Aimopotis is a better combat persona, but, environmental restrictions aside, I feel like the mobility offered by Chyrandalos is going to be important for what's coming.
That and I prefer the narrative of Shino retaking her original ideals and motivations despite the years of trauma and corruption over her weaponizing those aspects. On a meta-note, the sort of heroism she talks about seems like it fits in well with breaking GGO. She's had a taste of the Real Deal, rejected it, and is ready to bring down the place she had poured so much into because it isn't healthy for her or her friends.
I'm against taking the optical shield (I assume that's what 'optical armor' means in this context) because it seems like the fight is going to revolve around the FILTH mechanic, and less so on straight-up attacks. The poison from accumulated filth alone is probably enough to do it if we don't manage things properly, and I can't imagine poison will be the only status effect in play during all this...
If there's something we've learned from the last fight, is that Death Gun Personas will try to execute their users if they happen to be defeated...either that or this was an Aimopolis thing, but I'm inclined to believe it's a rule, so let's go with that. With the way Spiegel's Persona is close to him, I think defeating him is not enough: at that distance, there's nothing we can do to stop him from being killed unless we split them. I think that should be one of our priorities - hit Persona over Spiegel. As he's in a muddy terrain, I think using Ice magic to create traps can be useful and Gwen's Bronze Toaster can be of use provided we time it correctly - my current idea is to have Gwen on standby and, when LLENN arrives, use that opportunity to attempt to split the duo. Of course, we also need to figure out the deal about the Memories. I vote for shooting on BLANK's face, anyone else in?
And speaking of BLANK...more general thoughts: what is exactly their plan? Let's sum up: fake NerveGears, a connection of part-timers hiding the damn things as yakuza did in the old days and such things don't seem to be recent, if we take Kikuoka's word a long time ago.
Current theory: There are two NerveGear rings - but only one of them sells the real deal.
Keep in mind one thing: for all that Shiro and Sora sometimes act childishly, they are also plain geniuses. Not only that but geniuses with a very taxing lifestyle - they stay home, play games, 24/7 bar some stops for the bathroom or food. At the same time, I believe they take the same stance XeXeeD used to take in that the Death Gun thing is just a big fat lie, a trick: after all, how can you kill people inside a game? But. But. The NerveGear market gives some big money. So, by using that as bait, BLANK can sucker out money from some poor fools who think they got the real-deal NerveGear when, in fact, they probably got a big hunk of junk that is barely better than an Amusphere - if it's functional, at all. If we take M's word, then that's how he got the fake NerveGear for his plan. But Pitohui wouldn't have anything but the best for herself...
Which leads to conspiracy two: Itsuki's little playground. From Fatal Bullet, we know he had his hands in this business, with Zelinska serving as one of his "accomplices", so to say. His end goal is to recreate the same death game zone he had manufactured during the game, which he does so by arranging the true NerveGears, probably unconnected with the actual Death Gun plot so far, but likely using this wave to further his goals. If that's truly the case, then I believe he, out of all people, is the most likely candidate of being our final enemy if left unchecked: for, regardless of how DEATH GUN goes forward, his goal will be close or even already accomplished.
And, on one last note, I believe we should prepare to take down XeXeeD soon. From what we got, he's the next easily removable bullet from the "chamber", depending on how we go with this...and, one way or the other, we'll eventually have to face Lugh about his affiliation, and I guess this will be the trigger to deal with it. I would recommend a facedown sometime in the next two weeks unless something urgent pops up.
a connection of part-timers hiding the damn things as yakuza did in the old days and such things don't seem to be recent, if we take Kikuoka's word a long time ago.
Kikuoka is referencing Persona 5 where the Phantom Thieves knocked over Kaneshiro's organization who used the same tactic - just having high schoolers do it instead of part-timers.
In theory I agree, but the shared HP pool makes me wonder if that's actually feasible - I took it as a "don't even bother unless they narratively separate in the battle." I'd rank taking out the FILTH Shadows ahead of that if only to see if it causes a reaction, including a possible separation. If all else fails, I agree it's the best approach.
A) it gives up a Persona slot for the Optical Shield, which I feel is going to be of questionable use given FILTH mechanics (it won't help stop debuffs, and the jury's out on what the hell Kyouji is going to hit us with. Could be elemental attacks, but could just as easily be hard-hitting physical attacks given his incel rage and desire to lash out at the world)
B) It doesn't include Mithras Liturgy, and given that the dominant choice for Hecate is Chrysandalos, we WON'T HAVE ANY WAY TO SCRAPE INFO THAT COULD HELP US.
Unrelated to the above, but Chrysandalos strikes me as a Master of None, with the only advantage that variant has being its stated specialty in defense and the ability to fly. Which means we can't use Ys whenever Sinon is in our party, given that Ys specifically hampers flight when activated. Just a thought.
While I agree that a Death Gun Persona will try to kill their puppet for failure. The thing is...I don't think Eulenspiegal is a Death gun Persona. I think it's a real one.
The phantoms turn as one. You feel the world rumble, the fractured cage of Kyouji's Velvet Room melts into the mud spreading from his body. The specters rush towards their dying host, a swarm of flies upon a rotting carcass. They crawl up his legs, their faces melting into a featureless mask of flesh, their hands digging into his shoulders, his arms, his chest, and his heart. But they don't cause him harm, no, their bodies pass through him, covering him head to toe in thick black muck.
"I choose this fate of my own free will! This is my world, this is my answer! You hear me, you fucking harpies!? I accept it! I ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY! I'M RESPONSIBLE! I'M A REAL PIECE OF SHIT! AND YOU KNOW WHAT!? I CHOOSE TO DRAG EVERYONE DOWN IN THE SHIT WITH ME!"
This thing, this putrid, disgusting creature crawls out of a pit of pitch and filth, every millimeter of its body dripping in sludge. It's this small, pathetic little thing, with beady crimson eyes that glare out from the shadows. A jester's cap is fused to its head, the thing looking like nothing but a child in a Halloween costume who's spent too much time rolling around in the mud.
It's a Death Gun. It's a Persona. It's the most pathetic thing you've ever seen.
Kyoji's awakening came from Hiyori pumping her Velvet Room power into what was left of his own and he seems to be hearing LAPLACE in his head and he summoned it by accepting responsibility like how a Velvet Room awakening normally goes. There's clearly some Death Gun corruption in there but there's also emphasis on Kyoji accepting responsibility, how he's in complete control, and the way he owns up to his own wretchedness without improving is similar to what happened with Sugou and Alberich.
The other big thing is that unlike Hecate Eusanspiegal hasn't been syncretized with the Freeshooter. But I'll fully admit to most likely being wrong here because we lack a proper sample size of Death Gun Persona to compare it to.
>Eulenspiegel appears to be hanging off of Spiegel's back, making no attempt to separate itself from its master. It shares its HP pool with its master.
Eulenspiegal shares Kyoji's health bar while we were given hints that Aimopotis had its own HP bar showing that it was ultimately a malevolent infection.
>Spiegel is in CLOSE range to you and Sinon.
>1x MEMORY OF THE FATHER is in CLOSE range.
>6x MEMORY OF THE SCHOOL are in CLOSE range, clustered together.
>1x MEMORY OF THE GODDESS is in CLOSE range.
>1x MEMORY OF THE STREAMER is in FAR range.
>1x MEMORY OF THE CHAMPION is in EXTREME range.
The main thing that makes me doubt is the Memories. They seem to simultaneously be both an anchor to drag him down and bring out the worst in himself while at the same defending himself from ever considering a better mindset or worldview stopping himself from needing to change. If we destroy his Memories could we silence the voices that reinforce the hate feedback loop he's stuck himself into?
But no matter what Kyoji looks like he's a pure debuffer with no real offense of his own so it's seems best to get rid of the Memories to get some breathing room. And since Chrysandalos is looking like the winner and specializes in bombardment combined with Undine that seems like a solid opening move.
A) it gives up a Persona slot for the Optical Shield, which I feel is going to be of questionable use given FILTH mechanics (it won't help stop debuffs, and the jury's out on what the hell Kyouji is going to hit us with. Could be elemental attacks, but could just as easily be hard-hitting physical attacks given his incel rage and desire to lash out at the world)
B) It doesn't include Mithras Liturgy, and given that the dominant choice for Hecate is Chrysandalos, we WON'T HAVE ANY WAY TO SCRAPE INFO THAT COULD HELP US.
Unrelated to the above, but Chrysandalos strikes me as a Master of None, with the only advantage that variant has being its stated specialty in defense and the ability to fly. Which means we can't use Ys whenever Sinon is in our party, given that Ys specifically hampers flight when activated. Just a thought.
It's honestly quite a pain that we don't have the slightest clue on what these Memories can do, because it was a really tough choice if I should pick another Persona or keep our defense - remember that optic attacks hit us easier, so. But I would rather have it and don't need it than don't and get screwed by it. At least against Moderns we have a slight edge.
As for the second issue, this is a good point so I will make my stand over Chtonia. Maybe it doesn't seem the most exciting at first glance, but...I just feel it's fitting. People think it's Shino simply setting down on the same road she once took, but I think it's not quite that: it's her finally taking the courage to face reality and stand her ground against adversity, having finally faced her own troubles and resolving to keep walking even though it seemed the world was against her. A path of standing against the storm. And, mechanically, she will become a Navi: and likely a permanent one if she decides to enter our merry band of Persona users. Some could argue she's unlikely to be as great as Shiroe was, but Shiroe was a fucking menace, and having eyes from afar is still pretty damn good to have. If I remember right, we can only use each of our Supers once per fight and we don't know if we'll keep Mithras' one after we finally get over to Temperance's next level and it costs 4 SP, which is not little.
And, again, Ys anti-synergy. And, while Aimopolis has some irony points for being similar to Death Gun Aimopolis, I'm unsure if it's the best path mentally for Sinon.
Just to give my two cents: I feel like Chrysandalos' anti-synergy with Ys is being treated like a bigger issue than it really deserves. Yes, the two are incompatible but, unlike ALO, GGO isn't exactly swimming in aerial options that would prompt us to deploy countermeasures. While I could see it being broken out to handle decrepit forts or the like, those don't really feel like they're such a big possibility that we'd need to worry about destroying them.
Yes, it's a comparative generalist, but the biggest issue right now isn't our ability to hit things for massive damage, it's the ability to survive and/or counter the enemy plans. A navi would be useful, but the way Chtonia is described gives me the impression that it's the sort of thing that works great as part of a decisive and effective plan but requires careful use and can be rendered worse than useless should we get blindsided the wrong way. Something I'm not confident in our ability to avoid given how many factors are involved with the Death Gun situation and how little influence we have over it.
Character-wise, Chrysandalos seems like the healthiest choice and has the best synergy with our previously established method of derailing Seed worlds. As Underdog pointed out, Aimopolis has good stats but the mentality behind it plays a bit more into Death Gun's game than I'm comfortable with. Furthermore, the description implies that while it can do long-range combat, Shino needs to get close for the best effects. Something that runs counter to the rest of her fighting style even if it gives anyone trying to get in close a nasty surprise.
Ultimately, I feel that the most important ability Shino's persona can offer is the ability to endure being outplayed and take advantage of whatever situation we're dealing with. Chrysandalos falls behind it's counterparts in specialization, but it allows her the best chance to come out of surprises in one piece and get to the right place in time to foil enemy plans or set up better odds.
>The ground is covered in a thin layer of a pungent mud, swimming in flies and worms. It doesn't restrict your motion but it's fills your heart with disgust to step within it.
Bit of a tangent, and I don't like to hawk my own side project here, but my calendar for Hiyori thing underwent something of a major revision - it now kinda resembles an actual calendar! I'm hoping that makes it a little more visually intuitive on when things happened or are scheduled to happen - for instance, the Death Gun Derby is exactly 5 weeks away and that's hopefully more visually apparent than the old way I did it (which is still there and will still be updated for now.)
For all I know no one actually looks at it at all but if you ever did hopefully it looks better now! (And if it doesn't, well, the old version is still around even if a bit deprecated.)
>All combatants are currently afflicted with 1 stack of FILTH. All entities affected by FILTH have DISADVANTAGE to resist DEBUFFs and DEBUFFS do not expire.
[X] Plan: Insult Therapy
-[X] Party
--[X] Gwen
--[X] Llen
-[X] Purchases
--[X] Martini-Henry Rifle
--[X] Lupus Op.Carbine
-[X] Persona Roster
--[X] Paladin
--[X] Alice Lidell
--[X] Urvashi
--[X] Villefort
--[X] Undine
--[X] Mithras Liturgy
-[X] Opening move
--[X] Holy Water: Try to wash away the existing filth in the environment (and on at least yourself) with Kuhleborn's Curse while also doing damage to everything hostile
SUNDAY - 214 CYCLES POST STARFALL
1530 Glocken Standard Time
You don't even have time to react.
There's a simple declaration, a mad challenge, and then Spiegel's upon you. With speed that no human could possibly match he closes the gap in the span of a breath, tongue dangling out of his mouth, his eyes already alight with madness. That thing on his back rides him like a jockey, chittering and cackling as it kicks its own master like he was a lazy draft horse.
You take one step to the side, and slide your boot through the mud. It feels nothing at all like wet earth, instead it settles in thick lumps on your boots, smearing across the sand. The filth is covering every inch of the desert, with every shift of the sand revealing more and more sludge like rancid oil hidden beneath the surface.
He doesn't reach you, his hands grasping at nothing but air. His body— flying through the air as he fails to tackle you, lands spectacularly against a particularly thick clump of mud, the slop spraying everywhere as he's buried up to his head.
I was born just once, but whipped many times,
Wrecking father's hopes the first of my crimes.
Something's laughing. It's Eulenspiegel, cackling madly as he's buried by his master's ill timed fall, and he's soon joined by something else. A chorus of laughter, every laugh phantom of his past cackling in glee. There's one that echoes over all the rest, soft and almost dignified, more of a polite chuckle. The figure of his father points at his own son, laughing in open disappointment.
Your hands reach for a weapon— any weapon, and your hand seizes upon your Type-97 Nambu. Undine immediately floods into your mind, your oldest Persona eager to wash away the filth that Spiegel smeared all over you in his passing.
But before you can even summon her, Spiegel is back on his feet, the thing on his back yanking on his hair and forcing him to stand. He's already moving, and he's got an advantage— this sludge beneath his feet is no obstacle. It's his world, and he can move through it without the slightest impediment.
"Fast on the draw, Kuro! HEheheheheh! C'mon, show me your Persona! Show me, show me, SHOW ME!"
Be wary, contractor— this is the strangest Persona I have ever encountered. Know that you face an opponent with the potential— not just for the Persona, but the wider abilities that entails. You should be well aware by now the source of a Persona-user's power.
The source!? ETTEILA? No, you can't mean... his friends!? Does this guy even have any!?
The power Wildcard can manifest itself in a great many forms, do not underestimate its flexibility. This is the extent of the existence I am permitted to offer.
MAXWELL, don't you dare just run off like—
Know that I chose you, contractor. I have faith that you will prevail over the dredge that my sibling chose on a fleeting whim. Take care that you do not disappoint.
The presence at the back of your mind vanishes, leaving you alone with your thoughts. Spiegel's making another lap off in the distance, running with his arms flailing out to his sides like he's the star of a bad ninja anime, the wound in his abdomen spilling filth all over the ground.
My life has produced no virtue at all,
But at least my deceits were never small.
A whole team of mud golems, each with the uniform of Isei High, hoot and holler as he passes them, high fiving Spiegel as he speeds by. Each of them point and laugh, and in turn Spiegel smacks his own rear with a muddy hand causing another round of laughter to erupt.
"You know what you are Kuro? You're just a tryhard!"
He makes another circle around, and you raise your gun to fire.
"You're the kinda bitch who thinks they're better than everyone else just cause they've become a bigshot!"
Somewhere behind you, Sinon's bullet goes wide, the girl gritting her teeth as she fires. You hear a splash as the shot lands in the muck, and Spiegel just laughs as he runs. As feared, he's faster than you expected when he's going full tilt.
"But who the fuck are you huh!? You're just a teenage girl without shit to her name! You're being used, chewed up and spit out by higher powers! Hehehe, you're not the main character! You're not even a hero, Kuro! You're a tool!"
You can already feel the mud sloughing off your raincoat and the worms wriggling beneath your feet. You bat away the flies buzzing in your ears, and the phantom laughs grow louder, more frenzied, as you take your shots. You have no idea if you're hitting him or not, the mud that sprays up from each missed shot only seems to fuel his ego.
From the outset my lies were plentiful; My adult life was no less eventful,
And there's that droning voice, a repetitive chant, that joins the choir of laughter. It's spitting out of every mouth of the dozens of phantoms littering the battlefield, each calling out to turn the world into a carnival of filth.
Your eyes pass between Spiegel, that creature on its back, and the mud men who've gathered around you, all pointing and laughing. Who do you even attack, what was the right call?
Your only example of a manifested Death Gun was with Sinon, and though Aimopotis fought alongside Sinon when the sniper's defeat was imminent the accursed thing turned on its master. In that circumstance, Aimopotis was the vision Sinon had for her true self, her own personal «Real Deal», one that needed to kill Sinon in order to bring about her ideal form.
But that's not the core of Spiegel's philosophy. He didn't want to improve himself or ascend to some ideal. He didn't pull the trigger to replace himself, he accepted his own flaws and reflected upon them. That thing on its back feels like a Persona, so inexorably linked to its master that it couldn't separate itself from it, yet manifested with the Black Star.
Half Persona, half Death Gun. Or more accurately, a Death Gun corrupted by a Persona, because it was created from a mind that had no desire to improve. No true self it wanted to become. So what was it then? The «Real Deal» that the Death Gun was going to manifest?
It wasn't Spiegel.
No... It was all of you.
This is his «Real Deal»— not a vision for what he truly is, but a vision for what everyone else truly is.
Just pathetic, filth-ridden animals, laughing at the world that made them.
System Call: Incarnate PERSONA [Undine]. ReferenceID:18.Droit
Water gathers above you in streams of blue. There's no river, no source of water to amplify, but even in the dry desert such limitations don't matter, not when you were directly creating water from system commands. You let it linger, washing over your body and the ground beneath you, enjoying the feel of cleanliness as the filth and mud is washed away.
Spiegel's expression contorts as the water gathers, and the phantoms of the laughing football team turn, their attention shifting to you.
"So that's yours, eh? My, my, how pure and beautiful! A little river nymph off to sing a story to mommy and daddy about her prince charming! Kehehehehe! Oh, I wonder what you'll look like when you're soiled and filthy!"
System Call: Generate Aqueous Element. Form Element, Flood Shape. Discharge.
Water bellows forth as you cast the flood forward to the biggest concentration of mud phantoms, the literal soccer team of figures cackling and waving their hands as the deluge approaches. The wave slams into them and the entire group is sent flying.
Yet the mud dolls hold. The figures slam into each other, folding and collapsing into some multiarmed human hydra, a thing made of countless arms and legs, laughing with each slap of a limb. Almost absently, you raise your pistol and blast a stream of energy straight into its center mass, ripping off yet another limb as it's knocked backwards. Not enough, not nearly enough!
You pour more power into the flood, saturating the air with water. It casts forward into all nearby opponents, striking into the figure of Spiegel's father, as well as Sinon's mud clone, ripping away globs of simulated flesh as the water washes over them.
"Kuro, look out!"
A voice calls out to your left, and you turn just in time see Spiegel, charging forward one more time carrying in his hands a...
Bucket?
Your eyes go wide, and you dive to the side. A putrid brown liquid comes pouring out, water splashing against the ground. Not just any water— your water, stained with brown bits and a foul odor, more akin to sewage. You managed to dodge the attack but end up standing in yet another pool of it, the foul smelling liquid splattering all over your raincoat.
Laughter, again, and the phantoms return to their positions, laughing and jeering at the pair of your efforts.
"Keheheheh, let's splash around some more! You're giving me some good ideas here, Kuro. We need some more water here, let's churn it all together and roll around in it, shall we— URGH!"
A gunshot goes off, the bullet slamming into Spiegel's leg. The boy stumbles, falling onto his ass, his bucket rolling away. The figure who first warned you of the attack decloaks in a haze of particle effects, Gwen's pistol in her hand.
"Oh my god do you ever fight anyone normal!? What the hell is all this!? My first big fight in GGO and it's against this absolute disaster case!?"
She holds her nose, desperately trying not to get the now ankle deep puddle of black sewage on her overpriced cloak. "Thanks for throwing water around by the way. Now it's everywhere and gah— what the hell is this!? Mud? It smells like— oh. Oh no. Nonononono, NO! I know he's probably working under PoH but fuck, I didn't mean for it to be taken literally! Why are we fighting a guy with super p—"
"Just don't say it! We're all thinking it, just don't say it! It's MUD okay!?" If you say it out loud you know that you're going to immediately hurl.
You approach the now downed Spiegel, only to see him immediately begin to rise. You can't even get close to him, every movement just throws up more sewage into the air, the boy's eyes wide with glee as he splashes around.
"Lookie here, we got ourselves an AUDIENCE! It's like my own little harem, hehehehe, who knew all I had to do to get some action was get a little dirty? Well then, which one of you pretty ladies wants to join me for a swim?"
"Argh, this is disgusting! Just die!" Gwen empties her clip, but Spiegel just darts away, trailing filth from his ever-growing collection of wounds.
I began to play my famous games then.
And now I won't shit on under three men,
All the while the laughing figures keep chanting.
"You hear that? Sounds like some kind of ritual." Gwen asks, pulling out a fresh magazine. "When has anything good ever happened after ominous chanting started!?"
"There's just too many of them!" They clearly outnumber you, and they've made no effort to directly attack you, but you can feel their attention, all of the figures watching you and Spiegel fight like spectators in the world's cheapest carnival. "Did you call for help?"
"I called the pipsqueak in as backup, but she's gonna be like up to her chest in all this damn water!" Gwen says, looking around with a scowl. "So!? What's his deal!? All I saw was you two yelling at each other and then this whole nonsense started happening!"
"I think he's got a Persona!" you glance at the jester riding the retreating Spiegel. With some disgust you notice it gathering mud as he passes, literally packing the wounds in Spiegel's body with it. "I don't know the details but he's getting it from the same source I am!"
I fart and fog up every man's thought:
If you object, your own honor is nought.
Gwen's eyes bug out, "Don't you get your powers from other people? Does this guy have any friends— wait, and if he does that mean he's got more Personas!?"
Your opponent has the Wildcard, and to you that meant the ability to change into different Personas in order to adapt to a situation. The more people you helped, the more souls you linked yourself to, and the more other worlds you witnessed the greater your power. You've always found that poetic— even if you've forced yourself into strange friendships, you were fundamentally drawing power from empathy and understanding...
"Hey, where's the sniper girl?" Gwen asks, already fading back into invisibility. The splash she makes when she retreats is liable to give away her position, but you doubt Spiegel was in any way an opponent competent enough to capitalize on such a tell.
You look behind you and see no sign of Sinon. You fight back the urge to curse— she's a sniper, which means she likely retreated to put some distance between you and Spiegel. You seize your attention back to the battle at hand. As you add more water to the battlefield, it mixes with the mud already present.
The filth is his element, much in the same way that water was yours. Each step he takes brings a spray of the muck everywhere, and it's all the more potent for the fact that he seems to revel in it. He had immense speed in a straight line, but like a blind bull he could do little but awkwardly charge forward. The speed was useless if he needed to stop and fire his weapon, but when his only goal was to splash filth all over you? Raw, mad speed was more than sufficient.
"Hey, Kuro! I've just had a great idea!" calls out Spiegel, "I've realized something interesting— we get along pretty well, don't we? Wonder if it's cause we're both Persona users?"
Many wish me dead. This I do not doubt:
But a bad weed is hard to root out.
"Don't sound like an expert when you've had yours for all of a minute!" you shoot back. You don't know if it's MAXWELL, the Death Gun or sheer utter happenstance that his Persona was this fucked up, but it's wearing on your nerves. "This all ends if you tell us about Death Gun!"
"Hehehehe, why don't you show me the way SENPAAAIIII!? Kahahahaha! This whole Persona business ain't that hard to understand! So how about it? Wanna be frieeeennnndssssss!? We'll paint each other's nails and do each other's hair! KHEHEHEHE!"
Some claim I am gone, all rotted away,
Yet Owlglass is alive and tricking today.
"You're sick! Kyouji, if you really have the Persona you have to see that now!" Your mind reaches out to Undine, the spirit of tragedy billowing forth in front of you. The spirit of water casts its cold gaze over the form of Eulenspiegel, and the normally stoic and morning soul stops... points...
And breaks out in a strange, demented grin.
No... what...
Countless condemn me, frown at my acts,
But all have some Owlglass under their hats.
You can suddenly hear them. Its not as if they were silent before but now you understand them. Echoing deep within your soul— a chorus of voices, each bouncing back and forth off each other, building a harmony of laughter and scorn.
Japanese. You SPEAK Japanese, how are you possibly scoring so low?
Bullying? Are you serious, is this why you want to quit school? Don't be ridiculous, you need to grow a spine Kyouji.
The tall man in scrubs laughs at his pathetic, wastrel of a son.
We lost because YOU kept tripping over yourself Kyouji! Next time PASS the damn ball you loser!
Hahaha, c'mon Kyouji! With how long you spend on the floor I'm beginning to think you like the taste. Why don't you savor that shit, it's perfect for you.
The ball of flesh and limbs falls apart, five players of the football team standing together, laughing together, at the pathetic kid who wanted to join their team.
These players who think it's all about their Agility, man, they're living in a dream!
In fact, I got a message for those who spent the last month indoors boosting their AGI. Sucks to be you right now, don't it?
The taunts of XeXeeD, all the more potent for your familiarity with him. You feel a weakness in your body, everything slowing down as a creeping, lethargy begins to take over your body.
We've got ourselves a special contestant! Ever since he vanquished the King,『 』's been on their unstoppable crusade to top every leaderboard!
And『 』wins again! Not even a single blip of damage, nobody else even stood a chance! What a battle! What a champion!
The announcer's effusive praise pounds against your skull. The greatest cheater, here to ruin the one good thing you had in your life.
I-I'm sorry. I really appreciate you wanting to help me. Especially since you're the only one in the city who really understands what I'm going through. But I... I'm just not ready to be anyone's girlfriend yet...
Even Sinon's pity sears through your heart.
"Join them Kuro! We're already such good friends. What do you think of me, huh? What's your opinion of ol' little Spieeeegelllll!?"
You're a piece of shit, Kyouji.
An Owlglass may die, another may fade,
But in an instant seven more are made.
This thing of mud and filth rises out of the murk. Pale white hair and heterochromatic eyes adorned over a full body raincoat, glistening with fresh sewage. The figure's eyes meet yours, and a crooked, feral smile spreads across the thing's face as it laughs with your face.
And Undine laughs with it.
"Seeeee, Kuro!? Isn't the truth so LIBERATING!? KahahahahaHAHAHA!"
You take a step back. It's a connection, no different from the dozens you've formed in the past, but this time you're on the opposite end. At once your mind ties the pieces together— the phantoms, the wildcard, even yourself.
These things. They were Social Links.
Each one not a connection of empathy, circumstance or even mutual trade. These were not his friends— they were enemies. Tormenters, figures that derided him, insulted him, pitied him...!
Links of unilateral hatred, made manifest upon his Persona like lashes with a whip. Each one not empowering Kyouji, but instead cursing the world with their very existence, the antithesis to everything your Personas were capable of. Then his power. His Wildcard. He didn't have or gain multiple Personas, that wouldn't suit his world, nor the specific shape of his potential...!
No, his power was to drag everyone down to his level!
Therefore my hand will never be stayed: The stink of Owlglass will always pervade. I am an artwork of the highest grade!
System Call: Loading Memory from Server:[Earth//Germany] ReferenceID:[Eulenspiegel]
Appending [Owl Mirror] into Main Visualizer. Release Recollection
The spirit of water's laugh blossoms into a full open chortle. Water spews from her mouth, turning into sewage as it hits the ground, mingling with the pooled muck. The living liquid itself turning brown and stained, Undine visibly fighting to not explode from sheer laughter.
You focus, trying to seize control, and Undine still responds to your commands, it's still your Persona. But you feel the memory warping, its identity and very nature churning, distorting...!
"You and I, we're not so different." His voice reverberates through your own mind, and you can't tell where your thoughts end and his begin. "We're both just struggling to keep afloat, living life the best we can. But you see I'm a step ahead of you, I already know how this ends. No matter how hard you work, how desperately you protect your little status quo, nothing will change, the world will continue to BE SHIT!"
Undine laughs, her form twisting and warping, the figure of the maiden falling apart as this hideous, goblinoid monstrosity rises out of the water of your soul. Spiegel's forcing a connection, making you a part of his own power. Weaponizing a social link in order to distort your Persona.
"Hahahahaha! I AM YOU AND YOU ARE I! WE ARE ALL THE FUCKING SAME INSIDE! WE ARE ALL JESTERS, WE ARE ALL CLOWNS, WE ARE ALL CACKLING LIKE FOOLS AS THE WORLD DRAGS US DOWN! SO COME AND LAUGH AND KISS MY ASS CAUSE WE'RE ALL SHARING THE SAME STEAMING LOAD!"
And then it arrives.
"No. That's not Kuro. And it's not you either."
The cloud of flies blanketing out the sky parts as she emerges upon a pillar of sunlight. While you and Spiegel struggle in the dirt and grime she's descended upon you, the sun shining brightly as the figure of a young woman, dressed in the finest of golden silk, floats to the ground upon unfurled wings. She's a bastion against the filth, not even the carrion able to touch her, the swarm parting and swerving away as the woman glides down from the heavens.
"Shinkawa! I'm right here!"
It's Sinon, her Persona cast in white and gold holding her aloft, her sniper rifle raised and aimed directly at the mud coated Spiegel. You feel the raw power, the Persona's very aura serving as a beacon against the filth.
"I've heard you blabber on and on, Shinkawa... but you don't know me. You don't know any of us."
Spiegel looks dumbfounded, even his Persona stopping its laughter for the briefest of moments. Sinon hangs in the sky, the filth retreating and scouring away in the wake of her brilliance.
"You know what? I'm gotten really sick of hearing it! Day after day, you think I'm someone I'm not. I'm no lousy 'goddess' of yours. I'm no one special Shinkawa, none of us are. We're all doing our best, we're all struggling... and we're more than the caricatures you think we are!"
The crack of a sniper rifle, and the Phantom form of Sinon's double collapses into a melting pile of mud— a gaping hole where its heart used to be, a brilliant light purging away every speck of filth that lies within.
"You're the same. You're more than this. You can become more."
...
He's silent. For once he has nothing more to say. Sinon reaches down with a warm hand, as Eulenspiegel visibly recoils away, the small thing hiding covering its eyes with a fistful of filth. "Hey, remember when was the last time we had fun? It's been so long ago that I think GGO's worn out its welcome. So please... we've got a lot to talk about, don't we? So let's wake up together, Shinkawa-kun."
Spiegel stands there, the boy's entire body quivering. He's looking down at the ground, unable to look Sinon in the eye.
"...Asada-san... I..."
As he looks up there's no laughter left upon his face. Just a melancholic smile.
"Maybe... maybe I once would've liked to hear that. But it's too late now. The things I've done... I've already made my decision. I've thrown my life away already. This... this is all I have left. And... even if you're the one in my way..."
The battlefield is quiet, the laughter is gone, even the flies are still.
"I won't let you ruin my fun."
The stench redoubles. Filth and maggots seep out of every corner of the world, and even Undine has been twisted into the form of a jester, all its power melting away into the filth. Your control remains unbroken, but you immediately recognize the half distorted Undine as a flicker of its former self, all its power and majesty drowned away by the filth.
"I am a Mirror into your soul. You are nothing more than reflections of me. I am you and you are me. Look upon the reflection and behold yourself. You think you can lecture me!? I'll drag you down too Asada-san! I'll make you learn what it's like to be trodden upon! To drown in despair! To feel how USELESS living in this world truly is! EULENSPIEGEL!"
An image of a mirror forms over Spiegel's body, shimmering over his optical barrier. The equipment overloads, forming a translucent armor around his body. You recognize it as some form of reflective barrier, though against what elements, you have no idea.
"Remember this! I am, you are... WE are all... hehehehe, HEHEHEEHEHEH, KWHWHWHWAHAHAHA! WE ARE ALL JUST!"
And there it is once more. From ear to ear, Spiegel opens his mouth and laughs, and laughs, and laughs. His belief, his specific and hideous Incarnation, it seeps into the fabric of the world. An unbroken curse exemplified by three very simple words.
"PIECES OF SHIT!"
>Shinkawa Kyouji has obtained RANK 1 of the TRAITOR Arcana [Fellow Persona User]!
>Shinkawa Kyouji has obtained RANK 2 of the SUN Arcana [Football Team]!
>Shinkawa Kyouji has obtained RANK 3 of the PRUDENCE Arcana [Father]!
>Shinkawa Kyouji has obtained RANK 4 of the MAGICIAN Arcana [The Lying Streamer]!
>Shinkawa Kyouji has obtained RANK 5 of the JUDGMENT Arcana [The Undefeated Champion]!
>Shinkawa Kyouji's RANK 5 STRENGTH Arcana [The Cold-Blooded Sniper] is currently in REVERSAL!
Kuro casts Kuhleborn against all CLOSE range opponents.
MAG 7 + Laser Girl 1 = 8d6e4 = 6⊕ 1 6⊕ 5⊕ 1 4⊕ 5⊕ 5⊕ → 6 successes against 4 BLUNT Weakness Found!
Memory of the School resist rolls 2d6e5 = 5⊕ 4 → 1 success against 5 5 Damage
Memory of the Father resist rolls 3d6e5 = 4 4 2 → 0 successes against 5 6 Damage
Memory of the Goddess resist rolls 5d6e5 = 5⊕ 4 5⊕ 5⊕ 4 → 3 successes against 5 3 Damage
Once More! Against Memory of the School
BASIC 6 + Laser Girl 1 + Pistol Training 1 = 8d6e4 = 6⊕ 2 6⊕ 1 5⊕ 1 1 6⊕→ 4 successes against 4
Memory of the School resist rolls 2d6e5 = 6⊕ 6⊕ → 2 successes against 5 OPTICAL Weakness Found!
2 Damage
Memory of the School goes from 6 > 5.
Kuro loses FILTH from the use of water...
Only to gain FILTH as sewage floods the battlefield!
Spiegel uses an improvised attack and tries to splash water on Kuro! ADV due to all the water! rolls 5d6e4 = 6⊕ 2 6⊕ 1 4⊕ → 3 successes against 4
You dodge with AGI 6d6e5 = 2 5⊕ 6⊕ 5⊕ 5⊕ 4 → 4 successes against 5 Dodged the Water
The Memories begin to mock Kuro!
Kuro's global CHT defense roll: rolls 4d6e5 = 6⊕ 5⊕ 6⊕ 6⊕ → 4 successes against 5
CHAMPION rolls 6d6e4 = 3 1 4⊕ 6⊕ 1 4⊕ → 3 successes against 4
STREAMER rolls 5d6e4 = 2 4⊕ 6⊕ 5⊕ 4⊕ → 4 successes against 4 Kuro's AGI has fallen by 1!
FATHER rolls 3d6e4 = 2 2 2 → 0 successes against 4
GODDESS rolls 5d6e4 = 2 3 5⊕ 2 1 → 1 success against 4
SCHOOL rolls 2d6e4 x 5. Impossible for them to succeed.
Sinon narratively kills the MEMORY OF THE GODDESS!
The MEMORY OF KURO has spawned!
Undine has been temporarily transformed into a Eulenspiegel!
Skills:
What-a-Karn: Raises a shield around an allied unit that reflects EITHER Magic or Physical, as determined by the result of a 1d2 roll.
Filthy-Diarama: Collects a large amount of filth and heal its user.
???
RELEASE RECOLLECTION:
Owl Mirror: Infuse the memory of FILTH into the local area, and intensify it over time. Transform other Personas into Eulenspiegel, provided you have a social link established with the owner of said Persona.
Memory of the Champion
HP: Full
CHT: 6
Weakness: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Resist: None
Memory of the Streamer
HP: Full
CHT: 5
Weakness: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Resist: None
Memory of the Father
HP: 4 Damage taken
CHT: 3
VIT: 3
Weakness: ???, Blunt, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Resist: None
Memory of the School x 5
HP: 1 vanquished, 2 Damage to another one.
CHT: 2
VIT: 2
Weakness: ???, Blunt, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, Optical, ???, ???
Resist: None
TACTICAL INFORMATION
>Shinkawa Kyouji possesses the power of the Wildcard, allowing him to form Social Links.
>Shinkawa Kyouji can form Social Links mid-battle, and do so unilaterally. He forms Social Links with those he thinks mock, hate, pity or otherwise laugh at him.
>Shinkawa Kyouji's Wildcard does not allow him to use multiple Personas, but he can turn other Personas into Eulenspiegel, provided he can maintain an active Social Link.
>One Persona per scene, chosen at random if multiple Personas are used in a scene, from Kuro's roster when used against Kyouji will immediately become twisted into Eulenspiegel by the power of his Wildcard.
>You may 'free' your Persona by defeating its corresponding Mud Memory.
>When your entire roster is Eulenspiegel'd, you either lose or expend considerable DETERMINATION summoning another Persona.
A Eulenspiegel Persona has all stats set to:
STR: Rank E (1 Dice)
MAG: Rank E (1 Dice)
AGI: Rank E (1 Dice)
VIT: Rank E (1 Dice)
CHT: Rank D (2 Dice)
Weakness: Everything
Resist: Nothing
Passive: Immune to all FILTH effects
Skills are retained.
Enhance Armament and Release Recollection are both sealed.
>Win by wiping out all the Memories or defeating Spiegel. Spiegel can erect more Memories and also heal himself, defensively buff himself, and otherwise make a nuisance of himself. DO YOU ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE IN DIPLOMACY? [Free Combat Banter]
[ ] Try to talk to Spiegel. WRITE-IN speech. You may also have Sinon say something to Spiegel as well, or in place of Kuro.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
[ ] Calm and collect [Paladin] The kid likes the sound of his own voice— let's use that. Don't bother getting in his head, just try to keep him talking about his own situation. The more he focuses on that, the less he does on ruining you. Oh, and those little nobodies? Ignore them. Mark's not immune to bullets so just keep on shooting and I reckon things will work out.
-Keep Spiegel talking about himself, grill him on the identity of the Memories around him.
-Spam Twin Shot
[ ] An agreeable contest [Alice Liddell] How boring would it be if this was all he had to show? Eulenspiegel would never raise the curtain until he's had his fun. Have you read his tales? Crass, but charming in the way peasants can be. I can feel that death won't be the end for him, for it was never the end of Eulenspiegel. Until then, let us play his game.
-Simply try to do as much damage as possible with Eiga, concentrating on the weakest Memories and making your way up the roster of Memories.
[ ] Free the Servant [Urvashi] There is no shame in hiding, even the Pandavas knew the value of patience. Free your other self, and then see what miracles your allies can accomplish.
-Free Undine by spamming Zionga, then Conceal yourself.
[ ] Consult the Guide [Mithras-Lithurgy] It is written that the unprepared are ready for naught but their own doom.
-Invoke Release Recollection and seek Divine Revelation
OR
[ ] Write what you want Kuro to do (your GOAL) and with which Persona. Specific plans will typically be rewarded with more bonuses than general plans. Your capabilities depend on your equipped Persona. WHAT DO YOUR ALLIES DO?
[ ] Full Assault
>Sinon will immediately use her bombardment to damage as many targets as possible. Gwen will attack the Memories.
[ ] Heal/Support
>Sinon will attempt to BIND Spiegal, to prevent him from running towards the Memories. Gwen will throw around smoke bombs because she knows it'll piss him off.
[ ] Defensive Play
>Sinon will take to the skies sand take potshots with her main weapon. Gwen will only attack stationary Memories while remaining invisible.
[ ] Write-in what you want your allies to do.
Please submit in PLAN format.
Diplomacy, on the other hand, will be separate. So any verbal talk-no-jutsu is outside of the PLAN format and will be tallied separately.
The ground is soaked in sewage, and everything smells like a clogged toilet. Kuro's standing there screaming about something. She seems to like screaming.
Sinon is glowing like an overloaded lava lamp suspended in midair. Not even using a jetpack like the one time Pito showed you hers!
There's weird brown goo people standing around— wait are they laughing!? What kind of mob was this!?
And what's that weirdo doing!? He's just running around spewing stuff everywhere? Is that blood? It's not the right color and it's way too thick. Wait, no, is that—
You are LLENN.
You have arrived.
And you want to go home right now.
SNIPER RIFLE: PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II
Range: FAR/EXTREME
PISTOL: Glock 18C
Range: MELEE/CLOSE
SPARE RIFLE: PGM Mini-Hecate .338 (will only be used if you lose your main weapon)
Range: FAR/EXTREME PISTOL: Type 54 Black Star
Range: MELEE/CLOSE
Passives:
[Hawkeye]: Your BASIC ATTACKS gain +2 DICE per turn you maintain a clear line of vision to your target. Resets upon hitting your target or losing line of sight.
[Golden Sandals]: Narratively fly at a speed equivalent to your running speed. You can pick up and carry allies, provided you sacrifice your ability to attack. Costs [1 SP] per turn you fly. «Real Deal: Aspirant»: You understand life is nothing more than meat, blood and bone. +1 DICE on all rolls in combat against opponents who do not possess any variation of the «Real Deal» trait.
Actions:
Freila: Generate a NUCLEAR element and apply a complex modification or syntax to it. [1 SP][MAG/NUC]
Kouga: Generate a LUMINOUS element and apply a complex modification or syntax to it. [1 SP][MAG/BLESS]
Stun Needle: Fires a cluster of flechettes over a wide area to entangle opponents in golden ropes. [2 SP] [CHT/BIND]
Première Guerre Mondiale: Bless your rifle, temporarily turning it into a semi-automatic bombardment weapon. Fire continuously, for every SP remaining, until your SP hits 0. You may focus fire or try to hit multiple opponents. Every time an opponent is damaged by one instance of this attack, they get a stacking +2 DICE to resist the damage of this attack for the rest of the scene. [X SP] [STR/PIERCE]
Phantom Bullet: Use your Bullet Line to spook an enemy combatant, typically causing them to reposition. [FREE]
Reload: Recover [7 SP] but can only be used if it's the only thing you do all scene.
Basic Attack [Payen, Gonnet and Morier]: Deliver 50 Caliber Justice at 2000 meters. [1 SP][6 DICE / IGNORE VIT / PIERCE / +3 DMG]
Basic Attack [Semi-Auto Fire]: Empty your sidearm into the enemy. [5 DICE / PIERCE]
RELEASE RECOLLECTION I exorcise in the name of Hecate Trimorphous, scourgebearer, slavebearer, torchbearer, blood-drinking goddess of the lower world adorned in golden sandals.
Chrysosandalaimopotichthonia: Change epitaphs and call upon another facet of Hecate.
Holy shit, this is even worse than I thought it would be. Like, way worse. Dude is Toxic to the bone and he sees the world in the opposite view of how the typical Persona protagonist has. I remarked Socials can be formed in weird circumstances, but eesh. At least we don't have to deal with the Sinon social...
Hm. But this is a rather troublesome situation. Shame our bet didn't work, but at least we tried. If the assimilation only happens when we damage Kyouji, this makes me think we need to hit him in one big burst or rely on LLENN, who has no Persona, to damage him the most and let Sinon and Gwen deal with the Memories, while we mix between either...
Hm. And he forms bonds with those he thinks hate him. Keyword, think. Maybe this is an angle we can explore.
Alright, so here's my idea.
[X] Plan Take Responsability
-[X] "Holy shit...you are a bigger moron than I expected!"
--[x] "We talked, like, once or twice since I met you and Shino a few weeks ago and you think I hate or talk shit about you? Get over yourself, you have to do worse to make me give a fuck about you."
--[x] "I admit that, deep down, most people are pieces of shit. Like, come on, let's be real, who is not sometimes an ass to other people? But this?! To assume so many people care for you enough to think about you in a lesser way is preposterous! If I were to go and ask some of these people who the fuck are you, no bells would be rung."
-[x] "But maybe...maybe it's easier, isn't it? To blame everyone else rather than yourself. It's so easy, right? 'No, I'm not to blame. It's the world that hates me.' This is what goes through your head, isn't it? It's so easier, so freeing. You can be miserable, but at least you are comfortable in a misery you keep telling yourself is no fault of yours."
-[X] Switch into Villefort and attack the Memory of the Father.
-[X] Sinon will attempt to use Stun Needle at the maximum of enemies possible to Bind and Poison the most Memories possible. Avoid Kyouji, however. Meanwhile, Gwen will reposition silently to destroy Undine with some shots of her gun.
Edit: Changed so that we use Gwen's gun over the concern of Kyouji attempting to hijack Daji.
I KNEW going for Chrysondolos was the wrong call, it's a Master of None like I predicted, on a hard timer in this case to boot!
Well, we've worked under difficult circumstances before...let's see...
What I'm worried about is Kyouji forming a social link with Gwen. If Daji is turned against us, we're in REAL trouble. Problem is, even if she doesn't talk, it'll be impossible for Kyouji to not form an opinion on her. And given that she's going to be, you know, FIGHTING him, it's going to be an inevitability.
Before the update, I was leaning toward spamming status effects, but given that it seems FILTH is a one-way street (no surprise in hindsight) that's not an option at the moment.
[X] Plan: A lesson in trickery
-[X] Write-in: Goad and suppress
-[X] Kuro action
--[X] Try to provoke Spiegel into dumping more FILTH onto you before dodging it using Apathanatismos.
-[X] Party actions
--[X] Have Gwen free Undine using her gun, not Daji, while trying not to reveal that Gwen has a Persona
--[X] Have Sinon attack Memory of the Champion with Kouga, manifesting the Luminous element however she pleases
--[X] Have LLEN attack Memory of the Father using her gun
[X] Talk: Only (slightly) false awe
-[X] *give an impressed whistle* "I see! Fascinating! I never realized Persona could be expressed this way! Daresay, I am IMPRESSED! No wonder we seemed to get along so well in the short time we spent together! You have the same potential I do! It's a pity you've chosen to devote your efforts to something so distasteful, but everyone makes mistakes, right? I've learned that the best thing about choices is you can always make another!"
Essentially, the combat plan tries to gain insight into how to get out of this situation faster, and the talk option is to try and reverse our Social Link with him so he stops hijacking our Personas, while also whittling down his backup. After all, being admired after a fashion isn't being hated, right?
Also, is range not a mechanic this fight because of how the Velvet Room is allowing Personas to manifest directly? I notice that no range has been given for any combatant.
I WOULD have switched to Villefort to avoid getting poisoned by increasing FILTH next turn, but considering how Kyouji can hijack Personas, probably not the best option right now. Also realized that Villefort's Archetype is the WORST matchup against Kyouji because he is the DEFINITION of a simpleton. Is that why she hasn't suggested a plan?
I KNEW going for Chrysondolos was the wrong call, it's a Master of None like I predicted, on a hard timer in this case to boot!
Well, we've worked under difficult circumstances before...let's see...
What I'm worried about is Kyouji forming a social link with Gwen. If Daji is turned against us, we're in REAL trouble. Problem is, even if she doesn't talk, it'll be impossible for Kyouji to not form an opinion on her. And given that she's going to be, you know, FIGHTING him, it's going to be an inevitability.
Before the update, I was leaning toward spamming status effects, but given that it seems FILTH is a one-way street (no surprise in hindsight) that's not an option at the moment.
[X] Plan: A lesson in trickery
-[X] Write-in: Goad and suppress
-[X] Kuro action
--[X] Try to provoke Spiegel into dumping more FILTH onto you before dodging it using Apathanatismos.
-[X] Party actions
--[X] Have Gwen free Undine using her gun, not Daji, while trying not to reveal that Gwen has a Persona
--[X] Have Sinon attack Memory of the Champion with Kouga, manifesting the Luminous element however she pleases
--[X] Have LLEN attack Memory of the Father using her gun
[X] Talk: Only (slightly) false awe
-[X] *give an impressed whistle* "I see! Fascinating! I never realized Persona could be expressed this way! Daresay, I am IMPRESSED! No wonder we seemed to get along so well in the short time we spent together! You have the same potential I do! It's a pity you've chosen to devote your efforts to something so distasteful, but everyone makes mistakes, right? I've learned that the best thing about choices is you can always make another!"
Essentially, the combat plan tries to gain insight into how to get out of this situation faster, and the talk option is to try and reverse our Social Link with him so he stops hijacking our Personas, while also whittling down his backup. After all, being admired after a fashion isn't being hated, right?
Also, is range not a mechanic this fight because of how the Velvet Room is allowing Personas to manifest directly? I notice that no range has been given for any combatant.
I WOULD have switched to Villefort to avoid getting poisoned by increasing FILTH next turn, but considering how Kyouji can hijack Personas, probably not the best option right now. Also realized that Villefort's Archetype is the WORST matchup against Kyouji because he is the DEFINITION of a simpleton. Is that why she hasn't suggested a plan?
Honestly? Not a bad plan if I say myself, though I have to point out LLENN is not listed in default actions, which makes me believe we can't order her until next turn.
However, what makes me doubt your plan is the talk write-in. It would probably work against other foes, but Kyouji right now is in what I would call a negative spiral. He may understand that he's the issue, but it's very likely he will hear one thing and twist it into a negative thing - which would, in fact, only worsen our situation. Remember, while Sinon did some bad things to Kyouji while under Death Gun's influence, there's a high-likelihood he already had thought of her as someone who saw her as less even before she got drunk on the Real Deal juice and, in canon, she still stood for him even after he tried to commit double suicide with her.
Now, he Awoke to his Persona. He understand that, in the end, much of his own issues come from himself...so why does his whole Social Link schtick is around people who think lesser of him? Even people who he never had contact with.
In the end, he's a brat. He is a brat who still doesn't understand what responsibility is, and tries to cling to his excuse that the others are the issue rather than face himself and would rather bring others to his level.
So let's be brutal. Let's be honest and tell exactly what we think of him. Because if there's something that really says that we are not connected, it's apathy.
Edit: Also, I think we only have our Personas snatched on attack. I'm not 100% sure of the wording, but it says 'Personas used against Kyouji.' Mithras, I feel, is pretty valuable with his buffs and his super, while Villefort is not as bad to lose.
"You know what? I'm gotten really sick of hearing it! Day after day, you think I'm someone I'm not. I'm no lousy 'goddess' of yours. I'm no one special Shinkawa, none of us are. We're all doing our best, we're all struggling... and we're more than the caricatures you think we are!"
Wow, this is the ultimate rebuttal to every isekai strawman character I've ever seen that exists to be bashed and degraded. That hit really hard.
As always I have no plan but I do have a write-in. Right now I think mocking and jeering at Kyoji is playing into his game fitting his view as a nihilistic joke so we need to take that logic and flip it against him.
"You say that we're not so different, Spiegal? Your right. We both realized it when we studied and I pigged out on sweets and you thanked me for helping Sinon, when we were having a blast bitching about BLANK. That was all real to the two of us. But I'm also passing school, I have friends, I stopped Endou's bullying without killing her. Going by your own logic doesn't that mean you could have done it too? After all, we're the same!"
If Kyoji and Hiyori are the same doesn't that mean that she used to be a sadsack like Kyoji and going by that same logic doesn't that if he's trying to drag her down that means she's something he wants to be? And if they're the same and Hiyori is also better doesn't that mean the same could be true for Kyoji as well?
