It becomes downright INSANELY interesting when you throw an alternate dimension hidden inside a TV to the mix ... My name is Yasuhide Kusuhara, and this is how my neighbour for a year, Yu Narukami, changed my life. (P4G)" - The official summary of the fanfic.
Supernatural Serial Killers ... Why Not? contains examples of:
- Acoustic License: Even though the fights with people's Shadows should definitely be very loud affairs, the main characters can still hear each other perfectly.
- Celeb Crush: Yasuhide's Childhood Friend Rise Kujikawa is a big-time celebrity idol. Yasuhide has been in love with her since they were children.
- Character Death: The first two murder victims from canon still die.
- Character Development: The protagonist, Yasuhide Kusuhara, starts out the story as a sarcastic asshole, but upon having his Hidden Depth revealed, he starts to show a more human side and genuinely lets the other characters in.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Yasuhide has been so in love with Rise since they were children that he has no sexual or romantic attraction to anyone else (or, at least, no one that he'll acknowledge).
- Cowardly Lion: Yasuhide's Shadow reveals that the thing about himself of which he is most ashamed is his near-omnipresent fear, mostly of abandonment but also of other things. Despite this, he is willing to go into Mayonaka and face the Shadows in hopes of preventing another murder despite not having a Persona when he first gets started.
- Creature of Habit: The protagonist, Yasuhide. He frequently wakes up, makes coffee and breakfast for him and his brother Baiko, goes to school (the only part of the routine he has no choice in), eats out, has a shower when he gets home, and watches the news and reads in his room before bed. His routine is only broken when things start to get unexpectedly supernatural in town.
- Deadpan Snarker: Yasuhide and even Yu, oddly enough. Though these two make a habit of it, most of the main characters have at least one so far.
- Yasuhide proves that he has a rather dark sense of humour when he comments on the two dead bodies that have turned up in high places. "They even got a nice view."
- Domestic Abuse: Yasuhide's father was this toward his mother. Yasuhide was well aware but let his fear of what might happen to him get in the way of him ever doing anything about it. This is a major factor in Yasuhide's Shadow, who mocks Yasuhide's cowardice both over this and his fear of people leaving him.
- Genre Savvy: Basically all the characters have a functioning understanding of different genres and tropes, which is often the subject of the story's humour.
- Hand Behind Head: Yasuhide does this when embarrassed or apologetic.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Yu favours two-handed swords such as katanas. Yasuhide wield's a one-handed cutlass. Yosuke dual-wields smaller swords. Swords all around, basically.
- Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: Yu is a deadpan snarker who breaks the fourth wall, Yosuke is so stupid he thought bringing swords out in public during a murder investigation was a good idea, Chie is obsessed with kung-fu but couldn't do any to save her life, Teddie is a cartoonish bear-creature with no knowledge of how people in general work. It's a wonder Yasuhide is still even sane, yet they've somehow made him a better person.
- Main Characters: Yasuhide Kusuhara, Yu Narukami, Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, and Teddie (thus far - by the nature of the video game the fanfic is based on, there will be more added to the list).
- Pastimes Prove Personality: The author goes to great pains to make sure the readers know exactly what Yasuhide likes doing with his time, presumably in an attempt to round out his character.
- Recurring Character: Takara Kusuhara (Yasuhide's mother) and Aika Nakamura.
- Mooks: The Shadows that attack while the main characters explore Mayonaka drop like flies.
- Regular Character: Baiko Kusuhara (Yasuhide's younger brother), Ryotaro Dojima, and Nanako Dojima.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Yasuhide has thus far shown no romantic or sexual interest in anyone other than Rise. Even his admitted attempt to ask out Yukiko had been more an attempt at trying to make a friend than anything else.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Basically every single action Yasuhide takes early on in the story is a subconscious attempt to drive everybody away from him because he fears that if he lets anyone get close, they'll leave him just like Rise and his (admittedly very unpleasant) father did.
- Supporting Protagonist: Techincally speaking, the protagonist is Yu Narukami, who has the Wild Card ability and is the leader of the Investigation Team. This being an OC-insert fanfic, however, the story is told from the POV of Yasuhide Kusuhara.
- Took a Level in Kindness: At the start of the story, Yasuhide actively avoids spending time with his family and, despite claiming he wants to make friends, frequently treats others in decidedly negative ways (i.e. punching Yosuke in the stomach, causing him to piss himself). After confronting his Shadow, however, he is much more sociable and a generally nice person.
- Troll: Yasuhide, if his mockery of Kinshiro "King Moron" Morooka is anything to go by.
- The Unwitting Comedian: After Yasuhide does an insulting impression of him in front of the whole class, Kinshiro Morooka (aka, King Moron) definitely becomes one of these, assuming he wasn't already (the man has teeth like bottle openers).
