#garula

[saibagals]

[icydesire-blog]

《 Whale Garula 》 Water ink on paper by : :

《 鯤· 鵬 》 水墨 淡彩 - by : :

庄子/逍遥游

北冥有鱼，其名为鲲���鲲之大，不知其几千里也。化而为鸟，其名为鹏。鹏之背，不知其几千里也；怒而飞，其翼若垂天之云。是鸟也，海运则将徙于南冥。南冥者，天池也。

[moonlight-at-dawn]

"You dumb moping Garula"

See, Gladio, this is why i let you die and stay dead

[telomeke]

THE SIGN – CULTURAL REFERENCES, MYTHOLOGY AND META

‌

This post comes on the heels of the one by @respectthepetty about mythology and meta of The Sign, linked here. 😍👍 If you've not read it yet, I recommend you do before watching any more of this series, because it will help things make more sense (especially if you're not familiar with some of the cultural references thrumming in the background).

Anyway, I'd previously done some research on the legend(s) of the Garuda and the Naga in Southeast Asia, and so I'm writing this post to share what I've found because it does have relevance to at least some of what we're seeing onscreen in The Sign, and elaborates on @respectthepetty's post.

‌

The Garuda and the Naga are mythical beings with origins in Indian mythology that have been transposed into cultures across Southeast Asia.

In Hinduism, Garuda is a single deity, depicted in either full-bird form or part-bird and part-human, and is the king of birds and also a divine sun-bird (with physical attributes similar to an eagle's). His elder brother, Aruna, is the chariot driver for Surya the sun-god, while Garuda himself is the mount of Vishnu.

In Buddhist mythology, the garudas (sometimes also spelt garulas) are a society and race of gigantic predatory birds, sometimes also depicted as part-human in form. The garudas are intelligent, social and blessed with might and magical powers.

Thailand may be predominantly Buddhist, but it has also been strongly influenced by ancient Indian culture and Hinduism, and thus both the concept of a single deity Garuda and the race of garudas co-exist in Thai mythological beliefs.

The nagas on the other hand, are snake-like or dragon-like creatures, whose realm is the water world. (The word naga is derived from Sanskrit and is also etymologically related to the English word snake.)

In mythology nagas and garudas are perpetual enemies, although neither side is actually identified with good or evil – they are simply two groups eternally at war with each other (so occidental-leaning minds should dispel any preconception that the water serpents are necessarily the bad guys in The Sign, even though the narrative seems to be tilting in that direction).

When borrowed into popular culture (as has been done for The Sign) you may sometimes see influences of Chinese dragon and phoenix mythology (as Chinese cultural influence is also present in Thailand, and the dragon/phoenix motif of Sinitic culture nicely parallels the naga/garuda conflict pairing). And because of Garuda's association with the sun in Hinduism, and a parallel with the fiery phoenix of Western mythology, you may sometimes see garudas portrayed as aligned with the sun and/or flame as well.

There are some hints of these in The Sign. The naga that Phaya encounters while struggling underwater during the open sea training challenge in Ep.1 is very Thai in appearance (especially with the curved, forward-pointing crest, making it look much like the nagas that adorn Thai temple architecture). But the array of pronged, backward-pointing horns and trailing antennae appear to be a design nod at Chinese or Japanese dragons (East Asian dragons are also strongly identified with the watery realm, by the way). And in the graphics of the series (e.g., in the poster at the start of this post), the sky (the realm of Garuda) is suffused with sunlight and speckled with what look like drifting sparks, referencing sun and flame.

Because of the wings tattooed on his back and his time in the air force, Phaya is most likely the reincarnation of a garuda in human form (and this is why he struggled with the water challenge, as he was completely out of his element).

This is also possibly why we see him smoking early on in the series (because of the alignment of Garuda with the element of fire), and significantly he does this while Naga Tharn (irked by Yai's teasing at the dining table) seeks refuge in the washroom (which is ห้องน้ำ/hong naam in Thai, literally water room):

‌Billy also describes Phaya's character in the promo video for the series (linked here) as being "like fire, always hot and burning... quite hot-headed." 👍

Elsewhere in the same promo video (linked here), Tharn's good friend Chalothon is explicitly identified as the reincarnation of an important naga, which immediately signals that he and Phaya will be at odds in the series:

‌

The water deity that saves Phaya during the open sea challenge – Wansarat, whom he drew in his sketchbook – is not just Freen Sarocha in a fancy scuba suit. 😂

If you look at her arm and hand when she reaches out to save Phaya (before she turns into Tharn) the green scales meld into the skin of her human wrist – they're part of her natural covering, and she's really a nakhee/nagin/nagini, a female naga, appearing in human form to save Phaya.

The narrative has made it strongly obvious that Phaya is a reincarnated garuda, while Tharn is the reincarnation of Wansarat, from the lineage of the nagas. And the teaser-trailer (linked here) tells us that Phaya and Tharn/Wansarat are lovers bound to each other through time:

‌

However, the special promo video (released 24 November 2023) also tells us (in Heng's interview linked here) that Chalothon and Wansarat were lovers in past lives, even while it is Phaya and Wansarat (reincarnated as Tharn) who are paired by fate in The Sign.

And as the nagas and garudas are bitter enemies, the love story between Phaya and Tharn/Wansarat that transcends time and reincarnation cycles is also one that must have been (and will continue to be) forbidden by their respective naga and garuda tribes (especially since Tharn/Wansarat also used to be naga Chalothon's lover), and will undoubtedly be a source of conflict in the series. This is way beyond the Montagues and Capulets! 😍

‌

So with this as the base, I took a look at the characters' names, and those belonging to Phaya, Chalothon, Tharn and Wansarat especially also reflect their garuda/naga origins. 🤩

Phaya's name (พญา) means lord, king or leader. While it can be applied to the nagas (พญานาค/phaya naak refers to the King of the Nagas) it is also used for Garuda (the Thai national symbol) – พญาครุฑ/phaya khroot, or Lord Garuda (and is what his name references in The Sign).

(above) Billy Patchanon as Phaya

‌

Chalothon's name (ชโลทร) is rare, but it is derived from Pali/Sanskrit and means river, sea or body of water, reflecting the watery homeland of his naga persona.

(above) Heng Asavarid as Chalothon

‌

Tharn's name (ธาร) also has a connection to his water-dwelling naga roots. Tharn/ธาร is short for ลำธาร/lam thaan and means stream, brook or creek (and he is thus a naga nong to Chalothon's phi).

(above) Babe Tanatat as Tharn/Wansa

However, Tharn is his chue len. His formal name is Wansa, and is the same Wansa in Wansarat (which the narrative lets us know at Ep.1 [3‌/4] 9.35).

(above) Freen Sarocha as Wansarat

Now Wansarat is spelt วรรณษารัตน์ in the subtitles (at Ep.1 [3‌/4] 9.02), and I can't find any translation of it that makes sense in the context of The Sign's world-building.

But Wansarat's name is spelt differently elsewhere on the Internet (on Thai drama websites, and movie databases, etc. like thaimovie.org), and I assume they've all based it on official releases from Idol Factory because the spelling is consistent across these other sources – it's วรรษารัตน์ there.

And Wansa/Wansarat spelt this way also reflects the nagas' dominion over water, because วรรษา/wansa (an archaic word, referenced in an older dictionary but not newer ones) means rain or rainy season (from the Sanskrit varsha) – in Thailand the nagas are also associated with rain control, and prayers are offered to them for timely and abundant rainfall when it is needed. (The -rat part of Wansarat is a feminine ending meaning jewel or gemstone, and may echo with meaning for speakers of Indian and Sri Lankan languages, since it's derived from the Pali/Sanskrit ratna).

‌

Just out of interest (because nobody asked 😂) some of these naga/garuda elements were also present in the early episodes of KinnPorsche – the den of the Theerapanyakuls (nagas, wealthy beings of the underworld) was full of watery elements (e.g., the waterfall, the various pools, and Tankhun's carp – which in Chinese belief are the original, natal form of dragons). The -nak in Kinn's formal first name Anakin (which is not a traditional Thai name) is also a nod at the word naga. Porsche had the tattoo of a fiery phoenix on his back, and was out of his element whenever water was concerned (e.g., his failed pool challenge, the mermaid costume punishment, his misadventure with the sprinkler when he tried to smoke in the store room – water vanquishing the flame). Kinn was unable to make fire when they were trapped in the forest, despite claiming to be friends with the flame, while Porsche could immediately do it.

But I didn't see the KinnPorsche narrative taking the naga/garuda themes much further than these random nods in the earlier episodes. Maybe it did (like Kinn and Porsche could be seen acclimatizing to each other's realms more), but I just couldn't be bothered to look at the show more closely since it didn't really stand up to deeper scrutiny, and after the first few episodes I just went along for the exhilaration of the ride instead. 👍

‌

Anyway, I'm totally bedazzled by the level of world-building going on in The Sign and look forward to more from the series. If the first episode is anything to go by, I think Executive Producer Saint Suppapong may be on to something! 😍

[jessi-fressita]

Gyaru Substyles: The "darkest" ones ★†

By: Jessi-fressita

hai everynyan, im back, sorry for the delay lol. Jessifressita (ur fav gal) to tell more abt gyaru and fashion, todays topic... The darkest substyles of gyaru. In this post we will take a little trip through the "rudest" and "darkest" styles of this fascinating subculture. Thank u very much and enjoy ↓

--small notice (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)

Well, in these blogs i will also give u some tips and general information, what i would like to add on this occasion before starting is: the makeup in these substyles is quite similar. In addition to the fact that these styles (for the most part) arent common or dont involve tanning as much the others.

Some makeup features I've noticed are: Simple and light foundations, a lot of concealer, lack of blush or contour and finally, smoky and deep eye shadow (the most important).

Note: These are NOT rules, they are features, feel free to use what u like.

With this in mind, let's get started!!!!

----------------✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿---------------

Rokku Gyaru.

This style combines rock elements with very feminine details.

Common pieces include tight or distressed jeans, shorts with lace details or distressed finishes, flared skirts, and various jackets, especially leather and leopard-print ones. It also features tights, leg warmers, and T-shirts with rock-inspired designs such as skulls, crosses, Gothic letters, and animal prints. Chain accessories, particularly belts, are a hallmark of this style. The dominant colors are black, white, and red.

Popular brands include d.i.a, Garula, and Skinny Lip.

Goshikku

Sometimes referred to as "Punk Gyaru" or confused with Rokku, this style blends Gothic and Gyaru aesthetics, with rock and punk influences.

Outfits typically include camisole-style dresses with lace, flared short skirts, and T-shirts with prints like crosses, skulls, or other dark motifs. The look is completed with lace or striped tights, black boots or booties, and leg warmers. Key accessories include chains, cross pendants, roses in the hair, and knitted hats with ears. The most common colors are black, red, and pink.

Popular brands included Tutuha, Glavil (a subdivision of Tutuha), and Sexpot Revenge.

Haaady punk

This darker variation of Haaady incorporates vibrant colors mixed with black.

It’s characterized by various prints, flared or denim miniskirts, eye-catching tights (especially striped ones), and leg warmers.

Popular brands for this style include JSG and Tutuha.

Glam devil

Gals who embraced this style, prominent from 2008 to 2010, showcased a glamorous yet dark aesthetic. Black was the primary color, accompanied by leather jackets and hats. While it was highly popular during its peak, this style is now considered extinct.

OraOra

This rebellious style, characterized by a dominant use of black, is associated with gals who wear loose pants, hoodies, and jackets. It’s also linked to biker aesthetics or fashion inspired by the Yakuza or "juvenile delinquents." The magazine Soul Sister was an important reference for this style, which has a male counterpart called "OraOra Gyaruo." Men who adopt this style wear more masculine clothing and sport a wider variety of hairstyles, including facial hair like beards or mustaches.

And with that we finish todays post. I hope you liked it and if anyone has more information, any corrections or would like to suggest a gyaru theme for the next post im totally open.

bai

[obstinaterixatrix]

high pixie is a persona you get at like the first or second dungeon. when I retired high pixie it was at lv 20 and now I have. lv 45 high pixie. the buffest high pixie. the highest pixie. what do I even do with this

my jaw fucking dropped I fused my high level personae and it malfunctioned and I got. high pixie.

[katsona-the-katsequel]

P3 Q&A (Final Part)

Q. Is the love hotel in Shirakawa based on a real place? Perhaps... Did the staff go there to do research?

🧢: Oh, a question from someone with the same spark of soul as me!

🎨: ...would be the first.

🧢: No, no, this is purely a man's romance...

🎨: ...would be the first.

🧢: (Sob sob sob sob)

Akihiko Sanada (from now on "🥊"): And so, as someone who is not swayed by evil thoughts, I will explain on behalf of Junpei from here on.

🎨: ...Where did this guy come from?

Mitsuru Kirijo (from now on "👑"): Akihiko, I think you should increase your worldly desires a little more. Too much naivety can be harmful, right?

🎨: Maybe you guys have been waiting for your turn all this time?

🥊: Now, let's get to answering the question!

🎨: ...I hit the mark.

👑: So what is the model for Shirakawa Boulevard?

🥊: Well, wait, Mitsuru. This place is a little different from other places, and they chose the model in a very stylish way. First of all, the name Shirakawa Boulevard comes from Shirakawa-mura in Takayama, Gifu.

👑: Shirakawa-mura is famous for its Gassho-style houses, a World Heritage Site, but it has nothing to do with the love hotel district.

🥊: However, there is a connection. In the early Shōwa period, a series of dam constructions in the suburbs of Shirakawa-mura led to a succession of villages being submerged. But where do you think the villagers who were driven out of Shirakawa-mura went? They moved to Shibuya, Tokyo, and started a new life. To be more specific, they moved to Maruyama-cho in Shibuya.

👑: Maruyama-cho is one of the most famous love hotel districts in Tokyo... I see, that's excellent, Akihiko!

🥊: Yes, the model for Shirakawa Boulevard is Maruyama-cho in Shibuya, and the origin of the place name is Shirakawa-mura, the roots of the people who support the current Maruyama-cho. That's the deep reason why the love hotel district on Shirakawa Boulevard was created. By the way, it seems that the interior design was created by looking at various websites on the Internet without directly going to interviews.

🎨: There's a strange tension... I wonder if these people are okay...

🧢: I was impressed!

🎨: Wow, Junpei?

🧢: I was so moved, Sanada-senpai!

🥊: Right, do you understand, Junpei?

🧢: To share this excitement, let's go to Shirakawa Boulevard again sometime with the girls from our senior group!

🥊: Ah, that's great, Junpei!

👑: ...Bufudyne.

🎨: ...Garula Gem.

👑: The enemy is down! We will wipe them out!

🎨: That's too obvious, Junpei.

(Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble...)

🧢+🥊: We're so sorry...

🎨+👑: If so, that's fine.

🧢: But no matter how much I explain, more and more questions just keep popping up. Ah, it's so annoying.

🎨: What are you talking about, Junpei? There's still a lot more to do.

🧢: Hmm, I'm at a loss.

🥊: Well, that can't be helped, Junpei. Well, since you came all the way out here, I'll help out too.

👑: Instead, why don't we all just share the work from here on out? That would be more rational.

���: That's right, as the saying goes, three women together can break even a rock.

🐰: Yukari-chan, if you say that, then three heads are better than one...

👶: I still feel a bit uneasy.

🤖: Everything will work out somehow.

🧢: Oh no, everyone's here. Oh well. Oh well.

🎨: Well, let's go.

Q. This time, the aesthetic has changed a lot compared to previous games. How did you decide on the overall design for this Persona?

🧢: …Um, I wonder how?

🥊: What's the point in just abandoning it like that? The biggest difference with this version of Persona is the interface design, especially the menu screens, which are quite noticeable.

🌸: It's kind of cool and cute, isn't it? I wonder if the big factor is that the character designer has been changed from Kazuma Kaneko, who was the main designer until now, to Shigenori Soejima, and the development staff has been completely renewed.

👑: The desire to achieve something new is apparent everywhere. Great!

🐰: Now, let's ask the staff directly to comment on the design aspects of this release.

I had been looking for an opportunity to create a work that thoroughly focused on interface (hereinafter referred to as IF) design for a while. I saw a website on the web that used Flash tastefully and thought it was good. When you click on various parts, various reactions are returned, and it entertains you even in places other than the original purpose. I thought it would be nice if an IF with such pleasant actions and responses could be used in a game. I aimed for a dynamic screen design that used the screen boldly and incorporated Flash and typography. However, since the IF of a game is always information and comfort, it was difficult to strike a balance. Also, in the past, for our titles, the procedure was to decide on the game image and then incorporate the IF in a form that fits that, but this time, the method was to solidify the game image from the IF. So Soejima and the staff in charge discussed it, and we solidified the image color, font, and taste first, and presented the visual concept to all the staff.

- Design Leader Wada

👶: Um, what is typography?

🤖: This is a technique that actively utilizes typefaces, which are originally used only to convey information, as part of the design.

🌸: Ah, I see. The status display logo is really cool.

🐰: Why did the concept color become blue?

🧢: Oh, I asked about that. Apparently it's about the blue of youth!

🐰: Wow, it's pretty cheesy...but I guess it all turned out okay in the end. I like that color.

👑: Another ambitious challenge in this work is the use of animation to direct events.

🧢: Ah, I've heard of that too!

While the basic direction is "chibi characters + bust up", we thought that animation was important in the direction of this work. What was difficult was the gap between the way animation and games are made. The way games are made (by our company) is that we have the advantage of being able to control the production in-house, and we try and error as much as possible to improve the quality to the very last minute, but on the other hand, there is a tendency to drag out pending matters and not make decisions until the last minute. On the other hand, since the production of animation is carried out simultaneously by a very large number of people, it is not possible to start unless the blueprint is firmly decided first. Therefore, if all the information is not presented as early as possible, there will be a big loss and it will fail. That was the difficult part in getting this project going. Well, it's a common story, but the delay of the scenario writer Tanaka was fatal for a while... So, the difficulty of placing anime scenes in the game other than the opening was beyond my imagination. "Ahh... that's why other companies don't do it that much..." I realized. Once production started, we had to adjust parts that had changed during game development, or take them over and process them, and problems were endless... There were other candidates for animation scenes, but for various reasons they had to be reluctantly cut, which increased the burden on the game console... However, the director was highly motivated and got on board with this project, so we were able to capture the taste of the opening and other scenes, and I'm pleased that we were able to create something unique.

- Design Leader Wada

🌸: It's like a cry from the soul. The pain is palpable.

🤖: It must have been really difficult.

🥊: For example, if the setting that I'm left-handed had been added midway through, we might have had to retouch the entire cutscene.

🧢: Also, wasn't it difficult to have characters speak in cutscenes for the first time?

🐰: It must have been difficult to record...

🎨: That's true, but... I'm more scared of the pressure of having to finish all the cutscenes before recording.

🌸: Thank you very much for your hard work.

👑: Speaking of voices, our voices reach the leader's ears during the final battle, right? At that time, only Aragaki's voice doesn't appear on the screen, what was he saying?

(Shinjiro Aragaki, from now on 👻): Tch, don't remember that nonsense... Forget it.

🌸: Oh, that's no good. Please tell me.

👻: …Geez. I'm saying, "Well, shall we do it...?"

🐰: That line... I was really moved. It made me feel like, "Oh, he's really watching over me..."

👻: Just so you know, that voice was a bit of a... mistake or an accident or something... it just ended up being included due to some strange coincidence.

🌸: Eh?

👻: Actually, I was already dead, so I wasn't supposed to be part of that event. It was the writer's preference, but in the world of "P3", once you die, that's it... you can't just come back to life conveniently or become a ghost and watch over you. That's the stance. I totally agree.

🎨: That's right... That's why we should do the best we can while we're alive. When we die, that's it.

👻: Right? But, I recorded my voice just to be sure, and the staff in charge of the battles added it because they had the voice data. Seriously, they were doing something unnecessary.

🐰: Wow. But it feels like a happy mistake to us.

🌸: That's right. If you have the chance, please go ahead and revive yourself!

👶: But if Aragaki-san were to come back to life, then my resolve would...

👻: Don't worry, I won't come back to life. I'm tired of your protection. I'll leave the rest to you.

🥊: Ah, I'll enjoy my youth to the fullest for Shinji too.

👻: That's annoying in itself...

Q. I love the mysterious design of Tartarus. I feel like I've seen it in some famous painting, but what is the design motif of Tartarus?

👑: It's true that it's a masterpiece. At the request of designer Soejima, the theme of Tartarus was to incorporate elements of mysterious space and surrealism. So he actively incorporated the taste of the works of Dutch painter Maurits Cornelius Escher and Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico.

👶: The names of each level sound unfamiliar to me, are they from some myth?

🤖: Yes, it is positive. They are names that indicate the seven parts of the earthly world in the Jewish view of the world and life and death. Monad is also a Jewish word that means "one thing," a component of all things.

🧢: Huh? Aren't there only six blocks other than the Monad? There's one left over from the seven earthly worlds?

🥊: There's a rooftop-like floor just before you fight the Nyx Avatar. That's the 7th floor, the Royal Palace of Eres.

👑: I also heard about the design concepts for each of the other blocks. Let me quote some of their comments.

1st Block: Thebel, the Worldly Garden

The hidden layer, the Deep Monad, is a layer located at a lower level of Tartarus, just like the first layer, and is also a layer that retains the image of a school.

2nd Block: Arqa, the Garden of Strange Faces

I designed it with the intention of creating a superficial sense of fear. The floor pattern has optical illusions, so when you look at it from one direction it looks like a skull, and when you look at it from the other direction it looks like an angel. It is composed of elements of Celtic Gothic architecture and Giorgio's paintings.

3rd Block: Yabbashah, the Garden of Rusticism

This floor was designed to create the mysterious feeling of an ascending staircase suddenly descending, like in Escher's optical illusions. I had a hard time expressing the inconsistency in the 3D model. I incorporated optical illusion elements in the wall patterns and the slope that looks like a staircase, and as a result, I think this floor most strongly expresses the theme of this work.

4th Block: Tziah, the Garden of Luxury

A golden dungeon, as it is a mass of greed. As the story is now over the middle stage and is gaining in excitement, I wanted to create a gorgeous floor to match, and created a floor made of materials more luxurious than the contents of the treasure chest.

5th Block: Harabah, the Garden of Scorching Flames

I wanted to create a chaotic atmosphere, so I used a psychedelic spiral pattern as a concept. Towards the end, I used abstract motifs to show the changes in the layers up to this point. I also used a black space to show a big change when you enter the next 6th layer.

6th Block: Adamah, the Garden of Melancholy

Before the final battle, I wanted to make sure there was nothing unnecessary. The grooves carved into the walls and floors represent the Milky Way, the universe, and the flow of the atmosphere, and I was inspired by the atmosphere of Van Gogh's painting of the night sky, "Starry Night." The main color is white, which also represents the white robes worn before the final battle.

🧢: Geez, they're thinking about a lot of things.

👑: Another big factor in Tartarus is the special effect called "Dark Hour Blur," which is always used during Dark Hours and makes the edges of the screen appear to shake.

🌸: That's right, it's actually quite creepy when you walk around inside.

🐰: By the way, various screen effects are used effectively throughout the game. I like the effect of bright sunlight in the daytime.

👑: It's a special effect called "Persona Flare." It's a masterpiece that the staff was very pleased with.

🤖: Fiery, that's it...

👑: Aigis, don't take my words...

🥊: Well, there are still a few small questions left. Let's get them out of the way.

Q. This time, the battle scenes are quite comical. Why?

👑: I thought the all-out attack scene was a bit over the top, but once you get used to it, it's fun in its own way.

🐰: As with other parts, the battle scenes show a strong desire to do something new and different from the series so far. The theme was "make it lively and fun!"

🧢: When you say lively, it really does a good job of expressing it. When you're waiting for a command to be entered, you see the movements of us scurrying about, right? That seems to be quite difficult to process, but it seems to have been forced into the system.

👶: Speaking of fun, many of the weapon designs are interesting, like bones and bus stops.

🥊: I wanted to die when I was forced to equip those gloves... However, it seems that they actually made about twice as many models, but for some reason they were unused. If I get the chance, I'd like to see the rest.

🧢: If possible, it would be nice if the graphics of the armor could be changed as well...ahh, a man's dream, high leg armor...

Q. Do the tattoos mean anything?

🧢: Hey, Chidori. Call that exhibitionist guy.

🤡: Who is the exhibitionist? Who is? That is a sign of failure - a mark to decorate the stigma.

🧢: Stigma? What's that?

💣: On the skin of those who can't control their Persona, the power of the rampaging Persona overflows and something like a pattern appears. The center of Takaya's tattoo is not a tattoo, but that pattern. To be honest, he doesn't show it to many people. So even if it's a little hot, he wears clothes that don't reveal much skin.

🧢: Huh... Seriously? Ah! Then maybe Chidori has that pattern too? Is that why she always wears such gaudy clothes...?

🎨: This is a hobby.

🧢: Ah...R-Really?

Q. There's been talk about a sister model to Aigis, but what exactly is that?

🤖: I can't go into details due to confidentiality issues, but from the first prototype up to me, around ten units were developed. At first, they were just tanks.

Only a few units made before me were humanoid, and furthermore, only three units, including mine, are equipped with the Plumes of Dusk nuclear device that allows for Persona summoning. However, the other two were destroyed ten years ago before they could be activated...

Q. What principle are Mitsuru and Fuuka using to explore the inside of Tartarus?

👑: In my case, Penthesilea has the ability to accurately predict the effective range of an attack, and by applying this, I can sense the terrain ahead and whether there are any enemies. However, the drawback is that I need a communication device to communicate the results of my exploration.

🐰: My Lucia and Juno have the power to sense the flow of life, so we can share the biometric information of everyone in our battle party and learn about the terrain and enemies in the vicinity. In doing so, we can receive sensory information to the fullest extent of everyone's potential, so we can even find enemies in places we can't see directly.

🎨: By the way, I can also detect enemies using the same theory. She is passive and I am active, but the mechanism of sharing bio-information is the same. And, although I am a little weaker at detecting enemies, I have the power to interfere with and disrupt the other person's perception. Got it?

Q. Can adults not use Personas?

🐰: I'll answer this question. I've explained the definition of potential and ability users before, but the point is the will to face death within yourself and actively deal with it, right? So theoretically, even adults can summon it. However, younger people have more spirit and are less likely to compromise, so it's probably easier to manifest.

🥊: Even after facing the deaths of my parents and sister, I refused to give up and continued to seek power, which is what awakened my Persona abilities... that's for sure.

👻: Aki is the only one who won't give up...

🧢: A-Aragaki-senpai...?

🐰: I-I can't believe what I'm saying... Only Shinji can.

🧢: I'm sick of these people...

Q. Why did you make history teacher Ono wear a helmet?

🌸: That really makes you curious. I was surprised the first time I took the class.

🐰: I've gotten completely used to it though.

🧢: Apparently, there is an armor and helmet enthusiast among the development staff in charge of creating the model. This is his work.

🌸: Armor and helmet enthusiast?

🧢: It was completed without either Soejima or Tanaka, the planner, knowing that it was still in development and they thought it was just a strange model, but it turned out they were serious about it.

🐰: Wow, is that a thing?

🧢: By the way, it seems that the Shadow Warrior series was also designed by this person.

🌸: I'm a die-hard fan!

Q. Even if the Apathy Syndrome is cured, will it come back?

👑: In the first place, Apathy Syndrome is caused by the loss of a part of the Shadow (unconscious) from the mind. However, if that Shadow is defeated during the Dark Hour, it will return to the original host's mind. This is the mechanism by which Apathy Syndrome is cured.

🥊: However, if the Shadow is separated from the host for a long time, there is a possibility that memory and thinking ability may be impaired to some extent, and in some cases the condition may not be fully cured.

🧢: Even if it heals properly, if you don't learn your lesson and just sit around doing nothing, won't the Shadow come back?

👑: That's unlikely. As soon as the Shadow returns, the host will unconsciously accept deep in their mind what the Shadow was able to sense during that time. The memory of coming so close to Nyx, the embodied death. It's just a vague feeling of "frightening," but unless they're extremely stupid, they'll start to think about it. That unconscious memory of fear becomes a stopper that prevents a recurrence.

Q. May 18th: Who is the Bullman mentioned in the conversation on the way to school?

🌸: Oh, you mean the "Bullman" who was hospitalized after a sign fell on him? I hate him! Seriously, even in winter, tracksuits are prohibited and he grins at the sight of girls' thighs, and he tells girls who are slow runners, "You've got a big chest, you know," he's the worst!

🐰: His real name is Mr. Aoyama and his subject is physical education. He's not good at it either...

🤡: Well, I've made sure to punish him properly, so don't worry.

🌸: Wait, that sign was your doing!? Well done!

Q. How do people in Strega live their daily lives?

🤡: We don't have a family register. We don't even know our real names.

💣: It's hard work to get a job and rent a house. Well, there are plenty of ways around that.

🎨: During the Dark Hour, you can steal as many household items and clothes as you want.

🧢: Chidori! You can't do that!

🎨: It's okay, I'm not doing it anymore.

💣: Well, they never catch our legs, but sometimes we need cash, so I do some legit work. I put up ads on revenge proxy sites...

🧢: Affiliate marketing! But there are very few people who visit the site. The income is negligible. Of course!

Q. I'm curious about Featherman R, which is on TV in the dorm every Sunday.

🧢: Before you know it, someone has tuned in to the channel.

🌸: Actually, I found out that there is a hidden otaku in the dorm!

👑: Come to think of it, it seems that Akihiko also played hero games with Aragaki up until around middle school. Hehe...

🥊: Oh, not me!

🐰: But that was a sequel to a special effects hero series that was very popular a long time ago, and it brings back fond memories. If you played "Persona 2: Innocent Sin," don't you remember that the main characters were wearing masks in the scenes from their past? That was the original "Phoenix Sentai Featherman."

🧢: Wow, that's such an old show?

🥊: That was almost 20 years ago.

🐰: There is a list of trailers that can be viewed in the main game, so I will introduce them above¹.

🌸: Wait a second. Who put this together? Who's the otaku?

🥊: T-Takeba! Don't look at me like that! I'm telling you it wasn't me!

🧢: I'm not particularly interested either.

👶: Me too. I'm in the upper grades now, so I've graduated from that a long time ago.

👻: That's not my problem, right?

🌸: Well, thinking about it by process of elimination... - No way... Field Le...

🧢: Oh, it's possible! I don't know what he's thinking!

🤖: Ah, it's almost time for the rebroadcast of Featherman R.

🧢: It's you!

Q. Who are the people who appear in the "People I Met by Chance" stories?

🌸: Do you think those people are our great seniors?

👑: They are Persona Users who were active in "Megami Ibunroku Persona", "Persona 2: Innocent Sin" and "Persona 2: Eternal Punishment". From what I saw on TV, they seem to be living peacefully now.

🐰: First of all, the reporter, Trish, is also one of the characters, right? It seems like she was doing the "pain, pain, go away" thing at the fountain of physical strength recovery. But apparently she gets paid a really high amount.

🧢: It's easy for us. We'll be fully recovered once we get back to the entrance.

🥊: However, even though they have the powers of Persona Users, they showed no signs of taking action in the recent crisis in Minato Ward...

👑: Maybe that's because they aren't necessarily Persona Users.

🥊: What do you mean?

👑: According to the project manager, the "essence of life" in this work is defined as a spontaneous action that tries to bring about some kind of change in space-time. Shadows' ability to interfere with space-time is therefore potentially capable of being exercised by anything that has life.

🥊: Someone who desires a parallel world where power is unnecessary... has made it a reality?²

👑: Well, that's just one possibility. Anyway, let me introduce some of the great seniors to you, just in case we ever meet.³

🌸: Did anyone notice? The days we can meet are all the people's birthdays. It makes sense that Mark is back in Japan. Brown, Jun Kurosu, and Ayase are unfortunate.

(It ends by adding a word-by-word transcript of People I Met By Chance along the character introduction text you get while playing P1 and P2)

___________________________________________

¹. There is a section where all the episodes of Featherman are listed. You can find this list in the Wiki, tho.

². INNOCENT SIN ENDING MENTION!!! This does not explain the EP cast's lack of appearance, tho. Or the St. Hermelin kids... at least Nate, Elly, or Baofu would have meddled.

³. And they didn't 😔

<- Previous ●

[raven-6-10]

the priesthood of Bahamut used to sacrifice prisoners of war and the occasional slave to him.

yes, even in Lucis. especially in Lucis.

anyway, human sacrifice was officially outlawed sometime during 300s ME so they switched to garulas and then to myrha.

[heartxandxhome]

❝ …is it too late for us? ❞

Red Dead Redemption 2:

The quiet question caught her off-guard compared to their interactions lately and Sarah turned to look at Kaleb. His gear-bag for the hunt sat on the table like a silent witness to the standoff.

The bag was still packed. So that meant he was still going on the hunt.

There was no anger, or sarcastic edge to his voice, and that was what made her pause. Kaleb was being vulnerable, and Sarah didn't have the heart to fire back in the harsh tone their conversation had had so far. The rain pelted against the window and the driving winds sent some of the garula calves rushing across the paddock to their shelter.

"I don't know." That was the most honest she could be. There was silence for a long time in the kitchen, both looking at one another and wondering how things had come to this. "-there are other ways to make gil, Kaleb."

She knew their islands had been abandoned by the King when he drew back his Wall, and his son, Regis, cared nothing for the outlands too. They were on their own. The waters and lands more dangerous without the Wall, fishing fleet barely bringing in enough for the locals, the ground becoming more difficult to farm and Galahd slowly losing its inhabitants to the mainland. Which was where he kept going. Again and again, and gaining more scars, more marks, more injuries and more time away from home.

"I don't want to keep wondering if it's the last time you walk out that door."

[aloyiouis]

perks of never planning to fuse him is he’s my dumping ground for all my skill cards

pffft, orpheus is so dainty in battle… it’s cute.

[tohpersonas]

Raine's Persona

Persona name: Mozart

Persona user: Raine Whispers

Arcana: Hanged Man

Background: A world renowned Austrian composer. His works shaped the classical movement of the 18th century

Skills: Garula, Sukukaja, Green Wall, Tetrakarn, Magarula, Auto Sukukaja, Wind Break, Wind Boost, Makarakarn, Tetraja, Masukukaja, Garudyne, Wind Amp, Auto Masuku, Magarudyne

[thepleasuregoblin]

I started the Four Job Fiesta, and got Thief as the first job. Did you know the first town doesn't sell daggers? Anyway after farming skeletons in the ship graveyard for a bit I finally got the party armed, and made my way to the water crystal, and came face-to-face with Garula, a boss that counter-attacks whenever your characters attack. This is going to be interesting (I've already died to him twice).

[yusuke-of-valla]

Whumptober Day 12: Rumor Has It

Written for the Whumptober Day 12 prompt: Red

There’s something wrong with Mementos today. 

Akira can’t really explain it. Everything seems sharper. The reds are redder, the lights are pulsing harder, and the entire place feels like it’s about to pounce on them.

…Maybe he’s been spending too much time with Fox.

“Is something going on today?” he asks.

“I don’t think so,” Queen says. “No one’s been complaining about allergies or anything.”

“Only buzz I’ve seen online are like, spooky season stuff,” Oracle says. “You know, lots of rumors about ghosts and weird stuff.”

“I’ve heard a lot of those too,” Panther says, “I dunno if that’d really affect Mementos though.”

“You’re the leader Joker,” Morgana says. “If you say something’s off, we can go.”

Akira thinks. It could very well just be his nerves, and these requests are pretty urgent. Then again, it’s not good to take too many risks when it comes to Mementos. The Metaverse is as mercurial as the populace that formed it, who knows what could affect it.

“Let’s spend some time scoping our floors with weaker shadows,” he says. “That should tell us if there’s something we should be worried about.”

They pack up into the Mona van, and a few shadows in he’s convinced the bad feeling was just nerves. The shadows are acting completely normal, and the team takes them down easily.

He’s about to decide they should go back when one group of shadows they run into includes a shadow he’s never seen before.

“Oracle, what is that?” he asks.

“Uh, it looks like a Lilim?” Oracle says.

“But… it’s green,” Fox says.

“That’s what you focus on? Not the weird bat head?” Panther sighs.

“Whatever, let’s just ask,” Joker says. He pulls out his gun and shoots at the weird Lilim, but it isn’t knocked down. “Not weak to that anymore?” Joker mutters. 

“I’m on it!” Morgana says, casting Garula on the shadow, but that doesn’t knock it down either.

“Would it kill these things to be consistent?” Skull mutters. 

Suddenly, the Lilim casts a spell Joker doesn’t recognize and… explodes into smoke?

“Did it just knock itself out?” Noir asks. 

“But it didn’t even do anything,” Queen says. “That’s weird, why—”

Suddenly Queen’s hit with a psiodyne.

That Akira cast.

“Joker?! What are you doing?” Noir gasps, and Akira wants to say he doesn’t know. 

He’s felt the power of dozens of Personas flow through him before, but this feels wrong. Something has forced his way into his body and is making him move.

“Is he brainwashed?” Queen coughs, still dizzy from his hit.

No, he isn’t. Being brainwashed feels terrible in its own right, but that’s in hindsight. That’s in realizing that what you thought you were doing wasn’t what was actually going on. But you’re not aware of it at the time.

This is a front row seat to someone else using his body, forcing his lips to curl as he attacks his friends, forcing him to call upon the multitude of selves within him and fire off attack after attack.

In short: it’s violating. He’s never felt so powerless.

Something forces itself through him, a spell he doesn’t know currently, and suddenly a Garula heads straight for Skull, though Mona pushes him out of the way.

“It’s the Lilim!” Oracle says. “It’s possessing him or something!”

“How do we fix it?” Haru gasps, “Amrita drop isn’t working!”

“Neither is Me Patra!” Mona says.

“Then we’ll just have to knock him out,” Queen says, pulling herself up.

Please, please knock me out, Akira thinks.

“Panther, go for Agidyne!” 

Kumbhanda is forced out of Akira to take the hit, and Haru hits him with her own Psio skill.

Despite not being in control, he feels every bit of pain and is so thankful when it overwhelms him and he succumbs to darkness.

.

..

.

“Recarm!”

Akira sits up immediately and breathes a sigh of relief that he’s in control of his own body again. “Thank goodness,” he says. “Queen, are you alright?”

“None the worse for wear,” she says. “You?”

“I feel like I need a shower. Or an exorcism, or both,” Akira says. “Either way, let’s get out of here.”

Everyone nods in agreement. Ann takes the wheel since neither Akira or Makoto are really in a state to drive, and they can’t get out of there soon enough.

Akira shudders at the thought of what just happened. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep tonight.

[proxnotxaxfool]

❝ why didn’t you wake me? ❞  

the boat had lodged itself on the sandy banks of a cove along what he now knew what the vannath coast of lucis. going on the chatter he'd picked up, it was somewhere west of galdin quay, and east of caem coast.

it was lucis though.

it was solid land and they were off that fucking boat.

a hop, a clamber up worn track from the coast to top of the cliffs and a hitchhiked trip on a truck had gotten them as far as a gas station in cauthess. he knew there were two main imperial bases nearby, namely tollends stronghold and pepetouss keep, but night was closing in and reno knew they had to find a place to stay for the night before the dusk faded into black and daemons started to spawn, so this place was as good as any.

he'd pilfered some gil from that truck driver for his good deed, but needs must and the teenager had needed some currency to secure that small caravan for himself and loqi ... his little brother had fallen asleep during the truck ride to the gas station, the poor kid had been exhausted, and this was all such a shitshow - mama and papa's boat hadn't followed theirs in the hours he'd waited before leaving the coast.

the weather had been poor - perhaps their boat had veered to accordo? either way. his papa had told him to find meldacio and find a man called david auburnbrie and that was his mission right now - keep loqi safe and get to that meeting point.

shutting the flimsy door on the caravan, reno allowed himself a small exhale, dropping his guard ever so slightly now that they were in the private confines of the temporary lodgings. yes, there were still two imperial strongholds too close for comfort, but he'd take the small victories where he could right now - come first light, he'd figure out a path to meldacio.

why didn't you wake me?

reno cracked his eyes open as he heard his little brother's voice, a practiced smile on his face as he moved away from the caravan's door.

' you needed your sleep ... we're gonna stay here just for tonight and then head for where papa said he'd meet us, that sound good to you? '

the teenager quirked a brow, trying to keep a positive lilt to his voice as he went to the small kitchenette, filling the kettle with water and setting it to boil. he rattled two ramen pots at his little brother, holding both out for the boy to see.

' take your pick - seafood or spicy garula? '

[meldacioxhq]

“i said i love you.”

oh god, he had said that ... she hadn't heard wrong or misheard or had an utter brain-fart. he had said it.

willingly.

and she didn't know what the right reaction was here ... she never had no boy ever tell her those three words before, and with all the other shit goin' on in their lives and the world, a part of her had just put all those romantic ideals to the back of her head. yes, they had been together for a while now, but now he had said those words.

said them with a smile on his face.

a smile that was startin' to fade at the edges now that he'd had to say it again, and she was still starin' at him like a spooked garula.

blinking out of her stupor, kim wrapped her arms around his shoulders, all but jumping into loqi's arms with a squeal of a laugh.

' jeg elsker dig. '

[mrbensonmum]

FINAL FANTASY V - FOUR JOB FIESTA

Registered this week for the Final Fantasy V Four Job Fiesta and I’m still thinking about the version this year. Think I will give the SNES a chance! Awesome two month are incoming but there are some changes this year:

Changed the version from SNES to GBA because of some visuell issues with the font of my SNSES Version. Monk as wind job went pretty well, Siren was first try. Looking forward to the water job. What could it be? So much fun, I love it!

Red Mage as a water job is a good mix. Looking forward to it and I think it could be worse. But Garula took some time, third or fourth try +🍀 with the focus ability did some good damage after all.

All the love and all the sleep, so comfy.

A Big Bada Boom, some well needed shut eye and an intense Ifrit fight later, I received the Ranger job from the fire crystal (needed to come to the black Chocobo for this job crystal). I think, damage is a problem I don't have to worry about.

First meeting with Exdeath went well, everything before was luckily first try. The group is really strong and a good mixture, now we can welcome the Samurai as the last job (Earth Crystal Job). After some shopping, new worlds are waiting!