#in case someone has it blocked bc hoo boy this is personal

[eerna]

“me freshman year of high school? yeah thats a protag” PLEASE elaborate

You got it. I shall now dramatically overshare how cliche my first high school was. God I went to a different place writing this. Watch me wake up tomorrow and delete it in panic, but just for tonight, let us relish in the drama

So, at 15 I was weirder, more shy and unaware of my own worth, had a resting bitchface and a 500 page book in hands at any given moment, had like 2 friends, kept a detailed diary, wanted to become an architect, had a not-like-other-girls mentality, and looked EXACTLY my age. Here, you enter high school based on your academic success and career path, and none of my friends made it into my Wow We’re So Smart school, which means that year I had the opportunity for a completely fresh start. I did it by spending the year growing into my very feminine nature, learning how to break my Cold Honors Student exterior and actually make friends.  What a great premise for a high school drama heroine.

Drama plot no 1 was the BOY PLOT YAYYY but not really. Looking back, there was 5 recurring boys interested in me, and it ranged from childhood friends whose advances I was completely oblivious to, to jock classmates who hit on me head on for the first time in my life. But, being your everyday YA heroine, I didn’t really get it, because WHY would ANYONE be interested in borin ol me??? I must be SEEING THINGS~~ Enter resident Mean Girl- she sat behind me in class, our surnames were next to each other so we’d always get paired for assistant duty, and had her gang of annoying rich fashion girls who thought they were better than everyone else even though no one else did. She dated both of the jocks during the year, and the second one became her serious boyfriend for the rest of the year. Now, I have no idea what exactly went down, but apparently she couldn’t get over her boyfriend(s) paying attention to me, so she started doing the typical Mean Girl spiel. She gossiped, mocked, threw eraser particles at me, cut my hair when I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t take it silently, but I didn’t exactly fight her, either, because, um….. Her precious boyfriend was abusive. We all knew it. We all pitied her. What was I supposed to do but ignore those petty provocations.

Drama plot no 2 was when one of my middle school friend started acting like a movie cliche, too, and was personally offended I chose not to do it myself. Without going into detail, at the beginning of the year I was convinced I had to stay with her or she would do something horrible to herself, but she was a horribly unhealthy influence on me, and my heart was broken when we parted ways. (She’s great now btw!! She found help and is happy and content) 

Drama plot no 3 was that, the longer the year went on, the more I realized I hated being there. Among the students, I was known as the smartest kid of the year, but suddenly I was facing- *shudders*- S E X I S M. My teachers were ignoring me, the rest of the Smart Squad TM (fully composed of boys) did too. Once we got a special assignment for math, and I uncharacteristically teamed up with the boys to solve it. I was the one to crack it, only to discover they took my work and presented it as their own, and I had no proof to go against a gaggle of teachers’ pets. 

Drama plot no 4 was just a lot of parties and going clubbing for the first time, ya know, the music montage parts of movies except it alternated between me having fun and crying in the bathroom bc I kept getting overwhelmed. I never got further than tipsy, though, so I don’t have a corresponding story for that part of YA experience, sorry :///

There were a lot of small things too, like the time a friend shared a hotel room with the jock bf during a school trip and he kicked him out to spend a wonderful night with the Mean Girl, so he joined our sleepover and there were like 6 of us in one small bed and we were all cramped but happy. That same night we had a forbidden party in our room, and had lookouts for security and secret signals and had to hide from lights being shined through our window. 

First day of school, I realized I already knew Mean Girl’s best friend, but not because I’d met her before or even seen her picture, but because one of my middle school friends knew her and her descriptions throughout the years were incredibly vivid (she hated her guts and went on rants about her ugly nose mole - which was not that large - and her inability to stop talking about her sister - during her “tell something about yourself” she showed us a note her sister, who’d graduated from our school, left in her pencil case - and how annoying her trumpet voice was - self explanatory). There was that time a friend’s friend asked me for nudes and, after a small heart attack, I spammed him with pictures of gorillas in heat.

Then, the obligatory sex ed episode, when the Mean Girl and her squad, being the only sexually active girls, bragged high and low abt some stuff I knew wasn’t biologically correct but had no interest to argue. I also found friends who liked anime, and we went to local cons together and had a blast. On my sixteenth birthday, I returned from the lunch break only to find the entire class (or most of them, I guess) standing around a desk and singing Happy Birthday, as a cupcake with a candle waited for me, and ngl I cried a lil bit. For New Years’ I had to attend three parties throughout the night bc I didn’t expect to have any plans, so I accepted three different offers without thinking (funny story, I didn’t get the photos from one of them until a month ago. Talk about a blast from the past). The first day after spring break, when a friend intercepted me as I was entering the classroom and requested me to close my eyes. I refused, very suspicious and caught by surprise, but he kept perstering me until I reluctantly did it, only to find an Eiffel Tower keychain in my hand- a gift from his vacation.

And the triumphant ending of my YA story, the conclusion of the character arc, came in October of the following year, when I realized I was so successful in reinventing myself my life flipped upside down and I decided I was more suited to a life of pursuing art and small pleasures than having to spend my life proving myself to people who didn’t make me happy. It was a tearful goodbye, no one really understood why I did it, but I transferred to music school, and from then on, my life became HSM and was like ten times less dramatic and wayyyy happier. The end

[crossgartered]

P5R Liveblog (13/?)

Haru arc

[[MORE]]

Oh...? Are you hung up on Wakaba, too, Doctor?

Oh, Rumi. ...Who's Rumi?

IS IT KASUMI'S SISTER??? bc you know there's weird stuff going on there

Probably not but this is for wild guessing anyway

If we can believe Kasumi then her sister is younger than her

And that'd be pretty weird to talk about in a romantic context

The problem is if kasumi is to be believed

she's dead I know she's dead I don't think she knows she's dead but she's super dead

Or in a coma I guess but let's be real here

I don't trust Shibusawa in the slightest. He's definitely going to try to take that research. I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of those men in black suits, either. He's rich - he goes to the Wilton on a whim, with his "buddies" - he could definitely be one of Shido's men.

OMFNDJD THIS LES MIS KNOCK OFF FILLS ME WITH JOY

Hoo boy. Maruki... I don't think you'll be very pleased with our answer. I do think you have good intentions, now, but you will definitely be an antagonist here.

I'm still really impressed with Chihaya. She really thought that the protag would hate her once she told her story, that her fortune said he was supposed to hate her, and she "never thought [he] would overturn even that fate". And yet, she told him anyway.

A Yusuke & Ann showtime!! : D I wonder what it'll be like?

THATS SO INCREDIBLY ANIME I LOVE IT

Haru idolizing superheroines vs Ann idolizing lady villains fight

I cannot waittt to see what they do with cognitive Haru, if they decided to make her this time around

YUSUKE CAN DUPLICATE IN PALACES?!?!?

A Will Seed with lasers barring the way? Interesting.

FUTABA FINISHING TOUCH FUTABA FINISHING TOUCH!!!!

Huh, it's kinda goofier than I was expecting.

"When a person is continually faced with oppression, they come to welcome its presence." Yusuke : (

"Such psychological trickery is being used here. I... experienced it first-hand for many years." YUSUKE : C

It's kinda nice that those workers are being blocked by lasers instead of us being too intimidated by their number to just go after them. ...Am I remembering this correctly?

Oh, Noir... I'm glad I get the option to ask if she's okay.

The Yumizuki High uniform really does suit Yusuke.

I wonder if there's a way to talk to people about their outfits.

Does Futaba's thing happen in place of Joker's, now? That's kind of a shame

HEY DO YOU THINK IT'S POSSIBLE TO HAVE FUTABA SHOWTIMES?!?????

Airlock time.

Man I want to see robot/cyborg Haru so badly come on Okumura I know she's here

This stuff about being okay for 30 sec as long as you close your eyes and mouth sounds wrong but I don't know enough about the condition of the human body in space enough to dispute it so okay I fuess

Anyway this is run by clap your hands if you believe kinda magic so it doesn't really matter anyway (also, thank god for Futaba saying that it'd work)

It's interesting - space factories/stations aren't a typical heist target (nor are castles, tbh, but museums, banks, pyramids, casinos? Naturally) (space stations in general can be, in the right genre. But this is set up a bit unusually for that). Corporate offices of shady companies, however...

Spaceeeeee ahdskdjs this is SO COOL

what the fuck what the fuck was something else going through the airlock?!?!

Ugh, how aggravating. I had been able to get the Will Seed the entire time until I pulled the lever that allowed me to progress

What is this shadow???? I'm not sure I know it! "Pagan savior", huh?

No, guys, there's another airlock room. Stop saying 'the treasure is just beyond that door!' when there is a whole other area/floor to go through. Especially since you have a map

Futaba gets motion sickness...oh no I'm so sorry ;u;

I...actually remembered the first half of the solution to the transfer line. I got out of there in practically no time. Heck yeah!

"Thou hast to awakened to the ultimate secret of the Sun, granting thee infinite power..." Yoshida...! TAT

I always end up maxing him right around the end of Okumura's Palace. I feel so bad. His newfound popularity is gonna absolutely tank soon. ;-;

Man, who even gets elected after the populace starts caring again? I don't know how Japanese politics works, really, like at all, honestly, but probably he has a subordinate who can take his place. But like, his whole crew's gotta be corrupt, right? Especially someone who'd be his replacement. Though honestly, considering how paranoid he got by the end, he probably chose someone weak-willed in order to prevent

Oh wait hold on I just looked up how this works. Apparently, uh...

Huh. I'm not sure if the cabinet resigns if the prime minister does usually or if that's just if the house passes a vote of no confidence. But, the prime minister appoints the ministers, so if the prime minister changes then there could be an issue there, probably?

But anyway. Looks like the Diet would immediately try to vote for a different person once the prime minister seat is vacant.

Huh, I wonder who gets voted in, then. Well, we only know of 2 candidates other than Shido, and Yoshida doesn't have the funding or even (yet) the popularity to become prime minister, so Matsushida is really the only other choice unless they pick someone we haven't heard about.

Oh my GOD I hate the school. They're being such assholes to Kasumi. She got 3rd place!!! That's amazing!!! This isn't even a school specializing in gymnastics!!!!!! YOU SPECIALIZED IN VOLLEYBALL AND EVEN IF THAT WERENT THE CASE YOURE TERRIBLE

*ahem* Anyway.

You can tell that Maruki is quietly pissed and honestly? Valid. Super valid. Same, Maruki, same.

She's not gonna get that text, with how her phone is.

"we took in those sisters to improve Shujin's standing, but at this rate, we're only going to end up suffering for it." Oh??? Oh??????

"not only have we lost one of them, but the other ones not doing us any good. Talk about a waste of effort..." Hooooly shit you asshole

Wait, hold on, it's October already????!? November's just a month away!! I have less than 3 months for social linking! And I still haven't maxed knowledge or kindness! (Or guts, but whatever) I've only maxed 1 person! Although I'm close to maxing Ryuji & Ann & Yusuke. And some npcs

AHHHHH CUTSCENE CUTSCENE!!!!

So the keywords - lab, stadium, and ... Either Maruki or Kasumi for the person. OH MAN AND EITHER WAY IM ALREADY IN MY PHANTOM THIEF CLOTHES

ONE OF THEM DOESNT TRUST ME

It's probably Maruki, right? Bc of the lab... But also I thought the whole wish fulfillment thing was going to be his cogpsi project... With the help of Jose, maybe...

Speaking of Jose, Jose looks like a toy, especially with that hair and those ears. I wonder what material he's supposed to be? Based on the ears I'd say plastic, maybe, but the hair looks more ceramic to me.

Anyway, back to the relevant FUCKING PALACE WOOHOO

I haven't even sent a calling card for Okumura yet so we're not dealing with this anytime soon

Ooh, this music... <3

Oh man, I totally forgot I had Morgana in the maid costume. I gotta get him into something more serious

Why is dancewear not the p5dsn costume??

This is...really empty...

I am suddenly really scared at what the people are going to look like

There are pigeons here...

But wait, if this is Maruki's Palace, then this is bc of all his grief... He doesn't want anyone to hurt, ever again. The people will be their ideal selves, probably...

...I'd love to see a cognition of myself, tbh. That won't happen, but I'd love it.

This place is really beautiful... With the music it seems like a sad place...

Look at all these wires

That's probably the sister, right?

Unless that's the cognition of Yoshizawa when she was alive and her current self is her ideal self.

The shadow attacked the cognition???!?!

YUP this is definitely Maruki's Palace

Hmm. Interesting.

Oh, Cendrillon really is perfect for her, huh.

SHES DOING A MAGICAL GIRL TRANAFORMATION WHAY

WHAT

WHY????

IM NOT UPSET ITS JUST A LITTLE WHAT????

Does her outfit look like mine a little bit bc she's using me as a role model for her source of confidence - confidence that she is using/interpreting for her inner rebellious spirit?

Wait, lost my train of thought

Aww, I mistimed that. I was hoping to get a Kasumi finishing touch

MORGANA-SENPAI

It is definitely an unfair consequence

Oh, so that's why, narratively, her phone sucks. It's to prevent us from figuring out whose Palace it is.

Yeah, this time it's entirely on you, Morgana.

... it's because of gymnastics? And not because you disagree with us on an ideological level? ...okay. sure. Whatever.

Hoo boy. This is gonna suck when Okumura has his mental shutdown. I wonder how she'll react.

She is of the Faith arcana, whatever that means. Maybe she'll keep faith in me? I did max her half-confidant

It's cool, Kasumi. I really didn't do much. You may have a debt of gratitude or whatever but like you don't actually need to repay it. Just keep being my friend and maybe one day you'll quit keeping score

*sigh*

If only. Too bad you're probably dead.

SHOWTIME WITH HARU? SHOWTIME WITH HARU? PLEASE?

Oh, Mona-chan. I figured as much, but I was still hoping...

Anyway, Haru&Mona showtime still very good!

Man, I would kill to hear their explanations for what they're doing.

...this is incredibly violent, isn't it? I anticipate it with bated breath

Oh man, can you imagine a showtime with Kasumi? Maybe with Akechi, if Atlus isn't going to give me one

Which, fair enough, from a gameplay standpoint

Still. : (

"the Phantom Thief Basic Training"?

Oh, good, we're actually addressing cognitive people with Haru.

Oh, this is either gonna suck if they address the implications, or we're gonna see cognitive Haru. >: 3

Dream world, huh...

THE YUSUKE-HARU FRIENDSHIP IS SO UNDERSTATED AND UNDERRATED I WANT MORE CONTENT

THERE SHE IS!!! THERE SHW IS!!!!

Oh, man, I had a lot of feelings during that fight. That time limit though

I like how they updated this fight

Although I think I'm a little underleveled, potentially. I could not destroy her before she self-destructed, and it took me a while to beat the chief directors and executive director. Oneshotted Okumura himself, though.

OH MAN I SHOULD HAVE READ THIS BILLIARDS BOOK EARLIER

I DIDNT REALIZE I COULD INCREASE MY TECHNICALS????

I already thought that technicals were beefed up from how they were - I guess this is part of that!

Wish I had another book on kindness, ugh.

SO THATS HOW THEY CHANGED POSITION HACK

Ann & Haru have such similar colors. I wish they would have darkened Haru's a little bit more

Wait I never got to see the Haru-Mona showtime

I even had both in my party : (

GOD IWAI YOU'RE SO SHADY

I forgot to start his social link until now whoops

Although I've only had my guts high enough for past ~2ish weeks so there's that at least

Guh, I have to get to Mementos and start up Shinya's...

How many part-time jobs does this have? Like, 5? Maybe 6, if you count him helping out Sojiro? The convenience store, the beef bowl place, the flower shop, Crossroads, and now the gun shop. Anything I'm missing? I feel like I'm missing one.

Desire & Hope is really pretty. The Desire underneath is kinda weirdly desaturated compared to the hope, though. Not sure if it actually works as well as Desire did by itself. Idk. They're both good, but I liked how Desire looked a bit more. I understand that D&H has personal meaning, though. Who knows, maybe in person I would feel differently

I kinda really like that Yusuke tends to go more abstract with his stuff, even if he does try out a bunch of different styles

Maxing Yusuke. And thank god for Affinity Readings. Finally got Ryuji at a point where I can max him.

Oh. I had forgotten how Kamu Susano-o looks. ...