Part 174: 12/7: My Real Name Is Quisling
Part 164: 12/7: My Real Name Is Quisling
Anon: What a sore loser
Anon: we do need new authority…
Anon: The truth’s lost to the void
Anon: Akechi got the last laugh!
Music: Disquiet
Today, we’re gonna take care of a major errand we haven’t done yet, then head into the Palace now that we’re done maxing Confidants. Yes, this is a Palace update. I recall a while back saying that Okumura’s was the worst Palace in the game, and I must apologize for that, because this one…
This one’s a trip. That’s without any deaths, by the way.
Here, we have Mr. Taro Namatame, who is an independent newcomer. Having started as a politician’s secretary, he worked his way up from the bottom in Inaba, and… 
Isn’t he a bit old for a newcomer? Huh. That kind of makes me want to root for him. Good for Namatame, I guess, landing on his feet after that whole thing with kidnapping all those teenagers.
Music: Layer Cake
Static electricity is the enemy of detail work, so I gotta keep an eye out for it. So, you need somethin’ today? 
That errand I mentioned was at Iwai’s. See, we’re finally gonna upgrade our team’s gear, including the forbidden, secret art of gun customization. We’ve gotten some decent upgrades just from Palaces and Mementos, but here we’re going to find stuff that’s not only better, but will hopefully last us until the end of the game.
Most of what I buy is just the best item in each slot, but in case you care:
Melee Weapons
- Frenzy Dagger (232 Attack, high chance of Rage) for Maaku.
- Dragon God Pole (240 Attack) for Ryuji. There’s a slightly worse one that increases his crit chance a little, but I wasn’t sure if that only applied to melee attacks so I didn’t buy it.
- God Saber (242 Attack, Magic +3) for Morgana.
- Pain and Pain (232 Attack) for Ann.
- Masamune (244 Attack, low chance of Sleep) for Yusuke.
- Omega Knuckle (238 Attack) for Makoto.
- Gilgamesh Axe (250 Attack) for Haru.
I also buy some armor for every character, but this is a little more complicated because for some characters that choice has already been made obsolete from a piece of armor we got from the laundry. The best armor at this point is about 200 defense, (with laundry goods being a good 20-40 points above that) just to give you some idea.
I then realize I’m probably going to go broke if I buy a gun for every character, so I decide to only get guns for characters I’m using.
-
Guns
- Gravity Gun (272 Attack, medium chance of Despair) for Maaku. There’s a slightly more powerful gun available for him but this ability is incredible.
- Volley Cannon (284 Attack) for Ryuji.
- Orochi (280 Attack) for Makoto.
- Flame Ocean (242 Attack) for Haru.
We’re finally going to customize these guns, too! (Also we spent literally 600k on this trip, yikes. Don’t worry though, we’ll make about 200k back when we sell pretty much everything in our equipment that goes for more than 4k yen, including Akechi’s equipment)
This is an example of how gun customization works. The Gravity Gun HP (presumably for “High-Power”) is a more powerful version of the Gravity Gun. Unfortunately, it suffers a slight accuracy reduction, and even more unfortunately it loses its crazy ability. I opt not to upgrade it for that reason, even if 368 Attack is nuts. We do end up customizing some of our allies’ guns, like turning Ryuji’s new Volley Cannon into Volley Cannon II (Attack increases to 302 and Rounds increase to 6), turning Makoto’s Orochi into Orochi SP (320 Attack, lowered Accuracy, and high chance of Shock), and making Haru’s Flame Ocean into Flame Ocean II (320 Attack and slightly increased Accuracy). And hey! There was a trophy for that!
Music: Disquiet
You have an interesting fate, indeed. Well then, shall I read your fortune in detail…? Time for a Money Reading before the Palace.
We’re almost ready for the Palace.
First, though, we should make sure we have a good number of Takemedic-All Zs. Due to the fact that we replaced Makoto’s Mediarama with Diarahan, we have no reliable multi-target healing outside of Maaku. This will serve as a decent replacement for now, though.
One last thing before we head inside: I realized I never showed off the DLC accessories that come with all the costume packs. A number of them are totally busted. In fact, I’d say that all of them are quite good in one way or another, and if this game didn’t outright require you to keep SP Adhesive 3s on at almost all times, the main reason not to equip most of them outside of not wanting to break the game would simply be that you can only equip one of them at a time. Also of note: there’s nine of each of them, which means there’s enough for everyone, including Akechi—and Futaba. I don’t know why.
The Team Glasses from Persona 4 increase your EXP from battles. This apparently only applies once, so no stacking it by equipping multiple characters with it. You may wonder why I bothered to specify that, to which I’d say: just wait.
The SEES Armband from Persona 3 increases your money from battles. This one actually does stack depending on how many people equip it.
The Sevens Emblem from Persona 2 reduces your chance of being targeted. This, I can imagine, would be incredibly useful on the protagonist if there weren’t several better ones we haven’t even seen yet.
The Hermelin Badge from Persona 1 nulls Bless and Curse. Honestly, probably the worst one. Only nullifying two elements (and the two elements that most of the game’s instant death attacks use, natch) isn’t much compared to some of these.
The Arm PC from Shin Megami Tensei if... seems kinda bad, but in the earlygame, Kamoshida’s Palace specifically, I think this would be incredible.
The Midnight Bandana from Persona 4: Dancing All Night raises your All-out Attack power. It also stacks, just like Rise’s AoA buff would get better the more bike dates you went on with her in Persona 4 Golden.
The Evoker from Persona 4 Arena Ultimax gives you a bullet upon victory. If you haven’t played this game, it’s kind of hard to convey how huge this is. This is the only way outside of Reserve Ammo to restore a bullet. This one outright breaks a game system, which is why it’s my pick for the only truly fucked accessory in this lineup.
The Lambs’ Pillow from Catherine reduces your chance of suffering a status ailment by 50%. I can see this being very useful in some gimmick fights.
The Gauntlet from SMTIV increases your critical hit rate, as well as your magic evasion rate. Kinda rote, but still useful.
And this one is probably the best of the whole bunch. The Kuzunoha Tubes from the Raidou Kuzunoha games reduce your skill cost by 25%. Not as good as an SP Adhesive 3 for preserving your SP… but this includes physical attacks, which are cast from HP. So not only do you use less SP, you need to heal less because you’re wasting less HP casting physical skills.
Anyway, that’s all of the accessories, so let’s continue on to the Palace!
...But first, I gotta go to the bathroom. Hold on one moment.
You need to poop.
>Go to bathroom
You are sitting down.
>Stand up
You are standing up.
>Go to bathroom
The door is closed.
>Open door
The door is open.
>Enter bathroom
You are now in the bathroom.
>Poop
“Poop” is not an accepted action.
>Use toilet
You should probably close the door first.
>Close door
The door is closed.
>Use toilet
The lid is closed, buddy! You’ll make a mess!
>Fuck you
“Fuck” is not an accepted action.
>Open lid
The lid is open.
>Use toilet
You take a refreshing dump and contemplate washing that towel.
>Enter bedroom
The door is closed.
>Open fukcing door
I don’t know what a “fukcing” is.
>Open door
The door is open.
>Enter bedroom
You find a note attached to your bedroom door.
>Read note
It reads: “Dear (Arist)-- We are watching you. Stop working with the Phantom Thieves immediately. Also, be nice to Ari and do his chores. If you do not comply, we will be forced to give you a mental shutdown. From, Shido, future Prime Minister”
>Contemplate note
It seems wholly unlikely that this note is serious. The terrible penmanship, implausible methods, and ridiculous demands all point to an odd prank. However, you are a shameless coward, so you probably won’t take any chances.
So, uh, funny thing happened in the bathroom and I now hate the Phantom Thieves forever. Go Shido!
Music: Ark
Got it. Let’s get going! Okay, let’s head inside. I mean, oh no, don’t do that, you bastards.
On virtually the first fight the Phantom Thieves run into, Treasure Skimmer activates.
This is what it looks like when an enemy has been skimmed. Guess those rotten Phantom Thieves are living up to their name.
We know the identities of the five VIPs. 
A politician, a former noble, a TV station president, an IT company president, and that cleaner guy!
Hm, according to the map, there should be a restaurant up ahead. 
That’s where the politician should be, yes? Let us go check it out. 
We might be able to gain intel from talking to them. Just don’t ask any suspicious questions, OK? 
It’s no wonder the stability is superb! This is Congressman Shido’s vessel, after all! Hmhm! 
Quite true… I may have undergone hardships in my youth, but now a life of leisure is finally mine! 
These sitar ladies flanking the Cerberus are Sarasvati(s). They’re weak to Nuke, block Ice, can cast party healing and buffs and will attempt to Confuse the party.
Oh, not quite yet. I hear it has received high praise from a famous congressman. 
Hahaha, correct you are. The good sir visits is almost every day. 
Near the back of this hall, the Phantom Thieves find a strange door.
It will not open, and they cast it out of their minds like the simpletons they are.
I haven’t the foggiest idea… My connections only barely secured me a place on this ship, after all… I suppose we’re just ordinary citizens in comparison to some of the other patrons here… We should probably be thankful we’re even allowed to dine in this lounge to begin with, 
After some light fucking around, the Phantom Thieves decide to head over to the restaurant.
A members-only restaurant… “Ristorante… Elite”? 
Even you can’t read it? Aren’t you supposed to be English girl? Uh, that name’s not English… Anyway, moving on. “This restaurant is exclusive to members. Those without a membership card will be rejected.” What? You gotta be a member just to eat dinner? That’s such bull. 
Those rule-breakers decide to head in anyway.
Music: Impromptu for the Next Prime Minister
Oh yeah, we heard about that thing earlier… What a pain. 
I believe our staff should have explained it when you boarded this ship… Apologies for the inconvenience, but may I please check your boarding pass, sir? This is bad… We should retreat. 
Music: Ark
I’m not sure, but either way, it seems asking around is our only option. Don’t bug the other passengers, you hooligans!
Oh, it seems I’ve dropped my card for the restaurant somewhere around here… My, my. You won’t be able to dine there without it. Have you tried consulting the staff? Haha, not yet. I doubt there’s any need to worry though. I’ll try asking around the bars later. I know Mr. Shido personally, so I’m sure he’ll issue me another if I can’t find mine. Oh, how wonderful! I didn’t know you had such lofty connections! No wonder you exude such dignity! Hey, isn’t this a good chance for us? He said he dropped his membership card. I am not keen on this, but we may be able to take it from him if we can find it first. Hell yeah! He dropped it, so we gotta swoop in n’ take it! 
The classic “track the footprints” tactic.
Look at them scurry around like mice, pathetic.
The footprints pass by a bar.
Welcome, sir. How may I help you? 
Hm? What article are you looking for in particular? 
Unfortunately, nothing of that sort has been dropped off here. Looks like this isn’t the right place, Joker. 
And now they’re trying to sneak a drink while underage! Shame on them!
Very well. Ah, but I’ll need to see your boarding pass first. Shoot, this isn’t good! Let’s get out of here, Joker! Back to following the footprints.
The Phantom Thieves question this bar as well, but it does not have the membership card.
Down the stairs…
To the final bar.
Ah, so it was yours. Please do not worry; we have been holding on to it for you this whole time. ...Here you are. Please go enjoy your meal, sir. 
Who cares? It’s all thanks to that dick Shido thinkin’ everyone around him is incompetent.He didn’t mean that, Mr. Shido! You’re not a dick! ...Unless you’re into that, I don’t know!
So he doesn’t believe in anyone… That must be why there are so many membership cards around. Well, it’s not bad that it went by quick. Let’s head to the restaurant and grab a letter of introduction. Music: Impromptu for the Next Prime Minister
One of our targets, the powerful politician, should be at the restaurant. What’s your call, Joker? 
Thank you for displaying your proof of membership, sir. Please head on inside. Seats marked with a blue flower are reserved for special guests. Please refrain from sitting there. Special guests…? Eh, who cares. A reserved seat is special information. That may lead us to the politician we’re looking for. For real!? That possibility didn’t even cross your mind!? Ugh. Anyway, let’s head in and find a seat. 
Try not to get too excited, OK? You’re embarrassing us… Music: Suspicion
Right. That influential politician comes here. Why don’t we have a seat at the table next to it and wait for him? I’ll go. He may become guarded if we go in a big group. Wouldn’t it be odd with just one girl sitting there though? Does someone want to come with me? 
That was my intention from the start! I mean, dude! It’s a restaurant! What are you, a preschooler!?That sounds about right for Skull.
I was wondering why you were so excited about this… *sigh*
Why isn’t anyone asking me to do this…?No cats at the dinner table.
All right, we’re going in. Everyone else stay nearby. I’ll give the signal when the time is right. Man, what should I eat? You can’t get full off of food in a Palace. 
He’s as dumb as ever… 
Uhh… I can’t read this…Truly, a scholar for the ages, this one.
Queen would order the foie gras. She’s a cop, she loves animal abuse.
A salad garnished with truffles… and roasted lamb, please. 
Say, ain’t we kinda young compared to the others here? They’re all involved with Shido, yeah? 
Music: Desire
Whose? Uhh… I don’t see any reserved signs or nothing here. 
It’d be a nuisance if you’d make a racket next to my table. I wish to dine leisurely. Children like you who’re merely hungry should leave. 
S-Sorry… 
If you understand, then go home. Excuse me, but might you be Mr. Ooe? Indeed I am. This will be an impudent request, but would you provide us a letter of introduction to… Mr. Shido? From the looks of it, you appear to be minors. Why do you need an introduction? We wish to be granted an audience with him… His political ideology resonates so much with us…Understandable.
Of course, the same can be said about you, Mr. Ooe. You have quite the silver tongue for one so young… not that I mind it. Are you a high school student? Yes, sir. Speaking of high schools… I’ve heard that some principal somewhere kicked the bucket. Amazing segue, sir.
He supposedly tried to leak Mr. Shido’s name… 
Had he simply obeyed, he could’ve remained in the upper echelons. To think he would cast all that away. An elite such as myself can’t even fathom why someone would do such a thing. If you pledge your loyalty, you’re given the honor of selecting those who would have mental shutdowns. 
Hm? Ah, more or less. Considering your caliber, I would assume that the target must have been someone quite important. Important? No, the target himself was nothing that impressive. Oh, you must be being modest… 
Skull stood up so quickly the “!?” over his head couldn’t keep up!
It was to take out the president of some company and a diplomat who sided with current government. I see… That was very useful, Mr. Ooe. 
Actually, my sister is a prosecutor at the Public Prosecutors Office. I could pass on what you just said to her… How about it? Won’t you give us a letter of introduction? Is that a threat? Who are you two? The letter of introduction, please. Don’t get cocky, brats! I’ll never give you one! Looks like you have one though! ...Welp, guess it’s time to use brute force! 
Politician Ooe
Music: Keeper of Lust
All right, Ooe! Now’s your chance! You’ve turned into one of those weird-ass snake balls from Bloodborne, so take out the Phantom Thieves!
Ooe is a “cycle” boss, which means he will do the exact same pattern, every time, in the same order, until he dies. It’s not a bad cycle, though.
Concentrate + Tarukaja + Rakunda + Bufudyne is enough to decimate anyone it hits.
Unfortunately for Ooe, those rotten thieves have a secret weapon: Noir.
Ooe’s Psy weakness is enough to cripple it, and the fight ends rather quickly. Also, sorry, Psiodyne looks dope as fuck. Had to say it.
At the end of the fight, Skull learns Ziodyne to replace Zionga.
Mona also learns Masukunda to replace Me Patra.
And that’s one down for the Phantom Thieves. Hopefully one of the four adversaries remaining in their path can stop them.
Music: Suspicion
Please keep the truth of that subway accident a secret… Fine…What!? I mean, er… Good job, citizen.
In any case… it turns out Principal Kobayakawa was connected to Shido after all… No wonder he was so adamant about me digging up information on the Phantom Thieves. Still, I can’t believe Shido just killed him so nonchalantly… I’m sure he had his reasons.
The entire nation is underwater in his Palace. He must feel nothing toward one measly educator. In any case, even though that politician was cognitive, he turned into a monster. Up until Kaneshiro’s Palace, cognitive beings were nothing more than weak presences… 
Hm? But he had the memories and appearance of an actual person. He was probably a Shadow fused with a cognition… It’s like making the Shadow wear human skin. How would you know about that?
I’ve never seen anything like that before… Such power is normally impossible. Hold on… Wasn’t Shido the one who destroyed the research done by Oracle’s mother on cognition? Oh! Do you think that when he did, he took the results for his own purposes…? Shido…! For all we know, Shido could have some hidden trick that allows him to tamper with his own Palace. We need to be especially careful from here on out…!So you’re saying he did have a secret move? That’s rich.
Music: Desire
And in return, I only ask for your continued support… Standing up to the world does require money. Of course. I’ll make sure to prepare compensation as thanks for your help in “cleaning up.”I’m reusing the Palace portrait for Ooe here because there’s no good shot of him from outside the Palace. He’s not literally calling Shido from the Palace, just FYI.
The incident with that accident in spring was very beneficial. This is all thanks to you, sir. If the study of cognitive psience progresses, I believe it’s possible to increase the target range. *chuckle* I bid you good luck with that endeavor. I hope you will continue to assist us. Great job, Shido sir! Please don’t kill me.