i will try to be brief. most of my more like rambling critiques about akihiko's linked episode can be found here but now that i have that here's how i would ideally restructure it

first, to start off, akihiko's character arc hinges on his initial iteration being an immature, narrow-minded, idealist who's obsessed with gaining strength and protecting others. this is a mentality he espoused as a way for atoning for the weakness he saw within himself after the death of his sister, as he blames himself for being unable to save her (despite being literally like 8 at the time). akihiko was very much so struck by the feeling of powerlessness watching the orphanage burn and the painful grief of losing his only living family member, and thus conceived for himself an "ideal" of atonement: a life of service protecting others and trying to live as a role model (especially for and to those younger than him, as we don't see him be as protective of the other two seniors).

akihiko's idealist nature is partly why he's so frustrated by shinjiro's abandonment of SEES - he thinks the way that shinjiro can atone for what happened with ken's mother is to similarly use his power to protect others and ensure that never happens again. while i'm sure he'd also just like to have his friend back, he wants shinjiro back in SEES as a way for him to make up for the past rather than letting it chain him down in isolation. it's how akihiko sees "moving on". akihiko's idealism is also why he lashes out when he's told that the risky plan to rescue fuuka might be too dangerous - the idea of not being able to save others, of not even being allowed to try, reminds him of the powerlessness he felt about his sister's death. as a result, he lashes out.

akihiko believes that the only way he can rightfully live is to dedicate himself to getting stronger and being a role model that others can depend on and gain inspiration from - that it's the only just way to atone and make up for his sister's death. he refuses to weigh down others (literally one of his original battle lines is "i don't want to be a burden") and instead is so overly ambitious and disciplined so he can be the one to help others instead. in P3 official design works, it's stated that akihiko's been carefully constructing "an admirable front" for others, that he's "obsessed with how others see him". he's overly logical as a way of brute-forcing past emotional responses and kick himself into action instead, and presents to others a confident, composed, reliable upperclassman figure.

i say all this to put a foundation for what akihiko's mentality is before shinjiro's death. he's constantly pushing himself and is obsessed with gaining strength in an eternal pursuit "to make up for the weakness he sees within himself" and to atone for a death that "he perpetually blames himself for". he's someone who is awkward and distant because he has constructed for himself an idea of what he must be and what his role in the lives of others is (that being a protector and mentor); and his obsessive, overly-practical, narrow-minded, and goal-oriented mentality is something that bars him from being able to really connect with people. in his P3P link after october 4th, he outright says that he was afraid of letting people in.

so onto the actual question, i would ideally want akihiko's growth to be restructured in a way that emphasizes a broadened outlook on the value of bonds, showing him learning from his past approach and experiences and trying to change for the sake of himself and others. his linked episode in reload repeatedly has him hammer in the point that he's going to protect others, but this didn't need any repetition. maybe once or twice would be serviceable? but it's something they hinge so heavily on as if the fact that he was going to continue protecting people wasn't already self-evident. and it really doesn't show any growth - akihiko was already doing this, has been doing so all his life, and there was nothing to indicate that he'd stop. even with him acknowledging that he'd been blinded by his obsession with strength during his resolution, the ending to that scene showed that he's committed to continuing to fight in sees, and continuing to protect others with the power he has. having him circle back to his promise to protect others as much as they do genuinely doesn't make any sense to me and doesn't do anything for his character. it doesn't communicate anything new about his mentality other than "i was doing this because of a selfish obsession, now i am doing it for the sake of others" but that is a pretty poor way to go about an arc that could've had a much more meaningful and applicable message.

while akihiko mentions it as part of a promise he and shinjiro made to protect others in his 3rd linked episode, they should've expanded on akihiko's change of mentality in how he sees connection. the 3rd linked episode, for the first half of it at least, made me feel like they were capitalizing on this idea. akihiko he tells the group that he was "just hungry and ended up making too much" while we know he actually threw the pancake party because it was something that his sister used to love and he wanted to help everybody cheer up. it shows him, though he might be awkward in how he goes about it, actively putting in an effort to show he friends he cares and to try and cheer them up.

that episode is ruined by how they shift it in the post-party conversation to again reinforce akihiko's "now, i'm going to protect everyone" stuff, but that's the crux of what i wish akihiko's character arc showed: a man who has lived a life consumed by an obsessive and idealist complex - who has never allowed himself to truly connect with others (even having distance with the other two seniors) and who has come to see his purpose as a protector and a mentor figure to others - unravelling that complex and learning how to care and connect with people, not just serve them.

even beyond seeing his way of showing he cares as protecting people, akihiko is not someone who is good at showing his friends that he cares for them. in fact, his mentality directly counters the idea of ever showing vulnerability and detaching himself from his own emotions (with only impulsive, intense emotions coming through). this is something made abundantly apparent in his dynamic with shinjiro, where essentially all of their interactions depict akihiko trying to impose his ideals on his friend: trying to get shinjiro to live and atone in a way that akihiko sees as correct. as aforementioned, while akihiko probably simultaneously simply wanted his friend back and you can certainly glean that in his dialogues, akihiko never expressly communicates to shinjiro anything about what akihiko wants - rather, it's what he perceives as what should be. that shinjiro has a duty to be in sees using his power to protect, that he should sign the papers and go back to school (akihiko never says anything about his own feelings on it to shinjiro, instead he jokes about it and only ever says "you know how much this means to mitsuru), and that he should stop using the drugs. the fact that akihiko does all this to try to get shinjiro back on his feet and live a normal is certainly itself an expression of akihiko's care for his friend, but the way he goes about that doesn't communicate that personal element. this is, yes, reading way too much into it, but my point here is to say that akihiko doesn't like showing anyone vulnerability, even a friend that he's had in his back corner for most of his life, and who notably was his main support after miki's death (as stated in P3ODW). the human element is pretty heavily removed from akihiko's interactions with others. this isn't exclusive to shinjiro at all, it's everybody. yukari even points out akihiko's emotional distance prior to the yakushima trip, feeling that the only thing akihiko cares about is whether or not he gets to fight.

back to the main topic here. again it's not like there was any doubt that akihiko would continue serving in SEES and fighting by his friends' sides after shinjiro's death. you don't need to repeatedly place emphasis on him continuing to protect others, and it instead comes to take away from what could've been. if his growth is just "it was a selfish thing, now it's not as much of a selfish thing", that is such an undercapitalization on what could've been an excellent arc that ties into the themes of the game.

persona 3 is a very meaningful story about life and the value of connections. the entire force that allows the end of the world to be prevented is literally in-game called "the power of friendship". the story of persona 3 acknowledges that death will happen, that it could happen at any time, that in life you will be hurt and that loving others can hurt, but also crucially that it's better to use the time you have to experience life and to love others than to never do so at all.

akihiko's arc to me would've been much more potent if he realized from his best friend's death that he was going about it the wrong way; that merely protecting others isn't enough to communicate that he cares for them; that he can't control fate (this tying into his arcana); that distancing himself, not letting people in, and committing himself to solely getting stronger so that he can save them (and himself) from the devastation of loss can't stop (and didn't stop) it from happening. it would've been much more satisfying and on-theme to show akihiko trying to learn how to actually care for others, even though he might it difficult to. trying to cheer up the rest of the dorm in the third linked episode is a great example of this, and you could further take this storyline and have it connect to shinjiro if you wanted, learning from the ways that shinjiro showed akihiko and others that he cared (though hardly anything like that is really apparent in reload necessarily, so it'd be difficult to execute; point is shinjiro has a lot of media where he shows others he cares in subtle ways and it would've been cool to see akihiko realize and try and replicate it along his healing journey). just showing akihiko reflecting on the past, learning from his faults, and striving to become better for the sake of people he loves is a much more of a healthier conclusion to his story than having him double down on protecting others to the point of saying "yes, i'll continue to protect my friends, and i'll start travelling the world to get even stronger so i can do so better!" (which to me, shows the exact opposite of growth if he's continuing to let his compulsion to protect others further obfuscate and distance him from the people he loves, and shows that he isn't actually moving on at all). he should learn how to be there for people, and how to connect with them beyond the fight.

anyways i've ranted enough, i hope that kind of communicates my overarching problem with how his growth was handled in P3R and how i wish it was instead ^_^

fuuka. i like to give mitsuru weird allergies but i don't think she'd have a weak immune system otherwise. ken i think gets sick once a year always no matter how hard he tries to fight it. there's no evidence to support the notion that shinjiro's pills make him more susceptible to other illness so i don't generally hc it for him. i think akihiko has gotten sick on several occasions from overworking himself (in fact mitsuru jokes about a time where this did happen and i am sure it is not the only instance) but probably doesn't get sick otherwise. junpei probably gets mildly ill often just on account of the teenage boyness (this dude does not dress properly for the weather) (a little unhygienic also)

this is a funny question and i've been busy and ended up forgetting to answer it. generally-speaking though if you wanna get a better eye at noticing the difference here are like. the main markers:

i mean this one's obvious so i'll get it out of the way first but emphasizing the protein bit. original P3 actually only has it mentioned twice, and one of those times isn't actually him saying it (it's shinjiro on 6/23). the only time akihiko ever says it himself is when you go up to him for the elizabeth request. akihiko naturally would be pretty strict with his diet as an athlete but the protein stuff specifically becoming a like. big trait in his character only happened after p3p's release. Q, P4A(U), even P3D (though it's the least of the offenders in the spinoff titles) all make it into a larger Thing for him, and reload follows that path. from my counts he says it more than 16 times across his P3R hangouts, linked episode, and tartarus dialogues. which is kind of ridiculous a little #lol

extended out from that is like. making everything in his character circle back to how he works out. akihiko's character heavily revolves this aspect of him and i will never deny this fact as an akihiko #lover. but like. he's also just a guy! he's got other shit he does and other shit he talks about

mm. aggression is probably the most apparent way it manifests. the thing is: akihiko is a very driven man. he's passionate about self-improvement. he /wants/ to be better so he can protect others and be that mature dependable mentor figure to his friends. he does get aggressive, but that aggression really comes up in regards to battle and competition. he really doesn't get angry at things in his everyday life -- in fact, basically the only time akihiko gets angry at someone is shinjiro on 9/10 after learning about the drugs. akihiko is actually quite controlled in his temper. he gets angry at his own inability more than anything else (even that 9/10 interaction is in part akihiko's frustration at his inability to help shinjiro), like when mitsuru says they shouldn't attempt to save fuuka through tartarus because it'd be incredibly dangerous. tl;dr if he's portrayed as being easy-to-anger and aggressive towards others then well. yeah

this is piggybacking on the previous example, and is more for fics than just people making idle commentary on him, but him not having that sort of cooler/aloof air to him. that's something i felt was very dissonant with how p3r akihiko was characterized -- they make him very easy to rile up and not as though like he's trying to offer that same mature-and-reliable mentor vibe that he did originally. which is like, a very core part of his drive. he wants to protect people, yes, but he wants to be what he couldn't be for miki. he wants people (especially those younger than him) to look up to him as an admirable, sensible, reliable figure. akihiko is incredibly aspirational, he dresses nice and gets good grades and is the captain of the boxing team not because he feeds off the attention of others, but because he wants to fill that role in other peoples' lives. he's very proactive in his pursuits and has moments, when challenged, where he loses his composure, but he tries very hard to maintain the image of a mature man

stupidity. look akihiko is an oblivious man, he struggles with reading people. he can be really bull-headed and stubborn (though, again, this more relates to when his competitive drive is challenged, or when it's something he really cares about, like how he's very stubborn in trying to get shinjiro to come back to SEES). but he's not like. an idiot? i see this a lot even though reload actually doesn't try to make him seem like a poor student. they just seem to think he's really unintelligent, or more like a ryuji-type (he's very. very far from ryuji), or some sort of "golden retriever" ass archetype. he's not and i hate it when people act like he is ^_^

in fics generally it's more of the same. something i've found in a lot of writers who started post-reload is that they end up making him swear a lot? which is really strange to me given that the only time that akihiko did swear was in a line in og P3's english version -- this was removed in reload, because reload's localization tried to be more faithful to what he says in the japanese script. like personally i don't think akihiko is made uncomfortable by swearing (he is close friends with shinjiro, after all), but it does seem to be something he abstains from. he's quite polite (albeit very blunt) and like never curses. even when he's provoked. the only instance in which he swore (when it was still in the game) was to strega in the confrontation after shinjiro's death (calling them "you sons of bitches"), a pretty appropriate moment to get mad/insult someone. i guess it's the overall vibe of p3r akihiko that makes people want to make his speech edgier[?] i don't know

hmm i probably prefer portable/fes soundtrack over reload. though i do really love a lot of reload's OST i think i just vibe more with what the original had to offer (plus it's hard for me to ignore things like reload's mass destruction which kind of butchers mass destruction for me, or burn my dread -reload- which i don't think i'll ever like either). P3P/P3F being combined here also means more song diversity; even though colour your night and full moon full life are good, the female protag route has some genuinely amazing songs. i love time. i love wiping all out. i love way of life. like idk man!

it's difficult for me to pick an OST between the three games because i listen to them all in like a collective playlist. though if i had to pick one it'd probably be p3's. again it just has a nice song diversity and i fuck with the vibes heavy. p5 i do enjoy a lot a lot but i do end up getting fatigued from it more easily (whether this is because of the songs themselves or because they end up wheedling into every single youtube my mix playlist of all time due to their sheer popularity cannot be determined). point is ummm. yeah probably p3's ^_^ then p5's and p4's and then p2's (even though i really really really love a lot of p2 music). persona as a franchise does not have bad OSTs

on a “good” fic writing day i would say i could bust out like 3-4.5k. like when you get in a mood bro you get in a mood. however these are very rare and usually spurred from “wow i just had an incredible idea in the shower and if i don’t try and execute on this right now i’ll explode” — again, this is pretty rare though. and more relies on a stroke of inspiration, which you have to learn to write with or without ^^

for a habit, i usually try to get in at least 500 words worth of writing (whether or not that’s writing i end up keeping remains to be decided). it’s good practice, even if it sucks ^_^ if i’m trying to get progress in on a project or fic though i like having a specific time set for writing that i allot in advance (a day, or the morning before, or two days, whatever), because then i’m looking forward to writing and thinking about what i want to write between my obligations. generally on “productive days” i get out about 1k to 1.5k, but it really depends! i try not to put a metric on myself because it really depends on what you’re writing. some stuff (or parts of stuff) is naturally gonna be more taxing and take more time trying to string into words, while other times it just flies by because you’re in a Groove.

as for editing, i am quite literally always in a cycle of editing between my writing. so “edit passes” doesn’t really apply for me, since i’ll reread tonnes of passages as i write them and edit as needed. i will tend to reread the full thing twice before posting (once just when i finish the draft; once a week later so i can have freshened eyes on it) just to make sure i didn’t miss anything ^_^

mm. okay so i don't really dislike anyone in the p3 cast. if i had to tier SEES it'd be like

1. shinjiro (he and akihiko swap for number 1 spot every week)
2. akihiko. obligatory
3. mitsuru. quite literally i could not express to people how much mitsuru means to me. it's just that the other two also mean so much to me. i'm sorry suru
4. ken
5. yukari
6. aigis
7. fuuka
8. koromaru
9. junpei (i don't dislike junpei. to be clear, i actually really enjoy him. i just. everyone else in sees is very precious to me)

if i had to put the protags in there... well even that's kind of difficult. especially kotone who doesn't have as much supplementary media for me to get super attached to. i would probably put kotone just under aigis. and makoto idk that blue guy changes every week for me between under aigis or under fuuka. even though i really do like makoto's character in the movies i've gotten very attached to the top six here, so it's hard to change their places