Fanfic / From Eden

What a fine young gentleman! Surely nothing bad happens to him or his dreams.

Maruki: As you can imagine, it’s not the happiest story.

Reader: The ones that change us never are, are they?

- Chapter 4: Special Occasion

From Eden is an ongoing Persona 5 Royal fanfiction written by fivetail. It is a second-person narrative, canon-compliant longform genfic featuring a gender-neutral Reader-insert.

Reader, a school nurse at Shujin Academy, is forced to share an office with Maruki Takuto following Kamoshida's public confession. The story follows the development of Maruki and Reader's relationship through the events of Persona 5 Royal.

Inspiration for this fanfic originated from the fact that, although Maruki operates out of a nurse's office for the majority of the game, there is no canon nurse.

Important Note: Because this page was created as a fun, unique way to preview the fanfic:

This page will only include tropes unique to the fic itself.
This page should not be considered an exhaustive list of all tropes present within the fic.
This page will contain minimal spoilers, and trope descriptions may sometimes be overly vague in order to avoid said spoilers.

From Eden provides examples of:

Caring Gardener: Maruki takes care of plants in his spare time.
Cigarette of Anxiety: Maruki smokes when he's anxious.
Maruki: I’ve cut back since college, but I still use them sometimes to settle my nerves. They...help keep my hands from shaking, haha.
Cynic–Idealist Duo: Reader and Maruki, respectively. It should be noted that Reader admires Maruki's worldview, and Reader knows their own negative outlook largely stems from a deep-seated dissatisfaction with their personal and professional life.
Maruki: I never stopped to think just how many organizations profit from the psychological suffering of others...
Reader: Might be easier to ask which ones don’t.
Dislikes the New Guy: Reader is suspicious of a desperately-needed student councellor only being hired after a major public incident, and does not immediately trust Maruki's motives for being at the school.
- It also doesn't help that, right before meeting Maruki, Reader is told he was only hired in the first place because they themselves were doing a bad job at aiding the students.
Dismissing a Compliment: Maruki is canonically guilty of this, but so is Reader.
Maruki: You give me too much credit, I’m really nothing special. Just another out-of-touch, middle-aged therapist trying to get high-schoolers to talk about their feelings...
Reader: ...you’re joking, right?
Affectionate Nickname: At one point, after a drunken, emotionally taxing night, nicknames are exchanged. Whether they'll stick--or are even remembered the next day--remains to be seen.
Drunken Glow: Maruki, though Reader may also suffer this if you squint.
Epiphany Therapy: Arguably inverted. The discussions Reader and Maruki have that explore the latter's issues ironically push him closer to his canon ending.
Exhausted Eye Bags: Reader is depicted with these in artwork of their unofficial design.
First-Name Basis: Played around with as Maruki tries to get Reader to call him by his first name. (Meanwhile, Reader is not given a name in this story.)
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Reader's affections for Maruki develop into wanting him to find his own happiness, as there aren't many other places for said affections to go.
Lap Pillow: Does it still count if someone passes out?
Meet Cute: Maruki doesn't have the greatest track record for first impressions. Reader fares a little better, but not by much.
The Mourning After: As the story follows the P5R timeline, Maruki is still mourning Rumi over the course of the fanfic, going as far as to say he's 'not in any place for another relationship' very early on in the story. Arguably evolves into the grief variant of The First Cut Is the Deepest.
Opposites Attract: Maruki is optimistic, energetic, and sociable. Reader is a tired, overworked cynic who has no friends.
Pseudo-Canonical Fic: The fanfic aims to slot in seamlessly with P5R canon. Calendar dates, timeline progression, and even day-to-day weather changes are accurate to the game.
School Nurse: Reader works as a school nurse for Shujin Academy. No, not that kind of nurse.
Ship Tease: One of the AO3 tags is "Possibly Unrequited Love." Take that as you will.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Unfortunately gendered, but describes Reader's position of admiration quite succinctly.
Sitting on the Roof: The Shujin Academy school rooftop is a regular meeting spot for the two of them.
Somber Backstory Revelation: Maruki eventually divulges the series of events that led him to this point in his life, though not without his own half-truths and question-dodging.
Maruki: Well, there’s only so many times I can watch my plans for the future fall apart before I stop making them.
Strictly Professional Relationship: Although they spend a significant amount of time together at school, Maruki's unresolved grief over his lost fiancee, his tireless pursuit of his own personal goals, and Reader's ongoing respect of a previously established boundary prevent their relationship from going anywhere substantial. See also: Just Friends
Reader: Dr. Maruki and I share an office, that’s it. Don’t believe everything you hear.
Tastes Like Friendship: Maruki tries to get Reader to warm up to him by bringing caffeine in the morning.
Unresolved Sexual Tension: A given, though the story tries to keep it subtle.
Unwitting Muggle Friend: Reader is a civilian with no Persona or palace of their own, interacting regularly with Persona users who keep the Metaverse a secret from them.