Part 17: Entry Fourteen: June 23, 2009

Entry Fourteen: June 23, 2009

Mood: Existing
Music: MCR, baby!

Things have been going about as normally as they can lately. The closest I've gotten to excitement is Tartarus, and the last trip was pretty disappointing. Anyway, here's what's been up:



On Wednesday, I overheard some students talking about the Culture Clubs at school. They come and go, y'know. They come and go.

Girl: Really? I guess some students transferred out...but it sounds interesting. I'm tired of going straight home with no extracurriculars...

It turns out there's three of them: the Art, Music, and Photography clubs. I'll probably end up joining one, but I'm not sure which just yet.



I had Integrative Learning that day, too.

Mr. Edogawa: We all need to start somewhere. Rome wasn't built in a day! The same goes for magic. It's important to learn the basics. So today, I'll tell you about the origins of magic. Long, long ago, at the dawn of civilization, man created primitive religions. Animism, totemism, and shamanism all fall into this category. You learned them in world history, right?



Mr. Edogawa: Shamans would fall into a trance state and act as the intermediary between worlds, but it counts as "magic", where humans can have the power of gods and spirits at their own hands. This shaman-style magical tradition would later be embraced by witches. Take the common European witch, for example. People today think witches derived their power from contracts with the devil, but that's just the image that Christianity imposed on them. The wtiches' predecessors were more like maidens serving the gods. It was through prayer to those gods that they earned their powers.



Mr. Edogawa: That's how they originally awoke to magic. Originally, Europe was full of religions that worshipped a slew of various gods. They were generically called "paganism". And for your information, the celebrations of Christmas and Halloween have pagan backgrounds. Now then, paganism and Christianity have a tighter connection to one another than you'd think. As the Roman Empire grew stronger, so did the population of Christians in the empire...

And so on and so forth.



After school, I headed down to the police station to pick up a set of brass knuckles like you guys wanted...



...and also stopped by to see Mr. Edogawa after class, since I was feeling under the weather. His garbage medicine didn't help, but at least I felt a little more brave since I drank it despite it smelling like Junpei's socks.



I also hung out with Yuko, but nothing special happened. (Did I mention I hate it when this happens?)



The next day, I overheard some students talking about the Kirijo Company, the corporation that funds our school.

Student: Kirijo? The Student Council President? You know, the Kirijo Company built this school. I wonder how a company that big was contracted to build a school...



I hung out with Chihiro that afternoon. (Shit!)



That night, I was feeling restless, so off we went to Tartarus. (That, and I didn't want to post an update where absolutely nothing happened.)



Mitsuru told me I was allowed to pick my own team members from now on, so I told Junpei he should stay behind, and took Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Yukari along. (Junpei is quickly outclassed by the other party members, since he's too specialized and can't heal.)



Before we left, I made a couple new Personas, too. This is Oberon, the King of the Fairies. (Oberon is a pretty good Persona - he can deal great Lightning damage, mass heal, and buff. He also resists both Light and Darkness, which is a very handy and rare trait.)



I also fused Zouchouten, the Guardian of the South. (He's pretty boring, but not bad for physical damage, and he also picked up Tarukaja and Rakukaja for buffing from the components I used to fuse him.)





Since Elizabeth had called awhile back, I knew we could proceed further up, so that's exactly what we did.



Akihiko gave me some boxing lessons along the way, but I incorporated kicks and such into my style as well to differentiate myself from him.



Oberon picked up a neat skill from one of the Personas I fused into him. It shoots pretty pink lasers at the Shadows; Bebe would love it! (This is Holy Arrow, a very handy skill that does a good chunk of physical damage and, more importantly, has a fairly high chance of Charming the target. It's one of my staples in random battles early on.)



Zouchouten...hits things. That's just what he does. Not really exciting, but it's nice to have him to fall back on if need be.



We ran into new Shadows on the way up, as usual. These guys are called Bronze Dice, and that's...well, it's exactly what they are. I don't even know how they're alive, but they are, and easily murdered using Oberon's lightning attacks.



This is another variation of the Cupid, the Jealous Cupid. I tried to take them out as quickly as possible with Bufu skills, since they'd use various status attacks otherwise.



I picked up a cool new Persona after a battle - this guy looks really familiar for some reason...



Here's another new Shadow. These guys would be pretty tough if they weren't very susceptible to Charm attacks; Holy Arrow and Sexy Dance make pretty short work of them. Oh, another thing - Fuuka's way better than Mitsuru at support; when she scans enemies we can see what Skills they can use along with their weaknesses and stats.



We found another rare chest on the way up...



...but it was just another Warrior's Seal. Weaksauce.



Up and up and up we went, fighting even more new Shadows along the way. These Phantoms use Mudo, much like the other ones, so we tried to take them down as quickly as possible before they started picking us off with it one by one.



The training did us all good - Oberon learned Mazio, my first mass attack spell!



It's pretty awesome. Burnt Shadows actually smell pretty good, y'know.



These Shadows are apparently stronger than most, but they didn't even get a chance to touch us. This drawing doesn't show them very well - they're snakes that constantly slither through entwined male and female symbols.



Charm worked great on them...



...they'd even heal us while Charmed!



As we neared the next Guardian battle, Yukari complained of being tired, so we went back to the entrance to pick up Junpei.



When we got there, I used the transporter to head back down to the entrance...



...and created a new Persona called Principality just in case. Careful Fusion imbued him with Ice, Fire, Wind, AND Light skills, which is definitely handy to have around.



On top of all that, he learned Media as well! With Principality, we headed back up to the floor with the Guardians and took them on...

Tartarus Boss 6 - Golden Beetles

(Using Oberon, these guys are a joke, which is nice after the Hell that is the Change Relic.)



Afterwards, Junpei and Yukari were both complaining about being tired, so we headed back home for the night.



The next day was pretty much SSDD. Hung out with Kenji, but nothing really came of it...



...and the day after that, I overheard a couple students talking about Mitsuru.

Student: She's going overseas after she graduates. Probably so she can run the Kirijo Company later...she's so different from us...the funny thing is, I hear she still lives in the dorms. I wonder why...maybe her parents were strict when she was growing up.



Speaking of Mitsuru, she came into class after school that day and told Yukari, Junpei, and I to meet up in the command room after school because the Chairman would be there.



I went home right after school and ran into Fuuka and Yukari playing with a dog outside.

Fuuka: Oh, hi!

I asked if I could pet him. He was kinda cute.



Fuuka: Koro-chan, go say hi! His name's Koromaru. I've seen him sitting by the steps of the shrine.



Yukari: Whaddya mean?
Passerby: He used to belong to a priest at Naganaki Shrine. Every afternoon, the two of them went this way on a walk.
Fuuka: That explains it...



Fuuka: He passed away...?
Passerby: Oh, you haven't heard the story? It was about six months ago...the priest was hit by a car while walking his dog. He didn't survive. Ever since then, that dog sits patiently by the site of the accident, and he goes for a walk everyady, just like when his owner was still alive...oh shoot, I have to get going! My son will be back soon!



Koromaru suddenly took off for some reason, and we just hung out until...

Fuuka: Wait, isn't the Chairman coming today? We should go get ready.

Yukari and I agreed, so we all went upstairs.




The Chairman wanted to discuss his Shadow research.



Ikutsuki: I want you to listen closely; it might be hard to follow.



Ikutsuki: We've known this for awhile. It's like their class or order.



Yukari: And...?
Ikutsuki: Oh, sorry. Ahem...those four Shadows belong to Categories I through IV, in order of their appearance! They may have looked different from the more common ones, but the classification scheme still applies.
Junpei: Is that something we should be excited about?



Fuuka: ...eight we haven't seen yet.
Ikutsuki: That's exactly right, Fuuka! You're quite sharp.
Junpei: Oh, uh, okay...but what are they after?
Ikutsuki: That's a good question, and that's what we haven't figured out yet: their motive. They don't kill their prey; they feed on their minds. It can be considered predation, but is it really? Is there a more underlying intent behind their behavior? The purpose of the Shadows as a whole...that's what we need to consider.
Akihiko: This is interesting, but no matter what, we still have to beat the rest of 'em.
Mitsuru: I agree. That's about all we can do at this point.



Fuuka: According to the data, each one has been stronger than the last, so we better start training harder...
Akihiko: We'll manage. We've got plenty of time.
Yukari: What about Tartarus? Why does it even exist...?



Mitsuru looked...odd when Yukari mentioned Tartarus. I couldn't figure out why. We discussed the Shadows and their categorization until bedtime - did you notice that you can tell which Arcana a Shadow belongs to by looking at its mask? Well, you probably didn't, unless you're in SEES...



The next day was a Sunday, so I hung out with Maya for awhile, but once again it didn't really go anywhere.



I ran into Yukari the next day before class.

Yukari: The night before last...the twelve Shadows...Tartarus...isn't there just too much we don't understand? It's starting to get to me...



I couldn't help her, but what I COULD do was give the right answers in class and become a little more popular. Apparently I'm becoming quite the celebrity at school, meaning drama's not far behind. My life will remain a goddamn mess, I'm sure.



I went to go see the old people that afternoon.



Bunkichi: I'm sorry for troubling you about the persimmon tree...it's a reminder of our son. Before his death, he was a teacher at Gekkoukan High School. He planted that tree on graduation day with the students in his first class.
Mitsuko: That tree is about to bear fruit...why now? Why do they want to cut it down now?

I told them not to worry, we'd find some way to save the tree.




Bunkichi: Wow, Minato-chan, you've really captured her heart! You must be popular with the ladies! My wife's no sucker, after all! I feel I'm looking at myself when I was in my prime!

Hm, they like me more, so that must mean...




FINALLY.





It took me long enough to get another one of these.





Damn, I was hoping it was Melon Bread, but I guess Crab Bread's fine. I headed back to the dorm after that, munching away on the Crab Bread. It was crabtastic.



Last night, I had a...disturbing dream.



It was the Dark Hour...



...and someone had just awakened from being Transmogrified.



Teenager: How the heck did I--wh-what the hell is this?!




A group of three strange people walked up to the teenager.



Pale Man: Truth be told, we all visit this world every night.
Teenager: Wh-what are you saying? Who the hell are you?



Smart Guy: Take a look...name, address, etcetera...this is you, right?
Teenager: Wha--?! Where did you get this?!



Teenager: Revenge?! What kinda bullshit is this?! Who put you up to this?!



Teenager: "Professionals"...? Oh shit...you mean the rumors on the 'net are true?!



The pale man took a step toward the teenager, drawing a Magnum as he did so.

Teenager: Why me?! What'd I do?!



Pale Man: Your notion of right and wrong is irrelevant. My client's wishes are all that matter. People hear what they choose to hear, and believe what they choose to believe.




The teenager tried to run...




...but he didn't get far.



Smart Guy: Doesn't matter...we've held up our end of the bargain. Besides, tomorrow this will seem like some random crime.
Pale Man: If there's nothing else...I'm feeling rather tired.

The trio walked off, and my dream ended there.



Strangely enough, today I overheard some students talking about some kind of revenge request website.

Listener: Revenge request? What's that?
Gossip: You can write the person's name you want to get revenge on, and bam! Mission accomplished. They say it's guarunteed successful, and completely anonymous.
Listener: Seriously?! Give me the URL, quick!
Gossip: Well, it's just a rumor...I mean I don't know the details...why are you so desperate?
Listener: Huh? I'm not...I'm not thinking about revenge at all.
Gossip: ...



After school today I hung out with Chihiro, but didn't get any closer to getting her glasses or skirt off. Damn.



I took a nap later today and had another dream. In it, I saw Shinjiro at the ramen shop...



Server: Coming right up!



Shinjiro: Shut up. You always eat that protein shit.
Akihiko: Hmph...



Shinjiro: ...Is that what this is about?
Akihiko: We've got four new members. Things have changed quite a bit since you left. We're more aggressive now.
Shinjiro: I'm not interested.
Akihiko: Think about it, Shinji. Don't let your power go to waste.



Akihiko: Shinji!
Shinjiro: I made up my mind a long time ago. I ain't goin' back.
Akihiko: You have to let the past go. What's done is done. It's time you moved on.



Akihiko: What?!
Shinjiro: Face it...



I woke up after that and couldn't get back to sleep, so I've been blogging since. Anyway, I'm gonna try to get back to sleep. See ya, guys.

Oh, before I go, a few questions...

Which Culture Club should I join: Art, Music, or Photography? Also, what's the deal with that chameleon coming and going?

Who should get the most time in Tartarus, since I can only take four members?

And finally, which Links should I work on? Here's the list...

Magician: Kenji, the classmate
Chariot: Kazushi, the track star
Hierophant: Bunkichi and Mitsuko, the bookstore properietors
Emperor: Hidetoshi, the head of the disciplinary committee
Hermit: Maya, the MMORPG player
Temperance: Bebe, the foreigner
Hanged Man: Miako, the grade schooler
Justice: Chihiro, the treasurer
Moon: Nozomi, the Gourmet King
Strength: Yuko, the Track Team manager
Devil: Tanaka, the "celebrity"
???: The thin boy in the striped shirt (Requires ???)

Coming up in the next entry: Maybe our damn Links will actually go somewhere!