A Fool Named Fortune
A Fool Named Fortune is a Persona 3 fan novelization written by Magnus Ragnar. Inspired by Lusnati Style, it follows the trend of replacing the protagonist with an original character, in this case, Roy Fortune. Liberties with the source material take the form of Crazy Awesome twists.
A notable aspect of this story is how it has its roots in the story of Persona 3, yet it offers a fresh perspective on the game thanks to the changes introduced in the story, like certain changes made to social links akin to Persona 3 Portable. Roy is also very creative in maximizing his talents as the Wild Card, and those discoveries vary from new ways to curbstomp opponents on and off Tartarus to interesting methods of having fun.
It has a sequel named P3 AFNF: Answer of Aeon. As of now, A Fool Named Fortune and Answer of Aeon are being rewritten as A Fool Named Fortune: Reshuffled, alongside a Persona 4 novelization fic named Persona 4: Norimoto Style which is set in the same universe.
A Fool Named Fortune
- The Ace: Roy is good at what he does in almost any situation.
- Actually Pretty Funny:
Junpei: Call me if you get stuck [on your homework, Ken]!
Yukari: And call me when he gets stuck!
Roy Narrating: I gotta admit, that was actually funny. But eh.
- An Ice Person: Hamuko.
- Anticlimax Boss: In-Universe example. The final Guardian of Tartarus goes down like a chump, slightly disappointing Roy.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After getting beaten horribly by Roy and then acting as Mr. Exposition, Ryoji falls asleep on the bridge. His last conscious thought is that he hopes his nose doesn't get broken from the fall.
- Ascended Extra: Hamuko Arisato (the female P3 MC) acts as a recurrent side character.... until she joins SEES.
- The Reaper is treated as a character and reoccurs throughout the story.
- Author Avatar: Word of God confirms it.
Honestly, his thought process is similar to mine in a few ways so basicly what you're reading is pretty close to how things would look if I was in his place. I'm amazed you think I've really made Roy feel human. And there's a reason the scenes with Roy getting emotional work well. That reason is my own mental state. I'm a very emotionally 'extreme' person, so to speak. I'm either mostly neutral or on an extreme end of the emotional spectrum, from sadness to anger to happyness to basicly everything else. I feel like that reflects in my writing, because I'm feeling what the character is feeling. When Roy's angry, I'm angry. When he's sad, I'm sad. When he's feeling like a snarky lunatic, so am I.
- Awesome McCoolname: Roy Fortune.
- Bash Brothers: Roy and Junpei.
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Subverted with Roy and Shade/Azren. Instead of denial, Roy quickly comes to terms with his flaws, and his powers go Up to Eleven.
- Roy and Shade team up against a third version of Roy inside a casino inside of Roy's head at one point.
- Berserk Button: Don't ever try to kill his friends (least of all, Aigis). Or damage his hat. Do not discuss his dead parents, especially not in front of other people. Don't take your marital problems out on your child. Lastly, don't lie about him, least of all to his face.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Not only does he have a few buttons, but even accidental pressing will set Roy off.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Reaper pulls this off thrice. First he frees Roy from Ikutsuki's trap, then he keeps Takaya from attacking the group during an encounter with him. Then once more during the final battle.
- Koromaru also helps with the first instance of the above.
- Blood Knight: All the Reaper wants is a good battle.
- Boss Rush: Chapter 52 has one hosted by Margaret.
- Break the Haughty: The fact that the Tower (pride before the fall) Social Link was Roy himself, should say something.
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Roy delivered a beating of immense power unto Ryoji, but then he couldn't talk for the next day on account of roaring so many times that his throat got hurt.
- Butt Monkey: Most characters Roy (and the author) doesn't like have moments of this. Characters who he still likes but had this trope in the game still apply. Ryoji is the most notable example.
- Call Forward: In one chapter, Roy goes to Inaba and meets three of the Persona 4 party members, though younger. Later into the story, he even encounters the main character of the sequel.
- Catch Phrase: Damn it Yukari!
- When I came here, fate dealt you a Wild Card.
- Curb Stomp Battle: Many, especially towards the end of the story. Justified by the fact that the cast is pretty much overleveled at that point, and that Roy has been training them well.
- Then there's each time Roy faces off with the recurring thugs.
- Determinator / Achievements in Ignorance: In terms of Wild Card Power...
Roy: So, what, I just have to BELIEVE I can get away with something and I can?
Shade: As you start getting more powerful, yeah.
Roy: Damn. That's cool.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Roy's reaction when he S. Links the Reaper, though actually the Reaper began Roy's link with himself.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Aigis asks Roy to touch the most sensitive part of her frame to leave his genetic imprint. The awkwardness is lampshaded when Roy's first response is a Flat What.
- Duel Boss: The Reaper, Chidori
- Everybody Lives: At least as far as SEES is concerned.
- Evil Detecting Person: Roy can tell right from the get-go that there's something wrong with Ikutsuki. In regards to Ryoji, Aigis is more of this trope, but Roy still has strong feelings.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: The deaths of Takaya and Jin are quite gruesome.
- Fan-Preferred Couple: In-Universe, the story makes use of one; Shinjiro/Hamuko.
- Fire, Ice, Lightning: Lampshaded when the Hanged Man uses this trope.
- Genre Savvy: Put simply, a lot of Roy's approach to the story events are as if the player has played the game enough times so that even the MC gets a clue on how things are likely to go.
- The Hero Dies: Averted.
- Hidden Depths: The Reaper. To the point of becoming a minor ally, even during the final battle.
- High Heel Face Turn: Chidori again, but this time she lives through it.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Lampshaded, of course, by Roy. Who set Roy up so that he could take down Ikutsuki? Koromaru, the very dog Ikutsuki insisted on adding to the team.
- Ice Cream Koan: Roy's comforting words to "Maya", openly admitted by the narration.
- Inner Monologue: Considering that the readers are taking a peek into Roy's head, a lot of this is to be expected. If you combine this with Shade's or Azren's banter, it becomes something like an Inner Dialogue.
- Invisible to Normals: Azren.
- Karma Houdini: Roy gets away with yelling/swearing at people he shouldn't, even if their slight is an accident. He usually apologizes later to the other character, but still...
- Kill It with Fire/Kill It with Ice: How Takaya and Jin respectively meet their fates.
- Large and In Charge: Roy, the field leader, is very tall compared to a few characters.
- Me's a Crowd: Junpei eventually learns how to make two clones of himself for added attack power. This is constantly referred to as Rule of Three.
- Mood Whiplash: Lampshaded when Roy shouts an internet meme during the fight against Ikutsuki's Persona.
- Almost any time Roy and Shade co-commentate during serious moments.
- Mundane Utility: Roy makes mundane use of his skills and special equipment often. A very notable example is when he had all of SEES use ice spells to make snowballs for a snowball fight. On the beach.
- My Name Is Not Durwood: Shade, once he awakens as Azren.
- The Nicknamer: Roy really enjoys dishing them out. Ikutsuki is Sketchsuki, Takaya is Revolver Anti-Christ, Jin is Demolition Dipshit, just to name a few.
- Roy also calls Jin "Captain Emo Grenade Pants" in chapter 26.
- Actually, Roy makes a new nickname for Jin basically every time he talks about him.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: SEES usually delivers heroic ones to the boss Shadows, but solely Roy and his Persona delivered one to Ryoji, the latter being thankful for being More Than Meets the Eye, and therefore strong enough to take it.
- Noodle Incident: YOU CAN'T PROVE HE MICROWAVED THAT GRENADE!
- Oh Crap: Roy often has these moments. Arguably his largest is when he and Shade realized that the Dark Hour wasn't gone, seconds before they were proven right.
- OOC Is Serious Business: Whenever Roy dresses in the school uniform more formally than usual instead of with his own tweaks, he's usually mourning someone's death.
- Original Character: Roy, of course. He was based off of an OC Stand-In though.
- The Other Darrin: Allegedly played straight, though not really a trope that can come into play during a fan fiction. In Chapter 46, Roy's voice starts sounding like Dante because the author got tired of imagining him speaking in a different voice.
- Person as Verb: Azren talking to Roy about the possibility of Chidori sacrificing herself to save Junpei's life by "pulling an Edward Elric". The best part is that Junpei and Edward are both voiced by Vic Mignogna.
- Perspective Flip: Chapter 45 takes place from Ryoji's point of view.
- The Power of Rock/Autobots Rock Out: How SEES ultimately combats the Hermit, or at least what helps set the mood. The best part is that Elizabeth, Theodore, and Margaret play Through The Fire And Flames for background music.
- Redheaded Hero: With a bit of gray.
- Redemption Promotion: Chidori.
- Rouge Angles of Satin: Unfortunately. The author does acknowledge this, however.
- Shout-Out: Some full moon bosses.
- Hermit is an expy of Shadow Rise from Persona 4
- Strength is inspired by Jin from Grand Chase
- The bosses in the Boss Rush near the end are almost all references to other video game bosses.
- The beginning of the vacation story arc, as well as one time Roy made a threat to a thug, were both references to Pirates of the Caribbean.
- "I AM A MAN!"
- Signature Sound Effect: "CRASH." Prepare for a social link level up when you hear this.
- Sir Swearsalot: The original game (Shinjiro in particular) wasn't afraid to drop a few bombs, but Roy goes to the next level. Shinjiro's position as this trope is actually somewhat lessened.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Shinjiro, thanks to Hamuko's presence in the story. He still ends up in the coma, though for much shorter time.
- Chidori gets this treatment as well.
- Super Mode: The "Joker State". Roy gets a second one when he accidentally learns to sync with Azren.
- Took a Level in Badass: The SEES.
- Roy's discovery of skill channelling allows the SEES to throw around skills together with their attacks.
- Fuuka can blast a hole through Tartarus using Oracle and a Megido skill card.
- Taken Up to Eleven when their Personas evolve.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Roy loves the mystery cereal in his dorm. He also enjoys drinking Pepsi.
- Tradesnark™: Chidori's Ultra-Mega-Bitch-Destroyer Doom-Slap™
- Translation Convention: Everyone speaks Japanese, but Roy also knows English due to having grown up in Seattle. All the dialogue is in Japanese unless otherwise narrated.
- Troll: Shade/Azren, Roy's shadow and later Persona, is this, often teasing Roy. This includes after he's Azren.
Roy Narrating: He's basicly like Navi from Legend of Zelda, only badass and not obnoxious.
Shade/Azren: Hey, listen!
Roy: OH YOU LITTLE PRICK, I'M GO- wait you said that in my head
- Take Up My Sword: After Shinji falls into a coma, Roy starts using his Weapon of Choice.
- That's No Moon:
Roy: "That's fucking Nyx herself!"
- Title Drop: In Chapter 39, with a small dose of Heroic Self-Deprecation.
- The Unfought: Roy never directly fights Takaya. Many of his friends do, but since the story is from Roy's perspective, it could count as this trope.
- Subverted with Ikutsuki/Chronos, who was not an enemy to fight in the game.
- Unstoppable Rage: In Chapters 44-45, Ryoji presses Roy's biggest Berserk Button of them all. On the anniversary of his parents' death, no less.
- Weapon of Choice: Roy prefers to use a hammer, when not resorting to gauntlets or his Persona's claws.
- What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Roy likes to put Aigis's activities into perspective that a demon-slaying robot is (insert mundane activity) on a fairly regular basis.
- Worthy Opponent: The Reaper considers Roy to be this, verbatim.
- Younger Than They Look: Roy got into a casino at the age of fourteen thanks to his looks and a fake ID.
Answer of Aeon
- Berserk Button: Hades has one, and it's pressed if one wants to hurt Metis and Aigis. He's just as bad as Roy.
- Big Brother Instinct: Hades feels this for Aigis and Metis, though not strongly enough to fight alongside them in the coliseum. At first.
- Big Eater: Hamuko is just as worried about a lack of food as Junpei.
- Convenient Coma: How else could Roy not be in The Answer while still surviving his Heroic Sacrifice?
- Failure Knight: Hades. Aigis also feels this way as in accordance with the original events.
- Humanity Ensues: A gift from Roy to Aigis.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Yukari's so depressed over Roy falling into a coma that not only does she act more abrasively like in the game, but even manages to make her Persona a monster.
- Mutual Kill: How Mitsuru and Chidori defeat each other in the coliseum.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Hades unto Yukari, in a very similar way to the one in A Fool Named Fortune. The victim even pressed the same Berserk Button. Further proof that it's Roy's worst button when it's revealed Hades is a part of Roy.
- Only Sane Man: Hades acts as this, especially when SEES about to start fighting over the keys. At that specific time, Shinjiro, Hamuko, and Koromaru adopt this behavior as well and take his side. Junpei has this trope in the same way he did in the original version of The Answer.
- Original Character: Hades was not in The Answer.
- Perspective Flip: Chapter 5 is told from Shinjiro's perspective as Aigis fights SEES. The author said Aigis would not be likely narrate mid-battle like Roy would.
- As with the original, the story is now narrated by Aigis instead of Roy.
- The Power of Hate: Yukari manages to have a perversion of Persona acceptance worse than Strega due to jealousy.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Metis is... Metis, while Hades seems pretty levelheaded.
- Sir Swearsalot: Shinji picks up the slack Roy left behind, in a return to form.
- Slasher Smile: Yukari, once the Spurned Lover appears.
- Shut UP, Hannibal: Junpei delivers one to Yukari at one point after (inevitably) being pushed too far.
- The Smart Guy: Hades.
- Took a Level in Badass: Junpei has accepted his Persona just like Roy did. He still loses his current fight, though it was a last second loss.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Yukari. And she wasn't even that pleasant in the original version of the events. Her particular Hannibal Lecture/Kick the Dog to Junpei is what clinches it. However she wasn't entirely in the best state of mind at the time.
- Unstoppable Rage: Yukari and Hades both end up just as bad as Roy did in the main story.
- What Have I Done: Hades asks this upon sobering up from his Unstoppable Rage.
AFNF: Reshuffled
Many character tropes for Roy still apply, though should be re-listed if they are used differently.
- Adaptation Expansion: This version further takes a look at Roy having a new life in Japan, specifically how he's left behind a few of his friends in Seattle and talks to them at one point, as well as his physical fighting abilities.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Roy's Weapon of Choice is gauntlets once again. Unlike last time, he uses them right from the first battle, not to mention his Mixed Martial Arts.
- Barrier Change Boss: Exaggerated with the Emperor and Empress once they Turn Red- They start changing weaknesses far too fast for the party (Fuuka included) to react accordingly.
- Big Damn Heroes: Hamuko helps the party against the Priestess Shadow when things are looking grim.
- Big Eater: Hamuko Arisato is one, right from the beginning this time.
- Blessed with Suck: Roy often remarks that being a Wild Card means "[he] can't even be weird in a normal way."
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Roy got two good shots in on the Reaper during their very first encounter, but it caused him to pass out.
- Catch Phrase: See Blessed with Suck above.
- Roy says "eyebrow" in his narrations whenever something catches his attention and he'd raise his eyebrow.
- Character Development: Out of universe. Roy is more composed and approaches relationships with others more realistically (i. e. he doesn't hate or like people as much off the bat).
- Compressed Adaptation: Arguable. Things move much quicker, however all of the chapters are much longer than the early chapters of the original version.
- Demoted to Extra/Ascended Extra: Shade is reduced to merely being Roy's answer to Orpheus, and Pharos more or less takes his place.
- Five-Man Band: During the monorail operation, Roy outlines how SEES (and Pharos) fit into this:
- The Hero: Roy
- The Lancer: Junpei
- The Big Guy: Akihiko
- The Smart Girl: Mitsuru
- The Chick: Yukari
- The Sixth Ranger: Pharos, though he is more of a Tagalong Kid.
- Genre Savvy: Roy doesn't have this as much as last time, but he knows enough about certain genres to convince Junpei that being the hero's best friend is better than being the hero. During the monorail operation, he claims that the hero's friend usually gets a better-looking girl who may or may not be swayed from evil.
- I Resemble That Remark: Roy says this in Chapter 3.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: In-Universe, Ikutsuki's first pun in front of Roy actually hurt Roy a little.
- Invisible to Normals: Pharos is only visible to Roy, just like in the game. This is noteworthy because in this story, he's following Roy around.
- Jump Scare: Roy almost never expects the Social Link crashing noise.
- Let's Get Dangerous/I Am Not Left-Handed: Roy wears a sarashi on his arm until he decides to get serious in a fight and start going all out. He's able to succeed at fights splendidly without doing this, for the most part.
- Memetic Molester: In-Universe. This time it's not just Roy who finds Ikutsuki to be unsettling.
- Papa Wolf: Roy stays behind to fight the Reaper on their first encounter so that no one else would get hurt fighting him. In general, he'll put himself between his friends and danger.
- Sarashi: If Roy describes whether or not he is wearing one on his arm, it as an indicator of how seriously he intends to fight.
- Shout-Out: Shiny, let's be bad guys.
- Slasher Smile: Hamuko sports one when she first uses her Persona.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Roy utters this verbatim as soon as a rumor about him starts on the first day of school.
- Time Paradox: What Roy initially perceives the Dark Hour to be.
- Technicolor Eyes: Roy's eyes are orange.
- Took a Level In Kindness: Yukari acts much nicer than in the previous iteration of the story. Despite being the hero, Roy could count as this too, or at least Took A Level in Calmness.
- Translation Convention: Once more, Roy speaks English and Japanese, yet only speaks Japanese unless stated otherwise.
- Updated Rerelease: As far as fanfiction goes, anyways.
- Who Would Want to Watch Us?: Roy modestly denies that SEES is interesting enough to have a written story about them, and that if they did, Junpei would be the focus instead of him.
- You Just Told Me: That your Persona killed someone, Shinji.