[Persona 4] Family Matters
Title: Family Matters
Fandom: Persona 4
Author: inksmears
Characters/Pairings: The Investigation Team
Genre: General
Rating: G
Prompt: Vignettes on the IT's family.
Author's Notes: N/A
Souji only recalls that his parents were never around. They came and went as quickly as the weather changed. When he was younger he was always taken care of by various college-aged babysitters, usually friendly women with kind smiles and cooing voices. He felt closer to them than he ever did to his own mother. They were always very kind but they weren't his parents. He wanted to be with his parents as most little kids do. He wasn't an exception to that rule.
Eventually his loneliness and longing for them turned into frustration as he grew older. One day he felt so abandoned that he broke and tore every picture of his parents in the house that he could find. It frightened the newest and extremely timid sitter watching over him at the time so she had resigned, fleeing without ever bothering to tell Souji or his parents she had quit. He found himself truly alone for the very first time and it was this incident that taught him how to cook. He fended for himself after that even when his parents actually showed up. They never really acknowledged their absence and Souji learned to stop caring. He also learned to detach himself from others. Everyone came and went in his life. Why bother forming bonds?
When his parents shipped him off to Inaba because they wanted his uncle to "look after him" Souji felt bitten by irony. But he obeyed, bitterly hating himself for still following their whims even at age seventeen. And then he silently made peace with his neglectful folks because he realized their decision to send him to Inaba, to a place where he found a real family, was the only good thing they had ever done for him.
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Yosuke's parents are pretty ordinary. His father runs Junes and his mother is a secretary for another big company. Their backgrounds cause them to expect their son to work for his own living like they have since they were out of college. They don't buy him much and sometimes they can come off cold, even to their own son.
On the outside looking in Yosuke has it rough. But its the life he's always known and he has no desire to change it. Sure, it's a pain to never have enough cash and to constantly be fending for himself. But he feels it's taught him how to depend on himself more and not hang on the arm of others. That's important to him.
Besides, he knows that if he's sick or has a bad day his mom will give him a comforting hug. He knows if he's troubled he can sit down and talk to his dad, who has always been a good listener. (Well, sometimes.) And he knows no matter what happens they'll always be happy to welcome him home.
-------------
Chie's parents are as energetic as she is. Her mom doesn't work so she spends her time doing various eccentric hobbies. Last year she decided to collect cheap knick-kancks from the West. Two years before that she got into photography and took hundreds of pictures of cats and street signs. But no matter what she does she always does it with a smile and a zest that many others can't keep up with.
In comparison her dad is always more serious. He's a business man so he's only really home when the working day is done. But he's friendly and kind even in a stoic way. He can be strict with the women in his family but never cruel. He had always supported his wife's hobbies and his daughter's equally eccentric interests.
Chie is closer to her mom than her dad because they're more alike. But her dad is who she depends on most. Whenever she needs advice she knows he's the one to turn too.
-------------
Yukiko resented her parents for a very long time. When she was five her dad and mom divorced and she never saw her father again. That was the beginning of it. Next came the business with the inn. Her mother practically chained her to it and then left her to its mercy. She never thought twice about her daughter's own free will. It just seemed so natural that she would follow her footsteps.
So for the longest time Yukiko hated her for it. She took it with a smile, though, and it wasn't until after her Shadow's defeat that she realized it was her own fault. She never spoke to her mother very much. She allowed her mom to lead her because maybe she was afraid that if she fought it her mom would leave too.
But after she went missing in the TV World and then returned home after her rescue her mother had gathered her in her arms and cried. Yukiko had cried too and they spent the whole night crying and talking for the first time in years. Yukiko told her the truth then and her mother had cried harder, but out of apology. "You can be and do whatever you'd like," she had told her. "I'll always love you and I'll always be here for you. I won't ever leave."
It was those words that supported her through the decision to leave Inaba. They were also the words that convinced her to stay.
-------------
The death of Kanji's father messed him up. It was all his fault he was so abnormal and for the longest time Kanji hated him for it. He hated him for dying, hated him for his dying words and hated him for screwing him up. So much hate but no way to express it only made it all worse. That was his fault too. Kanji wished he wasn't dead so he could hit him.
But wrapped up in his hate made him forget who his dad even was. And once he finally released that hatred he realized he couldn't remember what kind of man he was let along what kind of father he had been. And that made him hate himself more than he had ever hated his dad.
As a result he kept his distance from his mother. She had been so devastated by her husband's death that Kanji felt being closer to her would somehow make it worse. He never stopped to think maybe a son's love is what she needed most. Then one day he found her quietly looking at an old photo album. He sat down next to her without thinking and listened to her tell stories about the past and the father he'd forgotten.
Afterward everything changed for the better.
-------------
'Keep your chin up. Don't slouch. Don't wear that skirt, it's too short and you're too young. Wear your hair like this, not like that. Go to bed at nine, no exceptions. Don't miss school and always do your homework. Study for six hours a day.'
Rise could recite every rule and regulation her parents use to impose on her. She couldn't forget them because that had been her entire life, full of rules, judgement and demands. Her parents thrived on controlling everything and that included her. It's what turned her into a shy girl and made her an easy target for bullies at her school.
When she became an idol they didn't approve. They didn't acknowledge how happy it made her or how it gained her friends for the first time. All they saw was their daughter breaking all their rules. So they disowned her. Not literally but emotionally, even more so than they did before. Her grandma became her only support and when she told her about everything the elderly woman quietly offered her anything she needed. Rise felt the sorrow in her tone. Her only son abandoning her only granddaughter created a family rift that never fully healed.
Rise's career took off and so she left to live her dream. She never looked back and really hasn't since.
-------------
The older Naoto gets the harder it is for her to remember her parents' faces. Her grandfather has plenty of pictures but Naoto prefers something more intimate. But memories fade faster than photos and after a while the only way for her to recall their faces were with pictures. Her father is a tall, handsome man with a charming smile. Her mother is a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and a pale face. It's her mother that perks Naoto's interest most of all. She had a lot of suitors, her grandfather told her once. He also says that Naoto looks most like her.
Naoto thinks her mother would be disappointed to see her child now. She had been a detective too. A beautiful, woman detective who hadn't been afraid to be both herself and to do what she loved. Naoto wonders how she did it and often wishes she could ask her. When she sees her mother's photo she wishes pictures could answer questions. Then she berates herself for her childishness.
Her birth name is Naoto and her grandfather told her it was her mother who gave her that unisex name. She wanted her child to be able to do anything she wanted so she avoided gender specific names to empower her. Perhaps it had been her own experience that made her consciously choose that name.
Naoto takes her name as an unspoken promise. She swears to the photos of her smiling parents that one day she'll be brave enough to be like her mother: both a detective and a woman.
-------------
Teddie sometimes thinks he's missing something by not having parents. He wants to be human but what kind of human doesn't have parents? He wasn't "born" so he has no blood relatives. He watches Yosuke with his parents or listens to Chie complain about her extended family and feels like he's missing a large piece of ordinary life.
He expresses this to Yosuke one day. The teen replies by rolling his eyes and thudding the bear lightly on the head with a fist. "Aren't we your family?"
Teddie blinks. Then he grins and never worries about it again.
Fandom: Persona 4
Author: inksmears
Characters/Pairings: The Investigation Team
Genre: General
Rating: G
Prompt: Vignettes on the IT's family.
Author's Notes: N/A
Souji only recalls that his parents were never around. They came and went as quickly as the weather changed. When he was younger he was always taken care of by various college-aged babysitters, usually friendly women with kind smiles and cooing voices. He felt closer to them than he ever did to his own mother. They were always very kind but they weren't his parents. He wanted to be with his parents as most little kids do. He wasn't an exception to that rule.
Eventually his loneliness and longing for them turned into frustration as he grew older. One day he felt so abandoned that he broke and tore every picture of his parents in the house that he could find. It frightened the newest and extremely timid sitter watching over him at the time so she had resigned, fleeing without ever bothering to tell Souji or his parents she had quit. He found himself truly alone for the very first time and it was this incident that taught him how to cook. He fended for himself after that even when his parents actually showed up. They never really acknowledged their absence and Souji learned to stop caring. He also learned to detach himself from others. Everyone came and went in his life. Why bother forming bonds?
When his parents shipped him off to Inaba because they wanted his uncle to "look after him" Souji felt bitten by irony. But he obeyed, bitterly hating himself for still following their whims even at age seventeen. And then he silently made peace with his neglectful folks because he realized their decision to send him to Inaba, to a place where he found a real family, was the only good thing they had ever done for him.
-------------
Yosuke's parents are pretty ordinary. His father runs Junes and his mother is a secretary for another big company. Their backgrounds cause them to expect their son to work for his own living like they have since they were out of college. They don't buy him much and sometimes they can come off cold, even to their own son.
On the outside looking in Yosuke has it rough. But its the life he's always known and he has no desire to change it. Sure, it's a pain to never have enough cash and to constantly be fending for himself. But he feels it's taught him how to depend on himself more and not hang on the arm of others. That's important to him.
Besides, he knows that if he's sick or has a bad day his mom will give him a comforting hug. He knows if he's troubled he can sit down and talk to his dad, who has always been a good listener. (Well, sometimes.) And he knows no matter what happens they'll always be happy to welcome him home.
-------------
Chie's parents are as energetic as she is. Her mom doesn't work so she spends her time doing various eccentric hobbies. Last year she decided to collect cheap knick-kancks from the West. Two years before that she got into photography and took hundreds of pictures of cats and street signs. But no matter what she does she always does it with a smile and a zest that many others can't keep up with.
In comparison her dad is always more serious. He's a business man so he's only really home when the working day is done. But he's friendly and kind even in a stoic way. He can be strict with the women in his family but never cruel. He had always supported his wife's hobbies and his daughter's equally eccentric interests.
Chie is closer to her mom than her dad because they're more alike. But her dad is who she depends on most. Whenever she needs advice she knows he's the one to turn too.
-------------
Yukiko resented her parents for a very long time. When she was five her dad and mom divorced and she never saw her father again. That was the beginning of it. Next came the business with the inn. Her mother practically chained her to it and then left her to its mercy. She never thought twice about her daughter's own free will. It just seemed so natural that she would follow her footsteps.
So for the longest time Yukiko hated her for it. She took it with a smile, though, and it wasn't until after her Shadow's defeat that she realized it was her own fault. She never spoke to her mother very much. She allowed her mom to lead her because maybe she was afraid that if she fought it her mom would leave too.
But after she went missing in the TV World and then returned home after her rescue her mother had gathered her in her arms and cried. Yukiko had cried too and they spent the whole night crying and talking for the first time in years. Yukiko told her the truth then and her mother had cried harder, but out of apology. "You can be and do whatever you'd like," she had told her. "I'll always love you and I'll always be here for you. I won't ever leave."
It was those words that supported her through the decision to leave Inaba. They were also the words that convinced her to stay.
-------------
The death of Kanji's father messed him up. It was all his fault he was so abnormal and for the longest time Kanji hated him for it. He hated him for dying, hated him for his dying words and hated him for screwing him up. So much hate but no way to express it only made it all worse. That was his fault too. Kanji wished he wasn't dead so he could hit him.
But wrapped up in his hate made him forget who his dad even was. And once he finally released that hatred he realized he couldn't remember what kind of man he was let along what kind of father he had been. And that made him hate himself more than he had ever hated his dad.
As a result he kept his distance from his mother. She had been so devastated by her husband's death that Kanji felt being closer to her would somehow make it worse. He never stopped to think maybe a son's love is what she needed most. Then one day he found her quietly looking at an old photo album. He sat down next to her without thinking and listened to her tell stories about the past and the father he'd forgotten.
Afterward everything changed for the better.
-------------
'Keep your chin up. Don't slouch. Don't wear that skirt, it's too short and you're too young. Wear your hair like this, not like that. Go to bed at nine, no exceptions. Don't miss school and always do your homework. Study for six hours a day.'
Rise could recite every rule and regulation her parents use to impose on her. She couldn't forget them because that had been her entire life, full of rules, judgement and demands. Her parents thrived on controlling everything and that included her. It's what turned her into a shy girl and made her an easy target for bullies at her school.
When she became an idol they didn't approve. They didn't acknowledge how happy it made her or how it gained her friends for the first time. All they saw was their daughter breaking all their rules. So they disowned her. Not literally but emotionally, even more so than they did before. Her grandma became her only support and when she told her about everything the elderly woman quietly offered her anything she needed. Rise felt the sorrow in her tone. Her only son abandoning her only granddaughter created a family rift that never fully healed.
Rise's career took off and so she left to live her dream. She never looked back and really hasn't since.
-------------
The older Naoto gets the harder it is for her to remember her parents' faces. Her grandfather has plenty of pictures but Naoto prefers something more intimate. But memories fade faster than photos and after a while the only way for her to recall their faces were with pictures. Her father is a tall, handsome man with a charming smile. Her mother is a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and a pale face. It's her mother that perks Naoto's interest most of all. She had a lot of suitors, her grandfather told her once. He also says that Naoto looks most like her.
Naoto thinks her mother would be disappointed to see her child now. She had been a detective too. A beautiful, woman detective who hadn't been afraid to be both herself and to do what she loved. Naoto wonders how she did it and often wishes she could ask her. When she sees her mother's photo she wishes pictures could answer questions. Then she berates herself for her childishness.
Her birth name is Naoto and her grandfather told her it was her mother who gave her that unisex name. She wanted her child to be able to do anything she wanted so she avoided gender specific names to empower her. Perhaps it had been her own experience that made her consciously choose that name.
Naoto takes her name as an unspoken promise. She swears to the photos of her smiling parents that one day she'll be brave enough to be like her mother: both a detective and a woman.
-------------
Teddie sometimes thinks he's missing something by not having parents. He wants to be human but what kind of human doesn't have parents? He wasn't "born" so he has no blood relatives. He watches Yosuke with his parents or listens to Chie complain about her extended family and feels like he's missing a large piece of ordinary life.
He expresses this to Yosuke one day. The teen replies by rolling his eyes and thudding the bear lightly on the head with a fist. "Aren't we your family?"
Teddie blinks. Then he grins and never worries about it again.