Part 142: 10/31-11/1: Spooky Veggies
Part 134: 10/31-11/1: Spooky Veggies
SpooOOOoooky Halloween, everyone! The only holiday I don’t refuse to acknowledge because it’s predicated on exploiting feelings of guilt to make you buy shitty cards for your family!
...Moving on!
Anon: waste of tax money imo
Anon: they’re def guilty
Anon: lol this place went to shit
Anon: Enough is enough!!!
Music: Suspicion
My sister is… serious. Her determination to win this fight is reflected in that casino. She won’t be easy to beat. I know that better than anyone. I want to understand our situation as soon as possible. Let’s go to the Palace today. 
Naaaaaaah, I have to make a spookytime costume. Hell if I’m going to figure out how to make a sexy sheet ghost. ...That’s not for me, for the record.
Sorry. Perhaps I AM getting a bit too high strung. But I can’t bear seeing my sister like this. We’ll stop her no matter what. If you’re going by any chance, let me know. I’ll make sure I’m ready at a moment’s notice. Music: My Homie
Ummm… Mr. Hiruta, please come to the faculty office at once. 
What…? ...Everyone, make sure you study on your own until I return. 
We don’t actually need any more social stats, so reading is kinda pointless. There’s only three reasons to keep reading: there’s a trophy for reading all of the books in the game (which is pointless for this LP but I may go for anyway if it’s expedient), unlocking the rest of the hangout spots (which is also pointless by this point but also unlocks a trophy), and getting the reward from Jinbocho by reading all the complicated “three session” books. I want to at least show off what the reward is, so we’ll be reading the last of those complicated books.
Would the tactics of the Casanovas in this book still work today? I wonder… 
Music: Tokyo Daylight
Oh yeah, what the fuck are we gonna do with only twenty days?
Ah, don’t say that. I get scared just by thinking they could be lurking nearby… I’ve been writing all over the Phan-Site, asking the Phantom Thieves to give themselves up.Are yours the comments Mishima keeps deleting? Nah, he’s probably only going after like, egregious threats.
It doesn’t seem like the police will catch them anytime soon. I wish Akechi-kun would save us… 
President Okumura died ‘cause of the Phantom Thieves, right…? I heard they’re behind all the weird shit that’s been going on… They tricked us good, huh… Does that guy not watch the news or something? Way to bring the mood down… Dude, why’s he drawing this shit? Is he brave… or just an idiot? Come to think of it, isn’t he notorious? He’s got guts… Maaku gains Guts +1. No, really. It’s pretty great, but it’s one-time, so don’t get any bright ideas.
They’re treating us like villains or something… Damn it… 
They can’t be forgiven if they caused those mental shutdowns. I’ll quote you in my article. I wonder what the truth really is. Discerning what’s true from what’s not is a real challenge… 
I personally agree with you, but critics of the Phantom Thieves won’t change their minds easily. I wonder what the truth really is. Discerning what’s true from what’s not is a real challenge… Well, at least my
(For those of you wondering, Yoshida, Sojiro, Foreign Barker, and Drunken Souse are ahead of her. Young Rocker, the religious protesters, and Homeless Man are just below and Fishy Hawker, Starry-eyed Student, and Busy-Looking Young Man are also somewhere on there just through sheer audacity. Hifumi is probably also in the top 10 or so but this game has a lot of good NPCs)
Yeah. We’re not getting all the important info we need since the mass media is unfairly biased.Actuallyit’saboutethicsin
I wonder what the truth really is. Discerning what’s true from what’s not is a real challenge… 
Um… I’d save it and live off the interest. That’s boring! Boring, but practical. Who knows what the new prime minister will do once he’s in office! 
I’m certain. Many people can be counted among their victims. 
It’ll be so exciting once they get arrested. You think it’ll happen sometime this year? They announced that they’ve made progress in the investigation. It’s only a matter of time. 
It looks like the guys in my team have been studying different diets and workouts, too. It’s like they’ve all changed. Did the Phantom Thieves get to them all or something? No way, the Phantom Thieves are killers. They’d be dead by now if they were targeted by them. 
Maybe the Phantom Thieves bribed him. I didn’t expect him to say they weren’t behind that murder. I can never understand what these smart people are thinking. 
Yeah, it’s a bit disappointing, but I’m glad nothing bad happened. I just wish those Phantom Thieves would get caught already. 
The police are useless. Always telling us what to do, but they can’t catch the Phantom Thieves… 
The thing is, this celebrity might actually be a criminal… What should I do? 
PERPETUATE THE LIE THAT IS YOUR EXISTENCE
But then I-- Um, I mean, my friend, would live each day in fear of being arrested. If the Phantom Thieves had just stayed heroes, I never would have had to deal with all this. Er, you know I was just talking about my friend, right?
There’s a ton of theories that they’re connected to Shujin somehow. Do you know anything?
I don’t… I don’t want to believe they’re at my school… Hey, try to look into it while you can. It’ll be too late if you have a psychotic breakdown…What a fuckin’ hero this dude is.
Haru hangs out on the roof. She said she wanted to get Sojiro’s opinion on her vegetables, so maybe we can form a Confidant and hold an impromptu Halloween party at Leblanc at the same timeB.
Huh? At a time like this…? Is this perhaps part of your grand infiltration strategy? 
She gets really mad at you if you say “I dunno,” heh.
*giggle* You make it sound like it’s really important. I suppose relaxation is pretty vital at times like these… In that case, I’d like to use this opportunity to bring my most recent harvest to Sakura-san. 
This may be a good opportunity to deepen my bond with Haru... I’d like to stop by Leblanc today… Could you join me? 
Great! Let us go then. Music: What’s Going On?
It’s all good. Not like I have customers to deal with. How the hell does this place stay in business?
So… this is what you grew? 
Yes. I’d like an honest opinion from a culinary professional. “Culinary professional” is maybe stretching it a bit. He makes coffee and curry. Damn good coffee and curry, but that’s kinda it.
Let me see… 
Wow, Sojiro went right for the throat.
I see. But, it’s impressive you managed to grow anything at all up on a rooftop of all places. I’m honored to hear you say that. Y’know… I can’t say it tasted good, but it was actually somewhat refreshing. Kinda like how you feel good after taking bitter medicine.“Eating your vegetables reminds me of how I feel when I drink cough syrup” is not exactly glowing praise.
Hmm… I first came across the plant in my house…
Wait, what!? What the hell are you feeding us!? I mean, it explains how it grew so fast, and on a rooftop of all places, but still! And you found it in your house? Jesus christ, are these veggies haunted? Is the vengeful spirit of Kunikazu Okumura infesting these plants!? Oh god, I ate a ghost!
Well, it’s still better than the last time I got haunted where I just spent four and a half minutes eating an awful pie.
Thank you very much for the input, Sakura-san. I’ll take note of that. 
...He’s right. That was the same thought I had. I think I understand what Sakura-san meant when he said they were refreshing. 
They may prove useful during Palace forays...
I agree! ...I’m so happy. I didn’t expect this hobby of mine to provide value to the Phantom Thieves. This is actually the only thing I can honestly say I’m good at. 
But it’s what I want to do. Oh, then… do you think you could help me out again sometime? Like you did today. *nods*
OK, I’ll do my best from now on! Haru seems a little more enthusiastic than before...Music: Interrogation Room
There’s the possibility you even infiltrated their company building. Perhaps some sort of connection… ...Tell me about this person!Infiltrated their company building? Not in the real world, no. None of that’s true, in fact. I kind of assumed you were going to ask me about these weird veggies, actually.
Music: The Spirit
The Empress arcana represents concepts like nature, motherhood, femininity, and fertility. When reversed, it signifies dependence. Haru seems like a pretty good fit for most of that.
Haru can grow vegetables for us, which is a pared-down version of a similar system from Persona 4 Golden. This system is a little half-baked, honestly. The effects are undoubtedly useful, but they fall into the “too good to waste” category where we’ll never use most of them, and it’s so late in the game that we’re unlikely to have too many major difficulties going forward. There’s just not enough time to really take advantage of it. We’ll go into the effects of the vegetables next time we talk to Haru, though.
Music: What’s Going On?
I spent some more time with Haru before escorting her to the train station…Music: Beneath the Mask
…My bad. All I can do is welcome you home… 
People desperate for protection from the Phantom Thieves are keeping security companies busy. Events this horrific only happen rarely in history, and the terror among the people is palpable.“Events this horrific only happen rarely in history”? What? Cut the editorializing, buddy, there’s bad shit going down everywhere all the time always.
We’ve got a bounty on our heads. We don’t have a choice—we have to find out who really did all this. 
Here’s our current predicament: we need the Iwai request, but he’s not available tonight. We’re going to go into Mementos the second we get that request, but in the meantime, we just have to wait. So, we read.
Anon: False charges happen, but…
Anon: Is the admin an accomplice?
--- DELETED BY ADMIN ---
Anon: id bet money on the arrest
Really!? Who?
I might know... If we report them, will we get 30 million yen?
Wanna just report anyone who looks suspicious? --- DELETED BY ADMIN ---
Anon: they’re def guilty
Anon: This should make em show up
Anon: lol this place went to shit
Anon: Enough is enough!!!
Music: So Boring
Don’t it kinda feel different than usual?
Do you think? 
I’m getting a weird feeling too. What do you mean?
Hm? Is it just me that thinks nothing has changed?
Nothing seems unusual on my end. What about you, Makoto? 
Someone ask for me? Everything’s normal over here. We most certainly did not ask for you. Is Makoto sick today?
Sorry, I only just noticed the chat right now. I think everyone’s just agitated by the Phantom Thieves rumors. Try not to be affected by the people around you. It’s important to stay calm in times like these! Music: Tokyo Daylight
First up, we return Cry of Cthulhu and pick up Woman in the Dark.
How the hell did she set all this up!?
What are your thoughts on this flowerbed? I brought it here in the hopes of doing some serious gardening. 
Wow… She’s so diligent… 
We can only grow one vegetable at a time, and the rate depends on the species. Still, a few days is awful fast. Guess it’s that weird Okumura Foods genetic tampering.
Let me know if you’d like to grow any vegetables. So, what will it be today? 
*giggle* That makes me happy. These vegetables should grow nicely here. What do you think? 
The Moonlight Carrot restores all of one ally’s SP, and the Sun Tomato restores 100 SP for everyone. We’ll get more options as we rank Haru up.
Six days? Time’s kind of at a premium, so that’s a little disappointing. Oh well.
Hehe. I hope you’re looking forward to it. 
Hey, what should I… ...Nah, never mind. Let’s train! 
Huh? What do you mean? 
“Hanae Oda”… 
*nods* The Phantom Thieves are targeting my mom…? Music: Alleycat
...She’s one of the bad guys. To be honest, I’ve thought that for a while now. My mom… Do you think they’ll actually be able to change her heart? 
So… Someone has to give this to my mom, right? ...OK, I’ll do it. 
Both of these options sound really patronizing to me!
Well… It IS kind of my fault… that my mom got this way… She had to deal with a lot, raising me on her own… She had to get stronger… ‘cause I was so weak… 
She fights with everyone, about everything, and ends up getting hurt… At this rate, my mom’s gonna break…I was initially kind of on the fence about this one because it felt like a rather slight justification to change a heart (even if she was exacerbating Shinya’s bullying) but I feel better about doing this if the rationale is that she’s going to fucking destroy herself if she keeps this up.
I want my mom to realize that she doesn’t have to be strong for me anymore… But she won’t listen to me when I tell her that… That’s why I wanna help the Phantom Thieves. I wanna stop my mom. 
OK, I’ll give her the calling card. She’s my mom, after all. I really want to help her! The next time you see the Phantom Thieves, please tell them I said thank you. And thanks for talking to them about this, Hamiru-san. I’m going to teach you my best, strongest move… I feel like my bond with Shinya is growing deeper... 
This upgrade to Bullet Hail causes it to do about 50% of enemies’ max HP in damage, which is great.
Hey, do me a favor… Don’t tell anyone you saw me crying earlier, OK? Interacting with Shinya has made my heart grow… I feel like my Kindness has increased… Maaku gains Kindness +3.
Oh, and say hi to the Phantom Thieves for me. Later. Music: Beneath the Mask
And now we can fulfill that request.
“Do you think the Phantom Thieves are innocent?” It’s funny that people make a big deal out of it. 
Of course they’re not innocent. They’re wanted, so they’d be arrested on the spot. 
The cabinet’s approval ratings hit rock bottom due to how they’ve dealt with the Phantom Thieves. With Representative Shido leading the criticism, many are starting to consider leaving the party. If the ruling party—the Liberal Co-Prosperity Party—splits, a snap Diet election is certain. 
They’re having a falling out because of us? I don’t really get politics. 
Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)
Casasnova? He was probably more like a shameless pervert. Perfect vice is almost a virtue, I guess. Well, it seems you were able to learn the nuances of sex appeal. I find these lines so funny for no reason.
Maaku gains Charm +3, but it’s a long book so it’s technically +4.
And we’ve finished reading the final Jinbocho book. Time for our reward!