There is yaoi everywhere for those with eyes to see...

[autumninpluto]

I'm playing Persona 5 right now, and like... not to be yaoipilled as fuck, but–

I'm on Rank 4 of Akechi's confidant (I hate saying that honestly; I'm more used to saying "social link", so I'll call it that) and I'm already sold.

This is really dumb of me, by the way, but I can't stop thinking about a thread my mutual made on Bluesky a few days ago about how some people have been saying ShuAke can't be a thing because it makes no canonical sense.

Hence the journal entry title, "There is yaoi everywhere for those with eyes to see..."

First of all, I think people who say "xyz ship can't be a thing because it's not supported in canon" are kind of insufferable.

"It's my opinion—" I don't care. Opinions can still be horseshit. And it's not about saying, "Everyone should ship [insert ship of choice]", but I don't like the "canon" argument being used to discredit ships as a whole because that's very narrow-minded.

Canonical interactions aren't the only basis for what makes a good ship—there's also things like, shared backstories, character dynamics whether explored or not, contrasting beliefs... characters, at least in decently written stories, are more than just pieces on the plot chess board. They have little facts about them that don't really serve the overall plot but make for a good springboard for the imagination.

And this is coming from me, whose ships are most likely the most popular ones in fandom, ergo the ones with the most "canonical evidence."

It's okay to not have a preference for something or to think it's unlikely, but I promise you, treating canon as the Bible is very restrictive. Trampling on other people's fun because you're a huge canon/ship snob is also just counterproductive, and frankly, miserable.

This is for a different fandom, but I saw someone who said, "I can't ship something unless it's canon." They were saying that for an M/F shounen anime ship that's already implied. But because there is no "Word of God", they feel as if their hands are tied and they can't fully appreciate it. That's just real sad, bro. Where's your whimsy.

In fact, I have great respect for rare pair shippers. These people are seeing things I'm not, and even if there is literally nothing there, they're still having fun and there's nothing better than that.

Now, to go back to the topic of ShuAke—I'm only past the 3rd castle at this point, so no spoilers please—but for ShuAke in particular, enemies-to-lovers is a famous trope, and so is the concept of "doomed yaoi".

The MC and Akechi are introduced as having opposing beliefs, and given how... strongly Akechi feels about the Phantom Thieves, and how tense some responses to his initial Social Link conversations can be, it doesn't take much to see that, if Akechi were to find out his trusted friend is the leader of the Phantom Thieves, there is going to be, at the very minimum, some dissonance. Instant angst material, right there.

I'm on Rank 4 but I say "trusted" because, well, I know how Persona games tend to go and of course deepening one's relationships is a given. At this point, I don't know how exactly their relationship unfolds. Persona 5 is a relatively old game by now, and while I've actually remained unspoiled for the most part, there is only so much I can infer from the ShuAke art/Akechi memes I've seen floating around cyberspace.

We also have Joker's troubled past and inherent distrust of authority figures due to being screwed over, feeling like he doesn't have a place in the world until he finds his "home" in the Phantom Thieves, versus Akechi's growing popularity and the respect he receives for his competence; he is well-liked, until you see that, deep down, he is actually lonely. He lives alone, has very few friends (makes a point to say Joker's the only one he's ever invited with him to his favorite jazz bar—though the truth of this statement is unverified at this point in my progress), and is only fawned over because of what he is, not who he is. A misfit with the power of friendship vs. a straight-laced loner—yet another compelling dynamic.

I'm not in the position to go all ship manifesto on here, but just this alone is already compelling for where I am in the story.

It honestly breaks my heart that Akechi is not a romance option. My opinion remains the same, regardless if his Social Link story or character arc goes down a path I don't like. I need Atlus to get with the damn program. If Intelligent Systems can do it, so can Atlus.

For all the progression Persona games have on social commentary, it's lacking in the gender department. (Do not get me started on Persona 4, by the way.)

Even in P5, we still have the flamboyant drag queen trope as a semi-recurring gag in Shinjuku. It's like Atlus only knows ONE flavor of gay men and that's it.

Putting so much gay subtext into two male characters and not having an option to romance them, to the point where a lot of people ask about it online which means there is a very visible gap, is... not the vibe.

I realize I'm self-censoring myself because I don't want to just start arbitrarily calling things "homophobic", but it does feel rather homophobic.

But if Atlus can just grow some balls and put a gay romance option where it makes the more sense to have it than not, we'd all be better for it, and then maybe canon ship purists can stop complaining about the legitimacy of their potential romantic relationship.

---

Final note: While writing this entry, I made the mistake of clicking into the "fujoshi" tag on Tumblr. The amount of misinformed vitriol people have is unreal, lol.

Comments

[autumninpluto simmy]

Seeing it as a lavender/political marriage is probably better for my mental health, let's go with that lmao xD

Definitely, I do remember some discussions of how wlw is more "palatable" in mainstream media, probably something to do with how women are seen as more pure? You're also right that it was probably done with the male gaze/male homophobia in mind.

Oh wow, I didn't know that about Ace Attorney. I've played a fair bit before, but I probably didn't get to the bit where they started pushing the envelope a bit more, so to say. Most non-explicitly BL works will always want to toe the line between non-canon and canon so they can pander to both audiences as much as possible, and (in my pessimistic opinion) have those audiences fight so they can continue to be relevant for years to come. (Can you tell I'm so tired of the BakuDeku / IzuOcha fighting? Lmao.)