#apparently more summoners

[dotted-clouds]

Thinking about if AZ was in Pokemon Masters EX..

[tempestmothstorm]

Ok since Monika still has her admin powers in the side stories you think she could just discover them accidentally or use them without realizing

Anyways au where Monika and friends discover her admin powers but dont know about the wider context of what it means. So they just go around thinking Monika has magic and try practicing with a bunch of silly fun shenanigans because they figure it’s some chosen one bloodline stuff and not like. A product of their reality being a constricted digital science experiment.

This au will not end well

[literallybyronic]

>be me >finish DAI and need a break >remember i wanted to refresh/analyze my fav author's dialogue style since i had been having trouble formatting my own >pick a random novella i remember liking but haven't read for many years and almost entirely forget the story of >it's the most solavellan coded literature i've ever read in my fucking life right down to the antagonist/deuteragonist/love interest being a guy who wears a wolf cloak and turns into a wolf who made a terrible mistake in his past and the heroine losing part of her hand

thanks brain. thanks a lot.

it's available to borrow on internet archive if you would like to torture yourself enjoy a good little read from an amazing author. (it's the 2nd story, starts on p. 125)

[hisuian-history-makers]

What if the ancient ghosts rigged the Ghost King’s (initially Pariah’s, except they had to link it to his title for it to stick) summons to always have to be answered if the Ghost King was available? Not as if bound to the location, but bound to the summoning circle to listen to the summoner’s demands. The Ghost King has to at least hear the summoner out. Not accept, not dismiss—essentially he was forced to listen to the terms and conditions of a potential deal.

This was to buy them time in case someone managed to summon Pariah Dark while they were preparing to the Sarcophagus of FS.

…Too bad no one happened to mention this little tidbit to Phantom when he got the title through conquest. (Or as the heir) Since the Infinite Realms are infinite, he’s technically available to every dimension and universe.

Clockwork was gonna get soup’d after this!

[rindomness]

hello hi tell us about mementos and the security level

OH HELLO. Welcome to my personal hill to die on. This post is long. It's one of my out-loud rants in text form. Sorry in advance. There's a cut down there somewhere.

Thesis statement of whatever's about to come next is that Mementos fucks actually as a concept its execution was just horrible and also Yaldabaoth is a terrible final boss. OKAY LET'S GET INTO IT

First things first I really do think Mementos should have gotten a security level. The game plays "Mementos is the public's Palace" very straight, all the way to the end, insisting that Yaldabaoth is created by the public's desire for a status quo yadda yadda yadda. So like. Here's the screenshots actually

I didn't get the whole conversation mostly because I think I was streaming at the time and complaining out loud but like. He just straight-up says this? And then they do nothing with it???

Imagine this with me. Enter the imagisphere or whatever.

It's October. You've just defeated Okumura, and you just watched the mysterious black-masked figure you've been told cryptically about for a while now kill his Shadow. You watch Okumura have a mental shutdown live. It's horrific! It's worrying! What happened? What's going to happen to you? The Phan-Site meter starts dropping rapidly. You go to Mementos to prepare for the next Palace.

There's a security level.

NOT ONLY did this act make the public lose faith in you, but now you're enemy #1, and it's reflected in the collective unconscious. This Chekov's gun that they set up back in May goes off. You have to be much more careful in Mementos because if you aren't, you could get kicked out. The stakes are higher. Mementos, the public view of you, has changed. It's not just doors opening for you anymore.

THAT WOULD BE SO COOL. RIGHT? RIGHT??? BUT NO! No we don't get a security level until the depths, which contradicts itself, actually, because once you get to the depths, the whole POINT is that the public ISN'T reacting to you or your actions! Why the hell would they care that you're In There!

The obvious answer is that it's because the security level belongs to the Holy Grail/Yaldabaoth/the fuckass cup/whatever you personally call him. And okay, whatever, but the game goes out of its way to establish that the Grail isn't really a separate entity from "public desire," he IS "public desire," the status quo incarnate, so once again, I ask, why is this the only time you have a security level! (I know it's because this is the home-stretch to the final boss and mechanically it has to act like a proper Palace. I still think it's stupid.)

And now that I'm talking about the Grail. Hi. Hello. If you've talked to me on Discord you already know this but I fucking hate the Grail. I think it's stupid. I think it's thematically inconsistent. I think its only purpose is to be the "Let's fight God!" final boss. I truly believe that if I hadn't gotten into Persona 5 through Royal, I would not still be into Persona 5, because I would have gotten so frustrated with Yaldabaoth that I would have dropped the game. I regularly complain for half an hour straight about this thing in voice calls. One person once told me the only thing they knew about Persona 5 was that this cup sucked because I wouldn't shut up about it.

I've somehow managed to not do this on Tumblr but I can't really talk about Mementos without talking about it so I guess we're talking about the cup

Narratively: Yaldabaoth just sort of comes out of nowhere??? The whole game is building up to Shido. The whole game. And you do it! You defeat him! And then... there's this other thing??? Apparently??? I was genuinely really confused when I got to this part of the game the first time because I was going ok we beat the final boss complete with eight hundred phases! Hooray! And now there's this other fucker. Going back through the game there's some foreshadowing for him? But it's kind of all concentrated in the start of the game, around Madarame's Palace, when you're just getting used to Mementos, and then it all sorta just disappears.

YOU KNOW WHAT IS FORESHADOWED, THOUGH? MORGANA.

Imagine with me x2 because this is where I thought the game was taking us when it went "btw we need to tackle the depths now"

Morgana has no memories. Morgana knows there's something in the depths that explains who he is. Morgana assumes it's because he's human, and will become human again if he finds out what it is. The WHOLE POINT of exploring Mementos was for Morgana's memories! And then he starts getting these really unsettling dreams, right, where he's a Shadow, or has a Shadow, or whatever. And then you get to the depths.

What I thought was about to happen was that we were going to find out that Morgana was more or less what the Grail claims to be(a being created by the wishes of the masses) and that Mementos was going to be Morgana's Palace. "Oh but Morgana has a Persona-" Morgana's already a weird case I could easily see him having a Shadow or being a Shadow himself while also having a Persona. I'm ignoring Maruki because we're talking about vanilla and Maruki didn't exist yet.

I thought our final boss was going to be Mona's Shadow and that by defeating him(the part of Morgana(as a Shadow/Metaverse being/etc) representative of what they were trying to make Yaldabaoth: wanting to let the status quo handle everything, more or less, the desire to let the system do what it's designed to even if that thing is "crush everything in its path") we would reaffirm that change is possible as long as we all work together. Morgana getting to be this very physical symbol of rebellion and force of will and getting to go NO I want to try even if it hurts me.

What actually happened was... a lot more underwhelming.

What we got was, in a game where one of the primary themes is "rebellion against systemic injustice, you can't just get rid of the One Guy and fix Everything," a final boss who was... one guy who if you got rid of him you'd fix everything?

And I get it Atlus doesn't want to actually shake the boat that much but at the same time Yaldabaoth comes out of nowhere and says absolutely nothing of substance in a game that, over and over again, gets SO CLOSE to saying something really powerful and then sinking back into what's comfortable. It's the aesthetic of rebellion without the teeth of it.

Anyway now that I've complained for an essay's worth here's some positive stuff

I really do like Mementos. It gets a lot of shit for being repetitive and boring and like I sort of get that but on the other hand it is a JRPG. I'm not sure what you expected from the area that is, mechanically, "Here's where you go to grind." I don't see a problem with having this area. I think the special floor events manage to spice it up enough that it's not all that boring. I like Jose being there in Royal, I think he adds a lot, actually. The implications of everything Jose says are fascinating to me. The fact it's impacted by the weather! Like, as a world component, Mementos is so so cool actually guys. I know it's a Persona game so "world impacted by cognition" is sort of the bare minimum but it's really cool!!! The aesthetics fuck! The only layer I really don't like is.. fuck, I think it's Kaitul? Whichever one gets unlocked after Kaneshiro's Palace, I haven't gotten there in my current playthrough yet. It's just... too dark to see, all the time, imo. Mementos feels(except for... 90% sure it's Chemdah) very oppressive and spooky and I honestly think that's great. It's a depressing place to be! For a game about how corruption and systemic violence hurts everybody, it's really good!

In conclusion... don't ask me about Mementos unless you want an essay LMAO in seriousness I understand why Mementos gets shit but I think it should get less of it. And also that I could have fixed it(the cup. The cup is the big bad part of Mementos. Not the grinding you're going to get that with a JRPG no matter what you do you signed up for it when you launched the game.)

[randomnameless]

I think the example of the aqueduct in the Red Canyon alongside with how among Seiros's miracles was creating a canal through Enbarr that was vital to it's growth, couple that with how humanity flourished due to Sothis sharing technology with them, I think the game might be hinting that technology regressed under the rule of Nemesis and the Agarthans, the latter keeping their own tech away from those they deemed as base animals.

TBH I'm always a bit miffed by the "technology" talks, because while Agartha sure kept Sothis' more advanced tech and current Fodlan was supposed to be "age of discovery" developed, we still have magic, like, people can warp around...

Tech in general regressed post Sothis vs Agarthans war, but we don't know how advanced/far Enbarr was before the WoH - of course they didn't have elevators, but indeed, I suppose that, in general, after this war, Fodlan had to rebuild itself without Sothis giving tech bonuses anymore to accelerate the growth and development of humans - and here would come the sci-fi principle of "giving tech when people are mature enough" or something, so maybe the Nabateans wanted to let humans develop themselves first, and then would have helped later on?

I still find it fascinating that when Rhea was apparently "roaming around Fodlan clinging to her desire of revenge", instead of directing the Enbarrites to build thousands of mecha-golems, she... made a canal for them.

[girlvinland]

I know people are upset about ER DLC lore stuff, but tbh I am having the time of my life playing this right now.

[moonfurthetemmie]

Atrophy

Having a SIGNIFICANTLY better time! also i had to go scroll though my blog because I couldn't remember if I talked about Lucidity and his evil gay polycule here yet. I thought i did but i wasn't sure. and then they made me make and eat dinner

anyways perceive him again. look at him. ooo ahhh pretty man

No longer looks like a hobo. Probably helps that he's actively taking care of himself.

Uses Dream's signature weapon still

Actually quite likes himself, but also takes himself way too seriously sometimes

disrespect can result in anger or just a moment of utter confusion. what do you MEAN you don’t respect me?? (Nightshade is the only exception. but only because he knows Nightshade is doing it because he loves him)

Quite spiffy, I must say. Actually bothers to look presentable. Probably amenable to letting Nightshade pick out clothes for him, SOMETIMES. Not every day. Not every day Nightshade. put those away.

probably still wears stuff Nightshade got for him on a semi-regular basis, whether Nightshade says something or not

also since he doesn't absolutely despise the two that fused to become Him, he has no issues with looking like either of them. Some days he dresses more like on than the other.

Switches between Ani's charm and Obsidian's iconic necklace. Would wear both at once, but isn't sure how to do that without it looking weird.

Still kind of emotionally constipated. Nightshade’s gonna bully him (lovingly)

May or may not still have particular affection towards Jasper. If yes, I am fascinated by the implications. Also that probably means whatever is going on with Entropy and his version of Jasper is probably much deeper and possibly more concerning than it looks.

It's notably easier for him to come to a balance that lets him summon storms. he's totally normal about that. nightshade is also very normal about it.

some of the bits at the end i'm pretty sure hasn't been shared in the discord server yet. so. oopsies? there was another thing i was going to add to it, too, but i don't remember what it was now...oh well.

Atrophy is more affectionate than Shale, but has a harder time opening up than Lucidity. So he's like. moderately emotionally constipated

Also, Shale is very violent and rough, whereas Lucidity is generally more gently and chill. This makes for a very interesting combination when he’s doing stuff like, oh, spending time with Nightshade, trying to get Nightmare to stay in the manor with them…that sort of thing. Fighting’s more or less the only exception.

While he’s generally chill about the fusion thing, he still would like to un-fuse. But it’s more of a “Hm. Things were more fun when there were three of us.” Thing that absolutely despising both ‘halves’ of himself, and by extension his entire existence. Having said that, Lucidity and Shale would probably be amenable to fusing again; especially with how powerful they were

although the entire polycule is very curious if Lucidity and Nightshade could fuse

In regards to Nightmare, Atrophy is generally a lying bastard. Some of his promises he does somewhat intend on keeping. He promises to make sure no one will ever hurt him again, and that, if he can manage to unfuse, Nightmare and Lucidity can stay together prettty much forever. He promises that they’ll all make sure Nightmare never wants for anything again, never has to be on the run again, so on.

The thing is, Atrophy’s idea of hurting Nightmare, in this context, is only physical harm.

Mental/emotional harm by manipulation? Nahhh that’s not real (he knows it's real. But he’s pretending it isn’t, around Nightmare). Subtly/gently coercing Nightmare into doing something he doesn’t actually want to do? Well if he really didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t have said yes at all <33

He’s way too good at getting most of the desired reactions out of Nightmare, which is a combination of Shale being a manipulative little bastard and Lucidity having known Nightmare their whole lives. He would also let Nightshade gently push Nightmare into doing something

Fortunately (?) for Nightmare, part of the reason Atrophy’s trying to get Nightmare to say yes instead of just going ahead and doing things is because of how often Shale avoids doing certain things because Lucidity would be upset. Particularly in regards to Nightmare.

“Having some fun” with Lucidity’s childhood friend was never worth losing his boyfriend such a useful ally

Unfortunately, Shale’s influence is why Atrophy is pushing in the first place

Nightmare keeps freezing up instead of running when Atrophy tries to get him to stay at the manor. Cross and Error are slowly becoming Nightmare’s only reason for staying away; even if they’re not right there.

It still got steadily worse as Atrophy managed to get Nightmare alone more and more, but that also meant it was becoming increasingly clear to Nightmare that Atrophy did not like Cross and Error. At all. Like. Nightmare is genuinely afraid for their lives.

If he ever does start to cave, he’s going to make Atrophy do a few things for him before he comes to the manor.

Nightmare knows there’s several people in the manor who can’t leave, because Shale (and presently Atrophy) won’t let them. Nightmare needs to be able to leave when he wants, for whatever reason.

In no way can Atrophy be a reason why Cross and Error get hurt. He can’t hurt them himself, he can’t get someone else to do it, he can’t lure them into danger or danger to them, or anything else. Not intentionally, not as a ‘suggestion’, not a ‘ohhh nightmare said I can’t hurt Cross and Error. Be a shame if something still happened to them wink’. Nightmare tries to cover as many possible loopholes as he can, but he’s afraid he’s still missing some.

Atrophy has to prove to Nightmare that he can be trusted. which is going to be quite difficult. Especially since he’s hesitating to agree to Nightmare’s terms now that Nightmare told him to prove he can be trusted :3

Champ is SO confused for a while. who is this??? Why does he smell like Lucidity but also Shale but also not quite either??? What is going on where's his human*

Atrophy is just as affectionate with Champ as Lucidity was, which most of the rest of the manor is quietly snickering about. what was that about not liking the loud husky, Shale?

Also, since Atrophy's status as a fusion means that, technically, Lucidity and Shale do not exist while he is here, he kinda misses them. Which is a really weird feeling. He is them, but he also feels like some of the people he loves are Missing.

he expresses this to Nightshade, who bites his lip and goes "i wasn't going to say anything, but. same. it's a shame I can't have you and dream and obsidian at the same time." and then does an over-dramatic sigh

atrophy thinks this is very funny

*he's not human but y'all know that already

[shootihavetopickablognameuhhhhhh]

so strange how i can be flashed by man made horrors and the only thing i can do about it is block the tag ‘ai sexy’

[lem-argentum]

playing ff.xiv blind as a th.ancred fan from the beginning is so funny. “hmm i wonder where than is- WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE WAS POSSESSED BY ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL BEINGS IN THE UNIVERSE….....” “hmm i wonder what happened to than after he was teleported from the- HIS ABILITY TO INTERACT WITH THE NATURAL ENERGY OF THE WORLD WAS SEVERED AND HE HAD TO FEND FOR HIMSELF FOR MONTHS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE????” “yaay than gets to help us with planning our defenses :D- DID HE JUST DIEoh he’s not dead his soul was just RIPPED AWAY TO ANOTJEJR WORLD????!?!?” “ohh he gets to fight r.yne’s awful guardian figure i wonder what he’s gonna- DID HE JUST DIEoh he’s fine nevermind he gets to have resolved character development now :)” “aww okay we get to go to the end of the universe together, and he’s already gone through so much so clearly nothing bad will happen to hDID HE J

[tastycitrus]

made a bingo card for the remainder of the 10th anniversary story based on my baseless speculation

[aur-eliaa]

Stepped into UWU today since I'm going to be progging it starting next weekend with a group and it feels way faster than living liquid in TEA. The feather rains being a sound cue is fuckin me up.

[anthropologist-on-the-loose]

Farewell Sweet Crabs 👋 🦀

I summoned 35 🦀, captured 1 💰, befriended 0 🌼, and 0 fell in love with me 💜. I will miss you my sweet crabs.

[unrestrainedbalderdash]

GOOSE MIGRATION GOOSE MIGRATION

[cpt-bananaboat]

How in the absolute flying fuck did I do this-

[orcelito]

I take back... SOME of my negativity about fe:engage. Now that I'm out of prolog hell I have decided the fun eclipses the annoyances. For now.