I love this fanfiction, but I have one question:
Why did you change Goro's arcana? I'm not necessarily against the idea, I just feel like Justice fits better than Tower.

handled way better than canon! i like it a lot!

Honestly, the best P5 fanfic EVER. Deserves to be the at the top of the list, the others just doesn't compare. Thank you so much for writing such an amazing masterpiece, looking forward to your other P5 works!

Ryuji belted as soon as they were out of earshot of any of the employees
[Given his behavior across the game, I don’t see why he’d wait]

Ren thought to himself
[Besides avoiding changing the game script, why is this thought instead of spoken? There are even multiple dialog options through the game to tell Ryuji to shut it in public. A less silent protagonist as you have the opportunity in your own telling should be able to speak without game script limits]

"Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about Dome Town
[Not sure why the change from his canonical reference to pancakes. Granted, that was a somewhat obvious giveaway to me at the time, but it’s something that makes sense given his hunger and only hearing a bit of the conversation as he walked into it]

Stupid sheep," Ryuji barked quietly
[I don’t see how one could bark quietly. Mutter, maybe. Also: it’s better to avoid adverbs if possible, they’re flags for weak verbs or sentences like this]

reason for Kamoshida…exposing himself
[I thought he did that on his own]

To quote Joubert, it is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it
[Interesting go-to to shift Akechi to. It makes him seem much more thoughtful, and this is reinforced in the later scenes]

Very interesting take. I think you succeeded in giving Akechi a different, somewhat more coherent stance. The bit with him and Makoto seemed unnecessary, at least in a vacuum, though it could be good foreshadowing for a larger work.

Great intro for Akechi, Pancake Boi's intro was botched and in a way, it went downhill for Goro as a character, since it was rapidly clear that he was the traitor. Since it was obvious both in and out of the game, Goro's scheming falls flat instead of being dastardly.
In this scenario Ren and Goro start off in better terms, giving the rest of the Thieves some reason to consider making Goro a member later in the game. At least Goro's fall from grace and his betrayal would have some weight in the game for the Thieves.

I love the friendship between Makoto and Goro, they would share some common interests and similarities and it would make sense that they would interact frequently since Goro works with Sae. If Goro was friends with Makoto, it would be an easy way for Goro to become a member of the Thieves because Makoto could speak on his behalf. But underneath their friendship there some of the moments of tension and fragility, which could lead to tragedy depending on how Makoto reacts to Goro's hidden agenda and lies.

This was really good. Better than the games intro to him imo. I really liked how you made the connection to Naoto and how he didn’t want to be addressed her title. Also his relationship with Makoto was nice. Makes me want to see more of this and how it would play into the future.

One of things I didn’t like about Akechi was the fact that, despite being a wild card like Ren, the only Personas he had were Loki and Robin Hood. Not one enemy Shadow went up to him to beg for their lives and offer to turn to his side. He would have probably accepted just to see what would happen and the Shadow becomes a Persona, to his surprise.
This would give him the idea to force Shadows to become more Personas for him to use. However, he would still not be able to use the Velvet Room, meaning he could not fuse any of his Personas. He would have to get rid of some for stronger ones he would encounter later on.
This would have made the boss fight against him more interesting, as you would have to use different Personas and teammates to counter his own Personas.

Hi hello how are you, it was fun reading your interpretation of Akechi! He seemed a lot more friendly and hilariously awkward in this one - definitely a dude I can relate to hahah. And it was nice to see a friendly interaction between him and Makoto.

Plus - I love the little Shuann teases you sprinkled in as well!

Overall, the way you describe in your writing is very descriptive and interesting - I can definitely see the hard wok you put into this story - kudos to you bro!

Hope you go on to write more :)

Okay, so I know that you're a pretty good writer. Not to mention that you help Erin out so much with betaing her fics! However, it's nice to read a fic of yours.

And I want to say: I REALLY adored it! (And yes, fuel Erin's need to write her P5 fic mwahahaha) You implemented the new ideas so smoothly.

Okay, I want to start with the Shujin trio meeting Akechi. Because it's been mentioned so many times that Akechi's infamous pancake line was a terribly dropped line. It makes the traitor reveal really obvious (unless you buy into Makoto's odd behavior during the Sae arc, but it's so trivial compared to Akechi.)

And lol Ren is just done with Ryuji and his loud mouth. I love him to death, but man, Ryuji... Can you please chill a little? However, seeing Ren's impressions with Akechi were interesting. Because the game leaves it more... open, whilst you're characterizing Ren as completely unimpressed with Akechi and seeing through his attitude. And I really like how you made Akechi's hint more... subtle. He says *Dome Town*, but only Morgana mentions something about eating. Ryuji and Ann are more focused on the amusement park. Nicely done! (And hehe... the RenAnn hints. You sly dog. Much appreciated, though!)

I also like how you're characterizing Ren to be rather observant. It's just a nice touch to me, since he sees a lot of things with Akechi. But as for the interview... I really liked how you managed to have Akechi be more positive of the Phantom Thieves. However, you wrote it in a way that makes sense for Akechi to talk about on air. (I also found the Santa Claus joke mildly funny, but I like how you pointed out how the audience acts like it's a hysterical joke.) The mention of Yusuke was a nice touch, since he's absent in this fic. I also like the implication that the police force's opinion differs greatly from Akechi's. Since Akechi is SUPPOSED to be an outsider, like the rest of the PTs. However, the game just shows pure adoration of him, save for the Okumura arc. Which was the point! The Okumura arc was when the public ADORED the PTs and turned against Akechi for speaking out against him.

I really like the mention of the Detective Prince title. I was not impressed with how they handled the Naoto and Akechi interactions in PQ2 honestly. (Though frankly i really disliked how Akechi is handled in PQ2) However, you having Akechi admire Naoto was a good move on your part! I also really like how smoothly you incorporated Ren being from Inaba in this fic!

I also noticed that you changed the line that Akechi quotes to Ren. It's less... pretentious. I like that you did that! And of course, we have the initiation of the Tower Confidant! Tower really does suit Akechi better.

And I really enjoyed the Makoto and Akechi conversation. They're very familiar with each other. Though, I have to say I'm curious if Akechi accidentally pushes Makoto further during Kaneshiro's arc in this AU as Akechi calling her a pushover is part of why Makoto snapped and awakened to Johanna. I like how you're showing that the SIU isn't particularly happy with Akechi, though, as it alludes to his fall in public. I also really like Akechi speaking out against Kobayakawa though! And it's in front of Makoto, which works extremely well as her arc is coming up soon! It adds to more of her guilt. And I like the mentions of Sae, as Sae's opinion of the Phantom Thieves is not... high.

tl;dr, this was a great oneshot! I really enjoyed reading it!

I found it interesting how you changed Akechi’s arcana to Tower—when you explained why you did so in your A/N, it made perfect sense. I also liked how you made Akechi and Makoto long time friends—this will certainly be an interesting change in their dynamic.

It’s been a while since I played Persona 5. But, yeah. I also felt that Akechi’s writing wasn’t the greatest, nor am I his biggest fan. He started off as a promising character, and the game could’ve delved into his background and development more—but it didn’t. So, I’m interested in seeing your take on him.

Great introduction so far! And the fact that there are ShuAnn teases makes this a plus! :D

Anyways, looking forward in what else you have in store for this :)

RVK

Akechi is such a dumb dildo in canon so this was a breath of fresh air. Fuck just bless you sir. I needed this.

Angelrin sent me a message and I had to read this! I love how you handled his introduction! Splendid! Much better than the original I think! And Tower is a nice touch! Also love the fake pleasentness mixed with awkwardness mixed with...something being off, a great way to introduce but hint at things to come! I hope to see more from you!

Hmm... I don’t not know if in this story has Akechi working for you-know-who or not...

In fact... idk if you’ve completed Persona 5 yet

I loved the references to the ideas I told you I had, like Makoto and Akechi being friends, Akechi being the tower arcana, Ren growing up in Inaba as a kid. IT MADE ME GIDDY! And yes it makes me so happy to see Akechi being written the way you and I say he should of been handled. Fantastic!

ALSO I SAW THE RENANN SHIP TEASE!

And it was a treat being your beta for this. You always help edit for me so it was nice to scratch your back for a change :)

All in all great job!