Hey everyone, not quite a chapter, but I know a lot of this story is going to be really foggy because of how long it has been since the last few chapters. So in order to make the transition easier, I made this recap of every major event.
I considered putting it as an auxiliary chapter, but I don't want it to get lost or for random readers to just hop in it and spoil everything lol. It's only 2k words, so please read it if you have a chance, even if you feel like you remember a reminder never hurts. Or at the very least scroll down to the side notes for some general reminders.
I split it into segments based on the Palace.
Enjoy.
Act I: The Birth of the Phantom Thieves.
Kamoshida's Castle.
After accidentally stumbling onto Kamoshida's palace with Shiho, the two of them awaken their personas while attempting to escape. Ren takes this as the entertainment he is meant to give to Igor, and begins to plan a show for him to enjoy, taking down the king.
Ren then tricks Kamoshida into beating him up while he records, having enough proof to suspend Kamoshida from teaching. Which results in him landing on Takemi's clinic for the first time. It was on this day that Ren formed his first confidants.
In the meantime, Shiho recruits Ann to join them in the Palace and due to chance or perhaps fate, Ryuji stumbles in behind them too. And after they all decide to fight Kamoshida, they all head to Untouchables Airsoft where Ren gives birth to the beautiful nickname that is Persona Pals. Sadly, it is rejected.
Ren then begins his research into the metaverse, which leads him to start working for Takemi, meeting Makoto in the library and also heading to Shinjuku to start learning about his soon to be favorite subject, Tarot, from his teacher Chihaya.
Thanks to his newfound friendship with Makoto, Ren is able to discover access to Mementos, and in addition, find out about Dr. Maruki and his research into cognitive psience.
Later, while helping Sojiro out in the kitchen, he hints at the issues his daughter, Futaba, has. And Sojiro formally asks Ren if he could help her. This was only possible thanks to the beating Ren took from Kamoshida because he wanted to help Shiho, and from the familiar feeling he gave Sojiro, almost like Ren himself had the makings of his past Casanova self.
Going back into the castle, they stumble upon Morgana, who joins them and works with them to track down the first set of will seeds, and then eventually take down Kamoshida.
Kaneshiro's Bank.
Formally becoming the Phantom Thieves, the group decides to begin working out together in order to better prepare themselves to fight in the metaverse. It is during one of these trips that they stumble upon a man trying to trick students into acting as drug mules. Then, after taking pictures of them delivering the goods, they would blackmail them into working for free.
Ryuji stepped up to stop the man, but knowing how badly it would turn out, Ren followed along and charmed the "recruiter." Earning himself a way in to meeting the mob boss running the crime ring. It was at this point that they decided to set their eyes on the one who was tainting Shibuya, Kaneshiro.
Knowing that it would be too risky to act on their own, they began to think about new recruits, and the first person that comes to Ren's mind is the one helping him research the metaverse, Makoto. It was during one of their meetings to listen to one of Maruki's speeches that Sae Nijima walked in on them, introducing Ren to his Judgement Arcana. A woman who might be their key into taking down the people acting in the shadows.
Ren then begins to work on actively building his confidants, where Ren befriends Haru Okumura, who helps Ren realize how much he enjoys gardening. Such realization leads to Ren to overrun his bedroom with a certain crimson flower. (And if following the rules of the game, inadvertently leads him to max out his kindness stat from the amount of watering of plants he does.)
During this time, Igor congratulates him for his job with Kamoshida and hands him a Scalpel, a tool meant to turn him into a Velvet Room assistant.
In addition, the Thieves discover that Kamoshida suffered a mental shutdown and passed away. Something that leads them to mementos to investigate the issue further from the principal of their school. Using the scalpel, Ren brings Principal Kobayakawa under his control. However, the cost of using the scalpel leads to a highly uncomfortable and painful sensation.
Later, Ren formally recruits Makoto into the Phantom Thieves, and after discovering how Kaneshiro's Palace worked, he decides to personally infiltrate the criminal organization.
Using the alias, Akira Kurusu, Ren meets with Kaneshiro and uses his charisma to rizz up the baddie. Sorry, I mean, to leave a good impression on the criminal boss. And with his influence now on Kaneshiro, the Thieves are able to infiltrate the bank.
During this time, the school introduces a new counselor, Dr. Maruki. And Futaba, who had been sneakily listening in to their conversations through Ren's phone offers her help hacking the billboards in order to make a big announcement to the world.
An announcement so grand it would allow the Thieves to plant their seeds in the Collective Unconscious and begin to influence it to their advantage.
During their heist to steal Kaneshiro's treasure, they are caught off guard and Ren is forced to use the scalpel to activate their first Theurgy, allowing them to win the fight. However, it is after they escape that Ren opens up to the Thieves about the scalpel, and the consequences of using it.
It is at this point that the first seeds of doubt begin to grow in Ren about Igor, and he begins to reassess his mentality that he lives only to entertain him.
Futaba's Tomb / Madarame's Museum.
With the palace beaten, the Thieves are found with some free time, which leads Ren to meeting Akechi, the new detective prince. And later, leads him to meet a young artist by the name of Yusuke Kitagawa.
Later, as a favor to Jose, the strange boy who lives in Mementos, Ren brings flower seeds to him. An act that would result in the once gloomy and barren train station to become overrun on flowers.
Flowers that would soon become a very part of the collective unconscious, and whose influence is yet to be discovered.
The Thieves, after confirming Kaneshiro turned himself into the police, release their first big announcement into the world. Planting the seeds of their influence into the people of Japan. In addition, they release the Phansite, a place where the people of Japan can ask for help from the Thieves directly.
Later, using the control over the Principal Ren had, they discover the name of the organization behind the mental shutdowns, and one of the highest ranking members. The antisocial force (silly name, I know) and the SIU Director.
It is at this point that the Thieves begin to plan their next target, a man who has been funding the antisocial force with counterfeit copies of a The Sayuri painting, Madarame.
During the planning phase, Ren visits Futaba, and together, they dive into her Palace. However, thanks to Futaba herself being present, and willing to heal, they are able to walk through unimpeded.
It is during this visit that Futaba solidifies her thoughts that her mother had not committed suicide, but rather had been murdered via mental shutdown. This marked her as a new member of the Phantom Thieves.
In addition, after researching Ren's blood samples, and noticing the changes brought on by his use of the scalpel and, in turn, his change into a Velvet Room assistant, Takemi confronts Ren. This confrontation leads to Ren recruiting Takemi into the Phantom Thieves.
Then, in order to continue their investigation of Madarame and his counterfeit scheme, they approach Yusuke, a student of Madarame. Ren and Shiho go to his shack, where Yusuke paints his masterpiece, Humanity, using Ren as a model.
Later, after Madarame stole Yusuke's painting and claimed it as his own, Ren approaches Yusuke to recruit him.
The Thieves, with their newfound numbers, begin their infiltration into the Museum, passing through various paintings and challenges. It's during this infiltration that the thieves (or well, more specifically those whose confidant rank is high) begin to feel a closer connection to their personas, allowing them to share some of the skills their persona knows. An example would be sailing from Captain Kidd.
In addition, after discovering the actions of Madarame, and witnessing his mentor, the man he viewed as a father let his mother die in order to steal his mother's painting, The Sayuri, Yusuke is able to awaken to a new power. His resolve to bring his mentor to justice allows him to renew his oath with his persona, granting him newfound strength, enough to keep up with the rest of the Thieves even with his lack of experience.
Then, the thieves steal Madarame's treasure, and after a confrontation with his former mentor, Yusuke leaves the palace.
Act II: The Pawns and the Puppeteers.
Okumura's Space Station.
Igor brings Ren to the Velvet Room, and after noticing his control over the Trickster starting to slip. However, his attempts to coerce Ren to become dependent on him only leads Ren to solidify the fact that he cannot trust Igor.
It is after his meeting with Igor that Ren decides to no longer be the Pawn under Igor.
Later, Elizabeth, a former Velvet Room attendant, visits Leblanc at night. And it is during this conversation that she offers her help to Ren as an assistant. She implies that she wishes for him to be strong enough to beat a god. Then, after starting the bond, she leaves Ren until the time is right.
Not long after, a blue haired detective visits Ren. Naoto Shirogane, the true detective prince. She had been working under Kirijo industries as Mitsuru Kirijo's right hand woman.
For the past few months, she had been investigating the Phantom Thieves, and through her investigation had discovered the identities of its members. Under orders from Mitsuru, she recruits Ren into S.E.E.S, a secret organization that has been researching shadows and the Metaverse for years.
The public actions of the Thieves had been causing the Shadows to show results of distress. And such distress worried Mitsuru that it could result in another wave of Apathy Syndrome, a disease that could weaken the seal placed on one of the strongest beings to ever exist.
After Ren accepts the invitation to meet with Mitsuru, the Thieves are formally recruited into S.E.E.S. However, after seeing that they could not access the Metaverse, and in order to prevent their only connection from losing their access, Mitsuru decides to take a step back and observe the Phantom Thieves.
After all, when dealing with the whims of Gods, one has to keep as many cards as they can on the table.
While the Thieves themselves were busy dealing with the Kirijo group, the rest of the world continued to move on. And, Sae Nijima, a woman who had begun to partner with the Phantom Thieves in order to progress in her career, discovered the truth(ch 112). But her love for Makoto didn't allow her to acknowledge it. Instead, she set her eyes on Takuto Maruki, a man she believed to be the leader of the Thieves.
Yet, knowing she couldn't trust anyone she worked with, she has yet to reveal this information to anyone.
Later, while exploring Mementos, the Thieves stumbled upon a strange new path in Mementos.
The path opened once Ren reached out to it, revealing a path of flowers that would cause anyone who stepped in them to fall into an endless sleep. However, using Tartuffe, he opened a path through the flowers until stumbling into a massive door with carvings of eyes near the bottom, and hands stretching downward from the top with a fire engraving in the middle.
Once Morgana reached for said door, it opened to reveal a path that appeared to be covered in extremely reflective water. In addition, said room appeared to reflect onto the ceiling, where every action taking on the floor would echo on the ceiling.
Not long after this interaction, Ren met with Akechi, where they both revealed some of the cards they had kept hidden to themselves. An open secret they had kept between them. Ren revealed that he was a Phantom Thief, and Akechi revealed that he also had access to the Metaverse.
It was during this conversation that Akechi revealed to Ren that he was trying to take down the ones behind the mental shutdowns because they had killed his mother. However, Akechi refused to join the thieves, instead opting for working together should they need each other's help in the future.
It was around this time that Takuto Maruki realized that his theory of Cognitive Psience was being proved true due to the announcements the Thieves would play on Tv. (ch 122)
Later, Haru, who had found out Ren was a phantom thief due to him helping her with her fiance, asked for Ren's help. She had discovered that her father was working with bad people and wanted to help him.
And so, with all cards set on the table, the Thieves infiltrate Okumura's palace. The man who was the voice of the black mask, the killer behind the mental shutdowns. However, due to Okumura's paranoia, and his knowledge of the Metaverse, the security systems are far higher than anything the Thieves have experienced.
Side Notes.
Ren's favorite flower is the Poppy.
Jose has fed a piece of humanity to the Reaper.
Mona is Ren's most trusted ally. He will follow Ren's orders no matter what. In addition, he knows a secret Ren has not told anyone else. (Not even yall know lol, but since it happened already I wanted to tease yall with it. But I can tell you it happened during his walk with him at the start of Act II)
In addition, Mona is the only one other than Futaba and Ren to know about Futaba's Palace.
Kasumi's "mask" is forcibly stitched onto her face.
Akechi has not yet revealed the identity of the Phantom Thieves to Shido.
Makoto, Takemi, Futaba, and Mona have all begun a research group for the Metaverse.
There is another Velvet Room assistant, Geneva.
Makoto dresses somewhat Goth now. All hail our queen!
Makoto is the second in command of the Thieves.
Ren is a silly lil guy.
Tartuffe is a silly lil guy.
Tartuffe called the hidden path in mementos "home."
It is possible to summon personas in the real world.
Takemi has completed her cure.
Sae knows about Makoto and Ren being Thieves (but she is in denial)
The Star Jose gave Ren can hijack the cognition in an area.
Kawammomy is a cutie patootie.
Ren is still missing his Sun
Your Side Notes:
If I forgot anything else you think is important, please drop a paragraph comment with it!
See y'all soon!