Part 89: 11/23/09 - 11/28/09

Whew, so... after last night, this seems a bit excessive but I guess it's fair enough.



Before we do anything else, there's a new recording up on the fourth floor.

Practice Session



It's been here for a bit, but I've been ignoring it on purpose this time! Just for a day like today (the real world today) and we had time for it.



Ha!





*pant* *gasp*



He says, twirling the broom around to practice his... post-battle victory pose. Okay, that's kinda neat.

......
But come to think of it... I don't have to practice in secret anymore...
I don't live on the first floor in this dorm, so I might be disturbing the people downstairs...



But the longer the weapon, the better it is for taller people...



Ow...!



I hope I get taller soon...



Whew...
Maybe I should drink more milk...
......
Ugh... it hurts my stomach sometimes, though...
......



End

Iwatodai Dorm



...but I know he's going to be okay.

Akihiko's mindset here is the same as it was for Ken, I see. It worked for the literal child, so...



They couldn't have come from nowhere; someone must have created them.
I wonder what that person was thinking...
Couldn't he foresee that this would happen?



...is the preservation of their own lives.
But, Chidori-san gave her life force to Junpei-san.
There was a connection between them that transcended space and time.

That seems a bit hyperbolic to me.



I know they're still "together" now...
But, I never thought it would end like this...



But Fate chose the most beautiful way to end her life.

I, uh... shoulda sent a poet, apparently.



Do you think he'll be okay...?
Yeah, he'll be fine.
Oh, I'm glad to hear that.



Anyway, today's a Monday that's a day-off. We have a whole two options for what to do today, and... Mamoru makes more sense right now. Don't worry, Nozomi will get the spotlight he deserves and I'm holding off on that for a reason.

Joy



> Mamoru is shoveling takoyaki into his mouth.

*munch* *gulp* yum...
Oh man... just a few more.
What are you doing?
Uh, well... this is kind of just what I do. I like to eat pretty fast.



When I'm with my siblings, they just polish off the side dishes.
That was pretty fast compared to my record.
Anyways, Makoto...



There's going to be a coach there from a big athletic college.
You know what that means? If I do well enough, I might get a scholarship nod.
Sounds like a good plan.
I know, right? Then I don't have to quit the Kendo Team...



I had pretty much given up on going to college.
We really didn't have the money.
So then I hear about the chance at a scholarship... Do you see now why it's such a big deal?

I, uh, I didn't say it wasn't..? You COULD be a dick and do that, but that's just being a dick for the sake of it.



I bet my mother would be really relieved.
Yeah, I bet she would be.
Yeah, you're right. I feel more relaxed when we're talking like this.



I really wish my dad was still alive.



......
Well, complaining isn't going to accomplish anything. I'll just have to hope for that recommendation.

> Mamoru is giving his future serious consideration.

> Mamoru expressed his concerns.

> Your relationship is stronger now!





Later.

> Mamoru rushed to the supermarket.

> You decided to return to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm



It's hard to lose someone you're so close to.
......
I'm worried about him...



Newscaster: Miraculously, no one was killed or wounded, but one patient is presently unaccounted for.

There's nothing updated this evening, so I just saved the news report on... Takaya and Jin breaking into the hospital and Chidori following them out.

Y'know, I sure don't remember any bombs in that scene.

Paulownia Mall



Oh, right, and we can collect the Gungnir for either Makoto or Ken to use.



While we're here, we'll commission the Balmung for good measure. It's notably not quite as strong as the Laevateinn, but the +100HP for Junpei might prove useful. The Fire Boost of the Laevateinn only really matters if he's using that sword specifically anyway.



Gungnir is, in my opinion, better than Mjolnir on the whole. It's not as strong, it does regular ol' Pierce damage but it's significantly more accurate, still has Elec Boost (so it pairs well with Odin, appropriately!), Ken can actually use this one too and also its a spear and not a hammer.



So, about that whole career experience thing...



It takes up 4 days, oh boy. You might think we'd get to, like, do stuff on evenings or something still. That's cute.



We don't even get a scene to accompany this or anything. Just the dark blue empty screen and this one text box.



And then BAM! It's Friday. That's not even me skipping over anything, there. The game acknowledges this is a waste of your time and does it anyway. Thanks. Great. Appreciate it.

Iwatodai Dorm



I'm getting really worried now...
After all he's been through... I can understand why he's feeling down...
He got really lucky this week, though...
No one realized he took some days off because everyone was at Career Experience.
Well, I hope he's feeling a little better now...



I can't take this anymore...!
...I know how you feel.
But, you don't have to do it all by yourself.
...I know.



A few days have already passed, but he still seems the same.
Should we just give him more time? Or should we try to help him?
Let's help him.
You're right... He needs help. But, what should we do?

That, I suppose, is the real question. Obviously we start by ignoring Akihiko's answers of "nothing"...



He must have gone somewhere...
What if Junpei-kun never recovers from this...?



I performed routine labor, over and over again.



That, and what happened to Junpei...
Speaking of which, I wonder if he's going to be okay...



It was boring.
No wonder Junpei-san didn't attend Career Experience...
I hope he recovers soon.



He's just afraid to do it.
I think all he needs is a little push.

I... what are you even talking about here?



Newscaster: There seems to be a high likelihood that the girl was kidnapped by the culprit who threw the explosives...

So, the last we saw the TV was on Monday when Chidori was mentioned as missing. Now we're getting an update on Chidori, who's noted as being missing as of "yesterday." It's not impossible that she was mentioned on the news on Thursday (we can't prove otherwise after all), but this sure seems like either a goof on the text or maaaaybe we weren't originally meant to skip the entire rest of the week.



The upside to this is that we can already get the Balmung ready for when Junpei's back to normal. I'm not gonna equip this to Makoto, although the HP+ helps him a lot too.



Changing Seasons (Reincarnation) / Sun



Rather nicely, we just skip all the way to the after school stuff. Always appreciated when that happens, really.

He was walking quite fast. Perhaps he has not fully recovered from the incident.
I am concerned...



It's tough for me to see him like that... I hope he feels better soon.

Y'know, it's not really explicit, but it sure seems like Junpei is Ryoji's only friend. I dunno, maybe it's just because of that's the way things are framed insofar as they matter to us, but it stands out a bit here.



Oh well, that's not our problem either way. Let's spend today with Mitsuru, since we just started her link and her free days are relatively sparse.

Joy



It's surprisingly small...

> Mitsuru seems nervous.

Can you eat with your hands?
How rude...



I did, however, see a television commerical for a fast food restaurant once...
I was taken back by the way the customers ate their food. It seems so... primitive.
...Tch, listen to me. I sound like such a snob.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not very familiar with fast food etiquette.
So, I'm glad you are here with me.



Is it profitable to sell these items at such a low price...?
I'd be interested to know the average cost per unit...

Much, MUCH lower than you think.

> Mitsuru seems intrigued.

...Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought again...
I didn't ask you here just to eat...



We are all facing a trial, in the true sense of the term.
...And we've made it this far because we've been blessed with each other.
I admit that I've been hard on you, much more so than the others. But I just wanted you to know...
I appreciate your contribution.

> Mitsuru seems to depend on you.

> Your relationship with her has grown...





Unfortunately, I have another engagement. This was fun. We should do it again some time.
I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll see you later.

> After saying goodbye to Mitsuru, you decided to return to the dorm.

Troubled



Yeah...
So, whaddya want?



That's...
They were going through her items when they found that.



Hang in there, Junpei.
Hey, Junpei, can I take a look?
You wouldn't be able to understand her drawings anyway...



It's mostly obscured because Yukari's in the way, but Mitsuru IS just as surprised as everyone else. You can see bits of the "!" peeking out from the side.

Wow, it's really good...
This is amazing... Who wouldn't be able to understand it?





While this seems to make sense in the here and now, remember the first time Junpei spoke to her it was because she was sketching at the station.

This sketch of Junpei is on page 1 of her book. That's... incredibly revealing in ways that may not have been intended.



Junpei...



It's like she's telling me to stop moping around...
She must be looking out for you...
Arf!



And, I'm sorry for all the times I snapped at you...
It still bothers me a little... But, I want you to know that I'm counting on your abilities.
I'm counting on you, too.



Junpei...





Iwatodai Dorm



...Wait, every page was just Junpei? Okay, uh, guess I was wrong.

Do you understand the reason why she changed her style of sketching so drastically?
Yes, I do.
Good. Don't forget it.



I think the same is true for Junpei-kun and Chidori-san.
Chidori-san has passed away, but her bond with Junpei-kun will last forever.



Wait, did that sound strange? Let me try again...
I have confirmed that Junpei-san's mental state has returned to normal.





Anyway, I'm glad that Junpei-san is himself again.



Chidori might have touched it up a little...
But, pretty soon I'm gonna look just like him!
Wait and see.



So, we've only got a few days before the first full moon where we don't explicitly have a boss fight to prepare for.

I do wonder what's gonnna happen then. Nothing seems to be specifically for that situation this time, after all. Hrm.

But, well, before that happens we do have to go back to Tartarus one last time. This time for like actual real stuff rather than a singular boss fight, I promise.



For the most part, no one's really any different from the last time we went. We did just skip straight to the boss and then had Chidori immediately afterwards, so that limits who could've levelled up any in the interim. As a result, Yukari's just as sorta maybe kinda effective as before. She'll potentially get Garudyne in the interim, bringing her almost on par with people like... Akihiko, oddly enough. The Vayu Bracers will help with that, provided she doesn't need to worry more about Anti-Elec measures.



Junpei's secretly now our most survivable person. Sorta. He auto-gained Spring of Life when Hermes evolved and that skill is wholly unique to him. It gives him 8% HP a turn, just like it did Chidori. Between that, a Space Badge, inherent Counter skills and being able to buff Defense on his own accord, Junpei is kind of a surprisingly viable tank. Especially with Balmung giving him an extra 100HP if he grabs that too. His Magic is complete balls, but that's no different to normal.



Despite his generalist nature, Akihiko remains a technically solid pick purely because he can throw down Boosted+Amped Ziodynes. Diarama and Fist Master are functionally wasted skill slots at this point, but everything else is pretty okay.



Mitsuru snagged a level off of dunking on Chidori and that just nudged her slightly closer to Diarahan. She's still easily the most powerful and threatening non-Makoto character we have. On paper anyway; anything that resists Ice (and, I guess, Panic) at all immediately stops her in her tracks.



Since she was also in the Chidori fight, Aigis got a bunch of EXP and is now level 56 and has Marakukaja giving her two multi-target buffs at last. Matarukaja is her last but she is definitely not going to hit level 60 during this stretch of time. It'd take a ton of actual grinding, unfortunately, and I'm not doing that here.



Koromaru is... Koromaru. He's pretty simple on paper, and he finally learned Mudoon hurray! He's not getting Mudo Boost for a while, though. And we've got Die For Me! which does it but better. Being able to throw down Boosted+Amped Agidynes is nice, but he's not super-threatening with them if it ends up mattering. He's thoroughly average across the board, Agility aside, but he's still Koromaru. I'd be lying if I wasn't expecting him to be along for the ride anyway.



Ken might not have levelled up, but thanks to Odin he still suddenly got much better. Boosted Hamaons is nice, but Samsara just ends randoms much more effectively. He's still a pretty okay pick on the whole, though, because he CAN now throw down Boosted+Amped Dynes. He sure won't be getting Vile Assault anytime soon, though.

Same deal as usual, here:

3 slots to fill. Who's getting 'em?