Hm, yeah that's probably a good one. Plus, we'll have to fuse/get rid off someone anyway if we pick up Anastasia, so might as well get it out of the way early to get some practice with the new Persona. (Going back to edit it to my vote.)
[X] Sneak into school, if there's anywhere you should be training, it's on that Gameboard.
- [X] Get Himawari to come along, for the 'bad girl' she is, she's still the nicest of the All-Aces.
[X] Go see a Saturday Night movie, they're showing the supernatural high school film Sonny Shadow, and invite:
- [X] Keiko.
- [X] Yuya.
[X] Chariot Cyclops + Chariot Qin Shi Huang = Chariot Cuchulainn (Physical and Wind), swap Forneus to Theodora
Vote works for me so far, but I'd like to make the addition of swapping in Theodora if everyone's okay with that. It doesn't seem like Himawari would necessarily spill anything she sees, especially given our conversation at the concert, but better safe than sorry. Plus, I just like having Theodora in our roster.
[X] Sneak into school, if there's anywhere you should be training, it's on that Gameboard.
- [X] Get Himawari to come along, for the 'bad girl' she is, she's still the nicest of the All-Aces.
[X] Go see a Saturday Night movie, they're showing the supernatural high school film Sonny Shadow, and invite:
- [X] Keiko.
- [X] Yuya.
[X] Chariot Cyclops + Chariot Qin Shi Huang = Chariot Cuchulainn (Physical and Wind), swap Forneus to Theodora
While it's good to see backlash against Gakuto, I'm kinda surprised nothing similar happened with Eitaro after we found out he beat up his Vice-Captain for wanting a bit more time to study, oh and the whole Duel thing.
By the way, in case some don't know about Tales from the Loop and its sequel Things from the Flood, here's links to two comprehensivereviews. I figured it probably wouldn't be hard to combine them with your basic MegaTen plot, well TftF anyway.
Edit: Also, I said earlier that this Quest was partially a reaction to abuse-romanticising stuff like Gekka Ryouran Romance, though I think Diabolik Lovers may have been the better example to give, since it's similarly WTF but more well-known.
While it's good to see backlash against Gakuto, I'm kinda surprised nothing similar happened with Eitaro after we found out he beat up his Vice-Captain for wanting a bit more time to study, oh and the whole Duel thing.
I can't speak for everyone, but for me personally, we kind of had a feeling that Eitaro was going to be a dick thanks to the ingrained stereotype of the "Bully Jock". Gakuto seemed like a smug obnoxious jackass, but the level of his creepiness wasn't nearly as apparent early on, hence the bigger backlash. Plus, we're fighting Eitaro in the next few updates, so no sense complaining about him when we're about to (hopefully) lay down a serious smackdown.
[X] Sneak into school, if there's anywhere you should be training, it's on that Gameboard.
- [X] Get Himawari to come along, for the 'bad girl' she is, she's still the nicest of the All-Aces.
[X] Yamane Kurumi
- [X] Delinquent
- [X] Emotional
[X] Sneak into school, if there's anywhere you should be training, it's on that Gameboard.
- [X] Get Himawari to come along, for the 'bad girl' she is, she's still the nicest of the All-Aces.
[X] Go see a Saturday Night movie, they're showing the supernatural high school film Sonny Shadow, and invite:
- [X] Keiko.
- [X] Yuya.
[X] Chariot Cyclops + Chariot Qin Shi Huang = Chariot Cuchulainn (Physical and Wind), swap Forneus to Theodora
You were conflicted, I should really be inspecting Eitaro's Empire, but like I just want to catch up with my real friends already and destress for once. I mean yeah I hung out Hotaru's gaming group, but talking about Daisuke, Rin and Gakuto made the whole thing awkward quickly, that thought seeped out of you.
Well, the night's still young, and they're only showing the regular edition of Sonny Shadow, not the extended one, so I think I'll have time to squeeze both in, you came to the conclusion.
You then texted Keiko, -Hey, cinema's on, and we shouldn't have to worry about those Aces outside of school, so wanna go?-
Her response took a little while, but you eventually read, -Thanks loads for not ditching me. Sure, I'll be there!- That was... certainly a reply.
Since you'd been interacting with Yuya even less than you'd been with Keiko lately, you decided your meagre invitation to him should be a little more personal. You went into your room and called him up personally.
"Ah, hi there Yuya. Yeah, er, I'm really sorry I haven't been catching up with you much this first week..." you started by mumbling.
"Huh? Oh no, no, that's not your fault, like we both had a bunch of stuff to do. And hey, it looks like you've been having a really good time in school so far, whereas, well, I couldn't even pass the Hall Monitor auditions," Yuya sounded lively at first, but his voice soon withered.
"Yeah, I guess it's been... something so far. And geez, sorry to hear that. But hey, how 'bout you, Keiko and I go see a movie together?" you tried to raise spirits, "Just like old times, huh? Especially since things have been so, well, different lately".
"Wow, you mean that?" Yuya said, his voice lifting, "Sure, that'd be great, I'll try to make it. Um, see you soon then".
That having gone mostly smoothly, you let out a sigh of relief. At least my old friends and me can have this one moment. But with the fun all sorted, now for business...
"Hey, Himawari, ah sorry, Nightshade," you said in a hushed tone, "Great, you're there. Anyway, I need to know how to sneak into the Lounge at night. Say about, er, two hours from now".
"Huh? Oh right, um, I think there's the wall outside the clubroom's all covered in vines, and there's at least a drainpipe nearby," she murmured as if in a daze, and very much as Himawari, "Er, if you want me to sneak in with you, I think I can elude my parents, but they're gonna be real mad if they do find me gone," she whimpered.
"Come on Himawari, you spilled blood all over yourself on stage, I think you can certainly sneak out fine," you said sighing, "Like, we were up pretty late in that bar the other night".
"Well, y-yeah, but that was different then," she blurted out, but said, "Ah, okay okay I'll meet you then".
You sighed; Guess I can see why Nightshade's so fed up with her.
A while later, you then headed out of the cinema, not as fancy as the ones down in Sapporo but it'd do, with Keiko and Yuya. The former was pondering what it was they just saw, while the latter offered feeble explanations.
"That was bizarre! Like, he's from the future but also the past, but like, is he supposed to be Jesus or an alternate reality- gah!" she clutched her head like she had brainfreeze, even though she'd just stuck to popcorn while in the theatre.
"I don't know, but maybe Sonny Shadow was just trying to convey how, like, confusing the world is when you're a teenager, I think," Yuya mumbled, holding onto a chicken wing.
"I don't know, multiple worlds, teens with powers, cryptic animal people, psychological issues, film felt pretty normal to me personally," you shrugged, to the stares of your friends.
[+3 Perception, +1 Education]
"...If you say so, Haruka," Keiko threw up her hands, before saying "Good thing I happen to live pretty close, so you two will have plenty of time to catch up by yourselves, especially with how long a walk it is back to your places, heh, Well, see ya!" she waved as she headed over to her, ahem, rather run-down house.
"Yeah, you too!" you waved back at Keiko, hopefully, as you turned to Yuya, "Hey, why don't we stop by your place first?"
Yuya titled his head for a second, asking "Huh, but isn't your flat closer?"
"Uh, yeah, but this whole thing was my treat to you, so I should do the honours," you said, grabbing his arm.
The two of you headed over a bridge lit up by old lampposts, a gentle spring snow falling down around you.
"So, um, Yuya, been a while since just us two talked together," you started, but fumbled on how to continue, "Other than on the phone just then, anyway. Ah, so being a Hall Monitor didn't work out, then?" you said anything just to make conversation.
"Well, uh, no. Hotaru told me I just didn't have the right personality for it, and well, he's used to Daisuke, so I see his point," he sighed, with a short silence descending before he brought up, "Oh yeah, I er, heard you well, ah-"
"Hey, what is it? C'mon, you can tell me," you said, looking him in the eyes.
"I heard you kicked Gakuto in the crotch earlier today," he said straight-up.
"Oh that? Yep, you heard right!" you had to smile at that, "guy was being a complete creep".
"Really? Wow," Yuya had to stop to take that in, "I mean, I think at Hanataba we kinda assume that joining the All-Aces is the ultimate goal, that it'll solve your life's problems and make you royalty. So it's, er, a shock to hear that. Hopefully it's just him who's that way though".
On the outside you smiled, but within you thought, Oh Yuya, how naïve you are.
"Oh yeah, speaking of the Aces, er, so you were childhood friends with Azuma, right?" he had to bring up, "I don't remember him at all, but I guess you knew him before you knew Keiko and me".
If your resolve was stronger, you would've said No I didn't, that was just some weird lie he made up!
"And I... never knew you were from aristocrat stock, or that Yozou and Kanae weren't your real parents," he just had to go on, "But I can see why. It sounds like that would've been really tough for you to bring up, so," he then looked into your face "Um, yeah, maybe I shouldn't have brought it up myself. Sorry".
You gritted your teeth and sighed, but luckily this awkward conversation had little time to continue any longer, as you'd reached the fairly ordinary, middle-class Itou Residence along a cobblestone street.
"About memories, Haruka, do you remember when we used to play along here? I knew Keiko played Phoenix Rider Scales, you were Rider Zero, and I was Rider Heart I think? We got into mock fights over which of us could win against each other, think I always kept losing though," he said, gazing across the street.
"Oh yeah, we were watching Rider vs Rider reruns at the time, right?" you spoke up, having to laugh, "Think we kinda missed the point of that season in hindsight".
"Haha, yeah," Yuya chuckled, before turning to say "Hey, I really had fun tonight, let's hope we can still see each other when we can, okay?"
"I am thou... Thou art I
Thou anointest a new Knight to defend thy Crown
Thou shalt take the mantle of the Lovers Arcana"
"Yeah, let's..." you gave an uncertain smile as the two of you parted for the night.
Before you headed to Hanataba, there was one last thing left on your checklist. Stopping at the Velvet Room, you switched out Forneus for Theodora again, and combined Cyclops with Qin Shi Huang to get:
"I am Chariot Cu Chulainn, Hound of Ulster," said a white clad figure lined with purple, wielding a seven-headed spear, "My spear strikes true to the bitter end".
Heading around to the school gardens, careful to duck out of the way any time a night guard shined his torch anywhere near you, you soon reached the vine-covered wall Himawari had told you about.
You saw the Ace of Hearts, crouched and shaking in her red pajama dress right by the wall, "Haruka, oh there you are," she looked and stuttered out, then saying "Er, hope this works out, I mean if I'm caught I could get suspended or expelled or-".
"You'll be fine," you groaned out, perhaps without really thinking. Jesus, why couldn't she have come as Nightshade? "Anyway, let's get up there".
Pulling yourself up along the vines, Himawari panting after you, she then held an All-Ace Emblem up to window, which then swung inwards for her.
"We had this recognition system installed, in case we ever did need the Gameboard after hours," she whispered.
"Wow, you guys really do get everything," you muttered.
Heading into the Prized Pupil Lounge, which weirdly felt less eerie at night now that you knew nobody else was here, you said to Himawari "Okay, you've might've guessed we're heading for Eitaro's Empire. I have to get a layout of what the place is like if I'm gonna be, er, duelling there, and the moment he least suspects, the better".
"Aw, and I was planning to show you my private room here," Himawari said out of the blue.
"Huh, you get your own rooms here?!" you had to ask.
"Oh yeah, all us Aces do," she said, "Though I've only seen the inside of mine, personally".
"Right, okay then," you just said, before six cards materialised in your hands, all of which you laid down on the Gameboard.
After a spinning flash, you found yourself back in No One's Land, staring up a sudden incline in the Gameboard, where its hexagonal tiles stretched upwards to form something of a mountain.
"You'll find that jerk Eitaro's Empire at the top," came the snarling voice of Himawari, no, Nightshade.
She wasn't in the wig or costume she wore the other night, but her Gameboard Regalia instead felt like a much more realised version of that. Nightshade was now dressed in mostly black attire, leather and spikes all over, with a frilled collar and violet lipstick and nail polish putting you in mind of a fairytale evil queen, if not a demoness. Her hair though was in the style she had as Himawari, but now with a silvery-white sheen. As she'd said, she was now wielding a ball-and-chain flail and an axe-thrower.
"Do not bore me, peasant," she huffed in an even more authoritative tone of voice than the tone she'd had in the nightclub, pointing down so you'd get on your knees. "If you can't find some Shadows for me to shred into soon, I may have to take my-" she giggled, "urges out on you," she said as she rested a high-heeled boot on top of your face.
As soon as she let you move again, you chuckled a bit but gulped in response. Starting the climb up this chessboard mountain, you felt the air get thinner and thinner, until you found yourself walking onto a brickwork road, gasping for breath.
You looked ahead to see the Empire Eitaro believed he could rule, a land of high mountain crags and jagged, monolith rocks, some left natural, some carved by unseen hand into figures of strongmen, athletes and thunder gods. Or maybe seen hand, as you could spot some Shadows hauling stone blocks up the slopes, like they were in some 50s Historical Epic.
The landscape was crisscrossed with dragon-patterned walls, with the tops of said walls being the only clear roads in sight. Monasteries dotted the highest peaks, while at the centre of it all, surrounded by five rings, was a looming colosseum hewn out of a mountain.
"What an insecure ruler. I'll give Eitaro sheer power, but his empire simply lacks any, what's the word, style," Nightshade said dismissively, then adding "Azuma's practically the opposite, his rose-strewn theatres are nothing but elegance".
You trekked further along the wall until you came to what looked to be an observation deck or waypoint. Thinking it was somewhere you could finally rest, the opposite proved to be true, as a whole team of shadows sprang forth around you. While a couple were wearing the same bronze armour as Cyclops before, most were clad in what looked like terracotta.
You stumbled back, but Nightshade just chortled and said, "Finally, the moment I've been waiting for. Come out and play, Anastasia!"
Nightshade's persona was a bleach-blonde girl with skin made out of snow, wielding a giant spiked bat made of ice, and with what looked like Faberge Eggs sown into her winter cloak, squatting down in what reminded you of a sukeban dress.
Okay, probably gonna need someone with crowd control, you thought, before summoning:
[ ] Argus the Many-Eyed Watcher.
[ ] Cuchullain of Ulster.
[ ] Richard III of the White Rose.
[ ] Santa Muerte of Holy Demise.
[ ] Theodora of the Imperial Shroud.
So, before I vote, does Cu have the one target or multi target version of Killer Wind? Depending on the answer, we might no longer have a proper AoE Persona after losing Forneus.
You saw the Ace of Hearts, crouched and shaking in her red pajama dress right by the wall, "Haruka, oh there you are," she looked and stuttered out, then saying "Er, hope this works out, I mean if I'm caught I could get suspended or expelled or-".
Multi-target, and I also wanted to make it a Strength-based skill here (assuming it already isn't) to fit his Stats better.
Also, random question, but who do you think is the most Persona-y 'bro' character in this Quest so far, regardless of gender? I ask because it'd probably be a lot more difficult to determine that here than in the canon games (roughly Masao, Eikichi, Ulala, Junpei, Yosuke and Ryuji, though I've also heard Morgana).
Multi-target, and I also wanted to make it a Strength-based skill here (assuming it already isn't) to fit his Stats better.
Also, random question, but who do you think is the most Persona-y 'bro' character so far, regardless of gender? I ask because it'd probably be a lot more difficult to determine that here than in the canon games (roughly Masao, Eikichi, Ulala, Junpei, Yosuke and Ryuji, though I've also heard Morgana).
Multi-target, and I also wanted to make it a Strength-based skill here (assuming it already isn't) to fit his Stats better.
Also, random question, but who do you think is the most Persona-y 'bro' character so far, regardless of gender? I ask because it'd probably be a lot more difficult to determine that here than in the canon games (roughly Masao, Eikichi, Ulala, Junpei, Yosuke and Ryuji, though I've also heard Morgana).
Now I'm imagining him doing one of those moves where he swings his spear really hard to create air pressure. Either way, works for the situation.
[X] Cuchullain of Ulster.
As for the bro question, matching it is actually kinda tricky. A good part of the archetype is being part of the Persona team to go through thick and thin and well... I don't think any of the All-Aces qualify. Ignoring that, the next best candidate would be a toss up between Reina and Keiko, though we didn't have enough time with either of them to say for sure. (Though Reina would be fairly appropriate given the trend set starting with Junpei and the Magician Arcana, which may or may not be how you get Morgana on the bro list.)
Multi-target skill is good enough for me. Regarding the "bro" question, I think it's still a little too early to make that call for anyone, especially for members of our party.
Incidentally, a thought occurs: we don't necessarily know yet how the Pieces work in terms of how rogue Shadows can be claimed and made part of the Empire, how to tell the difference between a Piece that's a specific student vs. just a general Shadow, etc., but presumably Kaneto's Piece is not only here, but probably a miniboss equivalent threat. This might not be feasible to do tonight, and even if it is possible it might be better to wait until Sunday night to blindside Eitaro, but could we track Kaneto's Piece down and deal with him? To clarify, I don't mean cause him to go into a coma like with Daisuke, but give him a "Change of Heart" so to speak and break Eitaro's hold over him. Again, I don't know if the Pieces work like that or if it's a feasible idea, but I think it's worth consideration.
Telling who's Shadow is which (if they're not in human form) isn't easy to do, for example the All-Aces spent a whole year on the board until they could confirm you didn't have a Shadow anywhere. Even in canon, you probably wouldn't guess that say Yosuke's Shadow (in Boss form anyway) was his until he started talking.
There are some signs you can use to tell though, mostly symbolic but also some physical, like Yukiko and Rise's Shadows still have similar hairstyles.
Also, for another cultural thing, been thinking about what Japanese pronouns the characters would use for themselves, were I to (and if I even could) write this in Japanese. This'd be in general since pronouns in Japan can be situational:
Haruka - Feel we could even vote on this, but for know I'll just say 'Watashi'.
Azuma - Watashi
Kikuko - Warawa, an old-timey pronoun mostly used by women in samurai movies.
Melissa - Atashi, a less formal female pronoun, possibly even Atashi-sama.
Gakuto - Boku, even Boku-sama.
Himawari/Nightshade - Watashi/Atai, the latter being a slang version of Atashi.
Eitaro - Ore
Megumi - This was hard, but I'm leaning towards 'Boku' since it denotes gentleness in boys and toughness in girls, so it's technically unisex. Also thought 'Uchi' due to being gender neutral.
Popo - Onore, a humble (in first person anyway) yet old-timey pronoun, I was looking for an old-fashioned form of 'boku'
Reina - Atai, but less forcefully than Nightshade.
Keiko - Atashi
Yuya - Boku
Colette - Ware, being formal and having literary connotations.
Edit: After some research, I think Sessha might fit Popo better, and Colette with Watakushi.
Oh by the way, here's some possible faceclaims for Reina, with her being brought up: 12
(Second one's on DeviantArt, so not sure if the link will work)
Was also thinking I may have to rename the Gun element to Shot or something, since Eitaro and Azuma both use bows and Himawari has throwing axes for her ranged side-arm.
Lastly, wanted to invite a couple of people to see whether or not they'd be interested in this Quest, @Karnewarrior and @FourmyleOfCeres who were both pretty active in one of my previous Persona Quests, and often chipped in with things like analysis. Karnewarrior also did a Danganronpa Quest, so that could be a factor.
I'm pretty sure that's been a thing in a couple of the games when they didn't just lump it into Piercing Damage. That's a question. How many damage types are we working with here? I'm assuming we're going with P5's set-up, but there are up to eighteen different ones in the greater SMT series.
I just binged this, so I guess the question is... How much analysis do you want? Because I've got thoughts, that stem from having played uh... most of the ones that have had an official or unofficial English release. Huh. Thought it'd be less than that. Still need to get my hands on Strange Journey. Because there's a lot to say. I'd have to actually read the whole thread to make sure I wasn't repeating anything though, as I only read the story posts.
I will get some of the obvious jokes out of the way, though. We're clearly the Revolving Jack, and secretly the Ace of Knaves. Even if we went Marionette instead of Jester. Also, I am getting some serious Interstellar Pig vibes from the game board.
I just binged this, so I guess the question is... How much analysis do you want? Because I've got thoughts, that stem from having played uh... Looks like half of all of the SMT games. Huh. Thought it'd be less than that. Because there's a lot to say. I'd have to actually read the whole thread to make sure I wasn't repeating anything though, as I only read the story posts.
Right, I'll get started on the write-ups. Probably try to keep to one topic per post just to organize things better, because there's a lot to talk about.
But I do have one question... Did you intentionally invoke Persona 1 with the set-up or did it just flow?
(Also, if it weren't such a reoccurring plot element, I'd probably be a little worried about you name checking Nocturne. But the world getting completely remade thanks to the collective unconscious happens often enough that it doesn't feel like it's a spoiler as to the direction this quest is heading.)
I guess it just flowed. 'The Persona Game' was an intentional nod, and Reina does share traits with P1's Magician Ayane (though is more cheerful), but that was about it consciously.
