History Fanfic / TheBodyReflectsTheHeartTheShadowReflectsTheSoul

* CallBack: Yu repeats a line of dialogue from [[Anime/Persona4TheAnimation the original Persona 4 anime]] when he, Sumire, Satomi, Atsuko, and Shen take on the Mega Beef Bowl Challenge.

* ArtifactOfDoom: Vanes of Order are golden feathers soon revealed to be shards of Yaldabaoth. If handled with care by a Persona-user, they're harmless, and the Persona-user can use them as supernatural reality-warping batteries. If consumed by a Shadow, it instantly grows more robust. If wielded by a regular person, it serves as a conduit to help them unleash their Persona but acts as a [[TheCorrupter Corrupter]] to them. And for someone with a darker heart, it can release darker impulses and eventually a Corporeal Shadow. At worst, [[spoiler:it can corrupt the Personal Shadow itself and force it to go berserk even if its owner accepts it]].

* AwesomeByAnalysis: Kenzo is this, able to reason things out quickly and accurately with little information. He guesses two of the Thieves' true identities before he gets an invite to the Thieves' Den.

* BondOneLiner: In base ''Persona 5'' and ''Royal'', the Thieves have distinctive one-liners following All-Out Attacks. A couple of new ones here:

** Chapter 4 ends with Joker approaching Yu that's not in a specifically conflict-free way.

** Chapter 9 ends with Kenzo Awakening to his Persona, Quasimodo, with the aid of a strange artifact.

** Mitsuru buys the Phantom Thieves a building in Yongen-Jaya to expand their home base, partly as an apology for being unable to help with Shido's conspiracy and partly as a way to assist fellow Persona-users. So, it's unsurprising that the only thing she asks in return is that they continue fighting Shadows and helping people who need it.

** Shoichi Takada, second-in-command of Sandā Arsenal, coaxed his boss to give in to his dark desires in a successful attempt to [[spoiler:manifest a Palace in the real world]]. Of particular note, he started it during the mental shutdown epidemic, before the Phantom Thieves' time.

* ExactWords: In Chapter 17, when Akane Hasegawa transfers to Shujin, rumors work overtime about her relation to Zenkichi Hasegawa, the Phantom Thief Wolf. She dissuades them by saying that Hasegawa is a common name and that she's gotten a lot of grief from the rumor mills at her old school wondering the same thing, never denying that the rumors are entirely correct.

* ForgotAboutHisPowers: In Chapter 42, after defeating a Hecatoncheires mini-boss with effort, Sho facepalms so hard that he knocks himself over when he realizes that he had a Persona with its weakness and forgot all about it.

** In the case of Sho, his scar glows blue as well, and considering his Zero Skill, him activating his Skill leans into GlowingEyesOfDoom.
* GoodParents: Ren's parents, Akari and Kazushi Amamiya. Despite being absent in canon, they have a close and loving relationship with their son, and they were the only people from his hometown to believe that he got framed for assault. They move to Tokyo in Chapter 18, and the Thieves throw a welcome party for them in the next chapter.

* GunsAreWorthless: Played with; because reality and the Metaverse have overlapped, any gun—real or model—can be an effective weapon against Shadows, especially flying ones. But in the hands of regular civilians, it takes a mob to be effective against anything but bottom-rung Shadows like Pixie and Jack-O-Lantern, so it still falls to Persona-users to handle the bigger messes. And of course, it's still played straight with some Shadows that are naturally immune to gunfire, like Shiki-Ouji.

* HeroicBastard: In this story, Ren is a ChildByRape; his birth father raped his mother while she was drunk at his party; she never told Ren his name. But his mother raised him lovingly and later met a man who began helping her; they married when he was twelve. The other Thieves resolve to track down the glorified sperm donor and bring him to justice as soon as they learn this.

** A couple of thugs who used to be part of Shido's conspiracy under Owada decide to kidnap Akane and ransom her to get Owada released from jail. They make two crucial mistakes. First was underestimating the Phantom Thieves, who track them down within an hour of arriving in Kyoto. And second, misjudging Akane; almost as soon as she woke up, [[spoiler:her Shadow began speaking with her, and she Awakened to her Persona]].
** A literal example at the end of Chapter 38; a couple of vagabonds pickpocket Kenzo and run. Then, in the next chapter, they try fighting him despite him trying to negotiate. They get thrashed.

* NebulousEvilOrganization: Hinted at starting in Chapter 19 and fleshed out in Chapter 31 as the first true villains of the story: Sandā Arsenal is a weaponry organization that's been booming in business since the Outbreaks began. They've been smuggling weapons for decades and had ties to Shido's conspiracy. Their latest plot involves trying to harness the power of Persona-users by abducting ones that aren't in the public eye.

** Kenzo's Velvet Room attendant is Saraiah, a young woman whose personality is impish like Elizabeth.

** Ryouto Yoshino is a timid boy who follows Kenzo's group around, trying to soak in the knowledge of how to fight Shadows, not willing to ask to join them.

* OriginalGeneration: ZigZagged. The characters from the main game get as much focus as the OCs, if not more in the fic's early parts.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: If this happens to a Persona-user, they are outraged. Such as when the Thieves learned about Akane's kidnapping.

** Shen uses a Jian and later a wrist-mounted crossbow.

This story has also [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39056232 spawned]] [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42186645/chapters/105916197 several]] [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42158775/chapters/106515921 spin-off]] fics that are part of the [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2913093 Reflectionverse series]].

** From an InUniverse standpoint, [[spoiler:Yuuki Mishima - who Futaba referred to multiple times as an NPC - in Chapter 45, when he receives a Shattering Shackle]].

* ChekhovsGun: A literal example in Chapter 22, when Joker notices a model for a British World War II De Lisle Carbine rifle, one of the rarest and quietest guns in the world, and Iwai says with a grin that it's the only model in the store that he'll never sell. WordOfGod says that "it'll be used by someone specialized in urban guerrilla warfare." It’s not much of a surprise, then, that Iwai himself winds up using it in Chapter 45.

** Chapter 45 ends with Akari revealing that [[spoiler: Shoichi Takada is the name of the man who raped her]].

* SpinOff: Several: [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39056232 ''Halfway to Tokyo with none of the Fare'']] is a one-shot focusing on Satomi and Atsuko, [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42186645/chapters/105916197 ''A Friendship Revived'']] focuses on Sumire and her friends and cousins, and [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42158775/chapters/105845406 ''Hearts of Liberty'']] is a GaidenGame style work that focuses on events happening in America

** Shoichi Takada, second-in-command of Sandā Arsenal, coaxed his boss to give in to his dark desires in a successful attempt to [[spoiler:manifest a Palace in the real world]]. Of particular note, he started it during the mental shutdown pandemic, before the Phantom Thieves' time.

** Introduced in Chapter 9, Kenzo's initial Persona is [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasimodo]].
** Introduced in Chapter 12, [[spoiler:Akane Hasegawa]] awakens to, rather appropriately, [[spoiler:[[Literature/LesMiserables Cosette, the daughter of Valjean]]]].
** In Chapter 13, Ren calls Futaba 'Bug' as a nickname; this comes from another ''Persona 5'' fic, ''Fanfic/TheManyQuirksOfPhantomThievery''.

** In Chapter 21, a chat group's name is "Somehow We Are All Still Alive," which the author cites as a reference to [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27015517/chapters/65950468 "Phantom Dumbasses" by Cipherian]].

* ChekhovsGun: A literal example in Chapter 22, when Joker notices a model for a British World War II De Lisle Carbine rifle, one of the rarest and quietest guns in the world, and Iwai says with a grin that it's the only model in the store that he'll never sell. Yet to see what comes of it. WordOfGod says that "it'll be used by someone specialized in urban guerrilla warfare."

--> '''Akari''': [[spoiler:Shoichi Takada is the name of the man who raped me.]]

This story has also [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/39056232 spawned]] [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42186645/chapters/105916197 several]] [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42158775/chapters/106515921 spin-off]] fics that are part of the Reflectionverse series.

* AllThereInTheManual: The Discord server contains a lot of information about the story's current state and future.

* HotSpringsEpisode: The latter half of Chapter 44 boils down to this

* OutdoorBathPeeping: Defied. When class pervert Yuichi attempts to peek at the girls at the Amagi Inn's hot springs, Kenzo stops him by freezing his feet to the floor. Additionally, WordOfGod mentions that he doesn't like that kind of scene, which is why it was written like this.

* HomeBase: As an apology for being unable to help the Phantom Thieves against Shido and EMMA, Mitsuru purchases a building beside Leblanc and gives it to the Thieves, renovating a secret passage from Leblanc's attic into the establishment. They soon turn it into the Thieves' Den: black walls, red carpet, bright furniture, plants in the corners, Yusuke's paintings everywhere, and, with some help from the Vanes of Order, massive in size.

** In Chapter 28, Sho's rant is almost identical to Kirito's in episode 8 of ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged.''

** In Chapter 18, Kenzo mentions that he's been into swordplay and archery since he saw ''Film/TheAdventuresOFRobinHood'' and has been dual-wielding "since before a certain anime character ever uttered the words '[[Anime/SwordArtOnline Starburst Stream]]'."

** Another time in Chapter 21, Kenzo says he'd [[LightNovel/SwordArtOnline "sooner put his brain in a microwave."]]

* CanonWelding: ''Persona 5 Royal'' and ''Strikers'' don't take place in the same continuity. Here, the events of ''Strikers'' occur after the true ending of ''Royal''. It's currently unknown what the Thieves did between ''Royal'' and ''Strikers'' however.

* CanonWelding: Persona 5 Royal and Strikers don't take place in the same continuity. Here, the events of Strikers occur after the true ending of Royal. However, it's currently unknown what the Thieves did between Royal and Strikers.

* Fanonwelding: Persona 5 'Royal' and 'Strikers' don't take place in the same continuity. Here, the events of 'Strikers' occur after the true ending of 'Royal'. It's currently unknown what the Thieves did between 'Royal' and 'Strikers' however.

!Tropes contained in ''The Body Reflects the Heart, the Shadow Reflects the Soul'':

* SimultaneousArcs: The Osaka Strike Team and the Inaba Visit arcs take place over the same week.

** Ayaka Tani is a college-aged girl who gets acquainted with Sho in Osaka.

* LongTitle: 10 letters, 14 syllables. Abbreviated as [[AcronymandAbbreviationOverload TBRtH, tSRtS]].

-->'''[[spoiler:Sho]]''': You know something? I ''really. Hate. People.'' They're ''selfish, ignorant, loud,'' obnoxious ''pricks'' with basically ''no'' redeeming qualities ''whatsoever!'' I mean ''really!'' Look at all they've ''achieved! Genocide,'' illegal ''experiments,'' [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking reality ]]''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking TV,]]'' it’s just a never-ending parade of failures and f***-ups! They are, ''without'' question, a complete ''write-off'' of a species, AND HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME ''CARE ABOUT THEM!!''