Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
So what are our build for GGO, anyone have any idea.
So what are our build for GGO, anyone have any idea.
*Blink* Why is this a "Kikuoka will be sad" option?
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Don't push our luck
ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
[X] Don't push our luck
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
I was mentioned that we will be able to use our Persona's skills as special bullets of sorts, but I will need to see how things will work to start to make a gameplan regarding that.
- Location
- US
[X] Plan: Government Corruption Go!
-[X] You must be truly desperate to come to me for help... [You have enough MASK for this option]
-[X] You know, I used to be a journalist... [You have enough GRIT for this option]
-[X] I'm an employee. Shouldn't I get a salary!?
-[X] GGO's all about guns, right? See, I don't have any idea how guns work...
-[X] Uh... I don't have my account anymore, so I'm gonna need to buy power... so if you could do a buddy of mine an itsy-bitsy favor...
-[X] I WANT A GUN!
With this plan we would be paid 15,000 yen a week until the last week and get as much power to jumpstart our foray into GGO, while using Kikuoka's authority for as much as we can while still being paid.
As for our payment Kikuoka is getting an absolute steal to be honest. For the price of six air conditioners he's getting a resourceful agent who's a proven trouble shooter. Looking through the options he's willing to get his hands dirty or his division has been given a lot of leeway.
He's likely paying the cash out of his own pocket, which is why he's sad if we pick to guilt trip/blackmail him for more money, but he doesn't seem to blink at using his authority for all the other options except for the 'in' at RATH. So he cares about his money and us getting closer to RATH.
MISTCOIN should be the most useful in GGO since it's the game where the coins are converted to cash. There's definitely a pay-to-win aspect to GGO since players can sell character models for money from what I remember in the anime. We should be able to either use the coins for in game favors/services or exchange them for credits to do the same.
Being able to fight above our weight in the real world is nice to have given how scrawny we are. I'm not entirely sure how Shino's tagalong will react when he sees us buddying up with her in the tournament. Who knows maybe we could fool somebody into believing we're a bonafide undercover agent of the government with it. You don't see a teen rocking tasers and pepper spray in Japan a lot do you?
-[X] You must be truly desperate to come to me for help... [You have enough MASK for this option]
-[X] You know, I used to be a journalist... [You have enough GRIT for this option]
-[X] I'm an employee. Shouldn't I get a salary!?
-[X] GGO's all about guns, right? See, I don't have any idea how guns work...
-[X] Uh... I don't have my account anymore, so I'm gonna need to buy power... so if you could do a buddy of mine an itsy-bitsy favor...
-[X] I WANT A GUN!
With this plan we would be paid 15,000 yen a week until the last week and get as much power to jumpstart our foray into GGO, while using Kikuoka's authority for as much as we can while still being paid.
As for our payment Kikuoka is getting an absolute steal to be honest. For the price of six air conditioners he's getting a resourceful agent who's a proven trouble shooter. Looking through the options he's willing to get his hands dirty or his division has been given a lot of leeway.
He's likely paying the cash out of his own pocket, which is why he's sad if we pick to guilt trip/blackmail him for more money, but he doesn't seem to blink at using his authority for all the other options except for the 'in' at RATH. So he cares about his money and us getting closer to RATH.
MISTCOIN should be the most useful in GGO since it's the game where the coins are converted to cash. There's definitely a pay-to-win aspect to GGO since players can sell character models for money from what I remember in the anime. We should be able to either use the coins for in game favors/services or exchange them for credits to do the same.
Being able to fight above our weight in the real world is nice to have given how scrawny we are. I'm not entirely sure how Shino's tagalong will react when he sees us buddying up with her in the tournament. Who knows maybe we could fool somebody into believing we're a bonafide undercover agent of the government with it. You don't see a teen rocking tasers and pepper spray in Japan a lot do you?
It adds a HELL lot more work for him since an investigation is a major endeavor.
If it's like canon, then Kikuoka is part of the project so we'd be asking him to investigate his own top secret program. Either he has to give us legit info and comprise his own OpSec or he has to come up with a good enough lie that we don't unravel it and catch him.
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
Still cooking. Roughly speaking same stats:
STR / MAG / AGI / VIT / CHT
STR: Roll for MELEE attacks (Beam Swords, Knives, HF Blades, Sword Skills) + Determines Carry Weight (tentatively 2x STR + VIT)
MAG: Roll for MAGIC damage (Optical Guns, Magic). No secondary effects but generally a bit more accurate than other attacks.
AGI: Roll for INITIATIVE (1d4 + AGI) + Defensive Stat (Roll to defend) + Movement (AGI/2 = Movement, tentatively)
VIT: Defensive Stat (Roll to defend) + Determines Carry Weight + Increases Max HP
CHT: Status shenanigans
Stats from Personas will just increase dice and have no secondary effects (ie, VIT from a Persona won't increase max hp)
Guns are central. You summon a Persona by loading it into a gun, so the more guns you have, the more Personas.
Stuff like DEATH Personas can be loaded onto health syringes.
Each gun has its own ACCURACY stat which you can raise per gun category by training, which is just gonna be a perk system (ie, gain perk Handgun Expert = +2 for handguns)
Most attacks roll the following stats:
Melee: ACCURACY + STR
Firearm: ACCURACY (in isolation)
Optical/Magic Firearm: ACCURACY + MAG
Defense rolls are usually:
AGI + VIT + Equipped Armor
Optical Shields resist MAG attacks
Body Armor resists all other attacks
Using Personas with Guns:
A Persona's STR is subtracted from the WEIGHT form the gun to obtain a final weight (so high STR personas = Less of a dent on your own weight)
Firearms are 'regular' weapons and usually just roll ACCURACY. They tend to have better stats and special abilities. Usually a Firearm will 'accept' a limited variety of spells based on anime logic (some guns can use "Fire" spells, etc).
Generally, modern firearms will be largely incompatible with magic, with exceptions.
Optical Weapons are 'magic' weapons and thus roll ACCURACY + MAG and are your 'wand' equivalent. Enemies do get to add Optical Shield dice to defend. Optical Weapons can fire any spell.
Each gun will have a range band (generally):
[X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-][-] Melee
[X][X][ ][-][-][-][-][-][-][-] Shotgun
[ ][X][X][ ][ ][ ][-][-][-][-] Pistol/SMG
[ ][ ][X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][-][-] Assault
[ ][ ][ ][X][X][X][X][ ][ ][ ] Marksman
[-][-][ ][ ][ ][X][X][X][X][X] Sniper
[X] = In Range, full effect
[ ] = Disadvantage
[-] = Cannot Fire
Examples of guns:
X-Calibur Pistol [PIERCE]
Weight: 1
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][ ][ ][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: 5 in Range.
Persona: Can only fire BLESS spells
[W-Fire]: This firearm can be dual-wielded.
XCB High-Frequency Blade [SLASH]
Weight: 2
Range: [X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range, ignores VIT+Armor.
Persona: Can only fire MELEE skills
[Lightning Strike]: Initiative is doubled.
E-Calibur Phased Array System [PSI]
Weight: 3
Range: [ ][ ][X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 4 in Range
Persona: No limitations
[Overwatch]: Take a free shot with DISADV against any enemy OUTSIDE your range entering your range.
Excalibur Heavy Crossbow [PIERCE]
Weight: 2
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][-][-][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range.
Persona: Can only fire STATUS skills
[Silent]: Narratively doesn't break stealth
AK-47 [PIERCE]
Weight: 3
Range: [ ][ ][X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range
Persona: Cannot fire any magic skills
[Overwatch]: Take a free shot with DISADV against any enemy OUTSIDE your range entering your range.
Mossberg 500 <Red Racing Stripes> [BLUNT]
Weight: 3
Range: [X][X][ ][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range, Ignores AGI at Melee range
Persona: Cannot fire any magic skills
Plasma Grenade [NUC]
Weight: 1
Range: [ ][X][X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: Roll STR, Ignores enemy VIT
Persona: Can only fire NUC skills
[Grenade]: ALWAYS acts at the bottom of initiative order. ADV against enemies who have not moved this turn.
PGM Mini Hécate II
Weight: 4
Range: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][X][X][X][X]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range, ADV if enemy is unaware of you.
[High Power]: +2 Damage if you hit the enemy
PGM Hécate II
Weight: 6
Range: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][X][X][X][X]
ACCURACY: 2 in Range, ignores VIT+Armor, ADV if enemy is unaware of you.
[Overkill]: +4 Damage if you hit the enemy
Optical Shield - Buckler
Weight: 1
+3 Defensive Dice against MAG attacks
Optical Shield - Bulwark
Weight: 1
+4 Defensive Dice against MAG attacks
Tactical Vest
Weight: 3
+2 Defensive Dice against Firearms
Full Ballistic Plate
Weight: 6
+4 Defensive Dice against Firearms
Type 54 Pistol
Weight: 1
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range
Persona: Can only fire CURSE skills
[Fatal Bullet]: Mudo spells fired by this gun can affect non NPC targets
[Black Star]: A target killed by this gun dies in real life
Weight: 1
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][ ][ ][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: 5 in Range.
Persona: Can only fire BLESS spells
[W-Fire]: This firearm can be dual-wielded.
XCB High-Frequency Blade [SLASH]
Weight: 2
Range: [X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range, ignores VIT+Armor.
Persona: Can only fire MELEE skills
[Lightning Strike]: Initiative is doubled.
E-Calibur Phased Array System [PSI]
Weight: 3
Range: [ ][ ][X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 4 in Range
Persona: No limitations
[Overwatch]: Take a free shot with DISADV against any enemy OUTSIDE your range entering your range.
Excalibur Heavy Crossbow [PIERCE]
Weight: 2
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][-][-][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range.
Persona: Can only fire STATUS skills
[Silent]: Narratively doesn't break stealth
AK-47 [PIERCE]
Weight: 3
Range: [ ][ ][X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range
Persona: Cannot fire any magic skills
[Overwatch]: Take a free shot with DISADV against any enemy OUTSIDE your range entering your range.
Mossberg 500 <Red Racing Stripes> [BLUNT]
Weight: 3
Range: [X][X][ ][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range, Ignores AGI at Melee range
Persona: Cannot fire any magic skills
Plasma Grenade [NUC]
Weight: 1
Range: [ ][X][X][-][-][-][-][-][-][-]
ACCURACY: Roll STR, Ignores enemy VIT
Persona: Can only fire NUC skills
[Grenade]: ALWAYS acts at the bottom of initiative order. ADV against enemies who have not moved this turn.
PGM Mini Hécate II
Weight: 4
Range: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][X][X][X][X]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range, ADV if enemy is unaware of you.
[High Power]: +2 Damage if you hit the enemy
PGM Hécate II
Weight: 6
Range: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][X][X][X][X]
ACCURACY: 2 in Range, ignores VIT+Armor, ADV if enemy is unaware of you.
[Overkill]: +4 Damage if you hit the enemy
Optical Shield - Buckler
Weight: 1
+3 Defensive Dice against MAG attacks
Optical Shield - Bulwark
Weight: 1
+4 Defensive Dice against MAG attacks
Tactical Vest
Weight: 3
+2 Defensive Dice against Firearms
Full Ballistic Plate
Weight: 6
+4 Defensive Dice against Firearms
Type 54 Pistol
Weight: 1
Range: [ ][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
ACCURACY: 3 in Range
Persona: Can only fire CURSE skills
[Fatal Bullet]: Mudo spells fired by this gun can affect non NPC targets
[Black Star]: A target killed by this gun dies in real life
Combat will be similar to ALO, only turn order is now a thing.
No more Once More and Smirk and stuff like that.
There will be a thing called a BULLET LINE which is just a map plotted on a straight line that determines how 'far away' you are from your foe. Different guns work in different ranges. Firing outside the range will suffer heavy penalties. Firing inside the range will be effective + bonuses depending on gun.
When it's your turn you automatically move in the direction of your weapon's effective range and take your move.
So turns look like this:
>Roll for Initiative
>Move in range of your weapon
>Fire your weapon
>Enemy turn
So on and so forth.
ADV + DIS will be affected by narrative and narrative supercedes mechanics always.
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For some reason I read this as a literal combat roll and was ready to joke that "As someone who has played Dark Souls 2 this is actually the most important stat - we have to increase our i-frames."
[X] Plan: A expensive spy
-[X] You must be truly desperate to come to me for help... [You have enough MASK for this option]
-[X] I'm an employee. Shouldn't I get a salary!?
-[X] Can you talk to my school? What, no, school's more useless than the police...
-[X] I WANT A GUN!
Hiyori having a means to defend himself would be good. Having more off time from school would allow Hiyori to train her GGO character.
-[X] You must be truly desperate to come to me for help... [You have enough MASK for this option]
-[X] I'm an employee. Shouldn't I get a salary!?
-[X] Can you talk to my school? What, no, school's more useless than the police...
-[X] I WANT A GUN!
Hiyori having a means to defend himself would be good. Having more off time from school would allow Hiyori to train her GGO character.
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
If we get the gun option, will we be able to tazer people in ordinal scale? Because that would be sick.
[x] Plan: Leveraged Contract
[x] Plan: Leveraged Contract
Ryumancer
Dragons Are Romance
Y'know, that's a pretty small fraction of SAO. I'm inclined to say they're not doing all that badly.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
I'm surprised that Shiroe didn't bring up Nephren-Ka given how Nyarly's summoning had him spooked.
If you want to see something that looks like it came out of Springfield you should of asked us to show us our high school.
I can't believe that I forgot how they became fast friends in canon, it's a good thing we poached Yuuki first. Still, their dynamic could be far more interesting given how driven and mission-focused Asuna is mixed with Yuuki's inability to not view everything as a game for fun.
They're a pack of dimwits who want to use sentient AI as cannon fodder because they're still salty over WWII and can't even notice the nascent god growing under their noses.
These are the dumbfucks who put Kayaba's waifu accomplice in charge in canon and it was treated as a redemptive moment. They are a bunch of buffoons.
Surprised he didn't bring up the time an entire police department and the JSDF were all slaughtered in Sumaru City by six unknown figures.
This comes off as a completely good thing to me.
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
I don't care about being Kikouka's friend and am completely on board for fleecing him for all he's worth. But in good conscience, I will never back cryptocurrency, the world's already way too close to becoming the VR dystopia seen in Accel World.
Still, really want to get a weapon. Not just for Laughing Coffin because we're clearly going to have to deal with a PMC in the future and it doesn't look like Phil or Nyarly are going to be giving us the really good stuff from Persona 2.[/QUOTE]
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[/QUOTE]
I'm kinda hoping we get a choice for a weapon if we get further with our SL's or maybe another end of Arc reward as a choice, like The Third Eye.
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
I don't remember all the P2 details but its continuity is, uh, harder to insert than the other Persona Games.
Like at the end of P3 what, to the world at large, actually happens? Apathy Syndrome gets cured, sure, but all the Nyx stuff occurred during the Dark Hour.
End of P4— serial murder is caught and freak weather ends. I mean it is Japan, freak weather is just a thing there anyways.
P5, bigger consequences, an actual government conspiracy, sure. But it's not like magic powers are public. The masquerade still holds. It's reasonable to expect some higher level government goons are aware that maybe there's something going on, but it's not exactly public.
In P2 a city rises into the fucking sky. I presume at the end of P2 EP some kind of reset occurs to wipe people's memories, or it kinda is cosmically reset, some weird stuff like that. So that's my answer.
The real answer is P2 takes place in 1999 and it's been 26 years and everyone's OOOOOLLLLDDDDDD! Can't positive thinking your way out of being 50 years old Maya!
- Location
- The Z-Cave
It's confirmed at the end of EP that all the normies' memories of the blatantly supernatural events were erased but at the same time between how many people JOKER killed and all the dead police officers, soldiers, and politicians that ended up being killed on top of all the corruption they left behind there's still a lot of threads that can still be pulled that make the police look really bad.
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
05/25: A Busy Odd-jobber Starts a New Life
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
[X] Plan: Leveraged Contract
-[X] You must be truly desperate to come to me for help... [You have enough MASK for this option]
-[X] I'm an employee. Shouldn't I get a salary!?
-[X] GGO's all about guns, right? See, I don't have any idea how guns work...
-[X] Can you talk to my school? What, no, school's more useless than the police...
-[X] You must be truly desperate to come to me for help... [You have enough MASK for this option]
-[X] I'm an employee. Shouldn't I get a salary!?
-[X] GGO's all about guns, right? See, I don't have any idea how guns work...
-[X] Can you talk to my school? What, no, school's more useless than the police...
SUNDAY - May 25, 2025
Daytime
Your arms hurt. It's hot out. The wooden pole of the sign was starting to dig into your palm. Why were you still doing this? You were rich! Sorta. Kinda.
You thought you had the measure of Kikuoka. But he was slimier than you realized. Oh, it went well at first. Some flattery here and there, an insinuation that if not for you, no-one else would give him the time of day. At the end of everything you even managed to get a raise with minimal grumbling!
But then he started advertising services.
One thing led to another, and now you have a super official document declaring your brand new internship with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You have a plastic badge, an ID number, and even a brand-spanking new title: «Virtual Investigations Special Intern».
Demeaning title aside, now that you're an official intern Kikuoka actually has to pay you! Legally! Thank you, Ministry of Labor for making unpaid internships illegal!
Best part is, now that it's all official, you can add this to your resume. This could open doors for you, and you could have a bright, shining future working as a lapdog of the government!
Which you were already doing. Which you were already going to be paid for.
Kikuoka did say that he had to cut your pay in exchange for making everything official...
He took you for a ride. Half of your salary! Half! And for what?
An official document that you can take to the principal, one that lets you leave early for your official internship!
The creep said he knew a guy from the Yakuza! We could've had a real goon! Or a blank check to rob people! Or a GUN! Do you remember who had guns? The Detective Prince. The police were already handing guns out to teenagers! That could've been us!
You don't want to fire real guns. Virtual guns were just fine, and you even got Kikuoka to find you a trainer! A... Second Lieutenant of the JSDF! Weren't Lieutenants pretty high up? And Second Lieutenant! That had to be twice as good as First!
Why does he have connections to the military?
As opposed to having connections with random high schoolers? Or Yakuza?
Okay. Here's a better question. If we're being paid by the government, why are we doing this?
And you're knocked out of your stupor and back into your immediate surroundings. Your sweltering, uncomfortable surroundings, holding another suspicious sign in front of another suspicious business. This was your promotion, holding on to more advanced signage. And so far it's been just as promised! No Sun Cultists. No giant fur suits.
Just... you. By yourself.
In the only abandoned corner of Tokyo, in front of a run-down building that smelled so heavily of smoke, it might as well be on fire. Your instructions were simple: just hold the sign in front of this building until told to stop. And how did you know when to stop? The instructions said that you'll know when.
It's been at least an hour, maybe even more. You've seen a bunch of people in spiky black leather walk by, half of them dangling large metal chains and the other half with tire irons. None of them even glanced in your direction.
Against orders, you snuck a look at the sign— just a giant poorly painted black mask with an ominous red X scrawled across it. Not entirely sure what the symbol was supposed to represent, since none of the people passing by seemed to be wearing masks.
Now that you think about it, there were a whole lot of them by now, all muscled out and covered in tattoos. Was this some secret BDSM dungeon!? Why else would a bunch of weird people dressed in all black be converging here!?
"My brothers! To see you all here today fills my heart with great joy! Although yesterday we may have been enemies, today, we stand united!"
You hear the crowd behind you roar with approval. Was that the signal? Could you finally drop this stupid sign?
"We have all lost brothers to the heinous Balaclava Berserker! BUT NO LONGER! TOO LONG HAS HE HUNTED US IN THE NIGHT, TOO LONG HAS HE PLAYED US FOR FOOLS!"
...Balaclava Berserker...? Was he... a pervert too...?
"BUT NOW THE HUNTER SHALL BECOME THE HUNTED! WE WILL SCOUR THE STREETS AND DRAG THE COWARD BEFORE US! HE CAN'T HIDE BEHIND HIS MASK FOREVER! THE STREETS WILL BE OURS TO RULE ONCE MORE!"
Okay, that has to be the sign for you to leave. You're five seconds away from either the start of a gang war or the strangest sex party in the world and you have no intentions of sticking around long enough to find out.
"SALLY FORTH MY BROTHERS! WE KNOW HIS HUNTING GROUNDS! BE VIGILANT FOR THIS SHALL BE A LONG HUNT, BUT WE WILL SMOKE THAT RAT OUT OF HIS—"
"Hey, I'm already here."
You hear a thunk of something slamming into bone, and the ear-splitting screams that follow it. A hundred voices call out at once and the sounds of violence erupt in the street just around the corner from your position. You take but one glance back to see a tattooed man fly out from the corner, face skidding accross the asphalt and coming to a final rest against a heap of unsorted garbage. Beyond him, the screams of rage and anger are quickly replaced by mewls of pain and outright sobbing.
"RUN! RUN AWAY!"
The mob of leather-clad thugs instantly break rank as they panic and disperse in every direction. The sounds of the rampage behind you escalate, the screams of the damned cut short with every blow.
You don't look back. You don't try and find out what just happened.
You just drop your sign and run.
Should've picked the gun.
>You earned ¥7500!
>MASK has increased! ♪♪♪♪
SUNDAY - May 25, 2025
Afternoon
"Oh yeah, that's the risk you take with temp agencies like that. All sorts of jobs that are way more trouble than they're worth," says Ogada-senpai as he drives the truck through the neighborhood. He's started to fill out the skin flaps over the last few months and was looking healthier to boot. "Didn't the boss give you a raise? How much money do you need?"
"Yeah, but—" You catch yourself, there was no way you could say you needed the money to buy virtual guns, "but Tokyo is so expensive!"
"Aren't your parents helping you out?"
You glare at your senior, Ogada-senpai is talkative as always, especially when he's driving, "keep your eyes on the road Ogada-senpai. You'll hit somebody."
He just laughs, patting his steering wheel fondly. "Boss says this thing has sensors on the front bumper! If anyone even thinks of jumping in front, it brakes itself!"
"You should still be careful!"
"You're worrying too much. The biggest thing we have to worry about are bikers, and they've been staying off the roads for months. You see any bikers these days, Hiyori-chan? I haven't seen a single one since March! Can't tell if I'm glad or if I'm sad about it!"
"Please stay focused." Sitting in the front like this makes you aware of how little you can see in front of the truck. You could easily imagine some small child just running in front of it...
"Alright, alright. I'll slow down. But not much point, considering we're here," says Ogada-senpai. You weren't sure where you were. Some business district or another, seeking a delivery of mechanical parts. Ogada-senpai always did the driving, since you were too young to hold a license.
Your hands are already sore from the signs this morning. You have two full hours of unloading today, followed by a maid shift, and then to top it all off you still had that box full of QR stickers you needed to paste all over the city.
Four jobs in one day. It's okay, you can do it! You're strong! Yeah, nothing a little determination and grit can't take care of!
>You earned ¥4000!
>FITNESS has increased! ♪♪♪♪
>Titan Movers bonus roll: 4d6e5 = 2 5⊕ 4 1 → 1 success
>Additional FITNESS improvement! ♪♪
SUNDAY - May 25, 2025
Evening
You purr, wrapping your tail around the young girl nuzzling into your stomach. This was beneath you, to have prey act so familiar, but this was the fantasy you were selling. Néma was one of the cafe's best customers, and today was the first day she had requested a lap nap. She's so cute!
She's a middle-aged pervert with an avatar that looks like a 5 year old.
"Fumo! Fumo~! Hehehe!"
Ah, she's still warm. Fresh and full of blood. Maybe just one little bite... No, you needed to restrain yourself. Biting costs extra.
You thought that working what was essentially the world's hardest acting job would be hard after so much heavy labor. Even if your body wasn't being tested in FullDive, your mind was. You had to remember the way to move your body. Which sounds corresponded to which expressions? But today? There was no hesitation. No weakness. Just pure purrfection. You move as if you had been a cat your whole life, the body responding to you even subconsciously.
Today was a new day, a day where you would be the best cat possible. Because today?
Today you were cheating.
It was a simple idea. You couldn't manifest your Persona in an Amusphere and you weren't stupid enough to dive into a part-time job with your NerveGear. But just because you couldn't summon your Persona didn't mean you couldn't use it. See you woke up this morning with a pounding headache when you started reviewing the new Personas you were granted. Something went horrifically wrong with your Persona, and Khodumodumo ended up evolving into this... putrid mass of flesh that seemed to be every animal all at once.
You blame Satoru Mikami for being drunk out of his mind for this abomination.
But this strange animal blob? Just by holding it in your mind it shifted your thought processes, just slightly. Turning it more primal, animalistic... not enough to affect your behavior, but more than enough to make controlling your lion body feel trivially easy! Accessing the root memories of all animals through Urmetazoan made playing lioness as easy as eating a baby from its cradle! Why did you ever want to walk on two legs? Four was twice as good! And the smell— you could tell how your customers were feeling just by the scent of the air around them!
Like Néma. Right now, her blood smelled sweet, she was calm and at peace. Just like a docile kitten.
Good. The session was going well... at this rate, even the Chief would have to bow down to your...
...
He walks past. He sees you. He knows.
It's anger, shock, and disappointment mixed into one expression. His soul speaks to yours.
Is this the extent of your mastery? To depend on a supernatural crutch? Is the path of the cat so arduous, that you could not bear to even walk it by yourself?
Are you a dog? Panting for the approval of the pack, dependent on borrowed power?
Or are you a cat? Proud? Independent!?
The shame fills your soul with agony. Your Persona retreats in the face of overwhelming feline humiliation. You collapse in on yourself as your muscles and tendons grow taut, straining and contorting as you try to regain control over your alien body.
Néma's waking up! No, not when the session was going so well—
NO. You will not be defeated. No Persona, no crutch. You focus on your mind, tracing the path it takes through every nerve, every inch of your virtual body. You remove the tension, soften your fur, and relax your muscles. You open your mouth and submit one awkward purr, so artificial compared to your prior masterpieces that it may as well be a recording.
But it's enough. Your client remains asleep.
You look up. The Chief stares back.
And gives you a single, silent nod.
>You earned ¥5000!
>EMPATHY has increased! ♪♪♪♪
>CatCafe bonus roll: 5d6e5 = 5⊕ 6⊕ 5⊕ 2 1 → 3 successes
>Massive Success! +10 DETERMINATION!
>Offscreen you played Otome Games! EMPATHY has increased! ♪♪♪♪♪♪
>EMPATHY has increased to Rank 6 [Riajuu]!
SUNDAY - May 25, 2025
Evening
Four hours.
It's been many weeks since your last attempt at this job, so when you called in they said your entire catchment area was already being handled by another part-timer. But not to worry, since they needed backup over at the Olympic Stadium, all the way over in Shinjuku. Evidently, YUNA was planning on holding a major concert there, and they needed the QR sticker density at the maximum level.
Putting up stickers wasn't hard work. It didn't test your strength like the moving company. It didn't require you to be fearless, nor did it require fine emotional control to properly play as Frederica.
It was putting a sticker, on a wall. A task so simple even a high schooler can do it. Just one simple task.
Repeated a thousand times.
Four hours.
Your back hurts from walking. Your hip hurts from the stairs. Your wrists are numb from the constant motion. Even your eyes hurt from constantly having to turn your Augma on and off to confirm proper QR signal detection.
And there were more stickers. So you take them out and set them up.
But the box still wasn't empty. There were more stickers.
So you rinse and repeat. Sticker from the box. Sticker on the all. Sticker appropriately QR confirmed.
Over and over again.
Four hours.
And you still managed to get in only a small chunk of the stadium. It's been dark for so long, and school was tomorrow. Not to mention all the GGO business, you couldn't ignore that. Maybe tomorrow you'll log in, get the lay of the land, figure out what your options were regarding...
Wait. What time is it?
You tap your Augma and bring up the clock feature. Your eyes wander to the top of your field of vision, checking the numbers.
...
11:47 PM.
Shit.
>GRIT has increased! ♪♪♪♪
>Progress roll: 4d6e5 = 4 2 6⊕ 3 → 1 success
>Your Quota has reached 3 / 5 successes!
You sprint down the stairs, ducking around corners and past people. It was the only thing keeping you going at this point, the knowledge that you needed to make it. You were not spending all night trapped in Shinjuku!
The platform is in sight, just a straight sprint across the station. You hear the last train home pull into the station before you see it, and you push yourself forward. If you stop now, you're not getting home today.
The scant passengers remaining, drunkards and overworked salarymen, clamber onto the train as the automated voice urges the public to stand clear of the closing doors. You feel like crying as you burst into a dead sprint, knowing full well that you don't have the money to pay for a taxi back.
The train door beeps.
The doors begin to close.
"HOLD THE DOOR! I'M HERE!" You yell. But the train doesn't care.
You hear a metal thunk and the doors slide together. This is it, the fruits of your labor. Spending every hour of the day working to exhaustion and sleeping on a subway platform cause you couldn't be bothered to keep track of the time.
...
A calloused hand appears, wedging itself into the closing door like the hand of god coming forth to bless his flock. The robotic announcer warns passengers not to block the automatic closing doors and your savior retreats beneath the admonition of the machine voice. All he managed to do was delay the door closing for a mere few seconds.
But it's enough.
You wedge the small door opening into a larger one, throwing your body into the nearly empty train, feeling the warm air disappear as the door closes behind you. Holding open doors was a faux pas of the highest order, liable to throw off the schedule of the entire train, but since this was the last train running all day, you suppose it hardly mattered.
You collapse into a nearby seat, huffing and wheezing in exhaustion. The air conditioning inside the train feels wonderful, and the cold plastic chairs are soothing against your burning legs. It's a 30-minute ride back to Bunkyo Ward, maybe you'll close your eyes just for a moment.
"That was close. You nearly missed the last train," a muffled, empty voice calls out across from you.
"Thank you, for holding the door..." you answer without even opening your eyes. The voice was vaguely familiar, but it wasn't like you knew anybody who rode this late-night train.
"You're welcome," he replies, slowly and methodically. "I do apologize for being so forward, but have we met?" You did recognize that voice, but you can't place it... but this scenario, this subway... what did this remind you of...
You open your eyes and behold your savior.
"Ah, I remember now. How's your brother doing?"
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Fuck me, is that XaXa? PoH? Kayaba?