Part 84: 11/14/09 - 11/16/09: Harabah The Drought (Part One)

I... see that we have Tuesday as straight-up free time. I don't think that's a holiday. It's probably the trip, then. Guess we'll see!

Changing Seasons (Reincarnation) / Sun



Oh good, more Edogawa. Welp...

I'll be teaching today because... Maybe it's best you don't know.
Anyway, it was a spur of the moment assignment, so I had to devise a lesson plan quickly...
And the first thing that came to mind was a seminar on practical magic.



Some people would say it doesn't count, but breathing and magic are actually very closely related.
That's because breathing affects more than your body... it influences the mind as well.
The ancient Greek word for breath was "pneuma," and it was consndered crucial in medical scuence of the day.
Pneuma later came to refer to kindly spirits of humans in Gnostic Christianity.
That was when breathing came to be recognized as playing a crucial role in magic.



Pretty sure this was already mentioned a few days ago...

There also exists a procedure called Ibuki in Shingo that revolves around breathing.
From these examples, breathing techniques spread around the world through the influence of magic.
But back to practical matters... Let me show you something called tan t'ien breathing.



It's a type of abdominal breathing in which you focus your energy on a point, called a tan t'ien...
First, you must know where your tan t'ien is located.



Why would such a place on your body be considered a special spot, and get a name like this?
It's because the tan t'ien is where the most energy can be charged.
Notice how, if you send strength to the tan t'ien, you can't feel strength anywhere else in your body...
Your tan t'ien absorbs your body's strength, stabilizing the mind and the body.
Let's try doing some tan t'ien breathing now.



Once you pinpoint your tan t'ien, take a few breaths.
Imagine that the air you pull into your body is centering on the tan t'ien...
Then, slowly and deeply, breathe through your nose.



Repeat this process...
But know one thing.
If you're doing it correctly, you shouldn't be feeling any pain.
Simply breathing deeply, in and out, shouldn't cause you pain.
If that happens, there's something inhibiting your mind...



It's important not to believe that all you're doing is breathing.
In truth, you can improve your physical fitness through breathing techniques.
That leads, in turn, to improvement in your psyche and astral self.
That's it for today...

Oh thank God we're done. That was somehow the most boring and pointless Edogawa segment yet.

...Only reason I didn't skip it was because if I had to sit through that, then so do you!

Silence



Anyway, let's have a real scene now.

It's rare for you to miss a Student Council meeting.
I take it someone asked you to find me?
Well, yeah, even though I'm not a member.
...Sorry about that.



I bet you have your hands full, since it's both for juniors and seniors...
Hmph... The class trip, huh...



You're not thinking of skipping the trip, are you?
......
You can't do that!



It's true, she has been! Yukari has had things to say to Mitsuru since, uh... like, April? Really been sitting on some stuff for way too long.

Is that so...?

Tranquility

To tell you the truth, you're not the easiest person to relate to.
But, I know what it's like to lose a father...
Takeba...



And I'm going to begin this bold new venture by talking in circles and repeating myself!

......



....Just in time for Ryoji to turn up. Welp.



Hey there, ladies!
I've been looking everywhere for you.

Silence

Ryoji-kun...
*sigh* Why are you here...?



Some girl I've never met before asked me to look for her...
What?
I wasn't the only one she asked, either.



Seems like the Vice President has the whole school looking for you...
But, I'm the lucky one who found you, Mitsuru Kirijo...



There's a time and a place for things, Ryoji.

...It just so happens that for Ryoji that is "wherever he sees a girl" and "whenever he sees a girl." Apparently.

(also the added bonus here is that yuri lowenthal is just asking out tara platt who is his actual wife so )

I know this one restaurant: it's on the top floor of a 3-star hotel...
The view at night is almost as breathtaking as you.
...Huh?
Senpai! You better get back to the meeting!
I-I suppose so.
Takeba... Thank you for your concern.



Sensibly, Mitsuru gets outta dodge at the first chance.



..."For now," huh. I don't like the sound of that...
Um, Yukari-san... How 'bout you? Would you like to join me for dinner?
I know this place on Shirakawa Boulevard...



Well, that ended about as well as it could've.

Changing Seasons (Reincarnation) / Sun



...We can immediately go and see what Ryoji thinks of it, of course.

Is that not her style?
Mitsuru-san seems like a tough nut to crack...

Unfortunately, he just thinks like Ryoji so I don't know what else I should've expected.



By the way, I hope you like Yukari. She's gonna be around today a whole lot!

Joy



Hey, Makoto-kun, how 'bout you pick one for me?
Alright.
Pick something cute that will look good on me.







...!
Uh huh...
What!? You're not!?
You want me to forgive you...?
Wait! Don't do that! Do what you wanna do!
...But, that's not what I meant...



...Well, you don't have to worry about me...
Huh?
You want to get together and talk about it?
......



I'll call you later, okay?
...Alright. Bye.

> Yukari hung up.



...Somehow, I kinda guessed.

She apologized for everything that's happened.
She said she won't get remarried until I forgive her...
Can we sit for a while?



Do you want to see her?
Well, I'm not the one who asked to meet. I'm afraid it might get ugly.

> Yukari smiled a little.



Right now, Yukari is 17. You would be forgiven for forgetting her birthday, since it happened in October (was the 19th) and no one makes a big deal out of any of them.

So, uh, if it's been almost 10 years since she last saw her mom, then she... has been doing something since she was like 8 or so. What? Uhhh....

When I see her, I might get angry and say something cruel.
But... It's probably about time I talked to her...
Nothing will change if I just run away...
Deep down inside, I think she still misses Dad.



......When did that happen? I don't remember agreeing to that.

She couldn't handle it... Losing someone so important to her...

> Yukari has opened up to you.

> The two of you are becoming even closer...





We can go shopping some other day.

> You decide to go back to the dorm...

Iwatodai Dorm



...I apologize for worrying everyone.
Our only priority now is to do something about Tartarus.
...I will do my best.
Well, the school trip is next week, so that should be fun.
...But unfortunately, Amada and Koromaru will have to stay here.

Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. There's no major Shadows left (and it's not even close to a full moon), and the... threats(???) that were in Strega are clearly dead so...



Anyway, now that Mitsuru's stopped sitting around on her own upstairs there's a whole buncha updated dialogue in the dorm.

I sure am!
Well, I hope it will be a memorable trip.



not today we're not

She may not be worried...
...but that doesn't mean I'm not worried.



It's funny how everyone has these stereotypes of that place...



Yukari-chan used to live in Kyoto.
Yeah, I knew that.
Maybe we can ask her to be our tour guide.
...Or would that be rude?



I thought about asking the nurse if something was up, but I'm sure the staff doesn't give a shit...
I... I'm gonna stop visiting her...
Don't give up.
R-Really?
Yeah... you know, you're right! I'm famous for never knowing when to quit!
I'm going to visit her whether she likes it or not!

...And that's the story of how Junpei got arrested on stalking charges and was subject to a restraining order.



Well, okay, maybe not but he's sure not doing himself any favours with that conclusion.



I thought that it was simply an activity to experience, but it seems to be more complex than that.
What do you obtain when you go on a "trip"?
Memories.
Memories...
What do you benefit from gaining memories?
...It is very difficult.

And we'll leave Aigis with this whole philosophical consideration thing.



We have a date with Yukari to... get to...

...Okay, yes, I can see now where that came from before.

When The Moon's Reaching Out Stars (Reincarnation) / Way of Life -Deep Inside My Mind-



> Yukari seems to be enjoying herself...

Oh...
Um...

> Yukari seems nervous.

I...



Well, it'd be nice to know what counts as an appropriate amount for a "normal" girl in the first place, really.

It's a healthy appetite.
R-Really?
...Hey, what's with that smirk?
"A healthy appetite," huh... *giggle*



> Today, you two became a lot closer.



As always, this was the important part here. Getting from 8 to 9 without something this convenient would take a little bit longer than I'd like...

> It's getting dark out...

> You decide to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm





I've alluded to it before (like maybe twice but hey), but I've been in a Persona tabletop before. It used Marvel Heroics and Personae were basically just actual Jojo Stands. Like, for real, rather than the "friendly allusions" that they are now. I opted to be the Navigator because I like playing support roles and I even got to do both that and do fighting stuff before Persona 5 came out.

to say nothing of how ive run three devil survivor tabletop games and uhhh anyway where was i this isnt tradgames



Right, second floor. The boys are hanging out up here. Even Koromaru's decided to join in!

This is not good, man. What if the seniors decide to quit SEES?
I don't know if we can handle it without them, man.
Junpei-san! Don't say that!



> He seems ready for anything.



*sigh*
What's going to happen...?
Woof! Woof!
You're probably saying, "Don't worry," right Koromaru? You're such a brave dog.



Dammit! How long is this gonna continue!?

I'unno, probably not very long anymore given that she's already opted to rejoin the main team as of yesterday. I think this was meant to be accessed before then but, well, sometimes these things just kinda happen.



Anyway, we've got one day left to go before we leave Tatsumi Port Island for a bit, again.

Changing Seasons (Reincarnation) / Sun



Listening: Of course! Yukata, bathing suit, flashlight, snacks a-and my checkerboard.
Gossiping: ...You don't travel light, do you?



Some teachers believe you should visit foreign countries... But, I steadfastly oppose them each year!
It's shameful, the way we've lost our passion for our homeland...



I'm sure your teachers haven't covered that subject...
You all know that our national flower is the cherry blossom, right?
However, in the days of the Man-yoshu, if you were to ask someone, they would tell you it was the plum.



She fed me gruel... I'll never forget the taste!
I tried to give her something in return, but she never accepted my gratitude...



I think Ekoda remembers when MTV was about the music. I could be wrong here, but I don't think Japan's "natural beauty" is old man rants.



Fortunately, Ekoda promptly returns back to being off-screen so we can go talk to Aigis about nerves.

Not really.
You seem calm. Perhaps you should be a little more nervous...
How 'bout you?
I don't know. Do I seem like I am?



Ryoji's also over here. This seems like a completely reasonably for him to be excited for, but... it's Ryoji. He's not been around long, but I'm already getting Aigis' bad feeling about him and this trip.



Anyway, we'll round out today with even more Yukari!

Joy



> Yukari is quiet.

......
......

Great talk! Same time next week?





But... There's something I want to ask you...
Um... Makoto-kun...
......
Why do you spend so much time with me?



So much has happened between us...
Is it because we're both Persona-users? Or are we just good friends?
What do you really think of me?
Lately, when I see you with Fuuka, I wonder what you're talking about...



So, um... I want you to look at me the way I look at you... Makoto-kun...

With... abject jealousy?

> You feel warm affection from Yukari.

> Your relationship is becoming more intimate.





...Wh-What am I saying!?
...I've gotta go!

> Yukari left.

> You decide to go back to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm



I'm so psyched!
...It kinda sucks that we're only going to Kyoto, though.
Hm, Junpei-san seems to have his energy back.
I guess there was no reason to worry about him.
Huh? What're ya talkin' about? I'm always energetic!
By the way, you better behave while we're gone. Don't go throwin' any parties, got it?
I won't.
Oh, and please don't worry about bringing me back a souvenir.
...Hey, are ya tryin' to use reverse psychosis on me or somethin'?
No, of course not.
...It's just that Kyoto has a lot of great tasting snacks.

Right, so, uh... this doesn't really wholly square with what Ken said before but whatever. He did pretty clearly ask us for something after all. I guess he just doesn't want something from Junpei.



I was really worried she wouldn't.



So, it's better to focus on those things you can change.
Got that, bro?
Alright, then! Let's have an awesome time on the school trip!

Man, Junpei's mood right now is up and down like a yo-yo. If that was intentional, and not just the result of FES changing some of his dialogue this month, that'd be an interesting character-beat. Alas, it's pretty much just an accident it seems...



What's never an accident, though, is who's on Who's Who!

Today's subject has blue hair, strange makeup, a guitar case, and an odd way of walking.



...Next is news. Apathy Syndrome, go away!



So, Eikichi Mishina! Michel here is incredibly rad (but he's still no Baofu) and Trish mentioned his guitar case specifically for a reason: in Innocent Sin, where he was playable, he used a guitar case machine gun as a weapon. Yes, really.

Anyway, Michel is one of the first three playable characters in Persona 2 along with Tatsuya and Lisa. He decides to take on Joker-sama out of revenge for his bandmates being left as Shadowmen by Joker because they had no dreams. Eikichi's probably one of the most straight-forward characters in the whole Persona series, really. His primary Arcana is Death (because he's a Scorpio; it's an astrology thing) and his default Persona is Rhadamanthus, a Greek king and judge of the dead.

Odd note is that he's the tallest playable character in the whole Persona series, though, at... 6ft 1in. Yeah.



Anyway, today the girls (minus Mitsuru) have taken up residence on the second floor.

But, that won't make things any easier...
But, a school trip is a rare event.
It would be a shame to miss it.
Yeah, I guess.



The school trip won't be any fun if everyone's sad...
I want to look back on this trip with fond memories...
I understand how you feel...



...but I don't think it will help us decide what to do.
It's just a chance to relax for a while.
That's not necessarily true, Aigis...
*sigh*
I wonder when the answer will become clear...

Well, we're not gonna be getting to The Answer for a bit longer I guess, so...

wait wrong answer right sorry

The Voice Someone Calls



Anyway, hey, Tartarus! Apparently there's something new in here?? But first, here's a thing we can give to Yukari. We've seen that she's oddly tsundere about this outfit specifically, so...



I can't believe you're ordering me to wear this...
You've really let this whole "leader" thing go to your head, you know that?
......
Fine... I'll wear it. Hope you're happy...

Not really, but it's technically better armor than what you currently have...



......!? A-Are you seriously asking me to wear this!?
A-Are you certain this will help in battle...? I want an explanation for this afterwards...!

Okay no in Mitsuru's case it's a downgrade in every way.



Anyway now that I feel gross, we'll pick up Koromaru to somewhat counterbalance it and go... back to the top, I guess?



........Yep, those sure are maid costumes alright.



HEY LOOK THERE'S STAIRS HEADING UP NOW AND WALLS ARE HERE WHERE DID THEY COME FROM



So, block 5! It fits nicely in this gap that was pretty conspicuous beforehand. Just in case there was really anything else that needed to make it super obvious Hanged Man wasn't the end.

tartarus_0d05



Yeah, it's a sort-of nightclub/rave-esque design. It's probably my second favourite block, aesthetically. Which is like all you can judge 'em on, really, since they're identical otherwise.



Anyway, Harabah is..... hang on Gold Shadow as the very first thing we encounter?!



Just gotta do the needful right quick and murderise the shit out of it before he tries to flee.



That's one down, just like that. Shame we need two of these...



Anyway, yeah, Red Shadow next whatever. We'll get to that in a bit.

First, though, Harabah. Like all the rest, it's a Hebrew word that in this case means "lack of water." It's even used in the Bible to specifically refer to the land passage in the Red Sea when it gets parted by Moses.

Tartarus' Block names sure do like referring to desert areas a lot, huh...

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out



We'll start with the Red Shadows today, why not. Ruinous Idols have a very clear, very focused MO which I can respect but they're bad at it and have the balls to have an Expel weakness.



...I am pretty dang sure that Samsara with Hama Boost cannot fail to hit a weakness. Oops!

Sure it costs 40SP so its not exactly cost-effective (I could Hama(on) twice for way less and have a very good chance of success still), but it's just so much more fun!



An important note is that the drop Moon Tablets fairly often when doing Elizabeth's request for that. We need 3 of these in total, so it should only take 2 fights to do.



On top of that, a new area of Tartarus means we've got a new rank of cards available. 2.6x EXP boost, outdated weapons, even better healing or a pretty decent chunk of money but still not enough to warrant fighting explicitly for. I would still just run Tartarus actively avoiding fights whenever I want/need money. It's more worth your time.



Skill Change fun happened in the very first battle here! Kikuri-Hime swapped Diarahan out for Mabufudyne. Remember how we normally can't get this until level 64 at the earliest? And Elizabeth wants us to fuse it onto Lilith who's level 61? Guess what just became possible at the right level! Thanks, Kikuri-Hime.



Anyway, uh, Shadows. Imprudent Maya isn't particularly strong and its ST debuffs are inconvenient but not a big deal either. No, these things are a little bit annoying because they seem to be a little bit dodgier than their 34 Agility implies. Great. (Imprudent Maya are SMTIV demons and have 34 in all their stats)



Apostate Towers don't turn up overly often in my experience, but I guess if they did having 2 different Poison skills would suck a bit. Boosted Maziongas is only really a big deal if you bring both Yukari and Aigis... and have Makoto weak to Elec as well... meh. We have (Mar)Agidyne which we can boost and/or amp without even trying so...



See, now this is just sad. Being able to Mind Charge Ziodynes is almost threatening, but uh... Mahama is so weird. It might work on Koromaru, I guess, but that's all.

Excuse me, Crazy Twins, but could you please...



ＤＩＥ　ＦＯＲ　ＭＥ？

once again sp cost is fairly high but once again i dont care



Next up we have the Kaiden Musha, which are just like the other samurai dudes we fought. Except they're not weak to Curse, so we just use Samsara instead of Die For Me! just to be extra safe.

Evading AND Resisting all 3 Phys elements is super-redundant and only serves to be as annoying as possible, really.



The last new boy is a Mighty Beast who is not very impressive, honestly. Tarukaja-ing Gigantic Fist is almost threatening, but Hanged Man used God's Hand which is just straight up stronger. Also Expel weakness so if these things ever get turns, I have done something wrong.



I said last "new" because, well, Scarlet Turrets are back. Electrute 'em and they are dead. Sucks to be them!

tartarus_0d05



That's it for new Shadows right now, so we'll just head on up the rainbow spiral staircase and see what else we can find.



Well, really quickly, Fuuka can find the boss fight. It's not that far, so it's not that impressive either. Since we're guaranteed to have Juno at this point, one way or the other, she might decide to be competent now. We'll see!



...hello second gold shadow nice to see you without trying for it





i am sorry it didnt get away i didnt have to try for the 2 gold medals i will undoubtedly get some form of comeuppance later



Like right now, maybe? Because we sure didn't get anything else of note at all until the boss fight. Welp. Casting Samsara and Die For Me! in every fight gets quite SP intensive, even with Cool Breeze and the Wizard's Mark filling in the gaps every now and then. So, we'll just take a quick trip back downstairs...

The Poem For Everyone's Soul



You will gradually encounter stronger Shadows as you ascend Tartarus.
The floors that you'll be exploring next are populated with very strong monsters.
Please keep this in mind.
Please accept your reward.



...Pretty sure we already got one of these from Liz. It's sorta nice, since it grants Regenerate 3 and I'm so never spending a skill slot on that. Probably not gonna use it much though. Maybe Junpei or Aigis can use it, if I really feel its necessary.



I have a very special reward for you this time...
A rocket-propelled metal fist...
It's not possible for a human to use it, but one of your party members might be able to.
Please accept your reward.



Not possible for a human, eh? Ah! So this is Koromaru's Aigis' joke weapon! Unfortunately like the rest, it's just 100 power/99 accuracy and that's it. So it sucks now. Figures.



Anyway, yes, hello Succubus. Just gonna make a new one of you for Lilith purposes that has Mabufudyne. Since Lilith is a Cross Fusion, we need specific Personae to make her. Succubus is one of 'em, so...



Also, here's Odin. Hi Odin! Odin is unironically one of the best Personae in the game. Sure, a Wind weakness is bad but we can deal with that easily enough when it matters. You see, since Odin ends up at level 62 by fusion he just falls short of level 63. Level 63 matters because that's when he gets Thunder Reign. Thunder Reign is a very powerful, unique Elec Spell. It has a base power of 650 and 99% accuracy, just like Ragnarok. Also like Ragnarok, it is a single-target spell. Unlike Ragnarok, it costs 32SP. Because it inflicts Shock... with a 100% proc rate.

So, uh, it's a cheaper Thunder Call that we don't need specific Personae to use AND it can be passed on in fusion. Thunder Call IS multi-target though, so it DOES have some niche uses still.

...Note that Thunder Reign is not Odin's last skill. And he already has Elec Amp because Odin is baller like that. Odin's last skill is... very, very, very good. It genuinely deserves to come after Thunder Reign.



Oh, and Odin has a Heart item like most special Personae. His sucks though; the Draupnir he gives bestows Divine Grace which doubles the effectiveness of healing spells. Yep. That's it. It's fuckin' bad here especially since you get these after Diarahan which is just a 100% HP restore so its hella pointless. Makoto can get it as a skill from Saki Mitama and Titania but like... that's it. Everyone else needs the Draupnir for it. Don't even bother.

Justice Judgement Sword x3 (Portable)

Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone



Anyway, here's todays boss fight: 3 arms with electric swords.



The Judgement Swords are not really all that impressive or dangerous.



They're mildly annoying with Yukari and/or Aigis around, but like that's it.



There's not really all that much they can even do, and none of it is really all that scary.



Unless they somehow stack Matarukaja and Marakunda and...



Follow up with Tempest Slash. It's a single-target skill that hits 1-2 times with 350 power each, and 95% accuracy. It has a 10% crit rate which matters a bit since that means that without (de)buffing, this thing can easily one-shot Yukari. Or other people with (de)buffing.

But they're not scary, still. You probably noticed in the screenshots a bit, already, but...



This is a fight that makes people who don't know what they're talking about complain about Mitsuru. Because if you set her to Act Freely expecting her to use Mind Charge, she'll cast Tentarafoo. Why?



Because it works. Yep. They have one maybe vaguely threatening thing they can do, and you can just get rid of it entirely.



So, hey, we're level 58. That means we can make Loki now! Loki is a Fool persona, of course, and he's the earliest access to Megidola.

Megidola has a base power of 320, 95% accuracy and costs 65 MP. As you may have guessed from that power compared to other stuff we can fling around...



...It is not worth 65 SP. Not even close. This is with Tarukaja and Mind Charge. Since we can't boost it further, most Almighty skills just fuckin' suck in this game. Megidolaon included. It has a base power of 650, 95% accuracy and costs... 80 SP. Fuck that, I'm never gonna use Megidolaon.

Fortunately there ARE two Almighty skills worth using. You could argue three, but I'm gonna say you're wrong it's just two. We'll get to them... sometime... in the far, far future.



Anyway, uh, Judgement Swords suck. Not to fight, they just suck. They are bad. They have 1300 HP, 1300 SP, 49 Strength, 32 Magic, 28 Endurance, 32 Agility and 34 Luck. They resist Physicals and Fire because aww you thought Junpei and Koromaru would be useful in a boss fight outside of pure support? That's cute. They also drain Elec, but most things around here have anti-Elec stuff so what's one more.

End

To make up for this bad, awful Shadow, here's Koromaru in a tuxedo as promised.



I did genuinely forget that this is Portable only, which is why I sorta........ hadn't mentioned it until now.



Requisite item for the area is "just" a Precious Egg, but that's genuinely getting to the point where we might bother using like one of these. Maybe. Probably.


Okay, probably not but whatever. Anyway, we're pretty much done here for tonight so we'll be off to Kyoto in the morning! I'm sure this'll be completely fine, right?