No, this wasn't home, Souji knew. Home was Inaba with its small, homey quarters, the smell of Nanako's breakfast and Dojima's coffee, the door pad with all its shoes when the team got together, no matter the reason. Home was the gazebo by the Samegawa and the table on the hill overlooking town, where all the colours felt brighter and clearer no matter the time or season. Home was tea and flower-print kimonos, the feeling of age and tradition, pale skin, dark eyes, and coal-black hair.
His pre-Inaba life beckoned with spectral hands, taunting his determination and offering the promise of dull, sedated mediocrity. "Not this time," Souji promised himself. "Not now, not ever."
His pre-Inaba life beckoned with spectral hands, taunting his determination and offering the promise of dull, sedated mediocrity. "Not this time," Souji promised himself. "Not now, not ever."
—Narration, Souji's POV
Continuance is a Persona 4 fanfic by Vocarin that picks up where the game left off. Souji Setanote leaves Inaba for "home" in Kofu, thus leaving behind his uncle, cousin, friends, and girlfriend to reunite with his parents, with whom he has a strained relationship. The fic chronicles the events after the game, as Souji and Yukiko maintain a long-distance relationship while dealing with their respective families along with the scars from their battles.
The fic can be found here
and is also posted here, and was on hiatus after the release of Chapter 31, so the author could focus on his Persona 3 fanfic, Change of Engagement. The hiatus ended with the release of Chapter 32 on November 3, 2021. After over 11 years since it started publishing on July 14, 2011, it was eventually completed with 40 chapters on December 25, 2022.
Tropes associated with this fic:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The Investigation Team is more traumatized as a result of their battles with Shadows than in canon, and seemingly mundane things can trigger potent flashbacks.
- Adaptation Personality Change:
- Souji is considerably shorter-tempered and more cynical than most of his dialogue options in the game or his scenes in the spinoffs imply. It fits the story, but can be somewhat jarring to those familiar with Yu's portrayal as an All-Loving Hero.
- The few times Yukiko's parents were mentioned in the game, they were strongly implied to be quite supportive of Yukiko seeing the player character. Here, Yukiko's father is a textbook Boyfriend-Blocking Dad, and Yukiko's mother, while more polite about it, isn't entirely sure about Souji.
- Affectionate Nickname: Izumi calls Ryotaro Dojima, her younger brother, "Ryo."
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Souji proves skeptical about Izumi visiting Dojima and Nanako, she asks him if he thinks people can change. While he's not immediately convinced, it does give him pause.Izumi: Do you believe people can change?Souji: What?Izumi: People. Do you think they can change if they realize they were wrong about something? I won't deny that my job has been important. It's been what I've wanted since I was younger than you. But I want to try to reconnect with Ryo and Nanako. I'd like to talk to you without us fighting. I've gotten three calls tonight, and haven't taken any of them. Tell me: do you think that people can change?
- Beta Couple: While Souji/Yukiko is the main couple, the fic has secondary Kanji/Naoto, Kou/Chie and Yosuke/Rise as secondary couples, who appear from time to time but get less focus than Souji and Yukiko.
- Blunt "Yes": Souji's answer when his mother asks him if it bothers him that she's visiting Dojima and Nanako.Izumi: Does it bother you that much that I'm going to visit them?Souji: Yes.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Katsuhiro Amagi, Yukiko's father. As his wife puts it, he "loves Yukiko more than life itself," and while he's not fond of the boys who have been interested in Yukiko, he's especially suspicious of Souji.
- Christmas Episode: The fic has several chapters dedicated to two different years of Christmas holidays.
- Darker and Edgier: In some respects. The Investigation Team is no longer fighting Shadows, but they have to deal with the physical and emotional scars of those battles, which weren't addressed in canon.
- Deadpan Snarker: Souji, especially when dealing with his father.Yuuma: That isn't the point. The point is that this is pathetic. Far beneath what I expect of you. [Beat] Well? Nothing to say for yourself?Souji: I wasn't aware you were asking a question. And no, I don't have anything else to say on the matter. You being disappointed in me is nothing new. I've been hearing that since I was 13.
- Disappointed in You: As mentioned in Deadpan Snarker, Yuuma tries to pull this on Souji after he gets back from his visit to Inaba for Golden Week, but Souji isn't fazed in the least.
- Door Stopper: The fic is 372,275 words long as of this writing, and is still only on the "intermediate" part- the first 20 chapters were only the beginning.
- Establishing Character Moment: Yuuma tells Souji to cancel his planned visit to Inaba and attend a business dinner with Yuuma's business associates- not as a request or even an order, but assuming that Souji would do so, simply because everyone else is bringing family. This more or less proves that he doesn't care about his son's desires, and that sending him off to Inaba for a year was not an isolated incident.
- Foil: Yuuma and Izumi. Both of them are quite distant toward their son, but while Izumi was said to have been more caring in the past, and is trying to become that way again, Yuuma shows no apparent desire to improve himself.
- Hate Sink: Yuuma, Souji's father. He's cold, emotionally distant and lacks his wife's positive Character Development.
- Hypocrite: Dojima often gets on Izumi's case for her distant relationship with Souji, conveniently forgetting his distancing himself from Nanako. He does get called out on it, but considering that he thought he wasn't any good as a parent back in Persona 4, he does come off as fairly self-righteous and oblivious to his own failings.
- Idiot Ball: When picking up his phone, Souji immediately assumes that Yukiko is calling without checking the caller ID, only to get an unpleasant surprise when the caller turns out to be his father.
- Immediate Sequel: The fic begins literally the moment the game ends, with Souji looking at the photo of himself with his friends.
- Jerkass: Yuuma's a thoroughly unpleasant individual who's rather condescending to his son and jerks him around for little good reason. The only good non-professional relationship he has is with his wife, and even they don't see eye-to-eye about Souji.
- Kick the Dog: Yuuma has a few such moments.
- As mentioned in Establishing Character Moment, he not only demands that Souji cancel his planned visit to Inaba, but also goes as far to suggest that Souji's friends have already forgotten about him.
- He calls Rise a "tramp" and a "floozy," the latter to her face, after Souji ends up on the cover of a gossip magazine after an encounter with her.
- He dismissively refers to Souji's PTSD as a case of "a few bad dreams," saying that they won't kill him, in stark contrast to how his wife's concern for their son serves as a Pet the Dog moment for her.
- Long-Distance Relationship: Souji and Yukiko have been in one since the start of the fic, and continue theirs while attending separate universities. A conversation between Souji and Yukiko's parents discusses and deconstructs it to some extent, by showing the difficulties involved.Ryoko: You will be living separately for several years soon. Can you keep her happy in such a situation? Perhaps someone going to the same university would be more appropriate. Someone reliable and with a vested interest in her happiness.Souji: So would an arranged marriage, if you're concerned about promises and commitment. Were you planning on arranging a marriage for her? If that's the case, you've waited a very long time to do so. And she hardly seems the sort to accept that at this point, if you take my meaning. As to the long-distance relationship, we've done it before, and I won't let things get between us.Katsuhiro: Those are easy words to say, Seta.Souji: No, Amagi-san, they're not. Because they mean that I won't be able to see her or be around her without a train ride to Kyoto, nor hear her in person except on holidays and after exams. There's nothing easy about what we're doing, nothing fun about it. And that's exactly why I will do everything I can to make sure that we don't grow apart just because we aren't living together.
- Long Runner: The fic was published over 11 years from July 2011 to December 2022.
- Named by the Adaptation: In addition to Souji and Yukiko's parents getting names, Souji's Trumpeter persona is named Israfel in this fic.
- Parental Hypocrisy: While Katsuhiro is quite reluctant to trust Souji, his wife reminds him that he was once in Souji's shoes, trying to win over the daughter of the inn's manager.
- Pet the Dog: While initially seeming cold and distant, Izumi feels terrible when she sees her son crying after having nightmares, and wants to help him, even if she's not sure how.
- Reformed, but Rejected: While Izumi wants to change herself, including reconnecting with her son, brother and niece, Souji is suspicious of her motives, and believes she's meddling in his life.
- Scars Are Forever: Souji has several on his body from his various battles with Shadows, and wears clothing that covers them.
- Second Love: Yukiko is not Souji's first girlfriend, as he had various crushes in the past.
- Secret Relationship: Downplayed. Souji's friends know about his relationship with Yukiko, as do the Amagis, but Souji is determined to keep his father out of the loop, at least for now.
- Shout-Out: In one author's note, the author replies to a reader regarding his habit of posting late at night.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Ryouko Amagi, Yukiko's mother, is kind and motherly, but not to be trifled with- she isn't completely opposed to Souji seeing Yukiko, but isn't entirely fond of him.
- You Are Grounded!: Souji gets this from his father, who doesn't think much of the information that he delivered to him, as Souji used business data gathering as a pretext to visit Inaba.
