October 20
Taking advantage of the little free time I had this month, I progressed Ai's Social Link.
Moon Rank 4
Your Strength Social Link friend shows up, as do some people who gossip about Ai's wealth and availability. Stopping them grants you points, but with the Strength Social Link, something that's quite useful. You can then get points with Ai by acting as though nothing happened, and while she's a bit annoyed, she appreciates your consideration.
Evening
In the evening, Nanako hands you a letter, completely unaware of its contents. The letter is addressed to "Mr. Full Name" (Japanese letter addresses always have the very formal "-sama" for the addressee), and only says "dont rescue anymore" without any punctuation or capitalization.
October 21
At lunch, you meet to discuss the letter. Regardless of whether you say you plan on showing it to Dojima, Naoto advises against it, saying that doing so will lead to you being put under surveillance. Naoto points out that the most important part isn't the message, but that someone knows you're interfering, and they chose to deliver it to you, someone who lives with a detective. Naoto considers having a crime lab examine the letter, but suspects they wouldn't find anything (if anything, your fingerprints would likely be on it), which is likely what the culprit was counting on. Yosuke hopes it's just a prank, but Yukiko concludes that it's too specific to be one. Yosuke wonders if the party ends up on the Midnight Channel, but Chie isn't sure- Yosuke doesn't even know what the Midnight Channel is. Naoto decides to put that aside, and Yosuke says there's no point in worrying about mere speculation, prompting you to make a response about how "We'll have to wait until the situation changes," perhaps the only time what you say is reported verbatim.
Chie changes the subject to the Cultue Festival, asking what the class will do for it, causing Yosuke to get inspired. Rise, who's been quiet for the entire conversation, asks you who you'll go with, obviously hoping you'll go with her, much to Chie's chagrin.
Luckily, your after school period is free this time, unlike most days when the Investigation Team holds meetings. I found the man in black that Naoto had mentioned earlier wandering around the shopping district. Finding him and passing a maximum knowledge check is the first step to unlock Naoto's Social Link- you must then talk to Naoto with maximum courage. Unfortunately, Naoto isn't around, so I had to settle for Ai instead.
Moon Rank 5
Ai, uncharacteristically nice and sheepish, thanks you for your help. She asks you about something, since this time, she has a confession to make- she's in love with your Strength Social Link friend (Kou). She's understandably nervous, so reassure her a bit. She admits that you're the only one she can trust about this, and after the rank goes up, asks for your help. This one's fairly obvious- say yes or the link will reverse (What did you think would happen when you refused to help an emotionally distraught person?).
For the next rank event, you must talk to your Strength Social Link friend around Yasogami and ask him who he likes. Naturally, since Kou doesn't appear on some of the links, this means you can't go forward until you talk with him.
October 22
In homeroom, the class rep, despite being cynical about the process, offers up three choices for the class festival attraction- break area, video room and study room. The class is glad that none of those choices seem to involve much effort on their part, but then there's a fourth choice- a group date cafe. Yukiko's curious, Chie's disgusted and Yosuke's amused, since it's implied that he came up with the idea.
The class passes around the vote sheet, and you get to choose one. Your choice doesn't matter... because one vote doesn't matter when the vast majority of the class chooses the cafe. Yukiko admits to voting for it, since it's sad if no one voted for it. This goes even if she's in a relationship with you, and it's likely because she assumed that "group date," means multiple people dating. As the class complains about the feasibility of doing this, and the fact that Kashiwagi's too busy with the pageants to help out, Yosuke points out the majority chose it (even if some people don't even know what it is), and Chie wonders if there's any chance of it working out.
Since Naoto was here and I didn't have much time to do her link, I talked with her to begin it.
Fortune Rank 1
Naoto asks you who gave this to you, and concludes that the man likely knows you, but is trying to hide his identity (and only making himself seem more suspicious in a town like this). She wonders why he reached you to you rather than deliver it to you, but insists on handling it herself. She initially doesn't fully appreciate your insisting on getting involved, especially if you say that it's because she's a girl, but she apologizes for not understanding others' feelings, as Yosuke (who's often comparably insensitive) pointed out to her, and decides to let you know what she finds, since you're their leader and are busy.
On a side note, Naoto tends to use "-san" rather than "-senpai" on you in this social link.
October 23
Nothing happened on this Sunday, so I decided to advance Death again.
Death Rank 6
Hisano is conflicted about whether she wanted you to give up on her or come again. After waxing about feeling noncommittal, she remembers the time when she wrote letters to her husband, and she feels strongly about writing one's feelings down. Unfortunately, she lost them, and while she says she doesn't need them, she feels sad (yet another case of a Social Link's feelings not matching their words).
Evening
I drew a fortune for Eri to cut down on the number of holdover visits I'd have to do.
October 24
I chose to do Naoto's social link. As in the original game, the only viable way of completing in time is to do it at almost every opportunity, possibly a trait she shares with Ryoji, her predecessor as Fortune in Persona 3 Portable's female route.
Fortune Rank 2
Naoto, after some investigation, is unable to find anything about the card. She's outwardly indifferent if two of the three options are taken, but agrees with you if you say that it's "no fun" to end like this. Of course, the storyline is far from over, considering that it's only Rank 2, and Naoto gets a call from a person named Yakushiji informing her that someone broke into her family home. This seems like a random incident, but if you're intelligent enough to think about the card, Naoto likes it. Of course, she says other matters take priority- considering that the link can only have been opened after the resumption of the case (and if you do it after its apparent conclusion, you're probably too late), she has a point.
Evening
I worked on a model to further my Diligence. Apparently, the higher your stats are, the more likely you are to get the maximum value of points from a choice in a Social Link, so even if there aren't any gates for maximum diligence, unlike Knowledge(Naoto's Social Link), Courage(Naoto, again), Understanding(Shu) or Expression(the end of the Fox and Nanako's Links), it's worth maxing out if you don't have anything better to do..
October 25
In spite of what Naoto said about the case taking priority, and the fact that I hardly use any Fortune Personas, I talked with her again.
Fortune Rank 3
Naoto finds a letter in her shoe locker, apparently unrelated to the cards. It's a love confession, evidently from a girl, and Naoto bluntly says she intends to dispose of it as soon as possible (giving you a dirty look if you ask about how she deals with male confessions). She says that for her, love confessions are a waste of time with the murders are around, and assumes the same is true for you. This is clearly proof that if you want to date Naoto, you'll have to work at it, and I wouldn't be surprised if some people thought she was off-limits.
Evening
I went to tutor again. The Tower Social Link's offered fairly late in the game, but the night time social links are easy to progress.
Tower 3
Shu asks you about school (which is likely the place he'll go to for high school), and then talks about his own. He's fairly cynical about it, especially the transfer student who looks down on everyone else. You can surprise him by saying that you're also a transfer student, or get him to admit that he doesn't understand the "frog in the well" analogy. He ultimately says that he finds everything a pain- except you. It's nice to see that the Social Links trust you, but it would perhaps be better if they learned to open up to others.
October 26
Strength 8
Kou returns from the orphanage. The orphanage directors say they don't know who Kou's parents were or why he was left there, but give him a letter. He's scared to read it himself, but opens it up, reading that his parents wanted him to be in good health, since they were sickly to the point at which they passed away a year and a half after giving him up. Kou begins to despair, knowing he has no one left anymore, but is glad that you were there for him.
Evening
I spent time with Naoto.
October 27
At school, there's a signup sheet for the Miss Yasogami High Pageant, which has Kashiwagi's name (much to the disgust of the students), along with Hanako and the four females of the Investigation Team. The party members attract a fair amount of excitement from the males nearby, although I have to wonder why no one's interested in seeing the apparently fairly attractive and popular Ai. Yosuke notes that Chie's called him to the roof, but it's oblivious as to why.
At lunch, Chie demands an explanation for Yosuke writing down their names without telling. When Yosuke points out that they could withdraw, Chie says that Kashiwagi won't let them, causing Yosuke to inadvertently admit to missing something in the "fine print." While Chie and Yukiko are angered, Rise actually isn't against taking part, and Yosuke says that it will be nice with Yukiko, an idol, and a Detective Prince in it, further enraging Chie by leaving her out. Kanji, despite denying it, is interested, and you have a chance to get Expression points by giving a speech in favor of it (in the anime, it apparently lasts 30 minutes and is highly convincing). Yosuke admits that Teddie gave him the idea, much to the other girls' dismay. Naoto reluctantly agrees, since there's no way out, but Kanji begs her to be in it.
After school, you have to prepare for the pageant, with the girls buying supplies and Yosuke heading the "executive committee," for the event, which requires him to process applicants, and have the entrees ask each other question, before pairing them based on who they like. Yosuke, however, isn't paying attention, and joins some of his classmates in a makeshift game of baseball.
October 28
Yosuke comes across the cross-dressing pageant, and wonders who would be stupid enough to sign up for it, before realizing that he's in it, along with you and Kanji. Apparently, hardly anyone signs up willingly, causing Yosuke to realize that the girls signed them up in revenge.
Yosuke confronts Chie, demanding a "damn good explanation." Chie asks what he means, and in the case of Erin Fitzgerald, seems to imply that she's playing dumb. Yosuke's enraged, but Chie points out that it's his fault that the girls got signed up, so this is his just reward. You can protest or agree to go along with that, but that's beside the point, as Chie points out, because of the rules. Kanji still protests, but Yukiko notes that it wouldn't be a good idea with his attendance record, which sounds like blackmail but could be construed as a warning. Yosuke's the last holdout, but despairingly submits once he realizes that he risks being held back if he objects. He asks what kind of joke this is, before Chie reminds him that it's the one he pulled on her.
Interestingly enough, if you talk with Yosuke at some night in November, you learn that he's calmed down enough to accept that even if the crossdressing pageant was unpleasant, it's only fair that the boys had to do it, since the girls had to go to their own pageant.
October 29
The Culture Festival begins, as does the Group Date Cafe. Without anyone coming by, the male class rep decides to have himself, you, Yosuke, Yukiko, Chie and Kanji (who wanders by) be "shills" to lure people in. This results in either you or Yosuke being forced to play as a girl- I chose to stick Yosuke with the job. Things get off to an awkward start, made even more so when Yosuke tries his best impression of being a girl. Kanji asks what the girls' hobbies are, and Chie hesitantly says she likes martial arts, while Chie says it's defeating shadows. You're then asked what girls you like, and the class rep gives a vague answer of "cute girls," while you can specify a girl for points with that girl, and Kanji vaguely hints at Naoto. Asking the girls who they like results in them being embarrassed. Rise pokes her head in, but quickly leaves.
You then check out the festival with your friends. Your Fellow Athletes complain about their class having a play that's a crossover between Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, since "THEY ALL DIE!" Meanwhile, Ai visits a fortune telling booth with you, challenging the teller (who's strongly implied to be Margaret given the booth's decor and her voice) to a contest as to who better knows your relationship with girls. Yumi doesn't seem to have an event here, and if there is one, it most likely is only triggered if your relationship is Rank 1-2 or 10 with a romance.
October 30
Next up is the pageant, and the crossdressing event is first. The girls do their part to dress you up in the preliminary section. The actual event begins, and Kanji goes first, looking about as unattractive as you could guess in a Marilyn Monroe-like outfit. Yosuke's up next, and is dressed as a schoolgirl, which makes him look even worse than Kanji. The MC's apparently as disgusted with this as everyone else is, and you're up next. You look a bit more attractive than the others, but the audience still doesn't like what they see. Finally, Teddie goes in an attractive getup reminisicent of Alice In Wonderland, and wins easily, causing the girls to be happy for him... until he invokes his right as winner to add a swimsuit event to the girls' pageant.
The girls, along with Kashiwagi and Hanako, who proceed to taunt them about their chances of winning. Kashiwagi also, contrary to what most had assumed, offers the girls a chance to back out, insulting Rise in the process, but it only causes them to want to defeat her even more, and the same goes when Hanako insults them. They all get up on stage in casual clothes and then swimsuits (with the exception of Naoto, who refuses to participate in the swimsuit competition), and the winner is none other than Naoto, despite her refusal to participate in the latter event. Ms. Kashiwagi and Hanako are reduced to tears, and embrace one another in a surprisingly heartwarming display of unlikely friendship.
You then go back to the festival, and Dojima arrives with Nanako. He announces that he has a business trip to make, and won't be back until the next day. You all, along with Nanako, decide to spend a night at the Amagi Inn, finally getting a chance to actually see the place.
The guys and girls end up in separate rooms that are on different floors, and hear that the girls are planning on taking a bath. The guys then get a call informing them that the baths are open, and decide to go down. A brief conversation with Teddie, plus another rank in the Star Social Link, ensues.
Inside the hot springs, the girls are already there, and are amazed at how well-endowed Naoto is. They consider racing across the hotspring, and Yukiko shows off her more childish side by implying that she still swims in the hot springs. On the other side, Nanako mentions that she's used to staying at home alone, and doesn't open the door for strangers.
The guys then come in, and the girls are outraged, starting to throw an astounding number of washtubs at them at an incredibly fast rate. You have a Courage check to hold the line or retreat, but while the former choice is locked if you don't have maximum Courage, if you do have the maximum, you're told it doesn't matter and are forced to flee anyway.
The girls gloat over their triumph for a moment... until Yukiko realizes they were wrong and it was actually the guys' turn. They're appropriately embarrassed, but Rise suggests that they keep quiet about it. A lot of people seem critical of them for this, but I've found this to be a somewhat refreshing break from the Women Are Wiser trope.
The guys plan on getting revenge, and sneak into the girls' room. Unfortunately for them, they got Hanako and Kashiwagi's room, and the two are surprisingly happy to see the interlopers.
Back in the bath, which is presumably in the actual girls' bath, Nanako has gone to her room to sleep (which might mean that if Yukiko hadn't gotten the times mixed up, she never would have gotten to bathe), and it's pointed out that Hanako and Kashiwagi go back some ways, since they often visit the inn when they're sad.
All in all, while I tend to fast forward through the Culture Festival, it does nicely serve a purpose by providing some comic relief before the intense drama that comes in the late game.
