|
Post by shiranui on Jul 31, 2010 14:59:02 GMT -5
Part 136: The Skies Above--- There he is. Adachi doesn't seem to be trying to run from us or anything at this point, but then again why would he? He's too arrogant for such a thing. If I'm not mistaken, we are somehow above Inaba now and Adachi is watching the town from here, waiting for it to be flooded by the fog. Because Adachi is such a nice guy, he gives us this sarcastic round of applause when we reach him. Naoto: "You had suspicions that this world was dangerous, yet you threw Mayumi Yamano into the TV. Knowing full well that Ms. Yamano died here, you did the same to Saki Konishi."I actually kind of agree with Adachi's sentiment here. We all know what this dickhead has done, so why are we wasting time talking about it for the hundredth time instead of just getting this thing over with and taking the guy down? Naoto: "Not only that, but you duped Namatame into taking over your murder attempts, while you watched like a spectator at a game. When the disappeared stopped dying, you sent a warning letter to ensure more victims. Even when a copycat killer arose, you had the gall as a detective to eliminate a suspect under investigation."I don't think this guy cares about what is the right thing to do as a detective... Naoto: "If at any turn something had gone wrong, many more would have succumbed... All for some foolish 'excitement', like a criminal reveling in the chaos he creates!"I can't believe this guy. Adachi: "This world reflects people's thoughts..."The hell? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Yosuke: "To hell with that!"Adachi: "Haha... you're so self-righteous."
Chie: "How can you say that...!? Aren't you a police officer!?Yes, Chie, and he is also a murderer. Double murderer, in fact. I really think we should try to incapacitate him right now when he's too busy talking to pay attention to his surroundings. Adachi: "I thought it would be fun, too, but to tell you the truth, that was a wash. Everyone around me was such an idiot."I can't blame him for thinking like that, having seen the Inaba police in action from up close I can pretty much confirm that everyone there except Dojima (and Adachi, I guess) are complete idiots. Sure, he was actually referring to where he worked BEFORE he came to Inaba, but I don't think it was that much different over there. Tiny mistake, huh? I wonder if said "tiny mistake" was something along the lines of "Oh crap, where did this dead hooker come from? Seriously, guys, she was already stuffed in the fridge when I came in here!" If the cops were as useless as they are here in Inaba, Adachi could easily have committed murder and gotten away with it due to a lack of evidence or something. But yeah... maybe he just happened to make some little mistake. Who knows? More importantly, who cares? He's a murderer now, and that's what matters... besides the minor detail that he's apparently the main reason why the world is about to end, of course. That's why we're going to stop him. Adachi: "I was bored s***less and wondering what to do next... when I discovered this power."How and why did he even get that power in the first place? Right. Forget we asked. Also, why does Adachi no longer have that evil slasher grin pasted on his face? He somehow manages to creep me out even worse when he's looking... uh, normal and has that "innocent" smile. Yukiko: "You really don't care what happens to our world!?"Adachi: "No one accepts that's the way things are... they're just stuck with it because they can't deny it, either. Those who actually succeed in life... They just happen to be born with the magic ticket called 'talent'. If you don't have it, you can either accept or deny that fact until you die. That's your only choice. Once you realize that, all you have left in life is despair. The ultimate game over."So that everyone would either die horribly or turn into monsters? How should I put this eloquently... umm... NO, you dumb f***! Rise, we are talking to a guy who is not only a murderer but also someone who wants to bring about the end of the world as we know it. You don't need to censor yourself, you can say "bulls***" if you want.The feeling is mutual, believe me. Now, can we finally get this over with or are we going to talk some more? Thanks for saying what needed to be said, Kanji. Kanji: "If you wanna disappear, go ahead! Stop dragging us into it!"
Adachi: "*sigh* Stop yelling, punk. I understand you're all afraid and gotta act tough to cover it up, but geez... I'm telling you all this based on my own experience in life."
Hey, maybe Adachi has a future as a motivational speaker if he ever gets out of jail. Adachi: "Think about it for a second..."I'm so glad Adachi is thinking about what's good for humanity. He's a real inspiration to us all... Adachi: "You don't get anything out of facing reality, and there is no way to change it either. I mean, what's more boring than brooding over things that you can't change?"I can think of some things that are more boring... this speech is one of those. Is he trying to bore us to death or what? (Also applies to pro wrestling news/NEWZ reports, especially when TNA is involved.)Adachi: "No matter who you are, your lifespan is about 80 years or so, right? Then it'd be easier if we all became Shadows. No need to hold back anything... No more pretending we don't see things. Honestly, we don't need our world any more. Better to let it be swallowed up and for mankind to turn into Shadows. That's what all those people who're scared to death really want... So it's my duty to see they get it."Ah, it's his DUTY! That makes everything okay, then! Not only is Adachi a creep, he's a delusional creep. Couldn't have said it better myself. Screw this guy. Shouldn't we have introduced his face to the Musashi Shinai by now? All right, that's the Crazy Adachi... err, drunk Adachi? LSD Adachi? ...we all know. It looks like something's happening to him. Whatever it is, that familiar blue glow is never a good sign. I think we're about to have ourselves a fight here. GAH! JESUS! What happened to his face? Well, now he's completely lost it. I think this is supposed to be his Shadow speaking, but with him it's really impossible to tell. Yukiko: "You're just throwing a tantrum like a kid who can't have his way!"Yukiko is absolutely right. That is exactly how Adachi is acting. Naoto: "If you give in and sever your ties to human society, it will naturally become hard to live in it. Yet you refuse to face life and admit your fault, running from your own humanity like a coward. And though you claim to find life troublesome, you caused nothing but trouble for many others! Your logic is that of an egotistical, twisted brat!"Adachi: "Stupid teenagers...! You have no idea what kinda s*** I've been through!!"Yeah, boo f***ing hoo. This guy screwed up at his job and got sent to Inaba as punishment, and he couldn't take that so he threw a tantrum like a kid whose parents won't let him play GTA. Then, once he got here, he tried to make advances on a couple of girls, and when they rejected his ass he tried to rape them and then killed them! Does this sick f*** actually think he is some sort of a victim of society or something? Jesus Christ! WORD. We could have saved so much time if we had just said that 15 minutes ago, as it's basically the gist of what Adachi has been saying all that time. Now what? I think we made him mad. This is it. I decided to arm myself with the Musashi Shinai when we came here. It's basically a non-lethal weapon, so I won't have to hold back as much as I would with a regular sword... even though Adachi is a murderer and a sick freak, he is still a human being and I don't want to KILL him with my sword. Sure, if he turns out to be stronger than one would expect, we can probably attack him with our Personas. He, of course, is wielding a gun (as is Naoto, but she won't use lethal shots against a human opponent), but our Personas shield us from most of the damage and so the bullet impact is more or less comparable to being punched, even less if I have a Persona that is immune to physical damage. Oh yeah, well, you fight like a cow. It also appears Adachi and his Shadow literally are one and the same, so I don't think we're going to have to hold back TOO much. Let's see him try, eh? And no, I have no idea why he is flailing around like an idiot. Don't really care, either. (Note that Yukiko is still using the Suzaku Feather fan we found all the way back in... was it May when we finally beat the Contrarian King? It's weak when it comes to physical attacks, but that doesn't matter because Yukiko is a mage and never really does physical attacks... and because the Suzaku Feather gives her +50 SP, it's a natural choice for her for the whole game. There may be better ones, but I didn't find any.)Yep. There are four Persona-users against him, and that doesn't even take into account Yosuke, Teddie and Kanji watching our backs or Rise doing her thing. Adachi might have power in this realm, but I don't think he can do much because we have such a numbers advantage. All right. Enough talk. Have at you. Rise is right. I'm still finding it hard to believe that someone like Adachi could be behind all this s*** we've gone through. But he is, and we will stop him. Just as a precaution, I let the Trumpeter (new and improved, now with Growth 3) give him a toot. WHAT. That doesn't look good! He... Adachi is a Persona-user too?! I don't know why, but I always thought you lost the ability to summon your Persona when you turned 20 or something... I think we can throw that theory into the bin. But hey... umm... ...doesn't that Persona look kinda familiar? Of course he does, that's f***ing Izanagi! With an evil look suitable for Adachi's Persona, but still, that's him! Why is Adachi able to summon Izanagi?! Also, he just cured himself of the effects of Debilitate. Bastard.But hey, since he is a Persona-user too, we're free to use all of our abilities here and don't need to be afraid of hurting the guy too badly. Let's kick his ass. His Izanagi is quite a bit stronger than mine, that's got to be said. Too bad electricity has no effect on me right now. Oh? I wonder what he's got up his sleeve now. OW STOP IT THAT HURTS SO MUCH or at least maybe it would if Yoshi-tsune wasn't there to block the attack! Speaking of Yoshi, this is how you do it. MY GOD HE IS USING LIGHTNING ATTACKS AGAIN, THAT ALMOST HURTS US Adachi, to his credit, fights hard and is admittedly much tougher than we expected, but at the end of the day the fact is that he simply can't win a straight fight against four experienced Persona-users. I don't know if he's ever summoned that "Magatsu" Izanagi before, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have anywhere near much experience using a Persona as we do. He's almost done. All right, this is it, say goodnight... wait, he's still standing? And he casts a spell that isn't lightning? Looks like Adachy-baby doesn't want to go down just yet. But he does anyway. Adachi isn't dead or even badly injured, but it's obvious now that he has been defeated. He knows it as well as we do. Is he seriously still spouting that bulls***? I thought the world was supposed to go back to normal once we defeated Adachi... or, well, at least Chie and Yosuke thought so. Huh? He just froze like that! Did we accidentally kill him after all? what what. WHAT. If that is Adachi himself saying all that stuff, I am King Moron. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENTFormer Adachi: "It will be the peaceful world that mankind has longed for..."Oh. Right. Of course. That guy. Ameno-sagiri: "Do what you will, but your world's erosion can't be stopped. It is an inevitability... You played your part well, stirring up the will of the masses to madness. But that will soon come to an end. Mankind will soon become Shadows and live in the darkness of the fog, oblivious of their reality..."Ameno-sagiri: "I am the one that shepherds humans to their true desires. Though their hearts longed for peace, it could never be attained... so they tore down the wall between image and reality. Indeed, this is the outcome desired by mankind. And mankind's desires are my desires. That is why I decided to expand this world."Yeah... it would seem that this Ameno-sagiri person... thing... whatever is behind everything. Maybe he was controlling Adachi. Maybe not. He's probably the one who wants to flood Inaba with fog, though. Ameno-sagiri: "Humans view things as they see fit. They wish not for truth, but rather prefer the undesirables be hidden in fog... Still, humans fear what they cannot see. That brief yearning for truth becomes a ray of light which breaks the fog and torments the Shadows..."Yukiko: "A hollow forest? Then... this place isn't simply affected by people's hearts... it actually exists inside them?"I'm glad someone can tell what Ameno-sagiri is trying to say. Would it kill him to speak like a normal person instead of a guy doing a bad Ultimate Warrior impression? Ameno-sagiri: "Thus, my strength has grown, and the fog will not lift. Your world will be engulfed by the hollow forest."FOG! IT'S FOG! STOP SAYING "HOLLOW FOREST"! Then again, maybe that IS a pretty good name for the other world... no, no, it's not. It's just stupid. Once more, Chie says what everyone here is thinking. Chie: "We'll just use our power to beat the heck outta you, and it'll all be over!" Ah, that is always a sound plan, and I think it might even work if we try it. Chie should be called "The Glorious Strategist" from now on. Of course, maybe we shouldn't go out of our way to anger the guy who is some kind of a god of the fog or whatever, but at this point I think he's going to try to kill us anyway. Ameno-sagiri: "It was I who made it possible for you to bring about this destiny..."WILL YOU STOP SAYING THAT!? But yes, it seems that this guy was the one who gave us the power of Persona and allowed us to enter the TV world. See, it's not that hard to translate his ramblings into something more coherent and less wordy. Ameno-sagiri: "I acted only in support of this. A world filled with desires... Viewed through a window, from which one sees what one wishes to see..."Say what? Sees what one wishes to see? Uh... does that mean... what we saw on the Midnight Channel actually wasn't the same thing for everyone? Is that why Namatame claimed he had seen Yukiko smile at him and thought Yamano and Konishi wanted him to save them? Is that why I recognized most of the victims before everyone else did, especially when Nanako appeared? Yes... that has to be it. Oh crap, that too! I remember thinking that it seemed odd that Namatame's Shadow would act the way it did, when we had established that the man himself was innocent and actually wanted to save people. Naoto: "Ngh... We let ourselves be deluded."I've about had it with this... whatever Ameno-sagiri is supposed to be. And if he says something about the hollow forest one more time, I swear to God I will... Well said, Kanji. Well said. Yosuke: "People want to become Shadows!? Their desire is your desire!? To hell with that! When did we wish for that crap anyways!? We kept fighting and fighting like morons to get to where we're standing!"Exactly. I am... we are not going to let him engulf Inaba in fog. Not now, not ever. Not after everything we've gone through and all that this town has done for us. Ameno-sagiri: "The ability to master your Shadow that emerged to kill you, and use its power..."What? He didn't give us the Persona ability even though he gave us the power to go inside the TV? How is that possible? I probably shouldn't taunt this guy any further, but... BRING IT ON. We have been searching for the truth for months, and while doing that we've cut our way through hundreds of Shadows, some of them as big as this platform we're standing on, and now this asshole jumps in from out of nowhere, tells us he's behind it all and wants to "test" our power? Right. We'll show him our power and then some. GAHHH! WHAT IS HE DOING?! Doesn't matter what he's doing! Get ready for battle, guys, I don't know what is going to happen next! What is going on here? And what did he do to Adachi? Did he kill him when he came out of his body? At least I no longer see Adachi anywhere... Now what? Uhhhhhhh... this doesn't look very promising, to be honest. LLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDD!! ---
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Jul 31, 2010 18:23:09 GMT -5
Part 137: Got a TV eye on me--- We're gonna need bigger swords. (This is actually the first time I can tell what Ameno-sagiri is saying in this cutscene, thanks to the subtitles that were added to the undub patch. His speech has this weird effect which makes him almost unintelligible) These anime cutscenes are really damn good, good enough to be from an actual big-budget anime series and much nicer looking than the ones in Persona 3 where the characters sometimes looked a bit weird (I don't know how much of that was due to the lower budget and how much was intentional). If only that fake rumor about a Persona 4 anime being in the works had been true, that would have been the most awesome thing ever conceived.Rise: "This thing has no right to exist!"The fight against Adachi was just a warm-up. Even though he was a dangerous murderer, he never was the real threat, just someone whose strings Ameno-sagiri was pulling from behind the scenes. All that ends now. If we defeat Ameno-sagiri, I'm certain the fog will lift from our world. Let's finish this. Yep... now that Adachi's influence over this world has disappeared, it's now plain for all to see that we are, in fact, in the skies above Inaba. Wow, the sun is brighter than I remembered. I guess we haven't seen it in a month or so. We will see about that, Ameno-sagiri. The end, huh? Well, then we're going to need a final battle theme for the ages, right? This fight has one of the greatest battle themes ever, and I'm not exaggerating at all. It's as good if not better than "The Battle for Everyone's Souls" from Persona 3.Let's do that. We will show this monstrosity what mankind is capable of. Ameno-sagiri is huge. Something that big will likely have very powerful attacks and strong defense, and that's why we need the Trumpeter to bring those down for a moment. We're still a bit tired from the fight against Adachi a moment ago, but that's what we have all those healing spells for so I am not worried. (Yes, you start this battle with the HP and SP you had after the Adachi fight. And yes, if you die here, you can be damn sure you'll be watching all those dialogue scenes and cutscenes and fighting Adachi and watching those other scenes ALL OVER AGAIN. Of course, you can do a save state with the emulator, but I'm not sure if I actually remembered to do that when the Ameno-sagiri battle started.)Indeed, Yukiko heals us back to full strength, and Naoto finally gets to use those almighty spells she can do. Speaking of almighty spells, Ameno-sagiri starts off with Megidolaon. He didn't charge up or anything, so it doesn't really hurt all that much. He also tries to hit Naoto with some kind of a Light-based attack known as God's Judgment. It looks pretty big, but Light (or Dark) attacks don't work on Naoto because of the abilities of her Persona. See? She's fine. Ameno-sagiri needs to try harder if he wants to bring us down. (To this day, I still don't know what God's Judgment actually does, because he always misses with it)Let's see what he thinks of what comes next. Of course, before Yoshi whacks him with his sword, Chie shows how to use attacks with names starting with "God's". And here is how you cast Megidolaon. I think Ameno-sagiri may have underestimated our power slightly. God's Judgment again? As if that would work. All right, let's see how the giant disco eyeball likes a sword in its... uh, eye. Speaking of swords, I'm still using the Musashi Shinai because I don't really need to hit this guy with my own sword - my Personas will do the damage for me and I can feel the spirit of Miyamoto Musashi cheering me on. That's how it's done. Yukiko can also do very decent damage with her boosted fire spells. However, I have a feeling this won't be this easy for very long. Ameno-sagiri IS the guy that created the other world after all, and something like that will not go down without a fight. Sorry, you're not going to bore us to death with your speeches, Ameno-sagiri. I think he might have noticed that we mean business... Indeed, he starts blasting all of us with this eye beam thing. It's more dangerous than his previous attacks, although we're still fine for the most part. And we can do this. Hey, I think we made him mad. That might not be a good thing, but I'm not too concerned. We will withstand anything Ameno-sagiri decides to throw our way. Okay, that doesn't sound too good. It also sounds kinda familiar, isn't that what the weird shadowy thing cast when I was fighting it in my dream after I first received my Persona? Was that Ameno-sagiri all along? Also, Rise notes that the effect of Debilitate wore off, so Ameno-sagiri is back to full power again. Okay, that doesn't sound good. Time to guard. Of course, this is where I totally f*** up. I initially guard when he uses Mind Charge, but on my next turn I make the absolutely boneheaded decision to use Debilitate again. Naturally, this is a huge mistake because he didn't cast a spell after he used Mind Charge (meaning that his next spell will be 2.5 times more powerful than normal and I can't guard from it any more) and the Debilitate doesn't even hit because the Bewildering Fog is still there. Naturally, because I'm a f***ing moron, the Nebula Oculus kills Seta with 600+ damage. However, I'm saved from a game over because he's been equipped with the Patient Collar (automatic Endure ability, resurrects from death with 1 HP once. Man, am I GLAD he had that on for just such an emergency. I also like how Ameno-sagiri is like "HOW THE F*** IS THAT GUY NOT DEAD" in that screenshot)Well. That could have gone better. Actually, I am scared to death here and stressed because of what is at stake in this fight, so maybe I'm not thinking straight. I must not make another mistake like that or I'm dead. That shows just how dangerous Ameno-sagiri is and what we are dealing with here. Next he decides to drop meteors on us, but we're able to avoid it for the most part because I cast Debilitate on him as soon as I could. Chie even manages to bounce those things BACK at him. I should probably use charged attacks to do more damage to him, but let's try a regular Brave Blade as long as his defenses are down. I don't think I should taunt this guy any more. He already showed us he's not one to f*** with even though we're strong enough to take on almost anything. Now what is he doing? What a dick! He knocks Naoto down with that earthquake, and then he casts Bewildering Fog again. And Mind Charge, too. Fantastic. Hey, the fog cleared as soon as it came. Yes, this is where I f*** up royally AGAIN. Once again, I forget that he has Mind Charge active after guarding once, and instead of guarding the second time I decide to use one of those stat-boosting items I have in my inventory or something equally dumb. And this time, I DON'T have anything to protect me from certain death. If the guys from Giant Bomb were reading this, even they would be laughing their asses off right now... what I did here was a mistake so amateurish that even a first-time player of the game shouldn't make it. So... what now? Wait for death? Well, yes. I'm not loading a savestate for this, I f***ed up and will take it like a man. Maybe the fact he's still Debilitated and I'm at full health (and seven levels higher than he is) will save me. If not, I guess it will be funny on the blooper reel.*NEBULA OCULUS HAPPENS WHILE I PRAY IT DOESN'T KILL ME*...freaking hell, that hurt like a motherf***er. I'm alive? Holy crap. I think the only thing that saved me was the fact Ameno-sagiri was still under the effect of the debilitate spell I cast on him a moment ago, if he had been at full strength I would have been killed in an instant. Whoa... man. Talk about a close call. Heh, Dojima would have been pissed... All right. Now we are done f***ing around with this guy. Let's hit him with everything we've got. Note to everyone: Use charged attacks whenever possible. Once Yukiko has managed to heal me, Ameno-sagiri takes a page out of Shadow Naoto's book and hits me with the Galgalim Eyes. Or Galgalim Eye, I guess. I suddenly feel too old and weak for this shit, but at least Yukiko is able to cure the ailment and heal me again. Naoto hits him with another charged Megidolaon. Eye beams again, huh? This time it's not as powerful because it's not charged, so it's more of an inconvenience than anything else. All right, ladies, he's almost done! Let's blow this thing and go home. Looks like he Ameno-sagiri is out of options at this point. He's tried everything he knows in order to take us down (and almost succeeded, but that was more of a stupid mistake from me than anything), and now the writing is well and truly on the wall. "Hollow forest", huh? Hollow THIS! Yeah, I know, I know, that was pretty lame, but he didn't give me that much to work with. But at this point, who cares?! We actually BEAT Ameno-sagiri. Holy shit. This is probably the rough equivalent to punching out Cthulhu. And we have done it. Maybe this is finally over. It has to be. Hey, he noticed. Ameno-sagiri: "Power comes from the heart..."He... will lift the fog from Inaba? That means... YES! WE DID IT. We have actually done it. We have SAVED THE WORLD. That will take a while to sink in, huh? Shut up, Teddie. We won. This is over. And then, he was gone. This is a nice feeling. Inaba looks so pretty from up here... they, of course, won't know about what we've done here today, but I don't expect them to. The most important thing here is that the town that is my home now is safe once again. The fog is gone, and the murderer has been... hm? Oh, hey, looks like Adachi isn't dead after all! I think all that stuff about the people wanting the world to be swallowed by the fog was Ameno-sagiri's doing, but Adachi most definitely killed those girls on his own. Yep. So it seems. I think we already changed the future when we prevented the realms from merging just now. And yes, we will live however we want. How about you, Detective Adachi? Don't know about Adachi at this point, my man. Adachi: "Heh..."What in the hell? Of course we didn't come here to kill him. As Yosuke points out, if Adachi got killed in here and his body would later appear in our world hanging from a pole of some sort, what would happen then? Oh no. No way we're leaving this guy here. He's coming with us and going to jail. Hm. He took that quite well. He's offering no resistance whatsoever, so I guess we are free to take him back to the police. That is true. Right. Let's head back to our world now. We are done here. "He's wanted on suspicion of murdering Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi, right?"Ambulance? Why is that? Oh. I guess that makes sense. "He wanted the suspect to be carefully taken into protective custody. It... well, it was a personal favor to him."Yeah... even though Adachi turned out to be the killer, he was still Dojima's partner. I can't even begin to imagine how Dojima feels about all this... Adachi was, by all accounts, the only person he could call his friend in the police force, and he must be devastated now that he more or less knows Adachi committed the murders. Adachi is taken away on the stretcher, and we head out of Junes. Oh hell yes. We actually did it. Yeah... I feel I have something in my eye as well. It may or may not be because of the sun and the blue skies. We did this together, you know. We won. And that means we should celebrate. Okay, that could have gone better... might have helped if we knew what we were supposed to say, you know. This is ridiculous. Let them. But yeah... this does look pretty stupid. Do I have to do everything around here? ;D Oh well. What, that wasn't good either? Wow, that was kinda half-assed. I guess we're not so good at this sort of thing... But who cares? Inaba is safe, we're all still alive and well and now it's time for celebration. After that, we can finally live like normal high schoolers, and this time it will be for real. --- Next time: Christmas is here!
|
|
Oak: Certified Jade Hater
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Edgier than Wayne Brady, Harder than Chinese Arithmetic, and Higher than the ratings for Blade: The Series
TOP ROPE CATCH A VIBE YEAH I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE
Posts: 15,391
|
Post by Oak: Certified Jade Hater on Aug 1, 2010 11:57:40 GMT -5
Fun fact: I had to do the battle with Ameno-Sagiri three times because the rat bastard always finished me off.
Luckily by the third time, I had my power hitters (Seta and Naoto) do most of the attacking while my healers (Teddie and Yukiko) did physical attacks and minor healing. Then when Sagiri came into play, my healers had practically full sp, giving my hitters more than enough power to finally beat the bastard.
Looking forward to Christmas time.... *winkwink*
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 1, 2010 13:28:42 GMT -5
Part 138: We Are--- Friday, December 23Well. Christmas is almost here, and there is no one in the house because Dojima and Nanako are still in the hospital. I haven't done any shopping or anything, as we've had some slightly more important things to worry about lately. Maybe I should call Naoto and see what she's up to... hm? A text message? From Naoto? Talk about perfect timing! I can't help but laugh out loud upon seeing Naoto's message. You'd think she would be the last person on Earth to type in all caps and say "PLZ" of all things, but I guess not. Of course I'll spend time with her. What kind of a question is that? This Christmas might not turn out so bad after all... --- Saturday, December 24Earlier today, I went out and bought a cake for the occasion. It's kind of small (the other ones Junes had left were even smaller), but I guess since there's only the two of us it won't matter too much. For some reason, Naoto seems a bit embarrassed. Ah, don't worry about it. I'm really glad she came over tonight. I don't know, like I mentioned it was the only one they had left that you didn't need a microscope to see... but I'm glad she likes it. She gives me what appears to be a handmade watch. Aww... that is great. Much appreciated. I wish I had something as cool to give her... That is very sweet. I'm sure we can work something out. We no longer have to go inside the TV or worry about the murders or the fog or anything, so right now we have all the time in the world. Hm? School uniform? Isn't that what she is... ah, of course, she means a girls' uniform. This should be interesting. This should be very interesting. Naoto leaves the room to change, and a moment later... DAMN!Yakushiji? Ah yes, the butler. I'll send him my kindest regards, a cake and a fruits basket for making this possible. No, not at all. Actually, I think it might be a few inches too long, but I probably shouldn't say that out loud. She should dress like this more often. But it's true! This is the most beautiful sight I've ever witnessed, and that is saying quite a lot. Dammit! I mean... well, if she feels more comfortable wearing the guys' uniform, then I guess I'll let her do that even though it goes against the dress code... and if she showed up at school wearing that, it would be distracting... for, uh, the people who are used to seeing her wear the guys' uniform. Yeah. Kanji's head would probably explode, too. And I really appreciated that. SO cute... Since it's Christmas and all and we have this house to ourselves, I wonder if... well... ...Yeah. I would really like that. ......I suddenly forgot how to form complete sentences. She seems to have that effect on me, especially right now. Then again, at times like this, who needs words anyway? ......
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 1, 2010 18:45:40 GMT -5
Part 139: Celebrate and dance so free, one more time
--- I tried to ask Naoto to put on the seifuku again before we headed to Junes to meet with the others, but she didn't quite agree with that idea. Then again, it IS Sunday and Christmas Day to boot, so maybe it would have looked just a bit odd if she was wearing a school uniform. Yep, I'd say our work here is done and the police can do the rest from here on out. Oh no, Teddie isn't going anywhere. Right? That's right. The last time was a special case, anyway, the only reason he disappeared was that he suddenly remembered his status as a Shadow... or it was because he did something to bring Nanako back to life. To be honest, if all Shadows were like this guy, maybe it wouldn't have been that bad if everyone in Inaba turned into them! ;D Now who could that be? ...Oh hai, Dojima! Hey, that's great! Dojima: "She's awake again, and she's got a good amount of strength back too. All goes well, she might be able to leave the hospital from the time being."That's awesome. The others agree when I inform them of the news. Nanako is coming back, as is Dojima... man, how long were they in the hospital? For a month? Feels like they've been gone for much longer. Rise: "Nanako-chan tried hard too..."Well, we all knew she would be okay, right? Maybe now that the fog has been gone for the last couple of days, her condition has improved as well... ...Whoa! Man! That looked like it hurt. To be honest, Teddie has kinda sorta been asking for that on several occasions, so I guess he deserved it there. Rise's got a mean uppercut, by the way. That'll teach him to cop a feel, that's for sure. And yeah, I guess that was actually pretty funny. Chie: "It's party time!"Sounds good! See, Teddie thinks it's a good idea too. Cake? Yeah, sounds good... ...Wait, what? They are going to make it themselves, aren't they? Chie: "Of course we're gonna make one."
Yukiko: "I've already researched the ingredients."Oh, great. We're all going to end up in the hospital. It's no use, Yosuke. They're going to bake that cake, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Chie: "Let's go to the grocery department! C'mon, Naoto-kun, you too!"Well, I'm glad we survived that battle against Ameno-sagiri just so we could die tonight. I have no regrets, at least we saved Inaba and maybe the rest of the world as well... So, yeah... the girls pick the ingredients for the cake from the grocery department. Once that is done, we head back to the Dojima house to wait for Dojima and Nanako to come back. Once they do, there is a happy reunion. I'm not sure how long that particular happiness will last, because the girls just started making the cake. Nanako seems to like the new kotatsu, as does Teddie (who calls it "the fabled kotatsu"). That's great news. Nanako actually apologizes for not being able to be there to buy the kotatsu with me, but... well... ...I'm kind of sorry that she had to end up in the hospital in the first place. Of course, the important thing is that she is okay now. Hey, we couldn't leave Little Sis in there, could we? Well. If our past encounters with Chie, Yukiko and Rise's cooking are anything to go by, there is a very good chance that this is gonna suck. But hey, we're prepared. So it seems... ...and it doesn't look dangerous, either. At least not from the outside. Nanako, please let us try it first... NO! WAIT! what No, seriously, what? I hope not... oh well, I guess there's only one way to find out if she's telling the truth. Here goes... Hey, this IS good! Damn good, in fact! How did they pull that off? Seriously, it's great! I guess all those cooking lessons finally paid off, huh, Yukiko? "AHH! IT'S NOT HOT!"Well... since we all think it's great, I guess that means I haven't lost my sanity completely yet. True talent. Indeed. I bet... ...yeah. I thought as much. But hey, at least it turned out great in the end! No, Yosuke, I don't think you passed out. I don't think any of us passed out this time. Teddie's got a Christmas present for Nanako. Hey, it's a Teddie plush doll! Speaking of dolls, I don't think we ever ended up getting that Jack Frost doll for Nanako... but I guess this works just as well if not better. Teddie made it because he thought Nanako should have something to keep her company in the hospital. That's very sweet of him. He also apologizes for not making it look better, but I'd say that's a very good likeness of him. I wonder if he's taken Kanji's knitting lessons at some point. Uhh... Teddie? We really didn't need to hear that much... I like how Dojima is basically like "wait what". In the Japanese version, they're naturally talking about Kuma fur. As in bear fur that you would find on a regular old bear... or our friend Kuma a.k.a. Teddie. Thus, Dojima's reaction makes sense in both versions, the English translation just makes the whole thing seem a slight bit more disturbing than they originally intended!Nanako doesn't seem to be bothered by minor details, though. We were glad to be of assistance. All right, let's talk about murders! But hey, it's good to know Adachi confessed to all the crimes he committed. Dojima: "If what you said about a world inside the TV was true, then everything might make sense... But I still don't believe it."Okay, who wants to stick their hand inside the TV right now to prove the whole thing is true? No one? Eh, I guess it doesn't matter at this point. Dojima: "Back in the day, my own senpai on the force told me something."Dojima: "This case has made me think about a lot of things... You've helped us so much... Heh, it was meant to be the other way, really..."Unfortunately, yeah, I guess I have to. Hey, it's not like I'm never coming to visit. But yeah, I guess I promised to go back in the spring. Oh, hell yes! We still have three whole months, and we can do whatever we feel like. Ah, I don't think I'll quite get myself held back... Oh yeah, good point, my man! Okay, let's see, how should I fail the finals? ;D Yyyep, and Naoto would be in the same grade as well. Maybe I can then convince her to wear the seifuku every day! But please, call me Senpai anyway. --- Next episode: Springtime for Inaba
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 1, 2010 22:21:24 GMT -5
Part 140: Three months later--- Those three months that seemed like such a long time back in December have passed much quicker than I expected. So, this is it. My last day in Inaba. Tomorrow morning, I will leave this town. I should make the most of this day, I really don't want it to go to waste... I still kinda wish I didn't have to leave yet. But of course, all good things must come to an end at some point, and I've been telling myself for the last few months that it's okay, I can come back here anytime I want. And hey, why couldn't I? Inaba has been really peaceful ever since we caught Adachi (who, by the way, is now in prison, they managed to convict him) and the fog lifted. For a while it was almost boring, but I quickly learned to appreciate the peace and quiet. Yes, it's very nice. Dojima tells me he already bought me my train ticket for tomorrow... 9 o'clock in the morning, Yasoinaba Station. As for today, he says I can leave Nanako to him and go out there. That is exactly what I will do. I guess I'll go to the shopping district first... Chie: "I thought a lot about you, and I... I decided to come here. I was thinking, 'What can I do for you?' And I figured crying or feeling sad about you leaving wasn't it... So I made up my mind... I'm gonna show you what you've taught me. I bought a book."There are books about that? Maybe reading that is the only qualification you need to become a cop in this town, that would explain the level of competence of some of the local officers... Chie: "Well, I want to protect this town. We all worked hard to keep this peace... I wanna keep it that way. You can't be certain that no incident like this will ever happen again, right? This is where my best friends are... It's where I met you." Hey, maybe she can be Dojima's new partner once her training is over with! Those two would make quite a team. Oh, absolutely. Thanks. Chie: "You still have to say goodbye to everyone else, right? Go ahead... Go."All right... where to next? Wait a second, is that Margaret?! Oh hi, Margaret! I didn't actually know she could exit the Velvet Room... but since she is now here and people can see her (it's not every day you see an exotic, stunning blonde in the Inaba shopping district, so she really turns some heads), I guess this confirms that she wasn't a figment of my imagination. Of course I didn't really believe that, but I never thought she could enter our world. Margaret: "I was waiting for you."Waiting for me? Why? Oh. Makes sense, I suppose. Margaret: "Though, parting words aren't what I have for you... Remember? The heart is shaken more by a single action than a thousand words. Do you know what action will shake both of our hearts?"I'm pretty sure I do. However, let's not quite go that far. I wonder if a handshake would suffice? Err... I guess not. How about a nice, long hug, then? Whuh? Why? Uh... right. Okay then, I suppose I'll go along with this. Velvet Goldmine You stroke me like the rain Snake it, take it Panther princess you must stay Velvet Goldmine Naked on your chain I'll be your king volcano right for you again and again My Velvet GoldmineThat's quite an unusual euphemism... yes, yes, I know, OUT OF THE GUTTER. Sorry about that. Only highbrow humor from here on out.I prefer the term "treasure hunter" myself. But that was... umm... that was something, all right. Damn. If you want to see me, feel free to summon me in my dreams anytime. And tell Igor I said hello as well... and thanks for everything the two of you did for me over the past year. Rise is right there in front of the tofu shop. I wonder if she saw, uh, what just happened. Rise: "Senpai... No... That's like you came to say goodbye...! I'm not planning on letting this be the last time we meet! It does make me sad, though."Cool! Maybe she'll send me a copy once it's done. As long as it all sounds good, stuff like that doesn't matter. Rise: "But you know, a lot of stuff happened while I was on break... I made friends... dear friends... Everyone was so nice to me... I want to express that to everyone who will listen. My deepest feelings, in my own words. Ahh! I'm scared! I'm scared for putting the real me out there for people to see... But I can't give in to that fear, right? I'll work hard, for all my fans out there... I'm gonna make a huge comeback!"Then again, I'm the one who's leaving first... Rise: "Maybe I'll offer to appear in a commercial for Junes. Then you'll all remember the times we had every time you see it! ...But then we'll all feel a bit lonely afterwards, huh?"She mentions there are no regrets because we lifted the fog... from this world, at least. The TV world still has fog, but it's clear in our world. All right, later. I could recognize those two voices anywhere. Oh hai, Daisuke and Kou! Man, I really need to stop doing that and start talking like a normal person again... Sure, I always have time for my comrades. Daisuke: "We were consoling each other about Seta leaving tomorrow." Kou: "Why you gotta blurt that stuff out!? That's embarrassing, man! To be honest, though... I did wanna see you one last time, but I figured you'd be too busy. The next thing I know, you walk right in! It's like man, I was being thoughtful for nothing!"Oh yeah... we have a goalkeeper now, right? And about ten more players? Yeah, Daisuke is now taking the whole thing really seriously, and he gets pissed whenever he notices someone is slacking off in training. Hey, if I was there, we'd win so easily that it would be boring, right? ;D Sure thing, man. Aha! I KNEW IT! Dude, everyone and their mother knows about your crush on Chie. It's been obvious ever since I came here and met you guys. So, um, the next time I come here, you better have hooked up with Chie or I'll be very disappointed! Daisuke, you make sure he does that. Kou: "...You mean you were serious?"
Daisuke: "Of course."
Kou: "Then I got one thing to say: Stop wearing the same damn training clothes!"I'm not sure if I have the time, but I tell you what: talk to Ai Ebihara and tell her Daisuke needs nicer clothes. I'm sure she'll be happy to help. Kou: "Yeah, I bet they're all sportswear!"
Daisuke: "......"
Kou: "......"...Busted. I already told you guys, I will come back sooner than you'd expect. Fear not, I'll help you two get laid. ;D Kou: "Yeah, don't waste your time on us, man. Even if we're separated--"
Daisuke: "We'll always be friends."
Kou: "Why do you always get to say the good part...?"All right, enough of these two for now, I'll see them tomorrow. Next stop: Tatsuhime Shrine. The fox is nowhere to be seen, but the old man who apparently still maintains this place is there and I exchange a few words with him. What? Who the hell would do such a thing? And what kind of a reason is that to tear this place down?! This place isn't going anywhere. What? No! Old man: "Too many rumors these days. Remember that one about how the fog was making everyone sick? Or that other one... what was it called? Midnight Radio...? That was popular with the kids, alright. My grandson and his friends were all into it."When he was a kid? Rumors...? Hm... The old man leaves, and I still don't see the fox anywhere. Did it really get hauled off to the animal shelter? Ah, I guess I can't help it. Time to leave this place... Hm? Ah, there it is! And... hey, whoa there. Looks like the fox has been busy elsewhere lately. Aww, the little ones even have their own little aprons! ...Where in the BLUE HELL did they get those from? Ah, better not think about it too much... All right then, looks like they're doing fine. I guess I can leave the shrine for now. Kanji's mother: "I told you not to speak to me that way! Anyway, have you told him about the handicraft class?"What? Handicraft class? He actually started doing that as a job or something? I remember he taught me once, but I didn't expect he'd actually start giving lessons to people. No problem, Ma'am. I didn't do that much, anyway. Kanji's mother: "Come visit here sometime, all right? Goodbye now."Really, he started doing that? Kanji: "S-So... I-I'm gonna hold classes on how to do it. L-Laugh it up, why don't you?"Now why the hell would I laugh? That's awesome. It was his own decision, though, and even though he feels it's kinda embarrassing, it also feels good to do something for other people. I didn't really do anything... did I? Kanji: "Are you gonna say goodbye to the others later? Well, it ain't like this is the last time we'll see each other. Our friendship ain't just on the surface... funny how we got the murder case to thank for that."Nah, I couldn't have done it without you guys. Okay, see ya. Then where should I go...? Ah! The Amagi Inn, of course! As usual, Yukiko is busy running the inn. Of course I came to see her. Why wouldn't I do that? And yeah... she means a lot to me as well. Maybe we're no longer together, but we're certainly not going to forget those times anytime soon. Yukiko: "Helping with the housework, taking a long bath, and going to sleep... So I can... I can say goodbye without crying."Sorry. You know how I am. Kidding, huh? I don't know... she did sound pretty serious there. Yukiko: "Whether I can meet all the responsibilities... Whether I'll be able to support the whole staff on my own... I never thought of things like that. But I've made my decision... Now I have to make an honest attempt at it. I'll do my best to overcome the fear."I... I... oh man. Yukiko: "I promise I won't turn away from my problems and fears. I'm going to meet every challenge head-on, no matter hard it seems..."Yukiko: "That's not what I wish for. I'll face myself, no matter what happens."I'm... not sure what to say. Of course, I still have those feelings for her as well, they haven't gone anywhere... maybe one day if we have the opportunity, we can try again. Yukiko realizes she should get back to work, so she says goodbye for now. She also promises she'll be there at the station to see me off tomorrow morning. So that's what became of Sayoko. I worked here on occasion even after she had left, but this is the first time I hear she went to Africa. How the rumors started... Hey, whoa! I think someone got things mixed up at some point! I'm right here, you know. Whoa! I didn't think I was that important. But yeah... apparently Sayoko's example has inspired the rest of the hospital staff to work harder and better themselves. That is great. Right... so. I still need to say goodbye to a few people. Where should I go now? Ah... maybe I should visit Yasogami High once more. It's spring break, but there may be someone around. I should probably visit my old classroom for one last time. Wait. Is that...? Uhhhh... yeah? I'll just back off slowly here... carry on. Let's check out the drama club room... huh? Someone's in there? Yumi? I thought she quit the drama club. What brings her here today? Yumi: "I knew you'd come... Hehe. I came here today to turn something in and... I felt this wave of nostalgia. We used to be in this club together... You're leaving tomorrow, right? I have something to tell you."Sounds like a good idea to me. I don't think the fog will come back... but then again, it is still foggy in the other world, so who knows? Great! About time Junes got someone responsible to work there. Yumi: "I'd like to try some more of the clubs at school, too. To be honest, I'd like to go back to the drama club. I... I want to see and feel the world I live in. So, I'm planning to try as many things as I can, as long as the opportunities are there."Yumi: "I have to do something with that knowledge. Do something for the people who live on after me..."Looks like Yumi has really come to terms with what she wants to do with her life. Good for her, I'm happy to hear all this. Hey, you're the one who insisted that the situation should look as dramatic as possible and never gave me the opportunity to explain that I was already going out with Yukiko at that point, right? I'm sure we will. I say goodbye to Yumi and head out of the drama club room. I'm about to leave school, when I suddenly see Naoto standing there in the 1F hallway. We walk around school for a while and finally end up on the rooftop. Naoto: "Well... Not that I'm disappointed. It's just that... for me to remain here, without you or a case to solve... I feel somewhat... listless."Naoto: "Perhaps it's just your departure that is making me lonely."Hey, you know I'll be back as soon as possible, right? She isn't making trouble for me, it seems to be the other way around and I should apologize for that... Well, I guess it's not, but still. Naoto: "I'll remain here in Inaba, Senpai. Of course, from time to time, my services will be required elsewhere... But Inaba is my hometown now."Naoto: "...To be honest, the thought of it makes me a bit lonely. Please don't forget your time here."I assure you, that's something I will not forget. I could never forget her. Indeed. I'm looking forward to it. Please. Call me Seta. I would like to spend more time with her, but she is right. There are still a few people I need to talk to... such as Yosuke. I'll probably find him at Junes. And Teddie as well, naturally. Yeah, it's been a bit weird, but I don't mind. And yeah... that's kinda strange, isn't it? Was it just a coincidence? Ah yes. Good times. Yosuke: "A quiet, peaceful town, with no need to use our Personas anymore..."
Teddie: "I can't imagine it either."
Yosuke: "That's right, we were right in the middle of the case when you came over to this side. A lot of stuff's happened. Facing my true self... And you and me got into a fight, too."Really? Well, I guess he has a point there. But hey, he hardly smacked me, I sure as hell smacked him though. Sorry, Ted, I don't think I could survive a fight against a ferocious bear such as yourself. And yeah, there's that too. Teddie: "They all helped me... They gave life to me."Teddie: "Thank you so much, Sensei and Yosuke! I love you."Yosuke: "'Love' is kinda strong..."Uhhhhh.... It's okay, Teddie. We got it, man. Keep your fur on. Yosuke asks me if I have somewhere to go. Like, meeting someone? Um... I think I've talked to pretty much everyone now... except... ah! I still need to chat with Dojima and Nanako, don't I? Later, guys! Before I go back home, I visit the riverbank once more. This is it... I'm really leaving this town tomorrow. Even though I know I can come back almost anytime I want, I'll miss this place. I saw my friends, yeah... but I also want to talk with the two of you for a while. I do? How? Nanako: "......"
Dojima: "Nanako... Do you remember what we promised?"You too. That would be great. Sure. Naturally. Thanks, Dojima. Yeah, it was fun, especially after the stuff with the murders and the fog and all ended. I'll tell her you said that. ;D Certainly. I'll be back before you guys know it. Whaaaat!? Thanks, a lot of people have said that to me recently. But, um, in this case I think I'll pass. (In Japan, cousins getting married doesn't have the same stigma it does in the west, so here's some values dissonance at work)(And besides, Nanako is seven. Kids can say stuff like that without thinking about it)But yeah... um, I'm sure that when Nanako is old enough, she won't have time for some old geezer like myself, she'll have quite enough would-be suitors of her own age by then. Actually, I think I have. But I'll go around and see the sights for a bit anyway. That... is really awfully convenient. Maybe you could chalk it up as a strange coincidence, but I don't know. But yeah, I'll walk around for a bit. Oh yeah. This faint voice has been ringing in my head ever since I came here, and at least to some extent it seems to have controlled my actions and guided me along. It's kinda like the Social Link voices but somehow different. It's hard to explain. In any case, from now on I will NOT listen to what this voice says. I've had enough of it patronizing me and talking to me like I'm a goddamn five-year-old all the time, it's really f***ing annoying when it does that. SHUT THE HELL UP. I will decide when I want to go home, thank you very much. There is still something I need to take care of. I need to go to the food court at Junes - our special headquarters - for one last time. Shut up. SHUT. UP. ......what IS it with this thing? SHUT UP! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL I DECIDE TO DO SO MYSELF! Stop telling me what to do! YES. There is something. Finally, the voice stops. I guess it finally understood that I am not finished yet. Yes. One last time. ---
|
|
Oak: Certified Jade Hater
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Edgier than Wayne Brady, Harder than Chinese Arithmetic, and Higher than the ratings for Blade: The Series
TOP ROPE CATCH A VIBE YEAH I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE
Posts: 15,391
|
Post by Oak: Certified Jade Hater on Aug 2, 2010 11:06:14 GMT -5
Ahh.... nostalgia.
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 2, 2010 17:58:33 GMT -5
Part 141: Reach Out to the Truth--- Ah yes... I remember the days when we all used to sit here at this table, trying to make sense of the latest developments in the murder case. Sure, now that I think of it we were totally on the wrong track almost all the time, but it was still a lot of fun to try to solve the case. When we first started investigating it, we certainly didn't expect how far we would end up having to go... not only did we find out the real killer, we also saved the town and perhaps the entire world while we were doing it. Heh. But now it's over, the moment has come... I have to leave the town, and who knows when I can come here again. It'll be at least a couple of months or so, I guess. Hey! What are you guys doing here? Chie and Yukiko too? Wow, everyone is here. It's almost like the old days... Yosuke suggests that since we're all here, we should grab something to eat. That does sound like a good plan, I've spent the whole day running around town and I'm starving. Sounds good to me. Yosuke isn't very impressed, though. Chie: "It seems we've been working on this forever... but at the same time, it feels like it went so fast. We won't ever gather here again like this... or tear our hair out trying to solve the mysteries..."
Yukiko: "Even if we wanted to talk about it all, there were so many extraordinary things that no one would believe us."I heard about it from Chie, too. As did Yosuke. But where did Chie hear the Midnight Channel "rumor"? And where did it all come from in the first place? Yosuke: "I mean, the fog lifted after we caught Adachi, but there's still a lot of stuff that isn't clear yet. It's still foggy over there, too."And didn't Teddie say at some point that it wasn't always foggy in there? Or am I just imagining things? It's been such a long time I can't remember who said what. Chie: "...it granted us power?"Oh yes, the hollow forest again. Ameno-sagiri gave the power to enter TVs to those who awakened to their Persona ability, apparently so that he could use as pawns in the plan he had in mind. We stopped him, of course, but I don't know... something about this still feels a bit strange. That's true. I never faced my Shadow or anything like that. Chie believes I'm an exception... but also brings up Adachi and Namatame, who were also able to enter TVs before anyone said anything about Personas. Where and how did those two get their powers, anyway? Yeah... There's something weird about all this. I seriously don't remember... I know there's something, but I seem to have forgotten. Hey... wait a second. Nanako gave me this letter in the morning, it came in the mail today. Let's take a look at it. It-- wait, what? This is from prison! Adachi! Why would he send me a letter? Letter from Adachi: "I'm writing this because there's something I need to tell you. Ever since I made it out alive, there are some things I understand now. It's true that my game's over. As you all insisted at the time, I'll abide by the rules of this world. But as long as I'm in a stir here, I can't clean up after myself. So I hope this will give you something to think about, regarding this case. There's still this feeling I can't shake... It's about how it all started... about the Midnight Channel."
The Midnight Channel!? Does Adachi know something we don't? Letter from Adachi: "Now I remember.... Someone told me about it when I first came to town... before I heard the rumors at the station. And I was intrigued when I noticed that something similar was written on Namatame's reports as well. But... I can't remember who it was that told me. Since Namatame and I both gained our power after coming to Inaba... I have a feeling that has something to do with it. I don't know if any of this will be useful or not... But I hope it can help somehow."Why does Adachi suddenly want to help us? Anyway, it's too bad he didn't remember who told him about the Midnight Channel, if he did that might get us closer to unraveling the mystery... What, something or someone has been watching this whole thing all this time? I guess we can't completely rule that out. Yosuke: "You know what I mean? First the rumors, then the serial murder, followed by us deciding to investigate the case... If they all really were separate, they wouldn't fit together like this, right? There has to be some kind of 'conductor' behind everything."Chie thought this was just a random comment she made, but actually she might have hit closer to home than she realizes. Let's think about this... How did I get my Persona ability in the first place? When, exactly, did I get it? I know it was right after I came to Inaba, but what happened? There is DEFINITELY something. Guys, I'm starting to think we haven't quite managed to discover the whole truth yet after all. Naoto decides we should go out into town, maybe we'll find something there... no, maybe I will find something. It would be something only I can remember, anyway, so Naoto decides she and the others would just slow me down and tells me to contact them if I find something. Right... now what? Seriously, what was it that awakened my power in the first place? I feel like I should remember this. Anyway, Dojima was definitely the first person I met when I arrived in Inaba. I should go ask him if he remembers anything unusual from that day. He should still be at the riverbank... Dojima: "Haha... Now that I think back to that night, I was called back to work as soon as we got home, so I couldn't talk much. And the very next day, those murders started..."Straight home, huh? Wasn't there something...? That's it. We stopped at the gas station, and I talked to that... ...that guy. Or girl. Yeah, there was that gas station attendant of ambiguous gender. What about him/her? I think I did see him a couple of times after that day... but he only seemed to be around on rainy days for whatever reason. I looked... sick? And that night, I had that "dream" where I summoned Izanagi for the first time. I don't believe for a second that this could be a coincidence, that guy must have had something to do it. But why him? Who is he, anyway? Scary... huh. I should try and find that guy and talk to him. Maybe he knows something. Hm. He's not around. No surprise there, because I only ever saw him on rainy days after I had arrived in Inaba. He was always standing right here. I think he said something to me once or twice, but I wasn't really paying attention because I was busy doing something else... but what now? The guy is nowhere to be seen, and I am kind of in a hurry to find him. Maybe I should go ask Igor if he knows anything or can help me find this person. No, I haven't. Not completely, anyway. Igor starts doing... something. I'm not sure what exactly, and I don't really care about the specifics at this point... What in the name of King Moron is that? What did he DO? Even Margaret seems to be surprised, and when that happens something big is going on. F*** me, even Igor himself is surprised. I'm not sure I'm ready to hear what he says next. Okay? How does that work? Igor: "Interesting... Indeed you have come here today for a reason. Then I shall play my part as well."Igor uses his powers to combine the shards into a glowing orb of some sort. I'm still not entirely sure how this is gonna work, but it certainly looks impressive. I need to remember all that. I have a feeling it will come in handy later on. Margaret: "At the end of the path you chose lies the truth... Believe in it, and continue without faltering."Igor: "It seems that you will reveal the journey's true end, one beyond our predictive power. Now go... To the place where everything began."I suppose that means I should go to the gas station again. And now it's raining... I wonder if...? Yes. That's him. Where did that guy suddenly come from as soon as it started to rain? Attendant: "First...? What are you talking about? ...Oh, is this about the part-time job? I'm sorry, we don't have an opening yet." Attendant: "...Ah, that serial murder suspect? A real tragedy, wasn't it? But the case was solved, right? Thank goodness."Attendant: "....Well, that is a weird question to ask. I don't know if it was right here, but I might have met them before. I've been in this town for a long time, so yeah, there's a good chance. But it's not like I knew them personally."Something is up with this guy. When they first came to town, huh? Just like when...? Ah yes. That is what he said. So, let's inquire if this person happened to do something to me while he was welcoming me to Inaba... Just like those two, indeed. I have only one question left right now... Who in the hell is this person? I already know he isn't just some random guy who works at a gas station, I am certain he gave me the power... and to Adachi and Namatame as well. But who is he? Why would he do that? Hmm. This is by no means suspicious in any way or anything. I've reached WHO at last? Who is this asshole? Okay, how about you start by telling me who you are? Attendant: "Adachi... Namatame... And you..."I gathered that much, but who the f*** are you? Attendant: "The ones who had potential... But having said that, I am rather surprised."No. It wasn't. I actually thought it was too easy. And is it just me, or does this guy suddenly look even creepier than usual? More importantly... Who in the hell are you? Give me a straight answer already, for god's sake! NO! I DON'T KNOW! THAT IS WHY I CAME! I mean, I know what you did, but I haven't got the faintest idea who you ARE. ("...awakened power", I think. I kinda messed up that particular screenshot, pressing the button too early)So... is that why all the girls in this town seemed to fall in love with me as soon as I introduced myself? That was all your doing, too? And I bet you're also the voice I kept hearing in my head all the time, "gently" and "subtly" coaxing me along ("You decided to [something you really didn't decide to do but couldn't do anything else]"... "It seems... [something that is completely obvious, but you're still not quite sure for some reason]", etc. etc.) but trying to lead me in the wrong direction -- away from you -- when it really mattered. Like today, when it insisted I should really go home after saying goodbye to my friends and most definitely shouldn't walk around or especially go to the Junes food court... that was all you. Whoever the hell you are. What, you didn't believe I could still think and make decisions on my own? You did a good job trying to stop me from doing so, though. But no more. All right. Now we'll settle this like men. But first, give me a straight answer. Who ARE you? And what exactly did you do to me? Just like... ...the handshake. That's it. I remember now. THAT'S IT. As soon as he touched my hand, I felt this strange... vibration, and I think I felt a bit sick for a moment. Kinda like... GAH! S***! It was kinda like this, but this is ten times worse! What...? I can't move! How...? Who? Attendant: "I did the same for a few other outsiders like you."Adachi and Namatame, I assume. But why? What's the point? You just wanted this place to have more action? That's it? What for, huh? Do you really need to ask? You must know this by now. To learn the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. No more fog or smoke or mirrors or pyro or ballyhoo. I want the truth, and I want it right now. First of all, I want to know who you really are. What's going on? It looks like something's happening to the guy... ...... to be continued (What? Did you think it was over when we lifted the fog?
|
|
Lupin the Third
Patti Mayonnaise
I'm sorry.....I love you. *boot to the head*--3rd most culpable in the jixing of NXT, D'oh!
Join the Dark Order....
Posts: 36,318
|
Post by Lupin the Third on Aug 2, 2010 20:18:55 GMT -5
As a famous detective one said, "One truth will prevail."
|
|
Oak: Certified Jade Hater
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Edgier than Wayne Brady, Harder than Chinese Arithmetic, and Higher than the ratings for Blade: The Series
TOP ROPE CATCH A VIBE YEAH I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE
Posts: 15,391
|
Post by Oak: Certified Jade Hater on Aug 2, 2010 21:50:10 GMT -5
Ahhh.... here's what I was looking forward to....
Battle royal anyone?
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 6, 2010 23:45:04 GMT -5
Part 142: She Who Invites--- The mysterious attendant's identity (and gender) is finally revealed. Izanami. The ancient goddess of creation, wife of Izanagi... who died giving birth to the sun god Kagutsuchi and ended up in the underworld of Yomi and became a horrible monster. Or that's how the story goes, anyway. So, she is the one who gave me the power... I would be freaked the holy hell out right now if I hadn't already spent the past year messing around with mystic things, magic and deities from around the world. Okay, actually I AM freaked the holy hell out anyway, but I can't do anything about it because she incapacitated me with whatever that thing was she used on me a couple of minutes ago, and I can't move an inch. I certainly hope he wasn't as big back then as he was when we met him, because that would be rather... umm, I'd rather not think about the details. Izanami: "And now you face me with it. I can no longer ignore this situation as mere foolishness. This may be fate, as decreed by the world...""There"? I guess that means the TV world. Uh... did she say she would pit her full strength against us? I... THINK we might have a bit of a situation in our hands. This isn't just some random Shadow or a crazed killer or even the lord of the fog, this is freaking Izanami. Did I mention she, according to legend, basically created Japan? ....Oh crap. Anyway, Izanami disappears and I can move again. If she can incapacitate me like this by snapping her fingers, I shudder to think of what she can do when she is actually trying to kill us... Yep. We are screwed. I tell the whole story to the others. "Beat her"? Dude! This is Izanami we are talking about. IZANAMI. THE GREAT GODDESS OF CREATION, IZANAMI. Does that ring a bell to you? ...Uh, then again, it's Yosuke, so probably not. Seriously, you guys, I appreciate the optimism and all, but do you even realize what we are up against here? On the way back to Junes I keep thinking about our situation, and I've kinda come to the conclusion that I might have overreacted slightly and that we must at least try to stop Izanami. Yes, it turned out that the entity behind Ameno-sagiri was something far more powerful than we expected, and we probably won't survive a straight fight against Izanami. We are strong, but probably not THAT strong. Still... if we don't do something, she will return one day and the town will be swallowed by the fog, with everyone turning into Shadows. That is something that must not happen, ever. I don't know if we can stop it (even with Personas, we are but mortals and Izanami is... well, a goddess), but we must try. No. We're not going to try anything. We'll just do it. We have been up against impossible odds before and come through every time, and we have to believe we will come through this time as well. I still don't think most of our team realizes just how strong Izanami is, but at least they're optimistic about the whole thing and that should inspire everyone to do their best. Naoto is a bit more cautious about the situation, but she agrees we need to put a stop to this. No, Chie, it was an ancient creation goddess disguised as a guy at the gas station. Haven't you been listening to a word I've said? Yosuke: "Does that mean she knew Seta and Dojima-san would stop by there on that day he came to Inaba? I guess it is the best place to greet people from out of town, but..."Maybe so. GAH! I've told you a hundred times already who she is! And it should be common knowledge to anyone who knows anything about Japanese mythology! Thanks, Naoto. Yes, Kanji, because everything we've done so far has been completely devoid of any supernatural elements. Should I remind you about the fact we all can summon various gods and demons via tarot cards? Yep, that was Izanagi all right. Adachi's version looked more evil than mine, but there was no mistaking that guy. Naoto: "A Persona is one's heart given form. The images of gods and mystical beings were created by humans, so if the Personas resemble them... There may be a connection there, since the enemy reigning over that world calls herself Izanami."By the way, why would Izanami give me and Adachi the power to summon Izanagi of all things? Didn't they become enemies when she ended up stuck in the underworld? Or was it just that I got the power and Izanagi decided to heed my call when I first used it? Nah, that can't be, 'cause why would Adachi have had his own Izanagi then? This is weird. That's true, we were. Back on Tatsumi Port Island, in fact. We had that special lecture by the, uh, eccentric teacher and he told us all about Izanami and Izanagi. I guess that's how I remember the story between them so well. From what Izanami said before, that doesn't sound too far-fetched. Chie: "But if she's trying to mess everything up, I can't let that happen. We gotta defeat her!"Yes, Kanji, we'll go in there in a minute and beat the hell out of the goddess who more or less created Japan in the first place. What could POSSIBLY go wrong? I mean, optimism is a good thing, but let's just remember who we are supposed to be fighting. I... ah, f*** this. Yeah. Let's defeat her. But first, let's talk about the Midnight Channel rumors for a moment. Basically, the only one who could have spread the rumor would be Izanami because Ameno-sagiri has never left the other world... nor have the Shadows except for Teddie. And yeah, now that I think of it, Izanami was ALWAYS there posing as the gas station attendant on rainy days, asking people stuff like "Have you heard about the Midnight Channel?" Naoto: "...that the images broadcast on the Midnight Channel could vary from viewer to viewer."Rise: "But whenever we talked about what we saw afterwards, there were never any inconsistencies!"Naoto believes that the main difference was the clarity of the image. Yosuke agrees and says he can think of a few times when that might have happened. Yosuke: "I thought because each of us had a strong attachment to the victims, we linked the TV image to them in our head. I bet we actually saw a clearer image on the TV than anyone else."I also recognized Nanako pretty quickly... not fast enough to prevent her kidnapping, though, but I guess in the end things worked out pretty well. At least until we realized that we have to fight Izanami today. Damn. Guy's got a point. All right... let's do this. We'll do our best. For better or worse, this will probably be the last time we enter the TV. I just hope we'll come back. Uh huh. Izanami is here, that much is obvious. I hope we can pinpoint her exact location quickly, we don't really have any time to waste. I still have a pretty bad feeling about this. Ameno-sagiri. It's not that hard, his name means "heavenly deity of fog." We can probably handle Ameno-sagiri if he decides to show up, it's Izanami I am worried about here. Chie: "You know, this might sound like a weird thing to say... but it was a lot of fun."
Naoto: "That's because we all strove together toward a common goal. There were many things we believed in without questioning them... The culprit's identity, their motives... There were many occasions where we nearly gave up."
Yukiko: "It may have been easier if we had chosen to look the other way... but we didn't."That's right. From day one, we wanted to find the truth. Now we've found it, I guess, and all that is left is to face the one behind everything. Of course, that IS the goddess of creation and she's going to be tougher than anything we have come across so far, but... ...when I see and hear everyone around me... ...I actually feel we just might be able to pull this thing off. This is for the future of mankind. That's cool as well, but I'd say the future of mankind takes top priority. Hey, he isn't that bad... at least most of the time. Oh brother. Right, I think we've spent enough time chatting around, it's time to see what Izanami is made of. I just hope that isn't the last thing we do. Here we go. This place looks... different. It's like... I can't quite describe how it feels, but it's kinda even more otherworldly than these areas inside the TV world usually are. Actually... I don't think this is the "TV world" any more. We are in Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, the world between heaven (Takamagahara) and hell (Yomi)... if that makes any sense whatsoever. And if I know anything about Japanese mythology, I can probably tell where we are going next. --- Next time: I thought the slope that lead to Yomi was a downward one!
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 7, 2010 10:35:44 GMT -5
Part 143: The Very Definitely Final Dungeon--- Rise: "But there's none of that here... Does this Izanami person not have a heart or something...?"She probably doesn't. What do you mean "who is she"? I've tried to tell you a hundred times who Izanami is (once more for good measure: She is a really powerful goddess, or at least used to be until she died and became a monster) and why exactly we should be careful, but looks like no one is listening to a word I am saying. Yeah... this is Yomotsu Hirasaka, all right. The path leading to the underworld. I didn't think it would look like this, though. This is the dungeon music for Yomotsu Hirasaka. If you watched the clip of the bad ending I posted a page or two ago, you'll notice that the same song plays during the credits for that ending.Because this is Yomotsu Hirasaka, there are of course lots of monsters roaming around. Fortunately, we are strong enough at this point that no regular old Shadow can really harm us in any way and Masakado can pretty much one-shot everything that isn't immune to physical attacks. I'm still not sure if that is enough for when we face Izanami, though. I get some more Persona cards I don't really need... but I suppose they might be useful in fusion later on. We're going to need the heaviest hitters Igor can make if we want to stand a chance. Why does this place seem familiar somehow? More Shadows. They're not gonna stop us. Especially when we've got the likes of Beelzebub doing our bidding. I must say... even though Izanami is extremely powerful, it's not like we don't have some ridiculously strong Personas of our own, and with these guys we might yet stand a chance. Looks like we can get to the next part of Yomotsu Hirasaka through that fog. Let's go. OMG TEH SATANWhat the hell is that? For once, I decided it would be a good time to take a chance with these Arcana cards. It pays off, big time. Double EXP coming up!Actually, I am more scared right now than I have ever been. I just try not to show it. Yes, that was Izanami. And of course we won't freak out. We'll just defeat the ancient creation goddess (who can probably kill us by looking at us) and go home, business as usual. It really feels like I've seen this scenery before. Couldn't these Shadows just f*** off and run away from us? They should know full well that they can't fight us. Yes. Yes, I have. The dream I had on my first night in Inaba... I was here. Only now, the fog is gone. I still think it was Ameno-sagiri who I briefly fought in that dream, though. Rise: "Anyways, no matter what kind of enemy we're facing, we have to fight!"And fight we shall. Hey, I think I remember this door as well. I wonder if Ameno-sagiri is back... ...oh. Just some really big minotaur. Bring it on. I hope Izanami didn't actually think this guy could stop us. The minotaur uses some fairly strong attacks, but he's been debilitated so we barely get a scratch on us. This is an ex-minotaur. If she wants to break our will, she needs to do better than that. Of course, I'm sure she will come up with something far more dangerous once we actually reach her. Oh, we're coming, all right. I still think we have a death wish, but it's not like we can turn back any more. Well, for one, she had the power to create Japan (and later kill 1,000 people a day) and who knows what else. Nothing to worry about, of course. I kinda feel sorry for these Shadows. When you knock them down, they desperately try to crawl towards you but can't do a thing because they don't seem to have any legs (they move around in these floating pots)Sometimes, physical attacks just aren't enough, and that means it's Beelzebub time. More Personas to be used for fusion in a moment. Me neither, to be honest. We must be out of our minds. All right, so I guess this means Izanami gave all three of us the power to summon Izanagi... it's just that Namatame never really awakened to that power and Adachi was so f***ed up in the head that his Izanagi became the way it was, all dark and bloody and creepy. If that is the case, maybe we have a fighting chance against her. Yes, Beelzebub can use ice attacks too. This guy finally learns his special attack. Consider this game broken. Hassou Tobi kills everything that isn't highly resistant to physical strikes. Everything. Don't let the "light damage" fool you.Those guys manage to survive the attack because they are strong against physical damage (and one manages to dodge the whole thing), but the one that isn't dies horribly. We do what we must because we can. Or something like that. Izanami's voice: "I learned that man gladly favors falsehood over truth. Thus, I sought to fulfill their desires by shrouding the world in fog..."We will. Hassou Tobi kicks ass. Right. What did she summon this time? This guy is the Sleeping Table. I hope he's not immune to physical attacks. Megidolaon, huh? I'd be scared if that actually had any chance to hurt us. Our strategy here is the usual. Debilitate, charge up, beat the crap out of Shadow. It's not pretty, but it works. Hey, he is using Mahamaon! That might be a problem if we didn't have a whole bunch of Homunculi that prevent Light and Dark magic from working by sacrificing themselves. Okay. Let's see how the Sleeping Table withstands a charged version of the Hassou Tobi. It doesn't. That's right. I don't think there's too much longer to go, we should be pretty close to Izanami's lair by now... Izanagi's voice: "What is best for mankind is to return the world to the void of its origin, where they need not shy away from the truth. All that exists will be thick fog and writhing shadows--a tranquility called peace, that will last forever. Everything has been wished for and chosen by mankind. I shall abide by their decision."I'm pretty sure no one wished for that. The general public might be stupid sometimes, but they're not complete idiots. I have a rough idea. That's the plan. Yeah. Didn't notice that before now? She seems to be looking forward to this. And what was that about the "good of mankind"? She doesn't actually believe mankind wants to be turned into shadows roaming around in the fog, does she? Even if mankind did in fact want that, I wouldn't give a crap about what they want. We are doing what is right. I think. I'm ready. These robots seem to be almost immune to everything except those magic gems that do a fixed amount of damage. Thus, in order to get rid of this guy, we'll drop a glacier on him. Looks like those minotaurs got demoted to regular Shadow status pretty soon. They're pretty resilient, but it's nothing Hassou Tobi won't take care of. One more Persona card. And we're here. Izanami appears to be waiting for us over there, but before we face her we need to prepare. That means I should take one last trip to the Velvet Room. Using the Persona cards we got along the way, I can fuse the angel with the coolest name ever. I probably should have tried to get him the ability to null Dark attacks, but oh well. He's still a total badass. ...Yeah. This guy (Helel doesn't sound familiar? Go ahead and google him. I'll be waiting.) ought to even the odds to our favor just a bit. I wish he'd put some pants on, though. (Also, pay no attention to some of the crappier skills he has such as Makajam and... well, Makajam, as that is replaced as soon as he levels up. He gains something like five levels with the bonus EXP and learns all kinds of cool stuff.)I don't really need Loki at all because he's not that strong compared to the rest of my roster (also known as "Team F***ing Broken"), but I guess I'll fuse him anyway because I can. Okay. This is finally it. Let's go. ---
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 7, 2010 12:37:56 GMT -5
Part 144: The Final Showdown--- With all due respect, Yosuke, I wouldn't talk too much trash to her. Naoto: "And lastly, you started a rumor about the Midnight Channel to raise its public awareness... Is this correct?"Izanami: "This 'Midnight Channel' you speak of... It is indeed a device to draw hearts into this world. But it was always your individual wills that would determine what appeared on it. Humans ache to expose their suppressed sides, while the prying eyes around them are curious to see them laid bare. The want to show, and the want to see... I created a 'window' that catered to both. That is all."Ah. Looks like we finally found out just how the Midnight Channel exactly works. Izanami and Ameno-sagiri weren't involved all that much, it was always the people whose thoughts determined who would appear. I think Ameno-sagiri said something to this effect when we faced him, but this confirms it. Rise: "And the rumors spreading, things going wrong... We're to blame for all that's happened?"Yukiko: "People's curiosity was at fault...?"We didn't want anything. Izanami: "But humans disregard this fact, and try to know more people than is possible. Only by comparing yourself to others can you define yourselves. Thus your ever-present anxiety... Your anxiety causes you to see only what you want to see, and believe only what you wish to believe..."I don't care if you are the goddess of creation, you're not going to tell me what to do or what my desire is. Naoto: "I must agree that the vast majority of people are exactly as you say."
Chie: "But we don't intend to live that way."Teddie: "That's right! No more butting into our business!"Yukiko: "We will continue to live in this world with everyone else. That's why..."Let's do it. Izanami proceeds to disappear into the fog that suddenly appears from out of nowhere. Let's be careful here, she can literally do anything. Great. Is this her true form? I wish I was as confident as Kanji and Yosuke. They're probably right, we've faced all kinds of foes and we weren't anywhere near as strong as we are now. Then again, our opponent this time is in a whole another league as well. But that's enough talk. For better or for worse, this ends now. Izanami's got a point. We just might be in over our heads here... but even then, we're going to fight her to the end. Right. Let's begin, shall we? Battle theme for Izanami.This is probably a good idea. At least it looks like we can hurt her. That's good. This isn't really anything we haven't seen before. I almost feel like she is holding back, but she said she would use all her strength to defeat us so she probably has something bad planned for us. Let's see how this works. As expected, she is really strong. We're not in much trouble as of now, though. That was the idea. She uses a charged Megidolaon spell, but we know that whenever an enemy charges up it's time to guard, so she barely makes a dent with that thing. All right. Check this out. That did some massive damage. Izanami seems to be getting angry with us. Uh huh. I'd say we've done pretty well so far. Okay... whoops. I probably should have given Yukiko a Magic Mirror or something, because now Izanami manages to hit us with her ice attacks twice in a row and THAT kinda hurts. Yukiko and Naoto get hurt pretty bad, but they manage to withstand the attack without getting knocked out so we're still able to do some damage. Well. This might be a problem. It looks like she should be done, but nothing happens. I guess I expected that much. What now? We manage to reflect Izanami's Maziodyne spell back at her, but it doesn't seem to hurt her either. She keeps hitting us with those magic spells, but at least we have Metatron to protect us... but how will we defeat something that is seemingly immortal? We can't withstand this assault forever. Crystal? Orb? Hey, wait a second... I have this thing with me. Let's see if it works as advertised. I hope so, because if it doesn't we will probably get killed pretty soon. Well. Looks like that did something, at least. Did we beat her? It definitely did SOMETHING. Wait... If the orb was supposed to unmask Izanami's true form, then... ...OH GOD. Honey, you got real ugly. ---
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 8, 2010 10:10:44 GMT -5
Part 145: Last Caress--- This song starts playing as soon as Izanami's true form is revealed. Yes, she has two different boss battle themes.--- Behold... Izanami-no-Okami, her true "great god" form in all its glory. I guess this is how Izanagi saw her in the underworld, can't blame him for running. I kinda feel like running myself, but I don't think we can do that even if we wanted to. Please don't hurt me. Eh, who am I kidding? She will, unless we somehow manage to defeat her first. That's right. We WILL defeat her. As usual, this begins with Debilitate. She also uses similar spells to bring down our defense. Fortunately, we have Trumpeter, Helel and Metatron with skills that remove the effects before she can follow up with whatever she's got planned, so it's not really a problem. This is the point in the game where you REALLY need the Dekunda skill on one your Personas, as well as Debilitate. If you don't have either, Izanami-no-Okami will f*** you up. Of course you can also use Purifying Water (Salt? I never remember which does which) instead of Dekunda, but you probably have like three of those at most... and normal buffs and debuffs will work to make her attacks do less damage and yours to work better, but Debilitate and Dekunda are your best options in this fight)Hmm. It seems she is again affected by our attacks, so maybe we can do this. Fury of Yasogami ("Fury of Eighty Gods") can do massive damage if Izanami-no-Okami hasn't been debuffed properly and the effects of her Debilitate spell haven't been dispelled. Here, we've done both, and so she doesn't really manage to hurt anyone at all.Looks like God's Hand still works. I think we're actually doing some damage here. Also, this time I didn't forget to give Yukiko that Magic Mirror. Izanami-no-Okami still uses those elemental attacks, and I really don't want her to be able to hit two of those in a row again. Light physical damage, indeed. (Izanami-no-Okami has 8,000 HP which is a lot especially since her endurance is so high, and Hassou Tobi is easily one of the best ways to bring that down)That sounds like she is about to get serious. This doesn't exactly bode well for us, but I'm pretty sure we'll be able to survive whatever attack she decides to hit us with. Yoshi-tsune repels all lightning spells back at the caster, and since this "Kuro Ikazuchi" ("Dark Thunder") is nothing but a glorified Maziodyne it's not too big of a problem for us. Of course, once it's reflected back at Izanami-no-Okami, we realize that thunder spells now HEAL her. Great. Of course, that's nothing a few well-placed attacks won't fix. Uhh... this is probably going to suck. This again? She doesn't even manage to hit any of us with it. Summons to Yomi would be an instant kill to a party member with a status ailment and Izanami has two turns, so getting hit with Galgalim Eyes at this point would really suck.I love how Hassou Tobi just hacks away at her health bar.She is almost done. We're nearly there... unless she comes up with something horrible again. Well, that only succeeded in getting us all soaked. I can't believe this. Is Izanami-no-Okami, the great goddess of creation actually going down in a straight fight with a bunch of mortals? It's certainly looking that way right now... We've got this, man. Here you can see just how much of a difference there is when you're using a normal attack instead of a charged-up one on a debuffed enemy. Sure, Hassou Tobi still hits for 240 damage, but it's nowhere near as powerful as it could be and thus couldn't finish Izanami-no-okami off yet.Shouldn't that be it? Oh crap. Don't tell me our attacks just became useless again! ...F***. She is looking directly at me. I guess this is it... ...huh? Naoto? Why did you...? NO. NO! Oh dear God no. And of course Izanami isn't finished even though the girl I loved was just dragged down to hell by a bunch of skeleton arms. She still seems to want me dead... ...Chie? No! Why? NO! GOD DAMN IT TO HELL! Yukiko totally loses it after what Izanami did to her best friend. She goes absolutely mental with her fire spells, but they have no effect on Izanami. ...No! Not again! Don't do it! NO. OH GOD. F*** YOU, IZANAMI. F*** YOU TO HELL. Go the f*** ahead and do your worst, you abomination. You just killed the three people who meant the most to me, do you think I even care what happens to me at this point? Maybe some day you'll realize that mankind doesn't really want the world to be swallowed by the fog or to turn into Shadows, and maybe then you'll realize what you've done. In short, F*** YOU. Well. This is it. I guess it was always impossible to defeat an immortal ancient goddess... maybe we should've just left her alone and gone on with our lives. Maybe... No. We fought to the end, we tried our best, it just wasn't enough. I'm going to die here, but I'm gonna die fighting. I just hope it wasn't all for nothing. ...What's taking you bony freaks so long? Is that the best you assholes can do? Come on! I'm still standing! At least try a little harder if you want to kill me! You guys are a total disgrace, even the kids at the daycare can tug me in all directions more effectively than you losers can drag me to hell! Heh... I'm channeling King Moron, of all things. That guy would be proud. Maybe I can high-five him if I run into him in hell. All right... Here it comes. Can't fight any longer. Once more for good measure... F*** you, Izanami. I hope you're happy. I hope you keep rotting away like the undead monstrosity you are... ......
|
|
Oak: Certified Jade Hater
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Edgier than Wayne Brady, Harder than Chinese Arithmetic, and Higher than the ratings for Blade: The Series
TOP ROPE CATCH A VIBE YEAH I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE
Posts: 15,391
|
Post by Oak: Certified Jade Hater on Aug 8, 2010 10:19:56 GMT -5
...............
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 8, 2010 12:52:41 GMT -5
Part 146: Brand New God
--- ...... We will fall... Rise, Yosuke and the others are probably dead by now as well. I couldn't do anything... Wait a second... whose voice is that? It's not Izanami any more... this one sounds different. And not only that, I think I hear someone else as well. And where am I, anyway? Is this where you go when you die? Someone... What? Margaret? What are you doing here? And what does it look like I'm doing? I'm dead, isn't that obvious? ...Oh. You should have said that before Izanami sent me to hell. Margaret: "The true nature of bonds... What bonds give to you... Here, listen closely..."Margaret disappears as quickly as she came. Or did I just imagine all that? Dojima? What...? Dojima: "You taught me what a family truly is. I had my hands full just with Nanako when you came rolling in. Haha, I wasn't sure what to do... But then again... I can get back up as many times as I need to with you two with me. However painful it gets, I'll just grit my teeth... I'll get up as many times as I have to for you two. A father can be pretty stupid that way, huh?"Get back up? I would get up... but what can I do? Dojima disappears into thin air just like Margaret did before him. Yosuke too? Am I going to have visions of everyone before I'm truly dead? Yosuke: "Everything inside me changed after I met you... I'm... glad we met. I wouldn't have made it this far if I hadn't done it alongside you..."I can... keep going? Yosuke disappears as well. Chie? Is she just a figment of my imagination? I guess she is, since I saw her get dragged down to the underworld with my own eyes. Oh god... I'm sorry for all this. If it wasn't for me, she would still be alive. And so would... ...Yukiko? Yuki-chan... I'm sorry for everything. I'll do what I can. I have to. Twelve... no, thirteen minutes. Why? I'll have to do something. But I still can't get up. ...Rise... everyone... what am I supposed to do? Naoto! I want to get up, I really do. But I can't move an inch. Yes... Get up. That's what I will do, no matter how much it takes or how long I have to lie here until I do it. ...Together. That's right. I'm not alone. I'm never alone. The fox is here too? Didn't expect that... but then again, it does like me and most of my friends have appeared, so I guess the fox would too. Even these two guys? But they're right... I'm not alone. Sorry about that. Bonds... that's right. I'm not ready to say farewell just yet. Sayoko: "Life... It's filled with so many things that are dirty, grotesque or painful. There's no way you can stand it alone... But no one is truly alone in the world. You know that, since you've protected those precious to you, right? C'mon, people are waiting for you..." Huh? Waiting? They're waiting for me? How? Where? Teddie? I get it now. I know what I have to do. I just need a little bit of strength to get up. No. I'm not. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not finished yet. ...Hm? I'm alive? I can move again. It'll take more than death to take me down. This is what all those true bonds were for. It's all clear now. I feel a tremendous surge of power... Huh? Izanagi! Where did he come from? It's like something's happening to him... ...whoa. I assume this is the true form of my Persona, powered by all the Social Links I've created. Here we go. Oh, hi there, Izanami-no-Okami. Looks like she is still there. I don't know how long I was out, but now I'm back and it's time to finish this fight once and for all. It's like Izanagi-no-Okami is telling me not to worry about anything Izanami does any more, for he will protect me. Uh... wow. Those demon hands just passed right through me. I still haven't forgiven what you did to my friends a moment ago. You killed them, remember? This is incredible. That attack should have killed me right then and there, but I just got right back up. And I will do it... ...as many times as I have to. Your ex-husband sends his regards. You know, this is really starting to annoy me. Impossible to grasp the truth, huh? .......GRASP THIS. ........ The sheer power of Izanagi's spell seems to knock even me out. When I come to, I look around me and see... ...that not only has Izanami been defeated, my friends are also alive and well. I don't know how that happened, and quite frankly it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that everyone is fine and Izanami is gone. Izanami-no-Okami: "Instead of the endless struggle, wouldn't it be easier to wrap oneself in lies and live in blissful ignorance...? Isn't that true peace for humans...?"
Kanji: "How many times do we have to tell you!? The hell with that shit!"
Chie: "Stop assuming you know us!"Now that I think of it... we did beat the ancient goddess of creation, the one that created Japan itself, and... I guess we saved the world again in the process. Sure, we needed the help of the other ancient god of creation, but everything counts, right? That'll take a while to sink in... Izanami doesn't sound angry in the slightest, it seems she is more proud of us than anything. I don't think she was really evil at any point, she actually thought she was doing what mankind wanted. Now that we managed to prove her wrong, she bears no grudge and wants us to live the way we choose. So, it appears she finally dies. But not before these final words to us. "Well done" indeed. And that is the end of the great goddess Izanami. Rise: "Thank goodness..."The brand new days are here. I still have no idea how everyone came back after being dragged down to hell, maybe something happened when Izanagi-no-Okami awakened and they managed to return more or less the same way I did. It's hard enough to believe right now that we even HAVE a tomorrow, but here we are. --- TO BE CONCLUDED
|
|
|
Post by shiranui on Aug 8, 2010 15:42:48 GMT -5
Part 147: True Ending--- This... hm. Looks like I somehow ended up back in the Velvet Room. Igor: "This will be the last time we summon you here."The card that was floating in front of me flies right into my hand. It appears to depict Izanagi-no-Okami. Margaret: "We will be arriving shortly."Igor: "Many a time along the way did the fog of lies prevent you from moving forth... Yet in every instance, you overcame the temptation of easy exits and false terminals. In forging bonds with those precious to you, you moved closer to the truth, one step at a time..."Not only that, those bonds helped me, for all intents and purposes, come back from the dead and defeat Izanami. Hey, I couldn't have done it without your help, man. The pleasure is all mine. I wonder where we're going... I suppose I'll find out in a moment. Thanks, Igor. The limousine finally stops, and Igor tells me to go see with my own eyes... I will. It's been a pleasure. Huh. Is this... Is this what the TV world was really like? I guess so. Looks like people didn't want a world filled with fog in the first place. It certainly is nice. Nostalgic, huh? Maybe this is where Teddie is originally from. (This is the first time I notice that Seta has a girl on each arm during this cutscene. The guy is a friggin' pimp, there's no way around it.)Just as I thought. Yeah... Izanami really was wrong about mankind's desires all along, wasn't she? This journey... I would say it was totally worth all the trouble we went through, especially this very moment. This is amazing. Isn't it? "The human heart has the strength to shine through the clouds of lies and uncertainty. You and your friends were able to prove that fact. And that will remain true until the end of time."Thanks, Izanagi. I wish we could stay in this world for a while longer, but the unfortunate fact is that every good thing has to come to an end, and it's getting late in our world. That means we need to head back home and... prepare for tomorrow. --- Tuesday, March 21Much too soon. I'm leaving this place much too soon. That's the only thing I can think of while I sit in Dojima's car on the way to Yasoinaba Station. When we get there, everyone's already waiting for me. Yeah... this is it. I'll be back before you know it. Oh brother. Besides, I'll be back soon enough. Kanji: "You gotta put on a good face for Senpai..."Dojima: "Building a case against Adachi is going pretty smoothly. After all, he's made a full confession to his crimes. There haven't been any more incidents since then. Inaba's back to its normal, peaceful self. And Nanako's better now too. I couldn't ask for anything more. Thanks for everything."When I came to Inaba a year ago, I didn't expect Dojima to warm up to me like this. Then again, I don't think any of us expected just what would happen during my time here. Teddie: "To make sure it never goes wrong again... I'm going to protect that world from now on. I can finally be proud and say... That world is where I belong."Sounds like a good idea. I don't think there's anything as major as Izanami and Ameno-sagiri to worry about any longer, but as long as the TV portals still work someone might use them for bad things. Haha. This sounds very familiar indeed. I'm glad some things will stay the same even when I've left this place. ;D Hey, that's the best idea I've heard today! Oh. Damn. Of course I will call you, why wouldn't I? The watch you gave me can't tell your location when it's out of range, anyway, so I need to keep in touch to know what you're up to. ;D Sounds awesome, count me in. That sounds awesome as well. Kanji: "Hey, what happened to going back to that world!?
Teddie: "That has nothing to do with this! It's entirely different!"These guys are great. That's true, I probably should... hm? Kou, Daisuke and Yumi are all here, looks like they came to say their goodbyes as well. I'm looking forward to it. Later, everyone. Now I gotta head to the platform or I'll miss the train. Gotcha. It'll be boring without you guys around, that's for sure. We'll meet again before you know it. Take care, man. Hope that handicraft class thing works out for you. Ah, of course it will. Later. You take care too, I hope you won't be too busy to visit Inaba when you go back to your showbiz career. Same here. Try not to piss off the girls too bad when I'm gone, I won't be here to save your ass from Chie's kung fu and Rise's left uppercut if you do. ;D Will do. You too, and take care of Little Sis. I'll be back in a couple of months, Nanako. See you then. Goodbye for now, guys, and thanks for everything. Yep. Until we meet again. (that's Rise's line, not Kanji's)Man... that was something. It's funny, they all know I won't be gone for long, but everyone is acting as if we're never going to see each other again. I guess that's the strength of the bonds we formed along the way. So... what should I do now? The streets are filled with senselessly cruel words. Never more, that voice was hushed and washed away....
It's time to say goodbye to this casual everyday life. Our irreplaceable day was lost somehow. This drizzling fog hides the sun and steals the light. I was lost, with nothing left to believe in, but...
(chorus) I won't forget, most of all, the days we all spent together. Never more; no matter how dark it gets, I know I'm not alone. I'll find it, the most precious thing I lost. Never more, it's as if I can hear your voice -- it's guiding me.
I used to believe, I'm sure, when I was young, but before I knew it I'd forgotten those most important words. I searched and sought all through this restless world, and at last I found them in the depths of my heart.
If I keep riding this train, I feel like we'll never meet again. Never more; amid the confusion, you called out to me, "hey!" I'll believe in your smile and the bonds between us. Never more, no matter how far, your heart will reach me.
For ever more, in a corner of your memory, I'll be there. I'll believe in you and start walking........ Teddie: "There are no barriers. Our hearts are one, right?"No matter what happens in the future, one thing is certain. I'm always going to cherish the memories of this one year with my friends. They can never be replaced. --- And so... 96 hours and 44 minutes (and several real-life months) later, this is finally the end. If you have been following this thing from the beginning without my commentary scaring you off, I salute you. Special thanks to everyone who has commented on the thread, and I'll see all of you around... perhaps when I start my next LP, whenever that is and whatever game I decide to pick.
|
|
Oak: Certified Jade Hater
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Edgier than Wayne Brady, Harder than Chinese Arithmetic, and Higher than the ratings for Blade: The Series
TOP ROPE CATCH A VIBE YEAH I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE
Posts: 15,391
|
Post by Oak: Certified Jade Hater on Aug 8, 2010 17:29:34 GMT -5
I gotta say... thanks man. You got me into Persona hardcore (I'm actually getting a PSP and P3P within the week), thanks in no small part to your commentary.
Looking forward to the next LP you do. I'd suggest Persona 3 to keep with the theme, but I'll be reading no matter what.
|
|