December 8
Marie calls to let you know that she'll be available more often. You once again have free time, and since it ends when you finish the dungeon, you need to put it off as long as possible, especially since that's the deadline to finish Marie's Social Link.
Unfortunately, I had to do one last Spend Time event with Marie before I could complete her Social Link, so I did it today.
Evening
I went to tutor again.
Tower Rank 9
Shu apologizes for what happened, but doesn't say anything else. He then realizes that he's forgotten his birthday, and doesn't seem happy to remember, noting that his mother supposedly forgot. You can choose to celebrate it, but no matter whether it's grand or modest, you start with Junes, which leads you to talk with Yosuke.
One thing leads to another, and you end up with all your party members and a cake for Shu. Some shenanigans follow after it suddenly gets dark, resulting in the party members grasping about in the dark for the light switch. Shu's still depressed, though, and when he asks the incredibly depressing question of whether he should have born, he gets a chorus of "Stupid!" answers from the party. He cheers up a little, enough to have a good party.
After everyone's gone, Shu admits the truth- he was caught cheating and got suspended, having been driven to do such thing because he thought his mother wouldn't be happy if he wasn't #1. He also seems to admit that the New Transfer Student who's his rival may actually be- or perhaps became- more of a threat to him, since he came from a better school, and is more well-rounded than Shu is. Shu laments that all he had was studying, and now, he has nothing.
Shu breaks down once again, and you have three choices for how to deal with him. The best approach, as well as one that increases your Diligence (although you should have it maxed out by now) is to gently tell him how he went wrong. Shu, realizing that his mother is home, although I can only imagine what hour this is, tries to compose himself to face her, thanking you for what you've done.
December 9
I decided to take the first opportunity I had to advance Kanji's Social Link, since while he's not a party member I really use, he's also seldom available during this time.
Emperor rank 9
Kanji visited his father's grave for the first time in a while, and the first time on his own. He says that he couldn't face him before, because his father, by encouraging Kanji to be strong as a man, unintentionally caused Kanji to believe he wasn't good enough. Kanji then strove his hardest to become a "real man," completely misunderstanding what that meant, but realizes that he has to be honest with himself, and he has you to thank for that. This nicely fits in with a lot of party members' Character Development- their Shadows give them some idea of the problem they have, but their Social Links give them a deeper understanding of it, as well as what they need to do to solve it.
As a concluding note, Kanji's wholeheartedly happy to hear that the kid and his mom thanked him for making those dolls.
Evening
I drew a fortune for Ai. Get ready to see me doing this a lot, since I needed it to get through her later stages.
December 10
Since Chie was the Investigation Team member available today, and she's prone to getting antsy, I spent time with her to finish off her link.
Chariot Rank 10
After some more training, Chie says she doesn't know what her good points are, but she's going to find them, and hopes you'll always be friends with her- saying no will cause her to joke that perhaps she'll be something more than that to you, perhaps still thinking she has a shot with you. After giving you a pair of wristbands, Chie concludes that the power she gained is not so that she can become independent, but so that she can protect others.
Chie's persona upgrades to Suzuka Gongen.
You get Futsunushi. I used him to great effect against Kunino-Sagiri on a previous playthrough, giving him various Evade skills to complement his immunity to Physical attacks.
After all this, Chie decides to take you on "a meat-eater's tour" of the town.
Evening
I tutored one last time, thereby finishing off the last nighttime Social Link.
Tower 10
Since last time, things improved for Shu- his suspension wasn't all that long, and his mother apologized for how she'd reacted, buying him a cake for his birthday and, after hearing everything he experienced, offering to start over. He realizes that he didn't understand her at all (a common theme in Social Links involving the character's relationships with others), since she actually loved him all along, and he has you to thank for helping him.
As a parting gift, Shu gives you his test results- the first time he got a perfect score on a practice exam. He'd previously thought of it as the only way he could solidify his bond with his mother, but now, doesn't even want to see it until he can look back on it and laugh. He's fairly pessimistic about his future, believing that he's no longer able to get into college and get a job at a good company, but suspects that's for the best, so that he'll no longer have to obsess about his grades, and realizes his life is now beginning.
You can fuse Shiva from the somewhat obscure combination of Rangda and Barong. However, it isn't nearly as good as the actual best Persona from this arcana- Yoshitsune.
Shu then asks to stop the tutoring, since he wants to try out other things, such as baseball, as part of the resolution he just made. You still get paid one last time, but no boost to your Expression(not that you need it).
December 11
I finished off Marie's Social Link. Without spoiling too much, you have to do so before the end of the next dungeon.
Aeon Rank 10
You and Marie dine at Souzai Daigaku again, with Marie fondly remembering the time she spent there and what she called the steak skewers. Marie thanks you for your help, in her roundabout Tsundere way. She then offers you her comb as a keepsake, evidently not having bought into the superstitions, and your link maxes out.
You gain the ability to fuse Kaguya. It was my primary persona in the late game the first time I played, since Spell Master is quite useful, although I made the mistake of fusing it to have Fire abilities, which is its own weakness (although as long as I didn't get reflected, I was fine)
Evening'
I drew a fortune for Kanji. There aren't that many opportunities to spend time with him in December, so I had to make sure he'd go up each time.
December 12
I spent time with Yosuke, who, like Kanji, is one of the most insistent about going into the dungeon this month.
Magician Rank 9
Yosuke brings you to the hill overlooking the town, and says that he used to hate it, since you could tell how small it was. Now, he concedes that it's still boring, but he's realized that all his friends are there, and he wants to tell Saki that this is what's important. Yosuke then concludes that he's always wanted to be special, and he believes that he became that way when he got his Persona, but then concludes that "everyone's special" (without the corollary that "no one is"). If you disagree, he'll say that you're already special to Chie, Yukiko and him, the three party members you'll have met by this point. Yosuke then decides to look for everyone's houses, even if it's during the fog.
Evening
I drew a fortune for Yosuke to make sure his link would go up. With so many links to juggle, I didn't have time to waste spending time during the day.
December 13
I decided to max out Naoto's link while I could.
Fortune Rank 10
Naoto says that it feels like a long time ago that you were chasing after the Phantom Thief, even though, in all likelihood, the least time passed between starting and finishing her Social Link. After asking your opinion, she offers you a gift- a detective badge and a position as her assistant. She appreciates you going along with it, but also respects the resolve to make her your partner or even an assistant.
Naoto gains Yamato Takeru. Since Naoto has no elemental weaknesses, it's the only one that doesn't gain an Evade move at rank-up. Instead, you get Invigorate 3, which gradually replenishes your mana.
You gain the ability to fuse Norn from the three Moirae Sisters- Atropos, Lachesis, and Clotho. Unfortunately, it's another Ultimate Persona I don't use much.
Evening
I spent some time with Ai.
December 14
I spent some time with Ai, who's usually only available in the middle of the week.
Moon Rank 9
A third-year comes up to Ai, accusing her of playing "hard-to-get" with him, and asking if she's going out with you. He's dismissive of you, but when Ai says there was never anything between the two of them, he turns hostile and threatening, offering to hit her in the face, although Ai tells him to get it over with. The best option is to stand up for her, which causes him to accuse you of being played by her, and attack you, only for Ai to shield you, causing the boy to angrily run off. Ai says she hoped to help you, and goes home to put some ice on it.
Evening
I drew a fortune for Ai.
December 15
I chose Naoki again. He's generally fairly easy to advance, but I wanted to make sure he got the last few ranks.
Hanged Man Rank 8
You and Naoki then go to Junes. Naoki's impressed by the grocery selection, but despairs when he sees the cheaper liquor, knowing that many buy from his store out of pity. He's somewhat pragmatic about it, though, and says that it is profit, and by charging extra, they could profit off the customers' hypocrisy. Of course, Naoki notes that his parents still won't talk about Saki.
Yosuke then arrives, and Naoki notes that while he doesn't hate Junes, he stays away because of the rumors that might get out. Yosuke progressively gets on Naoki's nerves by talking about Saki, even when he says she was proud of him, but surprises him when he says he liked her, using the past tense. As Yosuke goes to get you and Naoki food, paying for Naoki's, Naoki complains about Yosuke's nosiness, but if you say that you can't ignore him, he apologizes, saying that he understands, and perhaps coming to realize that not all pity is wrong. He then has some of Junes' food and complains about how it's bad, which Yosuke says is an encouraging sign.
Evening
I drew another fortune for Ai
December 16
Temperance Rank 9
Eri apologizes for what happened, and makes Yuuta apologize, as well. Eri admits that the experience forced her to see Yuuta as he is, not how other people think of him, and that even if he causes trouble at times, he's a good boy and it's nice to hear him call her "Mom." She admits that she also labeled him due to being unwilling to face him, and asks if it's too late to get over that fear and face him- you can say yes or no, but Eri's fine with either.
Evening
I drew yet another fortune for Ai, finally getting ready to level her up.
December 17
Strength Rank 9
At the Samegawa river,Kou thinks back to his initial adoption and how he considered his old self dead once he became an Ichijo. Of course, things are different now that he believes that he's no longer one of the family, so he considers leaving them behind. Kou reassures you that he wouldn't leave you or Daisuke without saying anything, even if he feels empty now that his real parents are dead and he doesn't even know their names, as the letter wasn't signed and didn't include that information. Daisuke suggests that it's tough to remember something from ten years ago, causing Kou to get a "Eureka!" Moment and realizes the letter was written recently. Kou understands now that he's been lied to, but he believes the lie was done with good intentions, now that he understands that there are people who are there for him. Daisuke calls Kou stupid for taking this long to figure it out, and results in some childish bickering, before you involuntarily get dragged in for a swim (even if it's January).
Evening
I drew a fortune for Kou.
December 18
As part of my plan to finish off all of the links soon, I decided to bring Rise's link up to the penultimate level... and ended up regretting not having her ultimate skill.
Lovers Rank 9
Rise has given this some thought, and asks you why you think that she's upset to hear about Kanamin's rise to stardom, and that her manager seemingly moved on. The best answer, the one most relevant to the issue at hand, as well as the one Rise seems to believe, is that "Risette is Rise too." She realizes that getting into showbiz was a way of escaping herself... but so was her decision to leave it. She concludes that she might have run away from her current self, too, if not for you, and decides to value every facet of herself, and be glad to have met you and the others. Rise gets a highly useful ability- the ability to "protect" the party. This can be one of a few things.
- Healing everyone or restoring SP.
- Buffing the party's attack, defense or hit/evasion for three turns.
- Removing status ailments. This is quite useful against the final boss, and saved me back when I was still learning the fight.
- Simultaneously putting Mind Charge and Power Charge on everyone. This one's my favorite, since it allows even those without the skills to charge up, and in the cases of those who have powerful magic and physical attacks (Yosuke and Yu), I can essentially perform two very powerful attacks.
All these are quite useful, which is why it's nice that in Persona 5, Futaba gets this ability earlier on in her Confidant route.
Evening
I drew a fortune for Rise.
December 19
Since Yosuke, contrary to how he usually is anxious to take out the killer, was willing to spend time with me, I decided to finish off his Social Link.
Magician Rank 10
Yosuke has a difficult confession to make (and no, it's not that he likes you)- for a long time, he was jealous of you, even if he only realized it recently. You and he had similar circumstances, but you adapted to yours more easily, and went so much farther than he did. He knows that you're admirable, but couldn't help but envy you anyway, which speaks to how irrational jealousy can be.
Yosuke then concludes that he wants to be acknowledged by you, and insists that you hit him. Whatever you choose, you end up having a fistfight, and it ends with you both on the ground. He offers you a bandage and says he hopes to live honestly every day, treasuring the power to protect others.
Yosuke's Persona upgrades to Susano-o. You get the ability to fuse Mada, a highly useful Persona given his powerful Fire abilities and Spell Master.
In an amusing and realistic twist, if you talk to Yosuke in the dungeon after this, you learn that he got in trouble for this. It seems Yosuke's luck never changes..
Evening
I spent time with Rise.
December 20
I finished off Yumi's Social Link, since there weren't many other options.
Sun Rank 10
Yumi invites you to come along after practice, since she has something important to tell you. The first is that she's quitting the club, so that she can find a new path to walk and find meaning in her life.
After the link maxes out, Yumi gets to her second announcement- a Love Confession to you, and says that if you'll say no, you can just leave. She sadly says goodbye if you do, which initially gave me the impression that I might have parted with her on bad terms. In any case, though, unlike with Sayoko and the janitor job, you can't go back to the club.
You get the ability to fuse Asura, who has some nice skills, such as High Counter and Spell Master, which can be fused onto other Personas.
Evening
I drew a fortune for Naoki, to make sure that his link would go up next time.
December 21
I decided to spend time with Naoki, to bring his link up to the penultimate level.
Hanged Man Rank 9
For the first time, Naoki summons the courage to go to the place where his sister's body was found, since he's no longer afraid of remembering it, and no longer believes that the fact that he didn't grieve for his sister like people on TV do means he doesn't care for her (incidentally, a mark of a relatively amateurish writer is a tendency to show characters with relatively extreme emotions). He admits that it was too painful to think about her, and that's not without good reason- it's quite tragic for the life of someone you know and love to be snuffed out so soon and for no good reason. He then starts to break down, and the best response is to encourage him to let it all out and cry for his sister. He feels better, and decides to talk with his parents about his sister.
Evening
Like the previous night, I drew another fortune for Naoki to make sure I'd be able to level up, although I did so knowing that I couldn't work on it immediately.
