Persona 2129 Quest #52

You are Takashi Wakui, a sixteen year old Japanese high school student. In your world, half of humanity possesses a Persona—the corporeal manifestation of one’s personality as a supernatural entity. You had been an unlucky ordinary at first, lacking the potential to summon your Persona. Then the application AETHER was forcibly installed on your smartphone. It sucked you into the nightmarish realm of the Blackened Void, where you fought monsters and awakened your Persona in the process.

You are now the Wild Card of the 22nd Century. You possess the Fool Arcana, giving you the power to draw strength from bonds and wield multiple Personas at once. Already this places you in great danger, as the Fool Arcana is seen as an impossibility by the common masses. Revealing your newfound power to the common world would immediately land your head on a dissection table. To make matters worse, you and several others have been cursed as the Void’s Chosen, fated to traverse the wastelands of the Blackened Void until the end of the game. For what purpose does AETHER exist, what mysteries lie within and how is victory achieved?

Previous Threads: suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Persona 2129 Quest
Twitter: twitter.com/TwilightThorn
Mechanics: pastebin.com/Eq9mum2X
Spell/Skill List: pastebin.com/5NYivMQd
Part One Recap: pastebin.com/i1VjfnyX

Character List: pastebin.com/96pubw7c
Persona List: pastebin.com/89XJN1wp
Takashi's Stats: pastebin.com/kCZWSBrD
Blackened Void Info: pastebin.com/wLBjhqgf

Other urls found in this thread:

strawpoll.me/10578928
pastebin.com/b85cUXY0
pastebin.com/pCcGKp5Q
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

So
I beat another guy in a duel
Unlike that whats-her-name this guy was actually cool
was it yoshii?
How the fuck do you know
it’s displayed on the official results, dummy. i fought that guy, too. and i agree with you, takashi-kun, yoshii is a good loser.
he was a bit more difficult for me to beat since his persona is fast but fire and light saved the day :)
Oh
I just switched to Koppa Tengu and Garula’ed him until he got knocked out
it wasn’t that easy, was it?
Well no
Dude was fast
His Persona nearly ripped my neck out
Huh that statement sounds kinda disturbing now that I think about it
My past self would’ve been shocked but now I don’t give a shit
you know, i’m really conflicted about you using your other personas. on one hand, it’s almost like cheating and i’m worried you’ll be discovered by someone.
on the other, it’s a natural part of you and i can’t blame you for using it to your fullest potential. i certainly wouldn’t handicap myself if i was born as a judgement user.
hmmm…i don’t know! i just don’t know, takashi-kun. when we have our double match, should i let you use them?
Oh yeah that doubles match
Celeste have I earned the right to fight alongside you
Even though we do that all the time
That you’re my best friend
And I literally saved your life

i was wondering when you would ask, takashi-kun! :)
doubles matches are harder to organize so it might take time before we get a match together
Why didn’t you ask me to fight with you from the very beginning if you wanted it so much
Why did you make me win a couple of duels at first
I’m seriously confused Celeste
actually takashi-kun, there’s i do have a good reason.
there’s this policy where partners of double matches have to be a bit close in strength.
i talked to some of the other girls and they told me it’s based on the amount of wins and losses a student has.
this is to prevent a-ranks from partnering up with new kids and bullying them or whatever.
there are exceptions of course. i think exemplary students can negotiate with the staff.
now that you have three wins, takashi-kun, one of which is against me that i won’t ever ever forget!!!
>:)
it makes it okay for you to partner up with me.
so rest easy and wait until i’ve got everything organized.
Aren’t you the busy one
:)
Why didn’t you just tell me this from the very start
At least that way I wouldn’t have been in the dark for the past couple of weeks
because this way it would be more dramatic, silly.
Goddammit Celeste

Doubles duel should be fun.

>it’s a natural part of you
But it isn't.

Wow, already? I thought it would take longer.

>>Almost a decade into the past…

…a young boy memories as empty as the city he would one day be condemned to traverse sits in his bedroom. There is quite the selection of entertainment goods scattered across his room—on shelves, in boxes and nestled in cupboards. His older sister, desperate to emulate the turning back of the clock, picks them up one by one and presents to him.

The results are less than positive.

“I don’t want it.”

“A-are you sure? You used to love playing with the action figures.”

You don’t say anything. You just stare into Shizuka. The message is clear. The present you would have clenched your chest in pain at the way your beloved older sister’s face fell from cautious hope to sullen acceptance. The past you is less than a blank slate and does not fully understand how much your family cares for you.

“I’ll put it back in the box. Maybe you can play with it later, okay Takashi?” She tries to give you a cheerful smile. It has as much effect on you as petrol does towards extinguishing a house fire.

“…”

“What about these blocks? We built castles with them, remember?”

“I don’t remember anything.” You say.

“Oh…nee-san’s sorry, Takashi.”

“I don’t care about the blocks. They’re boring.”

“O-okay. What about the board games?”

> Hellfire, Maragion
When did she get those skills?

“There’s nobody to play them with.”

“I can play with you!” Shizuka offers.

“You have school.”

“I can make time for you! Honest! Your nee-san is always ready for you.”

“I didn’t like them in the first place.”

“You used to.” Shizuka says gloomily, putting the cases back in their shelves. You turn to stare into her again. A flinch courses through her body.

“He’s dead.” You snap—no, state because there isn’t enough irritation inside of your heart for you to feel even mildly annoyed. Each word is like the descent of a lead weight into the sea. This time, Shizuka doesn’t reply. Without looking at you, she wordlessly picks up the toys and places them into a big box. The clouds outside have suddenly become a lot more grey and dreary.

“You don’t have to keep reminding me.” She says in a small voice after a while. “I know that.”

“Sorry.” You reply. The apology is one trained by your mother, functional and hollow. Your older sister accepts it all the same, likely because there is no other choice.

“Tou-san could play with you.” Shizuka mutters. “He’s not doing anything right now.”

“He’s sick.”

“He wants to spend time with you.”

“I’ll get sick. I don’t want to go near him.”

“He’s our father!”

“So?”

“Takashi…” Shizuka is on the verge on saying something, but instead shakes and lowers her head. “Never mind, I should talk to kaa-san about this…”

She rummages around in a cupboard and retrieves a stack of papers. They are old, creasing at the edges and covered in childish scribbes. Shizuka scans through them, then thrusts them at you.”

“Look, Takashi. It’s your old drawings you did in preschool with your classmates. Do you want them or…”

You flip through them. Like all drawings made by children, the color theory is awful. You aren’t old enough to comprehend that yet, so you just say they are too squiggly and ugly. You shake your head and Shizuka sighs.

Based candyfu

“Thought so.” She mutters.

You grab a sheet by the corners. “I can rip them up.”

“What? No!” Shizuka is quick to yank the papers away from you, hustling them into a neat little stack. She glares at you. “Kaa-san said these are our precious memories! We have to keep them!”

You shrug. “They’re useless.”

“You don’t understand Takashi, they’re not useless!” Shizuka says, hotly. “Kaa-san and tou-san would love to look over these. I think they’re good too! Like this picture of a castle, the stars in the sky or this one of a tree on a hill and…”

You listen, blank-eyed and empty-eared as Shizuka lists all the ‘wonderful’ benefits of keeping the pile of trash she found in your bedroom. Obviously, you would grow up and understand why she was so desperate and even a little angry at you for suggesting to throw the pictures away. For now though, her voice is drowned out by the rush of the city outside until it flattens into something you have no interest in caring about. Instead of listening to your sister like any normal boy would do, you pick up a book—one of the few things in the bedroom worth salvaging in your opinion—and tune her voice out.

The pictures are important, your sister says. You drew them with your own hands. Your emotions and feelings are contained with them. Some were helped by your friends, meaning they are evidence of the bond you and they share. The pictures are nothing more than flat surfaces with lines drawn on them in crayon, but they are nonetheless filled with life. Your life. They should be kept because your parents want to remember that you existed, that you were happy and that you loved the world you lived in. It’s around that point where Shizuka runs out of breath and takes a moment to compose herself.

Don’t destroy them, she continues. Everyone wants to see the boy named Takashi Wakui. They want to know him, come to understand him and learn to appreciate him. That’s why they must be kept, placed in an album and stored for the memories.

You take in her words with another blank look, keeping your mouth shut. Your older sister can repeat her lines a dozen times and you still wouldn’t understand. From your perspective, there is nothing in the pictures for you, not even the smallest grain of worth. How could there be? Those pictures aren’t yours.

They belong to the boy who sat in this room in the past, who was cheerful and energetic and knew the names of all the people in the class roll your mother showed you in the hospital.

He also no longer exists. He has been wiped away, erased, let loose like ashes scattered in the cold winter wind. To attempt to recover him is the very definition of futility. This is one situation where hard work will yield no reward. Your future self is laughing at the bitter irony of this memory. Can you hear him right now?

“You can have them if you want.” You say.

“Takashi, I think you should look over them—”

“No.”

“But…”

“No. Leave me alone.”

“Takashi!” Your older sister shouts, slamming her fist against a nearby table. “What’s with you? I’m just trying to make you—”

Any further conversation is prevented by the sound of your mother calling. It’s dinner time. Without giving the pictures or your sister a single glance, you get to your feet and limp out of your bedroom.

[7:30 pm, 8-Jun-2129 (WEDNESDAY)]

After visiting Aria, you made the innocuous decision to return home and cook dinner for yourself. You then strolled past a nice eatery street in the second district. It was if Dragon Eye had been casted, distorting time and allowing your thought processes to get four times as much shit done. Within a single second, in which eyes had been preoccupied with staring at the lit header sign of a closed coffee shop, your brain had scrolled through the following thoughts:

>I like bread.
>My cooking isn’t as good as nee-san’s.
>There isn’t anything good in the fridge.
>In all honesty there might be but this is a night in the middle of the week which means that all refrigerated food loses roughly seventy percent of all deliciousness.
>I have money. 149,000 macca, to be precise, which is roughly equivalent to one thousand and five hundred US dollars.
>The decision to change the name of Japan’s currency came out of nowhere and passed with a suspicious unanimity in the previous century. Everyone knows that. It was probably the government being retarded again, which happens all the time.
>Because I have money, I can buy food.
>I might be a lazy piece of shit who can’t be bothered cooking for himself.
>Fuck it let’s go.

Indeed, an impressive performance. As expected of the successor to the strongest entity who ever existed, whose INTELLIGENCE is half-way towards reaching Smart. Wow, the steak sandwich that had teetered on the borders of hamburger territory had tasted delicious. The fries and bottle of plastic-green lemonade it came with had been a nice touch as well.

As you ate, you wondered if this was the kind of foods Celeste ate back home and the state of her current finances. Below-average but reasonably comfortable, you brain decided. Also, is it possible for a man to consciously feel his waistline expanding by a couple of centimetres? In this day and age of revolutionary and baffling human augmentation, probably!

Training like mad.

Total cost: four thousand Macca, but it was from the food money Shizuka gave you so it’s all okay. Better not make a habit of this, though. While the meal itself, the bloated feeling in your gut in the aftermath made you feel mildly ashamed of yourself, as if you had just spilled tea in the presence of your mother and a few of her old friends. In musical terms, it would be like a piano player completing a stunning solo and then realizing he had broken a few of the keys in the process.

Still, your belly is full and that’s all that should matter. You are now standing in one of the elevators in the apartment block. It’s quiet in here. Most of the block’s occupants are either outside enjoying the nightlife or resting snug in their rooms. The only other occupant in the elevator is a maintenance worker in overalls; a grizzled middle-aged man who looks infuriated enough to boil bath water. Best not inquire, then. One wrong sentence and the man could snap like a frozen tendon.

You watch as he slouches out the door to his assigned floor. As the doors close, your phone rings. You pick it up.

“Hi, nee-san.”

“Hi, Takashi!” It’s always nice to know that your older sister is doing well. It’s hard to imagine a situation where she wouldn’t be, but a quick reassurance is always appreciated. “How’s things over there?”

“Same as usual, really.” You reply. “Studying, hanging out with my friends, training my body. I fought through another duel today. It was against a classmate of mine and I won. It was fun, too.”

“Nice one, little bro!” Your older sister’s relaxed, casual but comforting smile is somehow tangible through the sound waves. At the same time, your floor arrives and you step out the door. “What strategies did you use? Did you just hit your opponent until he was knocked out? Because if you did, then that’s another similarity you have with your cool older sister!”

“Ehh…sort of.” You say. “What about you? How’s the training going?”

“Good, good! I’m having lots of fun here. Training the rookies is draining, but really rewarding. VR training is about to start soon, so our squad is going to get a bit of a breather.” Your sister pauses. “By the way, Daisuke says if you want to pick up girls he can arrange something. Don’t ask me how.”

“Tell him no.” You sigh.

“I think I remember Tsugumi telling him to piss off and stop being a chauvinistic pig. To be fair, we were all in the bar.”

“Were you guys drinking? I thought they didn’t let you guys get heavily wasted.”

“We only had a little, not to the point where kaa-san would yell at me. You know how Daisuke can get with his jokes and alcohol, though.” Shizuka replies. “Speaking of kaa-san, I have good news!”

“What?”

“Her work overseas is almost done. She sent me a video call earlier today. She says she can come back home soon!”

“Oh.” You say, as you fiddle with the control panel outside your front door. “Yeah, that’s great. What date?”

“She isn’t sure, but she says it’s around the time I’ll get home. She even said she’s going to try and stay in Japan this time. Isn’t that awesome?” An excited shriek bursts through the speakers like the explosion from an electromagnetic grenade. You hold the phone away from you and wince.

“We’ll have our first dinner together in months! It’s practically a special occasion for the three of us. Ooh Takashi, you should invite over all your friends, too! I’ve been wanting to meet them for some time and kaa-san would definitely be pleased as well.”

“Uhh…that might not work, nee-san.”

“Why not? Is one of your friends shy?”

Yes, you think to yourself. Also, another one is as sociable as rusting junkyard. The rest are fine. The first may be overly obsessed with dessert, though.

“Well then, just invite as many friends as possible.”

“Yeah…”

“Takashi, is something wrong?”

You blink. “What? Nah, nothing’s wrong. I’m just thinking about what I’m going to do tonight. Inviting all my friends over is definitely a cool idea. I’ll ask them about it. For the record, Akikazu is going to say no, but he’ll end up at our front door anyway.”

Shizuka giggles. “He sounds kind.”

“If I said that to his face I’m almost certain he’d deck me.” You say. A thought then occurs, like a passing storm in a busy town. “Hey, kaa-san called you, right? How come she didn’t bother to call me?”

“She didn’t want to interfere with your schoolwork, I guess.” Shizuka replies, “There are pretty heavy penalties for having your phone ring in class over at Akumachi-Kirijo, aren’t there? Kaa-san would know.”

“That makes sense…” You mumble. “Still, she could have called me now or something.”

“Actually, shortly before hanging up she said she wanted to go to sleep soon. I guess that’s what happened. Sorry Takashi, you know how busy she gets. I’ll send her a text and see if I can talk some sense into her.”

“Assuming she’ll take the time to reply…” You grumble.

“What was that, Takashi?”

“Nothing, nee-san.” You reply, gulping and scrambling to find a topic to continue the conversation. Your mind flails in random directions, eventually latching onto something from earlier. “It’s just that it’s been a while since I heard from kaa-san. I’m wondering what I should say to her when she gets back.”

“Huh? Why are you thinking about that?” Shizuka asks, sounding confused. “It shouldn’t be too hard. I know she’s been away for a really long time, but she’s our mother and she cares for both of us. She’ll listen to anything we say. So, just say what comes naturally to you.”

Since the END of our main persona is what decides our HP we should focus on increasing it for now. We can use auxiliaries for damage.

A brief intermission of silence. Something feels cold and heavy in your palms.

“Takashi?”

“…sorry nee-san, I just got distracted by something in the fridge. Yeah, that’s good advice. Definitely gonna listen to it. Thanks.” You answer, staring at a bottle of soft drink in your hands. “Gotta go though. I’m a busy guy. Got a lot of stuff on my plate.”

“Hmm…okay then. There’s something up over at my end, so I’ll leave you to it. Make sure you’re eating and sleeping properly, alright? Don’t buy too much junk food or candy from the supermarkets either.”

“I’m not a little baby, nee-san, geez.” You roll your eyes and smile. “See you later.”

“Bye, Takashi!”

You hang up and place your phone back in your pocket. You stand on the stop for the moment, ruminating over the last tidbits of the conversation. Then your priorities snap their fingers and drag your attention kicking and screaming to reality. You shake your head and drag your schoolbag to your room, where the contents will be unpacked on your desk. There is work to be done tonight. The gentle buzz of anticipation is flowing through your bones.

But what will said work be?

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)
>Search for Kozue Yusa (Death S-Link)
Visit Aria in the hospital (Devil S-Link, boosts random social stats)
>Head to Gaea Stadium to duel (Gain C. EXP, increases WILLPOWER and reputation around school)
>Call all available team members to the Blackened Void (Exploration)
>Study in your room (Increases INTELLIGENCE)
>Go to the gym (Trains self, increases WILLPOWER)
>Try and cook something (Increases UNDERSTANDING)
>Read ‘How to Think Big’ (Increases CHARISMA and/or UNDERSTANDING)
>Wander around the city (Random encounter)
>Go to bed early.
>Custom option.

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)

>>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)
We should do this tonight and Forlon Abyss tomorrow. Kozue Yusa on sunday

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)
Meet up with best girl.

>“Her work overseas is almost done. She sent me a video call earlier today. She says she can come back home soon!”
EMPRESS S.LINK HYPE

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)

We really should hit the gym one day to learn some new moves, since TT hasn't let us get any moves from arena or Martial arts club. Gotta use that S -rank dev.

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)

The next part of my writefaggotry isn't totally finished, but I have a nice chunk to share tonight, which I will post after having dinner. And then I will go into a hot spring with my beloved senpai, which I expect to be steamy and delightful.

Also, out of curiosity: strawpoll.me/10578928

>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)

>no option for both being wrong

Can we get a "I don't care, I'm too busy laughing at them" option?

I bet mom has some pretty good skills to teach us.

>>Meet up with Fumika (Hermit S-Link)
This'll be fun

I hope you all enjoyed those big chunks of text. Writing now...

We did. Hey Thorn would the gym be the best way to get more skills?

I did, yes. Damn, Apathy Syndrom Takashi was horrifying. Seriously, being around him would have been extremely disturbing. Shizuka must have been so relieved when he started acting like a person again, let alone like her loving little brother.

It's always great/saddening to see little post-Apathy Syndrome Takashi.

I want to know more.

>Blitzkrieg: Boosts physical, gun, fire, elec and nuclear attacks.
We should learn shit asap

Hit the Gym then.

There are a lot of skills we need to learn. But we have so little time to grind the skills needed to use them in.

>Meet up with Fumika (Possible Sociopath S-Link)

Death girl will get reversed if we don't visit her.

True. Tomorrow afternoon, then. Is that acceptable to everyone?

because it was Kozue who was very much surlier than even usual in last session rite

oh wait

Where do you get that conclusion from? we've been busy and she's been a little girl wandering the city, not easiest person to deal with and she has little to no expectation to find us all the time.

>Implying
Things don't get reversed like that.

Not that user, but last time we visited her she was grumpy that we didn't visit her more often. So in theory if we stay away long enough she'll get really mad at Takashi and reverse the Social Link. Though I do think it's not an urgent problem, we probably have some time, still.

I think that is fine.

She did get angry at us for not seeing her last time we visited her, which was before Chikashi became an abomination. Granted it was defused by buying her candy, but we shouldn't completely ignore her. Reversing is bit hyperbolic though.

>REVERSED: The Social Link no longer represents a bond of friendship and love, but rather one of enmity and hatred. A Social Link will gain this status if Takashi heavily offends the people involved .Examples include refusing to spend time with the people holding the Link
>Examples include refusing to spend time with the people holding the Link

“I wonder what is up to…” You check her name in the AETHER app and find, to your massive relief, that she has unblocked you. The little green dot next to her name tells you that she is currently online. You press on her name and open up the chat window.

Hey Fumika
Where are you right now
In the safehouse. Is there something you need?
Several things actually
I’m coming over

After posting that last comment, you put on your jacket and head downstairs to enter the Blackened Void. A few minutes later and you are standing in the streets of the Forgotten City. The combination of a soot-colored sky and omnipresent filthy air greets you like an old friend. An old friend who just recently emerged from the bowels of a septic tank and is reminding you that the gun store happens to sell gas masks. Okay, maybe that’s a little too extreme. One of the perks that Persona users tend to get is a stronger pair of lungs. But even the most advanced repository system in the world can’t mitigate the feeling that you’ve just shoved your nose into an unkindled bonfire.

Shadows flicker and dance on the concrete ground surrounding the safehouse bonfire. Chikashi Yone sits next to it, head drooped, arms, legs and neck bound by thick chains. His school uniform is caked in the dust, to the point where the previous aquamarine has been almost entirely replaced by a coat of grey. His hair is another story altogether, one that could fit in a horror magazine for the vain. His face is shrunken and pale. He is the very image of poor health. Yet he continues to sleep like a child, resting amidst a world utterly segregated from his home.

You tap him on the shoulder. No response. Looks like he’ll be stuck like this for a while longer.

“Sorry, man…”

Fumika isn’t around. She must be in the safehouse then. Your prediction is correct. You find her in the kitchen, sitting on one of the worn plastic chairs with a cup of steaming coffee next to her. Her laptop isn’t in front of her. She doesn’t turn to look at you, instead shifting one of her eyes in your direction.

“Takashi.” She speaks.

“Hi, Fumika.” You pull up a chair and sit next to her. “What are you doing?”

“Working.” She replies. “What is your purpose here?”

You shrug your shoulders. “I just wanted to see what you’ve been up to.”

“Again, mostly work.” Her fingers skitter against the keyboard, occasionally stopping to click her mouse. You stare at her for a couple of seconds before groaning.

“You could at least elaborate on it a little.” You grumble.

“I see no reason why I should.” Fumika says. “I have no time for idle chatter.”

“Chatting to people isn’t a waste of time.”

“Chatting to people isn’t a waste of time.”

“My experience says otherwise.”

“And mine backs up my previous statement.”

“Ah, I see what this is about.” Now she’s looking at you. A trace of disdain is shining out from the calm and composed mask of hers. “You wish to advance our ‘friendship’. You want to back up that speech you made towards me.”

She shakes her head. “Need I remind you I do not believe in the usefulness of such concepts? Furthermore, I have quite a number of projects to complete. I am afraid I am a very busy woman right now, Takashi. I have little patience for this triviality of yours.”

God damn, it’s like talking to a brick wall. No wait, scratch that. The door of a nuclear shelter, constructed from steel and guarded with laser turrets. Every word out of your mouth bounces off the wall and is vaporised into a pile of ash. You wonder if slamming Fumika’s laptop lid down would get her to talk to you. Nah, knowing her she’d take it as a mercenary offense or something and shoot you in the chest. Besides, you’d like to be the better person here.

>“Fine. This is an order from your leader.”
>“I know you secretly enjoy talking to me.”
>“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.”
>“I’m just going to sit here and pester you until you agree.”
>Slam the laptop lid down anyway.
>Custom option.

>“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.”
Writefag thing almost done.

>>“Fine. This is an order from your leader.”
Sometimes you have to do it the hard way.

>>“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.”
>"If you want to make this a test of wills, You will lose."

>“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.”

>>"If you want to make this a test of wills, You will lose."
She has more willpower.

>>“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.”

She has more int pretty sure we're tied on willpower.

>Custom option.
"Fine, no small talk, then. Let's get down to business. I want to hit the next level of the Abyss over the weekend, get some answers from the Observer about the Abominations so we can make a definitive decision on what to do with Chikashi. So, is there any specific data you want?"

>“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.”
>“I’m just going to sit here and pester you until you agree.”

>Custom option.
"This will strengthen my Hermit Personas, which will make us overall more effective in our expeditions. Weigh the utility of these projects compared to me being more capable the next time we go fight for our lives."

>>Custom option.
Can we bond by shitposting on /pol/ or /v/ or something?

TWEET TWEET

pastebin.com/b85cUXY0

>>“I’m just going to sit here and pester you until you agree.”
"And yes, I am EXACTLY that petty."

I can't believe this took this long.

pastebin.com/pCcGKp5Q

Is the UK part of the EU in this timeline?
Is Scotland and Northern Ireland part of the UK?

So is Yomotsu Shikome the dreaded customer's actual name, or a nickname the staff refer to her by? Because if it's real, it's a bit on the nose.

>opening with that Nietzsche quote
fuckin hack
bretty gud

Nickname. In my mind, the servers at the cafe use them to refer to regular customers, like how the guy from the first part was called "Mister Hairspray". Takashi's was Mister Ahoge.

Bahaha, Shoto is magnificent.

Pretty good, man. It gets gloosed over since we're several generations past it and rebuilt well, but this is technically a post-apocalyptic setting. The initial Shadow attacks would have been terrifying.

I wonder how the previous Persona protagonists felt about it? I mean, SEES and the Investigation Team (and presumably the Phantom Thieves of Hearts) went through all that trouble to keep the world from being overrun by Shadows and yet it happened anyways. Could be fun to do a bit on their responses.

He's a fifty year old man stuck in a twelve year old, synthetic body. Plus, asshole characters are lots of fun to write, because they just don't give two shits.

“If I get a better understanding of you it’ll help in missions.” You say.

“I believe you already have an acceptable understanding of me.” Fumika states.

“No, I don’t.”

“You do.” She says. “You know of my prowess as a Spotter, my combat potential and my history as a professional hacker. That is enough for my tastes.”

“Well, it isn’t for mine, Fumika.” You say, angrily. “I want to know more.”

“More of what, then?”

“You past. What your family is like. How you became a hacker in the first place. That kind of stuff. You know, like the conversations normal people have.”

“The two of us are anything but.”

“That's not an excuse. Jesus, I want to get to know you better. Is that too much to ask?”

"It may be."

You sigh. “Look Fumika, I’m pretty determined right now. If you don’t want to talk now, fine. But I’m going to sit here and pester you until you agree.”

Fumika stares into her laptop screen. The clicking and whirring of the cogs in her head, intricate and efficient, is almost audible in the silent kitchen. Outside the safehouse, a cold wind howls. After what seems like an hour but is actually a few minutes, Fumika closes her eyes, reopens them and locks a gaze onto you like the targeting system of a remote-controlled combat droid.

“You have twenty minutes.” You says.

“Make that forty.”

“Twenty-five.”

“Half an hour.”

Her lip twitches. “If it will get you to leave after this, very well then.”

Now that a series of insufferable negotiations have concluded, what would you like to talk to Fumika about?

>Her family.
>Her past as a mercenary.
>Her hobbies and interests.
>Her relationships with the rest of the team.
>The average daily school life.
>Custom option.

>Her hobbies and interests.
>Her relationships with the rest of the team.

>Custom option.
Leave or Remain?

>>Her family.

>>Her family.
>Her hobbies and interests

Yellingbird! HANDS ABOVE THE TABLE

Her hobbies.

>Her family.
>Her past as a mercenary.
In return offer to answer any questions about our family.

my sides are in orbit right now

Shit, this is a pretty interesting and compelling interpretation of the setting's backstory. Many people did die in the first Shadow outbreak and I believe you captured the tension and trauma that happened there quite well.

And yeah, China allying with North Korea is totally something they would do.

I think Zimbabwe may no longer exist in the present day.

>previous Persona protagonists

uh...

>>Her family.
>Her hobbies and interests.
I mean she must like something besides using her computer.

>>Her hobbies and interests.

>uh...
I don't know why you're reticent about this information, Thorn. The Velvet Room squatters have told us that previous generations of Persona users and their fates have absolutely no relevance to our own story. And surely they wouldn't lie to us.

>opening with an edgy quote
0/10 I'm dropping your quests.

>uh...
Yessssssssssssssss? Something you'd like to share?

>>Her family.

At the time of the draft (a week ago), yes, it was. Who knows? Maybe they come back crawling to the EU in this timeline like a petulant, runaway child come back to the family.

Thanx fampai. Yours had me grinning like an idiot at the dinner table.

At least four generations, to be exact. That's a lot of time for the scarred land to heal, for people to move on. Sure there's videos, but there's no one currently alive that knows the sheer terror of living through those times. Maybe a few folks given advances in biomedical technology.

>Previous Persona protagonists
Can't say much about the protagonists or the Phantom Thieves, but I think that this would affect SEES and the IT would be hit the hardest since they fought against the Shadows.

SEES would think that the Great Seal is broken, and Mitsuru is the owner of one of two corporations that has the technology to fight back against the shadows. Thing is, can she trust the world with her technology? And the P2 group thinks that this is Nyarly gearing up for Round 2. Assuming that they're still alive. Shit, Maya would be...64 at the time of WWIII.

Thanks. That's kind of what I was going for. The real-life consequences of almost everyone having Personas are pretty terrifying if you stop to think about it. Not to mention the fact that to the unawakened, Shadows are pretty much unstoppable engines of destruction.

Current writefag projects for P2129 are gonna be focused around WWIII and the War against the Shadows. Hope you like them.

>>Takashi and Fumika: Converse.

“Alright Fumika, tell me about your hobbies.”

“As in what I prefer to do in my spare time? I have little of it. I do not believe it’s worth talking about. This is one of the reasons why I do not prefer to chat with my comrades on missions.”

This time, you slam your palm into your forehead. “Fucking…what are your interests? There must be something you like to do when you’re not decking or whatever.”

“If I had to be technical, programming and decking is my main hobby. It is how I began walking the path to becoming a mercenary.”

“Okay, how the hell did that happen?”

Fumika gives you a look. It is a look that questions your intelligence. It is the gaze a servant receives when he has asked the portly king whether or not his majesty would like another platter of beef. “I searched on the Internet for the necessary resources, then began self-study. There were very few institutions that could accept a child of eight years of age.”

“Eight years old? Christ, that’s early.” Around that age, you had been attending primary school and learning how to perform basic arithmetic. “How did you do it?”

“By reading and practising. How else, Takashi?” Fumika replies, her words coated in a neat layer of sarcasm.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” You grunt. “How smart were you back then?”

“Intelligent enough to be shunned by my peers in school.”

“That sucks. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“I preferred it. It meant they would give me the space I desired.”

You consider debating this further, then shrug your shoulders and give up. Time is ticking. Fumika certainly knows. She has just looked at the clock on her computer monitor. “Any other questions?”

“You can’t have programming as your main hobby, Fumika. You gotta have something else you enjoy.”

“I suppose I have a preference for black coffee.” Upon saying that, she picks up the steaming mug and takes another sip. The urge to gag is rising.

“How can you enjoy that crap? It’s bitter as hell.”

“Which is exactly why I find it refreshing.” Fumika replies. “You are going to ask me about other foodstuffs I enjoy, correct? In no particular order: sushi, chicken and instant noodles.”

You sigh. “You didn’t have to phrase it like that.”

“You wanted answers and I delivered them. I do not believe you have any room to complain.”

Yes Fumika, you want to say, you do have room to complain. In fact, you might have an entire mansion with several basements to complain. This girl is almost as bad as you back in your childhood days. If it weren’t for the smidgens of personality that leaked out from her rigid words like gushes of foul liquid from a malfunctioning containment vat, you’d be inclined to believe she was a resident of the nearest hospital’s psychological ward.

You scratch your head and groan inside. It reverberates through your head in the same fashion an echo would in a damp cave.

“Fine, next question. How’s your family, Fumika?”

She thinks for a moment. “Dysfunctional.”

“That…isn’t the answer I was expecting. Actually, I don’t why I expected anything normal in the first place!”

She nods. “You’re learning.”

“Learning what? Never mind. Fumika, what you just said doesn’t match up with I heard from you.”

“And what would that be, exactly?”

Takashi is getting smarter. Smarter than me, at least, I can't pick up on what he noticed.

“I remember you telling me that your parents wanted you to talk to others because it would help you grow or something. You said it when I skipped school to observe on Chikashi.”

“Yes, I did say that my parents wanted me to communicate with others. However, they did not have the altruistic motives that you are thinking of.”

You swallow. This doesn’t sound fun at all. “What do you mean?”

Fumika raises a finger to her lips. Her eyes glimmer with a strange, satisfied malice. Her small smile she gives, the first she has displayed in the conversation so far, matches. “This may be a good opportunity to elaborate my stance on the matter. Perhaps once you listen, you will realize the folly of your actions.” She muses.

“Pardon?”

“If I had to imitate a highly emotional, foolish and useless teenage girl around my age, I would say that my parents never loved me. Unlike the majority of adolescents who give that statement, I mean it in every sense of the world that is accurate, true and literal.”

You gape at her. “What?” You say, weakly.

>I wonder how the previous Persona protagonists felt about it?
If you were a member of SEES/Investigation Team/Shadow Theves and knew about the other groups you could easily come to the conclusion that the threat of shadow apocalypse happens on a semi-regular basis and that Kaede Kurusu failed to prevent it.

“My parents have never showed any form of human affection for me. Quite fitting, since they never had any for each other in the first place. Their union was one of convenience, married out of the desire to use each other for the sake of their own financial gain.” Fumika says. “I happen to agree with them, by the way. There are little things that material wealth cannot buy, and in my experience they happen to be inconsequential in the long run.”

“So, what, your parents never gave a shit about what you did?” You say, clenching your fists. “At all?”

“In all honesty, I believe they saw my existence as a burden at first. It soon changed when they realized they could use me to gain approval and recognition among my peers. They even forced me to eat meals with them, as if pretending we were a regular Japanese family. That is why they asked me to communicate with the other students in the academy. They wanted to demonstrate to their colleagues that their daughter was a ‘nice girl’. They were rather insistent, so I attempted it once to silence them.”

She takes another sip of the coffee. “The arrangement my family had was beneficial to me as well. Out of carelessness, they would drop snippets of information that would eventually prove useful to my work. Their apathy towards me let me pursue my career as a mercenary uninterrupted. Our status as an upper-class family provided me with the perfect cover for my activities. You could say that from a materialistic standpoint my parents have served their purpose rather adequately.”

>“What the hell, that’s horrible!”
>“Is that why you don’t care about others?”
>“I think I'm beginning to understand you know, but not in a good way.”
>"What your parents did is wrong."
>Remain silent and let her continue.
>Custom option.

>>Remain silent and let her continue.

>Remain silent and let her continue.
She isn't indicating that she's done. I say let her keep on going.

>Custom option.
"No, they completely failed. They've left you unable to interact with the social construct, in the long run that will be harmful to your success."

>Remain silent and let her continue.

>Remain silent and let her continue.

>>Remain silent and let her continue.

>Remain silent and let her continue.

>Remain silent and let her continue

>>Remain silent and let her continue.
Doesn't seem like she is done talking.