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Part 101: 9/10-9/11: Exploiting The Morphogenetic Field To Pick Up Chicks So, it’s time for the second half of the Phantom Thieves’ Hawaiian adventure! I’m sure this part of the trip will absolutely justify the whole thing!  Music: Alright   Dammit, this isn’t how stuff was supposed to go!  What do you mean…? We ended up walkin’ around same as we always do in Japan… I mean we even ate at a freakin’ Big Bang Burger! It’s like we never left! Whine all you’d like, but that’s what the trip was supposed to be. But weren’t some other guys gettin’ all cozy with their girlfriends or some poo poo? I think... Then that’s it! That’s what this trip is missin’! C’mon, we totally gotta get movin’ during our free time in the afternoon. What are we going to do? Make a once-in-a-lifetime summer memory! Hawaii’s famous for its beaches, and y’know… what happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii! We can get some girls’ numbers durin’ the day, then sneak away to ‘em at night! You in or what?I can see no flaws whatsoever with this plan. Me too…? It’ll be great! Neither of us have girlfriends who’d get mad at us about it either! I guess that’s true, but…   Oooh, you get a message? Who could that—Uhhh actually, you don’t gotta answer that. It might be something about you-know-what… C’mon Mishima, let’s go! Wait, what just happened!? It’s only going to be the two of us, Sakamoto!? Don’t gimme that look! We’re goin’ to Waikiki! Try n’ get a little more excited!    I should check when there’s nobody else around…   I can finally take a break from my job too… If you don’t have any plans, would you like to take a walk with me? Looks like I’ve received some messages. Oh yeah, I guess if Yusuke’s here that means Hifumi would be, too.  My school is giving us some free time to do as we please. Care to walk along the beach? It might help with new moves. Looks like I’ve received some messages.  Wait, don’t tell me… Was it a girl!? C’mon, you gotta make memories with us instead! We bombed it on that beach in Japan, after all! This is my last moment of free time. Who should I spend it with…? So, we have three options here. We can go spend some time with Hifumi or Makoto, or we can go be losers with Ryuji and Mishima. Despite the fact that we have three choices in front of us, it’s possible to have up to five different options here. However, getting any messages beyond the ones we have now requires being in a relationship with the other two characters involved. We, obviously, are not dating anyone right now, so that’s unavailable. I won’t tell you who the other characters are, but if you think about what characters are present on this trip and who we haven’t gotten messages from, you can probably guess. Anyway, we choose Hifumi. Why not, right? She’s cute.  OK, I’ll be waiting… in my swimsuit. We’re meeting at the beach. I should hurry and change into my swimsuit...Music: Break it Down   It seems like Hifumi has been waiting for me here... Um… Do I look strange in this? Perhaps I should go change…   ...Oh, thank you very much. Um… ...Shall we take a walk?  Looks like they sell shrimp… Shrimp are symbolic of living a long life. Shall we have some?    ...Yes.  How ‘bout them Phantom Thieves, huh? The guys that steal hearts!  Heard about it on the news! They’re all the rage in Japan, yeah? Say, if y’run into ‘em, tell ‘em I say hello. And ask ‘em to change people’s hearts so everyone loves shrimp! S-Sure…  Oh, they’re quite… pungent. We gazed out over the ocean while we enjoyed the delicate flavors of a foreign country…Music: Alright (Elp Version)  This is a refreshing break from staring at a shogi board all day long. ...I feel as if I’ll be able to come up with some great new moves once I return home.  We would’ve had a more enjoyable time if I had made better conversation…   Um… this is for you… I would be delighted if you remembered this day…  It looks like a turtle… Something about the transparent stone reminds me of Hifumi…The Honu Charm is an accessory only equippable by Maaku that gives +5 Endurance and +5 Luck. If only we went to the same school…   I’d like that. ...Sun is about to set. We should start heading back…  Yes. The two of us basked in the stunning Hawaiian sunset. Just me and Hifumi...Aww, how sweet. Too bad we’re abandoning this timeline! This LP is going sci-fi! By  oh god it’s so hot i’m burning up   All right, dude. Let’s get into our swimsuits and meet on the beach! We’re meeting at the beach. I should hurry and change into my swimsuit...Music: New Beginning   Um, that look in your eye scares me…   Let’s go make this vacation one to remember! Will this really work…?  I don’t think that’s what he meant… All right, we wanna go after solo girls that look bored, got it?Makes sense, I suppose bored girls might be more likely to take pity on you. ...Let’s roll! Time for Operation Babe Hunt 3.5!   Nope.   Uh-uh.   Negatory. Music: My Homie  I can’t believe I’m hanging out with Mishima and he’s not even the most terminally r/incels member of the group.  Wait a sec, you smell somethin’ good? It’s coming from that food stand.    Ah, it’s you. Hello… Hrm. That stuff good? Shrimp? It is… resplendent.  Even in Hawaii, it’s the same ol’ Yusuke.  Exactly!   Wouldya take a look at them!  C’mon, we’ll rock paper scissors for ‘em if this goes well.The concept of playing rock-paper-scissors for dibs on who gets to bang these attractive older women is just loving amazing even before you take into account this plan’s 100% chance of failure. Crossing an ocean just for this...  Oh, y’all from Japan?I’m pretty sure this is Amanda Winn Lee again (Yukiko/Ohya), but this time doing a loving outrageous southern accent for some reason. What a weird accent…Are you loving negging her, Ryuji? Anyways, the four of us got some time on our hands, and-- Well, if you ladies aren’t doin’ anything, how ‘bout we go somewhere more fun? Sorry, we don’t take too kindly to young’uns. I’m all about the wealthy, refined older men. I wouldn’t have minded if you were those Phantom Thieves though... Are you loving kidding me, Ryuji  Uhhh... Buh-bye. Come back in ten years.What, is she gonna fight us?    Have a change of heart!  Oooh! I never thought of that! I swear to god, you idiot This is absurd...  Why me!? Shall we eat…? ...Let’s just head back. Yeah, I’m beat… Our wanton battle has ended in failure... We get no reward for this bullshit. Time to try again!  had to dial emergency services last week because my 45-year-old son swallowed a bomb   Should I wear a swimsuit…? Well, see you later! We’re meeting at the beach. I should hurry and change into my swimsuit...Music: Break it Down  It seems like Makoto has been waiting for me here... Being a chaperone is more difficult than I expected. I’ve had a lot of meetings… I honestly wanted to contact you earlier, but this is the first free moment I’ve had.Didn’t we hang out like all day yesterday?   All right then… Let’s take a walk. Oh, a food stand… Garlic shrimp? I’ve heard that’s a famous Hawaiian dish. Are you… adventurous when it comes to food?   I always just stick with the standard fare. Well, let’s give it a try…  Ah. Yes, we are. How ‘bout them Phantom Thieves, huh? The guys that steal hearts!  How do you know about them? Heard about it on the news! They’re all the rage in Japan, yeah? Seems like we’re even making headlines abroad. Say, if y’run into ‘em, tell ‘em I say hello. And ask ‘em to change people’s hearts so everyone loves shrimp! O-Of course, I’ll do just that.   That’s amazing… We gazed out over the ocean while we enjoyed the delicate flavors of a foreign country…Music: Alright (Elp Version)  Oh, it’s already so late. My sister would be upset if she saw me laid back like this.Really? That doesn’t sound like her at all. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t particularly eager to go on this trip. But if it’s like this… I think I’d like to come again.     It’s a small wooden keychain… Its dignified, yet warm expression is reminiscent of Makoto...The Tiki Keychain is also Maaku-exclusive and gives Magic +5 and Endurance +5. It’s not the best souvenir… but it will remind you of the memories we made today.  Well, we should probably return before it gets dark.  ...I suppose I can’t complain about that. The two of us basked in the stunning Hawaiian sunset. Just me and Makoto...And that’s all three. Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)   Do you think I’ll have to go through this on future school events as well…? But wasn’t he the one who invited me in the first place…? *sigh* I don’t know… It’s fun hanging out with Sakamoto, but he might be too different from me… Is getting a girlfriend my only way out of this situation…? Oh well… Anyway, we need to wake up early tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep, OK?  Music: Alright   I never thought I would have the chance to go on the one this year as well… It barely even felt like I was outta the country though.  Even Yusuke showed up.  I’m simply glad the storm didn’t make its way over here… It may not have been the most exciting trip, but we still had a good time. Honestly though, I’m thankful we didn’t have to deal with the storm. They truly are dreadful... (to Maaku) So, what’d you end up doin’ yesterday? You keepin’ secrets from me? That’s against the bro code!   The desperation in your face is quite unbecoming, Ryuji. That’s enough, you guys. It’s a shame they were too lazy to give Makoto any sort of reaction to that conversation because of her being the one we were hanging out with. One of my favorite minor moments in Persona 4 Golden happens if you go to the summer festival with Rise, then like a week later you accidentally let it slip and Yosuke is all “holy poo poo dude you work fast.” (There is, however, a minor change in this scene if you spent the previous day with the guys instead, but it’s fairly small, consists primarily of Ryuji getting pissed, and would break the flow of the update, so if I post it at all it won’t be right now) It’s almost time for us to leave. It felt like this trip went by in a flash. I’m not sure if I want to go home or stay here longer at this point… I’m ready to head home and get back to work! Yes. It would be best for us to gather clues on that case sooner rather than later, correct? Yeah! People’re totally waitin’ for us to take action!  Oh, Ryuji. And that’s our Hawaii trip, I guess. Really, really… pointless, huh? Just kind of a massive waste of the time of everyone involved, and it probably only exists in the first place because they’d already commissioned the animated cutscene that leads into it. This game is very well-plotted and paced, you guys.    Crossing (Watch this) Music: Disintegration (Also known in English as Mental Shutdown)                           Humpty Dumpty Wearing Bad Pee-wee Herman Cosplay, no!!!!!
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Mar 18, 2018 01:49
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Arist posted:
Wait a minute...Is Hifumi actually Jeb! in disguise? Also RIP Principal Thumb
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Mar 18, 2018 02:09
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No matter how much of a scumbag the principal was, that does look like a horrifying way to die.
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Mar 18, 2018 02:15
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That dude could totally just have hit the retarder and swerved a bit, though the turn was a bit tight Not terribly surprised these dudes don't know how trucks work tho Also it's extra amusing picking that date option considering we're narrating this to her older sister Hunt11 posted:No matter how much of a scumbag the principal was, that does look like a horrifying way to die.
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Mar 18, 2018 02:21
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The truck probably just sent his soul to another world where he became The Kingpin of Crime.
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Mar 18, 2018 02:28
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I think it's less the truck and more his mind being visibly torn apart just before the truck that would be the bad part.
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Mar 18, 2018 02:29
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Arist posted:
Excuse me, what?
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Mar 18, 2018 02:32
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Deceitful Penguin posted:Also it's extra amusing picking that date option considering we're narrating this to her older sister
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Mar 18, 2018 02:33
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Thanks for the 10 years joke and for getting through this silly section of game.
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Mar 18, 2018 02:39
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Arist posted:Aww, how sweet. Too bad we’re abandoning this timeline! This LP is going sci-fi! By Nine Hours, Nine Personas, Nine Dorks
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Mar 18, 2018 02:57
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Deceitful Penguin posted:Also it's extra amusing picking that date option considering we're narrating this to her older sister
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Mar 18, 2018 03:31
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kvx687 posted:Excuse me, what? you should play 999
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Mar 18, 2018 03:41
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Deceitful Penguin posted:That dude could totally just have hit the retarder and swerved a bit, though the turn was a bit tight Is this some strange European way of referring to the brakes or something? I've literally never heard that expression used before. Night10194 posted:I think it's less the truck and more his mind being visibly torn apart just before the truck that would be the bad part. It's probably set up to look like a suicide where he just stopped in the middle of the street and let the truck hit him, but yeah, that did look super painful. Looks like he had a heart attack or something right before he stopped too, what with him clutching his chest like that as well.
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Mar 18, 2018 03:46
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GhostStalker posted:Is this some strange European way of referring to the brakes or something? I've literally never heard that expression used before.
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Mar 18, 2018 03:54
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Was he dead when the truck hit him? Because he certainly didn't look well.
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Mar 18, 2018 04:34
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Double Plus Undead posted:Was he dead when the truck hit him? Because he certainly didn't look well. I mean, dead is a relative term. I don't think his heart had stopped beating, but he was pretty obviously catatonic and probably comatose. So yeah, definitely dying, but maybe not actually dead yet.
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Mar 18, 2018 05:04
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In the video you can see him turn slightly toward the truck as it honks at him, he's still "alive" at that point.
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Mar 18, 2018 05:08
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Even if the dude wasn't dead yet when that truck hit him, he was already in such a horrid state that he probably went out like Clarence Boddicker.
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Mar 18, 2018 05:26
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I almost feel like he'd bounce
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Mar 18, 2018 05:36
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Deceitful Penguin posted:Nope. For those who don't want to read wikipedia, larger vehicles like trucks and buses have a secondary braking system that involves slowing (or retarding, if you will) the engine, to alleviate stress on regular brakes. You usually slam the retarder and then the brakes, but for that dude he coulda just stopped correcting tbh Huh, learn something new every day, I guess.
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Mar 18, 2018 05:50
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Man, those one-on-one scenes with Hifumi and Makoto were really nice. It's a shame you don't get that on a regular basis without entering the 'Character Development Zone' of Social links.
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Mar 18, 2018 16:06
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I'm assuming the other two date options are Ann and Kawakami. I can't believe the Kingpin is loving dead. Arist posted:
I also can't believe that the person who said Ryuji would out the Phantom Thieves for a girlfriend was right. I don't recall being annoyed by Junpei or Yosuke nearly as much as Ryuji. Blueberry Pancakes fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Mar 18, 2018 |
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Mar 18, 2018 18:18
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Deceitful Penguin posted:That dude could totally just have hit the retarder and swerved a bit, though the turn was a bit tight You arent aware of the truck-san phenomenon in all japanese media?
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Mar 18, 2018 19:05
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Man. Was he not aware of who he was working for and what they could do? "Bad guys won't maliciously shut down MY brain," says guy working for the Bad Guys Maliciously Shutting Down People's Brains conspiracy.
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Mar 18, 2018 22:25
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I don't get why the Hawaii scene seems to bother people so much. Not much happens in it, but being able to spend time with characters I like is always nice, especially with how bad Makoto's actual social link is. It's not like they're taking a break in the middle of people threatening them or anything, either.Hunt11 posted:That is part of the reason why I like dating Makoto. And in terms of the grizzly death, it is as Night10194 said. It is not getting hit by the truck, it is having someone shred your mind. I wonder how much detail Joker's going into. "Oh, and then I banged your sister."  "...Where was I?" Hobgoblin2099 posted:I'm assuming the other two date options are Ann and Kawakami. Junpei is a total bro and a cool dude (even if you're FeMC, which is nice!). I didn't like Yosuke as much due to his association with Teddie (My least favorite party member in ANY Persona game). I actually like Ryuji a lot myself, though. RareAcumen posted:Man, those one-on-one scenes with Hifumi and Makoto were really nice. It's a shame you don't get that on a regular basis without entering the 'Character Development Zone' of Social links. If Persona 5 Crimson ends up being a thing, I hope they add more scenes like that. Cuntellectual fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Mar 18, 2018 |
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Mar 18, 2018 23:04
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Glazius posted:Man. Was he not aware of who he was working for and what they could do? "Bad guys won't maliciously shut down MY brain," says guy working for the Bad Guys Maliciously Shutting Down People's Brains conspiracy. The bad guys were already destroying his livelihood by leaking his involvement with the Kamoshida stuff. He probably felt he had no other choice but to confess, and judging by how badly he was sweating, grimacing and tugging at his collar he likely had some idea of the consequences. (Or he was just comically obese.)
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Mar 18, 2018 23:22
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His final thoughts were "SANNADA BEEEETCH".
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Mar 18, 2018 23:27
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Cuntellectual posted:I don't get why the Hawaii scene seems to bother people so much. Not much happens in it, but being able to spend time with characters I like is always nice, especially with how bad Makoto's actual social link is. It's not like they're taking a break in the middle of people threatening them or anything, either. Probably because it’s like a week of lost time where even the cast is like “wow is there really nothing here for us to do?” It just screams of cut content and feels like there should be more to do. The character moments are good though, and a couple moments with your choice of girl are good as well. Plus it’s also the start of the weakest arc in the game
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Mar 19, 2018 00:01
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The Hawai scene didnt bother me either Persona Games always took strange detours that leave you unable to use the daily gameplay elements (They could add more stuff perhaps, but thats not a topic to discuss yet)
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Mar 19, 2018 00:46
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really queer Christmas posted:Probably because it’s like a week of lost time where even the cast is like “wow is there really nothing here for us to do?” It just screams of cut content and feels like there should be more to do. The character moments are good though, and a couple moments with your choice of girl are good as well. Why do you think it's the weakest? Since you don't have plat, can you just explain it in the Games p5 thread? Unless you meant the first part of it before you start the palace proper, which I do agree with, it's kinda dumb.
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Mar 19, 2018 00:55
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Cuntellectual posted:Why do you think it's the weakest? Since you don't have plat, can you just explain it in the Games p5 thread? Unless you meant the first part of it before you start the palace proper, which I do agree with, it's kinda dumb. I meant the part of it before the palace. The palace itself is fine.
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Mar 19, 2018 01:45
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Also if you've played the other two games, the trip is really lacking in content compared to P3/P4's. On the other hand, P3's was when they had Operation Babe Hunt...
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Mar 19, 2018 03:17
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Let's stop talking about future events.
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Mar 19, 2018 03:22
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Arist posted:Let's stop talking about future events. 
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Mar 20, 2018 04:28
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One might say Christmas will happen continuously for about two months
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Mar 20, 2018 04:31
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If nothing else I thought "But a girl is sleeping in the boys' room!" "It's fine, I trust you guys." was a really cute/sweet moment that made me feel a lot more positively disposed to both Ann and Ryuji, compared to how awful Chie was to Yosuke. On a related note: Why is Morgana such a dick to Ryuji anyways? He basically starts condescending to him immediately, way more than he does to Joker even if Joker's dialogue options have him as not really understanding things either.
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Mar 20, 2018 21:28
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Cuntellectual posted:If nothing else I thought "But a girl is sleeping in the boys' room!" "It's fine, I trust you guys." was a really cute/sweet moment that made me feel a lot more positively disposed to both Ann and Ryuji, compared to how awful Chie was to Yosuke. Because Ryuji responds and Joker doesn't, and that's what Morgana is actually looking for.
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Mar 21, 2018 00:30
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Part 102: 9/12-9/14: Cat Fight Welcome to Let’s Play Persona 5 one-oh-dos, the update I get inside your cabezas!  Music: Break it Down   Yo, welcome back. You get tanned a bit?  How was Hawaii?   *gasp* He’s been influenced… Eh, I can understand why.  While you guys were off having fun, things here have gotten a bit more problematic.In the in-game text this line is written as “were guys,” though it’s at least voiced properly.   Here is a graph of the profits for stores handling these items.  Double from last year!? Phantom Thief goods seem to be in especially high demand. I didn’t know they sold that kind of stuff. Should we try too? I mean, selling Phantom Thief merchandise.  Maybe I’ll toss some dry ice on the side. Y’know, give it that phantom-y effect… Uh, I’m just joking, all right? (television) I wonder how our guests consider this recent phenomenon. What do you think, Akechi-kun?  Well…Music: Suspicion (not television) There he is, the anti-Thief detective. I hope he slips up and self-destructs. (television) I can sense some chivalry behind their actions. They are clever to take the silent resentments of the public into account and relieve them. I believe that may be the secret to their popularity. Well this is surprising. Your stance seems to have softened. This doesn’t change the fact that they are dangerous. However… No, I shouldn’t say any more… Come on, you can say it. Oh no, I won’t be falling for that. I’ve learned my lesson after the previous backfire… (not television) These thieves are more popular than the police or politicians. What’s the world coming to? Rude! What’re you so angry about? Hey, I’m gonna go to the bathroom. Take care of any customers that show up.  Wanna meet now?   Fine then. Tomorrow.   A Phantom Thieves stamp. Isn’t it awesome? Not really, no. Who do you think the Phantom Thieves will target next? I wonder… I’m really excited to find out! I don’t care who it is—just do it already. Music: Beneath the Mask   Yeah, all that nothing I did in Hawaii really drained me.   With Phantom Thieves inspired movies and TV shows in the works, this craze is still gaining momentum. Oh, yeah. That sounds like a fantastic idea. I’m actually pitching a story of my own about a guy who plays Fortnite while dabbing with fidget spinners, because all trends are forever. With the economy in a slump, some think that this may help give it the boost it needs.  People are really making money off of us? Where’s our cut?     We need to feed our plant. Apropos of nothing, I’m a very smart person who didn’t have to spend a half-hour replaying a week of in-game cutscenes because I forgot to feed this plant today, no sir! Maaku gains Kindness +3.  Never mind, you should probably get some rest. Don’t worry, it’s nothing important. Music: Days of Sisters   You just got back from your trip and you’re already studying? How diligent. I have souvenirs for you. ...The principal of Shujin Academy has passed away. Music: Disquiet  Welp, gently caress. I know we saw that cutscene, but there’s official confirmation.  Still, man, mad respect for somehow leveraging your position as a loving high school principal to get in good with a massive political murder conspiracy. Or, wait, is that how you got that job? It’s really confusing and I’m not sure why they needed you there in the first place. If anything, I’m surprised you made it even this far without them realizing you were totally useless to their plans and killing you months ago. Also, this is only tangentially related, but I find it kind of apt: the site I downloaded my portrait images from didn’t even spell Kobayakawa’s name right. We’ll miss you… uh… (searches for a reference I haven’t used yet) ...Morgan Cortez from Catherine! He suddenly stopped while crossing the road and was struck by a large vehicle. Death by external trauma. Isn’t all trauma technically external? I mean, I know about hemorrhaging, but that’s usually caused by some kind of independent force, right? What would “internal trauma” even be in the first place, because I’m picturing like, blood shooting out of people’s veins with the pressure of a firehose now. (Looks it up) It’s referring to poo poo like damaging your vocal cords? Laaaaaame. And not really that “lethal,” which makes me wonder why you bothered to specify. Unless “internal trauma” means like, “organ damage” and not “my body is attacking me, jesus gently caress”? Also most of the Google results for “internal trauma” just give back results to a Steam game. Whatever. Thanks for indulging my idiocy, everyone. They say suicide seems to be a strong possibility…What were we talking about? Oh yeah, suicide. Principal Kobayakawa committed suicide…!? But would someone about to kill themselves try to go to the police station? He even used a taxi to get there. Uh-oh, Sae’s Adachi-ing. Do you mean… this might be another incident? Even if he had a sudden shift in his state of mind… it’s still unnatural. I can only suspect that he had a “change of heart.” Are you saying he was targeted by the Phantom Thieves!?  How are you so certain? Come on, Makoto. I thought you were smarter than this. You’re not usually the type to shove your own foot all the way down your throat. W-Well… In prior cases, the changes of heart seemed to be done to make people confess their crimes. It’s hard to explain, but this incident seems contradictory to their usual modus operandi…Back off, girl! This can only go poorly! Did Principal Kobayakawa seem any different to you lately?Sae, thankfully, decides to inexplicably drop it. She’s not usually the type to let poo poo like that go, as Makoto should know all too well by now. I don’t really know. He rarely contacted the students, after all… I see… Could something have happened during the school trip…?No. Nothing happened during the school trip, for anyone, anywhere. It was a gaping void of time. Ah, you’re studying. I’m sorry to bother you.  Sae pauses for a moment. Makoto. Hm? ...Never mind. It’s nothing. Just don’t get dragged into trouble, OK?   Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)  *yawn* I’m so sleepy. You over your jet lag?  Still sluggish, huh? Well, I can say the same for myself… Never midn that, though. Did you know about this? The Phantom Thieves are popular now! I was surprised when we got back to Japan. People’re actually payin’ attention to who we’re gonna target next. Ain’t that amazin’? I’m gettin’ really psyched. This is where we work hard! Let’s do something big again and surprise the world! Ryuji, Makoto surely contacted you by now, right? You know the loving principal died, don’t you?  There’s another urgent assembly…  Is it true he died? He was really taking some heat… What’s happening to this school!? Are we cursed? Music: Suspicion    As many of you may already know… Principal Kobayakawa passed away yesterday. The crowd begins to talk amongst itself.  I wonder if that suicide rumor’s for real… It happened in front of the police station, didn’t it?  I think I was passing through there at the time… I know the feeling. I was in Syracuse, New York like, two weeks before 9/11. The principal had been working hard to restore peace ever since the incident with Mr. Kamoshida. He only wished for everyone to be able to lead a normal school life, and because of that love…  Love? Bullshit. He was covering something up. Everyone’s been talking about it.  Maybe it wasn’t suicide… Do you think the Phantom Thieves took him down!?  The Phantom Thieves? Do they kill people? I mean, Kamoshida did say he was gonna kill himself to make up for everything he did. That would be amazing! Either way, it serves that principal right! (whispering) Hell no. We didn’t do jack poo poo. (whispering) Are people gonna blame us for this too…? I would like to see everyone live up to our late principal’s wishes as proud Shujin students, and…  Music: Interrogation Room   No matter how I think about it, that would’ve been impossible unless Makoto was helping you… But… she would never do something so foolish… I dunno. I’m starting to suspect Makoto isn’t actually that smart and she just seems more intelligent because she hangs out with us. Also, I’m kind of getting fed up with Maaku’s poo poo. He completely sold Makoto down the river offscreen. What the gently caress, dude? And is it true that you were completely uninvolved with the Kobayakawa case?  What does this mean…? …… But I suppose targeting someone at Shujin again and actually taking their life would be nonsensical.  I have no reason to believe everything you’ve said. ...However, it seems you aren’t the type of person who would lie just to protect themselves. I will acknowledge what I must. It’s more efficient that way.  I feel like my bond with Sae is growing deeper...  If you saw my investigation data, you would’ve had the same suspicions I did about Okumura. And if you looked into his Palace, you should’ve seen the answer to those suspicions. Tell me. What did the Phantom Thieves do to Okumura? What did you learn from him? Why did it turn out as it did? I need you to tell me everything. Music: Disquiet  People are already talking about it online. Nobody’s saying it’s ‘cause of the Phantom Thieves… so far. People think he did it because that tabloid exposed how he was covering up Kamoshida’s abuses. Could it be that… we’re responsible for Principal Kobayakawa’s suicide…? Whaddya mean? If we hadn’t changed Kamoshida’s heart, maybe this never would have happened… But then Kamoshida woulda kept doing what he did if we didn’t go and take him down. There’s a lot of opinions online. “It’s only natural that he died.” “Covering up crimes is wrong.”  Same, same. The comments I’ve seen are similar as well. “Only the Phantom Thieves are on our side!” “I wish the Phantom Thieves would take down the police and the politicians of this country!”Oh, don’t worry, folks. We’ll take care of the cops, all right. It’s not just the news. There’s even Phantom Thieves merchandise now. I never expected we’d end up such a big deal… It seems like the public would rather believe in us than in the adults. People are trying to get the Phantom Thieves to solve societal problems, not just personal ones. This is kinda scary… Are we really doing the right thing…? I mean, the principal was coverin’ stuff up, right? I guess… he got what was comin’ to him. Dark, Ryuji. That’s… Whoa, guys, let’s get back on topic. Weren’t we going to discuss the data we obtained from Niijima?  Why me…?  It seems she is searching for a common thread to tie them all together. Some parts seem to be speculation, but she has cited a beneficiary of the majority of these incidents.  The corporation Okumura Foods. More prominently, its CEO, Kunikazu Okumura. Okumura? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere… From Big Bang Burger. You know, they only got famous sometime in the past few years. They even had a branch in Hawaii.The scene where the group talks about Big Bang Burger’s… err… explosion into the restaurant world and their parent company Okumura Foods is the sole sequence in the entirety of the Hawaii trip with any direct narrative purpose, and it’s just to set up this conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to the idea of some totally inessential downtime for the group. It’s not that the game couldn’t use some fluff where the group just hangs out and relaxes; god knows there was plenty of that in Persona 4. But the Hawaii trip comes at a particularly inopportune time in regards to the story’s flow and pacing, feels pretty redundant after the earlier beach visit, and tragically just isn’t that loving interesting at all. Persona 5 is a game that simultaneously feels loose as hell pacing-wise and way too rigid and tight for its own good, because while it has a lot of extraneous scenes, most of them are still plot-related and only exist because the game needed a better editor, meaning the game feels really overstuffed and none of the characters have a chance to loving breathe. Most of the “gang hanging out” scenes have been unfortunately relegated to the text conversations because there’s legitimately just no space left on the game’s calendar for most of it. Hell, that more than a few plot-critical conversations happen via text message says a lot about how this game is structured. But that’s enough of that rant. It says here they benefited both from scandals and the resignations of their competitors’ executives. That would seem to be the case… This is too suspicious though. Only one CEO is profiting from these seemingly accidental incidents. I think it’s natural to suspect he’s intentionally causing them. I get that, but still… We have even more evidence than that. Tell them, Futaba. I already tried putting Okumura’s name in the Nav. He has a Palace for sure.  That settles it then! He’s totally our next target! That’s right. Okumura is at the top of the rankings, after all. Hold on. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s evil. If we jump into this too carelessly…He’s rich, Yusuke. He’s evil. Music: Suspicion Beyond that, this Phantom Thieves fad is… unsettling. Yeah… The excitement levels don’t feel normal. We might want to let things calm down a bit first… You too, Ann!? You’re just gonna go against what people want!? Huh? No, but… The group falls silent. For real…? L-Looks like we’re not gonna agree today then…  Uhh, what? Chill out, cat. Even you, Ryuji! You just back down the second someone disagrees with you! What…? Music: Confession/Secret I guess all you’ve been talking about is using the Phantom Thieves name to pick up girls anyway. Being hyped up because of the popularity is fine, but getting conceited over it is unacceptable. Hey, aren’t you actin’ for your own benefit here too? My appearance might have changed, but I’m still an admirable human! At the very least, I’m more admirable than some carnal blond monkey! Well, you’re certainly being a raging rear end in a top hat tonight.  DO IT, FISTFIGHT THE CAT, I’VE BEEN WAITING A YEAR FOR THIS  Sorry, but it looks like I’ll be getting the credit for solving the mental shutdown mystery.  Well, she was more useful than you, as a matter of fact. Hey, that’s inexcusable! All right then! Bring it on! Ryuji, stop!  Well, this is goodbye!    ...See you.  And just like that, Morgana is gone.  Dammit! Now, you may ask, “Hasn’t Morgana been a massive rear end in a top hat to Ryuji for the entire game?” or “Why the gently caress are we spending valuable time dealing with Morgana’s poorly-fleshed out inferiority complex that adds nothing to his character besides making him incredibly unlikable?” or “What the gently caress is even his plan?” or “Why should I even care that the cat who seemingly does nothing but narrate my life all day is gone?” or “This seems like a petty-as-poo poo grievance to full-on quit the team over, doesn’t it?” or “This bit stopped being funny three questions ago, are you finished yet?” Well, don’t worry! All this just means it’s time for...  Why, yes, I do believe it’s that magical part of the game where poorly-established character traits that will never be mentioned again after this take over the entire plot for multiple hours in a row! Who needs organic, compelling character growth and logical story progression when you can just have a character selfishly commandeer the narrative for the sole benefit of themselves? Look, if I wanted to watch characters be assholes until the plot happened at them, I’d go play Persona 3 again.  ……I should mention that while I don’t actually hate Morgana I have absolutely no stake in his existential crisis whatsoever, mostly because he’s kind of a dick about it but also somewhat because in a sense it’s just a retread of Teddie’s whole deal in P4. Imagine that, I’m favorably comparing Teddie to something. All right. I’ve managed by myself before, and I can do it again now. I just need to take down Okumura before those guys do…!   Music: Suspicion  The public believes in the justice of the Phantom Thieves. They have no interest in that principal.  I’m experiencing equal levels of frustration. My comments on TV turned everyone against me.Oh boo loving hoo, people are mad at you when you get paid to appear on TV. Cry me a river. Then again, I won’t allow mere criticism to break my spirit so easily. We won’t keep letting ourselves be defeated either. My suspicion after the hacker’s case last month is now conviction thanks to the principal’s death. The mental shutdown cases and the psychotic breakdowns are surely the Phantom Thieves’ doing. I remember the data you showed me about Okumura Foods. Is that the basis for these beliefs? There have been frequent occurrences of mental shutdowns surrounding Okumura recently. If only there was a clear connection between him and the Phantom Thieves… Well, it would be problematic if there wasn’t one. So you’re jumping the gun here.   DAAAAAMN, Akechi! Fuckin’ smoked her! It’s great to see someone actually get how weird and messed up Sae is. “Wait, you threatened the owner of a restaurant you like with revocation of custody… and then have the nerve to go back?” Of course, Sae won’t care because she’s a goddamn sociopath, but it’s nice to see someone at least attempt to cut her down to size. It’s all for the sake of the case. You may have the backing of the SIU’s director… but you’ve been far too aggressive, Sae-san. You’re trespassing into police territory. Don’t say nobody warned you if this becomes an issue later.  We first need to know what methods the Phantom Thieves are using. The police can’t make a move unless that becomes apparent, after all. This opponent can’t be caught by following the rules. What need is there to stick to formalities?Uhh, if you don’t know anything about the Phantom Thieves, especially how they do what they do, then you have basically no chance of catching them even ignoring the rules. Akechi’s a loving cop, yeah, but he seems like the only rational one in this conversation. So you wish to ignore protocol in order to reform society? I hope you realize that’s no different than what the Phantom Thieves are doing. It’s a shame, especially since we both want to capture the culprit behind the psychotic breakdowns… With that, Akechi walks away. Music: Desire    LEAVE IT BE. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ON A SOLITARY FELINE.Owned.  Sure seems that way, huh?   What… I can’t… see… Who’s… there…? Mas...ter…?  Worth noting: that was one of the only days in the entire game that was spent “normally” (read: we woke up in Yongen and fell asleep in Yongen) where we had no opportunity to control Maaku. Or, in other words, it’s one of the only days in the game we spend at home where we don’t hear “Beneath the Mask” in any form (at least at night). Normally we at least get the chance to walk around Leblanc’s attic and check the news, but it skipped right past that. In addition, outside of the Sae flashforward there were only two dialogue options. Weird. Music: Confession/Secret   Me too… I kinda just expected he’d come home when he got hungry. Nah, he’s a cat. He’s stubborn like that. Oh, maybe he went to someone else’s place. Let’s ask.    Huh? He hasn’t come home yet?  The food’s still in his bowl. Do you think he really just took off like that…? Um, he’s not here, so… yes. He’s a cat, so it’s possible he got into an accident… Does he really seem to be the type who would go off and die on us like that though? It’s just been one day! Y’all are worrying too much! He’s prolly just off doing his own stuff. I mean, he used to live alone, remember? Just don’t worry about it! I’m sure he’ll come back if something happens.  Oh well. Have a good day…   You think the Phantom Thieves murdered him? But why?  Think about Kamoshida’s victims. The principal’s just as guilty for keeping quiet about it all. People who take advantage of others for their own personal gain need to disappear. In fact we need a scumbag cleansing to purify the world. CULL THE IMPURE, EVERYONE WHO DOESN’T CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD DIE, I say without a hint of irony. Music: So Boring   “The Okumura Way”...And it was even signed!Well, uh. That’s certainly With his logical management skills, he revived his company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. He then started Big Bang Burger, a bold and creative venture.So true. Big Bang Burger only hires the finest hamburger artists. Okumura’s words are a philosophy on life itself! How could she sell that to a second-hand shop…?I thought she “threw [it] out.” But, in times like these, getting one’s mind to switch gears is key. Wouldn’t you agree, Hamiru-kun? Second-hand shops are also known as thrift stores. Do you know when the earliest ones appeared?  Correct. They were mostly run by religious or charitable organizations, of course… But larger businesses could donate unused stock to them, and use them as a tax write-off that way. It takes incredible business acumen to figure out how to be both profitable and charitable at once. Which is why most people don’t bother with the second part! I feel like I got a little smarter from being able to answer that question...Maaku gains Knowledge +1. Morgana’s not here, so not only is the dude sitting behind us probably wondering why he can breathe through his nose at school for the first time in five months, Maaku has to tell himself he’s smart today. I just remembered; there are rumors that President Okumura may be getting into politics.Foul: Improper Semicolon Use; Five-Yard Penalty. Hold up, I’m being told the coach will challenge, saying that semicolon here is technically not a violation because the two clauses are both independent. Let’s see what the referees have to say about this. Hm? The refs are back, and according to them “it’s technically permissible, but no rational human being would use a semicolon like that instead of a regular colon,” and so the penalty stands. They also say, and I quote, “I’m a massive hypocrite, lol, because I have no idea if I formatted that penalty call correctly.” It is true that the current administration is incompetent in a number of ways… I would love to have a charismatic man like him leading the country. Oh boy, a “charismatic” plutocrat with no political experience whatsoever running for the nation’s highest office? Can’t see any flaws with that idea!   In a different class...  We’re gonna wait together in case Morgana comes home! Oh, right, he’s missing. Anyway, come straight home! I wonder what’s up with Morgana though… He should just hurry and come back. Music: Blooming Villain     THERE ARE TWO OF THEM! DIVIDE AND PURSUE!    I’m sure he’ll come back when he gets hungry.  Late last night, multiple glass windows were found shattered at the Okumura Foods Corporate HQ. Music: Suspicion    Oh, really? How do you figure? Never crossed my mind at all.  Huh… Wonder if someone’s got a grudge against that guy… However, there were no signs of a break-in. Identifying the culprit is expected to be difficult…  I mean, let’s think about this. Sure, it makes sense that he’d go there, because he said as much yesterday. But, um, how and why would he commit felony vandalism? Not only does he have no real reason to break poo poo, he’s a loving cat. How would he possibly manage to deface a statue even if he was trying? In a game that made more sense I’d just assume it was a freak coincidence due to that, but we’ve got narrative economy on our side, so let’s just assume he did do it somehow.  Yeah… He may not seem like it sometimes, but he’s totally a capable cat when he wants to be. Either way, let’s go to Okumura’s Palace tomorrow. I’ll contact everyone.  *nod* Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain-   He did say he’d go alone. Does that mean he’s in danger? The chances of that are highly likely. Yeah. We should all go in after him. The Palace is most likely at their corporate headquarters. I’ll look into it a little more. All right, let’s do it! We gotta look into those mental shutdown things too. I’d prefer a little more caution, but this is an emergency… Then we’ll go tomorrow. Don’t forget, everyone.  The “Phantom Thieves of Hearts” craze has captured the hearts of people of all ages. Why exactly do they have such strong appeal? We asked people around town for their thoughts. It looks like the Phantom Thieves’ popularity is on the rise.    Apparently the windows at their office got busted. Whoa, what happened? That’s scary… Was it the Phantom Thieves? Eh, no way… I wouldn’t put it past them…The hell’s that supposed to mean, Random rear end in a top hat #312? Arist fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Mar 23, 2018 |
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Mar 22, 2018 02:18
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It's worth noting that I decided for the sake of the critical "Morgana throws a tantrum" scene to start using his full range of portraits, because his "neutral" one is a basic smile and it felt wrong for the scene. I'm not going to do this with the other characters, though, both because it would be a huge pain in the rear end and also because at the size I currently use for portraits it's too hard to see the facial expressions of anyone whose head doesn't take up 60% of their volume.
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Mar 22, 2018 02:22
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Morgana throwing a temper tantrum and running away isn't the worst of narratives in the abstract, but the game seems to want you to be sympathetic and the cat hasn't really earned it Also "character's sudden growth warps the entire narrative in bad ways" is a staple of this game's writing, no need to criticize only this one bit
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Mar 22, 2018 02:40
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