Persona 3 FES: An Asocial Experiment

Welcome back after those words from our, uh… spon…sors…?

And now we’ll spend even more time with Junpei!

After School

Ask me anything.
Awesome! Seriously, I don’t even know what I don’t know anymore.

I’ve been avoiding math ever since I started going here.
All this “vector” and “trigonometric ratio” stuff sounds like magic to me…

Junpei looks fed up…

Alright, I’m gonna do this today! I’m gonna overcome my fear of math!
You’re on fire!

Junpei dives into his homework with a great show of confidence…

So the circle inside triangle ABC where AB equals AC is…

Surprisingly, Junpei is actually taking his homework seriously.

You helped Junpei as much as you could and waited for him to finish…

If that’s the case, then… the answer is… 40!
…Huh? Am I done?
Whoohoo! I did it! I got through all of it!

Oh, s-sorry…

Haha!
You actually did it.
I’ve finally unleashed my true potential! You’re my witness!

I was… thinking about really trying hard for once.
I always thought that stuff like math would never help me in the future…
But, I noticed that it might be important, even if you never use it.

I don’t think I can start lecturing you on how to live your life or anything…
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with just doing what feels good in the moment…
But in the end, it doesn’t satisfy me, and it bothers me even more.
Yeah… I guess I’ve just got anxiety or something.

But I think I figured it out recently.
I haven’t found anything yet, but I get the feeling that I will, someday.
…As long as I’m with you and everyone else.

I think I understand.
R-Really?
…I totally thought you were gonna start laughing at me. Heheh…

You’re always doing your best, all the time. It made me want to act like that.
I mean, you study, you’re in clubs… Aren’t you in the student council, too?
…I think that’s amazing.

It’s rare for Junpei to sincerely praise anyone like this…

After hearing what he thinks about you, you feel closer to him…

…?

…Huh? He hid.

Troubled

You turn around, but there’s no one there…

He was looking your way. Looked like he was holding something…

Junpei jumps to his feet!

I’m coming too!
Huh? It’s okay, you stay here!
Oh…
He got away…
Uhh…

I’ll settle it myself!
Uh, you shouldn’t…
It might give him the wrong idea if you go to him yourself…

Junpei seems worried about you…

Anyway, let’s go home.
Sorry to keep you here so late…
…Try not to go home by yourself from now on, okay?

You and Junpei returned to the dorm together.

I kind of understand why it’s there, but man Junpei’s link would be improved by removing the photograph thing. There’s some real good content here in spite of it.

Anyway, we should spend more time with Akihiko next. There might only be the one Star persona at a level in which this is relevant but hey. Get them a nice boost when they really come online!

After School

…But no matter how you look at it, it’s just the Beef Bowl Shop.

Honestly, the beef bowl is really great here.
The servings are big, and the sauce they use on the meat is just…

Girl’s Voice: Akihiko-senpai! Eeeeee!

…?

They’re not in uniform, but you recognize them as students from your class.

…What’s funny about that?

Heavily Made-Up Girl: It means that you’re totally cool.

…?
Look, can you get out of the way, please? We can’t get in.

Buns: Hey, hey, you don’t have a girlfriend, right?


A girlfriend?

Buns: We’re, like, totally looking for guys to be with right now.

…Just let us through, please.
If you want to talk with me, let’s find some other time to do it.
Let’s go, Kotone.

Let’s go, Senpai!
Yeah, I’m starving.

You push your way past them and enter the Beef Bowl Shop with Akihiko.

…What’s the matter?
Yes, it was great.
I know, right?

Oh… I get it.
Do you think those girls wanted to have Beef Bowls, too?

I think they were a bit more thirsty than hungry.

Not in the way you think.
Huh? I wonder what they wanted…

He seems to be completely incapable of recognizing female emotions…

You’re starting to feel sorry for those girls from before…

Don’t you want a girlfriend?
Now you’re going to start asking me about that, too…?

Akihiko gives you a wry smile…

…I’m not strong enough to carry this entire burden…

Akihiko mutters, as if to himself…

You feel like you understand Akihiko a little better now…

The type I like is…


N-Never mind.

…But I can’t bring myself to say it! Argh!
Damn that Junpei…

You and Akihiko returned to the dorm together.

Man, I’m glad Akihiko couldn’t bring himself to say that, because man. That is… really awful.

Speaking of awful, how about this one awful plot beat again? Isn’t that exciting.

Joy

It you haven’t, then would you like to make this with me?
Look on this page… “chocolate truffles”! Don’t they look good?

Since Fuuka has brought the ingredients for making them, you decide to try making chocolate truffles.

The recipe seems like it would be fairly easy to follow.

…?

…Well, at least this is helping us understand HOW she’s bad, rather than it being the same one note over and over and over again.

Dissolve 200 grams of milk chocolate in hot water… Am I supposed to put hot water in it, or it into the water?

Fuuka is muttering things to herself…

Do you need any help?
Oh, no, it’s okay. I should be able to do this… Thanks, though.

Fuuka seems to be having fun…

You made your own batch of truffles.

They came out pretty well!

It’s a date item, sadly. It’s just there for bonus S.Link points if you need it.

Yes, I’m done!
This is much more fun when there’s two people here. Thanks, Kotone-chan!

Fuuka is laughing as if she’s truly having fun…

You feel like you’ve gotten a little closer to Fuuka…

There’s an apple-sized dark substance on the plate Fuuka handed to you.

…What is this?
It’s a chocolate truffle, of course.

I thought that a teaspoon of liqueur wasn’t enough, so I used a cup of it.
Look, see?

Fuuka is proudly holding up a bottle labeled “vinegar”…

…Because this recipe is so obviously inedible, you decide to point this out to Fuuka…

I didn’t notice at all…

…I’m hopeless, aren’t I…
…I just want to help everyone, even outside of battle…
So I thought that they might like having some homemade food or sweets when they’re tired…
…But I want to try harder so that I can get better at this.
Plus, now that you’re helping me out, I want to succeed even more…
I’ll try harder next time!

You finished your cooking club meeting and headed back to the dorm.

Today is honestly a really good day to Tartarus, so we’ll do just that. Plus, uh, I really need the money. That helps too!

We’ll kinda just gloss over most of it, but on the 45th floor…

tartarus_0d02

Fuuka just tells us that the person we’re looking for is somewhere here. Which is helpful enough, I guess.

We just wander around until we find her being harried by a small shadow. We promptly kick its ass because its a trash loser.

Then we can talk to her, she says nothing of value and we’re done.

We can continue exploring Tartarus proper or head back to the entrance at this point.

Either way, once we’re done they’re saved and are in a secure location conveniently located Off-Screen.

A Way of Life

Then we just finish up whatever else we’re doing in Tartarus that trip, and the next day make our way to see Kurosawa.

Hm? Oh it’s something that missing schoolgirl brought in as a reward to the one who found her.
There was a lot about the case that stymied us on the force, so I figured you guys were involved… Am I wrong?

And that’s that. Nice and easy, and since it rewards doing what you would (should) be doing anyway, there’s no reason to not clear these out.

That was a fun diversion, but next up we’ve got Saori to hang out with some more.

Joy

Saori is happily doing her job and helping the students…

…Huh? You lost it?
Um… If you don’t have your ID, we can’t check any books out for you.
Losing your ID’s pretty serious… You should go to the faculty room before you do anything else.

Saori seems to be involved with a complex situation…

A female student comes in.

If you recall correctly, this is the same student who borrowed Saori’s notes the other day.

…Oh, Higashida-san. I’m sorry, I’m a little busy right now…

Buns: Oh, it’s okay, it’ll be quick! Um… About the notes I borrowed…

My notes…? Oh, right…

Huh?
…Oh, that’s fine.

Buns: Well, s-see you!

The student who borrowed Saori’s notes takes off…


Oh, I’m sorry.
Um, so, if you’ve lost your student ID, you need to get a copy of this form from the faculty office and…

Let’s stay here a little longer.
Uh-huh, that’s how I feel, too.

Oh, right, didn’t we get homework today? I should make use of this time and get it done…
Oh, wait, my notes…
Wanna borrow mine?
Huh? Oh, no, it’s okay!
I was just thinking that my homework would be a lot easier if I had the notes I gave her…
Well, there’s no point complaining about what I don’t have.
But she’s being terrible to you!
Huh? You think so?
…Thanks, you’re such a nice person.

You feel like you have a better understanding of Saori now…

Which do you want to do? Clean the counter or make sure everybody’s left the library?
Let’s roshambo for it. Ready? Ro… Sham…

You did your duties in the school library committee and left school with Saori…

…Oh, wait, hang on I just realised that I have something in my inventory still.

Hello again, Sigma Drive. For whatever reason, a lot of things sell for double their old values here. Not everything, though. I don’t get it, but it means we get basically 90k for this trash accessory.

That bankrolls us for less time than you’d think (compendium costs…), but it’s still very nice all the same. It feels better than it is, really.

Warm Feeling

…It’s just a punch.
Did you get in a fight?
Um, w-well, who cares!
Don’t bother asking, okay? It’s really lame! I don’t wanna say it!

Junpei scratches his head…

Well, in any case…

Thank you!
Huh? Uh, umm… Haha.

I think… this is my first time.
Getting punched?
Haha, I’ve been punched way too many times before.

Junpei shrugs.

I thought that if I laughed my way out of everything, I’d never be in trouble.
…That’s why I try to avoid having to be serious whenever I can…
You know those times when everyone sits around and talks seriously?

I thought I could try breeze my way through things, and try to be fun.
It’s so much easier than having to do stuff like understanding other people.

…Not everything about everyone’s cool, right?
Everybody has parts of them that are cool or lame…
But they’re all doing what’s best for themselves.
After seeing you all like that… I think I got scared.

Staying quiet and trying to act cool won’t tell anybody anything.
Seeing someone way smaller than me put everything they have into something…

I’ve never tried my hardest in anything. I don’t take anything seriously.
That’s why I never gain anything… and why I’m never happy.
…I realize that I’m not living my life at all.

Junpei…

This got REALLY introspective, huh? Gotta admit, I like Junpei way more now than I did before starting either of these playthroughs.

Haha, what’s with that face? I can be serious sometimes, too, right?

When I got back those pictures of you… it crossed my mind.
In the end, I just wanted you to trust in me.

…But trying to get you to rely on me to solve this is just wrong.
You’re… an important friend of mine, after all.

Junpei laughs, embarrassed…

You sense that Junpei trusts you…

Don’t you sometimes just get the urge to swing once in a while?
…I used to ride swings a lot when I was a kid.
I’d get close to the sky and think that I could go somewhere else…


That’s what I’d think about when I was on a swing.
…Let’s ride on one together some time.
You know how to get two people on one swing right? One stands, the other sits!

You and Junpei spend some time talking about all kinds of things…

Like, okay, at face value Junpei is a simple, one-dimensional character. He’s meant to be the dumb best friend who makes inappropriate jokes. Then, uh, it turns out he’s actually kinda smart and reasonable and that’s in the base game before you even get to the S.Link stuff. It really doesn’t add anything new or that wasn’t there in the first place; it just makes it more obvious and gives it focus that it otherwise wouldn’t.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

Rather swiftly, we have two more people that have disappeared into Tartarus, huh? Alright, we’ll give the notice board outside the police station a look.

It’s quite nice that this is clearly related to what’s going on right now with how Shadows are focussing on couples. It’s a bit subtle, but I appreciate that it’s not just completely arbitrary.

We’ll deal with that sometime soon, though. For now, we’ll spend more time with Akihiko.

Warm Feeling

Akihiko is completely silent…

Are you feeling sick?

Huh…?
…Oh, right. Sorry.

Look, if you don’t want to tell me, then you don’t have to.

It’s just…

He’s just a friend.
I see…

Oh, no, it was just a rumor I heard. Sorry.
Don’t get the wrong idea, Sempai.
…?

Akihiko seems apologetic…

It’s bad enough that I listened to a rumor, but then I confronted you about it… It was incredibly rude of me.
If I hear anyone say that again, I’ll tell them it’s not true.
Please do.
Yeah, I don’t like rumors either.

Umm… Should we go get something on our way home?
…Oh, we’re already all the way back at the dorm.
Um… Do you want anything to eat?
Something spicy!
Yeah… That might be nice for a change.

Could Akihiko have been worried about you…?

You feel that your bond with Akihiko has gotten a little stronger…

You and Akihiko went out to eat, then returned to the dorm.

While this would be a perfectly nice and functional ending to the month, we do have enough time for one more event…

Fuuka gets that honor. Maybe we’ll get something better out of this time.

Joy

Tadaa…! “Sweet Fries”! Everyone loves them!
I bought a lot of sweet potatoes for them, so even if we mess up a little, it won’t be a problem!
So you can relax a little too, Kotone-chan.
Let’s do our best.
Yep!

You follow the recipe from the book Fuuka brought.

Cutting up all the potatoes took a bit of time, but otherwise it went smoothly.

…?

“1 tablespoon of melted butter”…

I didn’t melt the butter yet, though… What do I do? There’s no time now…

Uhh… I really think we should get an option to intervene at some point.

Fuuka is muttering something to herself…

Okay, the final step is to put this in the oven. I’ll put yours in too, Kotone-chan.
Let’s see… The temperature is 180 degrees… and the setting for residual heat is…

…!?

Fuuka is operating the oven extremely quickly…

I like taking my time and reading through the instruction manuals for electronic devices, too…
D-Does that make me seem weird?
That’s impressive!
Huh? I-It’s nothing, really…
…But, I’m happy to hear that.
I thought it was embarrassing because it wasn’t really girl-like…
giggle …I think this is the first time I’ve said something like that.

To tell the truth… I knew that you wouldn’t judge me over that…

You sense affection from Fuuka…

You feel as if you’ve gotten even closer to Fuuka…

Hot hot… Ah, I forgot that we have oven mitts.
Look. They look so beauti…ful?

Actually, they don’t even look like food…

You’re especially confused by the texture of Fuuka’s fries…

Oh… These ones look normal. They’re the ones that you made.
…Th-Thank goodness! They look really delicious.
I’ll give you all of them.

No, it’s fine. I don’t even like sweet potatoes.

Fuuka seems a little depressed…

Thanks for the food…
…!
It’s delicious…
Yours are really delicious.

I guess… I’m no match for our leader…
There’s always next time.
…Thanks.

Oh, it’s almost time for us to go home. Let’s clean up and go back.

You decided to take the sweet fries that turned out good.

You finished your activities at the cooking club and decide to go back to the dorm.

We’re not just finished with cooking club. We’re also finished with June completely. Next time we’ll return to the main timeline and I see a full moon on the horizon, but it’s not quite here yet…

1 Like

Alright, so we’re at July and - for better or worse - we do have exams coming up very soon…

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Of course.
Good. I’m counting on you.
According to the cycle, it should appear on July 7th at midnight, six days from now.
And remember, incidents increase when a full moon is near, so remain alert at all times.

Nicely, today is fairly short and we should definitely hang out with Bebe now that we can without issue.

Joy

Ze sewing machine won’t go…

Bebe seems confused.

Take a break.
Yes… Zat eez a good idea. …Sorry! Gomenasai!

I am worried about my uncle…
'ow can I convince 'im to let me stay 'ere?
If I became a samurai, maybe I could stand up to 'im…
…Oh!
Maybe it we go to ze Sweet Shop and 'ave a snack, I can come up wiz a plan!

Man, if you want to go to the Sweet Shop first, you could just say so. :v:

Shall we!?
Alright.
Yatta! Let’s go!

You decide to go to the Sweet Shop with Bebe.

I will be disappointed if I 'ave to return to my country!
I want to stay 'ere in Nihon even if I 'ave to eat dirt!

It’s really obvious what the answer here, again. It’s always kinda annoying having to deal with these kinda options.

Arigatou! Zank you! I can do anyzing with your support, Makoto-sama!

Jitsu wa, actually… I 'ave a plan!
I will return 'ome…
Mochiron, of course, I will not give up just like zat!
I will come back 'ere after persuading my uncle!
I will convince 'im 'ow great Japan eez!
Now, I just 'ave to figure out 'ow to explain it to 'im.
Zat will be easy with your 'elp, Makoto-sama!
Please help me! Onegaishimasu!

It seems like Bebe is counting on you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

I will see you again… Hasta la vista!

You decide to go back to the dorm.

Yeah, see you later Bebe.

Iwatodai Dorm

That means it’s going to be a Star Festival special bout.

Oh, wow, I totally forgot the Tanabata is coming up too. Hopefully we’ll get something to do related to it, at least.

so I was worried my sword skills might have deteriorated…
However, I seem to have maintained my ability level.

Because if you do, you won’t be able to move.
Try to stay relaxed at all times.

As a result, umbrella sales have plummeted this year. Compared to last year’s rainy season, vendors are reporting a 70% dropoff in revenue.

Since we have exams coming up in a couple weeks, we’ll have a bit more of a focus on an Academics grind when it comes to Social Stats again.

I think we only need Academics 3 to be able to get the top score here. It’s definitely not over 4 though; we should be able to manage it just fine regardless.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

But we’ll worry about that shortly.

For now, well, let’s bite the bullet. We’ve been ignoring Kenji for abut 2 months (for good reason admittedly), but we can’t do that forever…

Plus he keeps calling me at night and it’s really annoying, so I’ll do anything to make that stop.

Joy

But, I kinda took her away from them, ya know, dude? Like, I made her my girl before they even had a chance…
Emiri is a really strict teacher…
But at home, she’s a real sweetheart. She’s always…

It was really nice of Kenji to immediately remind me why we’ve been ignoring him super-hard.

Yeah, good-looking people are just attracted to one another. It’s like they’re meant to be together.
I agree.
I know, right!? It’s like a TV show, dude! Seriously!

What about you, Makoto? How are you and Yukari-san doing?
Well, I wish you all the happiness in the world, dude.
…Hey, don’t tell anyone about me and Emiri, okay? Teachers aren’t allowed to date students.

That’s… an insanely weird and red flag-y request. Or at least it would be, if Kenji wasn’t super blatantly delusional, considering our last conversation with the guy, but still.

I’m trusting you, man.

It seems like Kenji trusts you…

Your relationship is stronger now!

Well, I guess that’s because I’ve got something better going on in real life.

It doesn’t seem like Kenji’s ever going to stop talking…

You ended the conversation and returned to the dorm.

In my head, Makoto just ends it by getting up and walking away. It seems very plausible, honestly.

Iwatodai Dorm

Not really.
Well, you really should.
Your calendar will list events as well as when a full moon will appear.

The Calendar is semi-hidden in your menu, but I’ve just not looked at it because it’s kind of not necessary. It’s nice, sure, but everything of importance is told to you elsewhere anyway.

I think she should include us in more.
I agree.
It’s hard to know what’s going on when she makes all the decisions.
And that kind of behavior can lead to misunderstandings…

…Huh, this is ALSO a Persona 2 reference. This show is 100% hosted by Lisa Silverman (you should remember her from her brief stint on Who’s Who at the very least!), which is cool.

“Lei Ho” means “Hello”!
That’s all for this week! Back to the news!

In Innocent Sin she also gave a couple of minor Cantonese lessons here and there, just as flavour. I don’t know how accurate it actually is, but hey, I’m not gonna complain.

And as an added bonus we’ve hit Max Charm as well! Now the Academics grind is both a necessity and our only option.

…At least on Wednesdays and Saturdays when we can double-dip. I wonder what we’re gonna do the rest of the time…

Well, we can also study every day that isn’t a day we spend with Maya. So long as the RNG doesn’t be a mean jerkface anyway.

That’s not an option in Portable, sure, but that’s not the point.

Oh and we’ll be spending this Sunday with Yuko. Don’t worry, I have my reasons.

It’s really kinda unfortunate, but understandable, that Academics is such a slog that we only get the occasional real boost to. It’s just sort of… there.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Listening: Whoa, Shirakawa Boulevard? Ewww… I know what was on his mind!
Gossping: We’ve just started dating, but I’m already kind of disgusted. He’s got such a dirty mind… Maybe I should dump him. I don’t want to be the subject of one of those rumors that goes, “A couple was found unconscious…”
Listening: Hahah! That’d be great!

The first bell has rung.

I… feel like I should be surprised that he still has a job here. But, somehow, I’m not.

That the “Genji Monogatari” had a different author… That “Murasaki Shikibu” was a shared pen name…
Some have even suggested that Murasaki Shikibu was an alien from outer space. An intriguing theory…

So, she’s like the Japanese Shakespeare, except she gets to be on the money whereas he’s the focus of a shit Roland Emmerich film that doesn’t even make the smallest iota of sense. But I repeat myself.

But there’s one thing you might not know about Murasaki Shikibu…
And that’s the way in which her achievement is recognized worldwide.
Does anyone know? Junpei?
Huh? Me?
(How am I supposed to know about someone who lived that long ago? Wh-What do I say, Makoto?)
(The Global Heritage Pavilion.)
Correct. Too easy, was it? Next…
(Phew, you saved me… Thanks, Makoto.)

Well, this no longer really matters. We’ll still get these right, since it might help with the exams, but the Charm boost is a complete inconsequential bit now.

Since we don’t have any real risk right now, we can hang out with Fuuka and not have to worry about a dumb timelimit.

Joy

Don’t worry. It won’t be like before…
You’ll be able to eat it this time.
…Wait, didn’t I say the same thing last time…?
…Oh well, this time I truly mean it.
Well, here it is…
Please try it.

It appears to be a flavored rice ball.

W-Well, h-how does it taste?
You did a great job.
…Really? I’m so glad to hear that.
…Thank you.

I made it today in home economics class.
Learning how to make a rice ball in a high school sounds strange, doesn’t it?
Remember when I told you that I had to get better at cooking?
Well, since then, I’ve been practicing making rice balls every single day.
They’re simple to make, but perfecting their taste is quite difficult.
Everyone in home economics class kept telling me how good my rice balls tasted today.
So, to show you my appreciation for all your help, I brought you one.
You’ve taught me so much, Makoto-kun. Thank you for everything…
I didn’t teach you anything.
No, that’s not true…
You taught me something very important.

I said this before, but when I’m with you, Makoto-kun. I think more positively…
…And I want to make people happy…
That’s probably why I did such a good job on that rice ball. I concentrated on who was going to eat it.
…!

Fuuka is blushing.

Fuuka has expressed her appreciation to you.

Your relationship with her has grown…

I’m sorry for talking so long…
Well, I’ll see you later…

Well, yeah, obviously.

Fuuka left.

…Since it’s getting dark out, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm

…on the 7th, during the Dark Hour, when the next Shadow will appear.
This next operation is very important to my research.
Please prepare yourselves for the next full moon.

I guess it’s not too surprising or unusual for Ikutsuki to be here now, considering how close to the full moon we are.

I bet they’re all just jealous.

Perhaps the time of year dictates which type of victim Shadows target.

After she didn’t return home the next day, her worried parents contacted the police. Eyewitnesses have placed the girl with several of her friends in town around midnight. The police investigation is still underway.

It was super weird; one minute she was there, next minute… she was just, like, gone.

But, hey, today is a Friday and our last real chance to go to Tartarus before Liz’s deadline and also the full moon, so!

The Voice Someone Calls

[i]Alright, just gonna give Junpei the Warrior-- wait, hang on, what?

…Why would you remove this? Why did you replace it with the default piss-weak 2hander? You take this bat with nails in it back RIGHT NOW, young man!

So, yeah, I guess the super-cool and useful joke weapons are things that people will choose to unequip because they’re wrong.

Anyway, here’s our team composition for this next stretch of Arqa. I’m sure it’ll be fine, really.[/i]

tartarus_0d02

Starting things off well with Fuuka not being able to tell us where the next boss is. Not too big a deal, really.

Absolutely nothing of substance happens for a little while, really.

I mean, I guess folks start hitting level 20 which lets us have a stock of 10 Persona if we need it. It saves on time and money later, at least.

Floor 50 is a little more important and worthwhile than the other floors.

Since it has Mirrors as rare treasure. We could also just trade gems for them if we really wanted, but this is better.

…Especially since we somehow get both. I’m not complaining about that one.

On the 51st floor, Fuuka finally finds where the next boss fight is. So, we’ll take this opportunity to take a bit of a gander at the new Shadows.

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out

Out of everything here, Maniacal Book is probably the meanest. It’s not exactly difficult or anything, but its only weakness is to Dark and it can both drain your SP and inflict Charm.

Which, uh, is quite an annoying inconvenience at times.

Crying Tables are, well, they’re tables. They’re not exactly a threat and between Makoto and Mitsuru, they don’t get turns. They come in packs of upto 4 which is something, I guess.

Killing Hands are probably the least threatening thing here, including the tables that don’t get turns. The hands also don’t get turns, but if they did they have Re Patra so even if they do get turns, they basically don’t.

Enslaved Beasts are… really weird. They only have a weakness to Fire and no resistances whatsoever. At least they have Counter to be an inconvenience to Akihiko.

Finally, we have Dark Eagles which can heal and dodge Yukari. That’s, uh, nice for them, I guess.

tartarus_0d02

On the 52nd floor, Fuuka questions why enemy Shadows respawn. That’s, uh, that’s it really.

The 53rd floor is even less interesting. It just has Fuuka remind us that the boss is on floor 59.

The 54th floor starts a trend that continues for the entire rest of the block. We start immediately next to the stairs. It’s somehow gonna get sillier.

Huh, around here Sky Balances decide to reappear. Weird decision.

…Oh, while I rememer, let’s use the Jack Brothers spell. It costs 20% of Makoto’s SP to try and Knock Down every enemy.

They… have a microphone…?

The spell involves them doing a standup routine?!

It tries to knock down every enemy bowling them over laughing. I can’t… this spell is AMAZING as an idea, oh my God.

The 56th floor is very reminiscent of the 54th floor at first, but it does sort of do something different.

Most enemy formations are just groups of the same Shadow which is really boring, but this one is almost clever. Instead, we just don’t use multi-target Fire spells. So close, but so far from something decent.

The 58th floor drops us… right in front of the stairs. Great, sure, okay.

Not gonna take advantage of that immediately, though. Try and find some stuff in the area first, and we luck into finding a Gold Shadow for good measure.

Don’t get a Coin for the 10k which’d be nice and useful, but a Nihil Bow is worthwhile anyway. It saves trying to farm one later at least.

Aside from that, there’s nothing else of note on the 58th so we’ll head on up to the 59th. Just the one Shadow here, which is a good sign.

But now that we’re here, we’ll head on back to Elizabeth real quick.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

The Lustful Snake is quite a strong enemy, but still you were able to defeat it.
As I suspected, great power sleeps deep inside you.
I look forward to seeing you unlock your true potential…
Please accept your reward.

A very decent amount of money for sure. This’ll be useful for obvious reasons. :v:

What a charming operetta from the two brothers…
…Operetta? Hmm…
In any case, I would gladly summon them just to watch that again.
Please accept your reward.

Well, this is less useful than straight cash but it has some uses all the same. Probably.

Next in the questline is technically worse. I dunno why it’s third here; it’s Angel+Archangel, so we can do this one right now.

Like so. It costs 30% SP to half enemy HP at best. Its… really not good.

It’s, just like, why even bother using this? I’m sure it has uses somewhere, but the Persona it uses are low-end trash so I doubt it.

Divine punishment from the two angels… Although it was directed toward the Shadows…
It could give anyone a fright it they had committed a crime before.
Please accept your reward.

So, what’s next? It can only be better than that.

…Well, alright then. We need to be level 20 to do this one, so…

First we need to grab a Unicorn. It was easier to just make one, but then this happened and oh dear. This is really good and useful but also really worryingly bad. See, Bufula is good and cool…

…But it led to a roughly-40 minute timespan of rerolling skill inheritance for Narcissus to get the four skills I wanted him to get. I was gonna stick Dodge Pierce on here in lieu of Poisma, but this works better long-term anyway.

Oh and Narcissus does have a Heart Item. It grants immunity to Charm. He doesn’t even get the Heart on this fusion but it’s fine, since grinding it out right now would be misery anyway.

Added bonus to level 20 is that we can make Hua Po now too. She’s kinda pretty good by default, but she inherited Auto-Tarukaja so her 23 Magic is pretty great. If Kenji was at rank 8, she’d get Fire Boost at fusion which is kinda wacky but that takes a bunch of hassle and rescheduling just for and it’s not really worth the effort.

So, now that we have the two most useful Persona for this fight, let’s murder a Shadow.

Emperor Intrepid Knight (Portable)

Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone

So, the Intrepid Knight is the most on-paper dangerous fight we’ve had to date.

Well, for starters he has fucking Garudyne. Base power of 300 and, whoops, we have Junpei and no Yukari.

…Fortunately, every single time he cast this it was on Mitsuru. Every. Single. Time.

Unfortunately, this 195 is after Tarunda. Yikes.

Oh, but do you really think that’s not enough? Good news, he has Mind Charge! Already does around 250 before (de)buffs, but now it’s got a 2.5x power boost. Yeah, uh, that ain’t survivable.

Fortunately, we found a Magic Mirror so we can put that to good use.

…Except, uh, not quite. Intrepid Knight drains Wind. Goddammit.

Reflect here uses his Magic (18) to determine the damage dealt, and his Endurance (20) to determine the resistance thereof. So, there’s no fun shenanigans with that here.

But, uh, this 270 is still way more than we can reasonably deal in a round. And he has 1000 flat, by the way. Yeaaaaah.

Fortunately, there’s two things to keep in mind here. First, he “only” has 102 SP. Second?

He is VERY susceptible to many ailments. He only has 12 Luck, so its pretty easy to capitalise on.

Panic is good because it seals off many of the nasty things the Knight can do. Makarakarn is a mean one since he resists Slash, Strike and Pierce AND has Counterstrike for good measure.

He can also just leather everyone with his 20 Strength to try to smash through as many people as possible.

He also has Wind Break, just in case you use like Ghoul or something, but he never did it for me so whatever.

Oh, when I said most ailments? Yeah, he can be Enraged which is both the ideal choice and also insanely terrifying.

It means he can only do a basic attack, sure, but with the damage boost from Enrage, it becomes equal to (and sometimes even outdamages) his Garudynes.

Oh and he gets to attack twice when Enraged. So, uh, that’s something to be wary of.

But, well, he only does the one thing now, and we found an Attack Mirror so…

He will gladly nearly half his HP in a single round, thanks to Enrage also guttering his defense. Sometimes he might sensibly attack the same person twice in a row, but that’s not common.

Could also Rakunda before Enraging, or something. This is even more absurdly good on Portable since you can guarantee he hits a mirror on both turns he attacks while Enraged. Not doable here because no manual control, of course.

The reason for wanting Hua Po here is that her Agilao here does about 25% of his health on her own. Granted Auto-Tarukaja and Enrage help a ton here. It drops to ~60 without those.

He’s also very susceptible to Charm, if you want to go that route instead. Narcissus is just really good for this fight in general, really. High Luck, starts with Marin Karin AND Charm Boost, can be made with a Pyro Jack which naturally gets Enrage and Rage Boost…

End

tartarus_0d02

Since the Intrepid Knight came alone, we have two items to grab here. The Megido Gems are… nice, I guess? Soma is never not amazing, though.

Also since the Knight was alone, we’re just running to the barrier now it seems.

Not much here, so let’s pull off a Frolic. It only costs 10% SP.

It might not be the skill that becomes Frolic in later games, but it… certainly is what you’d expect from Narcissus.

Oh and it’s a Mediarahan with a chance to inflict Charm on folks. It’s not a super-high chance, but it can be an annoyance or an inconvenience if it happens at the wrong time. But, hey, full HP heal so it’s not gonna bite you in the ass too much.

Plus, y’know, Narcissus’ heart item grants Charm immunity anyway…

That’s all there is to see until we hit the 64th floor and make it to the barrier.

I don’t even remember what Liz’s reward for this one is, at this point.

Whatever it is, it probably won’t be worth the hassle it takes to get here though.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

Of course, it was written by a human.
But, who…?
I’m sure you’ll find the answer higher in the tower…
Please accept your reward.

I straight up never use these, so you might have well just giving me the money upfront instead. It’d be more convenient, really.

That young man has control over many beautiful women…
Perhaps someday, I’ll find myself in his power as well.
Please accept your reward.

But this is definitely good and useful. Also kinda fitting, which is nice.

The next one in the chain we can’t do for a long-ass time, though. Take-Mikazuchi is level 24, so you’d think this wouldn’t be too bad. But, uh, the other god of thunder is who you think it is. And he is level 53.

But, whatever, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it in like 4 months or so (I say optimistically). We have some far more important things to worry about first.

1 Like

There’s but a scant few days until the full moon. We’ve pretty much done all the prep we can do at this point. Just got a few small things left to go.

An Unpleasant Premonition

Are you nervous?
Nah.
…Seriously? How can you be so calm, Makoto-kun…?
I guess we have to do this no matter what…

There’s not really much point in getting nervous over it now. We’ve done what we can, so it’s just a matter of time now.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Since I met you, each day has been better than the last.
Because of your support, I have the confidence to do anything…
I hope I can be a help to you as well…

You feel an unbreakable bond between you and Chihiro.

Despite the S.Link being maxed, we can still spend time with Chihiro if we really want to. That’s, uh, kind of a giant waste and there’s no reason to ever do so. Options there if you’ve got absolutely nothing else to do, though!

But, well, we DO have better things to spend time on, and people to spend it with. Like Yuko.

Joy

…I did, however, forget about the children. That’s an inconvenience.

Repeat after me: “I can win!”

Kids: I can win!

Don’t give in to fear!

The winner will get to use the playground.
They asked me to write a formal challenge for them… I’m a little worried.
Not just about the race, but also about my spelling… blush
So, what’s your honest opinion? Can they win?
Let’s hope for the best.
Th-That’s right! A coach has to believe in her team!

They’ve done their best!
They’ll be fine, right!? After all, they learned from us!

You feel a bond with Yuko.

Your relationship is stronger now!

Mine doesn’t sound very impressive… I’ll be so embarrassed if those sixth graders laugh at it…

You walked home with Yuko.

I, uh, yeah. I’d be embarassed if I got laughed at by gradeschoolers as well.

Iwatodai Dorm

I’m sure some kind of Shadow will show up.
Please be ready.

There is one thing we still need to do, but yeah. We’re mostly ready as-is.

I can’t wait to see what the next Shadow looks like.

Witnesses spotted the girl last night with a friend, but the other girl is missing as well. This is the sixth such mysterious disappearance this month. Police are still searching for any leads in the case…

I guess this is probably just a public explanation, since the general implication is that the police know about Shadows and the like. Maybe that’s just because we only get Kurosawa as the only officer we see on-screen though.

Ah well, that’s not super important. What is, is that we need to go to the Antiques Store and trade 2 Turquoise gems for a creepy doll. We’re not gonna be using this for its allegedly intended purpose.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

We’ll just give it to Elizabeth instead. She wanted one for some reason, after all.

It looks quite old… but I’m certain someone put a great deal of time and energy into making it.
If I’m not mistaken, there’s a Persona this item resembles…
Please accept your reward.

It’s, sadly, not a joke weapon for Akihiko. It’s a normal weapon for Akihiko, with +3 Agility attached. How… exciting…?

And it turns out this was the start of a quest chain itself! We need to pay Edogawa another visit at school, it seems.

Since we both have an exam coming up and no other social stats left to work on, we’re gonna be spending Saturday at the Arcade instead of with Tanaka. Sorry, Mr. President!

And then, because this isn’t Portable, we can study immediately afterwards as well. +6 Academics is always nice to get, even though we’re not even close to rank 4 yet if my napkin math is accurate.

I just realised it’s been almost a month since we got to buy anything from Tanaka. We’ve really not been nice to him this week, huh…?

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

Yuko is staring at the steam rising from her coffee.

But, I’m sure it won’t affect those kids one bit. They’re so excited about racing, you know?
They’re pretty amazing kids…

Yuko seems happy.

You’ll find something.
Y-You think so? That makes me feel better, hearing that from you, Makoto-kun…
I’ve been so busy being team manager and coaching those kids… not that I mind.
I don’t have much free time, but… How do I put this…? It makes me feel good about myself.

You two became a lot closer today.

We don’t need to give her a gift, so we won’t bother.

After all, we’re gonna hit rank 7 when we get the chance sometime down the line. That won’t be for a bit of a while, though…

Iwatodai Dorm

I have no idea what kind of Shadow it will be, so make sure you’re ready for anything.
As the saying goes, “If you’re prepared, you won’t have any regrets.”

I don’t see Junpei or Akihiko anywhere around here, but we weren’t told they won’t be here, so…

hey wait no cmon i wanna know

The missing elementary school girl has been found. However, her slack expression indicates that she may have fallen victim to Apathy Syndrome.

Okay, I guess that was fair…

Anyway, uh, we’ll head upstairs to try and find Junpei and Akihiko next.

…the Shadows have been getting stronger too.
How long can we keep this up?
What happens if we reach our limit and then totally get our asses kicked? Man, that would suck.

…and that only applies to someone who’s a master.
Most people use it as an excuse. They say they’ve reached their limit, but in reality, they’ve just given up.
You can start by forgetting about reaching your limit. That’s the first step to getting stronger.

Hmm, let’s see… what to do tonight? Sunday is a bit of an awkward day, really.

Wait, Sunday? I’ve got it!

We haven’t spent time with Mutatsu in a while. Let’s see what our favourite drunk monk’s been up to.

…is what I’d like to say, but this was guaranteed to happen here. Even if we somehow had a Tower persona before we hit the last rank, this would happen here. It’s fine though. Not like we have much else to do most evenings now.

We could always just go to our room and opt to not do anything, but that is so insanely boring I don’t even know why you would consider that.

Last day before the full moon, sure, but it’s also a school day so we should be able to finish one last request for Elizabeth at least.

An Unpleasant Premonition

Yeah.
Dude, I’m totally stoked… like right before a tournament or somethin’, ya know?
Now, I know how Akihiko-senpai feels before he gets in the ring…

I appreciate how short these last few days have been since it keeps things moving a bit.

Although, now we have to get Edogawa to give us his, uh, “medicine” again. And this time an actual bottle of the stuff. I feel like that’s a violation of some right or another.

This Mysterious Feeling

However, keep in mind that you are interrupting my, um… scholarly pursuits.
…You seem healthy enough. My eyes cannot be deceived!
Now, get back to class!

…School’s finished for the day…?

But this is an annoying minor inconvenience. We need to somehow get Sick or Tired before we can get the thing. Fortunately tomorrow is a full moon, which has so far made us tired the next day every time. Except the Magician one, which just knocked us spark out. We’ll be back on Wednesday then!

…Sure is a good thing this request didn’t have a time limit attached.

As for what we are going to do today, uhh… we haven’t been to Student Council in a while. I guess we could do that? It’s probably the lightest of our available options right now anyway.

Joy

The hours fly by as you work on the tasks.

Um… no… I think he’s busy…
Busy doing what?

Oh… You mean what Fushimi was telling me about earlier… I see.

…You can go if you’d like. I don’t mind. Sorry for all the drama.

You decide to leave the Student Council Room.

Well, that was an actual scene but Hidetoshi wasn’t there. We’ve seen this before with Kaz, so we know where this is going…

Calamity

There’s no need for evidence. I know all about you.
You were arrested for beating up a guy in the park who snitched on you, right?

My boyfriend said he was accused too. He was so pissed off. That guy’s gonna get himself punched in the face one of these days…

It looks like the punk is going to hit Hidetoshi.

…If it’s not you, then give me some names.
Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. You have my word as a member of the Disciplinary Committee.

Don’t think you’re off the hook just yet.

The punk walked away.

Troubled

You look like you want to say something…
Good work.

If we let people get away with breaking the rules, things will only get worse.
One day, it’ll spiral out of control, and there will be nothing we can do.
So, we should deal with the problem now, while we still can.
…I know what people think of me.

That you’re an egotist who’s got a tiny sliver of power, and it’s clearly gone right to your head?

So, let this serve as a warning to other offenders.
Makoto-kun, you’re a sensible person… You understand, right?

You sense that Hidetoshi is beginning to trust you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

You decided to go back to the dorm.

We’re only 4 ranks in here, but Hidetoshi’s… really not a sensible person, either. He appears to be calm and actually rational (as opposed to internet Rational), but his actions to persue such a minor goal betray him.

Iwatodai Dorm

If we lose, then pretty soon the city will be full of The Lost.
We better win, man… It’s all on our shoulders…
Dude, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight… If you wanna go to Tartarus, count me in.

Dangit Junpei, you need to sleep at night. If you get yourself too tired to fight, you can sit out tomorrow!

It’s really kinda cool how almost everyone is sat together. Even though they’re no really interacting and mostly doing their own thing, this is such a small thing that tells you a lot about the current dynamic. That Yukari is NOT there is also quite conspicuous.

…the next Shadow will appear tomorrow.

A Shadow will appear during the full moon…
That is very exciting for a researcher, such as myself.

I’m so psyched!
Duuuude, I’m not gonna sleep a wink tonight!

go to bed, junpei

…so we have no choice but to wait until tomorrow.

Yukari sitting all the way over here on her own makes sense in a way. She’s suspicious of Mitsuru and only really gets along well with Fuuka of all people. Sure, she’ll banter with Junpei a bit, but most of that seems more like genuine sass than a friendly ribbing…

Many of the wishes hung up are requests that Apathy Syndrome be finally eliminated.

Anyway, uh, what we’re gonna do tonight is a difficult proposition. We don’t need to go to the Arcade for the Charm boost, Karaoke is also unneeded, Tanaka and Mutatsu aren’t available since it’s a Monday…

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

Well, first, we’re gonna take a trip to Be Blue V for the first time in a long while. We could buy these charms ever since we hit level 17, but I’m just gonna grab a couple Thunder Charms for convenience. It’s not a necessary step in my plans here, but it’s nice to have.

And then, uh, I guess we can go to the Arcade anyway. We don’t need the Charm boost, so we’ll look at the other games we haven’t touched yet. The remaining 3 are all very cheap for what they do…

They give +3 to a combat stat! Yes. For a tiny amount of yen, and your day and/or night slot, you can get a +3 boost to a stat. There isn’t one for Endurance or Luck so if you want those you still need to get cards but for Strength, Magic and Agility you can just spend money. And it’s kinda ridiculous, really!

Plus we can still study afterwards. That this isn’t even a decision between the two means we can make major gains MUCH faster than the game seems to anticipate us being able to. I probably won’t abuse the Arcade too much, because it’s ridiculous, but it’s always an option.

Anyway, tomorrow is a Full Moon! That means we’ve probably got a bit of a small dungeon-y area before a boss fight. Yukari forces herself into the party for this and we cannot remove her. Level 18 seems like a bit of a liability, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s definitely the weakest link we have, but she’s not really a liability.S

So, what about everyone else? Junpei’s revealed his dark weakness that he does not ever get Maragi for whatever reason. Instead, he opts to be able to use all 3 Physical elements which is a 100% fair trade considering it’s Junpei. It’s kinda funny that Slash is his least useful of the three right now, and his best attack does Strike damage and he’s much better at it than Akihiko. How bizarre!

Akihiko is, uh, Akihiko. Tarunda is technically more useful than Rakukaja if you want one of them, but aside from that Akihiko doesn’t really have any advantages over anyone else. He’s not exactly bad or anything, but he’s just lacking in a specialisation.

Mitsuru’s probably the best damage dealer of the bunch, since she has Bufula now. It’s only slightly more powerful than Assault Dive (100 power vs Assault Dive’s 90), but it’s more usable since it won’t make her easier to kill. Marin Karin will almost certainly prove to be useless, but the chances of it being used in that situation is borderline non-existant.

Really, no one is particularly bad right now, which is nice. They’re just different degrees of good.

So with that in mind:

:siren: Vote for the 2 we will be bringing on the operation! :siren:

The two that get the most’ll get to come along. Remember, Yukari is mandatory so anything for her won’t count.

My vote’s for Mitsuru and Junpei.

Mitsuru and Junpei for me as well.

Alright, so today is a Full Moon. I guess this is gonna be a long one…

An Unpleasant Premonition

Better than ever.
Wow, you’re amazing!
We’re going to have a quick meeting tonight about the operation.
So, please return to the dorm immediately after school.

You should return to the dorm and prepare yourself.

Unlike last time, we don’t get a chance today to spend time on anything more low-key and relaxing beforehand.

Dark Hour Scouting

The Voice Someone Calls

…Just a moment…
I found it! I sense a strong presence!
Hey, we were right!
Or so it would seem.
It’s located in Iwatodai… inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard.
Hmm, Shirakawa Boulevard…

In pairs…
…Oh, I get it.

Lucia gets despawned at this point, since her job’s done.

I’ve heard about it, but…
That’s where all THOSE hotels are. That explains a lot!
You’ve heard about 'em, right Fuuka? Where people go to… you know…

The rooms are a bit fancier, that’s all.
Aw man, that’s it?
I don’t know about this… Maybe I shouldn’t go…
You’re just like a little kid, Yuka-tan…
Wh-Whatever!
Fine. Let’s go.

I think given the context, you might wanna pick better words…

So, who’s gonna take the lead?
I don’t see any reason to change leaders now.
And Yamagishi, I want you to handle support during the operation.
I’ll do my best!
Alright, then I’ll let you decide on the rest of the team. Let’s do this.

End

Alright, now we get to pick our team for the operation for the first time. Yukari’s forced herself into the party right out the gate, though…

And, like promised, she can’t be removed. At least we can still change her gear now and give her that a Thunder Charm.

But, please be careful.

As you’d expect, of course, Ikutsuki’s just here for like moral support. Which is fine, really.

Anyway, Akihiko gets to go back on the bench for tonight. He’s sort of used to it, but he’s not got an injury to blame this time!

But there’s no time to dwell on that. Let’s begin the operation!

A Deep Mentality

And we’re just, like, immediately teleported to the first floor of the hotel. Sure, okay. Definitely can’t complain about that.

We can find Room 101 immediately, but alas we can’t put anything in there. It’s also the only room on the first floor…

But, well, we can’t go in any room really. There’s nothing at all on the second floor, and the third floor is mostly empty as well.

The very visibly striking Hierophant’s Chamber, between the chimes and the curtains and the golden door, is the only thing of note at all right now. So, we’ll head on in, then…

That Which Comes From The Darkness

As the Fool continues his journey, he is over time exposed to beliefs and cultural traditions. Throughout his education, he meets the Hierophant - the wisened Papal figure who understands the knowledge and mysteries and can interpret them accordingly.

Well, let’s get this over with!

V. Arcana Hierophant
no portable video of this fight right now for, uh, reasons. its definitely not because i cant be arsed right now, honest

Master of Shadow

A clear religious figure, wearing clerical vestements, the Arcana Hierophant is the representation of the Reversed Hierophant. The misuse of knowledge and religion to trick people and gain followers…

…In this case, representations of those ill-gotten followers are just part of his design. The stick-figure creatures are this representation and are not separate targets.

Anyway, uh, the Hierophant is definitely the hardest of the Full Moon fights we’ve had to contend with so far. A very high bar to cross, I’m sure. He’s not exactly the most varied of folks to deal with, though.

He really likes Zionga, of course, but he can’t kill anyone with a single use of it. Even Yukari survives (albeit only just), though that’s not really a good situation to be in.

Oh, and he can just pelt everyone with Elec for good measure.

Yukari being forced in, and so kind of a liability here, is why I grabbed a Thunder Charm for her, yes.

He’s very reminiscent of the Priestess, appropriately enough, in that his only real resistance is that he repels Elec. Not like this is something that’s going to come up with this party but hey.

When it’s a safe prospect, he’ll use those cardboard cutout dudes to make basic Strike attacks. This is usually on a One More for, well, sensible reasons and so he can capitalise on someone (Yukari) being downed.

In that situation, it does real damage and is a bit of a nuisance but not really a real threat. It’s not like it comes up much after all.

If he’s not doing that, he can do whatever but he mainly ues Prophecy of Ruin.

An appropriately titled skill with a pretty simple, but effective, animation that…

Well, it’s multi-target Fear. Much like when the Empress tried Fear, it’s not because he can capitalise on it in a nasty way.

…But it’s multi-target and Luck is his best stat, so it can just shut-down your entire party entirely at random and thats just plain obnoxious. Especially when you remember that you take more damage AND are more likely to be critted.

If there are any buffs in play, at all, he can also just use Dekaja. It’s not super-common with just the one but it becomes more and more likely the more there are.

He can also use Sukunda, and uh… that’s it as far as debuffs go. Weird choice, really.

Finally, he can be a gigantic rudeboy and just use Swift Strike.

…Which since he only ever did it to me while Fear was in play, means that its a massive ol’ death sentence rather than a very mean move. Even though he only has 14 Strength.

Anyway, the strategy for this guy is dead simple. Auto-Tarukaja means we have a damage boost on Makoto out the gate. Rakunda gives that to everyone and boosts Makoto’s damage further. Notable skill Getsu-Ei, which already has 120 base power, is kinda really good this early for obvious reasons I would hope.

But between the Tarukaja and Rakunda it averages 200dmg a hit (presuming its 10% base crit rate doesn’t happen). The Hierophant has 1500HP, so this adds up quickly. The other 3 can add a little over 200 if they all attack, so it doesn’t take too long.

…Especially if someone manages to slip in a lucky crit since an AoA adds another ~350 damage easy.

So, the Hierophant still isn’t exactly super-difficult but he can be a bit rude. His stats aren’t super great at 14 Strength, 16 Magic, 16 Endurance, 15 Agility and 18 Luck but at least he’s not super-boring unlike the rest of the Full Moon Shadows up 'til now.

But he still gives an Absurd Amount of EXP, and thanks to Fuuka getting a new skill, we CAN now see if buffs/debuffs are active and what they are. It’s a default feature in later games (including Portable) but it’s not a big deal really.

End

A Deep Mentality

You succeeded once again.
I’ll be waiting outside for you.

Kinda weird that it didn’t just cutscene us out of the building after the fight, but whatever. We can just walk out ourselves, I guess.

A strong force seems to be holding it shut.

It’s not the same one you defeated!
But… Where is it hiding?

Well, let’s take a look around I guess. I feel like another Shadow would be very apparent, but whatever.

Time to look around the room a bit, to see what stands out. The bed was pretty obvious as a focal point, but the Hierophant was there so the other Shadow couldn’t really be.

So, I guess we’ll just go around clockwise then. There’s not much over here though.

…Not here. But I would argue that having giant windows that let you see into the bathroom is itself pretty unusual!

This isn’t remotely unusual, though. We are in the Dark Hour after all.

And the Shadow isn’t hiding in the crapper. Well, that just leaves one thing…

Hm?
Is it just me, or is there something strange about this mirror?

Well, it doesn’t seem to reflect us…

Oh and there was a screenflash so I’m going with “yes?”

Under A Loving Moon

Silence

Welp, we’re back in the land of animated cutscenes…

…for a shower scene. Great. I’m sure this is what everyone wanted.

And, yeah, this is pretty much the entire reason Yukari gets forced into the party for this one. It’s really dumb.

Thankfully, it’s short.

The Voice Someone Calls

You hear the shower running in the bathroom…

You don’t remember why you are here…

(Where was I?)

It feels like you had something important to do…

A strange voice rings inside your head…

Something about this sure doesn’t seem like Orpheus…

Voice: Enjoy the moment… That which cannot be felt is merely a dream… The present is all we have.

(That’s not true…)

Voice: The future is but a fantasy, memory a fabrication…

(I can’t give in…)

Voice: Pleasure is what you truly want. You stand before the doorway to bliss. You cannot deny you instincts… Embrace your desire…

(Now’s not the time…)

You have regained control of your thoughts…

The shower in the bathroom has been turned off.

gasp

Glad to see that Yukari’s back to normal as well. Though, uh, it really could’ve been in a better circumstance.

Can you two hear me?
What’s going on?
I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner…
The Shadow was interfering with your thoughts…
And you all got seperated…
The enemy is still in the same room. Please regroup and hurry there.
…Did you hear that, Yukari?
…Uh, sorry… Yeah… I heard you.
Um… Did something happen?
No! Nothing!

If you tell anyone… I won’t ever speak to you again.

End

A Deep Mentality

Its power is blanketing the whole building.
I’m pretty sure it’s in that one room you were in before…
But, it somehow sealed the door, so I don’t think you’ll be able to get in.
I’ll try to find out if there’s a way to break the seal…
Please join the others. They’re on the floor above you.

We do get control back here, but there’s nothing else that happens when we only have the pair so…

I didn’t know there was another Shadow…
Anyway, you okay?
How about you guys?
W-We’re fine! Nothing happened!

They’re giving off the same energy as the Shadow!
Maybe the seal will vanish if you break the mirrors…
I remember this one mirror we saw on the 3rd floor was different from the others…
When I stood in front of it, I felt kinda strange…

Alright, so we just need to go around and break mirrors, huh?

Well, there isn’t one in the room on the first floor so we’ll start with Room 201 I guess. It’s right there and all.

Naturally, there’s a mirror right in here so we’ll just give this a bit of a break.

It just… cracks, like immediately. A bit disappointing, but whatever.

But then we get this and shunted back downstairs.

So, it’s not actually ALL mirrors. We can still break wrong mirrors, get sent back here and Fuuka’ll give us more hints to it. But, really, it’s not that difficult.

So, we’ll go back to the second floor and try to find a mirror we are meant to break this time around.

But, hey, there’s smaller Shadows hanging around now that we beat the Hierophant.

…Unfortunately, they’re all massively outdated at this point.

Well, the mirror in Room 205 sure looks different. It’s yellow and doesn’t have our reflection in it. Mainly it’s the creepy yellow that gives it away though.

That and the black gunk it oozes once broken. Can’t say that helps either.

There’s only one mirror to break on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The one up on 3rd is in Room 304…

And with that, we can head on back to the Hierophant’s Chamber. Nice and easy.

That Which Comes From The Darkness

As the Fool matures along his journey, he comes across two new challenges different to that which he has faced in the past. His natural maturity leads to a powerful urge for sex with another. He realises that he desires a relationship… his journey leads him to attempt to become one of a pair of Lovers.

Naturally, then, the Lovers card mostly primarily represents love and relationships. It also more generally can be attraction in all forms; a representation that something will cross your path. Whether it be a person, a new idea, a life-changing event…

I had to come to this disgusting place! Now. you’re gonna pay!

VI. Arcana Lovers
you probably cottoned onto why i skipped the portable versions of these by now, but since we’ll CLEARLY be spending more time at this event in the future, it just made more sense to stagger 'em for once.

Master of Shadow

At first glance, the Lovers seems to be a pretty overly literal representation of their Arcana. But, remember the pattern; they have to be the Reversed Lovers. They already tipped a forced pairing with their antics seperating people before…

And looking at them clearer, it’s easy to see why they split the way they did. They have no strong basis for their choices and instead focuses on the biological sex and nothing more. There is no true union to make a complete whole.

It’s not super-apparent in most angles, but you can clearly see that inside their heart-shaped cage-like body, they contain the astronomical symbols for Mars and Venus. These are traditionally used to represent men and women, respectively. That’s how you can tell that they made their choices on the most spurious of reasoning.

Anyway, how are the Lovers in a fight? Well, resistance-wise you can see that they’re very boring and have no apparent strengths or weaknesses.

…In terms of actual attacks, the have Maragion of all things. It’s kinda clever if you think about it, and it would disincentive using Mitsuru (since this is one you CAN avoid) if it happened with any degree of frequency.

As you would expect, their main assault is primarily ailment based. Pulinpa’s not really the first one that comes to mind though, huh? Lovers have 19 Luck so it’s not too bad an idea in theory.

…Life Drain is a weird-ass move for them to use. It deals 35 damage and heals them for the same amount. It’s just so rare, it happened once in half an hour of trying to get them to use all of their skills.

Oh, and they do also have Spirit Drain but that didn’t happen at all and is even more irrelevant from their perspective.

This is a bit more like it, though! They can use Holy Arrow to be clever. Pierce damage AND Charm wrapped up in one.

The damage isn’t a big deal, but the Charm is a major problem. Obviously.

It’s a bigger problem in this fight in particular than most others, though. Especially because the AI has a dumb secret.

Yukari has Charmdi. She also has a few Dis-Charms in her personal inventory. The AI when told to heal prioritises HP over everything else. It does this in some weird nonsense situations as well.

Like this one. It seems “reasonable” since Makoto is at about half-HP but Yukari is casting Dia here on Junpei.

Yes. Really. If someone gets Charmed, its better to have Makoto heal it, even though that’s a giant waste. If Makoto gets Charmed, then better hope Yukari is feeling co-operative to heal it otherwise that’s effectively just a straight up game over.

Why?

Because Lovers has a nasty Almighty skill called Heartbreaker.

It’s pretty hard-hitting across the board regardless, but it deals 150% damage to anyone Charmed. It doesn’t get used all the time, of course, but its very frequent.

Oh and naturally Lovers also have Marin Karin just for extra odds at proccing Charm.

Really, though, losing this fight is some really bad luck and nothing else. We’ll deal with it the same way we dealt with the Hierophant but with the added bonus of Lovers not having Dekaja. They have 1500HP, 15 Strength, 16 Magic, 17 Endurance, 15 Agility and 19 Luck for quick reference.

The Voice Someone Calls

Thanks for your help. The enemy was sly, but you did well.
I did what I could.
And you too, for withstanding the enemy’s mental assault.
Alright, let’s call it a night.

About that thing you mentioned the other day…

Fuuka nods.

Cool, tell me later.
Alright! We should head back, too.

I didn’t do much, really.
Yeah, whatever…
Who cares, anyway…?

I’m gonna guess you do right now, since you brought it up?

Hey, why do you have to be like that? Don’t tell me you’re jealous.

Shut up!
What’s up HIS butt?

Silence

It seems like the trust between you all has grown…

You learned a new tactic!

Pretty much exactly what it sounds like, really. Just focus exclusively on blitzing something down, though it doesn’t really focus on anything other than direct damage. Includng knock downs, even. There is a bit more of a focus on buffing than Assign Target, though.

But, wait, what’s this?

That was quite a show.

Their fighting style is positively fascinating…
And it seems they’ve gained new recruits, too.

Yes… That’s an excellent idea.
Considering that he shares our fate, it would be prudent to seek his opinion.

You expect that there will be fewer victims for a while.

But, you are too exhausted to think about it now.

You decide to rest as soon as you get back to the dorm…

1 Like

Since we just had full moon antics, we’re auto-tired which we’re going to put to use today. And not for the normal reason we used to either.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Listening: Sounds cool to me! I wanna go to the sea, the mountains, everywhere! But, before that… we’ve got finals starting on Tuesday.
Gossiping: Ugh, I’d forgotten about that. But that means a break is after the exams! And summer vacation is just around the corner!

The first bell has rung.

Ah, right. Exams are coming up very soon now. Hmm. This is going to present a problem twice over - schedule issues, yes, but also we’re gonna get a lot of classroom scenes this week. Eep.

Well, maybe “pain” wasn’t the word I’m looking for. English phrases are pretty tricky…
Now, let’s talk about comma splices. I’m sure you’ve heard all about them before, but to review: a comma splice is when two independent clauses are joined by a comma, wuth no conjunction.
Okay, Makoto! Here’s a question for you… Dun dun dunnn!
Which of these phrases is incorrect?

It’s basic English grammar and even if you’re not super great at something that you’ve never really thought about before, context makes it VERY obvious at least. Hurray!

“I failed, It’s over now.”
Whoa! I didn’t think you’d get it! Good for you!
That’s a comma splice. Got it? If no one has any questions, let’s move on.

It’s important to remember at this point that answering these correctly gives Charm points. That we, uh, don’t need any more. Still gonna be getting them right because it’s more useful to do so, overall.

…Or maybe we could just skip these scenes wholesale from now on, but that has some issues. Namely with how they help with exams which do matter still. Doing well on your exams IS important.

I am now your mother, apparently.

Anyway, we’ll deal with that in the future. For now, we can see immediately that we need to reschedule stuff… is what I’d say if this wasn’t a Wednesday. Kaz isn’t around then. Whoops.

But, yeah, week before exams so we can’t do school S.Links anyway. So, first we’re off to the Nurse’s office to do a thing.

Or, rather, to NOT do a thing. We have to be Tired (or Sick!) to not just get kicked out of the office immediately. If we are Tired/Sick, we get this option like normal and drinking Edogawa’s fucked up experiment shuts us out for the day and means we can’t do what we want until we come back when we’re Tired/Sick again in the future.

In short (too late), we’re not drinking anything.

That normally quiet mouse went squeaking out of here with energy!

I’m not sure it’s safe to drink, but here, take this. It’s some old medicine I found lying around.

Well, this is actively definitely harmful rather than just a terrible idea. What the FUCK, Edogawa?

…The only mercy here is that no one is going to be taking this medicine anyway.

Decided to try the bathroom now to see if we’d luck out and get a status upgrade out of it. Now we can study tonight as well as do… whatever else we’ll be doing.

And, from what I can tell, he has no personality.

Oh, and this little sidestory has updated too. We’re no longer on the roof and I guess “he is a dickhead who throws rocks at birds” and “picks his nose when he thinks someone isn’t looking” is all we know about the other guy.

I don’t even realize she’s around anymore.

Meanwhile, he’s… well, he’s definitely incredibly weird and probably not all that healthy either. It’s really fucked that Edogawa is the school nurse, because clearly someone competent is necessary around here.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

It definitely would be, yeah. Old Medicine is really absurdly bad.

May I try some…?
Oh…! The way it feels going down my throat…
What an amazing concoction… I feel as though it could almost kill a man… This is very impressive medicine.
Please accept your reward.

At least our reward for giving Liz objectively terrible medicine is some rad medicine. Cures all ailments across the entire party. Possibly handy!

My favourite dumb thing about this, by the by, is that the Megaten Wiki in its infinite dumbness seems to think these don’t even exist. Yeah, I dunno.

Anyway, it’s interesting (to me) to note that we have access already to the next set of sidequests. Normally we don’t get these until Liz gives us a call about Tartarus.

Anyway, let’s talk about some of these for a sec. We’re gonna feed a cat! We’re gonna feed the heck out of a cat! This is a bit more involved than it sounds, though…

This one we can’t do yet, because it requires a minimum level of 27 to do. Yes, really. But it’s also the next one in a quest line so it was only unlocked by giving Elizabeth the awful medicine.

And this one is… simple but interesting. It gives us a Bus Stop Sign which has a new icon we’ve never seen before on it. It’s clearly a gag weapon, but it’s… an axe…? We don’t have any party members who can use axes… I guess Makoto’s unique weapon type, along with his versatility, is an axe. That’s kinda rad and also I wanna beat stuff up with a bus stop sign.

So we WILL be going back to Gekkoukan to get some music in a moment, but first we have to buy some cat food. The pharmacy sells very fancy cat food purely for this one quest, which is cute and cool. We’re buying 4 cans or whatever they are.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

So, we want music from the school. Music room is a tempting idea for obvious reasons, but that’s used for a club so that doesn’t work here. Instead, we’re going to the PA Room up on the 2nd floor (next to the Student Council).

You hear bizarre music playing inside.

Male Student’s Voice: …“Gekkoukan Boogie”? Why does the school have music like this…? …Must be a teacher’s theme song or something. …Crazy. chuckle

Well, that’s an interesting idea but I think this’ll do the trick quite nicely.

Male Student: Huh? This music? I have no idea what it’s for, but it says “Gekkoukan Boogie” on it. Huh? You want it? …Are you serious!? Sure, you can have it. We don’t have any use for it, anyway… Here… Now, get out of here, before you get me in trouble.

Alright, so before we take this back to Elizabeth, we’re going to head to the Port Island Station for a moment because there’s been a bit of a change there lately.

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

Until relatively recently, there was a barrier on the left-hand side that shut us out from the cafe area. And more importantly, those stairs in the corner.

They let us get to a place that we’ve seen a couple of times before now, at last. More importantly, there’s a cat hanging out here.

He seems to be very weak. Maybe he’s hungry…

We’re gonna be giving 'em some top-tier Super Cat Food!

The cat slowly started to eat.

Weak cat: Meow… Meowww…

The cat is purring loudly. It seems happy.

That we can and DEFINITELY will do. Can only feed the cat once a day, so we’re done here for now.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

Which means we go back to Elizabeth!

…Do they play this often in your school?
Oh… The lyrics are included inside…


…Um, I’ll listen to this later.
About the reward… I have prepared something different for you this time.
A simple, yet sturdy metal frame, with small lettering on the placard… I believe it’s called a Bus Stop Sign.
I’ve heard that in your world, they can be found all over the place. I’d like to see some of these signs In their natural environment someday…
Please accept your reward.

Alright, NOW we’re done with Liz for the time being.

So, the Bus Stop Sign can only be used by Makoto and it’s the latest “joke” weapon naturally. That means it’s top-tier for the time being and is most likely going to be glued to Makoto for a long while yet.

But for the here and now, uh, we can’t do school S.Links so I guess we’re off back to the bookstore for a while.

Joy

There are two k’s…
I know, I know!
I just forgot to write the second one.
I feel bad for Makoto-chan and all the people who’ve been campaigning to save the tree…

I’m writing a letter–something I haven’t done in ages. But, I can’t remember how to spell half these words!
Am I finally losing it? I used to have an amazing vocabulary.
What’s it about?
Sorry, can’t let you see it. Top secret.

I’ll tell you when the time comes, Minato-chan.
Well, aren’t you curious?
I can’t wait another minute.
…We feel the same way.
Everyday, we just can’t wait to see you!
Lately, I even feel smarter! Maybe I should go back to school…
Just kidding.

It seems Bunkichi and Mitsuko are counting on you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

Well, uh, the next time probably won’t be several months from now so that’s reasonable!

After saying goodbye to Bunkichi and Mitsuko, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm

About what?
Oh, um, there’s something I have to clear up.
Everyone must be tired after the mission…
Please get a good night’s rest…

So, I guess this is about that secret thing that Yukari asked Mitsuru to look into before. I really wanna know what that was…

Tch… whatever…

But, well, first we have everyone else to talk to. Junpei is acting really pissy right now. Joy…

Just take it easy for now.

Sorry, Akihiko we can go to Tartarus tomorrow, but we won’t be.

Mysterious vandalism has occurred at the hotel Champs de Fleurs. Mirrors in the hotel rooms were shattered. Though the hotel had many guests, none of them saw the culprit. Some guests have also reported theft in their rooms. Police are currently investigating the incident.

Depending on who looks into it, they might already know the answer but be unable to do anything about it.

I wanted to say something earlier, but I didn’t want everyone else to hear.
So, sorry…

Oh, I heard you did a great job last night, Makoto-kun!
Keep it up!

The girls are upstairs and man, Fuuka, you are REALLY bad at this.

Like Akihiko said, Mitsuru’s not around right now so all that remains to do something. Since it’s a Wednesday, that means we go to the Arcade to play Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or something.

And since we got lucky with the bathroom, that means we can double-down on our Academics gain today and get 6 points. Which is not even really all that close to enough for a level.

But +6 is something we can only potentially do two days a week, so who knows when we’ll hit the next rank right now.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Listening: It’s because the building wasn’t built that long ago, so everything is still gleaming. You know, I heard from my parents there was an explosion here 10 years ago. They replaced the building after that, but… There’s more to it, too. Around that time, a lot of students stopped coming to school. Maybe that’s why they put up the new building… To start with a clean slate…
Gossiping: An explosion!? Did someone screw up in chem lab or something? That must have been a dangerous lecture…

The first bell has rung.

In 794, the Heian-Kyo was established. In 894, they abolished imperial embassies to China…
I might put this section on the exam next week… I’m feeling lazy.
Anyways, on to feudalism. Listen carefully, because this has to do with the origins of the samurai.
I choose… you, Makoto! Let’s see if you know.
What law served as a foundation for the development of feudalism?

I, uh… I genuinely have no idea. So, I’m just gonna guess. :v:

The Konden Einen Shizaihou.
Good, you remembered. It’s got a very long name, doesn’t it?

The farmers got lazy. Not that that’s unusual for any era… But that’s all for the Heian period.

So, now that we’re done with school stuff for the day we need to do the most important thing.

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

Gotta feed the cat some more. It’s still not done but it’s slowly getting there day by day.

Now that we’ve got the most important thing done, let’s go be friendly to the elderly again.

Which isn’t for the last time. We need a lot more points than the previous scene could give… so much so that this didn’t push us to the threshold either! I do believe that’s the first time spending time as a non-event hasn’t been sufficient for a rank up.

Oh and NOW Elizabeth lets us know we can climb higher in Tartarus. We already had the sidequests available though, so okay I guess.

Iwatodai Dorm

They are employing more dangerous attacks, as well…
So even though we have a lot of time until the next full moon, we had best use that time wisely.

I agree. I am definitely going to invest my time very wisely.

Well, what time of it I can anyway. Exams do steal a week automatically which kinda sucks.

But, there are exams next week, so you should focus on them.

So, we won’t heal or support…
You’ll have to do that, Makoto.
Do your part.

Natto has become surprisingly popular overseas. Called “Miracle Beans” in foreign countries, they sell five times what they do in Japan. A well-known natto producer said, “Good thing I kept making it!”

Natto sucks and is hella gross, sorry. You can disagree if you like, I won’t stop you, but you’re wrong.

But, it’s not good if everyone is out of step because they’re all trying too hard…

The girls are up on the… third floor. Huh. I think this is the first time we’ve stopped on this one.

She would probably do just about anything to annihilate the Shadows.
But, don’t you think that’s a little obsessive?
Yeah, maybe.
There are a lot of old sayings about maintaining balance in your life…
They also warn against being too obsessive.

Alright, so now that we’re done at the dorm we need to figure out what we’re gonna be doing tonight. Hmm, let’s see it’s not a quiz night so we’re not off to the Arcade…

Tanaka isn’t around on Thursdays…

Wait, Thursday? I’ve got it!

Mutatsu, my other old friend!

This Mysterious Feeling

Hey, don’t get me wrong, kid. It’s not like I was lookin’ forward to seein’ ya or anything.

Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting the chain-smoking, drunk old monk to the be The Tsundere and yet.

What’s the deal with your hair, kid?
Is that what’s in style nowadays? Doesn’t it get in your eyes?
…My son kept his hair long too.
You should cut it. No, better yet, shave it all off… smooth like me.
Yeah, that might look cool.
Hmph, you don’t get it, kid.

I’m not talkin’ about fashion here; I’m sayin’ you’d be better off without your hair.
Oh, sure, you’re young and good-lookin’ now, but just wait…
I mean, look at me. I’m old and ugly… My cheeks sag like a damn bulldog’s.
…That’s life, kid. People get old. Someday you’ll be just like me…
You’ll look in the mirror and think…
Damn, I was handsome back in the day…
Here’s a little trick so you don’t lose hope in the future.

You’re gonna lose your hair eventually, kid, so why bother with it now?
Bald is beautiful. You just wake up in the mornin’ and go. No fuss.
I can even give you money for the shave.

You saw through Mutatsu’s harsh words and felt his kindness.

You understand Mutatsu better now.

Well, ya can’t sleep here, kid. Go home.

You decided to go back to the dorm.

Reminder that we’re still about like 8 levels out from the first Tower persona. That seems really close, but it’s still likely gonna be a bit of work to get there at the moment.

And we’re gonna keep on gettin’ that free Academics boost because it’s right here after all.

Awkwardly, we don’t even start exams until Tuesday. That might be useful though, thinking about it…

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

I plan on using the word “magic” in a very general sense.
But today, we’ll talk about the single most magical place and time.
Today’s topic is the magic of medieval Europe.
There are a lot of materials pertaining to western magic, from books to folklore.
We’ll cover all of it, including the changes it’s gone through.
As I mentioned last time, European magic has its origins in paganism.

Some well-known examples are…
Kabbalah, the study of the mystical aspects of Jewish texts.
Gnosticism, a Christian sect founded by Simon Magus, the Sorcerer.
Greece’s philosophy and natural sciences were the fruits of magical researchers…
The same was true of Islam’s scientific advances, which surpassed Europe’s at the time. Now, as for the circumstances of magic in this age…

Magicians bravely reached up for a connection with the gods…
Are you all awake? You’re not daydreaming, right? Eeeheehee.
A little test, to see if you were listening… Get it wrong, and you’ll get a scary guardian angel. Sebna uru quah…
Who should I choose…? All right, Makoto, I ask thee.
What is the mystical study of Jewish texts?
Kabbalah.
Very good. The magicians of the age achieved great things…
Particularly the famous “grimoires.” Grimoires are collections of a wide range of magical texts, and…

Okay, in all seriousness here: the stuff Edogawa “teaches” is kinda genuinely interesting. Or, rather, it would be if it wasn’t in one-sentence long text boxes that kinda go fairly slowly. And also if it wasn’t just eyerolling and weird to have Edogawa be so consistently bad at his job.

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

Gotta feed the cat some more. He’s slowly getting better thanks to the power of Expensive And Fancy Food. Awesome

We could spend the day at the bookstore, but right now that’s kind of a waste. We know we won’t rank up yet and we’ll get better timing to go back there later on. So, what to do…

We haven’t really spent time with Maiko since we gave her some takoyaki and cola.

I was waiting for you! Let’s play!
Okay.

Joy

It’s up to you, kay? Your choice!
Jungle gym.
Oh boy! I’m gonna climb way up high, okay?

But, I don’t wanna go home yet.
…I don’t like it there.

Maiko seems sad.

Can’t we stay together for a little longer?

Maiko seems to enjoy hanging out.

You got to know Maiko, the grade-schooler.

The Power of the Heart

A mysterious voice rings in your head…

Troubled

…they fight a lot.
They’re going to get a divorce, huh?
I tell them I want us to be happy, but they don’t listen.
They probably hate me, too.

…Hey, we can play again later, right? I think we’re friends now.
I have cram school on Sunday, but I’m free the rest of the days.

You decide to go back to the dorm.

Man that’s… pretty much the kinda thing I would expect from a small child’s S.Link really. At least if it’s a consistent through-line and not dropped after like rank 3 I mean.

Iwatodai Dorm

…I better go study, since exams are coming up.

So, Junpei is actively avoiding us. That’s… not really a good sign, huh?

A miraculous flower which only grows once every 100 years has bloomed. It seems to be responding to the other strange events in town.

I do like the implication that this isn’t a year it was supposed to happen. It takes almost a month for the Dark Hour to amount to 1 day of time, though, so that can’t very quickly or easily cause that kinda discrepency.

Oh and Junpei is the only person with something new to say today. And it’s new because it’s nothing. Thanks, Junpei.

And with today being a Friday, that means we can go hang out with Mutatsu again.


Although we’re still at the stage where no matter what, we’d need a scene-free time to get a rank up. Mutatsu is a bit awkward but he’s a night link so it’s fine since we don’t really have much to do at night.

Academics are still a thing, and still aren’t Rank 4 which is kinda amazing. You’d think it would be by now.

I reckon we’ve got enough time for one more day.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Uh, exams are pretty soon… Have you been studyin’?
Yeah.
…Seriously? Like I care…

It all began from infighting among the Taira clan. Their conflict escalated until the Imperial Court intervened.
Masakado was pursued by the Imperial Court, and had no choice but to openly oppose them… The result was known as the War of Masakado.
Makoto… You don’t look anything like a samurai, but let’s see if you know this one.
What title did Taira No Masakado claim for himself?
Imperial Prince.
Correct! This will be on the exam next week, so be prepared!
Let’s skip forward a little to the Kamakura era! At last! The samurai’s presence begins to be felt in history!

And of course, its founder was Minamoto no Yoritomo. I can’t believe we’re finally here!

Masakado was born in 903 and died in 940. So, uh, we skipped forward “a little” alright. Almost 300 years is only a footnote, right?

It’s from Akihiko.

“He has something to tell us.”

“We’ll meet on the 4th floor as soon as everyone is back.”

So, I guess we’ll have a small plot scene this evening. Alright, sure. But first!

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

The cat is purring loudly. It seems happy.

The cat seems to have regained all its energy by eating the cat food.

It seems you won’t need to come and feed it anymore.

I’m glad that the cat is healthy again, but man it’s a shame that now we just ignore it forever. It makes sense for Makoto specicially, sure, but it’s still pretty awful!

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

Thank you very much. I can feel the relief in the depths of my heart.
I hope it prospers forever and ever…
Please accept your reward.

Masukukaja in an item form. It’s, uh, nice I guess? There’s no request we can do right now that doesn’t involve going to Tartarus in some way, so we’ll get around to that at some point I guess.

…Well, there’s Vetala which I might be able to finagle a way to get but it’s definitely easier when I have funds to use again.

And, sure, Maiko’s gonna be our main pre-exam week S.Link now. Makes sense to me!

Joy

Sure, let’s go.
Yay! I can’t wait! I wonder which toy they’re giving out today…

You decide to take a trip to Wild-duck Burger.

…'Cause Mom and Dad never argue when we go out to eat.
They never used to argue! You have to believe me…
But, why would they get a divorce?
Why don’t you ask them?
I asked 'em already and they said it was a matter for adults only.

Maiko is about to start crying.

I don’t want them to get a divorce!
…Do they really hate me that much?
Divorce is dumb! I hate it!

Maiko is sobbing loudly.

sniff I’m sorry… I know it’s embarrassing when I cry…
I’ll try not to cry anymore.

Maiko is trying her best to smile.

Your relationship is stronger now!

Thanks for playing with me today.

You returned to the dorm after walking Maiko home.

From The Shadows

Troubled

It was a difficult operation.
I see. They’re getting tougher…
But, it’s not all bad news. I called today’s meeting because–

Before we go on, I’d like to ask Mitsuru-senpai something.
Me…?
Since I joined, so many things have happened…
I went along with it, without really understanding what was going on… But now, I need to know.
I’m gonna ask you straight out…
You’ve been hiding something from us, haven’t you, Senpai?
You act like you don’t know anything about the Dark Hour and Tartarus…

What accident…?

Fearful Experience

There was an explosion near our school, and a lot of people died… It must’ve been big news back then. You know about it, don’t you?
…Yes.
Luckily, no students were injured. But around the same time, a large number of students were recorded as absent.
…Seems like more than just a coincidence.
What do you mean?
I dug up some old school records, and found something interesting.

Sound familiar?
You know, like the girls who bullied Fuuka…

There has to be an explanation! What really happened on the day of that accident?
The Kirijo Group built our school, so you must know something! Tell me the truth!

It, uh, seems like it’s been relevant from before the start?

But…
…It’s okay. It’s not your fault.
…Alright. I’ll tell you the whole story…
The Shadows have many mysterious abilities.

We think of them as our enemies, but what if we could somehow use them to our advantage? They would be a source of unimaginable power, wouldn’t they?
What…?
Fourteen years ago, one man pursued that line of thinking…

My grandfather.

Silence

Suddenly, we’re in the anime-zone…?

My grandfather was obsessed with Shadows. He wanted to harness their power, and create something extraordinary.

Harness their power?

He assembled a team of scientists, and over several years collected a significant number of Shadows.

He what!?

Damn, that’s freaking crazy!
However…

Ten years ago, during the final stages of the experiment, they lost control of the Shadows’ power. Consequently, the nature of the world was altered.
You mean…

Yes… Tartarus and the Dark Hour…

gasp
gasp

Fearful Experience

These are the Shadows we’ve been encountering on nights when the moon is full.
Is that why they’ve appeared in different places?
Wait a minute… If what you said is true, then why did our school turn into Tartarus?
gasp …Don’t tell me…

…Yes.
Then… those students who were hospitalized…
I’m afraid it’s just as you’re thinking.
Port Island must have been an ideal location for them.

As you guessed, the experiment ten years ago was conducted at Gekkoukan High School.

Does that mean…
all we’ve been doing is cleaning up their mess!?


You knew too, didn’t you, Senpai!?
They’ve just been using us!

That’s not true.
I have my reasons…
Think what you’d like… It was my decision not to share that information.
…I’m sorry.
I never intended to deceive you.
Convincing you to join SEES was my highest priority.

How could you…!?

I…
Mitsuru… Don’t.

Silence

Yukari… It’s those in the past who are to blame.
And they lost their lives as a result of what they did…

But…

It’s been ten years since that incident… No one knows why those Shadows suddenly returned.
But, since they’re active, at least we can find and destroy them…
Do you realize what this means?

Troubled

Exactly!
That’s what I was going to tell you earlier. See, it’s good news, isn’t it?
Is that true!?
There’s evidence to support it.
Now, our true battle begins.

Regardless of what’s happened in the past, we must fight to protect the people.

And there are many mysteries still surrounding Tartarus.
Why did such a gigantic structure appear in the first place? The answer must lie within it.

End

Iwatodai Dorm

It, uh, it always feels weird having a scene that seems like it’s the end of the day but whoops we have a bit extra afterwards. It’s kinda jarring in a way.

But, well, we can take advantage of this to ask Ikutski some stuff.

12 Shadows?

Its power was immense, far greater than any of the Shadows currently insude Tartarus.
Experiments were performed on it, and an unfortunate accident took place, dividing the entity into 12 Shadows.
These Shadows only appear during a full moon.
How did the public react?

…and the media placed full blame on the Kirijo Group for the tragedy.
They singled out one researcher in particular, declaring him the main culprit behind it all.
Whether this was actually true or not was not the issue…
The public was looking for someone to vent their hurt and anger on.
So they chose him, even though he was a victim himself.
Their wrath was unparalleled. The darker side of mankind was most certainly on display during that time.
About Mitsuru-senpai…

So, Mitsuru wasn’t born with the ability to summon a Persona; she was forced to learn how.
About Akihiko-senpai…

In fact, Akihiko joined us when he was only in middle school.
At that time, we had a third member as well.
…But, I digress.

Whew, that was a lot more optional exposition than I expected.

No matter what happens, you can always protect yourself, right?
sigh You’re always so confident… I wish I could be like that.
Junpei-kun…
The only thing anyone knows about Tartarus is that it creates Shadows…
Other than that, we’re all in the dark…

Hm? Us?
Oh, since Junpei-kun doesn’t understand what’s going on, I’m going to review it with him.
But, if we defeat all 12 Shadows…
…then I won’t have any more use for my Persona.
Man, it’s such an amazing power… I can’t let it go to waste…

Today’s subject is a man in his 20s with a yellow cap.

…Next is news. Pain, pain, go away!

[timg]http://lpix.org/2923241/Mark[/timg]

Today’s guest is Masao “Mark” Inaba, who is in a group of 2 whole people! He was in the original Persona game, as a playable character during the SEBEC route, who does not appear in either Persona 2 game since he is busy being an artist in New York. Which is a bit of a shame since he can dance funky.

…Right, and uh you definitely know about this but in Revelations: Persona (the US release of the PS1 version), this is Mark:

Yes, this is real. And, yes, his dialogue was rewritten to be AAVE. Because obviously.

Anyway, Mark’s primary arcana was the Chariot and his default Persona was Ogun. An interesting choice for a main character’s default but hey.

I’m gonna mention this now because this is when I made the connection myself: the dates each episode of Who’s Who has aired has been the relevant character’s birthday. Go back and check if you want.

Meanwhile, in 2009, Yukari, Mitsuru and Akihiko have all shut themselves up in their rooms. That’s why we can’t Tartarus today and instead are off to study via the Arcade.

And, uh, actually studying. That helps too.

But it looks like we’re not getting to Academics 4 before the exams, which is unfortunate but not really a bit deal in the end. Hopefully.

We could give it one last shot on Monday, sure, but that’s definitely more of a “well if we have to” kinda thing. After all, that’s a good time to go to Tartarus if we get the chance.

1 Like

Welp, we’re at our last two days of freedom before we run fullforce into a week of finals.

Sign o’ the Times

Troubled

Hm…?
Hmph… Why’re you here?
If you came here to try and convince me, then forget it.
…It’s nothing like that.
I just wanted to see how you were doing.
Huh?

It’s been almost 14 years since we met at the orphanage…

Back then, it seemed like we had all the time in the world.
Heh… You haven’t changed one bit.
If you wanna get all sappy, go do it with your other friends.
…What was that!?
It’s rare for you to think about the past. Usually, you just charge ahead like a damn fool.
So obviously, there’s something on your mind.

I do reminisce sometimes… But, what’s the point?

!
No shit?

Akihiko nods.

To be honest, all I’ve been thinking about lately is getting stronger.
But yesterday, someone made me question my reason for fighting…
Your reason for fighting, huh…

…I’m not like you.
…Man, I can’t believe I’m the one getting lectured here.

Well, see ya around.

Meanwhile, somewhere else but presumably at roughly the exact same time…

…Can I talk to you for a moment?
Senpai…
Oh, please come in.

No, I didn’t skip over anything there. Mitsuru just walks in, sits down and immediately cuts right to being midway through a thought.

Oh, I-I’m sorry for doing that without permission…
Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. But, I do have a special favor to ask of you.
I want you to find out as much as you can about that incident ten years ago.
But, very little was made public…

You mean, hack into their system?
That’s illegal.
I’ll give you my ID and password. You’ll be free from accountability.
I want to know the truth, in detail.

So, she’s going to be using valid login credentials to normally log on and view the stuff that you could view on your own anyway…

Senpai…
Of course, I’ll understand if you refuse.
Okay. I’ll see what I can do.
Are you sure?
…I appreciate it.

After all, despite my good intentions, I did drag you into this without fully explaining.
Certainly, you must be a little angry with me…
Not really.

That… answers nothing. It’s not even remotely relevant, even!

That’s why they’re so tough on me…
It’s really hard for me to be at home…
But here, I feel important, and I can help you and the others…
So, why should I be angry?
You’re right, Yamagishi. We do need you.
No one can take your place.
U-Um…
Thank you… I’ll see you later.

Meanwhile, elsewhere again…

It’s fairly close to where Akihiko went, though.

Tch!
That’s good…
That’s what we’ve been fighting for…
So, why am I so pissed!?

How nice of them to wear their uniform on a Sunday, so we could tell they were students even with the nameplate also telling us that. Really thoughtful of them, that.

Friend: Seriously. But, at least we’re seniors now… We won’t be wearing these stupid uniforms much longer.
Student: Yeah, I’ve had enough of this. I just wanna get accepted to college and start having some fun.
Friend: That’s IF you get accepted, don’t forget.

I’M the reason…
I was like, “Fighting is my duty.” But hell, it’s all I’m good for.
If it weren’t for that…
I’d be worthless.
Haha, my duty…? What a buncha bullshit.

Dammit! Nothing I do is good enough!
sigh

Meanwhile, again… just one remains at this point after all…

Seems like my worst fears keep coming true…
Am I stupid to believe in things like trust and friendship…?
Dad…
This old letter of yours…
I must’ve read it a thousand times since it came last spring…

Tomorrow, I’ll bring this letter to the opening ceremony for the Moonlight Bridge.
It’ll be stored in a time capsule, and sent to you ten years from now.
Yukari… You’re so small right now, but in ten years, you’ll be sixteen. You’ll be in high school.

I know you’ve been sad because I have to work so late, but you still always greet me with a smile.

I’ll be starting on a big project soon, and I’m happy to be receiving so much recognition for my work…
But, I swear to you that nothing is more important to me than you and your mother.
Yukari… Are you remembering to enjoy life?
Are you still bright-eyed and hopeful, like you are now?

…Well, I hope this letter brings a smile to your face.
Love, Dad

I won’t turn my back. I won’t be like Mom.
Not ever…

End

Well, that was some… very disparate and different scenes of the rest of the gang. Junpei’s was the most… filler-y feeling though, by far, which is a bit of a weird shame in a way.

Current Net Price Tanaka

But, hey, this IS our first Sunday since like the middle of June that we’ve been able to buy anything off Tanaka so let’s see what he’s got. A sweet new pair of boots! …And some diet pills… for 10,000 yen. Yeesh.

…Well, footwear is what I seem to have the worst luck in getting in Tartarus (and I never bother buying equipment from the police station because I’m both a cheapskate and an idiot), so I’ll take 'em!

Iwatodai Dorm

I appreciate this being upfront, but it’s a Sunday and we never Tartarus on Sundays anyway. Also it’s the middle of the day we couldn’t Tartarus for hours.

Everyone seems to be studying…
I mean, I haven’t seen anyone around, so they must be studying, right?
I’m not sure…
Yeah, neither am I.
Maybe they’re not just studying…

I feel like we’ve been punished by a divine entity in the most passive aggresively minor way possible at this point. It’s just… every single time. Without fail.

Oh, and everyone else is in their rooms now. Except Akihiko who’s outright nowhere to be found. How odd!

They don’t have anything super-interesting to say though (that Junpei is actually studying is surprising). We’ll take advantage of the peace and how we don’t need to leave the dorm for once to just go back into our room to play a dead video game.

Instead of, uh, leaping backwards through time a little bit to do that.

Joy

nowadays i just log on to MMOs with bedhead and all (liek today lol)
but when i was little, ppl said i was a real cutie -_-;;
guess i missed my chance rite? nobody thinks i’m hawt ne more T_T
…do men only want younger women? be honest w/me =3
Guys like younger chicks.
yeah, i thought so. everyone knows it but it sux to hear for real… orz T_T

Considering what you’ve mentioned before, that’s… not just “bad,” that is actively a crime.

Maya seems pretty happy.

but i didn’t make sense? i should know better–i teach composition!! o_O;;
mkay, i’ll be calm. i’ll compose my bitching carefully for you :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
one of my coworkers is really pissing me off. i’m trying to avoid her @_@

its been a while but that kinda thing sticks w/u, u know?
ne way, she said she needed some advice, but then she just started bragging! >=(

and she acts like its nuthing! omg, rite?
i hate skanky hoes liek her! just give puppy-dog eyes and guys do whatever!
she even stuffs her bra!! lol
Just calm down.
talk about fake, rite? what kind of woman has to use pads for her boobs?
i’m fine w/ massaging in teh shower and drnking more milk. all natural :wink:

omg for reals, i saw Ms. K running in late one time, ok?

…theyre fake for sure >=)
…an my school is FULL of teachers like taht! --;
man tatsuya, talkin to u is better than getting a massage =P ::blush::
complaining online is now an important part of my days off ^
^

Maya likes talking to you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

…but after what i said, i might go to hell ne way o_O;;
well… i rented sum DVDs, sooo… later, tatsuya! thx for chattin

Wait, DVDs?! The overdue fees on those things gets kinda ridiculous! I hope it’s the first time, so they’ll waive 'em…

Maya’s player signed off.

You decide to log out as well.

Alright, so that brings us along nicely to our last day before exa–

The Voice Someone Calls

So, how’s life as a Persona-user?
Something’s missing.
I wonder what… I hope you find it soon.
I remembered something else about the coming of the end…

Ten years ago, if I remember correctly.
Hey…

A Persona is like a mirror.
Which means, a Persona-user can never escape from his true self.
Regardless, I will stay with you…

Kinda… weird to get that from this, huh? Also, real nice of Pharos to tell us he remembered a thing happened in the past. But not what said thing was.

No matter, though. We’ve got one last day of freedom before we lose the rest of the week to finals. Joy.

Want to be Close (Reincarnation)

Listening: What am I going to do if I fail again? I wish the school wouldn’t post our names…
Gossiping: Yeah, that’s the worst part. You get a bad grade, and everyone looks at you like your dog just died…

The first bell has rung.

I… uh… maybe…?

Summer vacation is just ahead, so study hard!
Summer is beach season! Shaved ice! Wheeee!
It’s also the hottest season, so don’t neglect your health, okay?
Oh, by the way, there’s a popular event in Japan in the summer that can be a little scary…
It’s a girl’s chance to get closer to the boy she’s interested in.
It’s called Kimodameshi!

Anyway, enjoy your summer, and make sure you come out of it with some good memories!

Still not another level… well, not much we can do about that now. But it’s the last day before exams so our options are as limited as ever.

Fortunately, we DO have options so it’s not a big deal!

Joy

Have you seen Striped Shirt?
We were playing tag, but… It’s no fun if I can’t find him.

You don’t look so good… Are you sick?

Huh? S-So, you are sick?
Ha ha, no. I’m kidding. You’re so easy, Maiko.
No fair! I’m an innocent girl, so I actually believed you!

I’m Maiko’s friend.
So you’re the guy she was talking about. I wondered what you were like…
Are you “too old” to play with kids, or are you still young at heart?

You can eat with us too, Striped Shirt!
Nah, I’m okay, thanks.
I’ll see you guys around.

He’s gone…
I ususally see him around the sthrine on Sundays.
I see him on the way to cram school, too.
Yay! It’s takoyaki time!

You decided to go with Maiko to get takoyaki.

I remember one time Dad burned his mouth on this takoyaki!
…'Cause I put too many in his mouth at once.

And then he snorted, sending me flying out of the encouter!

Maiko suddenly fell silent…

Troubled

…Dad doesn’t spend much time at home anymore these days.

Oh! Do you think he’ll come home for my birthday?
Don’t worry, he’ll be there.
Y-You really think so!?

I mean, I know Mom will buy me presents, but still…
…She hasn’t asked me what I want, yet.

Maiko fell silent again.

…If they really loved me, then they wouldn’t get a divorce.

Maiko seems to enjoy spending time with you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

If I don’t do laundry, the house will be a real big mess!
See ya!

Maiko took off, so you decided to go back to the dorm.

Summer Plans

Silence

An awkward silence fills the room…

Um…
Y-You know, it’s almost summer break. Do you have any plans?

Man, it sure would be nice!
Somewhere in the south, where the water is crystal clear!
But first, we have exams to worry about… Ugh, what a drag…
Now, now. You’ll be fine.
But yeah, I’d love to go somewhere famous for its beautiful beaches, like Okinawa.

Mr. Chairman… I didn’t realize you were here.

Mitsuru, your father will be vacationing in Yakushima during the break.
He will…?
You’ll all have some time off after exams, right? Why don’t you go and pay him a suprise visit?

Joy

YES! Beach babes, here I come!
sigh Men.
How about it, Mitsuru?
But… my father is a busy man; I don’t want to ruin his vacation.
Haha, don’t worry…
No father would be upset with a daughter who came all that way to see him.
You’ve all done a great job. You deserve to relax for a while.


Alright.
I guess everyone needs a break now and then. Let’s do it.
Woohoo!
Hmm, the beach…
I should design a special training regimen.

Everyone seems excited about the trip…

Dude, I’m stoked!
I have to go buy a swim suit.
Hey, don’t worry, I’ve got an extra pair you can borrow.
Nice try, man.
Are you going to swim too, Ikutsuki-san?
I’m afraid I can’t.
I’ll turn to dust if I’m exposed to d–

Silence

Uh…
Sorry about the other day…
I got a little carried away…

In a way, it’s only logical that we go to Yakushima.
The Chairman said that no one who was responsible for the accident is still alive, but…
in reality, there is one witness who survived.
There is?

Senpai…

End

Gotta admit, it’s nice to have a plan for the summer that isn’t “um, hang out with old people and a grade schooler some more and also live in Tartarus.”

Iwatodai Dorm

Now. you will all need to concentrate on your final exams…

Um…?

You’re always cracking jokes.
Hahaha… This is no time for humor.
But, I’m happy to see everyone has a smile on their face.

For extra luck. try wearing your shoes on the wrong feet!

I dunno, that sounds both painful and awkward!

Anyway, Junpei’s up on the second floor all alone.

Right now, I have to concentrate.
How do you stay so calm all the time?
It seems like all you do is wander around and talk to people.

And once again, the girls have shut themselves up in their rooms. Welp, so much for Tartarusing before the exams…

Which, as you can see, presents a bit of a problem! Money really isn’t normally a bit deal or anything but Hard mode haemorrages the stuff at a disgustingly fast rate.

Fortunately, I had some trash I could sell to get Hua Po +3 Strength (the most meaningless and trivial of increases) but that’s all.

We’ve always got free studying in our room at least, but that’s not ideal…

Fortunately, we have one - and exactly one - chance to go to Tartarus soon.

Yukari’s spending a bit of time working on being a better general healer, I see. Her Magic is pretty okay for the time and she can heal everyone at once which is nice. Shame that her first Medium spell is single target healing but it’s a good sign anyway.

Junpei is, well, Junpei. Notable is that he’s got Great status so he can deal decent Phys damage AND has an improved Crit rate just for that little bit extra oomph.

Akihiko, likewise, is Akihiko’ing. He’s the only person without a stat over 20, which isn’t as big a deal as it sounds but it bugs me anyway. At least he can debuff and will be able to do so better soon. His healing skills have fallen pretty far behind though, just because he can only cure ~60-70HP on a single target which is woefully inadequate.

Mitsuru is Good. Her skillset is still small but focused and she’s close to solving her own potential SP problem without needing to be fed items or returning to the first floor all the time.

As before, and for maybe the last time, vote for :siren: the one person who gets benched. :siren:

It’s really impressive that all of your party members contemplated their personal woes on the same night. It must have been a national holiday.

My vote’s for benching Akihiko.

Alright, it’s time for our most difficult challenge to date… Finals.

And, like the mid-terms, it’s gonna steal effectively a full week of our time. Great.

During the Test…

Dowsing

I know it’s been a while a this point, but I’m sure you still remember the answers to all of these. They were all mentioned in class at some point or another.

Octopus

Also, each day is taken up by one question like before. This is going to be a recurring trend everytime we get to exams.

Minamoto No Yoritomo

Needless to say, I will be getting all of these questions right because they’re not really difficult but feel free to give it a try yourself if you want. It’s a bit meaner in that I’m not including the answer options but, uh…

I went, I learned.

They’re not really required for three of them so whatever.

I hope you got them all right, because I sure did!

oh and yes i skipped the day transitions between the questions because they don’t mean anything there

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Well, last day and Junpei’s being… friendly, huh?


Thank god today’s the last day of exams…
How’ve you been doing?
Don’t ask.
I can’t wait to let off some steam…
Dude, don’t you just love summer?

During the Test…

This might very well be a good sign. It sure feels more optimistic than what we got at midterms at least! I think there’s a better possible result, though… but I might be thinking of vanilla again.

Summer Begins Here

Joy

The dark days of testing are finally over! The sun is shinin’ bright!
So, how’d you do?

Well, that pretty much answers the question.
Psh, a real man doesn’t dwell on the past…
I’m thinking ahead to Yakushima!
Oh yeah, that’s coming up soon, isn’t it…?
Are ya ready?
How 'bout you?
Me? Um, not really…
I guess I should be more enthusiastic, huh?

Sounds good! Where we goin’?
If you need to buy a swimsuit, I’d be happy to help!
As if.
Alright, gimme a sec. I’m gonna go grab my stuff from the locker room.
…Oh, I’ll invite Fuuka too.

I know I’ve been kind of a dick lately…
but we’re still cool, right?
Don’t worry about it.
Thanks, dude.

Alright, let’s get going.

Freedom at last! What should I do now!?
Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll think of something.
Hell yeah, I will!

Really, Mitsuru is more conspicuous here by her absence…

Ikutsuki-san called me.
I think he wants to talk about a new candidate.
Does that mean another person is going to join?
Maybe…

Do you think you can stay after school with me for a mandatory study session? There’s, like, no one–
Oh, you’re going back to your “home” home today, huh?
Okay, then never mind.

It’s alright. Let’s go.
Sorry, I’ll see you all later back at the dorm.

I’m really surprised at how much she’s changed.

Silence

Adolescence is such a wonderful thing! So full of vibrancy!

Oh, hello. I just stopped by to pick someone up.
I might as well introduce you to him now.

Troubled

Hey, it’s that kid from the shrine!

Anyway, Ken is voiced by Brianne Sidall who I know pretty much entirely for being Tsukasa in .hack// and Gimmy in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Oh, hi, Ken-kun. What’s up?
You know him…?
He doesn’t leave during the break because of his… circumstances.
Oh, I heard about that…
Something about his parents…

It happened two years ago.
…Right now, one of his distant relatives is paying for his school expenses.
But, staying at the elementary school dorm all by himself isn’t proper for a child his age.

To OUR dorm!? Do you really think that’s a good idea!?

Then, he’s the new candidate…?
Yes…
But, as you can see, he’s still just an elementary school student. So, it is merely a possibility for now.

Um… yeah.
I’ve heard a lot about you… You haven’t lost a boxing match yet.
Yeah, well… It’s nice to meet you.

End

Iwatodai Dorm

And we’ll be spending most of it on a real vacation!

Yakushima, here we come! I can’t wait for Monday!
And then, one week of school ‘til summer break!
Frickin’ awesome, dude!
Aren’t you getting a little carried away?
I mean, the trip is only for a few days, and we’ll still have to fight Shadows over summer break.
In other words, we can’t afford to stop training in Tartarus…
I know, I know!
But, my energy level is so high during summer, no one can stop me!
Anyway, tomorrow I’m gonna start packing, so if we’re going to Tartarus, then let’s do it today.

This is genuinely a good idea, because July has a dark secret with Tartarus that will fuck you over if you don’t know about it in advance…

Heck yeah!
Impressive. You seem to have a lot of free time to spare, even though you had finals.
I hope you did well on them.

Really, the key word is “had.”

Although, I was a little disappointed about the price…
It turns out the fare for the ferry wasn’t very fair.
But, when I told the lady selling the tickets that, she just ignored me.
sigh I was a little hurt after that.

goddammit, ikutsuki

You said it, brother.
Yeah! We’re gonna have an awesome time!

I’m getting so excited now!

I wish “someone” would learn from his example.
I wonder why he’s like that…

It would be nice if Ikutsuki stopped making incredibly shitty puns, yeah. But at the same time, that’s what makes Ikutsuki, well, Ikutsuki.

…with us.

And Akihiko is sat all on his own, and is oddly saddened that Ken is gonna be living here for like 2 months.

It’s dealing with the many cases of Apathy Syndrome over the last few months. Cultural anthropologists are investigating the causes, and…

Alright, so we’ll be going to Tartarus naturally. Nice to stretch our legs after 5 days of exams.

The Voice Someone Calls

Alright, so before we do our proper ascension, I’m just gonna climb up from the 2nd floor to the barrier as just Minato. This is so I can grind yen (and I guess maybe also things to sell as a bonus) without fighting anything.

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

We get to just under 100k from that one trip, which is good enough for now. This lets us take Hua Po and… something else I had (Take-Minakata most likely) already to flip into Vetala for that request.

Well done. You have fulfilled my request.
I have a different reward for you this time.

If you’re strong enough to control this Persona, then give it a try.
Please accept your reward.

The Sugar Key is a clever reference to Digital Devil Saga (1 specifically), where you needed to get this from Titania at the white castle at Co-Ordinate 136. That let a Pyro Jack open a giant treasure chest which enabled you to go and fight King Frosty at the top floor.

Anyway, here it just lets us fuse King Frost when we reach level 30. Ideally by then we’ll have a higher Emperor social link rank but who knows.

Next in our chain of fusion requests is an Orthrus but that requires us to be level 28. Notable that this gives us equipment and not access to a new Persona…

Anyway, that done we need to ascend higher in Tartarus before we can do anything else for Liz so we’ll be taking this party tonight.

Gonna take down that barrier and head on up…

We did it. We finally made it to the third block!

tartarus_0d03

So, the third block of Tartarus has this kinda cool appearance. I dig it, personally.

Plus the stairs look like they’re from a ghost ship or something. It’s kinda rad.

Anyway, Yabbashah - like the previous blocks - is a Hebrew word. In this instance it means “dry land,” and it’s also the name of the 5th world in the Kabbalah.

Oh sweet, we found the golden Shadow here really quickly. I just put that down as “if this happens, it’s a bonus.”

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out

So, we’ll just cave its skull in with a bus-stop sign.

There’s the one Bronze Medal we need for Elizabeth’s request. I guess Mitsuru’ll be getting a Steel Pipe sometime soon after all.

Anyway, we’re done a fight here so we’ll deal with them now I guess.

Creation Relics are a bit weird, in that they’re very Wind heavy but can heal, cast Light instant death… or self-destruct. Sure, okay.

Also, they’re weak to Dark and generally come in groups of 3. Pale Rider just so happens to start with Mamudo…

Oh and they drop the Relic Fragments we want 5 of for Elizabeth too.

Killer Twins are, uh, Twins I guess. They have one clear gimmick but we have easy Maragi access and also Junpei, even though he doesn’t ever get Maragi himself.

Indolent Mayas are, uh, Mayas I guess. They might very well be the most relatively weak one of the lot so far. I’unno.

Silent Books are maybe a little bit more dangerous since they can just (try to) kill everyone, or inflict Poison. That’s… something, I guess.

Dogmatic Towers are similar, but lack the instant death, ailment proc rate increase and also weaknesses. That they’re immune to 3 things, one of which is an instant kill even, is a bit annoying but managable.

Remember Lustful Snakes from before? Yeah, they turn up here. The’re the same as they were in the second half of Arqa.

Mach Wheels aren’t all that difficult, even though they could be on paper. Tarukaja + Power Charge means Double Fangs could tear through anyone effortlessly, but that takes forever and being weak to both Yukari AND Akihiko means they’re gonna die in 1 round.

Oh, and our requisite Big Boy With Lots of Health is the Avenger Knight. He’s, uh, annoying but weak to Expel so we can just Hama him. Gigantic Fist is very terrifying though…

And, of course, this is a new section of Tartarus so our Shuffle Time cards can go up to rank 4 now. EXP gives 1.8x bonus, equipment is ~70-80 attack (so, equal to what we had before) and coins gives around 4000 yen.

It’s amazing how quickly it scales towards making Wands the only real choice.

tartarus_0d03

Anyway, let’s get our real climb on. On floor 67, Fuuka tells us that there IS a boss somewhere but she doesn’t know where. Thanks, Fuuka.

Floor 68 lets us get the Pleiades bow sometimes. This is… honestly a really good bow.

We’ve had the Toy Bow for a while, and this is both stronger AND gives +4 Magic for good measure. It’s less accurate but still higher than the norm. We’re definitely gonna give this to Yukari right away.

On Floor 70, Fuuka finally figures out where the boss fight is. The 72nd floor seems a bit closer than I’d have expected since we started Yabbashah on the 65th but I’m okay with that.

Ah, there we go. I was beginning to worry that the Red Shadow for this area wouldn’t show…

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out

Wild Drives are… honestly kinda bastards right now. They have 35 Strength and 33 Endurance…

So this means we can’t really do that much damage to them with anything.

This unfortunately includes All-Out Attacks!

And this is what they can do with a basic attack. Just by default. Yikes.

But, hey, level 34 so that means they’re worth A Lot of EXP especially when you add Wand cards (this was just from rank 3, even).

Plus we need 3 Greasy Gears for Elizabeth anyway, so we’d have to deal with them sooner or later. Just glad to get it done now.

And, of course, the 72nd floor is 3 enemy Shadows. Sure, okay. I sorta expected that, though.

Just gonna take the Terminal Point back down the 1st floor for that free full heal and also…

The Poem for Everyone’s Souls

The Supreme Hand is a rare foe, indeed. Congratulations on tracking one down and defeating it.
Well, this proves you are getting stronger. I’m glad to see that.
Please accept your reward.

Oddly, the Steel Pipe is a one-handed sword. Sure, okay.

You know, it’s a shame, really, that humans only believe in what they can see.
The statues those fragments are from were made from people’s feelings…
Have you ever thought about why your Persona looks as it does?
Please accept your reward.

Medical Powder is just improved Medicine. It’s, uh, fine I guess? Might just end up being sold for scratch down the line but who knows.

You obtained these from a particularly strong monster…
In fact, you are much more formidable now than when you first stepped into this room.
I will have to think of harder requests for you to fulfill.
Please accept your reward.

At least the 70k is enough to push us over 300,000 which sounds like a lot… but it won’t last very long at all.

And from getting the Bronze Medal, our next Rare Shadow hunt is… in the 4th block. For a weapon that is also a new weapon type. Welp, can’t even PRETEND to do this one for at least another month so.

So, our trio this time are… 3 wrestlemens. Pretty sure we’ve had that before…

Strength Furious Gigas x3 (Portable)

Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone

Okay, so let’s get this out of the way right now…

The Furious Gigases are like the beetles from before. Yes, they are mechanically weak to Wind however they also resist it. A lot. They might have 30 Endurance, but…

Yukari - Yukari - can do quadruple the damage Garula can with a basic attack.

They’re also immune to Fire (and Resist Elec), and if you ever scan them… Junpei will stand around and Wait if he’s set to do anything BUT Heal/Support. They are neutral to all 3 Phys elements, but they have a nasty secret.

They have High Counter which means there is a 50% chance of them effectively reflecting any given Slash/Strike/Pierce attack. Yikes.

Anyway, skillset wise… their basic attack can do almost 500 damage. If it crits, but still. That’s horrifying (and only in Hard mode).

…They can use… Life Drain…? I, uh, I genuinely did not know that until now. Wow.

Power Charge is a given, though. And also insanely scary.

Sukukaja is the closest thing there is to a real breather move from these guys. I will gladly accept!

Rebellion is a bit of a double-edged sword. It mainly benefits them, though, because of High Counter which is why they have no qualms using it.

Oh and they also have Gigantic Fist. Remember this, from the Avenger Knight random?

Over 500 damage. Over 500 damage. Gigantic Fist is heavy Strike damage, which means it has a baseline power of 315 and it also has a base 15% chance to Crit. Tartarus bosses kinda don’t fuck around if you give them a chance.

Oh and they’re not really susceptible to ailments, much. Boring.

End

But, well, they only have 500HP. Set Yukari to Full Assault and she will cast Magaru and hey if Minato also has Wind magic then you win in 1 round courtesy of 2 All-Out Attacks. Or maybe the 2nd if turn order isn’t friendly to Yukari.

Furius Gigases are really giant Hulk Hogan shaped paper tigers, and I for one am glad. Later Tartarus bosses get genuinely terrifying and I’m really looking forward to it!

Our floor treasure is a single Precious Egg. This gives one person back all their SP. I can think of one major use for this , but it’s not for a long, long time (and it’s arguably better done with a Soma anyway) so…

That’s all we’ll do in Tartarus for now. We’ll go back to finish off Yabbashah in a bit. First, we have the time to be lazing on a Sunday afternoon…

Current Net Price Tanaka

…Y’know, I was looking forward to not buying from Tanaka today. This pushes us back below the 300,000 Yen mark but the Mage’s Mark should be worth it. I hope.

Since we had exams before, we didn’t get the new shoes until now. And they’re a very good evasion boost over what we had in the past. Simple, but effective.

Iwatodai Dorm

Viewers will only be able to see 25% of the sun from Tokyo, and 18% from Osaka. As a result of the eclipse, the temperature will drop slightly.

No one’s in the dorm so we’ll run to the TV and… get here either too early or way too late. We even missed the next episode preview!

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

Yukari and Fuuka are over at the Port Island Station hanging out by the cinema, I see.

Although, I don’t think it’s this shop’s selection…

Yukari, that’s… that’s a fountain and a cinema. They, uh, they don’t…

It could just be that I’m not up for a new swimsuit at all.

I’ve never bought a bathing suit besides the school one.
But I don’t think Yukari-chan is really up for this…

And Fuuka pretty much just echoes Yukari’s sentiments, huh. Sure, okay.

Fortunately, Junpei’s also easy to find.

I asked Akihiko-san, but he doesn’t give a rip about fashion.
So it’s up to you, dude! Tell me what I should bring!
A one-piece bathing suit.
I thought of that once. It’ll get a laugh, at least!

That’s the plan!

But, sadly, we can’t find Akihiko or Mitsuru anywhere, so we’ll go and spend the day with Maya as per usual.

Joy

Maya is walking nearby.

i’m not even complaining today or ne thing… so rare =P
but i have to tell tatsu cuz he’s my MMO partner! i’ll be brave --;;
*^
^*
…i’m so lame! i’m blushing for reals!!
oh noes… now i’m starting to get sweaty =/
Hurry up and tell me.
oh, hey tatsuya hehehehehehe xD

Maya seems to be enjoying herself.

Maya seems to be embarrassed.

i’m kinda…“interested” in sumone from school >_>

Well, you did sorta admit to being okay with this particular crime before…

OMG i said it!!!1 O_O;; :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
none of the male teachers r even in my league, so i gave up looking for b/fs @ work

goin for younger guys is kinda new for me >_>
What is he like?

i luuuuuuv watchin his expressions in class xD is that bad?

“Bad” is an understatement…

Maya seems to be having fun.

he’s one of my students! =x

…Hang on a minute…

maybe i can abuse my power and convince him i’m a guidance counselor >_>
oh btw, u don’t need to be jealous he’s jus sumone i like, rite?
tatsuya is the only game partner for maya ^^; no worries

Maya cares about you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

…It’s a coincidence. Like the Pascal thing in SMT1. Yup. That’s it. It’s an SMT1 reference buried in the Persona 2 stuff.

> You failed to convince anyone.

alrighty tatsuya, i gtg let’s positive thinking!

Maya’s player signed off.

You decide to log off as well.

Fortunately we’re going to leave on vacation today. I could certainly do with being anywhere but here right now…

I didn’t think the Hermit social link would get worse, but here we are.

So, vacation sounds nice. Let’s do that!

It’s time for you to get ready…

It’s a little longer than maybe expected though, huh. We’ll be leaving Yakushima and back in Iwatodai by Thursday evening, huh?

Yakushima

Ikutsuki already paid the fairly unfair fare for the ferry, so we get to just skip to being on the boat.

Hahaaaa! Awesome!

There it is… Yakushima!

Well, Junpei is enjoying himself and thinks this is gonna be fun.

Everyone else is either oddly upset or overly serious…

And in Yukari’s case, actively annoyed for some reason.

Tranquility

It’s like we’re in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Fabulous…

Maid: And you must be her schoolmates, correct? Welcome to the Kirijo vacation home. Please follow me.

Um, is this the right place?
Dude, real-life maids…
I knew she was from an important family, but this definitely confirms it…

It’s good to see you.

And he just… leaves, without saying a single word. Odd.

Was that…?
…her father?
Dude, talk about scary!
He’s not gonna make us walk the plank, is he?
Don’t be stupid…

Sweet! This is gonna rock!

It’s right there. Dude, this place rules! Come on, let’s go!
What, already?
I mean, sure, but let me get changed first!
Then, I’ll see ya there.
I’m not gonna waste a single minute!

Joy

Yup! Summer’s here!
Darn… There’s nothing out there I can use as a marker… Too bad. I was hoping for a good swim.
You must be joking… We come all the way to the beach and you’re gonna train?
What’s wrong with that? You got a better idea?
Damn right, I do! It’s summertime at the beach! I’ve got the perfect activity!

It takes a lot of confidence to pull off a swimsuit like that!

Next up is Contestant No. 2, Fuuka Yamagishi!
…Wow, Fuuka, I had no idea you were so… I mean, you should wear a swimsuit more often!

Oh come on, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about!
Heheh.
Stop that creepy laugh, you perv!
And here’s our final contestant…

Wow… Mitsuru-senpai, you’re beautiful…
Yeah, your skin is flawless! Did you already put on sunscreen?
N-No, not yet…

I’m not interested.
Yeah, like I believe that.
Man, this is great! I’m in heaven!
How 'bout a swim!?
Buh buh buh bump ba baaa! Charge!


Whoa, it’s cold!! Hahahahaha!!

The uneasy feeling went away…

End

Silence

Welcome to the beach! It’s apparently a fun place to be? Let’s see what everyone else thinks.

I came here often when I was young, but I don’t remember it looking quite like this.

Our operations during the Dark Hour put a lot of stress on us. You should relax a little, and rest up.

Akihiko, oddly, acts as a temporary makeshift save point. Might be a good idea to use his function since we don’t get many chances to save around here.

Also he lets us leave when we’re done.

Heheheh! You like it? You like that, huh?
No one can resist splashing girls at the beach! Heheh, I’m gonna splash more water on youuuu!
You–! H-Hey, you’re gonna pay for that! Take this!

And, uh, that’s it. There’s nothing else on the beach but two sidepaths - one that’s an exit and one that we just can’t use.

So, we’ll just speak with Akihiko to leave early.

We’re going to stay here for a little while longer.
I’ll see you later.

Yakushima at Night

Troubled

I’m glad that you’re in good health…

Takeharu Kirijo is voiced by Derek Stephen Prince, which is cool. That name should sound familiar…

I’m sorry for bringing such a crowd…
…I heard you told them about the incident.
Why did you hide it so long?
…I wasn’t hiding it…
I’ve told you time and again; none of the blame is yours.
But…

The Nanjo Group is something from Persona 1 and 2. It’s good to know Takeharu and co. used to know Kei; we’ll cover some Nanjo stuff a few months more down the line, most likely.

You must learn to trust in others, Mitsuru.
There are things in this world that cannot be accomplished alone, no matter how many sacrifices you make.
…Yes, Father.
You accessed our database, didn’t you?

I’m… I’m sorry.
Bring them here. All of them.
I had no intention of concealing the truth from them. I’ve made prepartions to disclose everything.
There’s a girl named Takeba in your group, correct?

Father…?

One fade to blue later…

Fearful Experience

Well, it’s true… We adults are to blame.
If I could’ve atoned for it with my life, I would have done so…
Now, I have no choice but to rely on you.
What my father wanted to create with those monsters’ power…

That’s what he was trying to do?
Imagine if you could control the flow of time… eliminate unwanted events before they occur.
With such a device, you could shape the future to your liking.
Damn, that’s insane…
However, under my father’s direction, the research began to stray from its original goal.

Now that I think about it, his madness may have resulted from his struggle to break free from that…
It’s only natural that you want to know the truth… and it’s my duty to tell you.

This is the only exisiting footage of the accident, recorded by a scientist who was at the scene.
I pray that this recording reaches safe hands…
That voice…!?

It’s Liam O’Brien!

This experiment should have never even been conceived…
I’m afraid what I’ve done will result in an unprecedented disaster…
But if I hadn’t, the entire world may have paid the price…
The entire world?
Please, listen carefully…

To end this nightmare, you must eliminate all of them!
I am to blame for this.
I knew the risks, but I was blinded by the promise of success… And so, I didn’t raise any objections…
It is all my fault…

…Dad…
You mean… that was…?

Father…

But, we are the ones who are responsible. We pushed him to continue the research.
The Kirijo Group is to blame for his death.
I… I can’t believe it…
So, that means… my dad caused it all…?

It was all his fault…?
Y-You okay?
So, that’s why you were hiding this…?

No, Takeba, I…

Silence

Um… Shouldn’t someone go after her?

Will you go…?
…Sure.
…Thank you.

Living With Determination

This is too much…
Remember what I told you at the hospital…?
How my dad died when I was little…?
You understand now, right…? He died in that incident.
Nobody knew the truth, so there were all sorts of rumors…

We even had to move a few times.
That must’ve been tough.
…Yeah.
But all this time, I kept telling myself it wasn’t his fault.
I loved him a lot, and I believed he’d never do anything wrong.
I received a letter back in the spring. It was from him, written ten years ago…

That only made me believe in him more…
When I found out I had a special power, I thought it was fate.
I was scared, but I thought if I cooperated with the Kirijo Group, I might find out what really happened.

That’s not true.
Haha, you’re just trying to make me feel better.
Why does reality have to be so harsh…?
I tried so hard to fight my fear, and this is what I get…
Maybe I’m just jealous of Mitsuru- senpai.

Haha… I’m a horrible person, aren’t I?
Don’t blame yourself.
Hmph. Well, you’re just Mr. Perfect.
Nothing ever fazes you.

You think you know me!?
You don’t know anything!
I’m sorry…
My head’s a mess…
I’m so afraid…
I don’t know what to do anymore… I’m totally lost…
Tell me… What should I do…?
Don’t lose hope.

Ya know, you really are one-of-a-kind.
…I’m sorry for acting like this. You’ve lost your parents, too.
But, I’m alright now… I’m used to dealing with stressful situations.
Anyway, thanks for listening.

I came cuz I wanted to.
Oooh, you’re such a gentleman… giggle …Thanks.

Silence

It’s almost… gasp the Dark Hour, so you should get back.
Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s right…
…Hm?
Um… Did I miss something…?
I-I almost forgot… It doesn’t matter where you are when the Dark Hour comes…
Well, duh.
You know, I’ve been thinking lately…

It’s like trading away your innocence…
In exchange for power, you can no longer look away from the things you don’t want to see.
So, I guess I’m stuck with you guys, huh?
Yup.
Now that that’s settled, let’s get back!

So, welcome to Yakushima. It’s a big ol’ series of plot scenes. Lots and lots of them.

…and also the worst day of the game but we’ll get to that… next time…

1 Like

So, are you ready for the most bad bit of The Journey? I know I’m not…

Beach Patrol

Joy

I never thought a walk in the woods could be so enjoyable. You can’t do this in Iwatodai.

Junpei was acting like such a pervert yesterday, and I didn’t know how to react…
It’s probably a good thing we came out here by ourselves…
Huh? …Oh, yeah.

Huh, can’t say I expected anyone to get a call. Especially in the middle of the woods… how does she even get reception…

Please continue.
Well, I’m at the lab here on the island…
And a machine that was considered inoperable suddenly left the facility on its own…
A machine…?
What kind of machine is it? I need detailed information to locate anything other than Shadows…

A combat vehicle…? You mean like a tank!?
We’re not currently with the others, so it might take some time for us all to assemble.
I see…
Well, regardless, I want you to handle this as soon as possible. I’m on my way there now.
If the target cannot be captured, do we have permission to destroy it?

What…? Then how are we supposed to stop it…?
Just do your best. I’ll call you again later.

Meanwhile, Yukari’s been trying to also call someone…

Don’t worry about it. Let’s go back and get our equipment.
Then we can have Yamagishi’s Persona scan the area. Although, this island is quite large…
Geez! Where could they be!?

The Jomon tree referenced here is a very real tree. It’s also several thousand years old, which is pretty cool.

It looks like Fuuka’s handwriting…
Aw man!

That’s just not right!!
Well, it is your fault.

I’m glad someone else said it.

Whaddya mean? I-I just wanted to lighten up the mood…
I don’t want to hear it.
Well, it doesn’t matter, anyway…
We’re on our own now, just the guys!
If you’re outta ammo, you pick it up on the battlefield! That’s one of the most basic military tactics!

And there it is…

“Babe Hunt”?
You mean, like, pick up girls…?
Whaddya think, Akihiko-san? With you on the squad, we’re guaranteed to succeed!

Akihiko is clearly hesitant…

What do you think about this?
Sounds like a hassle.
You’re right, it does sound like a hassle…
Then, what’re we gonna do the rest of the day?
Come on, guys! It’ll be fun!

What!? WHY!?
You said yourself this is an operation.
Aw, man, that’s bullshit!

End

I fully intend on taking this as seriously as I feel it deserves, don’t worry.

Deep Breath Deep Breath (Reincarnation)

So, this isn’t just one extended cutscene but it might as well be. We just get to walk along the beach…

And while I really want to just leave, because this is weird and awkward and Bad… Junpei’s a jerk and doesn’t let us.

So we’re forced to play along. Great…

Let’s go hit on 'em!

I would really rather do Anything But This, but… let’s just get this over with, I guess.

Let’s move in for the kill!
This is my area of expertise, so listen up…
First off, think of something to talk about–something they might be interested in.
Give them an easy question to get the ball rollin’. That’s the golden rule.
Somethin’ like, “Where’re you from?” or “Havin’ fun?”
Pretty soon, you’ll be tossin’ questions and answers back and forth like you’re playin’ catch.
I’ll start things off, and you can ask the questions, alright?
…Here we go.

Havin’ fun?

Deep Breath Deep Breath

Hey, no need to be shy… We don’t bite.

Come on, cut us some slack…
We just wanna talk.
I thought you said you were an expert…
Hold your horses… I’m just getting warmed up. Watch and learn…
So, ladies, are you in college?

Nope. Not us.

Green: …Seriously? You sure look like high schoolers from here.

cough S-Sorry, that’s a lie.

Green: Oh, really?

Well, we were invited to our friend’s vacation home…
Pretty cool, huh?

Orange: Good for your friend.

I guess we’re just lucky…

Yellow: Yeah, lucky you. …Whaddya want, anyway?

Nothing.

Green: Then, take a hike.

Well, that went about as well as could reasonably be expected, let’s be honest.

Hey, I did my best!
What about you, Senpai!? You think you can do any better? Come on, show us what you got.
Wh-Why should I?
Well, you’re supposed to be a tactical master, right?
And, isn’t it our duty to help each other succeed?

I guess you have a point there.

Deep Breath Deep Breath (Reincarnation)

Can you give me a hand, Makoto? I’ll set the pace, of course.

I’m not sure if this is optimism or idiocy. Frankly, with this ““plan””, the line between the two is borderline non-existant…


What are you waiting for, Akihiko-san? Show us how it’s done.
…Just keep your mouth shut.

Nobuko: Yeah, I think so. Wow, Yoshie, you can see from there?

…That’s my cue.

S-Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to ask you something…

Yoshie: …Yes?

Um… Are you here alone?

N-No, not at all…
We just thought that if you’re bored, you might wanna talk…
We could get to know each other better.

Yoshie: Um, that’s what it means to hit on someone.

Deep Breath Deep Breath

Nobuko: We were bored anyway, so why don’t we just play along? Hey, you guys are kinda cute.
Yoshie: Nobuko!
Nobuko: Hey, how old do you think we are?

Around 20?

can we maybe just give up on this now before this manages to get even weirder?

Nobuko: Wow, you made my day… even though I know you’re just trying to flatter us. To tell you the truth, we’re older than that…

Oh, really? That’s too ba–

I wasn’t aware we brought Kenji with us…

Yoshie: You’re a pretty smooth talker for someone so young. How old are you guys, anyway?

We’re in high school.
I’ll be graduating next year.

Nobuko: That’s a bummer… We’re not astrologically compatible…
Yoshie: Look, it isn’t gonna happen, so just give it up. You don’t even seem like you’re having fun talking to us.

Right, it’s boring.

Nobuko: I’m sure he was just joking.
Yoshie: Why are you being so nice to them, Nobuko!?
Nobuko: Are you kidding? When was the last time we were hit on?
Yoshie: Hey, let’s head back… They’re waiting for us.

Th-They? …You mean, you have boyfriends?

Nobuko: Oh, yeah, sorry. Did we forget to mention that? Well, gotta go. We’re having a barbeque at the villa. You can come if you want.

…Uh, n-no thanks.

Yoshie: See ya.

That, uh, went “fine.” I don’t think you really get to complain considering how awkward this entire thing is inherently.

Man, we looked like a bunch of idiots!

Dude, you were his wing man! Where was the support?
You let them slip through our fingers!
Seriously! Get your act together, man! Next time, I want results!

Does there really have to be a “next time”? Can’t we just, like, I dunno… not?

Deep Breath Deep Breath (Reincarnation)

Okay, fine… let’s just get this over with I guess…

Well, what are we waiting for?
Excuse me, miss…

Are you alone?

Lady: …Yes, I’m completely alone. By “alone” I mean “single.” Incidentally, I saw you hitting on those girls. How’d it go?

It was an utter failure.

Lady: Oh, really? That’s a shame. Have you considered any… alternative approaches?

I really don’t think this is the time or place for a Hercules joke.

Do you have to say it like that?

Lady: Hahahahaha! That’s so stupid it’s funny!

H-Hey, that’s not my “A” material…

Lady: How do you expect to get a girl with that kind of attitude? You boys have no balls.

Excuse me?

Lady: You heard me.

Deep Breath Deep Breath

Lady: Be open to the possibilities… Especially you, you cute young thing…

M-Me?

Lady: Yes, you. I can tell you lack experience.

Lady: but even more timid.

H-How’d you know?

Lady: Well, if you’d like… I’d be happy to show you a thing or two…

S-Seriously!?

I’m in!

Lady: But… I don’t know if I can handle all three of you, so… Who will it be?

Junpei can go.
That’s right. I’m the only one who’s worthy!
I’ll show you that I’ve got balls!

Lady: Tee-hee, then I’m sure we’ll have fun.

Hey, wait…
Whaaaat!? Are you trying to ruin my summer of love!?

So, this has been Insanely Awkward and Dumb so far, it’s not really been super-terrible to the point of being the worst part of the game, right? Sure, but let’s change that.

Lady: …!? I-I missed a spot!?

Uh… Are you a…?

incredibly offensive stereotype that probably wasn’t okay even in 2006? Yes. Yes, she is.

even the fucking namecard is bullshit what the hell

Moving veeeeeeeery swiftly on before this gets even worse

One Last Bow

Joy

sigh
What’s wrong? I thought you weren’t interested in picking up chicks.
If I’m in a match, I want to win.
I know what our problem is… You can’t control yourself.
What!? Don’t blame this on me!
I’m just stating the obvious.
B-But, you haven’t scored either!
What did you just say…?

Junpei and Akihiko continue to bicker…

Enough already! Leader, whose fault do you think it is?
It’s both your fault.
I won’t accept a stalemate! It’s either him or me!
Yeah!

What’s the matter? …You see something?

Silence

He sees an anime cutscene! Oh my…

A very brief one, but still.

It really just exists to show us one character…

So I’m sure she won’t be even remotely important.

Joy

Talk about saving the best for last…! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Man, she’s cute…
I agree…

Considering the entire day so far has been just casually existing to ruin this plan whether through just getting people angry, being really bad at everything or just straight up transphobia, I can’t even begin to guess where this is going to go from there…

This is our last chance to make up for failures…
But this time we should try one-by-one instead of all together. We’ll have a better shot that way.
Sounds like a good plan.
Alright, then let’s decide the order! We’ll go clockwise, starting with the winner.
Ready…? Rock, paper, scissors!

The results are the same no matter what.

Yeah, I win!
Okay, I’ll go first, Akihiko-san will go second, and you’ll go last. I’m up!
Wish me luck!

So, um… do you come here often?
My name’s Ju-Ju-Junpei.

She has a dialogue portrait and is voiced by Karen Strassman, but she’s clearly not important so it’s a clever bait and switch.

Don’t worry, I-I just want to talk.
I mean, it’s more fun than standing here all by yourself, isn’t it?

…That’s a VERY weird word choice.

O-Oh yeah…?
You are not the one.
Wow, he got shot down faster than I expected…

Heh… Don’t worry about me.

Is your question directed at me?
Oh, um, yeah, I like the ocean, too.
Hey, I heard that triathletes who train at the beach perform better than those who practice indoors.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Yeah, obviously. It’s way easier to do two-thirds of it provided its not a terrible beach.

Wow, he’s actually having a conversation with her! Although, something’s not right…
That type of information is irrelevant to me.

It doesn’t matter how long you talked to her!

Hey, stop crying! You’re making me feel bad…
…So, that’s our status.
If you can’t pull this off, I’m gonna be traumatized for the rest of my life.

I’m really not seeing much of a downside to this right now.

We’re on the ropes, but it’s not over yet…
It’s all up to you now.

Good afternoon.

I couldn’t hear what he said…
But she looks surprised… We should go over there.
You are…

Once again, that’s some really weird word choice you got there…

Silence

Well, what’re you waiting for? Go after her!
But, it wasn’t my fault.
Go tell her you’re sorry!
If you don’t, we’ll all be in trouble! Go on, man. You can catch her if you hurry!

End

This is such a waste of time, but fine whatever.

Silence

We’ll just head on into the Forest, which is a giant linear path in which nothing happens. It’s as exciting as it sounds.

Anti-Shadow Weaponry

How nice of her to stick her head out like that. If she didn’t, we never would’ve seen her…

She must be the one who has been watching you.

I have found you.

My highest priority is to be with you!

What’s going on…!? He didn’t even say anything to her!

Um… What’re you doing in the middle of the woods, in your swimsuits…?
You have no idea what we’ve–
Huh!?

Listen, we’ve encountered a problem.
I’m sorry to interrupt your vacation, but I need you all to go back to the house and prepare for battle.

Troubled

“Aigis”…? I’m pretty sure there’s meant to be an “e” in there.

Regardless, one fade to blue later…

So, what happened to capturing the tank?
Oh, that’s been taken care of.
Come here, Aigis.

I have been assigned to SEES, effective immediately.
No way… It’s like she’s… alive.
This is unbelievable…
She’s so cute, but… she’s a robot…

Well, she’s more of an android in that case but even so don’t even think about Junpei-ing this.

Aigis was the last to be made… and she’s the only one that still remains today.
An Anti-Shadow weapon… Does that mean she…?

She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since.
It’s still unclear as to why she suddenly reactivated herself this morning…
Well, I hope you will all get along.
An Anti-Shadow weapon with a will of her own…
This is amazing!
Um… By the way…
When I saw you earlier, it seemed like you knew him…
Yes, it is very important for me to be by his side.

Or maybe she’s still half-asleep… This is quite interesting…
Hmm…
Well, I can ponder this later.
Oh, I forgot to tell you all…
You can participate in a wide range of recreational activities here.
There’s a tennis court, a pool table… even a karaoke machine.
Would you care to hear me sing?

End

And with that… wonderful(?) offer, the day finally draws to a close and I guess we gained a new party member…?

Only 2 days of Yakushima left, so let’s see what lies ahead for us, shall we?

Me, a few updates ago: Man, Junpei is a surprisingly good character despite the usual idiot archetype, and he may have good character development later in the game.
Me, now: I hate Junpei.
Me, three seconds after the scene started: Actually Persona 3 is bad.

At least we’re done with the mandatory Worst Persona Scene, right?

I think there’s one or two other low points, but at least those are only “wacky hijinks” that don’t include any “awful stereotypes of different people are weird/funny” moments.

Two days of Yakushima left. On the plus side, it’s going to have to try to get worse than the first half of yesterday…

Joy

It’s too bad we have to go home tomorrow… I’d totally stay longer if I could.
But, I can’t complain… A lot of cool things happened while we were here.

We were all up so late last night…

Nah, it’s nothing like that. We just came here to have some fun.

One could argue that this is the most important mission of all, really. It sure seems like this is something we desperately need after the past 2 days at least.

Do you understand what it means to “have fun,” Aigis?

Exactly! Wow, you sure know a lot about us humans.
Alright, let’s take one last dip before we leave!
Uh, hold on, Junpei-kun…

Oh, I’m sure she’s water-proof.

It is best that we all engage in this activity together.

That reaaaally depends on how you define “enjoyment.” Not everyone needs to swim to have fun.

Ugh, do we have to…?
We should join them.
Okay.

We’ve been quite busy during our time here, but it looks as if we can relax a bit today.
Hey, Akihiko-san, c’mon!
It’s your turn!
My turn…? What are they doing?
laugh I’m glad to see everyone is having so much fun.
I’ve already told you what time the ship will be arriving tomorrow, yes?
I’ll most likely head over to the port early, so don’t be late.
Okay, I’ll let everyone know.
Until then, enjoy the last day of your vacation.

Well, it makes sense that we’d get one of these at some point in Yakushima all things considered. I’m not entirely sure this scene was the most appropriate but it works at least.

It’s also… the end of the day. Huh, that’s basically the same as if we spent it with Maya but less awkward.

Shinjiro and Friends

Fearful Experience

You mean those three? Wow, they’re freaky!
Shut up! Let’s go!

Why do they always run and hide when I approach?

Perhaps it’s that gun you carry. Or perhaps it’s the grenade Jin is tossing up and down like a baseball. Or maybe it’s something else.

They’re like back alley rats.
…Beats me.

I’ll pay you the same as–
Hold up.

Your acquaintances have been busy lately.
I’m referring to their activites on nights when the moon is full.
They’ve spent a great deal of time in the tower as well. Why did they take this burden upon themselves?

Is it because they are your friends?
No! I’ve got nothing to do with them.
Then, tell us.
Tch… I don’t know the details, but…
Supposedly, if you destroy all those creatures…

You mean… they intend to eliminate the Dark Hour?
Y-Yeah… Why?

They wish to destroy the Tower of Demise as well!?
Tower of Demise…?

Yeah, uh, that’s… different. Dunno what this guy’s on about.

…Who wouldn’t wanna take out that damn tower?

…Yes, yes.

And with that, the three of them leave. Notably, the gothic lolita friend has still only said a whole one thing amongst all their appearances. Weird.

Hmph… I can’t go back…
Not after what happened.

End

Jeez, Shinji is so mopey. So, so mopey. He makes Makoto look personable and upbeat.

Iwatodai Dorm

And now we’re back at the dorm, huh? I guess that makes sense; we were gonna be back today anyway, so we just skipped the boring part of the return trip.

It seemed to take forever to get back…
Yeah, it was a tiring trip.
Please rest up so you’re ready for the next operation.

It’s fine, we have 2 weeks. Plenty of time. Plenty.

Yeah, yeah.
I don’t have any plans for summer break, so I can fight Shadows all you want.
…Wow, you must really be bored.
…Sh-Shut up, Yuka-tan.
Whatever.
We just have to defeat those last six, and it’ll be all over.
The Lost will get better, and everything will be back to normal, right?
That’s why we have to try our hardest.

It’s super nice to be back, honestly. The vacation was sort of nice at the end, but it was mostly just really stressful for everyone.

Most noteworthy is that Yukari is sitting away from everyone again, for obvious reasons. Junpei is as well, which is somewhat less easy to tell why.

Most souvenirs are worthless… Snow globes, key chains, postcards…
However, this is one souvenir from Yakushima that is tres bien.

Where are the others?
I assume you are referring to the other anti-Shadow weapons…
Well, there were many created. You could say they were Aigis’s sisters.

So, like, did literally everything happen 10 years ago? It sure seems like it…

Aigis has been quite lonely since then.
Why is she in human form?
Personas are created from human minds.

The only real issue was the form the weapon would take…
If the form of the weapon was a tank, for instance, the weapon’s mind would recognize itself as a tank…
However, a tank is not a living entity.
This is crucial, you see, because the mind of a non-living entity will not process human thoughts correctly…
…So it will not function properly, and it will soon become corrupted.
However, a mind placed inside a form that closely resembles a human body will recognize itself as a human being…
Thus allowing it to easily adapt to human thoughts.
Therefore, Aigis and her sisters were built in the form of human beings.

That’s a lot of words to justify why the robot looks like a teenage girl. Not really sure if it’s something you should try to justify, but it’s there.

Very well, I shall be by your side at all times.

It seems she is unable to understand ordinary feelings and conversation at the moment…

But, uh, she’s a… robot… This seems really sudden, too. We just met and it took jumping through so many hoops to get to S.Link more realistic and reasonable people.

It’s so much different than before.

Maybe we should skip going to Tartarus tonight and just rest.

Yeah, fair. We can Tartarus soon enough, after all.

I don’t. I mean, you’d really have to be looking for a robot to figure that out.
As long as she acts normal, no one will suspect a thing.

Yukari, she’s very blatantly an android. Yukari, she has hooves. You do not have to try very hard to see that she is a robot.

Super cute…
I don’t think I’ve ever met a machine that was so cute before.

There are now 115.12 yen to the dollar, an increase from last time of 0.15 yen.

Good to get an ecnomic update after our Beach Adventures.

But, now what are we gonna do… it’s a Thursday and we explicitly cannot go to Tartarus, so that leaves us with one option…

Let’s see what Mutatsu is up to, why don’t we.

This Mysterious Feeling

I’m always here… It’s my “home away from home,” heh…
…Hey, are you alright, kid? You know, money-wise?
High school kids don’t have much money, do they? At least, I never gave much to my son.
I have enough.
Is that right…? Hmph, I guess you kids have ways to make money nowadays.

You’re not doing anything illegal, though, are ya, kid? …Not that I care.
…Now, gimme a straight answer…
Is there anything you want right now?
Yes.
Hmph, I should’ve guessed.

Materialistic desire can lead to aspiration, but still…
When you get to by my age… Hmph, never mind.
You work to make money so you can have a better life, but to make enough money you gotta work all the time…
…So you never get to enjoy that better life you’re working so hard to have.
…Quite a paradox, isn’t it?
…Do you know what the average lifetime income of a white-collar worker is?
…Including a retirement fund and an annual pension?

Thanks to me, you learned somethin’ new today, eh, kid?
Now, don’t waste your life workin’ all the time tryin’ to get rich; just take life as it comes.

You saw through Mutatsu’s harsh words and felt his kindness…

You understand Mutatsu better now.

I wish I could buy back all the time I lost…

You decided to go back to the dorm.

It’s honestly kind of amazing that we’ve gotten Mutatsu to Rank 5 already, and we still can’t even pretend to make a Tower persona. I thought I’d have one by now, at least.

…and now my studying is mocking me, I swear. Rank up the first gain after finals?!

Plus, uh, for whatever reason we have 2 days of school before the school summer break begins. I don’t even know why.

Silence

Please wake up.

Troubled

Mission accomplished?
The paper on the wall says, “Do things five minutes early.”
Therefore, I woke you up five minutes prior to the triggering of your alarm clock.

That girl disappeared, and we can’t find her anywhere. Think you can help us out?
She might’ve gone out on her own, like she did in Yakushima…
I am not a girl… I am Aigis, and I am here.
Huh…?

That’s unlawful entry!
Didn’t we tell you to stay in the command room at night!?
I propose to be on standby in this room from now on. Is this acceptable?
What!? N-No, it’s not acceptable!
If there is a problem, then I will address it promptly.

Well, don’t just sit there! Tell her!
You can’t stay here.
See? He agrees.
…I will do as told.
Tch…
Alright, I’ll have a room prepared for you on the third floor. You can stay there.
Oh, and don’t leave the dorm by yourself, okay?
I will do as commanded.
sigh I’m tired…
I have practice this morning, so I gotta go…

I comprehend.

If she wasn’t a robot, I would take this as a Digital Devil Saga reference considering Gale seemed to never comprehend.

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

After we defeat all the Shadows and the Dark Hour disappears, what’s gonna happen then?
There will be peace.
Well, yeah, but…
Regular people don’t even know about the Dark Hour, right?
That means no one will ever know about anything we’ve done…
That kinda sucks, don’t ya think?

It’s not really surprising that it’s a recurring trend, but I do sorta like that Junpei is consistently focussed on being considered a hero. Much like with Yukari’s reactions at Yakushima, it’s a very real and human thing.

But let’s see how we did on our finals, sure why not.

…Still not top, by one day most likely… but it’s better than before. Not good enough mind you, but it’s closer.

That’s the only thing that happens in the middle of the day, so we’ll just…

Go shopping, because I misremembered slightly. Gonna buy a watch that costs 16,000 despite doing absolutely nothing.

The Poem For Everyone’s Soul

Such craftsmanship…
I absolutely adore things made of platinum…
It’s quite extraordinary… You are fortunate to have such things in your world.
Please accept your reward.

That’s a lot of souls to munch on if we run low on SP. I’m definitely not gonna complain at all about this.

And, of course, clearing that quest unlocked another one. Homunculi can be found in Tartarus, albeit in rare chests, or we can just… go buy one.

Well, once we get a Sapphire we can anyway.

There’s also something fun we might be able to do once we get at least one Homunculus that, if it works, will essentially give us infinite money. Kinda. Sorta.

…Well, not really but it’ll mean we can save Diamonds for stuff that actually matters.

But that’s in the future. I think it’s time to swallow our pride a little and give Kenji false hope that we give a shit about him, since we might never see him again (God willing).

Joy

Sorry, man. I’ll have to pass.
Why?
I forgot I have to go check out that cram school today. Sorry, man.

Kenji seems apologetic.

So, I don’t have time to eat ramen.

Surprising to see Kenji actually being serious about things that matter for once. An unironic good job there, my dude.

I have 30-year goals.
Whoa, dude! I didn’t know you were so serious about your future!

I never really thought about my future until Emiri told me I should. She said I’d end up a loser if I didn’t.

…Oh there’s the catch, okay. As nice as it would be to just be relieved that Kenji is listening to a teacher, it’d be less weird if this clearly wasn’t added to his weird “plan.”

But, the future’s a long way off, dude. I mean, first I have to go to college, right?
All of Emiri’s students go to good colleges.
She must be thinking about our future together…

> Kenji is delusional.

Kenji is talking to himself.

You should think about your future too. You don’t want to end up a loser, do you?
That’s why we gotta work our asses off, man! For our futures!

Kenji seems to be sincerely worried about your future…

Your relationship is stronger now!

Kenji ran off.

You decided to return to the dorm.

Like, okay, to be fair: for Kenji that wasn’t really bad. It could’ve been worse. It could’ve been a lot worse…

Iwatodai Dorm

I dunno, I came like 8th I guess maybe?

Not bad.
That’s great! I’m happy for you.
Did you see Mitsuru-senpai’s score? Wow, she’s amazing.

Dude, those freaks with Apathy Syndrome will be everywhere… Wait, I mean “The Lost.”
I prolly shouldn’t complain about 'em, since it’s not their fault. It’s those damn Shadows…
It is possible to end this…
Six Shadows remain.
If we can eliminate them, the Dark Hour will vanish.
Yeah, that’s true…
So, what you’re trying to say, Aigis, is that fighting is more important that studying, right?
…I agree 100%!

At least Junpei’s not hiding in his room ashamed and scared this time!

If you did poorly, you may have to attend summer school…
I did fine.
That’s very good.
Well, let’s see how the others did.

How would you classify the facility known as “school”?
Boring.
I must disagree with that assessment.
Analyzing your facial expression, categorizing “school” as boring is inaccurate.

Thanks, Aigis. Helpful as… I can’t really say “always” here though, huh?

Defeating Shadows is more important than getting good grades!
Any time spent studying could be used to go to Tartarus and–
Don’t get carried away… You should still study.
You can learn from a defeat… But sometimes that is the hardest lesson.

I am kinda curious how Junpei actually did. It’s clearly better than last time since he’s sat downstairs, but still not exactly good otherwise he wouldn’t be insisting on it not mattering…

With all that happened, she still managed to do great on her exams.
She can filter out distractions and focus on the task at hand. sigh I wish I could do that.

Personally speaking, I find it mostly easy to filter distractions. There’s some that are really difficult to manage, though, and the most difficult of all is myself.

Well, don’t worry if your grades weren’t that good.
With everything that’s been going on, I’m sure you did the best you could.

Just don’t forget to train.

Akihiko manages to still be Akihiko even when it’s not really relevant.

Ah, we’ve just received this bulletin. More Apathy Syndrome patients have been sighted. They seem to be relapses of the same patients from the previous months…

So, tonight is a really good night to go to Tartarus but nah we’re not gonna do that. No big reason why, I just don’t feel like it!

Fridays in general are light on options so Mutatsu, how’s it goin’!

We really need a Tower persona here, on paper, but it’s not a big deal in practice since we can just hang out with Mutatsu 4 nights a week in theory.

Gonna hit the books for good measure, though since we just ranked up this is gonna feel like a slow grind again.

Last day of school before the summer that is summer!

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

Ya know, if you think about it, we’re pretty lucky to be living in the dorm…
Mitsuru-senpai, Yuka-tan, and Fuuka… They’re all hotties, don’t ya think?
I guess.
Hey, c’mon, dude! Be honest! This is guy talk!
But ya know, it’d be tough to be more than friends with any of 'em…

I bet she only dates uber-nerds.
Yuka-tan is pretty damn popular, so she could prolly get any guy she wants…
And that just leaves Fuuka… But, she’s super shy… You’d have to be really careful…
Hey, don’t tell any of them I was talking about this, alright!?

Despite that conversation seeming to just be Junpei being Junpei, in reality he was giving us very unsubtle hints on how to - spoilers - start a S.Link with them. Y’know, just in case Fuuka already being doable by now didn’t make it clear enough. Granted, Yukari and Mitsuru do have 2 requirements to Fuuka’s one…

…but first, Edogawa.

Your regular teacher has fallen ill, so I’ll be substituting today.
Summer vacation begins tomorrow… That’s what happens when you let yourself get careless. Eeeheeehee.
Today, I’ll give an introductory lesson on alchemy, a branch of magic focused on attaining wealth.
Do you like money? Of course you do… Who among us doesn’t?
It’s human nature to want what one doesn’t have. There’s no escaping it.

Uh, Edogawa… King Midas… He, um, he wasn’t… He wasn’t real.

Sure, there were maybe 3 different kings at different times called Midas but they’re not what he means and you know it.

It wasn’t their dream to gain gold like King Midas, by touching things…
Rather, they conceived of converting cheap metals, such as iron or copper, into precious gold.
That is alchemy.
Whatever their incentive for creating the science, it’s certain that alchemy has significantly influenced history.

Around 500 A.D., it was further developed in Arabia, which became the center of alchemical studies…
The science later gained popularity in Europe as well.

This form of alchemy seeks to make an elixir of immortality, instead of a magic recipe for gold.

I tried to look up and verify this claim, but all I could find was information on Ranma 1/2 and Full Metal Alchemist. So, uh, it miiiight be true but it’s probably not and most likely just a reference to the latter because alchemy. And also anime.

Either way… the most important substance in the practice of alchemy is mercury, or quicksilver.
It was thought that mercury could be used to create the Philosopher’s Stone, which would in turn generate gold.
Alchemists performed endless research, using various kinds of equipment and experimental methods.
Today, people believe that if not for the alchemists’ trial and error, there would be no chemistry as we know it.

In a way, it’s one of the greatest tragedies of world history…
Now, alchemy has also influenced human psychology.

Welcome to Persona, we’re gonna talk about Jung at some point. It was inevitable. This time it’s just a bit brief, at least.

…In conclusion, I think it’s a shame to give up on alchemy when we’ve come so far.
It’s better for young adults to strive for unusual goals. that they might lead more exciting lives.
After all, from the perspective of ancient peoples. modern scuence may as well be magic or alchemy.
If you work very hard, you might be able to discover your own form of magic.
But I think that will do for today. Enjoy your summer.

See, Edogawa is bad at being a proper teacher but he touches on interesting ideas and while I dislike him, I can’t bring myself to dislike him.

Joy

Well, this is… different.

Since you’re a transfer student, you probably don’t know about the upcoming competition, right?
Well, on August 2nd, there’s a big tournament.
I want you to compete, so start training!
You’ll be going up against a monster named Hayase, but you can handle it. This year, we won’t lose so easily!
Make sure you come to school from July 27th to August 1st, alright?
I’m gonna make you work like you’ve never worked before, so be ready!

…I really didn’t get to decide anything. We got shanghai’d into this! Stupid railroad-y DMs…

Want To Be Close (Reincarnation)

But we’ll worry about that later, for now, uh, let’s talk to Yukari. She’s been here for months and we haven’t even said “hi” once.

We are really bad at being friends with our alleged friends, huh.

I want to tell you something…
…in private.

As you no doubt expected, having Max Charm is one requirement for getting Yukari’s S.Link which is why we got that done a while back.

…Um, can we go to the rooftop?
Sure.
Thanks, I wanted to talk to you.

Yukari seems embarrassed.

You decide to go to the rooftop with Yukari.

Joy

Oh, never mind.
What is it?
Sorry. Well, um…
Y-You might have forgotten about it already, but…

It’s only been a few days, so we definitely remember. More important is that - as this makes very clear - the second requirement to getting to start Yukari’s S.Link is to be past the events at Yakushima.

I just wanted to say I’m sorry.
It’s been bothering me for a while.
It’s hard not having a regular family, ya know?
Everyone else has a mom and a dad…
Why do we have to be different…?
Why us…?
Sorry, I didn’t mean to lump the two of us together…

At least, that’s what I thought.
Haha. Is that just wishful thinking?
That’s how I really feel, though.

Yukari has opened up to you.

The distance between you has narrowed…

The Power of the Hearts

A mysterious voice rings in your head…

Joy

You decide to go back to the dorm.

A Decision

Fearful Experience

Didn’t expect to see these guys again so soon…

Incidentally, I see that they’ve again added a new ally to their ranks.

Makes no difference to me.
It seems that what you told us before about their intentions was true.
How lamentable…

It is up to each individual how he will use the strength granted him…
But, to erase the Dark Hour would be denying the very power they possess.
We cannot tolerate that.
Do whatever you want…

…What’re you gonna do?
I know they asked you to come back.
You’re startin’ to piss me off.

And if you’re on their side, then you’re going down too.
Like I said before… it doesn’t concern me.

End

I can’t wait to actually get to meet these people for real, rather than see them doing things when we’re not around. That they’re explicitly plotting against us makes them the closest thing we have right now to real antagonists.

Iwatodai Dorm

Meanwhile, back at the dorm we have inherited a small child for the next couple of months.

I’ll try to stay out of everyone’s way, so don’t mind me.

Don’t talk with him about anything regarding Shadows.

I… think that can be arranged, yes.

I am able to communicate with him at any time.
Please permit me to do so.

This is definitely a bad idea. We’re not talking to Ken about real Persona stuff, so letting him talk to the robot that is an Anti-Shadow Weapon seems… like it would cause issues.

Just try to get along with him, okay, Makoto?

I think he’s precocious.
He is, but that’s what makes him cute.

I just moved into the dorm. I’ll be staying here for the summer.

Yeah, we met before. Kinda. How canon some of them were is debatable, mind.

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about him…
Maybe it’s that he’s more mature than I am…
What do you think?

He won’t.
Oh, I’m so relieved… Thank you.

He has the potential to obtain a Persona in the future, sure, but he doesn’t have one right now. He’d be actively unable to help. Why would we ever involve him in anything?

A recent fashion Show in Milan had an unusual theme: “Life in Space.” Those attending watched supermodels wear space suits down the runway, and ate delicious Space food.

So, tonight we won’t be going to Tartarus. Mostly because tonight is a Saturday and so we have two better options.

We could go increase our link with Tanaka, or…

We can become more nerdy than ever before. Scince we still don’t have max Academics, for obvious reasons, we’ll focus on that.

At least for a little while, in places. We should be able to get this done completely before it comes up again… I say now, tempting the fuck outta that fate.

Anyway, sometime over the next week we will be going to Tartarus. The deadline for Elizabeth’s request is rapidly approaching after all!

Yukari snagged Diarama last time, so we can see what this does for her. She no longer has Dia, which is a wonderful decision for pure AI controlled party members. Outdated skills are replaced on the spot.

Plus she’ll get Recarm next which is nice and all but it’s better for Makoto to have, in theory, since if he dies it’s game over anyway. Of course we also have items to do the job fine.

…Plus 29 Magic thanks to the Pleiades is quite a lot. Granted that does mean she’d have 25 without it, which is still fairly impressive in its own way!

Junpei’s not quite as straight up powerful numerically, but his attacks are more powerful since he’s not relying solely on one first tier Wind spell. He’s not gonna get Agilao anytime soon, which is fine since he’s Junpei and all.

Kill Rush is a marginal damage increase over the newly replaced Assault Dive (110 vs 90) but it hits 1d2 times. That more than makes up for it.

Akihiko’s still lagging behind, as he is want to do. At least he’ll definitely get Rakunda before we reach the next boss fight (if he even gets fielded I mean). That’ll possibly help, since if the pattern of post-Thebel areas holds true it means we have a single Shadow to deal with next…

Mitsuru is completely identical to before, since she got benched. She’s decent enough to make up for it without issue though, of course.

Aigis is a bit, uh, special. As a robot all of her equippable gear is wholly unique to her (except Accessories). Even her weapons are Aigis only, for obvious reasons. Plus she has a unique mechanic for good measure!

Mechanically, she’s a bit of a tank and focuses on buffs and… her resistance is Pierce, which is kinda clever. Plus she’s weak to Elec which is also clever. Her skills are Strike elemental though, which is odd, but she has Kill Rush and Swift Strike so she is terrifyingly good on paper. And, yes, that’s including her Strength being equal to Akihiko’s despite being several levels higher. Which is obviously objectively bad.

So, we have 5 folks now and only 3 slots to fill. Aigis is new, so she’ll be coming along for the ride to see how effective she is in practice. There are 2 slots left to fill, though…

:siren: Which 2 people are gonna fill 'em? :siren:

I’m voting for Akihiko and Yukari.

I vote for Junpei and Mitsuru. Yukari is good enough that we can catch someone up, and Polydeuces sucks so Akihiko’s out.

So, our summer stay-cation begins today but right now it’s just another Sunday.

Iwatodai Dorm

Tanaka’s not selling anything worthwhile today, so we’ll keep our money.

I’m a little nervous about living here…

Almost everyone is hanging out in the dorm, but only Ken has updated dialogue here. A bit unusual, but whatever.

And before the news begins, Feather Condor has a message for you all!

Hopefully this one isn’t just lies. I’m still sour about last time.

Feather Condor: After all, you’ve got me looking out for you! So don’t worry! We’ll meet again next week!

…And now, the news.

Oh, it was just about Apathy Syndrome. I guess it is getting close to the Full Moon now…

But, hey, remember how I said almost everyone was inside? There’s one exception. Yes, just one.

When The Moon’s Reaching Out Stars

I dunno what it is about that guy, but my “Junpei-sense” is going crazy around him.
Either he’s a little punk, or he’s WAY more mature than I am…
I dunno, man, is it just me?

Well, I mean, I don’t have a Junpei-sense so that might very well just be you. Don’t really know the kid well enough to say one way or the other on the rest, though. Depends where we’re setting the bar, maybe?

…Oh right, it’s Sunday and all so we should maybe just see what Maya wants. It, uh, can’t get much worse at least.

Joy

Although we initially planned to allow “Innocent Sin” to run indefinitely…
…recent feedback has shown that player participation is not adequate to continue.
We are terribly sorry for any inconvenience this causes for active players.
However, the servers will remain open until the official end date.
We hope that you understand and that you enjoyed your time with “Innocent Sin.”
Sincerely, -“Innocent Sin” staff

You mean an SMT MMO is closing?! Say it ain’t so. I can’t IMAGINE anything like that.

Maya faces away from you.

it said their cancelling innocent sin. …think its for real?
No way!
i know rite!? how dare they! >=/

Maya is getting all worked up.

i finally found a place to let out my frustation and now this!!!

Maya gets closer to you.

I, uh, I’m fairly confident in this one…

I think so.
yeah… we can meet each other in different ways I guess >_>
maybe there will be another MMO or we could hook up irl, but still =S

Maya seems sad.

NO! we have to stop wasting our tiem!

You’re… gonna stop playing before the servers go down?

What are you planning?
…oh dun worry tatsu. i won’t do ne thing dangerous >_>

Maya seems a little happier.

Given some of the things you’ve casually admitted to, this surely falls under the banner of “dangerous.” Not for me, mind, but hey.

if they knwo this game is important to us, maybe they’ll reconsider =D
even tho tatsuya’s just some lonely kid and maya likes to bitch too much… :wink:
that shouldn’t matter!!!1

Something tells me you might be in for a bit of a surprise…

don’t worry, maya will protect u! we’ll always be partners, k?

It seems Maya cares about you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

don’t mess w/ maya & friends or u’ll regret it! MwahAHaHhaHa!
next time we’ll celebrate our victory, k? bai!

Maya’s player signed off.

You decide to log out as well.

Y’know, I get the impression Maya using her chatlog won’t really help much on this one. I’unno, call it a hunch I guess.

July’s dark secret reveals itself today, I guess. Sort of. It already did before though.

Namely it repeatedly has extended periods of time where you can’t do whatever you want!

Want To Be Close

I can only hope that this one is going somewhere. For all its fault, Yakushima did give us a lot of things implicitly. And Aigis.

You won’t win a point off of Mamoru Hayase like that!

But right now all it’s doing is reminding me that we haven’t spent time with Yuko in, like, ages.

Iwatodai Dorm

Mercifully, it only steals our daytime slot and not the whole day. We can’t really do too much during the daytime since we don’t have school anymore, but we still have options!

No sweat.
…Oh, yeah? You’re tougher than I thought.
…If you think you can handle it, let’s go to Tartarus tonight.
We have less than two weeks to get ready, and I’m sure the next Shadow will be stronger than the last one…

…What do you mean “if”? Of course I can handle it. Just who in the hell do you think I am?!

But it’s kind of weird when a little kid is doing it…

I see that Akihiko and Ken are… bonding…? Sure, let’s go with that.

I heard you’re undefeated with them on.
Yeah…
It’s no big deal, really…

But, I can totally understand how he feels. I mean, Akihiko-san’s won his last 16 boxing matches.
Every little kid should look up to him. He’s like a hero, don’tcha think?
Totally.
sigh I wish I was a hero.

Don’t worry, Junpei, we already knew that.

I am not heavily equipped, and my damage output and accuracy rating are both average.
Because a gun is a long-range weapon, I will not fall during an attack.
A gun is best suited to those who require stability in their weapon.

That’s certainly one way you could look at it. Another is that no one else uses a gun to avoid unfortunate accidents, or because this is Japan and getting a gun is both really difficult and hella illegal. Doubly-so when you’re a high schooler.

Today’s subject is Trish’s type of guy! He’s smoking hot, and still in his 20s!

…Next is news. Pain, pain, go away!

Ooh this one’s easy!

Tatsuya Suou is the main protagonist of Persona 2 as a whole, being the player character of Innocent Sin and the deuteragonist of Eternal Punishment. On its own that doesn’t make him the protagonist, no, but the duology’s subtitles do. The Innocent Sin is something that Tatsuya does, and the Eternal Punishment is something that only he truly goes through…

But, this isn’t a Persona 2 thread so we’ll leave it there (for now?). His Primary Arcana was The Sun and his initial Persona was Vulcanus.

Oh and also he’s bisexual, and because Persona 2 is rad this is just a minor thing that isn’t a major character trait or a thing that he gets mocked for or anything. He’s just a guy who happens to be bi.

The Voice Someone Calls

But, anyway, Tartarus! We don’t have anything to talk to Elizabeth about yet, so we’ll just gather our party, switch some gear around and head on up.

The Mage’s Mark restores a fixed 3SP a turn which sure doesn’t sound like a lot but it helps way more than it sounds. Giving this to Mitsuru for sure.[/i]

tartarus_0d03

So, we’re on floor 73 which means that this isn’t true. Thanks, Fuuka.

Before we carry on, though, we’re gonna pick a fight with something. This’ll do.

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out

“Orgia” here is most likely referring to the ancient Greek practice of overly ecstatic worship in some sects. This was particularly true when it came to gods like Dionysus, and it may or may not have involved rigorous amounts of sex.

…why yes, it IS also where we get the word “orgy” how did you guess

Yes, please.
In this mode, my limiter is temporarily disabled.
Thus, my offensive capability increases significantly.

Furthermore, once Orgia Mode has been activated, it cannot be canceled until I overheat.

Orgia Mode only lasts for a short while, so timing is crucial.
That concludes the tutorial.

We don’t really have a frame of reference to how much of a “significant” increase it is, but it’s just a flat 150% damage boost. It lasts for about 3-5 rounds and then Aigis is thoroughly useless for a while.

I, uh, I don’t really use it all that much personally. We’ll see it in action later at least once. Possibly not much more than that, though. We’ll see!

tartarus_0d03

So, y’know how last time we got the Pleiades in a rare chest? Yeah, uh, it turns out…

That’s pretty much par for the course with the regular weapons we can find too. The Pleiades is only rarer than stuff like the Silver Saber because it has ~10 Attack more and +4 Magic instead of the +3 here.

We’re still totally gonna be giving this to Mitsuru immediately though.

On Floor 76, Fuuka opts to let us know that, yes, there IS a boss fight to be had. But it’s quite a ways away. Thanks, that’s helpful.

Skipping on up to the 78th floor wherein we hit another thing with a bus stop sign. Because that’s awesome.

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out

Namely because 78F is where we get the newest batch of enemy Shadows. Devoted Cupid here is both the rarest and also the weakest, so whatever. It’s hilariously weird how it has regular old Dia though.

Jupiter Eagles aren’t quite the most common, but they have some fun potential to be annoying if they ever got turns. Mercifully, they don’t so they don’t get to use that Masukunda at all.

The most common new Shadow is the Golden Beetle, which kinda stretches the definition of “new” a bit, yeah. Significantly weaker than it was the last time we saw it, for sure, but it’s still the tankiest normal Shadow around these parts.

Well, excluding the Avenger Knight but that’s weak to Hama so I think that’s fair.

And lastly, we have the Ardent Dancer who on the one hand has both Marin Karin and Sexy Dance. On the other hand…

Ths is very common. Very, very common.

tartarus_0d03

On the 80th floor, Fuuka figures out where the boss fight is. The 85th floor is a bit more a trek after the previous fight on the 72nd, but it’s not really that big a deal.

The Two-handed Sword gets a weird buff in Portable, as you may or may not recall at this point.

It’s not so much that it’s made stronger, per se, but it’s available WAY earlier for some reason. We’ll be giving this to Junpei later on if I remember.

And, well, that’s all that happens until we hit the 84th floor. Normally I’d skip this one too but we get a rare treasure here…

Namely, this thing. This is sort of decent armor, but it’s particularly noteworthy in that it is also what Liz is gonna give us when we make an Orthrus with Dodge Slash.

Yes, really. It’s kind of a downgrade over what we already have, even! I’ll be giving this to Makoto though, so that his vest can go to Mitsuru. That way she gets a proper upgrade and also returns to having a decent character model again.

…Or I could’ve waited like a minute longer and given her this instead. It’s 64 Def so it’s less than the Bulletproof Vest though.

But I’ll still give it to Makoto for convenience. The lack of a +2 Strength isn’t that big a deal.

And that’s that, so now we have our fight on the 85th floor.

This is normally where we’d check in with Liz but the only remaining sidequests, that aren’t Orthrus, require us to get past this Shadow so let’s get right to it!

Hierophant Fanatic Tower (Portable)

Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone

Honestly? No, it really kinda isn’t.

It’s kind of a bit of a slog to fight, but that’s not at all the same thing. For example, this? This is the most damage Mitsuru will ever manage to contribute.

This guy resists Slash and Pierce, sure, but he reflects Ice. And Fire. And Elec. Fucking hell, that just leaves Strike and Wind…

So, what can the Tower do? Well, not a lot that’s really threatening. Sure, it can Poison Mist to try and Poison everyone with his 20 Luck (his worst stat)… and he has Poison Boost for good measure… but it’s such a non-issue I wouldn’t care.

It’s basic attack might very well be the most on-paper dangerous thing it has, which is really weird. And that’s mostly because it can Crit for less than the previous musclemen.

Everyone who isn’t Mitsuru is going to be helping out with their (de)buff capabilities sometimes and also Strike attacks mostly. Which is a problem when this annoying boy also has Dodge Strike to just mock you when you try it.

Realistically you’re gonna be fighting this guy with Wind spells and basically nothing else, because he doesn’t have Dodge Wind.

Unfortunately, I only have Garula on Pale Rider which isn’t necessarily a problem but…

Oh and of course he has Mind Charge. It sure seems like every Tartarus boss lately has had a Charge skill.

Notably, the Fanatic Tower is lacking in that he doesn’t have a Heavy tier skill. He only has Zionga and not Ziodyne.

Which is fine with me, but it doesn’t really make a difference because I’m packing an Elec nullification. Thank you, Take-Mikazuchi!

Oh and of course he has Mazionga as is required.

The lack of Ziodyne just means he can’t maybe seriously injure Mitsuru. Akihiko is, well, Akihiko so he takes barely anything. I’m immune so this guy can’t really kill me barring bad luck and… Aigis is weak to Elec but takes sub-50 damage anyway. Granted, this IS after a Tarunda but that’s still sub-100 whereas Mitsuru loses nearly half her health.

This may or may not be because Orgia Mode was enabled at the time, but I don’t think that gives a defense buff as well. I can’t say I’ve played around much with it, though.

…Oh and Overheating is a bad thing for Aigis since it takes her rad defenses and completely and utterly demolishes them. Yikes!

Sometimes when the Fanatic Tower is feeling particularly smart, he’ll cast Elec Break on someone and… forget to capitalise on it entirely.

And that’s it. The Fanatic Tower is a long fight because of his 2000HP and his array of annoying resistances but he sure ain’t a hard fight.

Noteworthy is that so long as you have Emperor at rank 3+, you can kinda just not give a shit and remove his Ice repel entirely.

He’s also clearly weaker than most at this point since he only has 24 Strength and 25 in Magic, Endurance and Agility. Weird.

End

tartarus_0d03

At first blush, it sure looks like we’re only getting the one treasure this time which is a bit of a weird decision, don’t it?

Compared to the last few, this is definitely a good thing. It gives us another cleared request when we’re done, potentially nets us a lot of money later and, uh, acts as a buffer to any nasty instant kill game overs that aren’t “and then it crits for eleventy billion damage.” Again.

Around the corner from there, we have the requisite Soma as well. This was apparent on the map as well, I think.

We just have a bit more to climb as Fuuka remains perplexed by the most simple and obvious pattern. It’s almost like this happens everytime we near the end of a block…

And sure enough! We’re not gonna leave just yet though.

We need to collect this, since it IS the entire reason we’re here at all right now.

I’m not at all sure why Elizabeth cares about whether or not we collect these. They serve as sort of markers for our progress through the tower, sure, but…

The Poem For Everyone’s Soul

We are one step closer to the truth.
You know, it seems like people write about both good and bad experiences in their diaries, doesn’t it?
Have you ever thought about that?
Please accept your reward.

The rewards for these sure don’t seem to match just how much of a time consuming ordeal they can be, huh. It’s just, like, spend ~3 hours running through Tartarus for 3 full revivals is nice and all but it’s not at all proportionate.

An artificial creature created by man…
It lives only to die, unaware of its sad plight…
Thank you for showing me such a rare thing.
Please accept your reward.

This is technically the same amount of effort, sure, but it’s a better reward. And also it was part of a chain so we got a bunch of stuff, really, there. I dunno, it seems weird that the game always gives you a Soma but expects you to do it in a time limit for something worse.

Anyway, we’ll give up Mithra and Lamia to make Orthrus now. We don’t really need Lamia any more (we have Hermit at Rank 9 after all) and Mithra’s kinda super outdated so…

Yeah, it’s not a good Orthrus but I so don’t intend on ever using him anyway so I don’t really care.

You have fulfilled my request.
For your reward, I have selected a special piece of armor.
I think it will suit you well.
Please accept your reward.

Oh, Elizabeth, you shouldn’t have.

No, really, you shouldn’t have. It’s not like this is ever gonna get used. We already have one, even.

The Homunculus request was the last one in that chain, but there’s more fusions to be had. Like Oberon before him, Oumitsunu’s request will just sort of solve itself once we hit level 30.

There’s only one more request we can do right now, so we might as well since we’re already here.

Just gotta grab one of these from Yabbashah first. It’s easy to get despite being a “rare” treasure; it spawns on the 74th floor (and a couple others) which means we just use the Terminal to go to the 72nd, run up two floors and search there. Didn’t find it? Use an Access point or Traesto and try again.

I heard that this katana, moving independently of its owner, lopped off a gangrenous limb in one swipe…
What a boisterous katana this is! I’d like to see that someday.
Please accept your reward.

+4 Strength and +2 Luck sure isn’t bad at all. Could always just trade gems for it though.

But, hey, with that we’re back to having every quest done that we realistically could right now. There’s only 3 still open and they require grinding to level 30 (nah) or being at a later date than we are now.

Oh and huh the Kunitsuna is better than the generic Two-hander so I guess Junpei gets a bit of a HP buff again for a little while.

And we’re done with Tartarus for now! Hurray!

…Sadly, we’ve still got this for the next few days so we’ll just have to deal with that I guess.

Iwatodai Dorm

People seem to have calmed down a bit, despite the media… But, there will be serious problems if we don’t end this.
We must defeat the last six Shadows, beginning with the one we anticipate on the next full moon.
If the number of The Lost continues to increase, this city will fall into chaos.
I don’t even want to imagine what that might be like…
Y-You’re just exaggerating, right?
…Then again, maybe not.

It… sure seems like an exaggeration, but it’s really kinda hard to tell for sure to be honest. Could sorta go either way.

Then that means…
Shadows existed before Tartarus and the Dark Hour ever appeared.
So then, how long have Shadows been around…?

That’s actually a really good point. The Dark Hour and Tartarus came into being because Mitsuru’s grandpa decided to try and control Time and messed up. But where did Shadows come from…?

And we haven’t been to Tartarus very often.
So please prepare yourself for the next full moon.

Have you noticed?
Yeah.

Kinda hard not to, really.

I wonder why… Maybe he just doesn’t get along with kids.
I mean, Senpai IS kinda awkward in social situations.

And there’s nothing on TV, so we’re done here for tonight. But what to do, what to do… it’s a Tuesday and we have options…

So for the first time in like a month or so we can spend time with Tanaka again!

This Mysterious Feeling

Sounds fun.
I had a splendid time! I still laugh thinking about it.

I doubt you’d understand how I feel, since you’re still young, but…
A high school reunion is a very important event…

I, uh, I though for a moment there Tanaka was going to NOT be a dickhead and I got kinda worried. Fortunately(?), he managed to return to normal.

For example, I ran into a classmate who used to make fun of me for only having rice in my bento…
…and another fellow who once strung up my holey socks on the flagpole.
Now, they both look at me with envy. Their annual salary doesn’t even compare to my monthly income!
My business is on a roll, and my private life is also very satisfying.

Don’t think I would extend this offer to just anyone.

You sense that President Tanaka has strong feelings for you.

You feel like you understand him a little better now.

I actually had kinda forgotten. I guess when you have half a million in your wallet that tiny amount stops mattering.

…But half a million is also a paltry sum that I don’t expect to last very long so…

My time is worth at least a hundred thousand yen per hour!
Think of all the free advice I’ve given you!

President Tanaka left with a grin on his face.

Tanaka’s definitely in a good mood, since he didn’t even make a silly joke revenge threat this time. Weird.

And we just have to hit the books a little tonight before we go to bed. Can’t stay up too late since we do have sports training to do for the next few days still. Yay…

Orgia Mode never really felt worth it to me. It might be useful in moderate random fights that will end before overheating, but it’s useless in long battles like bosses unless you are able to use a support character to draw attention away from Aigis when she’s overheated to compensate for the major defense debuff. The loss of being able to do anything else after activating Orgia Mode means you have one fewer option to throw out an emergency heal or something.

Even if you are willing to do that, it doesn’t feel like the average damage output would greatly exceed just continuously making normal attacks. HP physical attacks would probably also be better just for the flexibility.

I definitely end up forgetting about that mode for those reasons. Maybe there’s a tactic that can make use of Orgia Mode effectively in certain situations, but I don’t see it.