surgeworks

12 – September 1 | Table of Contents | 14 – September 3
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Alternate Title: She Tried to Kill You the Other Day, You Idiot

Warning: this post contains mentions and discussions of self-harm and suicide ideation.

It’s 9/6, the day after the full moon. Last time, we entered the ridiculously stupid romantic subplot portion of this game while beating up the Hermit.

With nothing else to do, we head over to the shrine to go see how Akinari's doing. He says that we're not like "the others", and we raise an eyebrow. Ya think so? He actually smiles, as he says he didn't expect us to come back.

He says that no one treats him like a normal guy, not even his family, and he can see the pity in their eyes, and it makes him upset. He mopes a bit, saying that dying isn't unusual and why should anyone want to stay alive for a long time anyway? Umm....dude...

DEATH IS INEVITABLE: 30

Though we'd like to disagree, the ‘right’ answer is to agree. Though, I probably could've picked any of them—like the Devil Link, this one is a freebie and ranks up with every meeting no matter what you say. Akinari is intrigued by us, appreciating us talking to him on an equal level instead of looking down on him, and we RANK UP. Akinari gets into a coughing fit, asking what he did to deserve this body, and says he hopes we can meet again.

At the dorm, Shinjiro shows disdain for Junpei's interest in Chidori. Yukari wonders what to do about it, and the only options we get are "encourage him" like an idiot, or "ignore him" like less of one but still an idiot. No option for "kick him in the balls and demand he get his head out of this girl's ass" presents itself. Junpei himself is up on the second floor to be alone. We take some Yawn-B-Gone and study.

9/7. Yukari meets up with us outside to worry about Junpei's attachment to Chidori. After school, the man has this to say for himself when spoken to:

"Yeah, what's up? I'm going to the hospital to see Chidori... No one better try and stop me... If they do I'll be pissed."

*frozen*

*staring*

I...I'd have smacked him right then and there. There is a spitefic coming, I can feel it—but for now, let's just give that a WISTLH and an RPC.

WISTLH: 50

Romantic Plot Cancer: 07

Before we do anything else, let's go get another missing person reward and see what new requests Theo has up.

Bring him oil, available 10/1, the day before the due date.
Bring him a fruit knife, available 9/17.
Bring him a sword from the latest block.
Retrieve the sixth old document.
Retrieve 3 Gold Handguards.
Retrieve 5 Empress's Mirrors.
Retrieve a beautiful peacock tile.

We accept the bolded two and leave. After that, we spend time with Hidan.

When we get to the student council meeting, it's just him there, and he says it was a quick meeting and that everyone's already left. He says it's kind of nice not having those 'hyenas' around, and we ask if he's not going home. He doesn't want to yet, and says that he has to do something about the cigarette butt in the boys' bathroom, and soon. He says we're free to leave, but we opt to stay, which gets a smile out of him as he asks for a few minutes to spare. He looks forlornly out the window, asking what a man who didn't have position, honor, or education is supposed to cling to. The answer, according to a man Hidan once spoke to, was 'sincerity'. He frowns, as he recalls that a TV anchorwoman was injured on the job while gathering info, which was labeled an accident—but when a magazine learned they were hiding something, the execs laid the blame on the script writer, who they said had hidden the truth, and he was made into a scapegoat. That man is now in prison for perjury, and it was him who taught Hidan the value of sincerity.

Yet, he can't survive on sincerity alone, he says. The strong prey upon the weak. He reveals his dream job: building an honest corporation where everyone's treated fairly. But you need power to make a dream a reality. Hearing this from him, we RANK UP.

Well, that was more profound than expected.

At the dorm, Mitsuru and Akihiko still aren't present due to dealing with Chidori. We meander over to Shinjiro, who's standing off alone. Why not make an effort to be friendlier with him? We offer him to go eat somewhere, and he's surprised, but agrees, letting us know he doesn't really know any fancy places to do so.

If you thought Tender Feeling wasn't going to be playing, bitch you were wrong. This Social Link lives on heart-wrenching music.

We go to the ramen shop. Right off the bat, he apologizes for bringing us here. We ask him why he’s apologizing, but he mumbles his answer and trails off. Our food comes, and we eat, but he lets out an ‘ow’. When we ask, he says he’d forgotten he had a cut in his mouth. Said cut happened after ‘Aki’ punched him, as apparently Akihiko doesn’t realize how hard he’s throwing those left hooks. We ask him if he and him were training, and he smiles with a ‘hell no’.

Apparently Shinjiro was talking to Akihiko about how his fighting style’s too reckless, and Aki got mad and socked him. These two get into scuffles all the time, apparently, so we brush it off. He appraises us, surprised that we’re younger than Akihiko is, and though he sounds mocking, he gives us some genuine praise. With that, our Social Link begins.

This one is the Moon Arcana, which you’d think this game would’ve made a bigger deal of considering its obsession with the full moon. The Moon Arcana is associated with illusion and doubt, and characters who have both good sides and dark sides or who put up fronts.

Shinjiro lets out another oww, and remembers that he got a cut like this the first time Akihiko ever punched him too, bringing back memories of not being able to eat properly. He can’t remember why, as they were kids and it was a long time ago.

9/8. The scene we open on is the TPI hospital, Chidori’s room. The seniors and Fuuka are surrounding Chidori’s bed, with Fuuka attempting to sense something, though she gets nothing. Mitsuru warns Chidori that her silence is going to bite her in the ass, and that speaking up would do everyone better. Naturally, Junpei walks in, asking how she is. Akihiko calls him out on his obsession with this chick, and he asks if she said anything, and of course it sounds like he doesn’t give a damn and just wants to see her. When told no, he asks to talk to her, and Mitsuru then informs him his emotions are getting the better of him. She asks what’s up, and he doesn’t want to answer.

“I know she attacked me, but… I can’t stop thinking about her!”

Romantic Plot Cancer: 08

Real sexy, assault and kidnapping and hostage-holding.

Against every ounce of logic, Mitsuru allows Junpei to talk to Chidori. Perking up, he walks over to her bed, asking if she’s okay. She doesn’t answer. He says he’s glad they let her keep her sketchbook. Still drawing pictures, even in the hospital, he asks? She doesn’t answer for a moment, but with her ‘smelling something bad’ face, says that it doesn’t matter. No one else but her can understand her pictures. All of a sudden, Junpei is alarmed. He sees blood on her arm again, soaking the bandages around her wrist.

Yeah, apparently this chick is cutting herself.

DEATH IS INEVITABLE: 31

I can’t ignore that with how suicide is the theme controlling what is apparently the looming apocalypse in this game. It’s a theme Atlus really should’ve kept their hands off of.

Junpei is distressed to find this out, Akihiko is exasperated, and Mitsuru says she can’t be left unattended for even a moment—which is why they’ve been in the hospital so damn much, I guess. She also makes mention that Chidori heals at an astounding pace. Chidori demands they let go of her, and Junpei asks her, shocked, if she did that cut at the station to herself. She says she never asked for his help, and makes it known that he was the one who misunderstood the situation.

Junpei demands she stop doing that, claiming he won’t let her, and she again doesn’t answer him. Mitsuru says he needs to leave as the doctor will be here soon, and Chidori stares at him as he leaves. Mitsuru turns to her and mentions that oh, looks like she’s speaking now. End scene.

I want everyone to know that nothing about what I typed here is exaggerated or played up to look worse than it is. Chidori really is barely responding to him anymore than anyone else, and really is still quite disdainful of him.

Handed control, we transition to after school, and then spend time with Yukari, who seems a bit troubled as she asks to walk home together.

Yukari takes us to Chagall Cafe, where she wonders about the pheromone coffee, and we seem to be having a good time. Yukari even confides in us, blushing, that she’s thinking about looking for a boyfriend, and we tell her to get to it, she’s got a lot of boys to impress. Yukari gets serious for some time, saying that she’s not going to let her fear of losing a loved one prevent her from showing love. Here she is, looking back at herself, and saying how she used to want never to get married. Though she’s flustered, she says she likes the new her, and attributes her positive change to us. RANK UP!

That done, she invites us on a group date she’s thinking about attending.

At the dorm, no one’s available to hang out, so we go study.

9/9. Junpei meets us outside the gates to apologize for not being around, saying he can’t just leave her…

Romantic Plot Cancer: 09

Yes, you can. She was going to kill you. You’ve shown her more loyalty than you’ve shown us. Stop that. We tell him to take care of himself, hint hint. We go to equip a Temperance Persona since for the first time in forever, we’re going to go hang out with Bebe.

He tries to be light-hearted, but he’s got a heavy look on him that says not to ask. We get to work on sewing a cute bag, which he compliments us on. Once we’re done, Bebe struggles to speak, before asking if we want to go somewhere to eat, and we say sure, and he admits there’s something he wants to talk about. We head over to the strip mall to eat, and he’s out with it: he might have to go back home. His aunt made his coming to Japan possible, but his uncle wasn’t on board. He’s yelling for Bebe to come home, “like ze mafia”, and I had to admit I laughed. If he goes back, he might never be able to return here. We tell him to stay, and fuck what his uncle has to say. He likes that idea, but that doesn’t mean it’s possible. He likes that he’s gotten to know us well, and refuses to say something, though. RANK UP!

At the dorm, Shinjiro is free, so we spend time with him. It’s off to the ramen shop again. It’s us that brought him this time, since he said where we go didn’t matter. He asks if we go here often, and we say we like eating here. It’s true either way, since every other Social Link has taken place here at some point. Shinjiro says Akihiko should eat here, as the dude ain’t getting a balanced diet. He asks if Aki is fighting well, in our honest opinion, and to that we give him a hell yeah, to which Shinjiro assures us he trusts our judgement, and then apologizes for being nosy. According to him, both Akihiko and Mitsuru both seem more comfortable fighting now than when he was first a part of the group. Our powers are helping out a lot too, he says, and we say we hope so. He gives a smile and asks if we aren’t confident, and can see we’re trying hard. What a 180 from the times back in May and June! RANK UP! He then lets us know to eat up before it gets cold.

9/10. At school, Ms. Terauchi talks about dinner in Japan, and asks what is said after we eat dinner. Junpei gets called on to answer, but his head being up a certain girl’s ass, he can’t, and asks us for help. The answer is “Gochisou-sama.”

Another goddamn Chidori scene. Can’t I play for five minutes without having to hear about this girl? Junpei is, of course, here again. He strolls in, all a-smiling and calls her “Chidorita”.

Romantic Plot Cancer: 10

You literally don’t know this girl like that! You didn’t even call us “Chris-tan” until you’d known us for four months! The only other person you call affectionate names is Yukari!

‘Chidorita’ says not to call her that, and he asks her to cheer up. He’s brought her a new sketchbook, figuring the old one might be getting full. Yeah, tell us again how you’re just here to try to get her piping up? She says that wasn’t necessary, Junpei, and not in a flattered tone, either. Him? All he heard was his name, and he laughs and says he was worried he’d never hear it again.

Romantic Plot Cancer: 11

She’s not even deigning to pretend to like him anymore, why is he so damn determined to be friendly with her?

Mitsuru and Akihiko both make noises indicating they feel the same way, or at least are rolling their eyes. Shinjiro, of all people, walks in and asks if they’re having any luck. Mitsuru says she’s talking now, but hasn’t said anything useful yet.

All of a sudden, Chidori makes a gasp for breath! Junpei asks what’s wrong as jumpy music plays! She’s clutching at her throat, and seems to be choking. Shadow-like noises occur, and Akihiko says he can feel something in here with us. Shinjiro alone seems to know what’s up, and rushes over, telling them to get out of the way, and he runs over and forces medicine down her throat. She gasps, Junpei yells her name, and Shinjiro drops a bombshell on us: her Persona went berserk.

According to Shinjiro, ‘it happens’, and this seems to be a typical occurrence. Mitsuru is as confused as we are, and Shinjiro snaps at them to pay attention: for just a second, her Persona was visible strangling her. “They” are not like “us” he says, and are not able to fully control their Personas. They need to take suppressants to keep their Personas from killing them.

DEATH IS INEVITABLE: 32

Calm Down There, Edgelord: 23

There is literally no reason for this to exist except to make Persona 3 EDGY and OMG YOUR PERSONAS CAN TURN ON YOU AND KILL YOU. First you summon them by shooting yourself in the head, now they can strangle you to death at any time? You’re starting to suck all the fun out of actually having one, Atlus.

And yes, I know a subplot hinges on this, and I can already think of other (better) ways for it to be done, so I have no guilt whatsoever about that Edgelord point.

Mitsuru is alarmed to find out that Shinjiro knows about Strega, and he admits living on the streets has gotten him in the know. He says he’ll give the doctor the right pills and the rest is up to them. He does not mention that it was his info that drove Strega to want to stop us in our mission. You sir, get a point for that.

WISTLH: 51

I regret that I had to give it—but this is also a missed opportunity. There’s a lot of guilt on Shinjiro’s shoulders, this would’ve been the perfect chance to add more.

Shinji leaves, and Akihiko calls for him and runs after him. Chidori is very distressed, and suddenly mentions Junpei’s name. Junpei is all relieved, thanking God, but she’s not comforted by his presence. She’d like to know why he looks so scared—after all, death is nothing to be afraid of.

DEATH IS INEVITABLE: 33

Junpei is scared and confused, and Chidori says that dying just means you “don’t wake up anymore”.

DEATH IS INEVITABLE: 34

Or a painful, violent end, in your case. Junpei is scared and confused, and says he doesn’t want her to die! Well, that makes one of us that gives a damn. Junpei says that just because she’s not afraid doesn’t mean no one else is.

……

Sorry to interrupt the scene like this, but I feel like this needs commenting on, especially since it feels like Atlus is trying to use this scene to push the game’s central conflict. Actually, most people tend to understand that dying isn’t to be feared. Dying itself is natural, we learn this as we grow. People often fear though, and have every right to fear, dying in a painful, humiliating, or depressing fashion. Chidori is talking about death in general, but just experienced a near-death one could easily fear. The lack of distinction here unsettles me.

Junpei then asks:

“Did you ever think about how I might feel?!”

Romantic Plot Cancer: 12

I wanted to give this five points, or even ten, but I held back. Let me explain something to you, Junpei:

NO. NO, SHE DIDN’T. BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T CARE. THIS CHICK DOESN’T KNOW YOU, DOESN’T EVEN LIKE YOU, AND HAS ASSAULTED YOU, KIDNAPPED YOU, AND TRIED TO KILL YOU. NO, SHE DOES NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK HOW YOU WOULD FEEL IF SHE DIED.

AND WHY THE HELL IS THE IMPORTANT PART HOW HE WOULD FEEL IF SHE DIED?! TO HELL WITH THE WOMAN, BUT CAN’T HAVE THE MAN GETTING HIS FEELINGS HURT, THAT WOULD BE TRAGIC.

~~(nooo don’t kill urself, ur so sexy aha)~~

She actually laughs at him, and calls him weird.

Romantic Plot Cancer: 13

Junpei tells her to look who’s talkin’. Yeah, I can just sense the chemistry here.

We cut to outside the hospital, where Akihiko has caught up with Shinjiro. He asks what’s going on and why he had those pills. He explains that he’s heard about them, and that they’re taken to suppress a Persona when the user can’t control it—aka exactly what Shinjiro just explained. What Akihiko worries of are the side-effects. He then asks if Shinjiro’s taking them, and of course he is, though he won’t admit it. He tells Aki to take his preaching and speeching and shove them up his ass—followed by Akihiko socking him in the jaw.

Akihiko then dives headfirst into Tragic Backstory Mode, rambling about the fire at the orphanage ten years ago, and how he was held back and couldn’t save his sister, Miki, explaining it to be why he tries so hard. He also describes a promise they made to become strong enough to do what’s right. Somehow this translatesto‘Shinjiro shouldn’t be taking drugs to preserve his life’.

Ill Logic: 52

The road to Persona 3’s idea of Deep and Multi-Dimensional Characterization is a poorly-paved one indeed.

Shinji tells him to drop it because he’s back in SEES now, after all, but Akihiko’s still worried about the side-effects. Shinjiro tells him to butt out, as there’s something he needs to do that only he can do. End scene.

The side-effects, by the way, since the game doesn’t bother to explain them, are purely physical. Shinjiro’s coughing fits, and inability to regulate his body temperature (necessitating in his wearing that thick clothing at all times) are said side-effects. I would understand if there were psychological side-effects to a drug designed to contain and control a manifestation of one’s psyche, but there don’t appear to be any.

Ill Logic: 53

Today after school, we spend time with Saori.

The library is barely getting any traffic today, which she remarks on. Since this morning, we ask? And she seems to have an odd reaction. A female student enters the library, and I get a sense of foreboding. She quickly turns around and leaves, however, causing Saori to wonder if people aren’t coming to the library because of her. We ask her what she means, and Saori tries to brush it off as just her standing out. According to her, no one talks to her or answers if she says hello, so it’s not like she’s being bullied. No hun, just shunned, which is still bad. She tries to warn us that if we’re seen with her, new rumors might start. We tell her to let the assholes talk for all we care, which she finds touching and appreciates.

Ms. Ounishi walks in next, and asks if we have anything to add in the extra space that’s in this week’s newsletter. She and Saori go back and forth, wondering if there is or isn’t anything to write about, and according to Ms. Ounishi’s research, love advice columns are popular with the student body these days, and advises us to pump out some fake letters and answer the questions. This makes Saori apprehensive, and Ms. Ounishi says hey, it’s what the people want. She walks out, leaving us to the task. Saori searches until she finds the newsletter manuscript, noticing how much space there is left. She resolves to get it done, but...flounders. She asks us what sounds like a realistic problem someone would have.

> “I can’t get a boyfriend.” (I feel this one.)
> “My boyfriend’s cheating on me.” (Asking a newsletter? I’d have already dumped him.)
> “My boyfriend’s too controlling.” (Eehhhh…..)

The option I’d have put is “I can’t get this boy’s affection, but this chick who he barely knows and who tried to kill him can’t get him to stop pawing at her.”

Saori is positive, but is clearly not ready to write about this stuff, and draws a blank. She asks if she can do the title and layout, and let us handle the article itself, and hey, we’re down. Admitting she doesn’t have much to draw on, she shocks us with language.

“My personal experiences aren’t worth shit here.”

When we voice our surprise at her, she laughs, and says she wanted to try cursing for once. We congratulate her, and she says it’s a wonderful thing to be able to say what you want to say out loud. She says she learned it from us, and might’ve felt jealous of our ability to speak our mind. We RANK UP.

She tries imitating a lovestruck tween girl in a long-distance relationship, and laughs. We finish the article, and leave.

That evening, we get a call from Theodore. He lets us know about a path in Tartarus opening up, so we know the senpais are coming back from the hospital today. When we’re handed control, Mitsuru informs us she’s letting Junpei ‘take care’ of Chidori for the time being.

Weren’t you skeptical earlier? Why would you let that judgement-impaired asshole deal with her alone?!

Romantic Plot Cancer: 14

Ill Logic: 54

Akihiko sullenly mentions that they’re giving up on Chidori, who hates them—well, not all of them, he says. Dude, at last check, she hated Junpei, too. We spend time with Ken.

We’re at a restaurant with Ken again, and he’s eating fried chicken gumbo. He opens by saying the rice here is always a little dry, and wonders if it’s because we always come so late. It would be dry if the rice was cooked around noon. We ask him if he wants to come earlier next time, and he backpedals, saying we should be going out and doing stuff with our friends, not hanging out with a kid like him, and he gets all red as he says he’s more than happy just to get food with us once in a while. He makes us guess something to make the rice taste better when you cook it, and we’re right when we guess ‘honey’. He then mentions that the phrase ‘love makes food taste better’ means it’s supposed to be carefully and attentively prepared. We ask if his mom taught him that, and he actually learned it from a manga. He thinks we don’t read manga, and when we tell him we do, he brings up us being a grown-up and a girl again. We tell him we just can’t stop reading them! This makes him laugh. He tells us about a manga published monthly wherein the main character is an alien and takes on the shapes of people and animals to fight bad guys, and it’s intense and action-filled. Before we know it, he’s going off on how great this one chapter was. He stops short, catching himself acting ‘childish’ again, but we encourage him to keep talking. We ask, when he thinks he shouldn’t read things like that, if we can borrow it and he doesn’t answer, but he does thank us for the food. RANK UP!

He’s about to ask us something, but stops himself before we leave.

9/11. Yukari meets us outside the gates, wondering why Shinjiro came back to SEES so suddenly. Edogawa is teaching again, making me drag my hands down my face. He’s talking about Renaissance magic, and asks about a book that helped further magic study—it’s the Hermetica. After class, Junpei is of course thinking about Chidori. We hang out with Rio. She’s a little distressed as she invites us to practice.

She and we practice alone, and Ms. Kanou comes by, the other club members walking in behind her. She’s heard about a ‘fight’, and says we can’t have that now can we? She orders us to make with the making up. Rio stays silent, but a member of the club speaks, saying that it wasn’t any one person that started it, but each side’s attitudes did make things worse. Now that people are actually speaking, Ms. Kanou walks off. Rio is still silent, and we advise her that things can’t change unless she’s willing to talk to them. Gathering herself, she apologizes to the club, saying things were said that shouldn’t have been, and admits she might’ve been forcing her opinions on everyone else. They apologize too, saying they weren’t acting like a team. They wonder if Rio’s changed, and she wonders that too. Rio has another pause before she retracts her statements on relationships, and says it’s tough being in love, flabbergasting the club member who spoke. Everyone else shares in the shock, and she wonders if it’s so hard to believe. Everyone is suddenly very curious, wanting to know who it is, but we keep our lips zipped. Rio glows—not just a blushing portrait, she glows—and pipes up, embarrassed, that it’s Kenji.

Yuko of all people runs up, unable to believe it’s Kenji any more than the others. I, too, am shocked. Everyone begins to encourage her, but she’s not quite ready to make the leap, and she’d rather not ruin the friendship they have. Brushing this off, she says hey, why don’t we practice since everyone’s here for a change? We ask her if she’s sure she’s okay, and when she confirms she is, we RANK UP!

Shinjiro’s free when we get to the dorm, so we spend time with him. He tries to act like he’s not happy about that.

We’re back at the restaurant. He opens by saying something crossed his mind the last time he was here. He mentions the others, who eat on their own, and asks if they’re doing okay. We ask what he means, and he reiterates that a person’s body is their most important tool, and notes that all the rest of SEES ever seems to eat is instant noodles. But, maybe it’s better for them to eat what they like, if Persona really is the power of the heart, he muses. We answer, probably with a grin on our face, that he’s so kind-hearted, and he’s embarrassed. He asks us to make sure they eat better, since the others won’t listen if it’s him, especially Akihiko. We RANK UP! He then stares our way until we eat our veggies.

9/12. Theodore calls to let us know another human got lost in Tartarus, and also makes note that it’s someone we know! Eh, we’ll let ‘em stay in there for another seventeen days/hours. In class today, Mr. Ono is talking about the Kamakura shogunate, which he immediately skips in favor of the Sengoku era, talking about the Ohnin War in 1467 and Coup of Meiou in 1493, and we stay awake despite being tired.

We get another scene of Chidori’s hospital room. Junpei walks in, letting her know that no one else is coming today, and that she can’t have her Evoker back. She expected this much. He asks how her cut is doing, and figures it’s probably already healed. He asks why she’s not drawing today, and she in turn asks if it matters. Sheepishly saying no, he then turns to her flowers, saying the heat must’ve dried them all. Why does this chick have flowers? It can’t have been Junpei who brought them, since that’s immediately what he suggests doing to replace them, like he just thought of it. He starts to ask her favorite kind of flower, but then asks what’s the matter. She takes the flowers, and appears to focus herself, and before Junpei’s eyes, the flowers un-wither and become healthy again! Junpei is shocked, particularly as they’re cut flowers. She doesn’t answer properly when asked how she did it, just stating she made them healthy again, and Junpei is all excited, calling her healing a miracle. I literally do not understand this kid, he lives around several people with healing powers, why is this a shock? Is healing flowers more impressive than healing people?

Ill Logic: 55

Chidori voices my same opinion, mentioning it’s nothing special. After all, he has powers too, doesn’t he? He says yes, but that’s all—without them, he’d be a nobody. He beats himself up for talking a big game and pretending to be a hero, but he doesn’t even know what he’s fighting for or why he’s even here.

Chidori vaguely repeats the last part of his statement, and he mentions a crazy dream he had when he was a kid. She asks what dream, and he answers that he dreamed of growing up to be a pro baseball player. He calls it stupid. She just asks if that’s so, and says she doesn’t remember much from her childhood. All she can remember is being surrounded by white, like now, and says she hates hospitals. He says he hates them too, and says sorry. She pipes up that she doesn’t mind as much this time, since he comes to see her so often.

Romantic Plot Cancer: 15

Why? Up until this point, you’ve been cold and disdainful and at best lukewarm to this kid. Or are you just buttering him up again now that the rest of SEES, who aren’t vulnerable and panting for attention, aren’t here to monitor him? Because that’s what it looks like, and that’s what I’d suspectafter last time.

It should be noted that as far as building romances goes, I don’t mind this sort of approach—just two people talking idly and slowly getting to know each other better. Key word: slowly. Junpei’s hospital visits to her are probably the only time they can actually talk without being enemies because Chidori has no means of being physically hostile to him, and this is probably the only visit where she isn’t upset by something or attacked by something. Using the slow burn approach only works if you actually appreciate the slow pacing! It’s been less than a week since Chidori tried to fucking kill him! Less than a week!

Urgh. Anyway, he blushes, and says he won’t let her down. End scene.

Being handed control, we go head to TPI station and into its back alleys, finding the Mahjong club. It’s here we find the “beautiful tile” mentioned by Theodore’s request with a peacock on it—but we need both high courage to enter and good luck to get it. Theo pretends he knew all along that it was a Mahjong tile, and gives us Akihiko’s summer outfit.

We meet with Fuuka today. She’d like to make rice balls again, as since it’s the only thing she can make, she’d like to master it. We’re gonna make chocolate truffles. When we’re done, we see her standing and doing nothing at a desk some distance away, saddened that the rice is all soggy, and holding a rice cooker filled to the edge. She calls herself hopeless, and considering we must’ve told her to just try harder a dozen times, this time we instead tell her that’s not true. She wonders what to do with all the rice that’s no good, and we tell her it’s rice porridge now. Which is a thing, for anyone doubting, it’s not made-up. This perks her right up. It’s actually good when she adds the pickled plums, too! We RANK UP! She writes down in her notes to be careful with how much water she adds in future.

We spend time with Shinjiro again tonight, and for the first time, Tender Feeling isn’t playing, but something more upbeat. Before we can actually leave though, Shinjiro asks if we smell something. Yes, we do, and it smells rotten. Who should it be but Fuuka, practicing at the counter? Poor girl was trying to make beef stroganoff. Shinjiro doesn’t say anything for a sec, but then asks about the roux. Fuuka, smiling dippily, says she didn’t use any! She just made it from scratch with flour! Shinjiro dope slaps her—no, not really, but he does tell her not to act so proud after burning it. Noting that she still has unused ingredients, and hearing her say she brought extra of everything, he tells her to stand back and learn by watching as he, a beanie-clad coat-laden rough-talking thug-faced greaser, makes beef stroganoff. He asks if we’re okay with that for dinner, and when we voice excitement, he gets his shy smile on and tells us not to get our hopes up. Fuuka apologizes for interrupting our evening with Shinji, but he snaps her to attention.

While we watch, he cooks. While he cooks, he questions. How much of each ingredient? How exactly was she doing what and when? Fuuka again answers, obliviously shameless, and reveals her complete lack of direction or grace when making food. There’s so much wrong with what she did, he’s not sure where to begin correcting it. Blunt as ever, he nevertheless tells her constructively to not mess around with shit and deviate until she knows basic cooking skills first. After shaming her, he starts giving her instructions, showing off that he knows his way around a kitchen. By the time he’s done, it looks like he pulled it straight out of a cookbook’s photograph. When she says it looks delicious, he tells her to pipe down and eat it before it gets cold. We thank him earnestly for the food, embarrassing him. It’s delicious!

> “This is delicious.” (Straight to the point.)
> “I feel so lucky...” (That’s ass-kissing, but hey, I’m an ass-kisser.)
> “I guess looks are deceiving.” (I mean, they are, but let’s not imply something negative like a dick.)

Shinjiro, all red in the face, accuses us of exaggerating. Fuuka is wowed, asking him to promise to teach her again despite him minimizing how good he is. She insists on cleaning up, and when we’re by our lonesome again, he remarks he’s been pulled into saidpromise without getting a chance to speak...but he’s down. We let him know that next time, why not make enough for everyone? He’s wary of treating everyone to dinner, but that facade melts quickly enough and he smiles, saying maybe he could, just once in a while. Having watched him indulge in a surprising thing he likes doing, we RANK UP! Having agreed on that, he says he’s gonna check up on Fuuka, right in time to hear a plate break. His reaction is hilariously deadpan.

Dark Hour cut-in!

CREEPY BOY IS BACK.

Pharos remarks on how long it’s been, and that we’ve known each other for ‘three seasons’. Many things change, but some things will always be the same, he says. We disagree—everything can change. He considers that, and concedes we might have a point. He turns the conversation to memories, and Tartarus, but only briefly, before wondering if ‘our relationship’ will stay the same. 1) Spoiler alert, it won’t, and 2) you mean this faux-friendship where you spookily arrive on my bed at midnight and thoroughly bug me? He says we’ll be friends no matter what the future holds. Fuck you, kid. RANK UP! He says goodnight, calling us ‘my dearest’ again.

Calm Down There, Edgelord: 24

Just had to sneak in that point there, didn’t you?

9/13. It’s a Sunday, but rather than meeting with Akinari, we’re supposed to go out with Yukari, who rings us up. Since her Link’s almost complete, we accept. We go to the manga cafe, and she expounds on some shoujo romances she’s read. We give the right answer to the prompt, and give her chocolate truffles, ensuring we’ll reach MAX rank soon.

At the dorm, everyone has something to say about Shinjiro, except Ken, who mopes about how Koromaru can be happy just eating a meal. We go up to our room to study.

It’s only been a week, but it’s worth thirteen, almost fourteen pages, so we’d better cut it off here. Hopefully the next post will be the last one for September.

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