Cognitive Dissonance - Nerdy Makoto (P5 Nerd TF) (Patreon)

Hey folks!

Recovery continues to go slowly, not helped by a few bumpy RL issues that I'm going to be dealing with this month. Apparently I only get smooth sailing during the middle months of the year! But ah well. Hopefully I'll be right as rain and writing again before long. In the meantime, I still have some stuff to tide you over from before I got sick. I hope you enjoy!

-

Request: How about a little miniseries where the main Persona 5 girls get their cognitions changed and turn into different kinds of girls? I’m thinking it’ll be nerd Makoto. Oh yeah almost forgot to mention, wanna make them all big pervs too, important to mention since that's gonna be a recurring theme in all the stories, they'll just be different types of pervs.

The life of a Phantom Thief was never a simple one. Having the power to dive into the human collective consciousness and literally creep into someone’s mind in order to change their cognition was a heavy responsibility – one that the group all took seriously. And none more seriously than their tactician, Makoto Niijima. She was, after all, one of the eldest of their group, and by far one of the most responsible. Unlike some members of their little gang, she had all too much respect for what could happen if such a power was misused – how it could twist or transform the victim into someone else entirely unless they were very, very careful. Fortunately, there was no way she’d ever let such a thing happen on her watch.

Unfortunately, that was exactly why she was chosen as the first target of a new threat.

For every force, there’s an equal and opposite counter-balance. That’s simple physics – but it applies in unexpected ways everywhere. And there was no place more unexpected than the metaverse. Here, where up could be down, where imagination could create worlds, and the skeletons in your closet could very much kill you, practically anything could happen…

Yes, the Phantom Thieves were about to suffer from the most dangerous risk for a thief – too much success. They had raided the hearts of evil-doers across the nation, cleaning out palaces and defeating a hum-drum kind of evil that people without palaces turned into on the regular. They had made an impression on the world around them – an indent on the collective consciousness. And now, that indentation was starting to be pushed back, a force working to return things to equilibrium.

In the depths of mementos, conjured from the miasma of human imagination, a set of figures began to take shape – ones that existed only to nullify and remove the Thieves that had called for their creation.

What was the opposite of a Phantom Thief?

An Indisputable Detective. The kind who could tell you what the truth was, no matter what it had previously been…

…

As for Makoto, she had no idea about any of this. Why would she? The Thieves had no reason to venture into Mementos at the moment, and there were no palaces that needed heisting. In fact, since it was the weekend – it was her day off! Time to relax and just enjoy herself, without having to worry if Ryuji was yelling too loudly about who’s heart they were going to change next, or if Futaba was breaking any laws with her smart phone…

Oh, Makoto loved her friends dearly, don’t get her wrong, but… They were a handful, and sometimes it was nice to just enjoy a break on your own. To have an excuse to cut loose, you know? She’d picked up a real fondness for motorcycling around the city after all her time on Johanna in the metaverse, and she was looking forward to her chance to do so again today.

First, though, she had a few things to pick up in town – some snacks, and a movie to watch later with her sister, stuff like that. Nothing big, but nothing she wanted to get wrong either. And it was there, while walking down the street, surrounded by the usual wandering crowds-

“Oof!”

- That she met her enemy.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” The brunette bent over and offered her hand to the woman she’d just knocked over. “I don’t know how I didn’t see you there. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” the blonde woman chuckled, accepting her hand with a smile. And Makoto felt the oddest tingling feeling as their hands clasped. “And don’t worry about it – really, it was more like I ran into you.”

The two shared a polite laugh – though even as they did, the Phantom Thief couldn't help but feel there was something odd about this lady. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something staring her in the face…

She shrugged it off. “Well, if you’re alright, I’d best get going. Sorry again…”

“Oh, please, don’t worry about it.”

The two smiled, and went their separate ways, with Makoto thinking no more about it.

She didn’t even notice the woman staring after her as she walked away – just like she’d missed the fact that the blonde’s face was eerily similar to her own. In fact, save for the blonde hair and blue eyes, she looked almost like an exact twin, right down to their matching clothing and hairstyles.

“Makoto Niijima, huh?” The woman smirked, pulling out her smartphone. On it, a blue icon in the shape of an open eye was flashing. “Let’s see what your subconscious looks like…”

Her thumb hit the app, and she vanished in a flash of blue – with no one on the crowded street giving her disappearance a second glance.

…

The Indisputable Detective stepped into the other realm confidently, taking in the view. Her outfit had changed, naturally. Her casual clothing had vanished, replaced by an all-white garb styled like a police officer’s uniform. She was on the side of the law, after all. You could tell by the smirk on her face as she lifted her cap.

Her surroundings were far less glamorous though. This was no palace she’d stepped into. Instead, it was a jail – and not even one lit by the comforting light of the velvet room. Here, the walls were white, and the bars made of light – and the one prisoner contained within it had no chance of escape.

“What… What is this?” Makoto’s shadow normally took the form of her persona – Johanna, or any of her developed forms. That was the norm for persona users, having to reach some degree of acceptance of themselves before they could achieve that kind of power. But now, here she was, returned to her shadow form – looking like Makoto, save for her yellow, glowing eyes. “Who are you?”

“I,” the woman in white grinned, striding up to the bars, “am the law you and your friends have flaunted. I am the protector of the greedy hearts you have stolen. I am the Detective who will bring you to justice.” Her smile widened. “Call me Otokam, for short.”

The shadow stared at her, unsure what to make of that little speech, before deciding to look around at her surroundings instead. “Where are we? What is this?”

Otokam shrugged. “The corrupt get palaces – thieves get jails. Welcome to yours. Don’t worry, you won’t be staying long. Once I’ve administered a little corrective justice, you can get right back on your way, sentence served.”

“Wh- What?” Makoto’s shadow backed up a step, shuffling deeper into her cell. “What do you mean, corrective justice? Stay the hell away from me, you weirdo!”

The woman in white just chuckled, pulling out her smartphone. “Oh, there’s no need to fuss. Just look over here for a moment, please.”

She held up the screen, the shadow’s eyes automatically flicking towards it despite herself, and-

Flash!

- Without warning, she found herself staring directly into a swirling blue spiral, a kaleidoscope of shimmering shapes and lines. She blinked, her brow wrinkling in confusion – but it was already too late. Despite her best efforts, she found she couldn’t look away.

“Wha-?”

“Shhhh.” The Detective in white hushed her with a gentle tone. “Don’t worry about it, Makoto. Just relax. Stop thinking. And sleep~”

“Buh… But…” It was no use. The shadow’s golden eyes were already starting to turn blue, filling with reflections of the twisting spiral. It dominated her gaze, filled every corner of her vision. There was nowhere she could look without a line or a curve steadily guiding her eyes down back into the maelstrom. And the more her point of view sank into the swirling waves, the more the spiral seemed to spread into her mind, leaking in through her eyes and twisting through her mind. It tangled her thoughts and swirled her memories, dazzled her senses and sapped her will.

Worse, the deeper she sank, the harder she found it to block out the Detective’s voice.

‘Relax…’

Her shoulders drooped, her eyelids nearly sliding closed, her world shrinking down to just the barest slit of vision, where the spiral still swirled. Her hands, formerly balled into fists, opened to hang limp at her sides, her back starting to stoop as her jaw slowly drifted open, a hint of drool pooling at the edge of her lip.

‘Stop thinking…’

The spirals swirled in the shadow’s eyes, bright blue and more real than any reflection. By now, Makoto’s shade was completely limp, practically swaying on her feet, an inch from falling to her knees, with not a single thought popping between her ears. The spiral had spread through her brain, and now it dominated every space within.

‘Sleep…’

The word was a death knell for the shadow’s will. With a quiet groan, her eyes slid shut, and she dropped – thudding to her knees as her mind hollowed out completely. Makoto’s ‘true self’ simply knelt there, her eyes swirling, staring into nothingness even as the Detective slid her phone away.

“There we go. See? No need to fuss. Now! Let’s see – you’re a prim and proper student council leader with a wild streak, eh? Brawler, bike rider, I bet you’ve already gotten fitted for a leather jacket. Well, we can’t be having with any of that now, can we? All that determination and independence is obviously the root of all your crimes! So…” The Detective leaned in, the bars allowing her to pass without issue, until her lips were right next to the shadow’s ears. “Makoto Niijima – you are a nerd.”

The hypnotised prisoner’s breath hitched as the words bored deep into her mind.

“Not just a nerd. An ultra nerd. A mega nerd. A pervy nerd.” The blonde Detective continued to whisper, her commands spilling into Makoto’s helpless subconscious mind. “You’re the kind of gal that gets hot over posters of anime and masturbates to your favourite yaoi and yuri fanfic. A champion mathlete that’s never thrown a punch. Your idea of a good time is chess club and painting models – especially the ones with panty shots, am I right?”

By now, the shadow was breathing heavily, eyes swirling quickly as the fantasy her captor had spelled out played through her mind. Already, one of her hands was sliding under her skirt, while the other was groping her chest. “Haahh… R… Right…!”

The Detective chuckled, raising a white gloved hand right next to her prisoner’s head. “Then forget all about this Phantom Thief nonsense, and get to it.”

Snap!

…

Unaware of the events currently transpiring in her own personal metaspace, Makoto had continued on to the shops, and now stood in the DVD rental store, eyeing the selection. She wanted something that both she and her sister would enjoy, and that meant considering both of their tastes. Fortunately, both Niijima ladies liked a good action flick, so-

Pop!

A shock ran through the world as a pair of thick rimmed glasses appeared on Makoto’s face – the kind with square lenses that declared, loud and proud to the entire world, that the wearer was a nerd. Strangely, she didn’t seem to notice their addition – and nor did anyone else. No, she simply adjusted them with a well-practiced motion, as though she’d been wearing them for years.

So, as she’d been thinking, maybe a nice romance movie? It wasn’t quite what her sister enjoyed, but it was still a fairly non-offensive pick – and Makoto had to admit, she enjoyed those far more than some mindless blockbuster. Besides, it was her turn to choose this week, so she’d definitely get a-

Pop!

Suddenly, the casually fashionable clothes that the Phantom Thief had been wearing were nowhere in sight. Instead, she was left clad in a rather ill-fitting dark dress that did her figure absolutely no favours – the kind of garment a lady like her would only wear if she had no fashion sense whatsoever. And that was all the more obvious as her figure started to swell out a little, the Niijima’s new memories much more sedentary lifestyle resulting in a few extra pounds hanging around her waist – and on her chest, too, as her breasts plumped up a few cup sizes.

Naturally, she noticed none of this – why would she? This was how she’d always looked, wasn’t it?

Anyway, she was definitely getting a movie from the anime section. Sure, her sister thought they were childish, but she really loved them, so tough! Especially the risqué ones, or the harem shows – the ones with all the panty shots, heehee~ She could probably get away with bringing one of those back tonight, right?

Pop!

Freckles dotted Makoto’s face as her sensible shoes turned into fuzzy long-legged boots, and her hair turned from neatly styled locks to an unkempt, greasy mess around her head. There was a glint of metal in her mouth as a set of braces materialized around her teeth – a final, nerdy touch – and then the change was done. The sensible and neat student council president had vanished – as had all memory that she’d ever existed as the changes rippled through the human unconscious. In her place, now stood Makoto Niijima, super nerd and proud – or perhaps it was closer to say, unashamed – of it.

And what had she just been thinking about? Oh right! Hentai!

The nerd let out a quiet little giggle as she scampered into the adult section of the rental store. Oh yeah, this was the stuff! Mm, she couldn’t wait to get these babies back to her room~ Of course, that meant she’d have nothing to show her sister once she got back home, but oh well. She’d just say the place had been shut or something. No big. Besides, the less time she spent watching boring movies on the couch with her sister meant more time in her room painting models or writing fanfic~ It was the perfect plan!

And as the messy haired brunette got left the counter – ignoring or just plain oblivious to the raised eyebrow of the cashier once he saw her selection – she marched right past a familiar blonde, who silently watched her skip out of the shop.

The Detective grinned. Yes, Makoto had accepted her changes well. Now she had no memory of the Phantom Thieves – let alone of being counted among their number. That was one criminal brought to justice… Now, to see to the rest~