Part 88: 11/21/09 - 11/22/09: Harabah The Drought (Intermission)
Now that we're back from Kyoto, we've probably got a fair few days of respite ahead of us. Let's get right to it!
Changing Seasons (Reincarnation) / Sun
Gossiping: Where have they got you working?
Listening: Tuesday and Wednesday, I've got a construction job. And on Thurday and Friday, I'm at a gas station...
Gossiping: That's just as bad as mine... I'll be picking up empty cans.
I'm pretty sure that's not remotely equivalent...
> The first bell has rung.
Career Week starts next Tuesday. Just think of it as another boring field trip, for social studies. Going out into the real world is pretty tough. By the end of the week, you'll understand. Myself, I'm glad for the chance to relax... Does anyone have any fond memories from the trip they'd like to share with the class? ...C'mon now, don't hide your faces.
But none of the other teachers agreed... In fact, they all had their own ideas, too. Mr. Ekoda stumped for Kyoto, as usual. Mr. Ono wanted to go, um... northeast of Japan. I'm still not sure why... Ms. Ounishi suggested a spa, and Mr. Takenozuka wanted to ride the Maglev Train. Mrs. Terauchi didn't care where we went as long as she could bring her husband... She's so annoying! What we need is someone to take charge. The reason we go to Kyoto every year is because no one takes control...So, if no one could agree AND no one takes control, how does Ekoda always get what he wants? Bit of a contradiction there...
Anyway, work experience sounds like... it's gonna be inconvenient. Aigis, what do you think?
However, since I am designed primarily for battle, it is useless for me.
Oops, sorry. That was supposed to be a secret, wasn't it? But sharing secrets is fun, too.Ryoji's dialogue is the same here regardless of outcome of that dumb, bad minigame. Now we can pretend it never happened. Hurray!
So, let's head on downstairs and talk to this girl hanging out by the persimmon tree.
Can I see it? Ooooh... is this the limited-edition drink you can only get in Kyoto? Wow... impressive! I have to say, I love these rare drinks.
It's only available in the fall. You want some? Well... I can't let you have it for free. I'll need... let's say 5,000 yen, to part with it.
Sure. Wh-What!? Are you really going to pay me 5,000 yen for this!? Wow, you must be a rare drink maniac! Thanks, though! Now I can get my own rare drink!
So, this is a weird request for Elizabeth. It has no deadline, but you can only do it from today onwards. Didn't get drinks at Kyoto? Welp, too bad, it's impossible now.
Real quick, before I forget, we'll go to the Antiques Store and hand over Odin to make a sweet new spear. Gungnir isn't an Elemental Attack weapon. It gives Elec Boost, but its still a Pierce weapon. That's why it has a real accuracy stat.
I don't remember if we picked up the reward for the previous exam or not, so let's just go talk to Mitsuru for a minute.
You seem to be studying really hard.
Impressive... But, try not to stress yourself out.
So, NOW that she has Artemisia, we can finally hang out with Mitsuru. We need to be at today at the earliest, have Max Academics and have scored first place in an exam. Max Academics does lead to that last one, but if you only got to Academics 6 after the prevous midterms...
By the way, Yuki... This is completely unrelated, but... I'd like to talk to you about something. If you don't mind... can you spare some time? Sure. Great. ...Um, well... Can you come with me? I'd rather not talk about it here. Joy
> Mitsuru is trying to get your attention.
Please tell me what the etiquette here is. Are there any customs I need to follow...? Add a lot of spice. Oh, so you spice it yourself? It's interesting that they leave that to the discretion of the consumer...
...Let's eat.> Mitsuru is enjoying her ramen.
Hmm... The taste is quite interesting... I thought it tasted strange at first, but as I continued to eat, I realized it had a subtle charm to it. ...It's quite delicious. Pardon me, Chef...
The ramen tastes absolutely wonderful. ...It's been a while since I last complimented the chef. What do you use for bouillon?Ramen Shop Owner: Bouillon? ...What the hell is that? Anyways, if ya want to know the recipe, sorry, I can't tell ya, lady. Without our secret recipe, we'd be outta business.
Well then, if it's a secret, I completely understand. You don't have to tell me. Now, this would be considered a meal if one were to eat it with rice, yes? That is very interesting.Ramen Shop Owner: Uh, no, that's not, uh...
> Mitsuru is deep in thought.
Oh, sorry. My imagination got the best of me. I've been wanting to try ramen for a long time... ...... ...Does that make me strange? No, not at all. Oh, that's good. I was never able to eat this type of food...
I felt extremely awkward coming here alone. I'm so glad you're here with me. You've taught me so much about ramen etiquette. ...Let's eat here again sometime.> Your relationship has grown closer...
Power of the Heart
> A mysterious voice rings in your head...
Joy
We should go.> You decided to return to the dorm.
Iwatodai Dorm
He came to hang out with Junpei-kun. It's not often that we get visitors here.
Yeah... Do you think it's okay? 
I'm actually surprised that he's not with a girl. ...Hey, where's Aigis?
I saw her on the 2nd floor. Really...? Hmm... Maybe she's with Koromaru... It's not like them to be gone.I guess if Aigis and Koromaru were outta the way, then there's nothing too unusual around here. Just helps avoid awkward questions like "why does Aigis have hooves" and all.
However, there are some people, like Yukari's father, who put their whole lives into their work. At any rate, this will be a great opportunity to learn about the workforce. Good luck.
Just think of it in an exercise in endurance. You can do that, can't you? Of course. Then, let's do our best.
My dad did his very best... He was a hard worker, and he never complained... Well, that was that, and this is this.
So, today we can finally finish all these mini-fetch quests from the dorm.
Umm... are you talking about Phoenix Ranger Featherman R? Isn't that the prize that comes with packs of Gummy Gum? I-I'm too old for that stuff... Why would you want one? You're an adult... Um...
C-Can you keep a secret!? I had an extra postcard... I thought I might as well send it in... And, um... I have a duplicate of this one already... S-So you can have it. But... please take good care of it.
Wow, though... I never knew you liked Phoenix Ranger Featherman R! I-If you want... M-Maybe we could watch it together sometime...?
We'll take this one over to Elizabeth once we're done here, and finally wrap up our first quest line.
I've never heard of Career Experience before. Do you think it'll be fun? I doubt it. I agree. It'll probably be boring.
We don't need to experience how boring work is. Man, this school sucks.
Well, too bad... Quit complainging and do your job.
As promised, Aigis and Koromaru are hanging out together on the second floor.
I even asked Koromaru-san for help...
> Koromaru tilted his head.
Hmm, I see. Then, I shall continue my observations. The Poem For Everyone's Soul
But inside... This sensation on my tongue... It must be one of the ingredients in Oden... It feels like... eggs...? Very mysterious... Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, I see... I'll savor the taste of this juice later. Please accept your reward.
Wind Magatama to go with the previous ones we've snagged. Odd that this one gives us 3 but the rest didn't. No idea why that's a thing, but hey. Means I might bother ever using one of these. (nah probably not)
May I see it...? Interesting... You can put it in various poses and play with it. Oh... it's flexible enough to be put in this kind of pose...? Ooh... this pose, too... Oh... oh my...! ...... ...This may be a bit too anatomically correct for me. You may have it back. Please accept your reward.
And there's the final Magatama, and it is... a clever joke that I'm not sure is intentional or not. Huh.
Anyway, getting 3 Gales stands out even more now, since its the only one that did that.
The Voice Someone Calls
So, going to Tartarus today isn't a recommended thing normally. I'm doing it because I'm just rad like that. Why's it a bad idea? You'll see later.
tartarus_0d05
So, uh, here's an odd one. There's absolutely nothing new at all in this stretch of Harabah. No new Shadows, no new items, nothing.
Didn't get one of these before, so it's the closest to something new. It's not super-great at this point, despite it being technically better than the "average". Yeah. Weapon fusion, in general, kinda skews the weapons curve a bunch.
Anyway, Fuuka finds the boss when we're on... floor 177. Dangit, Fuuka.
Not even any new quests that we can finish up here. Just gonna skip straight to the boss, then.
Justice Stasis Giant x3 (Portable)
So, Stasis Giants are incredibly boring.
They have a lot of Slash elemental attacks and not much else. Zan-Ei is an odd choice, but it does get boosted on a New Moon so it might be a little bit more dangerous than normal.
Mighty Swing is... a thing, I guess. It's super, super outdated at this point so we've not got anything to worry about here.
Deathbound is the most risky and dangerous thing that they have, for sure. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Deathbound has a 25% crit rate on top of everything else that makes it very dangerous. Yeah.
Gigantic Fist is the only Strike elemental attack that they have, and one of a whole two attacks that aren't Slash. It's still just Gigantic Fist though; it'll hurt a bit but nothing we can't handle.
Double Fangs rounds that out as both their hands-down weakest attack and their final non-Slash attacking skill. It's incredibly outdated Pierce. We haven't seen it in for-fucking-ever for good reason.
Of course they have Power Charge. It'd be weirder if they didn't. They just don't use it overly often, really.
Oddly enough, they have some restorative spells. Diarama is the most likely one to come up, but they also have Posumudi and Me Patra. Allegedly. I've sure never seen it, though.
The actual fight is kinda eh. They're immune to Slash, resist Strike, Pierce, Fire and Wind. Each Stasis Giant has 1400 HP and SP. Oddly enough, their highest stat is Magic at 47; they have 37 Strength and 43 Endurance.
End tartarus_0d05
A Balm of Life isn't too shabby a reward, all things considered. Since this Tartarus boss fight was against three Shadows, its reminiscent of Thebel from way back when. Clearly there's a bit more to go, but anyone playing would know that since Elizabeth wants a drop from a Shadow that starts to spawn from floor 181 onwards.
We'll deal with that later, don't worry.
But first, the Stasis Giants pushes Makoto upto level 59. That means we can make Siegfried and he is the earliest Persona that can learn Vorpal Blade. It's a multi-target skill that has a base power of 500, 99% Accuracy and only has a 5% crit rate. It even has an added bonus of dealing 150% normal damage whenever Makoto's in Great status.
There's a bit of a glitch involving this skill, though. Naturally, it is possible to get it earlier via skill changes but if you do its a bit broken. It's significantly weaker and doesn't get the Great bonus. Vorpal Blade cannot skill change, and in vanilla it could not be the result of a skill change either.
But, hey, Siegfriend sounds to me like a teutonic dragon slayer. Just gonna pull Ares out of the compendium...
And use Scarlet Havoc. It's... kinda underwhelming, honestly.
It has a base power of 320, 99% accuracy and a 5% crit rate. It just deals Slash damage and has no added effects. It's genuinely worse than alternatives we have at this point that are easier to use.
The Poem For Everyone's Soul
In this Fusion Spell, you spliced the enemy into a million tiny slivers. If one were to be sliced that many times, there would be nothing left but a pile of dust... Oh... Is the dust at your feet...? Please accept your reward.
And there's Mitsuru's summer casual clothing. That makes all of those, so what's next?
Winter clothing, of course, and hey Valhalla. We can pull this one off right now, since Odin is a level lower than Siegfried.
So, Valhalla is a... very niche skill. A lot of fusion spells we've seen so far only cost 15% of Makoto's SP. This one costs 20%, which sounds pretty cheap all things considered.
It does make one person straight up invulnerable. It works like all buffs, so Junpei gets to make one action while invulnerable, and then when the turn order ticks back around to him again...
He becomes vulnerable again. He becomes very vulnerable, in fact, as Valhalla drops his HP and SP to 1. Yeesh.
Those who are called to Odin's hall by the Valkyries... They become immortal warriors, fighting unto eternity. Immortality may sound nice... but please be careful. Please accept your reward.
It's better armor than the Summer outfit, but its also a fashion item of course. That's way more important than things like "stats."
We can't do this one yet. We need Scathach, of course, who's not available until level 64. Also need Fuuka's s. link maxed, but we did that a while ago so that's not a big deal.
Nothing else to do here tonight, then. We'll just leave now.
...And because we came here, we accidentally skipped a fairly important cutscene. Thanks, game!
quote:
Glass breaks, an alarm goes off...
That voice...
Well, well, look who's... somehow... still alive.
Jin, the instruments, if you would.
I trust you do not need to be restrained?
Takaya...
Hey, hurry up, Chidori.
Rather notably, she left her sketchbook behind...
So, uh, yeah. That scene can be missed for some reason. That's pretty bad! Probably wouldn't really ever happen in practice, though.
Iwatodai Dorm
Tanaka's selling a new set of shoes. Shoes are probably the best thing to still bother buying, since they're not fashion gear and we can't bust the intended scale by... use of a basic mechanic.
Will she be able to live a normal life, like an ordinary girl? If you help her... Y-Yeah... you're right. There must be something that only I can do!
...Thanks, dude!
That doesn't bother me... ...but everyone else seems to despise it.
But, Career Experience starts right after that... 
*sigh* Bummer, huh? When The Moon's Reaching Out Stars (Reincarnation) / Way of Life -Deep Inside My Mind-
Umm, am I in trouble...?
*sigh* I'll have to be happy with just looking at her...Maybe you could... not be a weird creep? A bit too late now, but it's always a good time to start.
Nothing else of note to do today, so we'll head right on over to Akinari.
Living With Determination
Hey, that's cool.
I thought so too. I knew you'd understand.
See, it's the main character of a story that I'm writing...
He was born in the calm forest of green, but he turned out to be pink. He's so visible that he can't hunt for food easily, so he's always especially hungry.
So, he started living alone. ...But then he made a friend. His friend was a bird--but, a bird that was unable to fly.
...It's embarrassing to talk about. But, anyway... How does the story sound to you? It sounds interesting. ...Really? I've never tried writing a story before, and I'm kind of afraid it's going to suck. But, I'm writing it for myself, so that's what matters.
I started thinking about it the other day, actually... I wanted to write an upbeat story of my own to cheer me up. ...Maybe if I can find some meaning to life, I can put that in my story.
> Akinari smiled weakly.
> Your relationship is stronger now!
I hope I have enough time... Let's go home. We can talk again some other time.> You decided to go back to the dorm.
I like Akinari and all, but I'm really glad that he's finally found a creative outlet that doesn't involve complaining at a 17 year old for a couple minutes.
Iwatodai Dorm
So, we shouldn't go to Tartarus tonight.
wait what noooooo
Newscaster: It seems that someone threw an explosive device into the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital last night. Police suspect a crazed member of one of the Apathy Syndrome victims' families, and...
...Welp, so I guess there's nothing else to do tonight then. Just got a few days before this career experience thing. Might as well take advantage of free time while we definitely have it, then.
The Witching Hour The Voice Someone Calls
Um, I'm not sure how to say this, but... You need to go to the 4th floor... and please hurry!
Yamagishi sensed something! ...Other Persona-users. They're outside Tartarus!
Other Persona-users...? Don't tell me it's...
First, the Dark Hour won't go away, and now Strega is back!? What's happening!? How many are there, Yamagishi? There's only one, but... 
No... she's... she's inside... *shriek* What's wrong!?
Chidori!? She's speaking through Yamagishi!? I can't stand the sight of you all anymore... So, I've decided to do something about it. Come to me...
Junpei, do you know what's going on!? Junpei!
Just leave me the hell alone!
J-Junpei? Junpei, wait!
...And if we confront them, we may gain some insight into our current situation.
Please be careful. I sensed one person, but the other two may be nearby.
We'll go after Iori once you've made your decision. End
So, this is a bit of a surprise that just ocmes out of nowhere huh. Sure, there's the cutscene that lets you know Chidori's back with Strega, but the payoff for that being an instant attack is... a bit different to the normal pacing we've grown used to. Would've maybe expected some more time, maybe a scene of "Chidori is missing" and then whatever's gonna happen here being the full moon event since that counter is still right there...
Anyway, with Junpei understandably unavailable now, his slot goes to one particularly lucky android.
Chidori Yoshinothis covers the entire rest of the update; maybe just watch it instead
...... It doesn't make any sense! 
I mean, I know I'm not that smart, and I've done a lot of stupid stuff... But, we shouldn't be fighting like this!
That Which Comes From The Darkness
Whoa...!
Tch...
Get back, Junpei! It's useless trying to reason with her!
No! It's too dangerous! ...I know how you feel, Junpei-kun! But please, just back up!
Chidori Yoshino 「Hanged Man Medea」 (Portable)
Unavoidable Battle 
By all accounts, Chidori is the closest thing Strega have to a navigator. Much like Mitsuru, it seems like she can do that and be a front-line fighter... but not at the same time...?
Much like Takaya and Jin, she has mid-fight dialogue but she doesn't need to wait to get turns to say things.
Which is good, because... she won't be getting many of them.
Also like Takaya and Jin, new dialogue is triggered around the 1/3rd, 2/3rd and critical HP thresholds.
I just don't get it, Junpei...
So, Chidori's... really not a threat, surprise, surprise. She's from Strega, of course she's not dangerous. Draining Fire means that she's worse at that than Jin, for my money, and only nullifying Expel and Curse puts her below both Takaya and Jin on that front too.
She only has 1200 HP, is a lower level than the Stasis Giants we just fought and her stats are 35 across the board.
The most interesting thing about Chidori is that if she gets a turn, she recovers more HP from a special passive than we ever could. Spring of Life regens 8% HP here, which is more than even Regenerate 3 which is only 6%.
Chidori has a bizarrely high number of skills that she will never get to use. Both Mudoon and Mamudoon are obvious, all things considered.
But she even has all 3 multi-target debuffs. No buffs, outside of Mind Charge, though.
So, Chidori's Persona is Medea of the Hanged Man arcana. She fell in love with Jason (of Argonauts fame) and used her alchemical magicks to restore his elderly and frail dad back to youth. Here, she's a kind of rad skull demon thing that has the bare minimum of what could be called "animation".
There's more that Chidori CAN do, but would you really even believe me if I said she could cast Marin Karin/Sexy Dance? Because I sure wouldn't believe me.
She does, at least, give a fucking ton of EXP though. Jeez.
Junpei Ioriin case you want to skip the pre-battle/super-short battle bits
The Voice Someone Calls
Chidori, please... Tell me why you're doing this... What I fear most isn't death. What I fear most is... ...attachment. 
That's why we only live for the moment... But you... you brought me pain... Pain that I didn't want... Pain that I never asked for... Huh...? When I'm with you, Junpei, I fear everything... I fear loss... I fear death... 
Chidori...? Silence I'm sensing... What? What is it? That Which Comes From The Darkness
There you are, you sons of bitches! *sigh* Chidori... I see that it is too late. You've been poisoned by them... What the hell does that mean, you friggin' ghost!? *laugh* I am no ghost... Fate permitted me to live, even though I wasn't attached to life... 
You bastard... I've made up my mind! I won't let you do this to her anymore! I'll protect Chidori with my life! 
Takaya draws his hunting revolver...
*laugh* Silence
Huh...?
Jun...pei... Nooooooooo!!All of a sudden, we get an actual flash of white and things get... weird.
Mistic
I'm so happy you're awake... Chidori...? Huh...? I-I thought I was... I... I was wrong... 
I never felt that way before I met you, Junpei... And for the first time in my life, I... I realized what I wanted... And, what is that?
I, um, I... 
But, it could never last... I'm different from you... 
What...!? Knowing that scared me... ...because I had never really thought about dying... And it made me realize that I wouldn't be with you anymore... Chidori... That's why this is how it should be... 
Die...? Huh!?
Junpei-kun! Junpei! I...
She revived him... I can't believe it.
But, in order to revive a person, she must...
Living With Determination I can hear the life pulsing through you... *chuckle* Huh...?
Wh-What're you saying...!? Chidori... Chidori!
I-I'll protect you too! Please... don't go!
Chidori...! Thank you... Jun...pei... 
...!? This can't be happening... Chidori... Chidori, answer me... 
Meaningless...!? Silence Hm? Aaaah...!
The Path Is Open
...!?
What!?
Silence
Unavoidable Battle 
...Did he just do the impossible and hit Jin with a Fire attack?!
*gasp* *gasp* I refuse to... ugh...
Junpei!
Am I the only one getting deja vu here?
...Wh-What is the meaning of this!? *grunt* Release me!
Don't forget about your mission! This is just a waste of energy! I have something much greater to accomplish... 
...But know that the day I shall finish this is soon approaching. Silence
Stop! Let go! I...! She entrusted you with this life! 
......
Chidori, I... I... This is so hard... But... It's not just my life anymore... Junpei...