Let's Play Persona 4: Everyday's Great at your Junes!

Aiiiyyyyyyaaaa

The rain from last night is still going on. Classes are uneventful today --- Pockets doesn't recall any of it.

It's raining and no one wants to hang out or do anything with us. That means rescue time! But before that, there are a few things we need to do at the Shopping District.

On rainy days, the gas station attendant that greeted us on our way here stands chilling at the shopping district. He never mentions that part-time job he offered us again. Jerk.



Attendant: When it rains in the middle of the night, look into a TV that's turned off... And wonder of wonders, you'll see your soulmate in the screen. I don't know if it's true or not, but there seem to be a lot of people who believe it. Maybe I should try it myself.

The avid reader standing in front of the bookstore is also here on rainy days. He's one of the feel NPC outside when it rains.



We aren't here to chat with NPC though. We want to get some consumables from Shiroku.



We get some Goho-M...



... Medicines...



... and Revival Beads.



After that shopping spree, we have about 400 yen left. I guess I'm good at resource management! This is doubly true, as you will see later.

Then we just head to Junes.



Calling our friends to Junes is how we enter the TV. On rain days, they sit under a tent.



And so we're back in the TV world! Back in Yukiko's Castle, we can start right away at Floor 8.



But the only thing in floor 8 is a big double door, so once we're there we turn around to go to floor 8. Time for some grinding! This doesn't happen very often in P4, and when it happens, we're usually grinding Personas' levels instead of Pockets's levels.

Chie's Mabufu proves to be very useful against these guys.



After a few battles, ArchAngel levels up to 12, and learn the important skill that we want.



Media is like Dia, but plural. It heals everyone in the party a light amount of HP. This can be the difference between victory and defeat in the next boss fight.

We switch to Slime immediately after that.



After a single battle, Slime levels up from 2 to 6! Experience scales well in this game, so it's easy to bring your Personas (and, more importantly, your party members) up to the current level.





Of all those shiny new skills, the one we care most about is Red Wall. It nullifies Fire weakness for 3 turns.

There's only a problem. Slime is level 2, with abysmal endurance. More importantly, it's weak to fire! To mitigate this, we'll fuse Slime into something else without a fire weakness. Or even better, one with a fire strength, like this one.



Since we're at rank 3 with Yousuke, the Magician social link, we get a fair amount of bonus exp. This will bring Orobas up to level 9 or 10. The skills with red background are the ones he inherits from the other Slime and Valkyria. None of them is Red Wall, so we abort and reselect those 2 personas again.

After what felt like 100 retries, we get this:



Orobas's Strength is abysmal, so Cleave isn't that great, but with Red Wall we'll take it.

With the social link bonus, Orobas goes up 1 level. And with the fusion forecast, he gains some bonus stats.



Now, it's time for the show!

The door swings open, and standing on top of the stairs is Shadow Yukiko.



The real Yukiko is here, too!



Shadow Yukiko: Oh? Oooooh, what's this? Three princes are here to see me!? My my! Are you the surprise guests who came in late? Awwwww… I wish I'd gotten a better look at you! My, it's getting crowded here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else…? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my Prince, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon… pretty please?

Teddie has very high-priority things in mind.



Chie: Three princes…? Wait, does that include me, too…?
Teddie: Duh! The third one's gotta be me!
Yousuke: I seriously doubt that…
Shadow Yukiko: Chie... *chuckle* Yes, she's my prince... She always leads the way… Chie's a strong Prince… Or at least, she WAS.
Chie: Was…?
Shadow Yukiko: When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough! She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!
Chie: Yukiko…



Shadow Yukiko: Historic inn? Manager training!? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all!
Yukiko: That's not true…
Shadow Yukiko: I just want to go somewhere far away… Anywhere but here… Someone, please take me away… I can't leave here on my own… I'm completely useless…
Yukiko: Stop… Please stop…
Shadow Yukiko: I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave… So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my Prince will come! I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!
Yukiko: How dare you...?
Shadow Yukiko: That's how I really feel.



Yukiko: N-No…
Yousuke: Stop! Don't say it!



These words. They are powerful. For shadows, that's literal.





In a flash of light, Shadow Yukiko transforms into a phoenix in a cage.



Yukiko: Aagh!
Chie: Yukiko!
Teddie: We have to stop it! That girls in danger!
Yousuke: We know!
Chie: It's all right, Yukiko… Just hang in there! We'll save you!

And so the hardest battle of the game begins.



Shadow Yukiko is the first real boss of the game, and unlike the tutorial bosses Shadow Yousuke and Shadow Chie, she has no weakness. She's also immuned to most things except Down (which she will only be if she gets hit by a critical hit). Despite being the first real boss of the game, she's by far the hardest boss (except for the bonus boss, which we can't get through on this playthrough anyway). Her fight is so difficult that apparently they nerfed her and gave her an ice weakness in P4 Golden.

Being high level helps, but like in all other fights in this game, that's nowhere nearly as important as having the right Personas --- which we certainly do. Or so I hope! That may actually be the reason why this fight is so hard. At this level, our Persona options are limited. At higher levels, we have lot more options and abilities, and so boss fights just aren't that hard anymore with the right preparation.

This party, however, is a bit under-level. Pockets is level 16, which is about right, but both Chie and Yousuke are level 12. But that shouldn't be much of a problem. What will be a problem is that I was an idiot and forgot to restore the party SP and HP to full before the fight, as you can see in the next screenshot.

First of all, Pockets does a very important thing: casting Red Wall on Chie.



Chie's a fire weakness, so this will help her tremendously. It's awfully expensive though: it costs 18SP and lasts for 3 turns.

After Yousuke uses Garu and Chie uses Skewer, Shadow Yukiko attacks Chie with Agi, the light damage fire skill. Good thing we had that red wall up!



To mitigate my idiocy in the beginning of the fight, we switch to ArchAngel and use Media on the party.



Another round of Garu and Skewer from Yousuke and Chie, and Shadow Yukiko's turn comes around again.





Shadow Yukiko summons the Charming Prince, who isn't all that charming. He sure is supportive, though! Throughout the fight, he will cast Diarama (the medium heal skill, one tier above Dia) as well as several other buffs on Shadow Yukiko. It's best to take him out before we even worry about Shadow Yukiko at all. Fortunately, he is weak to Ice, which hopefully Chie will cast.

Chie does exactly that when her turn comes! Even better, she casts Mabufu.



And again.



This makes the Prince dizzy and loses his next turn. This is extremely good for us!

Prince Charming spends his turn being dizzy while Shadow Yukiko casts Agi at Pockets.



Chie uses Mabufu again when it's her turn, but unfortunately there's no way to keep an opponent Dizzy forever. Also bad for us is that Chie's red wall runs out on her turn.

Speaking of which, buffs and debuffs duration is a bit weird this game. They don't run out on the caster's turn, but instead they run out on the person they're cast on's turn. In addition, you can't recast the same buff or debuff when the previously one is still there. As a result, Chie's red wall will run out on her turn, and she will be vulnerable for one of Yukiko's turn. There isn't really a way around that unless Chie is sandwiched between two red-wall-casters, but even that strategy will make her vulnerable once every 6 turns. If we were directly controlling Chie, we'd just have her guard through this.

Shadow Yukiko uses this opportunity to cast Agi on Chie. With her One More, she uses White Wall on Prince Charming. Oh no! This nullifies his Ice weakness for 3 turns. Shadow Yukiko uses White Wall only with her One More, so in a direct command game this almost never happens.



Pockets quickly fixes this with another Red Wall. After that, the Prince uses his turn to cast Sukukaja on Shadow Yukiko. This increases her Hit/Evasion rate, making it more likely that we misses her and she hits us. She uses Double Fang, her Physical x2 skill on Chie (light physical damage, hit 2 times).



With White Wall up, Chie only uses her normal attack and misses. This results in a strange picture.



On his turn, Prince Charming uses Cleave on Yousuke. Cleave's damage is okay, I guess, but his version of Cleave has a special ability: it can inflict fear. And it does, this time.



In a normal battle, a party member inflicted with fear will "Escape" on their turn and leave the battle. They can't do this in a boss battle, so most likely they will be "paralyzed with fear" on their turn.

Shadow Yukiko has a formidable combo with Fear, and she goes right after the Prince. Let's just say that it's a good thing Yousuke's health is almost full, though that may not even matter.



Woaa, she misses! Yousuke has the highest agility of the party, so it's true he's more likely to dodge out of the way. That was very lucky.

On Pockets's turn, for some reason I didn't use an Amrita Soda to cure Yousuke of his fearful status. Either I was being an idiot again, or I had some good reason that I can't remember now. I think instead, I used Dekaja to cancels out Yukiko's hit/evasion bonus.

Prince Charming uses Cleave on Pockets, and Yukiko uses Shivering Rondo on Yousuke again. This time it hits, dealing a whooping more than 100 damage.



Yousuke is no longer fearful next turn, thankfully. Chie also dodges an Agi thrown at her when her Red Wall is down. It's been down for 2 turns actually, but Pockets couldn't recast it because he was Dizzy from a critical Cleave hit.



As soon as the Prince's White Wall is down, Chie casts Mabufu again.



Yousuke offers a follow-up! This is kind of cool, but Chie will lose her One More if we accept. His follow-up will be on Shadow Yukiko, the only not-down foe, and for some reason this will not bring her down (only a real critical hit will). This is less desirable than focus-firing on the Prince and making him dizzy, so we decline, and Chie uses Mabufu again.



Eventually, Chie finishes the Prince off with an attack.



Shadow Yukiko is not so happy about this. She tries to summon him again, but he won't appear. Kind of sad, really.





So, at this point, Pockets's SP has gone to low to for us to use Red Wall, so he sticks to Media.



Chie is not in a good position right now, but at this point we can probably afford to lose her, since the weak-to-ice Prince is dead. Giving Shadow Yukiko a One More is less than ideal, so if Chie goes down we won't revive her. Along that line, we switch Yousuke's tactics from Act Freely to Full Assault, so he will not heal Chie.

Shadow Yukiko is clearly upset on her turn. As the Prince is gone, she uses Burn to Ashes, her unique multi-target fire skill.





With her one more from knocking Chie down, she uses Double Fang.



This goes on for a while, with Shadow Yukiko uses Burn to Ashes almost every turn. At some point, Pockets runs out of HP to cast Media too. We're in big trouble here, because our single-target healing won't be able to keep up with her Burn to Ashes. We switch to Orobas for the fire strength, and makes Pockets a dedicated Medicine thrower.



At some point, I had to use our only Bead on Pockets (it restores him to full HP).

After this, she starts using Assault Drive instead of Double Fang. It does more damage in one blow than Double Fang's two hit.

Shadow Yukiko eventually goes down on Yousuke's attack.



But we were very, very, very lucky! Somehow toward the end, Shadow Yukiko didn't use Burn to Ashes at all, which was unusual for her. Also whenever she used Agi, she used it on Yousuke and Pockets instead of Chie. We had like 4 medicines left at the end, so if the fight went on for more than four more turns, we'd be at a dilemma because Pockets had no healing capability left and we'd have to put Yousuke's tactics to Full Support, and let Pockets use physical skills.

Pockets also gain a level. Oh, I guess I lied when I said he was level 16. He was actually level 15.



After the fight, we run to help Yukiko on the floor.



Chie: Yukiko, are you hurt…!?
Yukiko: No… I'm not-



Yousuke: Everyone has something they can't show to other people, or don't want to admit to themselves…
Chie: Yukiko… I'm sorry. I was so self-centered that… I never understood what you were going through… I'm your friend, and I still… Oh, I'm so sorry…
Yukiko: Chie…
Chie: I was always jealous of you, Yukiko. You had everything that I didn't… That jealousy was like a wall, and I was so lonely…! I wanted you to need me… But it was me who needed you. I can't do anything right on my own… I've caused so much trouble for Yosuke and the others.
If you weren't by my side, I… I wouldn't know what to do…



Yukiko:I never saw the real you either… I was too busy trying to find an easy way out. "I want to run away…" "I want someone to save me…" You're right, those feelings are part of me, too.







A lot has happened, and Yukiko collapses from the exhaustion.



Yukiko: Yes, I'm just a little tired… You all came to rescue me…?
Chie: Of course!
Yukiko: Thank you…
Chie: Don't even mention it. I'm just so glad you're safe…
Yousuke: Hehe… Right on.

Teddie gets right to the point.



He's persistent, too!

Yukiko: Huh…? Who are you? Rather… What are you?
Teddie: I'm Teddie! So, who threw you in?
Yukiko: I don't know… I think… someone called my name… But my memory's a blur. I can't remember who it was… I'm sorry, um… Teddie.
Teddie: No new clues…
Yousuke: Not necessarily. Now we know for sure that someone threw Yukiko-san in here.
Teddie: Hrmm… Then it really isn't you guys…



Yousuke: You little…! You're one lying sack of honey…
Chie: Anyways, let's hurry back home, Yukiko looks exhausted… Thanks gain, Teddie!
Teddie: Huh? Wait, you're leaving me here?
Yousuke: Leaving you? What're you talking about? You live here.
Teddie: Well… yeah, but…
Yukiko: I'm sorry, Teddie. I promise to come again… So be a good boy and wait here until then.



It says "rawrr", but it sounded like a "mroww" to me.



I didn't recognize it when I was playing the game, but this is actually something Shadow Yukiko said, and Teddie is repeating it!

Outside of the TV, everyone rests at the usual group meeting point.



Yukiko: I'm sorry, but… I don't remember anything…
Chie: Well, no worries! You're safe, and that's more than enough.
Yousuke: But there's no mistake that Yukiko-san was… um…Attacked… the same way as the last two victims. And I think the one we saw on the Midnight Channel wasn't the real Yukiko-san, but her Shadow. Maybe the things Yukiko-san was suppressing in this world took form in the TV…?
Chie: You know, Teddie was saying something like that…
Yousuke: Awww, it's no use. I'm just going round and round in circles.



We'd like to give it some more thoughts, but Yukiko is probably tired!



Sneaky, sneaky stat increase.

Chie: Yeah, we can go over it some other day. Yukiko really needs to get some rest. I'll take her home.
Yousuke: Oh, that's right… Sorry. Yukiko-san must be exhausted. We'll talk about this all some more once she gets her strength back.

Back at home, we're alone watching TV with Nanako again. This time, however...



Young Detective: Hi there.
Dojima: We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a right back to his place. And I thought we might as well swing by.
Young Detective: Nice to meet ya. I'm Adachi, the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring.
Dojima: I can still work you harder, you know.
Adachi: Haha, good one, Sir! Ha… ha… Oh, I almost forgot! You're friends with Yukiko Amagi, right? They found her safe and sound! Tell all your friends at school!



Adachi: But this doesn't mean the case is closed, though. We were just questioning Ms. Amagi, but she says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. And we can't figure out her whereabouts during the missing period, either. It's like she really disappeared. It's all pretty fishy, if you ask me… Like there's something else going on…
Ow!
Dojima: Stop blabbering, dumbass!
Adachi: S-Sorry…



Dojima:Don't worry. The police aren't common hayseed who believe everything they hear. He's just muttering to himself. Don't take it seriously.
Nanako: I'm hungry.
Dojima: Hey, you're right. My stomach's growling too.
Adachi: Hahaha, so you do have a softer side around Nanako-chan, Sir.
Dojima: Shut up and siddown… And wash those hands first! Hm, I should do the same…
> Dinner promises to be lively for once…

Wooo! So we just succeeded in our first rescue mission. I'd say something about Yukiko and her Persona, but the game goes immediately to the next day so I couldn't take a screenshot. Next time!

Voting for tomorrow, while waiting for Yukiko to recover:

Thursday April 28

1/ Afternoon:

Tomorrow is another rainy day, so our options are still limited here.

- Go to drama practice: hang out with Yumi, raise Expression. Also note that it will rain again tomorrow, too, but drama practice won't be available tomorrow.

- Study in the library: I feel like this is actually a valid option (maybe), because the Knowledge bonus is double on a rainy day. Good if you need to up Knowledge really fast or cram for exams.

- Eat at Aiya: increase 3 stats at once!

2/ Evening:

There's actually a specific thing we want to do in the evening: raiding the fridge. But if you really want, we can study or fold envelopes (to raise Diligence and get some money).

Let's go talk with Yumi.

Man, run your lackey a little harder, why don't you, Dojima?

Drama practice!

"You're one lying sack of honey" is my new favorite insult.

Drama tomorrow, and the restaurant the day after that

Yarp, Golden gave Bird In A Gilded Cage an ice weakness. Not that she really needed it; Golden makes it absurdly easy to grind in one TV World session anyway, making it easier to win just by tossing bigger numbers at her. Contrarian King, though, is still the same bastard he's always been.

But they also added another feature, which I discovered in my current NG+: deal too much damage to the Charming Prince in too short a time, and he runs away. I'm so sad that it took me by surprise, otherwise I'd have screencapped it...

Drama and library tomorrow.

Whoaaaa, that's cool! I'd like to see it happens, too!

Too bad they made Shadow Yukiko ridiculously easy, though. I've always thought the point of her battle was to teach first-time players that having the right Personas can make a world of difference.

I think it still does honestly. Though giving her the Ice Weakness just stops her from being one of the toughest fights in the entire game. In my thoughts of course. And yeah the Bonus Bosses are still utter hell.

Another rainy day, but this time with a good news.



Chie: Hey hey! Yukiko told me that she'll be able to come to school again in two days!



Chie: C'mon, you know it's because all three of us did our best…Actually, more like the three of us, and one animal-thingy…?

Also this is a Chie blushing face.



By the way, this conversation happens not because we rescued Yukiko yesterday. Regardless of when we rescue the victims, they will finish recovering the day the fog settles in after the 3 days of rain.

Classes are again uneventful today. Normally today's also a basketball practice day, but because it's raining, there's no basketball practice. Kou instead tells us about Aiya.



Drama practice is not affected by the rain though. Yumi usually stands near the classroom, and we can talk to her to go to practice. But before that, we need a Persona of the Sun Arcana, so we head to the Velvet Room in the shopping district.



Cu Sith is the earliest Sun Persona we can get. It will do! After that, we come back to see Yumi.





Drama Club President: Just doing fundamentals all the time gets boring, so let's try doing some real performing! We'll hold an audition. Everyone, remember the line I'm about to say. After the audition, well decide our roles and finish it off with a five-minute skit. Got it? Now pay attention…
"What crazes me is not the light of the moon, nor the golden sea, but merely the trickle of your tears."
You all got that? Well, I'm not going to repeat it!
Alright, we'll start with Pockets. Come on up here, in front of everybody. Show some emotion.
Yumi: Don't worry, believe in yourself!



These things would probably be harder if we didn't have everything written down.



> You're getting into it!
> You recited the entire line, with lots of emotion.
Drama Club President: Okay, next person! Maaya, you wanna try? We already know that you're going to be my main character!
Yumi: I'll try. I think I got it. "What crazes me…"
> Yumi appears to be a completely different person as she recites.
"…is not the light of he moon, nor the golden sea!"



> Yumi's own eyes are full of tears.
> She has become the character…


Impressed Student: That was amazing...
Jealous Student: She's always so good… It's scary…
Yumi: If anyone thinks they can do a better job than me, please come on up.
Drama Club President: Yumi, don't say it like that…



She has some attitude!

Drama Club Vice President: H-Hey, come on! We all remember the line, so we might as well do it, right? I think watching others act is a good experience, too. Don't you, Yumi?
Yumi: …You're right. Go ahead.
> Everyone recited the line, but…
> Yumi was the best, hands down.
Drama Club President: Okay, we've unanimously decided that Yumi will be the protagonist…
And she'll be opposite… Pockets! I mean, it's either you or me, and what I'd really rather do is direct.
> You must play Yumi's husband in a short skit…

A while later, after some rehearsing...



Yumi: Don't be so tense. This is just practice.



Yumi: Well, I'll lead you through it!
> Yumi seems excited.
Yumi: Acting is fun, isn't it? When you're acting, it's like you get to take on the life of another person. Not just yourself. Not some Yumi Ozawa… But another life to live… I don't need lights. I don't need costumes. All I need is a role to play.



Yumi: …Oh, sorry! If I keep talking, you'll end up forgetting your own lines, huh? …Let's give it a whirl, "darling!"
> With Yumi's encouragement, you decided to accept the role of her husband.
> You feel that your relationship with Yumi has deepened a little…



Another rank! Unlike the party member social links, ranking up in the other social links don't give you any combat benefit other than the fusion benefits.

Yumi: Alright! Want to ad-lib a kiss?
> With Yumi's help, you were able to complete the skit to the applause of the entire drama club.
> Yumi seems very happy. You went home.

About that thing in the fridge...



> …There's white miso.
> …?
> You think that this used to be red miso, though…
> There is a package of red miso, but it is far past its expiration date.
> ……
> Eat it…?



Here, if we choose "Never mind," the soup will just vanish and we'll never see it again. This is why we've been avoiding opening the fridge! The miso has been there for several days now. So if we know that there's gonna be something in the fridge (by, say, save and reload), it's best to save it for a night following a TV-world excursion, as on those days Pockets will be too tired to do anything in his room.



> ……
> ………
> Your tongue hurts…
> ……
> Your eyes water from the odor…
> ……
> Your throat is burning…



> However…
> You don't feel well…
> ……
> You decided to go to bed early today…

After eating the decade-old miso soup, Pockets immediately goes to bed.

Now, for the next day! No one wants to hang out in the afternoon because it will still be raining. We can eat at Aiya, or if you feel that Pockets's knowledge is inadequate, he can study in the library. The evening is not available.

There are... several bonus bosses? I only know of Margaret. This once can one-hit most or all of your party, so yeaahhh. Or do you also mean The Reaper? I miss the sound of rattling chains --- that guy should come out of his chests and roam around once in a while!

How long does it take to play an average day? say the one you just did?

Dungeon days can take hours. The day I just did took like 15 minutes. And that's because I had to take screenshots and stuff If I just play normally, it probably will take 5-10 minutes.

Writing up the LP takes a lot more time than playing it! Except on dungeon days, which is the opposite.

Eat at Aiya.

A preview.

(spoiler free mostly; the only thing that can be considered spoiler is the beef bowl itself and a character that we'll see soon)

Aren't guys like the Contarian King optional bonus bosses?

Oh! I guess so, though I kind of categorized him as "optional boss," separately from the Bonus Boss. Contrarian King is a big pain, but I found others not so difficult.

Stare into the meat dimension and see what stares back.

Another rainy day comes. It is, however, Showa Day, so Pockets gets a day off.

Dojima isn't at home today either, and Nanako, as usual, sits there watching TV. The curtain is open during the day and we can see the backyard. On non-rainy days, laundry is hanged outside on clothesline to dry.



It's a slow day with nothing much going on. Pockets heads to Aiya almost immediately.





We have a little bit more than 5,000 yen left, so let's let Pockets tries the Mega Beef Bowl.



> ……
> You still can't see the rice…
> ……
> You begin to suspect that your bowl is a portal to the Meat Dimension.
> The amount of meat contained within this bowl is truly staggering.
> ……
> In order to finish this bowl, you must have Understanding of your limits, Knowledge to control your pace…
> Courage to face this unrelenting tide of beef, and the Diligence to persevere against this colossal challenge.
> All these traits are necessary to master the Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge!
> You are unable to finish your meal in your current state.
> …You tried your best to finish the Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl Challenge, and your personality has grown tremendously.





Eating at Aiya on rainy days randomly raises 3 out of 4 stats (Expression excluded). The bowl can only be finished if we have these 4 stats max, at which point it will be pointless to go here =/

On the other hand, we discover where the restaurant name comes from.



One day, one day.

Pockets apparently spends all day eating at Aiya. The evening comes.



Weather Announcer: A thick fog is expected to set in tonight and remain until tomorrow morning, with heaviest concentration in the Inaba area. Anyone planning to go out tonight should take care. Now for our hourly weather breakdown…
Dojima: More fog, huh…? There's been a lot of that lately. Hopefully it's not a sign of more trouble…
Ah-ah-ah. What did I say about changing the channel without asking?
Commercial: Have a great day even during Golden Week at your local Junes! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!



Golden Week is a week in Japan where 3 of the week days are holidays (and I think 1 or 2 days of the previous wee too). I guess it's kind of like Thanksgiving, except they're all different, unrelated holidays!

Dojima: Haha, I heard. Do you want to go somewhere during the long holiday?
Nanako: We can go somewhere!?



Nanako: Then let's all go somewhere together!



Dojima:You're sure you want to go to Junes? We can go there anytime… Come on, girl, time for bed. It's late.
Nanako: Alright…



> Nanako seems very excited about the family outing.

After dinner, Pockets goes back to his room to check out the midnight channel. It's midnight...





Satisfied with this outcome, Pockets goes to sleep. Meanwhile...



There's some figure, but we can't make out who it is with all this fog. They say only one thing:



Yet, somehow we still hear it. Pronouncing silence seems to be a special abilities of all Persona 4 characters.

Then the figure walks away, the sound of their footsteps echoes in the night...

That's it for today! Tomorrow day and evening is not available, so no voting this time.

My pants hide a portal to the meat dimension

upon opening them one face's an unrelenting tide of beef

a colossal challenge if you will...

I just discovered the Yukiko Nendoroid. It's super cute!


WARNING: DO NOT CLICK ON THE TEDDIE NENDOROID. MAJOR SPOILER.

Yukiko has recovered this morning. She stands at the school gate awaiting Pockets.



Yukiko: Y-Yeah… I'll be coming to school again, so… That'll be nice. I caused everyone some real trouble. I'm sorry… No, "sorry" isn't quite right… What I mean to say is, thank you.
> Yukiko seems more cheerful than before.
Yukiko: My mother's back to work already. The maids are being really supportive, and I think things are going even smoother than before. I wonder if I was trying too hard… I may have been too caught up in the idea that I had to do everything by myself. Ever since the incident… I feel like I can think about these things more calmly. B-But… it's still kind of embarrassing…



Yukiko: I'd like to believe that…
Chie: Yukiko!
Yukiko: Oh, it's Chie. Well, I'll talk to you later.
> Yukiko has come back as energetic as ever.
> It's a good thing you were able to save her…

Pockets gets a mini-quiz in-class today.



Is it just me or older men in this game just can't seem to shut up about how cute Yukiko is? =/

Mr. Yamada: Ooops! I mean, all of you are cute! No, really! Er, please, don't tell your parents that I said that, will ya? I don't wanna get in trouble. Ahem, anyway, I have an interesting topic for you today. Close your books and take a look at the handout. Sounds like a good time to pick on the city boy, Pockets-kun.



This is another easy one! It would probably have been harder if the question was phrased differently. Answer: Mt. Olympus

Mr. Yamada: Wow, you really are from the city! …Well, I guess that doesn't have anything to do with it. Hahaha. On the planet Mars, Mt. Olympus, or "Olympus Mons," has an elevation three times that of Mt. Everest! People tend to think Everest is the highest mountain, but that's thinking inside the worldwide box. Since you got me started on mountains, I'm gonna cover some material on their characteristics…

Anyway, we get some more Knowledge.



After school, Pockets meets up with Yousuke and Chie on the rooftop. Yukiko arrives with two bowls of instant noodles.



Chie: These instant noodles are just the thing to help me through club… How much longer do I have to wait on this?
Yukiko: It still needs a few minutes.
Chie: So, why're we here…? Oh yeah, we were going to ask Yukiko what happened.
Yousuke: Yukiko-san, I hate to bring up stuff you'd rather not think about… But I need to ask you again. Do you recall anything about when you got kidnapped?
Yukiko: No… I thought I might remember something if I let it sit for a while, but as time passes it only gets hazier…



Yukiko:But when I woke up after that, I was already in the castle… I'm sorry.
Chie: No need to apologize.



Yousuke: I don't know… If it's true, then that's one daring criminal. What kind of killer would ring the doorbell? The police are probably looking for witnesses… but I don't think we can expect much from them. Heh, as if the culprit wore bright yellow clothes at the scene of the crime.
Chie: I wonder why whoever it is would do stuff like this.
Yousuke: We won't know until we confront 'em ourselves… But we can be sure of one thing. It's no coincidence that people keep ending up in that place. Someone on our side is definitely kidnapping them and throwing them into the TV. It's murder, all right… Oh yeah, we never told you. This guy and me are gonna catch the culprit ourselves!



But of course! She has a Persona now, too.

Yukiko: Huh? Um…
Chie: I'm helping out too! I can't believe someone would throw people into a place like that. I'm gonna sock whoever's doing this!
Yukiko: Chie… Let me help too. I want to know why this is happening. …Especially if someone hates me so much they want to kill me. I don't want to run away from myself anymore.
Yousuke: Alright! Then let's all work together and catch this asshole!
Yukiko: Agreed.



Yukiko joined the group, and our Fool social link gets to rank 2! From now on we can check Yukiko's stats and Persona in the Personas menu. I'll talk about Yukiko and her Persona another day, though, as this update is already a bit longer than the usual.



Yukiko: I'm the third one to be targeted so far… But I have a feeling this isn't the end of it. If we had an idea who might be targeted next, wouldn't we have an advantage over the killer?
Yousuke: So we'll outsmart them, huh…? Yeah, that might work. Okay, so let's see if we can figure out what ties the victims together. First, there was that announcer, Mayumi Yamano. Second was Saki Konishi… Senpai. Third was Yukiko Amagi.



Uhm, these are our only options so... I'll go with that one. The "they all live in Inaba" thing is kind of funny, because that's what Dojima said about the culprit, too.

Yousuke: Bingo.
Chie: How dare he target females! Now that is unforgivable! This culprit's gotta be some kinda pervert…
Yousuke: Bingo. Also, what about this? The second and third victims had some sort of connection to the first one.
Chie: Hey, that's right. Yukiko and Saki-senpai both had connections to that announcer…
Yukiko: That's true. Then… does that mean females connected in some way to Ms. Yamano's case are being targeted…?
Yousuke: Bingo. I think that's a safe assumption for now. There's another angle we can take, too. If another person disappears…
Chie: You think they'd be on that Midnight Channel? That happened right before Yukiko was kidnapped, too.
Yousuke: Bingo. Yeah, it's hard to tell who at first, but what's important is, it's happened before the victims disappeared.
Kinda like a ransom note. We still don't know why that happens, but we'll have to rely on it for now.
Yukiko: The next time it rains…

Satisfied with this discussed course of action, Yousuke moves onto more pressing matters.



Chie: Whoa, that's right! Chow time!
Yousuke: Hey, could I try just a little bit of that!? Just one tiny bite!
Chie: Hey! Hands off the soba, pal! Go get your own if you want some. Rrrngh… Okay, but just one bite, got it?
> The delicious aroma from the udon bowl is drifting your way…



Who would say no to delicious food?



Yousuke: It's soooo gooood… The aroma, the flavor, and the texture all combined… This is perfect!
> It's too delicious to stop eating…





Chie: I hope you guys understand what this means.
Yousuke: W-Wait wait wait! Stop! I'm sorry! I-I'll buy you steak! It'll be on me! Y-You hear me? The very best!
Chie: Steak…!?
Yukiko: My tofu…
Chie: C'mon, Yukiko. There's steak in it for us now. We can get instant noodles anytime we want. Right?
Yukiko: Well… as long as it isn't too fatty.
Chie: Okay, we've reached a verdict! You guys are hereby sentenced to buying s steak. What wouldn't be too fatty? Fillet? Ooh, fillet sounds nice and expensive!



Yousuke: Hey, you've gotta pony up too! You're just as much to blame!

With the money to buy steak, we can probably buy several instant noodles bowls, but at least we got an out!

The steak place turns out to be Junes.



Yousuke: We're doing our part to spread this town's specialty dish. Plus, we've already got an excellent grill.
Chie: That's just a yakisoba griddle… Oh well, steak is steak. It's far from a fillet steak, though… Yukiko, are you okay with this? It's not too heavy for you?



Chie: So, back on topic. I wonder what kind of person the culprit is.
Yousuke: If you focus just on the announcer's case, it seems like a revenge thing. Maybe it was her lover's wife.
Chie: But Misuzu Hiiragi had a solid alibi, didn't she? And it seemed like she was already separated from her husband.
Yousuke: Really? You know an awful lot about this… Okay, what about the second case? Saki-senpai… she found the announcer's body.



Uhm. Let's go with that one.

Yousuke: Yeah, I think so too. Maybe she found a clue or something about the culprit.
Yukiko: But the killer just threw the announcer into a TV, right? I don't think he would've left evidence the police-much less a high school student-would catch.
Yousuke: Yeah, exactly…

Speaking of investigating murders... a familiar face wanders into the food court.



Adachi: Ooh, they updated the menu!
Chie: Huh? Isn't he that detective?
Adachi: Hey, you were at Dojima-san's… Ahaha… I-I'm not… Oh, wait! Hey, this is great timing after all. Dojima-san said that he'll be leaving work on schedule tonight. Could you pass that on to Nanako-chan?
Yo! I'm Adachi, Dojima-san's gofer… Err, I mean, his partner.
Yousuke: Are you this busy every day?
Adachi: Huh? Oh, well, the public seems to be getting a charge out of these cases, but we can't leave it at that.
Chie: Sorry to butt in, but could it be that the killer targeted Saki-senpai in order to silence her?
Adachi: U-Ummm, you sure get to the heart of the matter. Yikes… Haha. Of course, we're also thinking along those lines. She was killed right after the announcer's body was found. If the killer was trying to silence her, there might've been something at the scene only she would have understood. Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi. Nothing like that points to Mizusu Hiiragi, so... Ooh, I might have stumbled across something here... W-Wait, were you listening to that!? Crap! Me and my big mouth… D-Don't tell anyone I said any of that, or Dojima-san will flay me alive… Relax, kids, the police are on the job. See you!
Chie: *sigh * You were right, Yosuke. The police are totally useless… Augh! My steak's getting cold!
Yousuke: Could you shut up about the steak for five seconds…?

What would we ever do without Adachi to spill every detail about what the police is doing?

Enough about the police though. Let's head into the TV and get Yukiko acquainted with that world.

Yukiko: It's Teddie… Then it wasn't a dream.
Teddie: Are you feeling better, Yuki-chan? I did what you said! I've been a good bear!
Yukiko: Oh, I see. Good boy!



Yousuke: W-Well, this bear's part of the reason we want to find the culprit.
Yukiko: I'm one of the group now too. Let's work together, okay?
Teddie: Yep! I was thinking the same thing! That's why I got these ready for you, Yuki-chan!
Yukiko: Oh, so these are what everyone's wearing. Thank you, Teddie.



Chie: Hey, tell me something. How come you have so many pairs of glasses?
Teddie: Excellent question! Guess what? I'm the one who makes them. I've lived here for a long time. So I came up with some ways to be comfortable here.
Yukiko: I see. But don't you need a pair?
Teddie: Oooh, good point. Another great question! Listen to this! My eyes themselves are lenses! You didn't know?
Yousuke: Of course not…
Teddie: Wh-Why are you being so mean? You act like you're not interested! I'm a really dexterous bear! See how smoothly my fingers move!



Yousuke, staying true to his mean-spirited reputation with Teddie, pushes the poor bear to the ground.

Yousuke: What am I even looking at!?
Teddie: Ow!
Yukiko: Hm? You dropped something…
Teddie: Oh, that's a pair I kinda screwed up on.
Yukiko: Oooh…
Chie: Oh… Umm… Y-Yukiko?



Yukiko: Ahahaha! Awesome!
Teddie: Do you like that one, Yuki-chan?
Yukiko: I want to wear this one. It's even got a nose guard!
Chie: Ohhh no you don't!
Teddie: How bear-y unfortunate… That pair doesn't have the right lenses in. Guess I should've made an actual pair.
Yukiko: Aww, too bad. Here, Chie. Your turn!
Chie: *sigh * Man… All right, fine…
Yukiko: Snrk… Heehee…! Ahaha, ahahahahahaha!



Yousuke: Y-Yukiko-san? Hellooo…?
Chie: There goes one of Yukiko's laughing fits… I never though she'd do it when someone besides me was around. These stupid glasses are useless for investigating! I mean, what the hell's this nose for, anyway!?
Teddie: Nice work, huh? That's what happens when you guys leave me here alone and I get bored!
Yousuke: W-Well, I'm glad that she's in high spirits again… I guess…



... anyway. And with Yukiko still in the middle of her laughing fist, we call it a day and go home.

Dojima is at home again today, with Yukiko found and all.



Dojima: I think I might be able to get the 4th and the 5th off.



Dojima: What, you don't believe me?
Nanako: …It's always cancelled.
Dojima: N-Not every year! I know you wanted to go to Junes, but… I wouldn't mind going a little further out of the neighborhood.
Nanako: Really? Can we go on a trip?
Dojima: Uhh… Well, it might be okay to go on a trip once in a while. I'm sure it'll be crowded everywhere, though…
Nanako: Yaaay! We're going on a trip!
Dojima: Hm… all right, all right. Then we need to think of someplace to go…



Nanako: Yeah! Let's all go together!
Dojima: Looks like Nanako wants us all to go.
Nanako: Let's bring boxed lunches!
Dojima: Hm? Yeah, good idea. We're always eating side dishes for dinner. But I can't cook… And Nanako's not good enough yet to make them by herself…



Nanako: Yaaay, boxed lunches!
> Nanako is pleased.

And somehow, Pockets got stuck with the task of preparing lunch boxes. But I guess we'll worry about that another day!

Nanako is clearly excited about the vacation.



Dojima, on the other hand, is more down to Earth.



And the game thinks that we need some rest after talking with friends.



And that's it for today!

Voting tomorrow: Uhm. Tomorrow isn't rainy, and there isn't really anyone to hang out with as it's a Sunday. So looks like our only options are studying and folding envelopes. What will it be? Pick one for the afternoon, and one for the evening.

Oh, another thing we can do is going to the TV world. To, um, level up. I mean, there are certain Personas that if fused on certain days will bring additional benefits, and we're not quite high level enough for those. Also getting some money is good too, since we're low on money now, with less than 3000 yen left (not enough for another Aiya meal). Additionally, there may be stuff. You know. Stuff that you don't know about yet.

A image not showing on the first post of today. You forgot to close the [/img] tag.

I was just going to go in and fix it for you... But, fixing it puts the post over the image cap. You're going to have to shuffle things around.

Oops! Thanks False, I fixed it! I just removed an unnecessary image and put it in the transcribe