Persona 3 FES: An Asocial Experiment

Two more days to get through before we hit the full moon.

An Unpleasant Premonition

The number of incidents have increased compared to those during the last full moon…
Really…?
Something must be done…
I don’t know the reason for the increase. We’ll just have to remain alert at all times…

Changing Seasons

Since Aigis is at school now, we can talk to her but…

Should I conclude that they are absent?

She is still far from passing as human…

It seems she is unable to understand ordinary feelings and conversation at the moment…

She’s still Aigis. Sounds about right.

We don’t normally talk to folks around school, sure, but Junpei has something important to mention.

Nope.
We’re running a cafe. A CAFE, for heaven’s sake!
It’s so typical. Why don’t we do something fun?
Like a heavy metal cafe!

Namely a very strong, competent and powerful reminder that this IS anime. We need to get more anime before we finish, and this is a good way to do that.

So, uh, let’s go back to the nurse’s office and see what Edogawa has for the next lesson.

This Mysterious Feeling

I have a lot to cover, so I hope you’re prepared.
I’d like to hear it.
I like your spirit!
We’ve covered the basics, so now I’ll teach you how to use all 78 Major and Minor Arcana…
As well as the basic spread.
To review, the tarot is made of 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana…
For a total of 78 cards. Is that clear?
All of these cards have their own meanings.
Many are daunted by the full deck, because there are so many cards… But take heart!
It is difficult to learn all the meanings, but having them all actually makes your reading easier.
The more fine detail one has, the easier it is to create a story…
I already explained about the Major Arcana, so let me give you an outline of the Minor Arcana.

Do you recall when I told you that this is what common playing cards were modelled after?
Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins correspond to Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds.
Each suit has 10 numbered cards, ranging from Ace to 10…

The Page is sometimes called Prince, though he’s essentially a knight in training.
The four face cards are called court cards. That term will come up again, so remember it well.
There are 14 types in total, between the pip cards or number cards, and the face or court cards.
These 14 types have four cards each, for a total of 56 cards in the Minor Arcana.
And now you know the makeup of the Minor Arcana. Now, as to how to use them in a reading…
It’s actually the same way as the Major Arcana.
Keep in mind the meaning of each card and the direction it faces, and use your inspiration to create a story.

The best way to memorize these may be to imagine them in a 4 by 14 grid.
Each of the four suits’ meaning, in brief…

As for the basic meaning of each of the number cards…

Court cards represent people and their strengths. It could be the client, or other people involved.
The Page represents children, and the offering of information. The Knight is youth, and overflowing energy.
The Queen represents adult females, while the King represents mature males.
It’s said that to grasp the meaning of the cards, it’s important to communicate with them…
Now then, let’s move on to the method of using all the Arcana to tell fortunes.
The basic procedure is the same… You’ll just be usmg more cards.
Even for the full deck of 78, you must first shuffle, then cut, spread, and read.
The type of spread you use affects the procedure more than the number of cards in use.
But don’t get me wrong… The spread I’ll be covering is done with this procedure, too.
Now for a change in subject… I’ll explain the types of spreads.
Last time we used the one-card spread, so today we’ll examine the other typical spreads.
First, remember that the spread is chosen according to the nature of the question.

Use the spread that best fits the request you have in mind.
For example… If you want to tell the client’s past, present, and future…
Why not use a three-card spread, where you simply lay out three cards?
Adding a card produces the four-card spread, identifying the past, present, nature of the problem, and future.

You can read both the nature of the problem and a countermeasure against it.
There is also a spread called Question-And-Answer, involving two choices.
This reading is done by setting two countermeasures against the question.

It’s suited to telling fortunes with only the Major Arcana, and used often by both beginners and experts.
Arrange two cards crossing each other in the center, then one more on all four sides of the cross…
Then, place a pillar of four cards, known as the “Spear of Destiny,” next to it to the right.
The cross of six cards represents the overall situation, with the four to the right making it concrete.
Again, this forms the 10-card spread known as the Celtic Cross.

Edogawa is referring to a very specific thing here, but I just so love the “so-called normal spread.”

I’ve heard rumors of so-called vanilla flavoured ice-cream.

There are far too many for me to teach you, so look into it yourself if you’re interested.
Whew… I believe it’s time for my afternoon tea.
We’ll end here for today, and we’ll continue… whenever I feel like it. Eeeheehee…

So, yeah, Edogawa ia a very wordy man. A very wordy man. I think that was even longer than last time, even. Still didn’t get anything out of it, but it still didn’t eat any real time so whatever.

There’s a lot of options for who to hang out with today, but I think Yukari’s a good choice since we’d only just started it before summer happened.

Joy

Maybe gerberas…?

Yukari is trying to decide which flowers to buy.

Oh, sorry.
I’m looking at flowers for my room.

Pink’s cute.
You think so too? I love pink.
I guess we have the same taste, huh…

Then, it’s decided: I’ll get 'em.
Hmm… But, just gerberas might be a little plain…
What other flowers do you think would look nice?
…Oh, you’ve never seen my room, have you? Well, what good are you?
That’s messed up.
giggle But it’s the truth.

Actually, any flowers would be fine if they were from you, Makoto-kun.
…Psych! giggle

Yukari seems to be full of laughter today.

The bond between you is growing…

I’m gonna check out a few more flowers before I go, but you don’t have to wait.

You decide to go back to the dorm…

This is virtually identical in Portable, just without the weird flirting. Well, y’know, aside from being available much, much earlier.

Iwatodai Dorm

…I haven’t introduced myself, have I?
I’m Shinjiro Aragaki.
Don’t worry… I got your back.
Um… There will be a full moon the day after tomorrow.
I’m sure another Shadow will appear, so…
please be ready.

Shinji’s formally joined for real now, it seems. Matches with what he said yesterday at least.

A lot of things have happened since then, but…
…there’s no need to doubt Shinjiro. I assure you that he’s reliable.

If you’re looking for a change, you should add Shinji to the lineup.
You’ll be surprised by his strength.
Tch, it’s no big deal.

…so you can count on me.

Hama can take down any opponent in a second!
W-Well… maybe not ANY Opponent, but…
…Oh, and it’s also pretty good with electricity skills…
…but not as good as Sanada-senpai’s Persona.

See, Ken says that but he has Zionga and Akihiko doesn’t. On the other hand, Akihiko has Mazio and Ken doesn’t.

And Lisa’s on TV again today! That’s gotten somewhat more common lately, it seems like.

“Houshonah” means “tough”! It’s tough when someone you like tells you, “Houshonah!”
That’s all for this week! Back to the news!
Don’t let Apathy Syndrome or the hot weather get you down! See you next time!

Well, so, uh, today we have a clear thing to do this evening:

The Voice Someone Calls

So, Shinji’s barely the highest leveled person we have right now. He uses Axes, of course, and he starts with a Heavy Axe but the one we have is better than his default since it has an extra +2 Strength.

His Persona plays into his Strength a bit, but it’s also really boring about it. That he has Regenerate 1 and Counter means the two accessories we’d consider giving Shinji aren’t usable since they do nothing (thanks, Shinji). That aside, Castor is pretty interesting and simple because it has no weakness… or resistances.

So, we’re gonna be using Shinji because DM Fiat I’m deciding that one. :colbert:

The other two make things a mite awkward but we can deal with it.

The Snow Queen

So, real quick: Fuuka’s outright actively wrong here. On Floor 99, nothing has changed from before. Thanks, Fuuka.

But that does mean we can see this team’s Very Large damage potential in action immediately. This is probably the most Feast-Or-Famine style team composition possible, which is a mite inconvenient but it’s very managable at least.

Oh and naturally there’s nothing special or fancy about floor 100. The previous boss fight being on the 98th might have been a bit of a clue really.

On Floor 102, Fuuka finally realises that there’s another boss fight sometime ahead. Thanks Fuuka, helpful that.

Anyway, Floor 102 is also when the Shadows DO actually change!

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out

Almighty Hands sure are Hands, I guess? They’re more Icey than Almighty, and even more Icey than the fucking Ice Ravens. They’re weak to instant death though so whoops.

Shouting Tiaras are… VERY Fire heavy. Very Fire heavy. They also like multi-target skills apparently. Naturally, they’re weak to Ice but they’re also weak to Darkness so they die pretty easily no matter what.

They also drop a thing for Elizabeth. We want 5 of their Hairs which takes a bit longer than it seems like it should.

Furious Gigas is weaker than his previous incarnation, but has slightly higher Endurance and has a massively reduced move pool. He’s still weak to Wind but also now weak to Expel, so…

Phantom Lords are a bit more difficult on paper than older Lords have been. Only Agilao for direct damage, but he reflects Dark which is a clever mean trick especially since they often come with Almighty Hands.

Minotaur IV is the first Hanged Man shadow we’ve encountered and its… really annoying but not difficult. He has a bunch of HP but with a Fire weakness he shouldn’t get turns really. His resistances are boring and his skills are more designed to be tedious and get in the way. Weird.

And we have another, different Hanged Man shadow now as well. Jotuns are hyper tedious to fight and it being a six-armed fat boy on a rocking horse is weird but not good enough to salvage it. Sure he has Bufudyne and the lack of weakness means its likely to get turns, Last Resort is probably the most dangerous thing it actually has because explosions are powerful.

The Snow Queen

Not much left, but we find some new armor on floor 105. It’s better than the Poncho that Makoto has, so we’ll give it some use.

For Shinji, I mean. He needs real armour after all.

Then on 106F, Fuuka finally finds the boss. Thanks Fuuka, you’re helping out so much.

And, uh, that’s it until we hit 110F so we’ll turn on the Terminal and take a quick jaunt downstairs for the full heal (mainly for the SP as per usual though).

The Poem For Everyone’s Soul

You have claimed part of your enemy’s head, just as the samurai did long ago.
Consider it a sign of your victory.
Please accept your reward.

…Just the one? Really? If I wanted that, I could take a quick trip through almost any block and grab one. Or trade some gems for one.

I don’t have an easy (read: cheap) enough way to make the thing I would rather have right now. Mothman’s more than sufficient for our purposes, though. Having Hermit maxed really doesn’t help much here, but it sure doesn’t hurt either.

Anyway, uh, let’s head on back to the 110th floor to deal with a boss.

Lovers Natural Dancer (Portable)
for the first time in a while, these are very different ways of handling this fight. the fes one can be done in either, but the portable one is an example of why they really should’ve rebalanced for manual control

Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone

I know a girl who’s a natural dancer, with a cape and a hat she’s a natural dancer…

So, Natural Dancer CAN be a bit of a tricky fight. It’s not the hardest Tartarus boss we’ve dealt with, mind.

They ARE the most obnoxious though, since they really like casting Sexy Dance at every opportunity.

And they have 30 Luck which is kinda a lot, so this is pretty common. Annoyingly.

The Dancer doesn’t have Mind Charge, since they don’t really need it. Doesn’t help with Sexy Dance after all. Instead, they Tetrakarn to get around how they’re only really hurt by Slash, Strike, Pierce and, uh, Ice.

The Dancer very heavily resists Fire and Elec, and is immune to Wind, Expel and Dark.

So, uh, let’s get rid of that Wind resistance. It’s kind of in our way.

Presuming Makoto DOESN’T get Charmed, we can follow up with a Magic Mirror.

This is a useful idea in general, since it does repel Sexy Dances. That’s some good life advice in general there.

It also means that Natural Dancer can pelt itself with its own Garudynes for about 200 damage. That’s not too bad, but…

Their multi-attack skill is Magarudyne instead of Magarula. A very important distinction indeed:

Because it means that this happens. Natural Dancer’s repelled Magarudynes do ~850-900 damage. Since they have 1700HP, they’re kind enough to halve their own HP in one fell swoop. Now, Magarudyne isn’t used all that often but it’s an option so it’ll happen eventually. Still gotta do about half the work yourself, really, though.

So, uh, the alternative is to just have Wind immunity and go to town because hey the Natural Dancer can’t cast Wind Break. Not even as a “it technically has it but never uses it” sense; it doesn’t have anything that’s utility other than Sexy Dance.

The Snow Queen

Pretty simple item rewards here, all things considered. It’s fine though; don’t need anything super fancy after all.

Fuuka is still confused by their being less Shadows as we approach the barrier. You’d think it’d be more obvious by now…

Floor 114 brings us to the barrier, and of course…

The next Old Document. Might as well give it a quick read.

And then take it back to Elizabeth, since she wanted it and all.

The Poem For Everyone’s Soul

Well done. You fulfilled my request before the deadline.
However, we still do not know how high up the tower extends…
How many floors could it possibly have…?
Please accept your reward.

More money is never a bad thing, and it helps more than some of the random crap Liz thinks we could use.

Now if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I need to spend a bit more time in Yabbashah before leaving…

But that’s my problem, not yours. It’s a good time to get it outta the way at least.

An Unpleasant Premonition

…You remember?
But, this time will be tougher than the last…
I heard.
There’s only 4 Shadows left… Maybe they’re gettin’ nervous.
…Or, maybe the next one is just insanely strong!
Oops. Haha, I shouldn’t jinx it.
Well, we can handle it!

Troubled

How’s your hand?

Did it heal that quickly?
Hey, Junpei… What do you do to make yourself feel alive?
Uh, I dunno… Breathing, I guess? chuckle
Y’know, I never really thought about it before.
How 'bout you, Chidori? Is that why you draw?
Maybe… But, most of these are just scribbles…

I see.
Mind if I sit here?

When I get to play hero.

Our hero, Junpei, fights to protect the world from these terrifying monsters!

That she doesn’t IMMEDIATELY think something is silly about this should be a bit of a clue to Junpei.

Heheh… Well, you get the idea. That’s when I feel most alive!

Umm… You’re s’posed to laugh.
So… Do you fight all alone…?
H-Hey, I was just kiddin’ around…

So then, no one knows what you’ve been doing, either.
That means you’ll never receive any recognition…
…I’m impressed. I didn’t know you’re that kind of guy.
…For real?
You actually believe me?
Tell me more…
You really wanna know?
Okay, but don’t tell anyone, alright?

This is clearly meant to be a dramatic irony thing, since we know that Chidori is in Strega and all. It just makes Junpei seem like a complete dumbass though; spilling all of this stuff to the first person who shows even a modicum of interest in him as a person is a ridiculously terrible sign.

That’s what I meant by “the chosen ones.”
My friends are fighting too… And ever since I joined 'em, we’ve been kicking some serious ass!
Sounds like fun.

Y-Yeah…
I-I guess you could say that.
I mean, without me, things would just fall apart.
Someone’s gotta be in charge, after all. It’s pretty tough being a leader.

Chidori so cannot believe just how dumb Junpei is. When she called him “pretty strong” she couldn’t have been more sarcastic. It is actively impossible.

Thank you, Junpei… I had fun today.
Y-You did?

Heheh… Tomorrow, huh?
…All right!!

So, while Junpei is off being a gigantic idiot…

We’re a little preoccupied going to see Edogawa again.

This Mysterious Feeling

This has to payoff with something at some point. Why else would it be here?

How about it? Up for another mammoth lecture? Eeeheehee…
I’d like to hear it.
Then you’re an uncommonly bored schoolboy! It’s a wise use of your time, though… Eeeheehee.

If this was actually a use of my time I almost certainly wouldn’t be here. At least canonically.

Today, we’ll talk about a slightly advanced way of reading the tarot.
I want to explain how to lower many factors’ probability, while being able to foresee a more solid future.

The result is kind of a compound method of telling fortunes.
The most well-known fusion with tarot is astrology.
For example, there’s the almost self-explanatory Horoscope Spread.
After shuffling and cutting the full deck of 78…
Spread them in a circle consisting of 12 cards, then place one more in the center.

Each House shows an answer to a different problem, such as family and work, marriage, friendship, and money.
The card in the center represents your overall fortune.
This spread has a variety of uses, since you can gain an overall understanding of life.
Ah, yes… I forgot to mention the “significator.”
It’s used by those more accustomed to reading the tarot, but…

This is the significator.
It’s very effective in heightening the client’s inspiration.
Do you remember the court, or face cards? The significator is selected from the Minor Arcana face cards.
For a high schooler, the Page card would be best. An adult would select Knight or King, or Queen for a woman.

Now, back to ways of fusing the tarot with other fortune-telling methods…
An even more advanced application would be to use it in conjunction with dowsing.
That means to use a pendulum to find what you’re looking for.
Make a number of piles, with the cards face-down of course, and perform the dowsing ritual on them.

The chance of success at this step goes way up if you remember to use Morphine.

If not, try again until you do. This is to confirm that your inspiration has been heightened.

Now see I don’t understand Qabbalah stuff super-well. I know, it’s surprising that I’m secretly an idiot. Fortunately for me, neither does Edogawa. As was helpfully pointed out last time this came up, Edogawa really doesn’t know what he’s talking about here. I wonder if this is gonna be a consistent trend!

The spread based on the shape of the Qabbalistic tree of life is another well-known method.
It’s a spread where you distribute the cards according to the 10 trees of life, or the Sephirot.
However, to actually put this method into practice, one needs a deep understanding of the Qabbalah.
Not only do the positions of the cards have meaning, but the lines or paths connecting them as well.

Proximity to Keter at the top reveals the spiritual side, with Malkuth on the bottom showing the bodily side.
Hmm… yes, I’m afraid it’s much too esoteric to fully explain. It has depths you cannot guess at.
I, too, have learned something by telling you all this… Bringing out hidden knowledge is not easy.
Thus, that concludes the lecture. Thanks for paying attention.

Well, this implies that this “lesson” is the last one available and future trips will just repeat it. We’ll see if that’s true or not in a few days.

Now that we’re done with Edogawa for the day, we’ll hang out with uh… Fuuka. If only to see if this will finally go somewhere.

Joy

I don’t mean to bother you, but…
Would you mind helping me for just a little while longer, Makoto-kun?
I started cooking because I wanted to thank everyone for what they’ve done for me…
But, I need to know how to make more than just rice balls…
I need to learn new recipes…
I know it’s a lot to ask…

So…

Fuuka appears to be pondering what she just said…

So, will you continue helping me…?
Just for a little while…?
Okay.
…Really?
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you!

I just want to thank everyone for helping me find my place in the world.
I just want to be as helpful outside of battle as I am during it.
If I can do that, then maybe I can help you too, Makoto-kun.
That’s all I’m trying to do.

Fuuka isn’t fully expressing how she feels to you…

However, her feelings toward you do seem genuine.

Your relationship with her has grown…

…Sorry, I guess I’m the only one who can answer that.

…I-I’ll see you later.

Fuuka left.

You have decided to go back to the dorm…

Well, that’s still just “Fuuka is bad at cooking.” Figures, really. There was one scene that didn’t really come down to that but that sure is an exception right now…

Iwatodai Dorm

Well, we’ll see about that…

What, with Shinjiro-kun rejoining us…
I have no doubt we will be victorious.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, but such confidence can only lead to certain failure.
While it’s true that Shinjiro is quite powerful, he hasn’t fought in a very long time.

Oh yeah, it’s terrible. He hasn’t fought since yesterday. He’s super rusty.

We must all concentrate on the task at hand and perform with flawless execution to win.
sigh Must you always be such a killjoy?

There’s going to be a full moon tomorrow…
I don’t think that’s anything to look forward to.

Junpei’s not thinking straight? I couldn’t begin to guess why.

My aim’s not that great, but if I hit an enemy, it’s history.
I don’t play around…
I destroy whatever’s in my way.
I’m here if you need me.

Hey, do you think we could just replace him…?
I mean, Shinjiro-senpai just joined us, so…
That’s a great idea!
Uh… I was just kidding. I don’t really want to replace him.
I just wish he wasn’t so annoying.

I can’t wait until tomorrow, dude!

I have learned how people describe that state in modern language…
“He has gone to La La Land.”

Which is good…
…because that covers for my lack of power.

It… really doesn’t, though? Agility is the least useful stat and you don’t even main it properly anyway. Koromaru does and he combines it with absurd Evasion boosts to be able to attempt to dodgetank properly.

The process is so amazing that people have started to call it “Nuclear.” In today’s special report, we’ll investigate: what is this “NewClear”?

Lessee, Friday huh? Last night before the full moon…

It’s definitely gotta be Mutatsu. Not like we have much in the way of options any more, but still.

This Mysterious Feeling

Mutatsu’s breath smells of alcohol…

He must have been drinking a lot.

Don’t you think ish… hic rude to maaake shum’one wait?
Didn’t Dad tell you not to do that, ehhh?
“Dad?”
Eh…? Dad? hic Did you jush call me Dad?

You alwaysh call me an ol’ bashtard… But, hic you’re all nishe whenever ya need shum money…
I thoguht you go in an acshident or shumthin’…
hic Don’t make me worry like that.
What the hell were ya doin’ thish late!?
None of your business.
W-Well, thash true… hic It’s none of my businessh…

hic But, watch your mouth! hic Who the hell do you think raished you!?

It seems Mutatsu is sobering up.

Damn… All this time, I thought you were… I guess my eyesight is getting bad, after all…

Mutatsu seems worried about you.

You understand Mutatsu better now.

I wonder if they felt the same way I did, as I waited for you earlier…
What’re you talking about?

But, they both left me… four years ago…
I used to stay out past midnight: and when I got home, my wife and I would get into a big argument…
…Now when I go home, I don’t know what to do with myself, so I just come here and drink every night.
Are you running away?
…Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I shaved my head, but it’s only for show…

I get drunk to avoid facing my problems… So, yeah, I guess you could say I’m runnin’ away.
…She hasn’t called me or sent me a letter since then. She must’ve gotten over me.
Who knows where they are… or if they even wanna see me…
…Aw, forget it. It’s too much of a hassle, anyway.
Alright, kid, let’s get outta here.

You left the club with Mutatsu.

Well, shit, with max Academics we don’t get to close out with working hard in our room any more. That feels… weird to me, I dunno.

But tomorrow IS a full moon and all, so let’s think for a minute.

Yukari currently does not have the Pleiades equipped. If she did, that’d push her Magic up to 35, which combined with her newly obtained Garula would make her actually competent and dangerous if she ever got to attack. Her healing utility is her best feature still, though. Except Recarm. That’s pretty much just for show barring weird niche situations, really.

Akihiko’s, well, Akihiko. He’s close to having all 3 debuffs but he’s only missing Sukunda and that’s the least useful one in general because it just has less of a tangible effect. His utility is entirely in debuffing but that’s always nice to have so it’s not a big deal.

Now that Yukari finally got Garula, Mitsuru’s slipped down in usefulness a bit in theory. She makes up for it thanks to those snazzy Varuna Bracers we have though. I haven’t bought the rest of the set because it requires going to Be Blue V during the day and that’s something I consistently forget to be bothered to do.

Oh yeah, and Spirit Drain helps her be able to consistently do things as well.

Aigis is the same as she has been for a while. She can do underwhelming Phys damage and buff. Nothing too fancy or antyhing here.

Still more than can be said about Koromaru, mind. He’s really lacking in options, since chances are Mudo isn’t going to be useful against a boss, Sukukaja is his only utility and his magic doesn’t lead to good Agilaos. Still better at that than Junpei could be, but that’s damning with faint praise.

On the other hand, he’s Koromaru so

Ken’s not faring much better, either, really. He can at least heal if necessary (and in Portable he has Mediarama at this level!), is also better at using that Zionga than Akihiko and Cruel Attack does outdamage Akihiko’s phys stuff but that’s not because Ken’s strong or anything.

And, well, Shinji is the same as he was before. Closer to Evil Smile for whatever that helps with, has 1 less Strength than Yukari has potential Magic but Fatal End is straight up more powerful than Garula so he should be outdamaging her.

But that doesn’t change that overall Yukari has the highest stat (but only thanks to her disgustingly good +4 Magic bow).

You know the deal by now, but just to clarify:

:siren: 3 slots to fill as usual, but Junpei isn’t available. Tragedy, ain’t it? :siren:

Okay, Natural Dancer destroying itself with wind is pretty fantastic.

Oh wow, Ken not having Mediarama yet changes things. I found him to be a better healer than Yukari until the next Tartarus visit. So I guess I’ll go with Mitsuru, Shinjiro and Akihiko.

Today’s a full moon, so it should be a pretty long one.

An Unpleasant Premonition

…There’s a full moon tonight.
We’ll be fine.
That’s nice to hear…
I was getting worried because it’s so soon after summer vacation.

Searching for Results

This Mysterious Feeling

Maybe I should check again…
Nah, on second thought, I better stay put… The operation’s tonight.
Now that I think about it…

Dude, that so rocks…
Maybe we really are, like, heroes…
Yeeaahh!!

Oh, that’s… uh…

Huh?

A nonspecific amount of time later, unfortunately for whatever Junpei’s gotten himself into…

The Voice Someone Calls

Yes…
It’s near Paulownia Mall… I think.
You think…?

Perhaps the reason is, and this is a bit crazy here, you’re not a very good navigator. For evidence, I wish to present: the entirety of Tartarus.

But, I’m trying to narrow it down…
Is that its power?
I don’t know.
We have enough to go on…

Ken runs in, at last. He was not in this scene until just now. Koromaru’s been here the whole time, but hidden by people’s portraits.

Did you find Iori?

His backpack isn’t here, so I don’t think he’s been home yet.
That idiot… He knows tonight’s the night!
I don’t sense him anywhere nearby…
Should I take more time to look for him, just in case?

You’re all young; sometimes you just get in one of those moods.
Anyway, we should focus on the task at hand.

We can’t afford to waste any more time. Let’s go.

Not that I remember.
Alright.
Why, are you worried?
Whatever…

Mercifully, we just jump right to our destination as per usual.

It came up like once before, but I don’t blame you for forgetting that water becoming blood during the Dark Hour is a thing.

Only a faint presence. It seems so close, but… why…!?
Alright, let’s split up and search for it. There’s no time to lose; hurry!
Wait!

Fuuka seems to be concentrating intently…

Hear the wind’s answer in your ear…
Touch the earth’s answer with your fingertips…
Taste the water’s answer on your lips…

I wonder if Fuuka even thinks this sounds cool, because it really doesn’t.

Hey, is she okay…?
Don’t break her concentration.

Some kind of… webbing…?

They were just left there when the island’s construction was completed.
Power cables…?
Yes, they run underground in many directions, like a web.
And they’re interfering with her ability?
…Thank you, Aigis. I understand now.
Intereference isn’t the problem…

They what…!?

…Now it all makes sense.
H-How are we supposed to beat something like that!?
Tch…

Eh, it’s fine we can deal with that pretty easily I would think. First we cut the powe… wait it’s the Dark Hour. Right, um…

MEANWHILE!

Silence

Familiar Voice: I can’t believe how easy it was to sneak up on you. Are the others here just as oblivious?

Dammit… I can’t use my power…

Junpei does at least manage to get to his knees and face the door. It’s something, I guess!

This isn’t funny…
…Chidori.

The pacing of the line here implies this is meant to be a surprise or something, but the past few scenes with Junpei have been pushing the dramatic irony thing really hard so… I really don’t get it.

Surely you have the capacity to communicate with them.
Me? Give orders?
If you do as I say… you won’t be harmed.
…All you have to do is call off the mission. Easy, right?

You want me to cancel the mission?
You’re not one of “them,” are you?
Quit wasting time.

This seems like less of a problem than it probably should, honestly. Although this entire plan makes it seem like Chidori was being sincere before, even though absolutely everything implied otherwise. Did she… really believe the most blatant lie Junpei has said…?

The Voice Someone Calls

In your notes from previous battles, it said there was a Shadow that took control of the monorail.
Just like that one, this Shadow must have its own body.
Let me see if I can find it…
Even if we know where it is, we might not be able to get to it…

We’ll see…
Fuuka…

Crisis

It’s close by… in this mall!
In here!?

…It’s rectangular, so I assume it’s man-made.
Is it some sort of room…?
Wait a minute…
I overheard the manager of Escapade…

That’s no surprise…
He said the control panel is located beneath the club.
Maybe we should take a look…

Good job, Yamagishi.

It was more Shinji’s deduction that figured out where it is, but whatever.

Alright. Once we’re ready, we’ll make our move!

End

The Voice Someone Calls

So, uh, there’s really not much for us to do right now. We’re in Paulownia Mall but we can’t leave or shop, obviously, but we can’t even go to the back alley to enter the Velvet Room either. All we can do now is pick our party, so we’ll do just that. We’ll be going with the original team for this one.

And then its into Club Escapade we go! I wonder how this gets turned into a short dungeon for the sake of the Dark Hou–

In the Shadow of a Shocking Moon

That Which Comes From The Darkness

Inevitably, the Fool begins to ask “why.” He searches for answers, not out of curiosity, but out of a desire to know why people live. He looks inward and reflects on his actions to understand his own feelings and motivations. During this time, he finds himself in a position of solitude…

It’s connected to all those cables…
…so be careful you don’t get shocked!

IX. Arcana Hermit (Portable)

Master of Shadow

As the physical embodiment of the Reversed Hermit, the Arcana Hermit shadow is not super interesting. The Reversed Hermit is an inability to keep to ones self and respect other people’s boundaries. It’s a reckelss disregard and disrespect towards society in general for that matter, which has only really come up with the Hermit here sorta absorbing the electricity from Club Escapade. Really didn’t put much effort into this one, I guess.

The sum total Akihiko’s contributions are fairly limited, all told, but he can debuff and that’s helpful enough on its own. He can’t do much else though. :v:

Mainly because the Hermit drains Electricity. That’s, in my eyes, a step back from previous Shadows repelling their own element but it is technically more rude.

So, Chariot had Power Charge last time and Hermit has Mind Charge now. They’ve finally caught up to the baseline of most Tartarus bosses!

Especially since the Hermit has Ziodyne for their single-target focused attack. Their multi-target one is Mazionga though, so he’s not quite on Natural Dancer’s level.

…Also it’s REALLY easy to have something that nullifies Electricity which sorta makes the Hermit a bit of a jobber, even by Full Moon fight standards.

Along with Mind Charge, the Hermit has a regular Charge as well. This doesn’t increase the damage of their next attack…

Instead, it’s used to store power for, uh, something.

The next TWO turns, the Hermit just does nothing. They’re just building up electricity, during which time you can just wail on 'em without repercussion.

On the third turn after using Charge, Hermit finally gets this attack off.

It DOES do a decent chunk of damage, alright, but mercifully its Shock proc is actively meaningless. At least here; it matters more in Portable if Aigis and/or Yukari are around, of course.

Just in case you somehow missed the very long wind-up time on Giga Spark, Fuuka ever-so-helpfully chimes in to let you know that’s going to be a consistent thing.

You might consider repelling the Giga Spark if its a pain, with a Magic Mirror or something, but Hermit drains it so that’d give back upto a realistic max of just over ~1300 of their 3500 HP so I don’t recommend it. At least Take-Mikazuchi gives Elec Break when he reaches level 29 if you really want to go that route…

Silence

Oh, and also…
I think I’ve found Junpei.

The Chairman’s there too, so he should be okay. But, let’s hurry back just in case.

The Voice Someone Calls

What!? …You can tell!?

Medea?
…My friend.
Chidori…
That’s not important… Why didn’t you call off the mission?

Dying is what people fear most…
…isn’t it?
Well… I’ve never actually given anyone orders before…
They wouldn’t listen to me anyway…

She… She actually genuinely believed Junpei before… oh wow.

Why…?
…I don’t understand.
Hey… Answer me this: was it all just an act?

Now that I think about it, that cut healed pretty quickly…
Haha… I see how it is…
That was…

Crisis

Tch. They’re back already!?

Chidori rather notably has an Evoker herself, or is “borrowing” Junpei’s. That’s… odd, either way.

gasp She’s a Persona-user!?

Chidori, stop!
No! Give it back!!

The Voice Someone Calls

This is very not new. If anything, it’d be weirder if you COULD find anything before being that close.

The most devious and useful power of all: being more than the equivalent of 4 floors of Tartarus away. Fuuka is objectively bad at finding things. You cannot pretend like she is good and have her be conflicted over not being able to find Strega members, when she can’t find a thing that fits a basic, constantly reinforced pattern!

I didn’t have the slightest clue she was here…

Aigis walks over to Chidori; Junpei lets go of her and Aigis keeps her held in place instead.

…I’m not… afraid… of dying…
Ch-Chidori…!?
…M-Medea… I’m…

We’ll let her rest, and save our questions for later.
Chidori…

Silence

“Dangerous,” huh…?

It seems like the trust between you all has grown…

You learned a new tactic!

This is sorta useful for, uh, Ken and I guess that’s it. Since he has Cruel Attack and all. Still more useful than a lot of the others.

You succeeded in defeating the Shadow this month, too.

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

…I… really don’t know what this is referring to. It cannot be Strega, because we formally met them last full moon. Maybe just Chidori herself, but even that feels like a stretch.

You wonder what will happen…

You are exhausted, so you decide to rest.

End

Oddly brisk and short for a full moon, huh? They’ve been getting overall shorter and shorter with each one, so I guess it makes sense. It’s not really possible for it to get any shorter than this, though.

1 Like

Next full moon:
Fuuka: I found it! It’s the Wheel of Fortune!
Wheel of Fortune: self-destructs
Everyone goes back to the dorm

It’s pretty nice that we get a Sunday immediately after the Full Moon for once. I’unno, it doesn’t really make a mechanical difference but as a means of a natural respite it fits best.

Troubled

…Although first we have a scene with Chidori. More of a continuation of last night’s, though.

Is Chidori your real name?
What kind of organization is Strega? Are there others besides you three?

Chidori’s actively ignoring her. I wonder why…

sigh

You’re not supposed to be here, remember!?

Uh… Sorry. He wouldn’t stop bugging me about this place…
How are you feeling? …Seems like you’ve calmed down.
She certainly has. In fact, she won’t say a word.
…Maybe we should confiscate her sketchbook, too.

That won’t make her talk!
I’m not so sure about that.

Oh, so it WAS her Evoker in the first place. So, where’d she ge–

…carry on

Medea…

Hey, I told you not to bring that up, didn’t I!?
Then, what am I supposed to do!?
sigh I’ll have someone else try next time.
…Yukari, call a nurse. We’re done for today.
I’ll inform Ikutsuki-san of the difficulties we’re having.
Why…? Why did you take it from me…? Medea…
C’mon, Junpei, let’s go.
Chidori… What happened to you…?

Iwatodai Dorm

Well, I see that the hospital gang are getting nowhere fast but back at the dorm we’re… I dunno, really. We’re doing something.

I was looking forward to NOT buying something from Tanaka this week. It seemed like a foregone conclusion…

Then the fakeout reveal was that it was 5 Snuff Souls for 10k, and the Watch was the errant add-on after all. We CAN get Snuff Souls from the Antique Store, and very rarely from Tartarus items, but this is more convenient and a better cost for the amount.

He’s getting soft, huh?
I’m not sure.
Trust me, girls complicate life.

Most likely it was due to Medea’s ability to distract…
We only saw two of them, but the girl must have been somewhere close.

There’s so many unfounded leaps of logic here, I don’t know where to begin.

Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san are currently on their way there to interrogate her.
When neither senpai is present, we are not permitted to go to Tartarus.

Also it’s the middle of the day, so Tartarus isn’t even in consideration right now anyway.

…And now, the news.

The latest victim is the 5th case of Apathy Syndrome this month…

I get that that’s important and all, but what about Red Hawk?! Is he okay???

When the Moon’s Reaching Out Stars (Reincarnation)

I had to check to see if our decent level gain since last time meant Kurosawa was selling something new. He claims to be… but it’s just the Heavy Axe for Shinji. Disappointing.

We have a few new requests to do for Elizabeth, but out of the 7 new ones, two are date specific and four are stuff to do/get in Tartarus…

So, we’ll worry about MOST of them later.

Is it just me…?

I was gonna talk to her, but she stopped following me.
I’ve been watching her to try to figure out what’s going on, but this seems kind of weird…

This little sidestory’s still moving along, but it seems like the one doing the following is changing. And it’s still hella weird.

We’re mainly here to check out the Mahjong Parlour, though.

Gambler: Come on, kid, gimme some luck… No, don’t say a word! Ready… Rock-paper-scissors!

Much like at the beach that one time, it doesn’t matter at all what we throw out here…

Gambler: Wha…? I lost? …I guess my luck has dried up. Thanks, kid. You made me realize that gambling’s a lost cause. Starting today, I’m stopping cold turkey. Here’s a little something to say thanks… Anyway, you shouldn’t be hanging around a place like this… Now, beat it!

I’d recommend a nice little cruise. I hear that the Espoir is especially worth it at this time of year.

But yeah, we just came here to get this tile for Elizabeth. It’s the only request we can do for a decent while, even!

The Poem for Everyone’s Soul

It’s just what I requested.
It has such a lovely design on it.
It’s a game piece, is it not?
I truly appreciate your efforts. Thank you.
Please accept your reward.

So, this isn’t super-great or anything but… it’s still kinda good.

See, there are 3 tiers of Counter skills. The Warrior’s Seal we’ve got a few of grants Counter, as in the skill, which is the first tier. This is also what Shinji has by default, and has a 15% chance of proccing on a Slash/Strike/Pierce elemental attack.

The Berserker’s Seal grants High Counter, which is the third tier, and has a 50% chance of working. It’s still not great because it doesn’t have a damage boost unlike in some SMT games, but it’s still the best of the lot and something we won’t get for a long time otherwise.

…Alternatively, we could sell it for a probably decent amount but I think I’ll give this to Shinji for now since it’s a flatout upgrade for him until level, uh, 55.

Anyway, that little diversion done we’ll head on over to the shrine and finally give Striped Shirt his pen that we got back from Koromaru a while ago.

Ahh… Welcome home, dear friend. …Thank you for finding it for me.

Have a seat if you’d like. I’ll write something for the two of us…

Living With Determination

See, Akinari, when you put it like that it sounds incredibly weird.

She was very…
…bright.
Her face shone with the warm light of new life.

Compared to her light, I’m but a vanishing shadow.
Misery is a harsh mistress.
I feel as though I’m lying in an unyielding darkness.
…Can you understand how I feel?
No, I can’t.
I didn’t think so…

Any day now… I’m going to die.

Unless you’re in my situation, you can’t understand what it’s like.
…But I prefer it that way. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.
There isn’t anything you can do to slow this down or make things better.

Akinari fell silent.

Oh no it’s fine, totally. It’s been way too light and happy lately, so this is a bit sudden!

I haven’t spoken to someone my own age in a long time.
…It’s natural for those in darkness to yearn for the world of light.
I’m glad we could meet, though. If there’s a god, I’ll be able to thank him soon enough…

You became an acquaintance of Akinari Kamiki.

The Power of the Heart

A mysterious voice rings in your head…

Living With Determination

I would rather you not come here ever again.
You only live once, right? So why waste your life among the dying?
…Goodbye.

You decided to go back to the dorm.

I’m like definitely completely 2000% sure we’ll be back at some point in the future, Akinari. We just started the link after all!

Iwatodai Dorm

What should we do?
Cheer him on.
Cheer him on, huh? But, what should I say…?

Capturing her shall provide us with quite an advantage…
We are moving ever closer to completing our mission.

Ikutsuki being here and dropping some casual sexism is pretty unexpected across the board, really. Nothin’ else here that’s changed from earlier in the day, and it’s Sunday so…

Mutatsu it is, for tonight. Not like we’ve really got any alternatives now.

It’s just a non-scene, but that’s mainly because Mutatsu’s final ranks all have relatively very high point requirements.

Sunday ended up being pretty lengthy for an off-day, mostly just because of the scene at the start of the day and that one request I guess?

An Unpleasant Premonition

It doesn’t seem like Chidori is gonna talk, does it?
Junpei is really worried about her…
I wonder what happened…
That’s Junpei.
Yeah, you’re right. But still, I’m a little worried.

Changing Seasons

So, today’ll be a lot brisker it looks like. We’ll just head on back to the Nurse’s Office to see what long, rambling, incorrect nonsense Edogawa has today.

…is what I’d like to say, but we’re done already. We can just pick one of the previous 3 to reread if we REALLY wanted to, but… there’s really no point.

So, uh, it occurs to me that we’re in September now and we’ve got some stuff from April/May still just like sitting here waiting to be finished. We maybe should, I dunno, spend time with Kaz at least since he’s here and all.

Joy

If you see him struggling, I want you to stop him immediately.
That’s it for today! See you all tomorrow.
Let’s grab a bite to eat.

You left school with Kazushi.

I’m sure you love lugging all this dead weight around, right?
I’m fine.
R-Really? Well… I guess you don’t seem to be tired…

Ah, I knew you were tough.
…When I go to my sister’s place to play with my nephew, I help him get into the bath.
Even though he’s only five years old, he’s still heavy. It’d be difficult having to do that everyday…
If I’m not able to walk, then I won’t even be able to go to the bathroom by myself…

Can’t say that’s quite the realisation I was expecting Kaz to make, but I guess it’s a start…?

That just occurred to me while I was leaning on you…
H-Hey, let me know if I become a burden on you, will ya?
I’ve been completely up front with you… So, I hope you feel like you can do the same.

Kazushi seems to be worried about you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

…I have to win at regionals no matter what. For their sake, too…

After you ate, you left with Kazushi.

Dangit, Kaz. You were honestly so close to getting a result that isn’t self-destructive, but you just threw it away.

Iwatodai Dorm

From what I hear, that girl Chidori won’t say anything…
Maybe we should wait to go to Tartarus until things are under control…

Yeah, uh, we don’t get to even consider going to Tartarus for a while it seems. Need to wait until the thing with Chidori is at least partially resolved, huh…

Their questioning of Chidori must not be going well…

…though that’s the issue. Chidori was completely silent save for a few words about Medea before, after all.

For your Persona to have a weakness, the Persona-user has to have a weakness. …And I don’t.
But, my Persona also doesn’t have any resistances, so I guess that makes it even.

Shinji’s reflection on Castor’s straight neutral to all elements raises a weird point. Koromaru’s the only party member with a natural immunity - to Fire no less - so what does that imply? If weaknesses are a representation of actual personality or dynamics or whatever, then that has to mean… something, right?

But, uh, yeah. That’s it for Monday; not really anything of note that we can do at evening on Mondays right now.

Troubled

Fuuka shakes her head.


By refusing to speak, you’re only hurting yourself.
We aren’t keeping you here because we hate you; we just want to avoid unnecessary confrontation.

Again? What’s your obsession, Junpei?
Did she say anything?

Now it’s Mitsuru’s turn to shake her head.

Iori… It seems like you’re letting your emotions get the best of you.
Is everything ok?
Well… Not exactly…
I know she attacked me, but…

Junpei-kun…

I’m glad they let you keep your sketchbook…
You really do like to draw, huh…?

It doesn’t matter.
She spoke…
…No one else but me can understand my pictures…
Chidori…!?

Tch… Again!?
Why are you bleeding!?

sigh I thought I had removed all the sharp objects in here.
…Apparently, we can’t leave her unattended for even one moment.

Let go of me!
Then, at the station… you did that to yourself!?
…I never asked for your help.

Well, I want you to stop.
You can’t be doing that…
It’s not right…
And I won’t let you…
The doctor will be here soon. You two should go now.
Alright. Let’s go, Junpei-kun.

And on that… sorta maybe ominous, but also kind of not… note, we switch back to things that aren’t this.

Changing Seasons

Lately, he seems to be emotionally unstable.

Like everyone else, Aigis isn’t always available after class here. We’ll probably just be ignoring her from this point unless she has something interesting or noteworthy to say, though.

Nothing else to do yet today, so we’ll just see what Kazushi has to say.

Joy

…Not so good. I can’t put too much weight on it.
Then, you should take a break.
Sorry, but can you give Kaz a leg massage?

S-Sorry… You’re missing practice because of me…

JV Team Member: Don’t worry about it…
JV Team Member: Besides, it’s for your nephew’s sake, right?

…I’m really sorry…

After practice, you decided to go back to the dorm.

Well, I guess that’s all we’re getting today. A bit of a disappointment, but it does make some sen–

I need to talk to you…
What about?
Well… I don’t want anyone to overhear…

…I sure hope this is going to be good.

Kazushi seems a bit nervous.

Let’s go somewhere else.

You left school with Kazushi.

First, let me give you this…

My nephew gave it to me. It’s a good luck charm.
There’s so much that I could never use it all.
If you get hurt during practice, it should come in handy.
I wanted you to be the first to know…

Holy shit, that’s… actually a good thing! Good job, Kaz!

What about your promise?
…I probably can’t keep that promise. I’ll have to explain it to him.

Kazushi is laughing nervously.

Honestly, I think if the kid is super-serious about that promise he might just get the surgery because Kaz is in the first place.

It’s not like I gave up or I am being selfish…

Even if I managed to win, I don’t think I’d feel good about it afterward…
Before, all I thought about was winning…
But when Coach was grilling you about my knee…

At the same time, I can’t just give up on winning, since that’s a part of who I am.

It’s kind of a small thing, but this scene doesn’t have a variation for Kendo stuff. Worrying about winning a race makes more sense for track and swimming, but overall its clear that the “intended” club to join in the first place was track.

I can’t keep asking for your help all the time…
…but I do want to thank you for the help you’ve given me so far.

It seems Kazushi truly appreciates your friendship.

Your relationship is stronger now!

The Path is Open

Joy

Ohey, we need Thor for a request for Elizabeth. He’s one of the two Personae we need to cast Thunder Call. Unfortunately this son of Odin can’t be used until we’re level 53, so Elizabeth giving us that request that early is pretty damn mean!

I wonder which one of us will recover first… After all, he wants to be tough like me!

You and Kazushi hung out for a while.

I genuinely do like that Kaz made the smart and right decision here, despite constant reaffirmation from everyone around him, not just Makoto, that yeah no it’s fine. Your leg is a wreck, but keep on keepin’ on anyway! Just don’t let it get too much worse, and it’s not a problem. Surrounded by terrible ideas, bad advice and explicit enabling of bad habits and he still realises that this is dumb and that there’s only one real solution here.

Iwatodai Dorm

Tch, what an idiot…

Lucia is unable to sense her…
…Her state of mind is very unstable… And she hurts herself…

Tourist reservations are skyrocketing, and…

Junpei’s sat all on his own up on the second floor. He’s mostly just moping because Chidori’s in the hospital and all, but we’re just wasting time right now. Waiting for something to change, which if today was anything indication won’t take much longer. Once it does, we can finally do things at night early in the week again.

But we don’t have that option yet, so we’ll just relax for now and start chaining Great status for Makoto. That’s never gonna drop outside of days immediately after we go to Tartarus and the days after Full Moon events too.

I’m glad Kaz decided to get surgery. It seems both Chariots in P3 have a habit of self-destructive behaviors, but Kaz actually resolves pretty well. It’s just kind of annoying that you had to encourage him up until this point.

I’d get used to seein’ that message because it’s gonna be pretty much constant from hereon in. There’s nothing about Great, but ending a day resets it to Good… and sleeping early pushes it back up to Great.

An Unpleasant Premonition

Sorry I haven’t been around…
But, you know, I can’t just leave her alone…
Don’t ask me why…
Good luck. Take care of yourself.
Yeah… Thanks, man.

Changing Seasons

You too, right?
…But, if you ever need help, don’t be afraid to ask! You can count on me!

You feel an unbreakable bond between you and Kazushi.

It might seem notable that, unlike with Chihiro, we don’t get an option to just hang out with Kaz today. But that’s because today is a Wednesday, and that’s not a sports club day.

…Except this is also the case on days when Kaz would be available. :shrug:

There’s plenty of options we have in spite of that, but this is lagging pretty far behind considering how early it was started…

Crisis

Why are you accusing ME? The cigarette butt was in the BOYS’ bathroom, right?
Can you prove that it wasn’t a girl who left it there?

Like, this is a pretty stupid argument. Can you prove it wasn’t a horse that left it there, Hidetoshi?!

There’s just no reasoning with you!

No one seems to agree with Hidetoshi.

Troubled

They can be pretty cruel.
…Don’t hold it against them… They’re like children: they just don’t understand.

Sooner or later, they’ll see the light. Then, they’ll respect me.
I’m not isolating myself; I’m just being aloof. Sooner or later, someone always gets hurt in any relationship.
…I guess I’m preaching to the choir, though. I apologize.

It seems like Hidetoshi is trying to be a good friend.

You understand Hidetoshi better now.

You decided to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm

About four days.
…Oh, yeah?

Today is the fourth day, even.

Next to a bow, a spear is probably the best long-range weapon.
But with a spear, you can only cover a small area in front of you.
And if you miss with a spear, you’ll probably get counter-attacked.

I wouldn’t really call spears much of a long-range weapon, but I also wouldn’t call them second best either. :colbert:

Healing and Support… Tch…
I don’t do that crap…
…so don’t look at me if you need help.

Reminder that Shinji’s either just learned, or just about to learn, Evil Smile. Which is an ailment spell. Or, in other words: a support skill. :v:

Nothing else of note tonight, though Fuuka does… phone us… to set up a date on Sunday. Uh, sure, we’ll do that. The point bonus from it could be very important, if we use it right.

But we’ve got a few days to get through before we get there.

Changing Seasons

Etiquette demands that we say a specific phrase both before we eat and after we eat.

Junpei, you should know this.
Huh…? Me?
(H-Hey, Makoto, what was the question?)
(Gochisou-sama.)
Correct! We say “gochisou-sama” to thank the one who provided the food.

Last time, my darling…
(Phew… Thanks, Makoto.)

A New Complication

Troubled

…Don’t call me that.
C’mon, cheer up…

That wasn’t necessary, Junpei.
Heheh, you said my name… I was worried I’d never hear that again.

She finally started talking.
But, nothing useful yet.
Well, that’s a start.
So… Why are YOU here?

Crisis

Chidori!? Wh-What’s wrong!?
Ugh… Agh…

What on Earth…

A Persona!
Tch!

Shinji gives Chidori… something… that seems to work, maybe?

gasp gasp

Silence

Chidori!
Relax… It happens.

…How do you know that, Shinji?

Supressants…?
…You know about Strega?

I… really don’t believe you. That is a terrible, blatant lie.

I’ll give the doc the right pills. …The rest is up to you.
Shinji, wait!
Hey!!

Troubled

…Junpei?
Th-Thank God…! I thought you might be…
Why do you look so scared?
Death is nothing to be afraid of…
What are you saying…?

Wh-What!? You don’t really mean that, do you?
I-I don’t want you to die, Chidori!
Junpei…
Just because you’re not afraid doesn’t mean no one else is…
Did you ever think about how I might feel!?

Mitsuru just sorta walks out, since this seems to be working better than anything else she could think of at least.

You’re so weird, Junpei…
Ha… Look who’s talkin’…

Silence

What the hell’s going on…?
Why did you have those pills!?
I’ve heard about those…

But, the side-effects…
You’re not taking them, are you?

I don’t owe you anything.
Tch. The same as always…

You think I’m wasting my power… but you’re just too thick-headed.
I’m tired of your damn preaching.

Crisis

Don’t you get it?
You know the reason…

I wasn’t strong enough to save her. They held me back, while she…

That’s why I try so hard…

So, why the drugs?
Why didn’t you come talk to me…?
I’m back in the fight now…
So let it go.
sigh

…And the side effects?

It’s something only I can do.
…Like what?
Listen, don’t worry about me.
Just do what you think is right.

End

Changing Seasons

Y’know, I like it about as much as you do, but… we really should see Kenji’s terrible sideplot though to the end. It’ll take a bit longer than it probably should, but it WAS the first one we started…

Joy

What’s wrong?
…Dude, listen to this…

I’ve got a serious problem…
I saw a magazine on Emiri’s coffee table. Guess what it was called…
Bride-To-Be Magazine.
H-How did you guess!? Man, you’re amazing.

When I saw the magazine, I began to think…
I made up my mind, man. As soon as I graduate, I’m gonna marry Emiri.
So, whaddaya think, Makoto?
That’s great. Congrats!

I can’t not read this as being incredibly sarcastic.

…Th-Thanks, Makoto!

I’m seriously in love with Emiri, and I’m gonna marry her!

Kenji is raising his voice.

Then, Emiri Kanou will be known as Emiri Tomochika! And I’ll make her the happiest wife ever!

Can we, maybe, pretend to not know Kenji right now? That’d be nice.

gasp gasp
I wanted your support, dude…

Barking up the wrong tree… well, really, not even in the right forest, to be honest.

Kenji has opened up to you.

Your relationship is stronger now!

You decided to walk home with Kenji.

Iwatodai Dorm

Ohey, this means we can finally go to Tartarus again starting from today. Naturally, we won’t be today but hey.

It’s not the right time to be bombarding her with questions.
Besides, we still have three Shadows to contend with.
We should be able to accomplish that within the next few months, unless the situation changes.
Don’t let your guard down until the very end.

Mostly understandable that today’s events would lead to leaving Chidori’s stuff to Junpei. The aggressive self-destructive uncontrollable Persona might have caused a genuine issue if it wasn’t for Shinji, though.

Chidori hates us…
Well, I guess she doesn’t hate ALL of us.

He is tired of eating the same food day after day.
I recommend you change Koromaru-san’s menu.
I’ll think about it.
Koromaru-san seems happy to hear that. Thank you.
Arf! Arf!

Heh, I can respect that.
I don’t like people bothering me, either.

It’s always weird when characters in-game explicitly acknowledge a silent protagonist’s status as, well, a silent protagonist. I dunno, it just doesn’t really work for me since it’s not often anything is done with it.

For extra luck today, try punching three times in front of a mirror!

[i]Oh, right, I mostly forgot about this before but more birthdays:

Fuuka: December 22nd, 1992 (Capricorn)
Aigis: September 10th, 1999 (Virgo)

…Hey wait that’s today! Huh, how about that. It’s even the, uh, third since Mitsuru because:

Ken: June 24th, 1998 (Cancer)
Shinji: August 11th, 1991 (Leo)[/i]

…someone tells me they want to die. So I tell this person I don’t want her to die.
How does that sound? Is it awkward?
Yeah, kinda.
You’re right… I always feel weird when I tell her that.

Since we’re in the latter half of the week, we have stuff to do at night now. Thanks, Mutatsu!

This Mysterious Feeling

…Let’s just forget about it, alright?
Anyway, I’m sober today…
…so just sit down and listen to what this old monk has to say.

At least, that’s what I thought. So I begged to take over my parents’ temple.
But, every day is the anniversary of someone’s death!
I’m workin’ 24/7, as if my temple was a convenience store…
Poor men know no leisure.
…That’s only half true, kid. Sure, I’ve got no time for leisure, but I’m definitely not poor.

It varies, of course, but an offering can sometimes be as much as a salary man’s year-end bonus.

Out of curiosity, I looked this up. The average winter bonus for a salaryman in 2009 was 747,282 Yen ($6700.52) which was a 16% drop from 2008. Yeah, really.

…But, as you can see, I’m too busy.
I gotta push this old body of mine to the limit.
Maybe I should think of somethin’ else to do with my life. I can’t keep this up for much longer…

Time to retire?
Yeah, maybe you’re right. A person should know when enough’s enough.

…Oh, how about this…

Mutatsu is thinking…

I think it’s a pretty good idea. I could retire and enjoy life for once.
Whaddya think?
What’re you talking about?
Oh, um… well…

I’m thinking about asking them to come back… you know, my wife… and my son.
First, I gotta find out where they are. I’ll hire a detective. I don’t care how much it costs.
And when I see 'em, first thing I’m gonna do is tell 'em I’m sorry… from the bottom of my heart.

I-I’ve had enough of dealing with a punk like you, anyways! G-Good riddance!

Despite his harsh words, Mutatsu sounds like he’s going to miss you…

You understand Mutatsu better now.

Oh well, I guess I’ll go to a detective agency tomorrow…
Alright, let’s get going, kid.

You left the club with Mutatsu.

I’m sure there’s a Kuzunoha Detective Agency office somewhere nearby. It’d be weirder if there wasn’t one, even.

But, uh, I reckon we’ve got time for one more day.

An Unpleasant Premonition

Hey, Makoto-kun…
I wonder why Shinjiro-senpai came back so suddenly…
He has a lot of power.
Yeah, I guess. He’s kinda scary, if you ask me…
But, it doesn’t seem like he’s rejoining SEES just cuz he likes to fight.

Changing Seasons

…So much for today being on the shorter end of things.

Are you ready? Then, let’s begin. Today, we’ll discuss the magic of the Renaissance.
The Renaissance was a time when the arts and the sciences enjoyed a resurgence in Europe.
Naturally, this had a profound influence on magic.

As to why the Renaissance helped to further magic…
They had found a way to escape the rule of the church.
By studying the teachings of previously forbidden sects, the knowledge of magic spread greatly.
The Renaissance also brought about the revival of ancient Greek and Roman literature.

The Hermetica is from the 2nd century, and as the name implies it’s a Hermetic book. It formed the basis of Hermeticism, even. Hermeticism is what brought us a bunch of famous historical folks who studied the arcane - Aleister Crowley and Samuel Lidell MacGregor Mathers are the obvious ones in that regard. It’s mostly historical nowadays but there are still some people that follow aspects of it, for examplle modern day Libertarian Republican politician Augustus Sol Invictus (who’s running for the Senate in Florida as we speak, even)…

Philosophy, natural history, alchemy, astrology…
The book was filled with a wide range of subjects, and could be called the bible of magic.
Just as science and astronomy have made strides in the modern day…
So, too, has the art of magic.
You can see this in the emergence of a great magician, who applied the knowledge of the Renaissance.

…with the magical knowledge he obtained, he was able to talk to angels.
Then there was Hohenheim, a doctor who traveled across Europe…

Of course, a magician’s life wasn’t an easy one.
Both men lived lives riddled with persecution.
…Are you all listening? Keep your minds down to Earth! Eeeheehee.
Here’s a test to see if you were paying attention.
Get it wrong, and your house will become irrevocably haunted. Bagahi Laca Bachabe…
Now… Who should be my victim? Makoto, I ask thee.

The Hermetica.
Correct. Back to your peaceful life.
Magic at the time had a great influence on the church-ruled society.
Several magicians were involved with the central part of the Renaissance, the religious revolution…

When he’s not getting into things that are specific, Edogawa can be generally accurate. Not great or anything, but better than his long talks about the tarot that had more than their fair share of errors.

Anyway, we’ll just commit to this before it keeps slipping further and further away. We might as well get it done.

…Although today was just spending time to get one whole point. Yes, really. We needed 22 for the next rank, but the rank 7 scene just gives a maximum of 21. :v:

Iwatodai Dorm

…we will attack any enemies that have been knocked down.
If no enemies have been knocked down, then we will do our best to knock them down.
During that time, however, we will be unable to heal and support, so be careful.

Uh, what?

Its attack speed is slow, but its range more than makes up for it.
It is a useful weapon when you want to surprise the enemy.

…What? No. It’s slow but pretty damn powerful.

Its skills and agility aren’t bad, either.
Castor doesn’t have any weaknesses…
Well, I guess its luck isn’t that great, but that doesn’t matter in battle.
If you gotta depend on luck… then you’re as good as dead.

Castor’s Luck is pretty bad, but his Magic is still worse. That one doesn’t matter though, because that’s require a spell that does damage.

And we’ll just close out the next by hanging out with Mutatsu some more. It’s not enough for a rank up the next time we come here, but it puts it very close. We’ll potentially get it finished and added to the now rapidly growing pile of maxed S.Links next time, though!

1 Like

Alright, so, uh, this is an awkward stretch of time for my cunning plan of just blitzing Kenji’s link to get it done. He’s only available for 3 days a week after all…

Changing Seasons

Kamakura is cool and all, but it can’t beat the Sengoku era!
Have we covered enough of this yet? I can skip over to the Sengoku era, yeah?
All right, let’s take a close look at the Sengoku era, from the beginning.

After that, the next big event in the Sengoku era’s formation was the Coup of Meiou in 1493.
Let’s look closer at the Ohnin War. In 1467…

We’re only up to 1467, but there’s still a lot to cover… I guess it can’t be helped.
Next time, we’ll jump to 1468.

Didn’t really get any info there, at all, to keep in mind for way down the line. Oh well.

Troubled

…But, they said we can’t give you back your Evoker.
…I wasn’t expecting them to. That’s why they started watching me in the first place.
…Oh, how’s that cut doin’?
…Prolly already healed, huh.
…So, how come you’re not drawing today…?
…Does it matter?
Well, uh, not really…

It’s okay. I’ll take care of it…

…Huh, that’s an unexpected use for magic all things considered.

…I made them healthy again.
You can do that!?
That’s incredible, Chidori!
It’s nothing special.
You have powers too, don’t you?
Well, yeah, I guess… but…

Without that… I’d be a nobody.
I just talk a big game… pretendin’ like I’m some kinda hero.
But in reality… don’t know what the hell I’m fighting for…

Why…
Why we are here…?
When I was a kid, I had this crazy dream…
…What kind of dream?

That’s both kinda very not stupid, and also implicitly still a thing. Junpei holds his swords like a baseball bat, swings it like a bat rather than using it like, well, a sword… and even yells out “home run!” when attacking.

I guess that’s part of bein’ a kid.
Is that so…?
I don’t remember much from my childhood.
All I remember is…

Huh?
I hate hospitals…
Yeah, me too…

I’m sorry…
But, I don’t mind that much this time…

Chidori…
I… I understand.
I won’t let you down.

The only thing that, to me anyway, sorta detracts from this scene is that it’s not super clear if Chidori is being sincere or still just trying to manipulate Junpei. It feels like the latter, but…

Well, anyway, we’ll just go and hang out with Fuuka. This’ll enable the Sunday date to be genuinely useful.

Joy

Sorry… I guess people brought all the good ones…
I should’ve called to ask before we came all the way here…

Fuuka seems to be feeling guilty.

…Do you remember what I told you, Makoto-kun?

We were just in one…
Well, about that…
Something happened in a bookstore that I want to forget…
It was last April…
Someone took a picture of me…

Well, I’m short…
And when I was reaching for the top shelf, I accidentally knocked some books down…
Somehow, they landed in my bag. But when I went to take them out and put them back on the shelf…

She threatened to show my parents the picture.

…So, what did she get out of this, exactly? She took a photo and used it as blackmail material for [benefit missing]?


You probably think that sounds ridiculous…
You probably think I should’ve defended myself…
…Well, you’re right.
But I… I couldn’t say anything.

I thought that no matter what I said, it wouldn’t do any good.

I feel like if you’re around, I won’t think so negatively…
That must sound so selfish…
But…

Fuuka is staring at her feet.

…Sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying…
It seems like I’m trying to take advantage of you, doesn’t it…?

I guess what I’m trying to say is…
It’s okay. Just calm down.

I’ve come to really depend on you, Makoto-kun…
And I just wanted to say that I appreciate you…

Fuuka has expressed her feelings for you…

Your relationship with her has reached a new level…

This really genuinely feels misplaced. It doesn’t make sense to occur at this point. It seems like this is just because it can’t really run the risk of being an issue if it was any later than rank 7. The way to solve that is either: pace these things better, or don’t do this terrible and stupid mechanic.

I’ll explain to you how I feel when I understand it myself…
I’m really sorry…

Fuuka ran away…

You have decided to go back to the dorm.

…Well, I’m glad the scene is finally about something other than “hey Fuuka is bad at cooking!” even if it’s just a blatant and bizarrely lazy reskin of a similar plot beat from Chihiro’s link.

Iwatodai Dorm

I sense a feeling of… happiness.
I wonder what happened to him…

Koromaru-san seems to really like it.

I do like stuff like this and Shinji having fed Koromaru before the latter came to the dorm. It’s a nice way to have Shinji demonstrate that he’s not just a stand offish generic badass.

…It’s still pretty cliche, but hey. Koromaru owns.

No.
I didn’t before either. But, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately…
…especially when I look at her. She makes me think about what I’m living for.

If I do, great. If I don’t, whatever.
I’m not going to change my style for you or anyone else…

It’s kinda nice, but also weird, that one of the most recurring segments from the TV is just an update on the exchange rate. It’s a world building thing, but man.

And since it’s Saturday, we’ll just… hang out with Mutatsu for the first time on a Saturday.

The Voice Someone Calls

Time goes by so quickly, and many things change.
Yet, some things will always remain the same…
Don’t you agree?
Everything changes.
Hmmmm…

Talking with you has stirred up certain memories…

I’ve been thinking about it lately…
I wonder… Will our relationship stay the same…?
Or, will it evolve…?

…That is for certain.

Huh, well, that ends that pattern then! For the first time, this hits an even number.

Well, we know pretty clearly what we’re gonna be doing today since we’ve already made plans in advance and all.

When the Moon’s Reaching Out Stars (Reincarnation)

I’ve been wondering how it was going to end…
I’m relieved now that I was finally able to finish it.

Oh, so it’s the proto Shokugeki no Soma. Or, uh, the one that isn’t Yakitate!! Japan at least.

Fuuka seems to be enjoying herself.

By the way, Makoto-kun…

Fuuka seems a bit nervous.

Have you ever filleted a fish before?
Yeah, I’m not too bad.
Wow, really?

Plus, I’m clumsy with a knife…
You’ll have to teach me how to do it the right way, Makoto-kun.

It’s getting dark out.

You decide to go back to the dorm.

So, uh, this was actually a lot more important than it seemed. See, we need 40 points to get Fuuka to rank 8, right? And the rank 7 scene gives a maximum of, uh, 0.

Iwatodai Dorm

He’s a little rough around the edges…
But, deep down, he’s a really nice guy. Just give him a chance.

I can’t say from experience, though.
I’ve never had anything he’s made.

This implicitly raises a good point, though. If Shinji’s a great cook, who does the cooking here…? Presumably no one, really, but…

He can be satisfied just eating a meal.
sigh I wish my life was that simple.

The sudden introduction of a new group of antagonists is some primo tokusatsu stuff right there.

Junpei seems to be less mope-y now, so he’s hanging out with people again!

He’s physically strong, but he also knows how to keep his cool.
Yeah.
He looks scary, but in reality, he’s more like a big brother.

With Junpei-san here, the atmosphere is so much childish…
Ouch! That hurt, Ai-chan.
I have no comeback for that.

Junpei has such an “Oh God, that’s never happened before!” reaction here. Huh.

This is the ideal time for us to ascend Tartarus.
Yep. The best defense is a good offense. That’s how you win…

But, I need to be careful.
If I rely too much on his skill, I’ll never realize my full potential.
Wow, you’re amazing…
Instead of being amazed, maybe you should try to be more like her.

Well, hey, it’s Sunday so we’ll go finish off the week by spending time with Mutatsu.

This Mysterious Feeling

…The detective called me and said he found my wife and son…
He said they’re runnin’ a small restaurant. I guess it’s pretty popular.

I decided I’d leave after I saw you. So… I’ll be goin’ tonight.
…I won’t be back until they’ve forgiven me.

I-I’ve been thinkin’ about what I’m gonna say to my wife… even though I’m not so good with words…

…Well? How’s that sound?

Honestly, ridiculously cheesy and over-the-top but… not in a way that owns…

Not that good…
You don’t know nothin’! She’s gonna burst into tears when she hears that!

Even though I’m a monk. I’m still attached to my family… I guess I’m a “worldly” monk, eh?
But, I finally faced the fact that I was drinkin’ to hide my true feelings.
I feel so free now.
…Tch, it’s all your fault, kid.
You reminded me of my son.

If I hadn’t met you, I’d never have seen my family ever again.
I owe ya, kid…

Mutatsu thanked you from the bottom of his heart…

You feel like you fully understand him now.

The Path is Open

This Mysterious Feeling

Chi You is, uh, something that we might not even get to honestly! Much like with how Beelzebub was a very high level, Chi You is as well. He’s level 86, which puts him even higher than Beelzebub. Yeesh!

…When you mix Cointreau with white rum, lemon juice, and ice…
…you get a cocktail called “XYZ.”
Movies and manga often use the initials “XYZ” to symbolize the end of something.

…Plus, it tastes sooo good goin’ down.
I’ll be prayin’ that your future is XYZ…
…So long, kid.

You watched Mutatsu walk away with his head held high…

You carried the Reserve Tag back to the dorm.

I’m not sure we really needed the cocktail ingredients for that metaphor, but okay.

I am noticing a bit of a trend where Makoto is “helping” people by… not helping them, really. The less he does, the better things are turning out. Mostly.

Changing Seasons

Listening: A haunted house. I bet I’ll be stuck playing the ghost.
Gossiping: Being a ghost isn’t so bad. You can just show up and put on the costume. I have to do a magic show… By the way, did you hear a typhoon is on its way? I hear it’s a big one… The school will be empty.

Well, that might present a bit of a problem if it really does happen. Fortunately(???), I don’t think there’s gonna be a typhoon at the same time as anything important or relevant. Or as anime as a Culture Festival.

Imagine a nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei, releasing energy as it does.
I believe you all know that much.
The reaction emits massive quantities of energy, which is why it’s used in nuclear power plants.
…You all know that Japan has three nuclear prohibitions in place, right?
Let’s see… Makoto.
Which of these is NOT one of Japan’s prohibitions on nuclear weapons?
Can’t let others produce.

The third prohibition is a little controversial, but this is physics class, not political science.
Now as for nuclear fission…

Probably noticed by now that I have a bit of a habit of tempting fate when we hit a 3rd/4th day depending on length. The game usually responds by throwing an Edogawa lecture at us. I almost did it again here, but didn’t and so we just got nuclear energy laws instead. Whew.

Man, I’ve been so busy thinkin’ about Chidori that I completely forgot.
Well, screw that. I’ve got enough to worry about, so I’m gonna slack off.

Junpei’s hangin’ around at school today, which is a bit of a surprise. He’s still being pretty Junpei though, and utilising a convenient excuse to not do work.

There’s someone over there… Hey, that guy looks familiar.

All I seem to do these days is follow her around…
What should I do?

Well, uh, she is stood right there so maybe, I dunno, go talk to her…???

Speaking of just talking to someone, we’ll just go see Fuuka again. We do have that pesky timelimit thing to deal with now, so the quicker we get this done the better.

Joy

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I feel, since then…

I often wonder what your thought process is when you have to make an important decision…
I’ve been thinking about this for a long time…
No one knows what the future holds…
No matter how prepared you are, you can’t predict what will happen.

You have to think positively, as if the future is smiling upon you.
…I don’t think I’m quite there yet, though…
Sorry…
You seem to know all that already…
So, Makoto-kun…

This can seem very out of place here. A lot of times, Makoto might easily come off as not all that positive.

I believe in myself.
…Oh, I see.
You’re really strong, Makoto-kun.

I…

You understand how Fuuka feels.

Your relationship with her has grown…

I thought that after I paid everyone back for their kindness…
I wouldn’t have anything to talk with you about…
But, now I know that that doesn’t matter…

I want to be with you too.

Technically there aren’t any “wrong” answers here. They all count as “right,” but this one that you could easily see as a pretty manipulative answer is the best one.

…!
nod
…Thank you…

Well then, I’m going back to the dorm now.
…I’ll see you later.

After saying goodbye to Fuuka, you decided to go back to the dorm.

In my opinion, this makes a better spot to put the dumb timelimit if you really have to do it here. At least technically this time we get the pretense of having agency over whether or not this goes in this direction. It’d be better if you actually DID have that agency, but, well…

Iwatodai Dorm

Ohey, Ikutsuki’s here tonight. That’s a bit unexpected, considering there’s no plot scene and we’re a week after the full moon.

…which means only three remain.
That’s fantastic!
We are so close to the end. Please keep up the good work.

And you’ve already beat nine of 'em, huh?
Not bad…

And you were there for the ninth and even fought against it.

We’re in the locker room to interview the winners! You guys did great out there! Yeeek! Th-The beer’s… so cold…!

I hope it doesn’t just pass by…
Because if it did, we wouldn’t get a day off, so we’d have to walk to school in the rain.
And that would totally suck!

Junpei bringing up the typhoon doesn’t mean much on its own, I guess, but notable is that he doesn’t mention it impeding the hospital or Chidori.

I can only presume from there that things are, in their own way at least, beginning to settle down and he’s genuinely becme less mopey in general now. Which sorta makes sense, all things considered.

But, hey, I think now’s as good a time as any to finally go back to Tartarus and see what’s in store for us there.

To that end, we need ot consider our options here. Yukari’s technically pretty good for damage, but she’s definitely better at utility and support. In a few levels, she’ll become even better at it but the sad irony is that anything that (Me) Petra cures… prevents her from casting it. Which’d be more of a problem if it mattered, at all, ever.

With Shinji around now, Junpei’s signficantly less useful at his one thing. That his next skill is Counter just really highlights that. He’s no longer the most useful Strength guy, he’s not a great tank, his actual attacking skills are all pretty weak and need upgrading, one of his two support spells is Re Patra which is reprehensibly bad…

Akihiko’s not quite got the same Strength as Junpei, but… it’s very, very close wow. The difference here is that Akihiko’s only Strength skill is still Sonic Punch which has looooong since been outclassed in every way. That he still has Dia means he’s technically our worst person for healing (even Junpei has two Medicinal Powders), but he has all 3 single target -ndas now so he can debuff anything. A few levels away from being the first person to learn an elemental boost skill naturally isn’t too shabby either. Probably won’t happen for a while, but it’s something.

Mitsuru hasn’t changed overly much since pre-Hermit. Her skillset isn’t gonna get an upgrade for 9 levels which is a gap we haven’t seen since very early game Yukari. The Varuna Bracers help make up for it somewhat, plus she can just keep going without needing to return to the 1F, which helps immensely. On paper anyway.

Aigis is a level away from being similar to Junpei, but even less effective at attacking but much better at surviving. And she has more support as well, sorta.

On paper, Koromaru might just be our worst party member. He makes up for it with those two immunities of course, but he’s pretty lacking in terms of combat use outside of being the hardest dog to hit.

…and he makes up for it by being Koromaru in the first place which is much more important, sure.

Ken’s simple, but not super-great. Like Akihiko, he’s sort of a generalist statistically but with marginally better Magic and worse Strength. He’s not as useful at support, Cruel Attack gives him a useful edge if we can’t get an AOA due to like missing or something I guess, and Hama is straight up handy at removing trash. Hamaon is even better, of course, but neither means much for fights that matter.

Shinji’s the exact opposite. He’s simple, but to his benefit. He only has 2 skills that are actively usable, but Fatal End is still realy dang strong (especially with Shinji’s 35 Strength) and Evil Smile inflicts Fear on every enemy which makes it even stronger. He’s not got much in the way of variety, so if something resists Phys he’s pretty much shit outta luck, and his next skill being Counterstrike isn’t super-great either. It’s an upgrde to Counter, sure, but he already has the best version thanks to Elizabeth.

Same as usual here:

:siren: 3 slots to fill. Who gets 'em? :siren:

Shinji, Mitsuru and Ken.