Hey yo hee hoo, everyone! Another unexpected break, but now we're back with the two-oh installment of Dragon Reviews and (Probably) Overanalyzes SPE! And once again, rather serendipitous to be a milestone number as well...okay it wasn't as bad as the Hanamura Feels Shot Incident but, well...you'll see.
Now... -puts on review glasses- Review. STARTO!
6/24 Morning: Hakone Academy - 6/25 Evening: The Trio
First we got Sokila wanting a visit--sorry little one, hopefully he'll come soon--before we got the gossip section...and one of the students calling Kyle a death cyborg, which is hilarious because of course they're scared, but I'll have you know that even I thought that visor was cool on Kihl, so Kyle is automatically even cooler because he's (at the moment?) not a bad guy
and looks cool. ...of course that could just be another case of my tastes being unusual, but eh, whatever. We got Toji reminding Shinji to go to track and telling him he's got something to do that afternoon, which we get a hint of from Hikari once said afternoon rolls around. Not that it matters much to us as readers as we get the answer: Toji visiting the hospital where his sister, Sakura, is "sleeping", her soul damaged and no known way of "fixing" that.
Yeah that's certainly depressing for the boy...but hey! At least it's better than in Trinity Soul and the Reverse cases! Or the mental shutdowns! Where they're outright dead from having a part of their mind/soul destroyed! ...okay not much better but at least you have a small hope, one that's getting smaller and smaller, but still.
Oh also another bright side is that Shinji and Toji can bond over hating running away.
Speaking of the two bonding, we see that relationship getting at least a
tiny bit better before we get more bantering, this time from Kensuke wanting to see how bad shinji is at school...which, okay, I know it's teasing, but wow, rude. No it has nothing to do with me not liking to be called dumb, what are you talking about?
More importantly, Shinji does visit Sokila! And it's adotable with her wanting a "pweety woom" and needing to get strong! Too bad Elizabeth can't make it club velvet again
With that...oh wow that day was even shorter than I thought. Maybe it would've been better to keep going for the last review.
...
Nah. I like the serendipity of this.
Anyways, this time I'mma keep going...onto 6/25!
And we got Herod bein' snarky 'bout not answering...doesn't help I completely forgot about it too. But before Shinji can really snark back about the difficulty about answering, well, questions one has difficulty in answering, we got the next Herod question!
HEROD: WE HAVE ANOTHER QUERY FOR YOU.
HEROD: OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS, WHICH SCENARIO IS MOST PALATABLE TO YOU?
HEROD: A ONE-ON-ONE DUEL TO THE DEATH WITH YOUR CLOSEST FRIEND; A LAST STAND AGAINST A HORDE OF MONSTERS BY YOURSELF; AN HOUR-LONG MEETING WITH THE PERSON YOU DREAD MOST, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT YOU WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO BODILY HARM.
HEROD: THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER.
Oh this one's immediate for me. "A last stand with a a horde of monsters". Because I wouldn't want to hurt a friend and if I'm near someone I dread, then I dread them for a reason and that reason probably won't easily go away or let me stand being near the person for even a second.
But we got a more interesting question from Pilate (who totally isn't referencing the first episode of NGE
)...and...
PILATE: GOOD
PILATE: BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GOING TO ASK ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD DO IN THIS SITUATION.
PILATE: THAT WOULD BE BORING
PILATE: INSTEAD, WE'D LIKE YOU TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE AS TO HOW THE ACTIONS OF X COULD BE JUSTIFIED.
...it's this.
However, I'll get back to it later because, well, my thoughts on this are also tied with a later scene. So just put a pin on it.
For now, we got Shinji being troubled, his close classmates noticing, and then Hikari suggesting tutoring. Shinji takes up on that, before he does, he tells Mayumi about it. He feels bad about skipping it and thus gives his number...only belatedly realizing what that would look like to other people. But hey, at least you noticed, Shinji. And you got your tutoring to go to get your mind off it.
So we finally get him and Yu Narukami meeting! Aw yeah! Here we go! They go to a room for the tutoring, and then...
[...] however, it was empty, save for two other students, both males. One had dark blue hair, bangs hanging over his face; thick headphones were resting around his neck. The other had frizzy black hair and wide eyeglasses.
Oh hey. It's the male protagonists of "soft reboot" Persona, Persona 3, 4, 5. To celebrate their appearance, here's me writing a mashup.
Freaked out on arrival
Try to run me through
The whole moment to
One world
One love
Shadows of
Your last surprise!
I'm coming!
Last beat in the soul.
EDIT: Wait a second I just remembered there IS an "official" 3-4-5 mashup!
A Persona 3×4×5 Everyday Mix from Persona Super Live P-Sound Bomb 2017!
Okay yeah that's better.
Ahem anyways...
Okay that's done. And we get confirmation P3 Male protagonist will be called Minato Arisato. So now I can ask this. Any particular reason for the pick? Just curious if it's something as simple as "I just prefer it" when the other two are their anime/Dancing game names and I still see plenty of people prefer Akira over Ren, unlike Yu where Souji has mostly petered out in usage, most notably for newer fics.
Back to actual story, not long after introductions, we get Yu and Ren being overdramatic idiots after the former goes SERIOUS and the latter does SMOKE BOMB! Too bad Minato doesn't seem like his manga counterpart as I'm 100% sure that Minato would just join in their shenanigans. XD
Though that's probably a good thing for Shinji considering how confused he is.
Especially as instead of studying, they're going...FISHING!
And Shinji making observations that I shall make comments on.
One: because his game had no fishing mini-game despite being set in Tatsumi Port Island.
Two: they're competiting over whether P4 or P5 is the most newcomer friendly.
or remembering their sidequest in Q2. Whichever one works.
Three: i...have no idea since i've never been fishing. I have SEEN fish through while swimming though.
Anyways, after those thoughts, Shinji asks for advice. Except that leads to Ren and Yu being extra as eff because, well, as Minato said, bored. Also maybe sorta like "hey might as well have fun by flanderizing the traits that most people know us for".
"...it seems we have reached mutually assured destruction," said Amamiya.
Don't you mean mutually assured
mass destruction?
No I will never NOT take the opportunity to say that.
Also I'lll admit, the further that "argument" went on, the more I was legit worried they didn't like each other? but then I got reassured by ren's cheeky ass grin.
But anyways, after that banter-that-bordered-on-arguing, then they actually listen and Shinji does his best to ask his question and describe what prompted it, without the Pilate part I'm sure.
The group gives some good insight that will help him make his own choice, which sometimes is all you need...and also for me. Well, sorta. With this, and stuff other people pointed out, I like the question now since you can take it as an opportunity for Shinji to learn to understand someone else, even if you find it baffling or personally won't do it yourself.
As for what justification I would give?
All I can think is literally every. single. Zero. From the Zero Escape series.
And now I can't help but make so many comparisons with this and Zero Escape and I HATE IT THAT MY MIND IS MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS BECAUSE NOW I'M JUST GOSH DANG WORRIED AND ANYONE WHO KNOWS ZERO ESCAPE CAN GUESS WHY.
stupid urge to see zero escape again and now comparing stuff to it
now i'm just gonna call this fic "if evangelion and person were fused and the plot was like zero escape in mystery,
feels, and TIMELINE SHENANIGANS".
but seriously anyone interested go try zero escape if that and puzzle solving is your thing
i love it and i deserves more attention
Ahem, anyways, so, basically the justification I can think of is "simple": if the X has seen every scenario and found those somehow worse than coercing you (or I guess Shinji really) with using the life of Y as blackmail to do the action that could result in your death, then as much as I wish there was another scenario, and will probably still hate X for it since I'd still probably keep thinking of "what ifs" that involve no blackmailing, I'd understand.
So yeah.
Anyhow, back to the story. Their advice leads Shinji asking about why they're helping him which then leads to showing off their maturity, by being earnest about their reasons for helping. Though I find it funny that Ren's the one talkin' 'bout pride and how it can lead to one's downfall. Well, funny because I find it fitting since he's often compared to be a representation of pride, or rather what confidence is before becoming pride, acting as a counterpart/foil to Shido as a representation of pride. Shido, so confident in himself he thinks he's the only one right. Ren, who is confident in himself because his friends believe in him and he won't let his friends down. At least that's how I see it.
And... Oh. Shinji is trying to form it but it's mystery bond that won't unlock.
The Arcana is the means by which
all is revealed...
...
Must do it.
(For maximum effect:
please view 3:09-3:24 of Crystaahhl's compliation video for the finale of P3FES and imagine that's what you're hearing when you read below)
The arcana is the means by which all is revealed
The Arcana Is The Means By Which All Is Revealed
THE ARCANA IS THE MEANS BY ALL WHICH IS REVEALED
thearcanaisthemeansbywhichallisrevealed
tHeaRcAnAiStHemEaNsbYwHiChaLliSrEvEaLeD
Excuse me excuse me again just HAD to do it. XD
Anyways. Back to serious...
At least for a bit as when Shinji asks if they can actually do a tutor session, The Guardian decides to help out The King and pull Shinji in the water.
Oh gee now you're being cooperative, are you, fish?
Just kidding. Just kidding. I actually didn't suffer while trying to get the Guardian, surprisingly.
Anyways, with that splash, the trio go and be helpful and foot the bill for dinner. Once Shinji leaves...
The trio discuss the situation and their thoughts.
Yes I am inserting a link to a track from Zero Escape: 999 titled Puzzle and Riddle,because why not?
I will do that since they be talking about timelines and clean slates and so on and so on. Speaking of. Quote blitz!
"...I get it. The frustration, of having everything wiped clean, as though...well, you get the idea."
Tatsuya Suou: Same.
Joker grimaced. "You're one to talk, Door-kun."
Oy, that's low Ren.
At the brief moment of silence, Ren relented. "Sorry. That was out of line."
Oh good.
...
Oh hey the earlier line is Joker, the other Ren. One side uninhibited, and in this case snapping at fate, the other more so, and in this case apologizing for the lapse in wrath.
I'mma assume that's on purpose, in which case this is probably one of my favorite sentences/lines of this fic so far.
But if they tried to use their power, their enemy would know...and this whole cycle would be wasted, to their everlasting detriment.
FLASHBACKS TO ESCAPE MY NIGHT BY KHADEANVHADEN
ALSO FLASHBACKS TO ZERO TIME DILENMA
i hate timeloops/timeline shenanigans so much
or rather timeloop/timeline angst because i usually am really down for timey wimey shenanigans in stories but arrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh the angst potential is sometimes too much for meeeeeeee
Ren and Yu both deferred to him, nodding; despite their great feats, the two acknowledged him as their senior in experience, if nothing else.
Tatsuya:
am i a joke to you?
Kidding kidding of course.
But still, I find it amusing they say that when Tatsuya has more experience with that from his own games instead of whatever the hell is happening with this fic.
But with that discussion over, we go back to Shinji actually managing to study, and then the end of the day. With...how much should I add for the Joke Theory Is Real meter? Hmm...since I mentioned 999...I'll go with a digital root. So that's +3 for the meter. How appropriate. Anyways, now...
Spoiler dodge roll: activate!
