Click Here for Update 93
: It’s time to 100% this game. Let’s start with Haru’s Rank 9.
: “Please, if only a taste. This wasn’t made with particularly expensive coffee beans, nor was it brewed by any sort of coffee expert.”
: “My apologies for bothering you at such a busy time.”
: “The truth is… after my father’s passing, I couldn’t bring myself to trust anyone at Okumura Foods.”
: “…That includes you, Takakura-san.”
: “…My apologies. Now then, um, what I wanted to discuss is…”
: giggle “Right… I’ll be okay. Takakura-san, what did you think of that coffee? I grew the beans in my own garden, and even handled the preparation.”
: “I honestly don’t believe it’s a particularly good cup of coffee.. but I put my heart into making it. That’s why I asked you here today, Takakura-san.”
: “I’m not suggesting we need to put this level of effort into the Okumura Foods coffee chain. And I’m not suggesting we should put a halt to the plan either. However, I won’t let my company serve low-quality food to our customers.”
: Does Haru not realize what the point of a massive international burger chain is? It’s to be maybe the fourth-lowest rung in the food quality chain, just above Sbarro, Arby’s, and the mystery meat that’s in Subway’s ‘tuna’ sandwiches.
: “What…?”
: “Is.. that so..?”
: “I…I’m sorry for being so rude…”
: “Me…?”
: “W-Well… um…”
: “O-Okay…!”
: “Thank you very much!”
: “H-Huh!? Um…!”
: I think he had entirely too much screen time and probably should’ve died with Okumura.
: “I think he’s an intelligent man.. but.. I have no interest in him. I have no interest in being his wife either. I would prefer to walk my own path. One in which the only person in control of my actions… is me. Not my father, and not Sugimura-san.”
: “But… what about the contract Sugimura-san made with my father..? He said the reparations will be immense if I refuse the marriage…”
: Does the concept of calling someone’s bluff not exist in this world?
: “Huh…? Well, now that you mention it.. no, I haven’t.”
: “Thank you…!”
: “Not only about the company, but about Sugimura-san as well. I was so afraid… but now that it’s over, I think it was honestly pretty simple. I only made it to this point because you were with me though.”
: “…Thank you, Akira-kun.”
: “You did too, you know? giggle Anyway, um… I only started trusting people again because you were by my side helping me. So, I want to return the favor. Please confide in me if you ever need help. I’ll be there for you.”
: “Oh, that reminds me! Takakura-san said something… a little strange, didn’t he? Th-th-that I.. like you… goodness, why would he say that?”
: “Why do you think…?”
: Man, we just ruined Haru’s hopes and dreams, didn’t we? And we didn’t even have a crystal skull to take them so we can power Xibalba with it.
: “I mean, that’s all we are, so… a-anyway, um… I should go study. I have entrance exams coming up… so I don’t really have time to be sitting around here… but, um.. thank you for today.”
: “After we met, Takakura-san told me my grandfather’s blend recipe. I’m brewing some in my room right now, and it smells amazing… if only you could smell it too.”
: Is it those bags of pre-ground coffee you buy at the grocery store? I bet it is.
: “Yes! And it’s all thanks to you. I’d never have found the courage to do any of this if I was alone. I’d just have given up without trying… and never find out about how Takakura-san was feeling about any of this.”
: I think you mean ‘never FOUND out’.
: “So… I hope you’ll indulge a small gift, for fighting at my side through it all. Okay, good night.”
: Tonight, there’s another reference to the older games on the TV at Leblanc, this time to Persona 3.
: And now, it’s time for the last optional Caroline and Justine event until after we finish the base game.
: “Listen closely: the place we wish to evaluate for your rehabilitation is.. a nightmarish place for acquiring gifts.”
: “Apparently, when the cold winds arrive, humans gather in a number of areas and search high and low for gifts.”
: “The specific one we seek is buried beneath another similar area. People flock there for all manner of goods. Such unchecked greed condensed into one location.. this place sounds like a maelstrom of human desire.”
: “We believe it necessary to ascertain just how much of a threat this place is.”
: “Well, if you know where it is, then escort us there immediately! So, what’ll it be?”
: “So you’ve heard of it! Then let’s get going, Inmate - and you better keep your greed in check while we’re there!”
: “We will not be held responsible if you are consumed by your desires. Now, take us there at once.”
: Why is there a poster for.. ‘Popo Kernel’? What the fuck is that?
: “It’s so energetic.. I’m nearly unable to feel the cold here…”
: “Crowds come to fulfill their material wants while the vendors seek their profits. This place is a whirlpool of human desire.”
: “It seems the words ‘sale’ and ‘bonus’ carry extra weight in this place. Humans are incapable of resisting such simple temptation… how foolish.”
: This scene reminds me a lot of that part in Strange Journey where you go to a sector that is a demon’s interpretation of a shopping mall, and they hit you over the head with it the entire time you’re there.
: “That reminds me - it looks like a lot of people who fell prey to their pitiful desires come to places like this. I hear the term used for such people is ‘lovey-dovey’ or something like that. Is that what’s going on here?”
: “That’s right, ‘lovey-dovey’ is supposed to mean a harmonious relationship of two people doting on one another. I’ve also heard that such pairings emante a special aura that incites the rage of those around them.”
: “Yep, that’s lovey-dovey. It’s so obvious, I don’t even need to ask. Their aura is so irritating, words can’t describe it.”
: “On the other hand, I’ve heard that lovey-dovey individuals are actually secretly envied by many in society. Could you be one of the envious?”
: I mean, he did spend an entire weekend in Paris with Yusuke. It is also absolutely canon to the Yusu-Gay route that they have matching boyfriend rings.
: Joker would explain to them the difference between being in love and being horny, but it’d be lost on them.
: I looked up how much platinum rings are in real life, and unless they’re buying plain bands, that’s a pretty low price for one. Most of the decorated ones shoot up from around $1000 to around $10,000 because of all the diamonds they usually encrust the things with. Thanks, De Beers.
: “The atmosphere’s shifted…”
: “Yep.. a storm’s coming.”
: “The clash of the lovey-dovey shoppers has been decided.”
: “Hmph. Pretty one-sided clash… why’d that man end up doing whatever the woman said? What sort of subservience is this?”
: “I’ve heard of such foolishness befalling lovers before. This must be what they mean when they say ‘love is blind’.”
: “How terrifying love is, that it can render an individual so useless. Be careful, Inmate.”
: “To think they can generate so much disorder just by coming together.. humans are such strange beings.”
: “However, upon realizing that is a source of their power, it’s easy to see how this place has aided the Inmate’s rehabilitation. Humans truly are fascinating.”
: I mean, all we really did here was buy plant fertilizer and meet up with Ann for her confidant.
: “Anyway, we hereby acknowledge the completion of your assignment.”
: “Here is your reward.”
: This would be great.. if we didn’t have access to Attis. I actually wound up fusing one in the unscheduled Mementos grind trip on the 4th that has the 66% dodge when ambushed skill.
: “I was expecting you to give up partway through. Not too bad at all, inmate!”
: “The strength of spirit you’ve displayed while carrying out your rehabilitation… that deserves our recognition.”
: “So you’ve finally learned to show us respect, huh? You’ve come a long way!”
: “Please continue such strong efforts towards your rehabilitation.”
: “Hm? Speaking of which… humans seem unusually predisposed to giving each other money and material goods if they’re closely related. People buying one another’s affection! Doesn’t that sound pathetic, Inmate?”
: “Oh? And don’t you think there are people you should express some gratitude towards right now?”
: “Indeed. I think a certain pair of exceptional wardens deserve a little something for observing their troublesome Inmate. That was a joke, Inmate. We are not so low as to exploit you for material gain.”
: Joker: “Does this mean I can have the millions of yen I paid you for fusion back?”
: “Say, Justine - shouldn’t we buy something for our master while we’re here?”
: “There appears to be a delivery service we can take advantage of here. Perhaps they can ship packages directly to our world?”
: “Please ship to: Velvet Room c/o Philemon, This Side. Just drop the package anywhere and we’ll find it.”
: Today, it’s time to finish Shinya’s confidant. With this, the only remaining non-auto confidant will be Haru.
: “It’s because you worked so hard. I didn’t really do that much… actually, yeah I did! chuckle Have you noticed that my playing style has changed? I feel calmer when I’m under pressure now.”
: “I wonder if it’s because I’m not so obsessed with winning anymore… hey… I invited some people here today. They should be arriving any minute now. Oh, here they are.”
: “I’m sorry!”
: “I finally realized that I was being selfish.. please forgive me. I’ll understand if you guys don’t, but… I promise I’ll pay back the money as soon as I save up enough.”
: “That’s all I wanted to say… thanks for coming. Let’s go.”
: “Huh? Then…”
: “…I’ve gotten better since we last played, you know. Now I can stay calm during a battle. I’m gonna blast right through that pitch-black armor of yours.”
: “…Take that. Don’t aim for the body… and that!”
: “Stop using that armor and start playing fair and square. It’s unacceptable to break the rules just to win, whether you’re an adult or a child. And if you don’t stop, I’ll tell everyone.”
: “No it won’t. Your life will go on, even after you lose. But if you don’t change now, then it might really be the end for you. And then no one will be able to help you. I don’t want you go to through that.”
: I mean, unless you’re Tim Tebow. Then your career’s over before it even really begins.
: Why does this whole thing feel like a Saturday morning cartoon in the early 90s?
: “No… I’m not. I haven’t won the tournament yet. Besides, it’s thanks to you guys… that I was able to get stronger.”
: “…I’m so happy right now.”
: “…Yeah, I think we’ll get along fine from now on. I’ve always thought that winning was the coolest thing. But being nice is pretty cool too… losing wasn’t the end. It was just a new beginning.”
: “I was able to change. Now it’s my turn to help others. My mom, my friends.. even people I don’t know. I wonder… will that help me become a member of the Phantom Thieves?”
: “So you ARE one of them, after all!? …Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Well, this is the last time we’ll play together. There’s nothing left to teach you, and the Phantom Thieves seem to be having a rough time..”
: “Thank you… for hanging out with a lonely kid like myself. …I’ll continue to do my best. Okay, put out your hand.”
: Oda Special would be fucking amazing if you could apply it to Ann instead of Joker. Joker’s final gun is a stat stick like Makoto’s.
: Mada took me some doing to fuse properly. To a lot of people, he’s not actually the ultimate Tower Persona - that would be Yoshitsune, who is three levels below him.
New Persona: Mada
Origin: India
First Appearance: Nocturne
Hindu deity of drunkenness. Has two sets of jaws and is large enough to eat the entire universe. Summoned by two gods who were prevented from getting into a feast because they had been among mortals for too long.
: Mada is the best fire Persona in the game. I purposely left Burn Boost on rather than put Concentrate on him because burn is a straight up damage boost if it hits anything and we have other ways of doing Concentrate.
: On a side note, carrying Fire Boost up to him is a massive pain in the ass. I had to do three intermediate fusion steps just to carry that.
: Unfortunately, we can’t get the best wind Persona until after Shido, so I re-summoned Baal off screen to be able to hit any burns from Mada with a technical.
: “…You’ve gotten really good! But you’ll still never be able to beat me! You won’t lose to anyone else though! chuckle I’ll be supporting you, no matter what!”
: We spend the night of 12/03 playing darts again. I’m going to skip the daytime period of 12/04, because I go into Mementos to grind and fuse - we’ll see that in a side update where I show off our final Persona roster before the Shido fight.
: We’re going to spend 12/04 seeing one of Chihaya’s optional events.
: “Jinbocho? There’s a lot of used bookstores there… it’s a bit far, but let’s go! I wonder if the stores are still open…”
: “Hmm, there’s a lot here… which ones would be good as reference?”
: “The lives of people who have left their names in history… true, those would be worth reading once. There is a lot to learn from their stormy lives! Also, you know those self-help books?”
: “With those, you feel like just reading them is enough. You end up not actually helping yourself. I’d like to learn the ideas expressed in those books, and use them to help my customers.”
: “…Hmm!? That used bookstore’s sign says ‘Study of Destiny’! Wh… a fortune telling specific shop!? Kurusu-san, let’s go check it out!”
: Save me from that Study Destiny.
: “God, can’t these people see past their own fat noses? They’re crazier about Shido than ever… when I think about how he used us… Dammit! It pisses me right the hell off.”
: “Well.. it’ll be fine. The better his rep gets, the more I look forward to tearin’ it down. We’ll make him own up to all this bullshit. Then they’ll see who the real heroes are.”
: And now.. it’s time to 100% the game. We’ve conquered every possible permafuck. A part of me wasn’t sure I was going to make it this far, and I thank all of you for your support.
: “I heard you’ve been getting into the roasting scene, little lady.”
: The roasting scene, where they only make coffee from beans you’ve never heard of.
: “Yes. I often have the urge to drink a fresh cup of your coffee.”
: “Heh, that near brings a tear to my eye. Well, I’m heading home now. Close up shop for me, will you?”
: “I was finally able to convey my feelings during the company meeting. Not just about the new chain, but about the future of the company, and even about Father…”
: “I think my presence angered some people at first, but in the end they all listened to my thoughts.”
: “All that nervousness was exhausting… I’ve had diplomatic dealings with VIPs before, but I’ve never once spoken my true feelings… that aside, after talking with management, I’ve decided to let them handle Okumura Foods.”
: Wait, didn’t she say on two or three different occasions that she didn’t have anything to do with running the company when her father was alive? When was she making deals with people?
: “It’s simply not something I would have been able to supervise on my own. And after their sincere acceptance of the public’s criticism, I felt it was okay to trust them.”
: “As for my future goals… I’m interested in opening a small private cafe. Everything will be home-grown, from the coffee to the salad. I want to set my own standards.”
: “It’ll be a shop that people love, like Grandfather’s… and like this place. What do you think?”
: “It’s a pretty boring dream, huh? But when you say that… I feel like it will actually happen. Truth be told, I don’t plan on opening the shop immediately after I graduate. I’ll need to study and improve my knowledge beforehand. After all, right now it’s only a hobby.”
: Joker’s like “If you need knowledge points, I’ve got a shit-ton of books I’m never going to get around to reading. My knowledge maxed out months ago.”
: “Perhaps I should apprentice here at Leblanc in the meantime?”
: giggle “I take it that comes from personal experience? Either way, I think this dream of mine will be no easy feat. But I somehow manged to tackle my childhood dream of becoming a heroine of justice.”
: “If I act with resolve and believe in my actions, I know I’ll be able to achieve anything. I’m so glad I met you. At first, it was nice having someone that understands me.. but now, it’s much more.”
: “There may be times where people resent me for it… but as long as you’re here, I’ll be okay. You know.. I’d like to return the favor. If you ever find yourself in trouble, I’ll be there for you.”
: “Feel free to rely on me from now on. I have the strength to help you… I can sense it.”
: Mother Harlot is an ultimate Persona in the Persona 1 and 2 sense. Her moveset makes no sense.
: She’s got Curse-based instakills, which Alice does better. She’s got ice spells, which Satan does better. Her trait is called Ghost Nest, and.. increases the chance of inflicting status ailments on downed enemies. Typically, the only reason you’d want to inflict a status effect is to down an enemy.
New Persona: Astarte
Origin: Syria (technically)
First Appearance: Giten Megami Tensei
Middle-eastern version of Ishtar, and the basis for Aphrodite in Greek myth. Originally used by ancient Mesopotamian cultures as another name for Ishtar. Became interpreted a number of different ways, including by the Phoenicians as the wife of Hadad. In Ancient Egypt, she was a hunting goddess usually associated with Anat.
Christianity refers to her as “Ashtoreth” in the Bible, a play on the Hebrew word for “abomination”. The Bible uses the name Ashtoreth to refer to pagan worship and idols in general, rather than as a specific entity. Later demonized into Astaroth in the Ars Goetia.
: giggle “I can’t wait. My, look at the time. We’ve been speaking for quite a while! I should be going now!”
: And that’s it. That’s all the non-automatic confidants completed. Everything else from here on out is automatic.. minus the expansion.
: Next time, we’ll do a quick trip into Mementos to do one request and grind a shitload of money. We’ll also fail to itemize a single Persona six times in a row and finalize our roster for Shido and beyond.