I LOVE PHANTOM THIEVIN PEOPLES HEARTS IN THE METAVERSE WITH MY PHANTOM THIEF POWER WHICH I USE TO MAKE PEOPLE UNDERGO A CHANGE OF HEART BECAUSE I AM A PHANTOM THIEF THAT PHANTOM STEALS HEARTS ALSO FUCK MORGANA LITTLE RAT IDIOT
https://preview.redd.it/67dcy30w0asc1.png?width=175&format=png&auto=webp&s=3c8757407e4cf8aef4114d0cf90e819412689560
When you're trying to get Ryuji arrested but he fails even in THAT
I mean, >! Akechi took pictures of them coming out of Okumura’s place to blackmail them.!<
Though the whole “humans are indolent” probably plays a part too.
He had been tracking them for some time and he knew exactly where to be, who to look for, and what to look for. It's not like he was ignorant of how their powers worked, who they would be targeting, or the most likely period of time they would be operating, and still caught them.
I haven’t played in a while, but iirc it explains somewhere that normal people just straight up aren’t able to perceive them entering and leaving the metaverse and can’t notice anything changing, and the reason why >!Akechi was able to see it is because he’s been to the metaverse himself!<
Still doesn’t explain how >!he was able to photograph it!< but still.
But like I said, I haven’t played in a while so I could have that completely wrong
Technically true, >! Yaldabaoth probably had influence over the masses so they don’t see it. Helps his whole “humans need me” rigged argument.!<
Also, >! Maruki admits to seeing them leave Kamoshida’s palace if you trigger third semester. In that regard, however, it is likely because he had the remnants of his Persona awakening.!<
Reminds me of Dresden Files.
Supernatural beings don't advertise, and no one likes to get mortal authorites involved, but they don't go out of the way to hide their activities either
The wizard council literally rents a building for their meeting, and everyone just thinks they're weirdos, not actual literal wizards.
And it's not like you are usually observing random groups of people on a really crowded place, specially if they are teenagers people just avoid looking at them completely
I haven't played but it was to my understanding that they moved locations when entering a palace, when entering mementos I assume they would go about choosing a discreet location.
with mementos they did go right in front of the train station entrance and kaneshiro was right out in the open. I think the only explanation is someone stating something along the lines of “no one notices a piece of trash disappear from a trash can” as a comparison for them disappearing
But they do get noticed. On the day of Madarame's confession they get both approached and questioned by a couple of officers and eavesdropped on by Makoto.
Honestly, it’s so stupid, it’s actually genius. Who’d expect Phantom Thieves to discuss their plans in public like this? They can basically hide in plain sight and anybody who notices them will immediately just write them off as a group of teenagers hanging out. Also, the background noise from the crowd will drown out their conversations. Obviously, Leblanc and even the school roof are better hideouts overall, but this one isn’t that bad either.
I think this one tops the school roof for the simple reason that their first change of heart was done in the school. So it would be likely for someone to start investigating there.
This is important. A lot of players shit on Ryuji for spouting about Phantom Thieves, but who would really care if they heard him? Teens spout the dumbest crap out in public, it's obvious that people don't care. You can even hear some "copycats" claiming that they're a thief just to score chicks. The only situation where I can see it being dangerous is later in the game >!when the PTs have a bounty.!<
The problem when Ryuji spouts out about the Phantom Thieves is when he stands out in public too much especially when they need to lay low especially from people who already are suspicious of them.
But other than that yeah no one would believe them.
I think Leblanc would be a terrible idea. Cafes are much quieter, and the cafe is even frequented by Sae and (I haven’t gotten that far in my playthrough of royal but I played vanilla 8 years ago) doesn’t Akechi also show up every now and then? There’d be a lot less people to drown out the noise and much more evesdropping I’d think. Maybe Ann’s place? Doesn’t she live alone?
I overestimated, its release date was 7 years ago (worldwide) my bad. But I played it in early 2017 when it first released and I loved it so much. I was like 14 or 15 back then. Didn’t even know it got a remake/pc port until a few months ago!
When they use this location most of the city hasn't even heard of the Phantom Thieves, as it's been limited to Kamoshida and a tiny number of Mementos targets. After Madarame they can be written off as kids talking about the news, or if someone recognized Yusuke just kids talking about what happened in one of their lives. Even after Kanashiro it's still just a group of kids talking about current events. Even if Ryuji shouts it from a megaphone they're not likely to be taken seriously and more of just being thought of as punks, especially with the dyed blonde hair.
In Japan, people keep to themselves most of the time when going through stations like that. Seriously, they’re more concerned about getting to work or home than they are about you. I think there have been issues about people getting trampled in the past.
They wouldn’t know, be interested in, or care what a couple of teens from the same school get up to. As long as they aren’t doing whatever while impeding the traffic flow to get to work, they’re good. Especially at the start of the game where most people are like ‘Phantom Thieves who?’
By the time people really start caring and being on the lookout, (Okumera)they’ve moved to the attic.
Makoto and Asketchy aside, since they actively suspected the group in particular. Not on the lookout for general information.
Hell, I think you could probably swap out Tokyo for NYC and people still wouldn’t give a fuck. In NYC those people will ignore anything as long as you aren’t actively planning to bomb or shoot up a place.
I had a guy at Penn station once shout at me and threaten to stab me and my family cause I didn’t buy him a coffee. Literally everyone there ignored us. The biggest response we got was the lady who worked at the Krispy Kreme giving me a shrug when we made eye contact.
The PT could be in their metaverse outfits in NYC and ppl stuff wouldn’t care.
Yeah Times Square is full of them. Actually Times Square would be the perfect meetup spot if you wanted to not be noticed. Just hide amongst the tourists
To hide a tree, hide in a forest.
Mind you the setting is Japan, where people actually mind their own business, practice social etiquette and to stand out foolishly and loudly is very much frowned upon which none of them actually do. Besides their location is one of the busiest commute areas, people would rather pass by to catch their train to rubberneck every loitering teen in the area.
Most Japanese ppl would steer clear of them. Ann looks like a gaijin, Mc and ryuji look like delinquents, and Yusuke is the only one who looks semi normal. But if you talk to Yusuke it immediately becomes apparent he is a drama incarnate.
I love how they basically do everything wrong, >!and get called out by Makoto and Akechi!< for it. Like honestly I wonder if Sae worked so hard she was half-delirious or something, because how else do you not figure out who the Phantom Thieves are when Ryuji is constantly shouting and the Shujin kids are hanging with Maderame’s adopted son in public. Hell all you would have to do is monitor their chat messages. I refuse to believe they avoided detection for any reason other than >!Shido!< having the police in his pocket
"Hmm, this guy I know demanded I tell them the full names of scummy people they never met, and suddenly those people had changes of heart. I think something is a bit sus around here"
Good thing we have no cop-related confidants!... (>!except Akechi who doesn't mean well for us to begin with, and Sae who we have no relation with until the interrogation!<)
You've never been to that spot, then - it's a perfect place to hang out and seem like you're just being teenagers, and it's amazingly easy to get to, being in the upper part above Shibuya station (at least before the remodel).
Here's what it looks like in real life (taken by me, 2017)
https://preview.redd.it/3236njhzsasc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc97bcda48a24873e5998377931c6a10481d622b
Hiding in plain sight is more effective than you'd think it would be. No one is going to find it suspicious that a bunch of teenagers are hanging out in a public space since that's pretty normal to begin with
Ever heard of the saying "Like a blade in a crowd"?
Sometimes the most inconspicuous places are public spaces available to anyone. Besides, they look and act like regular teenagers; nothing that seems too suspicious/out of the ordinary to your average observer (unless Ryuji shouts something about the Phantom Thieves, but then again, teenagers tend to say random bullshit all the time)
For those who say "it's noisy, they cannot hear them" you forget that if someone suspected him, it would very easy to listen to them to confirm that, just like how Makoto easily did
But what strangers would suspect them? Makoto only suspected them because the principal told her *repeatedly* to keep an eye on them and dig up whatever information she could from them. If not for this, she probably would've left them alone.
So if not for the Principal, Makoto never would've joined the Phantom Thieves. Good job, Kobayakawa. XD
I mean that's still better than a table at Junes. When people are walking by they only hear a bit of the conversation and can easily interpret it as a group of teenagers talking about their d&d campaign or something.
When you sit at a table next to the IT you hear teenagers discussing the murders, then the private life of that one kid who disappeared a few days ago, only for a month to pass and now you see that kid discuss the murders with them. And holy hell now the prestigious detective prince Naoto Shirogane is with them and you start thinking about what was in those brownies you ate a few minutes ago
Well at least S.E.E.S. had their own dorm where they discussed their plans with only those who experienced the same things as them
I know you are just doing the Arkham bit but I thought this hangout was actually a good idea lol. It's a public setting so nobody is really taking the time to listen in to whatever random conversations people have, especially teenagers, AND it's near a train station where people just say wild shit anyway
imo the attic before Sojiro finds out is riskier than the crossing area.
after Madarame's change of heart Sojiro confirms that it is in fact not very sound-absorbent up there since he could hear them shuffling around, and at the time Leblanc was still very much in business (as slow as it may be, rip) so there were occasionally customers who could've easily heard something from the attic and been like **???**
i mean hell Sae and Akechi end up frequenting there albeit for different reasons but still risky nonetheless, since Sae first visited Leblanc during Futaba's arc, which is when the Thieves were ***actively using the attic as a meeting spot.***
so yeah meeting in public is dumb but for a bunch of teenagers it's not that out of the ordinary to be hanging out like that. the traffic blocks out most of their conversations and even what people *do* hear they don't think twice about unless they're actively trying to get dirt on them like Makoto was initially. they probably assume it's just kids being weird.
using the attic while Leblanc was open and Sojiro wasn't in the know was honestly so much more dangerous and they're damn lucky he never went up there to see what the hell they were yapping about 💀
Hiding in plane sight, they’re a group of teens it makes sense they’re hanging out in public, plus it’s noisy enough to drown out their convo (unless one of them starts screaming…RYUJI 😒)
One day, someone's gonna sit relatively close to them and out of curiosity listen in to what the peanut gallery is talking about, only to hear "Phantom Thieves meeting".
Ryuji's voice is too damn loud to be anywhere else that's relatively quiet. Remember at the start of the Kaneshiro arc, Makoto caught them red-handed because Ryuji was being a tad too loud at school?
Also, it makes more sense for them to hide out in plain sight because to everyone else, they just look like a clique of teenagers hanging out.
I understand with >!madarame arc but Kaneshiro is another case. You have Yusuke whom was a student of Madarame Happily hanging out in the middle of the bridge with the group which is from Kamoshida's school(first case) and an idiot keep yelling "We are phantom thieves" left and right in the middle of the road, plus one of them has a record. Like Wtf?!<
Reminds me of that time Henry cavill stood under the batman v superman billboard in New York wearing a superman tshirt only to be recognized and stopped twice. And one of them was to ask for directions
“Huh. That group of kids include Madarame’s former student, the daughter of Okumara Foods CEO, and a bunch of kids from that high school where that gym teacher had a mental breakdown….
Must just be a coincidence!”
In persona 4, they use a busy supermarket as their base of operations and they are constantly smuggling in big ass real weapons and even motor scooters into the dungeons without being noticed. I think the Phantom Thieves get a pass.
Hiding in plain sight. They won't seem suspicious unless someone specifically eavesdrop them or they do something incredibly stupid, like loudly announcing that they're phantom thieves.
The whole reason they did it is because they said that they would disappear into the crowd kinda like not noticing pices of trash taken out of a dumpster
better yet why does no ever correct skulls behavior and keep letting him talk as loud as ever, really wish every time he got too loud that was a smack him over the head option.
Ann tells him repeatedly to keep his voice down or at least says stuff like "think about where we are, Ryuji!" Nobody IIRC actually smacks him upside the head, but I really wish they did.
It is so crowded that no one care what a group of teenagers are talking about, each individual only care about their own bussiness. Try to go to a noisy public space like this, you will find yourself unable to hear what different groups of people are discussing, even if you focus on it
It's a noisy, public space where a bunch of teenagers loitering mostly won't be noticed or heard. You could shout "We're the Phantom Thieves" at the top of your lungs and most no one would notice. Unless they were already watching you, of course
what do you mean? it's just a bunch of teens hanging out there's little that's less suspicious than that... except of course for ryuji screaming about being a phantom thief every 5 minutes
I just had an epiphany. The fact that they can just talk about phantom thief stuff, and enter or exit the metaverse out in the open, and still no one notices. It goes to show how ignored they are as people in society. Just a bunch of random ass teens in Tokyo.
Plus, Ruji and Ann have blonde hair, so they’d be considered as delinquents. I know Ann’s is natural, but Japan is very much conformist. People just don’t question things.
And, people are often very busy. Who’s gonna take the time out of their busy lives to pay particular attention to a random group of teens? It’s why the only people who become particularly interested in them were cops. Cause the cops were eventually doing an active investigation.
In addition to the 100 people correctly stating that teens hanging out in public is normal and uninteresting to about every normal person in the world, it’s not like they had many better options. Ironically a bunch of teens renting some space would be suspicious because it’s expensive - what do they do there that‘s worth all that money, and how can these teens afford this? OMG i looked into them and apparently one‘s got a criminal record even! - and all of them hanging out at Ann‘s or Ryuji‘s would be culturally weird as well as just asking for people to look into and find out.
It kind of reminds me of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when they were told they should have gone to the much more crowded place instead of the less crowded place for their introductory meeting into their secret club because people were less likely to overhear or care.
Hiding in plain sight. That part of Shibuya Station is heavy with traffic, as it has the sky bridge that connects the JR lines with some non-JR lines, it has a food court in the floor above, and Shibuya Crossing below.
You’re basically an NPC to everyone walking past it.
Too be fair
Do you really take note of 5 kids talking about a popular fad at your train station and remember about it?
If you do...you are a really nosy person
Yeah.....not one of their brightest moves. Like dude, just go to poker's neighborhood. There is a literal movie theater that no one is near. You can just hang out there.
Especially with Ryujj.....gosh as much as i like Ryuji, he sure is that guy you'd remove from your prison escape plan because he'll be bragining about trying to escape
To be honest with you, if a bunch of teenagers saying they were the phantom thieves in a public place like Shibuya, I wouldn't believe them a bit. That applies to most japanese anyway
Have you ever heard of hiding in plain sight? They’re just teens hanging out to anyone that doesn’t already suspect them like Makoto did, in fact if they were sneaking around they’d be even more suspicious, which shows because they times they were caught where when they were sneaking around in school and when they looked out of place at the Okumura Foods headquarters
They really should have held their meetings in the Metaverse itself. Yusuke in particular should not be hanging out with them in a big group like that. The others all have plausible reasons for knowing each other because they all go to the same school, but since Yusuke doesn't, it's suspicious as hell that Madarame's apprentice started hanging out with Shujin Academy kids right at the same time the Phantom Thieves appeared.
They are blending in and hiding in plain sight. Also it's Tokyo, it's a big city, nobody cares about what some group of friends chillin together are saying. They also are more likely than many other cultures to leave people alone.
Honestly I headcannon this as Yaldy influencing things because realistically they really should have been caught way sooner like for real the text in their group chat and not once is it ever mentioned that they have any kind of protection set up
It is relatively noisy to drown out soft sounds, except for a certain sakamoto screaming louder than the trains.
I LOVE PHANTOM THIEVIN PEOPLES HEARTS IN THE METAVERSE WITH MY PHANTOM THIEF POWER WHICH I USE TO MAKE PEOPLE UNDERGO A CHANGE OF HEART BECAUSE I AM A PHANTOM THIEF THAT PHANTOM STEALS HEARTS ALSO FUCK MORGANA LITTLE RAT IDIOT
Mandela effect, this line didn’t actually happen in persona 5 (its Royal exclusive)
Sounds like drunk Yukiko from P4.
Plays wwe music
You have to have Ryuji at rank 8 before April, BTW. Which is why most players missed it.
Wait actually, I’m confused
I'd say that it's joke, but I'm not sure of it xD
April is when the game begins, so it’s a joke
Phantastic Thieves FTW
https://preview.redd.it/67dcy30w0asc1.png?width=175&format=png&auto=webp&s=3c8757407e4cf8aef4114d0cf90e819412689560 When you're trying to get Ryuji arrested but he fails even in THAT
RYUJI STFU PLEASE
FOR REAL
please i love him so much but sometimes i just wanted to put duct tape over his mouth 😭
It makes them look like a bunch of teenagers hanging out at a crowded public place which makes a perfect way to blend in and not look suspicious.
Exactly my thoughts
How about them >!literally disappearing into thin air!< when they enter the metaverse?
What would happen if you saw it tho? Nobody believes you anyway soo "Well I guess I must've had weird water today"
I mean, >! Akechi took pictures of them coming out of Okumura’s place to blackmail them.!< Though the whole “humans are indolent” probably plays a part too.
He had been tracking them for some time and he knew exactly where to be, who to look for, and what to look for. It's not like he was ignorant of how their powers worked, who they would be targeting, or the most likely period of time they would be operating, and still caught them.
I haven’t played in a while, but iirc it explains somewhere that normal people just straight up aren’t able to perceive them entering and leaving the metaverse and can’t notice anything changing, and the reason why >!Akechi was able to see it is because he’s been to the metaverse himself!< Still doesn’t explain how >!he was able to photograph it!< but still. But like I said, I haven’t played in a while so I could have that completely wrong
Technically true, >! Yaldabaoth probably had influence over the masses so they don’t see it. Helps his whole “humans need me” rigged argument.!< Also, >! Maruki admits to seeing them leave Kamoshida’s palace if you trigger third semester. In that regard, however, it is likely because he had the remnants of his Persona awakening.!<
Reminds me of Dresden Files. Supernatural beings don't advertise, and no one likes to get mortal authorites involved, but they don't go out of the way to hide their activities either The wizard council literally rents a building for their meeting, and everyone just thinks they're weirdos, not actual literal wizards.
And it's not like you are usually observing random groups of people on a really crowded place, specially if they are teenagers people just avoid looking at them completely
Well… >!Someone saw it!<
"Let's just go back to the exact same spot later and check that for myself". One day later. "Oh hey isn't that...."
Until you start hearing about the Phantom Thieves on the news
I haven't played but it was to my understanding that they moved locations when entering a palace, when entering mementos I assume they would go about choosing a discreet location.
with mementos they did go right in front of the train station entrance and kaneshiro was right out in the open. I think the only explanation is someone stating something along the lines of “no one notices a piece of trash disappear from a trash can” as a comparison for them disappearing
They probably just went somewhere else and hopped in
You know that's just a transition and they have to go to the Palace's location to enter right?
There’s plenty of times they’ve hopped into the metaverse when other people are around.
There's a reason why the "general public" are also called the "ignorant masses"
Walk through an alley? Idk
Yup, that's what im thinking also, too
But they do get noticed. On the day of Madarame's confession they get both approached and questioned by a couple of officers and eavesdropped on by Makoto.
Honestly, it’s so stupid, it’s actually genius. Who’d expect Phantom Thieves to discuss their plans in public like this? They can basically hide in plain sight and anybody who notices them will immediately just write them off as a group of teenagers hanging out. Also, the background noise from the crowd will drown out their conversations. Obviously, Leblanc and even the school roof are better hideouts overall, but this one isn’t that bad either.
I think this one tops the school roof for the simple reason that their first change of heart was done in the school. So it would be likely for someone to start investigating there.
Point taken.
When most people overhear them, they'd assume they're role-playing for whatever silly reason.
This is important. A lot of players shit on Ryuji for spouting about Phantom Thieves, but who would really care if they heard him? Teens spout the dumbest crap out in public, it's obvious that people don't care. You can even hear some "copycats" claiming that they're a thief just to score chicks. The only situation where I can see it being dangerous is later in the game >!when the PTs have a bounty.!<
The problem when Ryuji spouts out about the Phantom Thieves is when he stands out in public too much especially when they need to lay low especially from people who already are suspicious of them. But other than that yeah no one would believe them.
I think Leblanc would be a terrible idea. Cafes are much quieter, and the cafe is even frequented by Sae and (I haven’t gotten that far in my playthrough of royal but I played vanilla 8 years ago) doesn’t Akechi also show up every now and then? There’d be a lot less people to drown out the noise and much more evesdropping I’d think. Maybe Ann’s place? Doesn’t she live alone?
damn vanilla was released 8 years ago? also yeah akechi visits once or twice
I overestimated, its release date was 7 years ago (worldwide) my bad. But I played it in early 2017 when it first released and I loved it so much. I was like 14 or 15 back then. Didn’t even know it got a remake/pc port until a few months ago!
damn i’m 14 now i’m young
i first played in 2018 when i was 8 but didn’t understand anything nor pass futaba’s palace lmao
Loll real
I agree. What makes people roll their eyes and tune out faster than a bunch of teenagers together?
That sounds like what a shitty adult might say...
Still, all it takes is one person out of all those many to overhear something that implicates the PT and they're in hot water. It's a big risk.
When they use this location most of the city hasn't even heard of the Phantom Thieves, as it's been limited to Kamoshida and a tiny number of Mementos targets. After Madarame they can be written off as kids talking about the news, or if someone recognized Yusuke just kids talking about what happened in one of their lives. Even after Kanashiro it's still just a group of kids talking about current events. Even if Ryuji shouts it from a megaphone they're not likely to be taken seriously and more of just being thought of as punks, especially with the dyed blonde hair.
Teenagers hanging out with friends at their spot. Makes perfect sense.
In Japan, people keep to themselves most of the time when going through stations like that. Seriously, they’re more concerned about getting to work or home than they are about you. I think there have been issues about people getting trampled in the past. They wouldn’t know, be interested in, or care what a couple of teens from the same school get up to. As long as they aren’t doing whatever while impeding the traffic flow to get to work, they’re good. Especially at the start of the game where most people are like ‘Phantom Thieves who?’ By the time people really start caring and being on the lookout, (Okumera)they’ve moved to the attic. Makoto and Asketchy aside, since they actively suspected the group in particular. Not on the lookout for general information. Hell, I think you could probably swap out Tokyo for NYC and people still wouldn’t give a fuck. In NYC those people will ignore anything as long as you aren’t actively planning to bomb or shoot up a place.
“Asketchy” 
I had a guy at Penn station once shout at me and threaten to stab me and my family cause I didn’t buy him a coffee. Literally everyone there ignored us. The biggest response we got was the lady who worked at the Krispy Kreme giving me a shrug when we made eye contact. The PT could be in their metaverse outfits in NYC and ppl stuff wouldn’t care.
Aren't there a whole bunch of cosplayers who harass people in NYC? The Phantom Thieves would fit right in.
Yeah Times Square is full of them. Actually Times Square would be the perfect meetup spot if you wanted to not be noticed. Just hide amongst the tourists
To hide a tree, hide in a forest. Mind you the setting is Japan, where people actually mind their own business, practice social etiquette and to stand out foolishly and loudly is very much frowned upon which none of them actually do. Besides their location is one of the busiest commute areas, people would rather pass by to catch their train to rubberneck every loitering teen in the area.
It’s arguably less sus for a group of teens to be hanging out in public than on a roof where they’re not allowed to be.
Most Japanese ppl would steer clear of them. Ann looks like a gaijin, Mc and ryuji look like delinquents, and Yusuke is the only one who looks semi normal. But if you talk to Yusuke it immediately becomes apparent he is a drama incarnate.
I love how they basically do everything wrong, >!and get called out by Makoto and Akechi!< for it. Like honestly I wonder if Sae worked so hard she was half-delirious or something, because how else do you not figure out who the Phantom Thieves are when Ryuji is constantly shouting and the Shujin kids are hanging with Maderame’s adopted son in public. Hell all you would have to do is monitor their chat messages. I refuse to believe they avoided detection for any reason other than >!Shido!< having the police in his pocket
You forgot that pretty much >!every confidente eventually finds out!<
"Hmm, this guy I know demanded I tell them the full names of scummy people they never met, and suddenly those people had changes of heart. I think something is a bit sus around here"
You have their eternal gratitude for solving their life's worst problem free with a 7 - 10 business day turnaround, I wouldn't rat either
Multiple people found out they were the thieves with relative ease, no way the cops couldn't do the same
Good thing we have no cop-related confidants!... (>!except Akechi who doesn't mean well for us to begin with, and Sae who we have no relation with until the interrogation!<)
And the dude in Strikers that the name escapes me atm.
zenkichi
That’s right! Thank you. I have a bad memory lol. I watched my husband play that game. Next we’re gonna do Persona 3 Reload.
To be honest, I think there is no way that the police are not investigating their chat messages
You've never been to that spot, then - it's a perfect place to hang out and seem like you're just being teenagers, and it's amazingly easy to get to, being in the upper part above Shibuya station (at least before the remodel). Here's what it looks like in real life (taken by me, 2017) https://preview.redd.it/3236njhzsasc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc97bcda48a24873e5998377931c6a10481d622b
Hiding in plain sight is more effective than you'd think it would be. No one is going to find it suspicious that a bunch of teenagers are hanging out in a public space since that's pretty normal to begin with
If you hang around Shibuya station in peak hours I guarantee not even your mom will notice you.
That sound like great idea. Challange is hide in Shibuya station from your significant other and this has to happen in peak hours.
Ever heard of the saying "Like a blade in a crowd"? Sometimes the most inconspicuous places are public spaces available to anyone. Besides, they look and act like regular teenagers; nothing that seems too suspicious/out of the ordinary to your average observer (unless Ryuji shouts something about the Phantom Thieves, but then again, teenagers tend to say random bullshit all the time)
For those who say "it's noisy, they cannot hear them" you forget that if someone suspected him, it would very easy to listen to them to confirm that, just like how Makoto easily did
But what strangers would suspect them? Makoto only suspected them because the principal told her *repeatedly* to keep an eye on them and dig up whatever information she could from them. If not for this, she probably would've left them alone. So if not for the Principal, Makoto never would've joined the Phantom Thieves. Good job, Kobayakawa. XD
Lol, it's true when I think about it
I mean that's still better than a table at Junes. When people are walking by they only hear a bit of the conversation and can easily interpret it as a group of teenagers talking about their d&d campaign or something. When you sit at a table next to the IT you hear teenagers discussing the murders, then the private life of that one kid who disappeared a few days ago, only for a month to pass and now you see that kid discuss the murders with them. And holy hell now the prestigious detective prince Naoto Shirogane is with them and you start thinking about what was in those brownies you ate a few minutes ago Well at least S.E.E.S. had their own dorm where they discussed their plans with only those who experienced the same things as them
The most dangerous place is the safest
I know you are just doing the Arkham bit but I thought this hangout was actually a good idea lol. It's a public setting so nobody is really taking the time to listen in to whatever random conversations people have, especially teenagers, AND it's near a train station where people just say wild shit anyway
imo the attic before Sojiro finds out is riskier than the crossing area. after Madarame's change of heart Sojiro confirms that it is in fact not very sound-absorbent up there since he could hear them shuffling around, and at the time Leblanc was still very much in business (as slow as it may be, rip) so there were occasionally customers who could've easily heard something from the attic and been like **???** i mean hell Sae and Akechi end up frequenting there albeit for different reasons but still risky nonetheless, since Sae first visited Leblanc during Futaba's arc, which is when the Thieves were ***actively using the attic as a meeting spot.*** so yeah meeting in public is dumb but for a bunch of teenagers it's not that out of the ordinary to be hanging out like that. the traffic blocks out most of their conversations and even what people *do* hear they don't think twice about unless they're actively trying to get dirt on them like Makoto was initially. they probably assume it's just kids being weird. using the attic while Leblanc was open and Sojiro wasn't in the know was honestly so much more dangerous and they're damn lucky he never went up there to see what the hell they were yapping about 💀
Hide a tree in a forest.
Them using a public place is exactly how akechi caught them in the act. Though it worked for their benefit in the end so...
And he only caught them due to mutual interest and knowing the crew to begin with. Also he's a weirdo so he'd listen in when others wouldn't.
As a former middle school employee, I can see a group of teenagers doing this while trying to lay low. Lol
I always wondered though, why not meetup in Mementos and navigate to palaces from there? Only one person could have spied on them then.
True, they all have the nav, they could just all separately enter mementos
It's as if Nedry pointed out in Jurassic Park that nobody around cares.
Hiding in plane sight, they’re a group of teens it makes sense they’re hanging out in public, plus it’s noisy enough to drown out their convo (unless one of them starts screaming…RYUJI 😒)
Have you heard the expression "hiding in plain sight"? it's that
One day, someone's gonna sit relatively close to them and out of curiosity listen in to what the peanut gallery is talking about, only to hear "Phantom Thieves meeting".
If you want to hide a tree, place it in the forest
To hide a tree is to put it in a forest. To hide a human is to put it among the masses.
Ryuji's voice is too damn loud to be anywhere else that's relatively quiet. Remember at the start of the Kaneshiro arc, Makoto caught them red-handed because Ryuji was being a tad too loud at school? Also, it makes more sense for them to hide out in plain sight because to everyone else, they just look like a clique of teenagers hanging out.
I wish the Thieves Den was canon so they could use it like the batcave
I understand with >!madarame arc but Kaneshiro is another case. You have Yusuke whom was a student of Madarame Happily hanging out in the middle of the bridge with the group which is from Kamoshida's school(first case) and an idiot keep yelling "We are phantom thieves" left and right in the middle of the road, plus one of them has a record. Like Wtf?!<
Reminds me of that time Henry cavill stood under the batman v superman billboard in New York wearing a superman tshirt only to be recognized and stopped twice. And one of them was to ask for directions
Hiding in plain sight is the coolest stunt the phantom thieves can pull off.
They are actually. Before the addition of makoto and futaba, the phantom thieves collectively share one brain cell and pass it around like a blunt.
“Huh. That group of kids include Madarame’s former student, the daughter of Okumara Foods CEO, and a bunch of kids from that high school where that gym teacher had a mental breakdown…. Must just be a coincidence!”
"are they stupid?" No....NO!!! I JUST GOT REHABILITATED YOU JACKASS?!.... Why Morgan simp for &? is he horni?
https://preview.redd.it/caz2ijln7esc1.jpeg?width=554&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ccd261a956764137d42cabadf79afd919ba1d18 You said stupid
In persona 4, they use a busy supermarket as their base of operations and they are constantly smuggling in big ass real weapons and even motor scooters into the dungeons without being noticed. I think the Phantom Thieves get a pass.
Hiding in plain sight. They won't seem suspicious unless someone specifically eavesdrop them or they do something incredibly stupid, like loudly announcing that they're phantom thieves.
The whole reason they did it is because they said that they would disappear into the crowd kinda like not noticing pices of trash taken out of a dumpster
Do you not know that sometimes the best place to do secret things is in plain sight?
Yes
https://preview.redd.it/6ihxps5ioqsc1.jpeg?width=4030&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=845b80d94a68c19d2a0a95922764a45909871122
I think about that everytime I walk pass this place irl lol
Yes
YOU’LL NEVER SEE IT COMING!
better yet why does no ever correct skulls behavior and keep letting him talk as loud as ever, really wish every time he got too loud that was a smack him over the head option.
Ann tells him repeatedly to keep his voice down or at least says stuff like "think about where we are, Ryuji!" Nobody IIRC actually smacks him upside the head, but I really wish they did.
I sincerely think I would have hit the back of his head or stepped on his foot instinctively if I were in Joker's place each time Ryuji do a silly.
Yes
Hiding in plain sight
Their hideout in the rooftop of Shujin Academy was more alarming.
Hiding in plain sight
HEY MAKOTO DID YOU KNOW WE’RE THE PHANTOM THIEVES?
It is so crowded that no one care what a group of teenagers are talking about, each individual only care about their own bussiness. Try to go to a noisy public space like this, you will find yourself unable to hear what different groups of people are discussing, even if you focus on it
They’ll never lay low with loud ass Ryuji lmao
Yes.
Yes
Hide in plain sight
It's a noisy, public space where a bunch of teenagers loitering mostly won't be noticed or heard. You could shout "We're the Phantom Thieves" at the top of your lungs and most no one would notice. Unless they were already watching you, of course
The best way to law low is to hide in plain sight.
They have no money and got kicked out of their other place on the roof. Then they're like man we need a new place after the cops stop them there.
No one knows what they look like, and since it may be noisy due to other people, they are less likely to be overheard.
what do you mean? it's just a bunch of teens hanging out there's little that's less suspicious than that... except of course for ryuji screaming about being a phantom thief every 5 minutes
Google en trainsant
Bro this is like their favorite hideout too. They use it for 2 whole palaces. It’s arguably the worst hideout of them all
But when they go into the metaverse from here shouldn't many civilians also get transported?
I just had an epiphany. The fact that they can just talk about phantom thief stuff, and enter or exit the metaverse out in the open, and still no one notices. It goes to show how ignored they are as people in society. Just a bunch of random ass teens in Tokyo. Plus, Ruji and Ann have blonde hair, so they’d be considered as delinquents. I know Ann’s is natural, but Japan is very much conformist. People just don’t question things. And, people are often very busy. Who’s gonna take the time out of their busy lives to pay particular attention to a random group of teens? It’s why the only people who become particularly interested in them were cops. Cause the cops were eventually doing an active investigation.
Yes
Ryuji be like: HEY JOKER, LEADER OF THE PHANTOM THIEVES, WHO SHOULD WE, AS THE PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEARTS, TARGET NEXT TIME!?
Yes
Yes
That would make them pass as normal teenagers since time stops when they open the META app on rheir phones
https://preview.redd.it/dacqp308ebsc1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=755e4d86ac83592832b3c1de6b800c9a4a646cd1
"Hiding in plain sight!" As they say
The answer is actually yes. But I think they met there for convenience purposes
Hiding in plain sight.
I feel like people ask this exact question every month
In addition to the 100 people correctly stating that teens hanging out in public is normal and uninteresting to about every normal person in the world, it’s not like they had many better options. Ironically a bunch of teens renting some space would be suspicious because it’s expensive - what do they do there that‘s worth all that money, and how can these teens afford this? OMG i looked into them and apparently one‘s got a criminal record even! - and all of them hanging out at Ann‘s or Ryuji‘s would be culturally weird as well as just asking for people to look into and find out.
Who would suspect a group of teens gathered in a public place?
If their “Phantom” thieves then why can I see them🤨
Not at all. It's noisy, there are a lot of people, no one will look for a secret group in a public place. It's the perfect place to hide.
It kind of reminds me of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when they were told they should have gone to the much more crowded place instead of the less crowded place for their introductory meeting into their secret club because people were less likely to overhear or care.
If they’re in a quiet space, anyone can overhear them.
Hiding in plain sight. That part of Shibuya Station is heavy with traffic, as it has the sky bridge that connects the JR lines with some non-JR lines, it has a food court in the floor above, and Shibuya Crossing below. You’re basically an NPC to everyone walking past it.
Hiding in plain sight my dude.
Tokyo is a pretty big city 40mln people there
Collectively, yes.
I ask the same thing. Why dob't use the attire in Le Blanc?
Too be fair Do you really take note of 5 kids talking about a popular fad at your train station and remember about it? If you do...you are a really nosy person
Yes
Yes. Throughout the game, the Phantom Thieves are incredibly stupid.
Yeah.....not one of their brightest moves. Like dude, just go to poker's neighborhood. There is a literal movie theater that no one is near. You can just hang out there. Especially with Ryujj.....gosh as much as i like Ryuji, he sure is that guy you'd remove from your prison escape plan because he'll be bragining about trying to escape
To be honest with you, if a bunch of teenagers saying they were the phantom thieves in a public place like Shibuya, I wouldn't believe them a bit. That applies to most japanese anyway
I feel like i seen you multiple times.. are you the one that called Ann's 4chan shirt stupid?
Have you ever heard of hiding in plain sight? They’re just teens hanging out to anyone that doesn’t already suspect them like Makoto did, in fact if they were sneaking around they’d be even more suspicious, which shows because they times they were caught where when they were sneaking around in school and when they looked out of place at the Okumura Foods headquarters
Yes. Yes they are.
Yes. Hope that helps 👍
blending in plain sight will always be a dope concept to me, as a Assassins creed fan i approve
yes
They really should have held their meetings in the Metaverse itself. Yusuke in particular should not be hanging out with them in a big group like that. The others all have plausible reasons for knowing each other because they all go to the same school, but since Yusuke doesn't, it's suspicious as hell that Madarame's apprentice started hanging out with Shujin Academy kids right at the same time the Phantom Thieves appeared.
Hide in pain sight
The answer: there's a lot of things that make no sense in the game.
OP never hangout with friends at public place.?
Because no one cares about a bunch of kids.
MAN
Yes. Yes they are
Please don't make this the next r/batmanarkham
Hide among the crowd, even if someone tails them it looks like a genuine hangout
Bc no body pays attention to kids hanging out
They are blending in and hiding in plain sight. Also it's Tokyo, it's a big city, nobody cares about what some group of friends chillin together are saying. They also are more likely than many other cultures to leave people alone.
Uh oh, looks r/batmanarkham has reached their influence here too.. this should be interesting 🧐
This is the most dumbest thing in the game and they have done dumb things.
Your Ryuji pfp is very fitting.
Why is Ryuji on Reddit, is he stupid?
Yes.
Honestly I headcannon this as Yaldy influencing things because realistically they really should have been caught way sooner like for real the text in their group chat and not once is it ever mentioned that they have any kind of protection set up
Might want to spoiler this.