By: Shocker
Vanishing Act has
issues.
Mostly, it's on the technical side of things. Shocker's writing is passive and his tendency to rely on stock phrases wears very thin after over a hundred chapters. Add in how fucking
long it is, and finishing this was a start-stop process that took
weeks. I don't think it juggles its large cast very well, with Ann and Ryuji IMO kind of falling off the map toward the end. And the fight scenes
drag. You can tell he's basing this on a turn-based RPG, the fight scenes have many of the same beats.
At the same time, I always came back to it, wanting to know what happened. Genuinely, I think my unfamiliarity with Persona 5
helped, since this fic is mostly a Persona 5 novelization with Jojo elements added and some changes because of that. So there's a strong mystery element, but unlike some fics I could name that went that route, this one actually executes and steadily reveals more and more. The divergences in Persona 5 canon are also interesting, now that I know more. For example, the Phantom Thieves' expanded roster means they can hit two Palaces at once, and with Akechi fixated on Joker he doesn't realize they're moving on Okumura's Palace until it's too late.
Speaking of new additions, besides Shizuka, who I'll talk about in a bit, I like all the additions and how they fit in, something I'm sure a lot of Persona fics mess up. Shiho's joining is done when they're still going against Kamoshida, and so it allows her to show her true feelings about him and vent them, putting her in a healthier place overall. Hifumi as a natural Stand user just makes far too much sense. Sergio continues the long tradition of Joestar/Zeppeli relations, and also represents the Phantom Thieves having a higher level of outside support.
And then there's Shizuka. Shocker takes a baby with no personality yet and turns her into a rounded character with all sorts of quirks, hangups, backstory, and other bits of characterization. She shows some of the characteristic Jojo creativity, using invisibility in all sorts of creative ways. She's also the center of the meeting between Personas and Stands, which are similar enough for most to take them at face value but just different enough to trip them up. Some of the best fights in the fic are Stand on Persona action where both combatants are trying to feel out what the other can do.
Oh, and also: Persona 3 and 4 characters make significant appearances,
without an accusations flung their way (as I've seen a few times).
In summary: rough but compelling. You're on the list.
By: freestyle wyvern
Behold the power of an in media res beginning! I don't know how Tanya goes from getting trafficked by some rich asshole with a taste for blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids to a major figure in Umbrella fighting her way out of Raccoon City alongside Jill Valentine, but I'm eager to find out!
You're on the list!
Curious about the next generation of heroes, Shigaraki goes to stake out the UA entrance exam... And accidentally ends up passing? And getting accepted?? Wait, but he doesn't actually have to attend the school, right...? The school full of heroes, just waiting to sniff out the fact that he's a villain? The school he's about to attack??? Oh, there's no way this is going to end well…
Or: one of those accidental vigilante Midoriya fics, except it's Shigaraki and heroism
Okay, this fic can go get fucked.
I was mostly on board with this fic until Chapter 9. Sure, there some things niggling at the back of my head, like aging down Shigaraki, but it was an interesting premise that was mostly being executed well. I could see, slowly, Shigaraki bonding with 1-A and coming to realize being good feels good, a route I wish more stories would take with their redemption arcs. It was great with Thunderbolts, it can be great elsewhere.
And then Chapter 9 hits. It comes after the end of the Sports Festival arc, where Shigaraki refuses to get onto the podium to accept the first-place medal. And how does the fic handle this?
By throwing Midnight under the bus by having her hit him with Somnambulist and fucking chain him to the podium!
What the actual fuck! Like, thematically I get what the author is going for here in terms of trauma triggers and revealing things to the rest of the cast, but Jesus Christ this isn't just character assassination. This is assassinating a character, then exhuming the body, putting it on trial to slander it further, and then executing the body a second time just to be fucking sure! And I don't want to hear anything about the other characters' reactions or comparisons to Bakugo.
Bakugo was spitting furious and tried to explode Todoroki outside the bounds of the match. Hate that scene all you want, but it's a million times more justifiable than
this!
Argh. Just... fucking... that's a dealbreaker, as you can surely guess. Get out of my fucking sight.
