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 DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP ON THE LP The Story So Far (Updated to Chapter 95) Arist fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jun 26, 2022 |
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Dec 14, 2020 21:17
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 Music: Brat Overflow (Hitoshi Sakimoto) (Listen to this) I debated whether or not to include the music in this LP because there’s quite a lot of it, but I ultimately caved because it’s all just so good. It’s composed by members of Hitoshi Sakimoto’s independent production company Basiscape. You might be familiar with Sakimoto as the composer behind Final Fantasy XII and Valkyria Chronicles. He also did another Vanillaware title, Odin Sphere. He does some work on this game as well, but most of it isn’t him personally (though this track is). It’s all stellar though; if you were worried that the quality or feel might vary too much due to the number of composers, you shouldn’t be. This is legitimately one of my new favorite game soundtracks. Basiscape rules. I feel the need to credit the other amazing composers who worked on this game, so here’s all their names: Kazuki Higashihara, Yoshimi Kudo, Rikako Watanabe, Kikuchi Yukinori, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, and Azusa Chiba. I’ll include a credit after each track so you can know who did what.   Due to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person recording, the English dub had to be recorded remotely and added in with a free day one patch. It’s still fantastic.   Music: KAIJU (Kazuki Higashihara)      A teenage boy is running against the tide of people… He sees something ahead of him, and stops.  Another teenager, a girl this time, is also running toward the source of the danger.  She stops in the middle of the road.   She lifts her skirt and swipes the skin, revealing a glowing blue “START” logo.   And then, out of nowhere, a giant robot crashes into the street behind her, shattering the glass windows all around it.   The girl is enveloped by a blue glow and disappears, and the robot activates…   The boy runs up, seeing the robot stand tall…  (It’s really happening… Just as you said.) (So we’ll do what we have to do. Get in the robots and fight. Our fate was sealed a long time ago.)Music: (VALINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)     What the… Where did my clothes go? Straight to the important questions with this one.  Warning: Deimos signatures approaching. Enemy in range. Was that… my voice? It’s like hearing myself talking in my head… Preparing to intercept. Initiating tactical analysis. A giant creature, towering above the skyline, approaches. It-It’s coming this way! Ohhh… How do I move this thing!?  Gouto-senpai? What are you…? Why are you in Sekigahara’s Sentinel? Senpai… Are you like Ei-kun, too? Did you come from the future?I’m sorry, what? We’re jumping right in it, aren’t we? We can discuss that later. Do you understand the situation we’re in? That area is under attack by D-forces. I came here to fight! But… I don’t know how to control any of this. And this robot’s not making a peep… No time for a full rundown. We’ll have to settle for the fundamentals. Sentinels are made to be controlled with your mind. Think of it as another body connected to your brain. Try to direct it. You can do it.   That’s the link system of the nanomachines inside your brain. You’ll also have a direct feed of information from the Sentinel’s sensors. It should sound like your own voice is speaking directly to you. For now, you’ll just have to get used to it as you fight. …Can you move? Y-Yes! I can walk, Senpai. They’re coming closer.  That’s your equipment interface. Use that to neutralize the D-forces in front of you. I dunno if I’m doing this right, but… How’s this!?     All right, let’s select Iori…   And once we’ve done that, select “Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons” from the Action menu.   They’re wiped out easily.  Slow down. Different combat situations might call for different weapons. If they’re all concentrated in one area, you could use a wide-impact armament like the rocket launchers. What? What!? Uh, okay, rocket launchers…? Where’s the rocket launcher button? Check your display… The rig is on your shoulders. Focus on them. My shoulders… Is this how I do it…?     And they’re all gone.   A massive kaiju is approaching from behind.   Fuyusaka-kun! No. 15’s taken damage to the rear exhaust system…   Another Sentinel’s been transmitted behind you, Fuyusaka-kun. But who is it…?  Moving to cover Fuyusaka-san. Don’t worry, you get used to the teenagers all being naked while piloting the giant robots. Small consolation, I know. Kurabe…? What are you doing here? I can’t let this turn out like Sector 3. Izumi…? No, there’s no way his memory could have returned…What the gently caress!? We've got time travel and amnesiacs? Already???? I remember… doing this in my dreams… I think I can do this. Wait until we call for backup, Izumi! My name… is Juro Kurabe.     Juro punches the robot, knocking it away and destroying it.  But how…? Okay, maybe hold back with the praise there Gouto. All he did was punch it twice.      Chapter 1: Juro Kurabe 1  Music: In The Doldrums (Rikako Watanabe) (Listen to this)  Juro looks around.  What is going on? Shiba-kun…    Like something’s off.  What the… Going to school, living my life… It’s like I’m not supposed to be here. You’ve seen too many movies, man.      “Consider” is just a stellar verb for this. A+ job there.  (But he’s a good friend. I always talk to him about action flicks.)  Thanks for letting me borrow it. Already? I just lent it to you yesterday! You wasted no time! Can you blame me? Giant robots, fights in the city… I was on the edge of my seat! *chuckle* You sure love mecha, don’tcha, Juro?     Use Video Tape on Kyuta Shiba  Let me know if you have any others to recommend. Sure, yeah. Do you think it’s too much? Well, now that you mention it… I’ve been seeing this stuff in my dreams, too. You’re showin’ all the signs. Soon enough, you won’t know the difference between fiction and reality. Yeah, yeah… I think I’ve seen a movie about that.  We can move at two speeds. Walking…  …Or slightly more brisk walking. It’s basically just halfway into a light jog. In certain scenes we can actually, you know, run, but I guess that’s not a great idea in this limited space. I’m not sure there’s ever a moment where we’ll actually need to run, but the option’s there.  Those of you who have followed my Persona 5 LPs will know that I never pass up an opportunity for a good eavesdrop. What do these two have to say?  Uh, sorry… I’ve got plans with someone. Let me guess… It’s… Nenji-kun, right? Ew, no. I mean, it *is* a guy, but… Iori-chan met someone special too. I’m the only one left… You’re all so lucky with boys!  This little animation of her pouting is ridiculously adorable. Deep breaths, Miwako. Did you need something? Er, not really. Busted!  And we’re automatically forced to walk away.  Let’s examine this sleeping student.   Should I wake her up? Come to think of it, in that movie yesterday… The girl piloting the robot looked awfully familiar. (She always seems to be sleeping. It’s odd. And then she shows up in my dreams… I can’t help but be a little curious about her.) Now, we talk to Shiba again…  I saw that one video up for rent.  Really? Yup! Gonna rent it? I’ve got to!  Gimme a minute. I’ll be right back.   Guess I’ll wait here… Wonder what he’s up to. Consider That One Video (That movie’s a hidden gem. It’s tough to get a hold of these days.) While we wait for Shiba to get back, Juro can interact with Fuyusaka again.   Mrgh…  Class is already over. Kurabe-kun…? You were out cold, huh? Just now, I… I had another weird dream. And you were there… Huh? Me? What kind of dream was it?   This sucks, man. Can’t find Amiguchi anywhere. Waaaait a minute. What’s goin’ on here? You two are lookin’ awfully cozy. (blushing) I-It’s not like that. …… Oh yeah? Then what’s the problem? Heheh! Don’t mind me! Carry on. Let’s talk about this some other time. …… Y-Yeah. Iori then walks over to the other two girls.  Okay! See you tomorrow.  Fine… Guess single girls walk home alone… Hey, I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a crêpe next time.  Now, if we stand in a specific spot here, directly between “Usami” and the desk in the foreground with the school bag laying on it…  Could you move? Sorry.And we get pushed away again. All of this is pointless, but I think it’s kinda neat so I’m wasting my own time by showing it off.  I loved the view from the old classroom… But the new one’s not bad either. I can see the whole schoolyard. They’re really supporting one another… Maybe I should join a club too.  I know, I shouldn’t tease ya like that… But it’s your fault for keepin’ secrets from me. *sigh* But seriously, Amiguchi… We gotta catch that guy, and quick. You want to hang out again that badly? He’s got all the good video games! They’re just waitin’ for me to play ‘em. He’s never around unless you make plans.  Consider Shu Amiguchi (Amiguchi-kun’s not the most responsible guy, but… He’s smart, athletic, and popular with the ladies. On top of that, his family is rich… He’s got all the latest video game consoles in his room.)Use Shu Amiguchi on Kyuta Shiba  Maybe he’s still around. Oh, in the cafeteria? That’s right! He was there during break, too!   (in the background) Umm… Grab your stuff and come on!  What is it, Sawatari-san? Those papers on the podium… Could you take them to Ms. Morimura in the nurse’s office? Me? Well, it’s your turn this week… Oh, is it?   Y-Yes, that’s right… Please take care of it.  “Keyword alerts” tell us if we have un-considered Thought Cloud keywords (green) or words we can use in the environment (red).  Use Stack of Papers on Kyuta Shiba  These papers… I need to take them to Ms. Morimura. Ugh, seriously? Well, do whatcha gotta do. But we’re not giving up on Amiguchi, all right? I’m gonna head over to the cafeteria. Grab your bag and meet me there when you can.With that, Shiba leaves.  Now, we just have to pick up our bag so we can go.    So, I haven’t brought it up yet, but… look at this loving game. It’s goddamn beautiful. The way the rays of light filter through the window and the halation around the windowframe, the way in the previous scene the character sprites would get darker if they weren’t in direct sunlight (which is a huge pain in the rear end for me as someone trying to grab character portraits, lmao), the way the light hits the edges of the characters to give them depth… it’s really incredible.    Can I just leave them here? Hm…? Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)  What *is* this? I’ll just take a peek.  It’s my photo, but… The last name is wrong. I’m Juro Kurabe. …… Symptoms… Psyche stabilized via drug administration. The patient is obedient… General good health… Drugs, huh.  Music: In The Doldrums (Rikako Watanabe)  …Now, I know what you’re thinking, and we’re above the low-hanging fruit of making crude jokes about this character design. It’s… blatant, yes, but it’s also the only character design of that sort in the game, which is honestly impressive considering that Vanillaware also made Dragon’s Crown (and to a lesser extent, Odin Sphere), featuring designs that make this look positively restrained. So, I think we should acknowledge that it’s a bit silly and move on, okay? No jokes? All right. Boobs.  If you can use a Thought Cloud item on a character, that’s generally the way you progress. Talking to the character instead usually just leads to a perfunctory line of dialogue or two, often with a “hint” reminding you of the item they want you to use. For example, talking to Morimura leads to the line “What brings you here?” and nothing else until you use the required item. Also worth noting, when you exhaust a character’s dialogue like you’re playing loving Dark Souls their name will turn red. Convenient. Use Stack of Papers on Ms. Morimura   You brought them back for me? I was told it was my turn this week. Wait a minute—if she “forgot” them, why is it Juro’s “turn” this week to bring them back? Does she just forget them every single day so the students formed like, a chore wheel for it? I see. You’re a good kid, Kurabe-kun.   I should go to the cafeteria. Oh, one more thing. Kurabe-kun… Look! The rays of light are making it harder to physically see the character sprites! This game is gorgeous!  Use Condition on Ms. Morimura  You know. Juro just… looking directly at her boobs here. Dizziness? Headaches? Are you getting enough sleep at night? W-Why do you ask? There’s a nasty cold going around. At this time of year? That’s a bit odd, isn’t it? I’ll give you some medicine just in case. N-No thank you… I’m fine, really. I see. If you’ll excuse me…  Suddenly, Shiba bursts through the door!  Shiba-kun… What’s up? Amiguchi wasn’t in the cafeteria. Figured I’d try here. Well, guess that’s all we can do. Let’s drop by the video store on the way home. C’mon.   Eh, we couldn’t catch Amiguchi… The video store was a waste of time… This sucks, man. It’s true that one video was already rented out… But we didn’t come back empty-handed. What, that old-rear end kaiju flick? Deimos vs. Mecha-Deimos! It’s a real masterpiece from ‘74. You and your giant robots… Hey, I got a flyer from the theater the other day. It showed what movies they’re playing this month. Guess what was on there? The original Deimos! Do you want to go?  Consider Mighty Kaiju Deimos  (The first in what would become a long-running series.) If we head left here instead of right, we can overhear two conversations.  Why not get a game console? Then you can stay safe at home.  My little brother totally tried that argument on our dad. He was like, “if you don’t buy me one, I’ll fall in with the wrong crowd!”  Right? I even see her in TV commercials. Everyone at school seems to love her. Think she’ll be in this year’s award show? Nothing too important there.   Music: Impending Doom (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  The activation… You know this guy?  Why won’t it start?     What’s wrong? Is everything all right? You look awful.  Do you feel sick?    Did it just… light up? You shouldn’t touch it.  What the… No… What’s going on?  Music: Lonely Struggle (Rikako Watanabe)  Don’t tell me… Are you…?    Wait. It looks… different.  Send that thing back! I did that? He added a forced activation protocol. Uhhhh… Well, this’ll be interesting. Are you…?  I’m gonna need you to forget about this for now. Shiba-kun…     …Whaaaaaaaat!?  Juro Kurabe is voiced by Chris Hackney. He’s best known as Dimitri in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Arist fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Nov 14, 2022 |
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Dec 14, 2020 21:17
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Motha fuckin time travel
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Dec 17, 2020 01:06
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   Time for a new character’s story. We can’t select Juro again at the moment, so this is the only path we have.  Chapter 2: Iori Fuyusaka 1 Music: Mornin’, Sunshine! (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  I can’t believe I slept through my alarm…Ah, the old “schoolgirl running to school with toast in her mouth.” Can’t beat the classics. Those weird dreams won’t leave me alone. I’m losing beauty sleep!    Didn’t really need that panty shot, but okay. (I swear to god this game is good and relatively tame, y’all, I’m not trying to trick you)    Guess that’s a yes. Um… Sorry… Wait, are you— The morning assembly!     First-year. Iori Fuyusaka. …… Might be worth looking into. Music: Halcyon Days (Yoshimi Kudo)  Wait, this isn’t the same classroom as before…?   Good morning, sleepyhead. …… You were sound asleep. Class is over…? The teacher kept giving you dirty looks. You slept through the whole class. I’m Kisaragi. Tomi Kisaragi. Ah… I’m Sawatari. Fuyusaka-san, right? I heard the teacher trying to call on you. Really? I didn’t notice… *sigh* I’ve barely even started my high school life… And this is how I make a first impression? One thing I didn’t mention about the Thought Cloud is that as you flit between different thoughts the character will “think” the name of whatever thought you have selected out loud. It’s pretty funny. (Miwa-chan’s my good friend. She’s gentle, kind… Loves talking about romance, even though she’s shy with boys.)  You too, Kisaragi-san. Call me Usami! Weird nickname, but I’m used to it. In that case, you can call me Iori. It’s nice to be on a first-name basis. I’m Miwako. Consider Tomi Kisaragi (Usami-chan sits at the desk in front of mine. She has red glasses, braids, and seems a bit weird, honestly.)Cold thing to say about someone you just met two minutes ago.   Your forehead is red. Well, she *was* sleeping on the desk. Oh, um… I kinda bumped into someone…  I wonder why. Well, uh… The guy I ran into was kinda cute, so… Geez, I feel awkward just thinking about it. Sounds like love at first sight! Really? It was a destined encounter… You two are meant to be!All right, let’s slow down. If there’s anything I’ve learned from bad romcoms, it’s that one meet cute does not a destined pair of lovers make. Even if he did see your underwear! Um… You think so? Maybe…  Consider Cute Guy THIRTEEN SENTINELS: AEGIS RIM!!!!!   (What is this? My heart is racing… I wish I could have talked to him more. He wasn’t wearing our uniform, was he? Maybe he’s from a different school.) Shall we walk home together? I’d love to hear more about this boy you met. Um… You’re welcome to join us, Usami-chan. There’s a new crêpe shop we could stop by. Crêpes? Yeah, I’m down. Let’s do it! Use Tomi Kisaragi on Tomi Kisaragi Pfft. This is the most hilarious possible way to turn asking her about herself into something resembling gameplay.  Oh, uh… Y’know, nowhere special. Kinda far away, though. Huh… Sorry, I have to ask. Usami-chan… Yeah? Gouto? Nah, not really. Why? Well, he’s awfully popular here at school… Seriously? That guy? Geez… So that’s how it is. I saw you two talking in the hall earlier… Yeah, uh… Don’t worry. He’s not my type. I see!  Iori yawns. You sure yawn a lot. Are you a night owl? Not really. It’s just… I keep having strange dreams. They keep me up at night. What kind of dreams? It’s hard to remember the details, but… Last night… This huge shadow started coming for me… And then I woke up. ……    How old *is* this place? Don’t break the door. I didn’t!Consider Old Building This school is so old, it still uses hanging lamps. You don’t see that every day.  Don’t worry about it! I had to see your smiling faces. You know this girl? Yes! She’s a good friend. The three of us have known each other since grade school. Natsuno-chan, this is Usami-chan. Last name Kisaragi.  I wanna be in your class too.Use Old Building on Natsuno Minami  They were working on a new building for this year… But I heard construction was delayed. I think we’ll be moving to the new one next month. Sure hope so. This place is a dump. I heard it was built during the war. Whoa… That means it’s over forty years old.    What are you doing in someone else’s classroom? The teacher told you to prepare for the next class. Yeah, I know.  You know that cat we were talking about? I saw it!  Minami-san. Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.   It has black fur with a white belly, right? All the time. Dang. No fair! I haven’t seen it yet. So it’s behind the science room, huh… That’s it! I’m gonna go looking!      The game actually makes you physically turn Iori around here to notice the cat, it’s pretty funny.  Consider Cute Guy This is why I love video games, they let you do exciting and fantastical things like “Consider: Cute Guy.”   (My heart starts racing. It’s like love at first sight. If I said that… Would he laugh at me?)   Huh? Where’d it go?  Don’t act like you don’t know.  We have something here.  This isn’t like you. This is a first for me too. You feel it, right?Oh. Oh.  I want to pursue this with you. Please! I dunno… It’s just—     I think as long as you love each other… It’s okay… What?  Waaaaaaaaaaaacky misunderstandings! Music: In The Doldrums (Rikako Watanabe)  Amiguchi laughs.  That’s rich. Sorry for the confusion. We were just talking about something… Yeah. The strange dreams we’ve been having. Dreams? (Every day, I have strange dreams… They keep me up at night.) Talk to Shu Amiguchi So you guys know each other? She sits in front of me in class.Use Strange Dreams on Shu Amiguchi   It’s been a lot of crazy stuff. Different every time. I don’t even think they’re in chronological order… But they do seem related. Hm… It’s like we’re seein’ the same stuff. The more he tells me, the more I think it all lines up. Makes ya think our dreams are connected.  I guess we do have that in common. We first met at that video rental joint, after all. Still, I can’t help but think it’s somethin’ else. Like, I dunno, telepathy? If not that, maybe it’s a vision of the future.  Whenever we dream this stuff, we should compare notes. …… Well, actually… I’m more surprised to hear that’s all it was. ‘Cause I thought—Yeah, yeah, we know what you thought. Keep it in your fanfics.  Hm, class is starting. We can talk more later. Let’s go, Fuyusaka-san.   Time to return to the “Beginning of the End.” Music: (LEUCINE) (Yoshimi Kudo) The battle music in this game, besides being named largely after amino acids, are broken up into a few different segments. The first segment here plays until about 1:04, and is used for prebattle dialogue. Then the battle music plays until 4:48, where it’s interrupted by the victory music which isn’t relevant yet. All the battle tracks have their own versions of this, and I think it’s pretty neat.    Wait a second, she’s in Sentinel number fifteen!? Everything about this game is a lie! Oh yeah… I got in this robot, and… K-Kurabe-kun? Fuyusaka-san… Everything you said came true… …We got kaiju everywhere, right? I think I prefer my kaiju to stay on the silver screen… Looks like there’s more on the way. Can you get your Sentinel up? I’ll try, but… I think it might be broken in some places… You’re in a 2nd-generation sentinel. It weighs around 2,200 tons. With that kind of weight, it can end up crushing its own components if it collapses. This big robot looks so tough. Is it really that useless if it falls over…?  You keep talking about them like that. What are these D-forces? Deimos. They’re the kaiju. That’s them. They’re trying to reach the mainframe in the depths below. That’s why they attack every terminal that has a connection to it. If they manage to reach the mainframe… this city will be wiped out. But we can’t stay on the defensive forever. With so few of us, we could never sustain it. Instead, we have to rely on the terminal’s internal defenses. A specialized program. That puts up an impenetrable shield around the area. The D-forces would be completely locked out. That’s gotta be the Aegis system Ms. Morimura was talking about. But… is it even safe to use? We’re only using it to buy time.Didn’t answer the question, four-eyes! How do we activate it? Whichever one of you is closest, move to the D-forces’ invasion point. Invasion point…? You mean where all the kaiju are trying to get to? Yes. The terminal sits directly below that point.       Okay, we move Iori to the terminal. Note that because we’re piloting giant honkin’ robits, we have to navigate via city streets because they’re the only avenue (heh) big enough for our fat asses.  That’s where you send the signal to the terminal 300 meters underground. Either of your access IDs should be capable of activating it. And… that’ll fix it? That’s enough to get rid of all the kaiju? No. It won’t be that simple.It never is. The defense systems have a long startup. We’ll need to buy enough time for Aegis to initialize. Until it activates, our mission is to keep the D-forces away from the terminal. We’ll try.      Soooooo… yep. I called this a “strategy game” in the OP, but that’s a bit misleading. It’s actually more of a… tower defense? Of a sort?  Now, there’s a bunch of information on the screen I should probably explain before I forget but none of it is super relevant at the moment because near-everything is gonna die in one or two attacks. I’d prefer to wait until we have some freedom to actually engage with these systems, but I should really convey just what is happening here. So… let’s examine this screen. Defense is in the top-left. That’s how much damage the terminal can take. Below that is our pilot’s HP and EP, which are exactly what you think they are: how much health we have and our resource for using attacks. We can also see the generation of each Sentinel next to those bars, but we only have 2nd-generations in the field at the moment. In the top right is the city defense rating, a number that is utterly inscrutable to me and which I have no idea how to affect. I think this is what percentage of the map is on fire, but I don’t know what causes the map to be damaged, and I’ve never had it dip below even like 80% on a real mission. On the bottom-right is our score and MP, neither of which are important yet. In the bottom-center we can see an attack description. POW 150x8 means this attack hits 8 times with 150 power each time. WT is the “wait time,” meaning we have to wait 7 seconds after using this attack to take our next turn. There’s also “Back attack,” which just means our current attack will hit the back of the selected enemy and do 1.5 times as much damage. I have no idea how this works with attacks like this rocket launcher that shoot a projectile that then explodes, but whatever. For the real missions I’ll record video of them so you can get a feel for what it’s like, but these tutorials are so dirt-simple I don’t really feel the need.  There’s only three groups of hostiles on this map and they go down quickly enough.  When we defeat them, though, they explode into orange bits. This won’t be important for a while, but I felt I should at least point it out.  It’s hard to see without motion, but once all the enemies are defeated, the terminal shoots out a circular wave with a neat distortion effect.  Are your sentinels still operational? Mine’s doing okay. I can still fight. You’re in a Sentinel… You’re going to tell me who you are, now. I believe that’s Sentinel No. 12. Okino’s machine. I’m Takatoshi Hijiyama. And this is *my* Sentinel. I’ve come to save the human race. Leave this region to me.Wow, look at the big britches on this one. Well la-di-da, guess we should just take a breath and rest easy if you’re here. He cut off his comms… I’ve found his Sentinel’s location. But it’s a ways from your position. He’s not gonna try taking them all on by himself… is he? I’ll move to rendezvous. You two should keep going towards the next combat zone.  It’s this way. Follow me. And so concludes that chapter of the tutorial.  Iori Fuyusaka is voiced by Allegra Clark. She’s known for roles like Boss in AI: The Somnium Files, as well as Dorothea and Shamir in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Arist fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Aug 13, 2021 |
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Dec 17, 2020 22:37
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The "missable" stuff is mainly various small interactions between characters. I'll show what I can and am aware of but I'll probably miss some stuff.
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Dec 18, 2020 19:59
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PsychoInternetHawk posted:Also OP, I'm curious how you're planning on handling the stories once you've got everyone unlocked, there's definitely some that are better to play through sooner rather than later (and some that are really, really confusing if you go through them too early- the way the game gates them isn't quite perfect). I was leaning towards thread voting but we haven't gotten there yet and it could turn out to be a bad idea so... idk?
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Dec 22, 2020 04:16
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    Chapter 3: Takatoshi Hijiyama 1  1944, huh…? Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)    The sooner I’m out of here, the better.  Someone’s changed the shifter’s access key, huh?  A young man runs up. As the girl turns, the holographic screens quickly disappear. So you came after me, Hijiyama-kun. This has to be some misunderstanding. You can’t be a spy, can you? Hm… Sounds like the professor, all right.  Why did you run off? The military’s looking for you.  But you’re the professor’s daughter! You can’t be a spy—it doesn’t make sense! Sorry to break it to you. I’m not his daughter. The real Kiriko Douji’s still over in Tokyo.  I don’t need to steal any secrets on the Sentinels.  Consider Kiriko Douji (Professor Douji led the Sentinel Project for our efforts in the war. His daughter, Kiriko-san, came along with him, but… What does it mean if this isn’t her?)Consider Sentinel (Is she serious? She says she built the Sentinel herself, but…) …What happened to you? That’s about what I figured you’d say.Use Kiriko Douji on Kiriko Douji  Then who are you? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Or maybe… This really isn’t about who I am. Maybe it’s just about what you feel towards me.  Use Sentinel on Kiriko Douji  You built them? Yeah, that was me.We are about… 45 minutes into this game, I’d like to remind everyone. Already just casually dropping poo poo most games would save for the end. I drew up the designs in an editor. The I just had to send the order into an automated factory. No, you’re probably just confused, that’s all… I even implanted the linking component into your head. I’m sorry, what? Though you wouldn’t remember, of course. Anesthesia, and all. When you came to the factory… You said you were there on behalf of the professor… It was as good a cover story as any.  You’re kind of a simple guy. There’s something about you, though… I’m saying… I’m gonna miss you.   This is goodbye.      That’s impossible… If we move Hijiyama to the far left, we can examine these bushes.  She can’t have had time to run into the mountains. Where did Kiriko-san go…?Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)  He’s the one who snuck into the factory! There’s something fishy about him… But… If he’s working with her, then… He might know where she’s gone. I’ll hide behind a tree and see what he’s up to… Something about this situation is just abjectly hilarious to me. Maybe it’s that Hijiyama here really is dirt simple and has no idea what the hell is going on, maybe it’s just the game making you physically move him behind the tree, and maybe it’s the big “Hide Behind Tree” text, I dunno.  Hey Hijiyama, you’re wearing bright white clothing! Maybe get down in the bushes a little at least?    Might still catch up if I’m fast. Coordinates read Sector 4, in the year 1984…  So you’re the spy… But there’s no escaping me now. …… What are you doing here? If I told you, you’d laugh in my face. Geez, no one has any faith in our boy Hijiyama’s ability to understand. Answer me, or I’ll do more than laugh at you! …I’m going to time travel to another era. *sigh*Consider To Another Time (He’s just playing games with me. “Time travel”? Really? This is reality, not some penny dreadful…)I’m a big fan of this game’s writing. Use Kiriko Douji on Suspicious Man  Yeah. I knew it… Though that wasn’t actually her, of course. Is that really true? She said something along those lines, too… …“She”, huh? Must’ve been pretty convincing, then.   Hey, you. Reading this. Don’t worry about it. I am telling you not to worry about it.  You’re just trying to confuse me…Consider Tsukasa Okino (This can’t be true, can it? Was the Kiriko Douji I knew… really a man? This “Tsukasa Okino”?)Use To Another Time on Suspicious Man  Try a better story next time. This “Kiriko Douji” of yours? He did it himself just moments ago. Escaped from here into the future. I don’t have time for this. Step back. I’m going after him. Well… Yeah, he just said that, dude. Keep up. Where? Show me. You don’t want to get caught in this shift. Keep your distance. Right, your “time travel.” Don’t say I didn’t warn you.     Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)  And we’re suddenly 41 years in the future. Of course.   He knows you’d beat his rear end, Wajima-san! Probably shittin’ his pants right now. Turned tail and ran, huh?     CONSIDER: YAKISOBA PAN! Consider Yakisoba Pan  (Noodles stir-fried in sauce, enfolded in sweetened bread… I don’t trust much in this post-war world… But if there’s one exception, it’s my yakisoba pan.)Listening to this English VA pronounce “yakisoba pan” gives me infinite life  Nearly knocked my friggin’ arm out of its socket. You wanna apologize? Oh, did I hit you? Sorry about that. You’re sorry? “Sorry” don’t pay my goddamn hospital bills.Oh! I’m wise to this scam! Kiryu’ll show up any minute now and wreck these guys, just hang back. So? I don’t have money, if that’s what you’re after.  People been talkin’ about this guy. He’s the one who’s been snatchin’ all the jackets! The hell? Wait, yeah… This guy’s wearin’ one of our uniforms. Oh, so you know the guy who owned this? I don’t have any relatives around. I’m basically homeless at the moment. So the clothes and the cash were a really big help. He was a generous guy. Tell him I said thanks. Take care.   The delicious yakisoba pan flies out of Hijiyama’s hand as Wajima grabs him!  I didn’t even get a single bite…  You got a problem with me, buddy? You’re the one who’s about to have a problem. Sic ‘im.Time for the fight scene!  Note: fight scene may be too expensive to animate.  L-Look, we’ll get you another snack, man! I’ve got no mercy for people who waste food. Especially yakisoba pan.   I thought you called me out for a fight, Wajima. And who are you? A friend of theirs? I didn’t ask you to fight my battles, pal. You’re that Jacket Snatcher. Hijiyama or somethin’… I told them I didn’t need the help, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer. Yeah, I’ll bet.  Don’t go picking fights you can’t win. I’ve heard enough, douchebag. And you owe me a fight.  Well, you’re gonna regret it…      I guess you fit right in here in the ‘80s. Here I figured I’d have to check up on you.  I know that voice… and that face…!  I came for a fight, and I’m gettin’ one. Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)   He has to be close by. That bastard kicked like a horse. Pretty tough for a thug. He almost had me for a moment there…  Nothing on the left side…  …nothing on the right.  Let’s try up the stairs, then.       “Kiriko” looks surprised briefly to see Hijiyama, but continues down the stairs.    Were you looking for me all night? Still as reckless as ever, huh? Don’t try to talk around it. I figured you’d be here soon, so. Got some breakfast for you, too. Half a year I’ve been searching for you. Half a year, thinking of what I’d say to your face. I got you some yakisoba pan… You didn’t get any yesterday, right? *gulp* Look, th-that’s not the point! We’re going whether you like it or not. And if I say no?   Besides, you’re a man, aren’t you?    Use Tsukasa Okino on Kiriko Douji  Why do you wear women’s clothes? You weren’t complaining when you confessed to me.Heh. You’re kind of a dick, you know that, Okino? (blushing) …… I’m not exactly the picture of masculinity anyway. Better than trying to pass as some militant with a buzzcut. So, why are you dressed like that now? (blushing) U-Uh… You’re a funny guy, Hijiyama-kun. …… This lets me hide the fact that I’m even alive. Use Kiriko Douji on Tsukasa Okino Fun little detail: now that we’ve asked about his true identity, “Kiriko’s” identity has changed to Okino even in this Thought Cloud menu.  Even convincing everyone you were a girl…? Professor Douji thought it’d be a good idea. See, he’s… Well, all Shikishima’s tech really began with him. Shikishima made incredible strides after the war. And a lot of that was thanks to his work. Though it didn’t hurt that I taught him about his future’s technology. But why? Why would you make that deal with him? …For the Sentinel. Use Sentinel on Tsukasa Okino  It was an accident that it showed up at all. It was never meant to be there. I mean, come on. You’ve seen it. You think they could make that back in the 1940s? Even here in the ‘80s, it’s out of our league. That’s not human craftsmanship. It was made in the future, in an automated factory. Let me put it in layman’s terms: There was an incident, and it got broken. Our goal was to fix it there so it could fight again. But wasn’t it meant to be used against the USA? …… Then who or what was it made to fight…? I have to get back, no matter what. If we can finish the Sentinel Project, we can win the war. …You’re a good guy, but kind of an open book, you know that? Say whatever you want. I don’t care who you really are anymore. Just get me home. I know about the air raids. And Okinawa, Hiroshima, Nagasaki… I can’t just let those attacks happen. I can’t let those people die. So you did some reading in the history section. Between all the manual labor you’ve been doing, and your living conditions—or, well, lack thereof, you’re a lot more determined than I expected. You’ve been keeping tabs on me…?  There’s something I still need to do. And that something is here in 1985. I just need you to wait until that’s finished. Actually, I’d really appreciate your help with it. It does involve you, after all. When it’s finally all over, then… How’s that sound? No, I… What I want is to go back to my own time. If you’re sure.  My base is over there on the second floor.  I’m wearing the uniform. Where do you think?  Your yakisoba pan’s on the desk inside.  Wow, was that your stomach? You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday, huh? Go ahead. The door’s unlocked.  Stop being stubborn and go get some breakfast.    Welcome back, old friend.  Maybe he really was just manipulating me… Well, it is yakisoba pan. Not much I could do…Consider The Uniform (If he’s in that uniform, he’s probably going to school… But what’s he trying to accomplish there?) E A T Well, as long as I’ve got it… The sauce is so sweet, yet so spicy…!   Hijiyama snarfs the entire thing down in two bites.   It won’t do me any good if he slips away. I might as well check my old school…   And so ends another prologue.  We’re now faced with another combat tutorial to break things up. Music: (ISOLEUCINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)     “We will never stop until our foes lie dead.” I’m not about to forget my duty, Okino. Where to next? Don’t get ahead of yourself. We’re not done here.  I’ll release some more drones to expand our search range. Good. Leave the fisticuffs to me.  Jamolar? Is that what you call the big round ones?  A G-Moler is a Deimos built for excavation. It uses the spinning blades on its back to dig into the ground. They need to bore a path to the terminal. It’s the core of their strategy, and we need to stop them. A slowpoke like that? All I need is one strike to take that one out. They can withstand intensely high pressures and break through any rock. If you underestimate it, you’re the one who’s going to get taken out.  Yes… That’s the point closest from the surface to the terminal. But your Sentinel’s a 1st-gen, which means more mobility. That’ll come in handy here. Can you take out some kaiju on your way there? I don’t have much choice. We’re going in.     This is important. The only way to restore EP besides defending is to defeat an enemy, which will cause the person who defeated it to regain a sum of EP based on the enemy type. The stronger the kaiju, the more EP you get back for killing it. And before you ask, yes, this does encourage you to kill the strong ones in as few attacks as possible instead of wearing them down more slowly!    Despite that conversation, Hijiyama is fighting alone. What, Okino’s not cool enough for a Sentinel? Or too cool? Whichever? Hijiyama’s in a 1st-generation Sentinel, which means he’s all about melee attacks. If it’s not directly in front of him, he largely can’t do poo poo about it. Thankfully, 1st-gen models have high mobility and speed, and a few of their actions let them move while attacking. One such skill is Leap Attack, which is exactly what you think it is.      Tackle is similar but slightly more powerful and much more hilarious—it lets him charge along a path set by the player, damaging and knocking away anything in said path. And the knockback means it can hit multiple times if you’re lucky! Normally, you can't move through a path obstructed by a kaiju, but Tackle thankfully ignores that.  Niiiiiiice. Let’s just take out the small swarm near the terminal now and finish them off.   A couple Rush Attacks (4 hits, 800 power each, 0 EP) from there should clean up any stragglers.   You’re that guy from before! What are you scheming? I won’t allow it! Wait, Hijiyama-kun… Let him handle this. Are you sure? He’s about to do something to the saucer. It’s all part of the plan. Besides, there’s something I want us to try. …Fine. I trust you.Awww  The terminal has a few defense mechanisms in place. Now that we’ve got access to them, you should be able to command them yourself. Let the terminal attack the kaiju directly. We can make the saucer itself attack them?       It’s kind of hard to tell anything’s happening in this shot, but the numbers are a good sign. We like the numbers.  The terminal forced a shutdown of designated targets within range. That was amazing… Let’s fire off some more of those! Don’t know if we can do that, but… we have a couple other tricks up our sleeve. Let me take a look.   Now, we just clean up the two remaining G-Molers and the mission will end.  All of a sudden, the terminal is surrounded by kaiju!  But another wave quickly shuts them down.  All the hostiles in range destroyed themselves. Like magic. If we had that kind of weaponry, you should have told me! Why bother with the Sentinels when we have this?Because giant robots are loving cool, idiot! It takes time to activate. And if we get taken out before it’s ready, then it’s all over. It means… the terminal would be fully locked down. Nobody could ever open it again. Is that… a bad thing? This is Renya Gouto. You are one of the compatible pilots from Sector 5. Who are you communicating with? I’d really rather not deal with this. Don’t tell him, Hijiyama-kun.What, are they exes? …No one. I’m fighting solo.Gouto has no further questions about this!  …Sentinels are being activated in another location. No. 17 and No. 19… Just how many Sentinels are online now…?  Takatoshi Hijiyama is voiced by Kaiji Tang, who’s been getting a lot of work recently. You may be familiar with him as Ichiban Kasuga in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, or as Iwai in Persona 5. I like his voice a lot. Arist fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Aug 13, 2021 |
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Dec 24, 2020 01:17
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Merry Christmas, everyone. My present to you is one more update!
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Dec 25, 2020 15:27
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   This one is gonna be fun.  Chapter 4: Natsuno Minami 1 Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba)    Nat-chan! This scene in the hallway is like other scenes, except people are naturally strolling back and forth and it makes grabbing screenshots a massive pain because they can walk in front of the characters, down in front rear end in a top hat!  (blushing) N-Nothing, really. Just talking about what our dreams were last night.  So, Natsuno is a very fun, energetic character with a lot of interesting emotions and poses. It made the process of getting screenshots for this update even more annoying because every time her animations changed part of me wanted to capture it. Not especially. Just wondering about stuff. Like if dreams are influenced by the movies we see. You guys must be having more interesting dreams than I am if they’re worth having so much conversation about. The other night I dreamed about The Little Mermaid? A movie I haven’t seen since I was a child? But I think Flounder was like, a gambler for some reason? And then he got eaten by a bigger fish? You see my point, though—it’s not interesting at all! I’m boring myself just talking about it!  I was just about to bring it to you.  Thanks a bunch. I was super bummed, you know.  That baseball game was going on for freakin’ *ever.*Even in the age of DVRs, I know all too well the pain of having a show I want to watch preempted by loving baseball. Consider UFO Mysteries (A special series airing on TV… All about the latest UFO discoveries! I’m so glad I got a recording of it.)Oh, I see. She’s one of those.   It’s a classic. You can’t talk about aliens without seeing that movie. I don’t really intend on talking about aliens anyway…Rude! Thanks for recording this! No problem. Consider E.X.T. (An alien stranded on Earth establishes a bond with a young boy in this sci-fi movie. It’s a real 1982 classic.)Ah, we’re doing the ol’ serial-numbers-filed-off on these movie titles, huh? I can dig it.  Ha, Iori looks so bored by this alien crap.   Use UFO Mysteries on Iori Fuyusaka   Yeah, they look like octopuses and want to destroy us all, right? No, no, no! You’ve got it all wrong. That’s from a book. You’re thinking of “The War of the Worlds.” There’s no stopping you once you get going on this stuff.  And I’m gonna find a real alien! You’re gonna have to get better grades in science, then. Oh man, you’re right…Consider “The War of the Worlds” (A classic sci-fi novel, by that one famous writer.)You know the one. The famous one. The one we can’t name. Yeah, him. (It features Martians that look like octopuses. They have three-legged weapons called Tripods… And use them to invade the Earth.) Take your time. See ya guys! Bye.  Oh, that’s right. Everyone’s already there. I just gotta get my stuff. Gonna pop in my headphones, turn off all the lights…    It’s neat that you can see Iori briefly pop back out of the classroom here just to keep it consistent. A lot of love and care went into this game.  You still haven’t gotten your new uniform yet?  Yeah, who the hell knows.  Something good on that videotape? Oh, this?   You’re gonna laugh at me!Despite this, we cannot proceed until we… Use UFO Mysteries on Yuki Takamiya   Haha. That explains it.   Of course not. It makes me happy, actually. To know you’re still my Nat-chan. Hehe. But maybe don’t call me Dr. Space anymore. We’ve outgrown our kid nicknames, don’t you think? Whatever you say.    So that Kuri gang you beat up. They’re hanging around our school now. What’re you gonna do about it? Ha! What are you, my mom?  I can take care of my own poo poo. So beat it, pinhead. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT  Aww, do we have to?  You don’t need to start a fight in the middle of the hallway. I didn’t start anything! She’s the one walking around here like she owns the place. Come on, you too, Yuki-chan. …… ……   Haha. Don’t worry. That stuff happens all the time to me. Oh, by the way. Can I come watch you practice again today? So Natsuno’s some kind of athlete?    Better get back to class. See ya soon!       Hehe. Get a better time today? Well, it was kinda windy today. Running against it and all… You know how it is.Excuses, excuses. Hahaha.    Me and the manager have to go and talk to the teacher. There’s things to discuss about the next meet. Sorry, but could you handle the clean-up today? And so we get roped into cleaning up.  Am I the only one still here? Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  Another suspicious-looking man… I saw a couple of them in the schoolyard, too. I wonder what they’re doing here. Seems like they’re looking for something.  Wait a minute… Consider Man in Black Suit  (An organization that monitors alien activity… Maybe…)   Being pursued by relentless men in black… Its only hope is to be rescued by one chosen Earthling…  Yeah, all right. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Dr. Space.    Haven’t seen that uniform before… Wonder what school he goes to?  *sigh* Don’t want Senpai to get mad.  Music: Halcyon Days (Yoshimi Kudo)  Finally done. Consider Man in Black Suit Occasionally, a keyword will “update,” like this one. (Secret agents, rumored to deal in the extraordinary… And silencing those who witness UFOs. They call them men in black. No one really knows much else.)   Maybe I’ll just go home in my gym clothes.  I *am* pretty sweaty…  Out of nowhere, the basket in the corner shakes…      Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)  …… Wait, what if…   There a pervert in here?There is now! Eyyyyyyy!    What’re you doing barging into the girls’ locker room!? I heard you scream! Was just comin’ to help. Plus, all those creeps in black suits… I’ve been seeing ‘em everywhere.   Get outta here already!   Before we continue, I chose this opportunity in my game to demonstrate the brilliant “walk-and-think” "mechanic,” where you can ponder your Thought Cloud while moving around. It’s barely anything, but I find it deeply hilarious.   Now back to our scheduled Let’s Play.    This is wild…!      This is just like the movies! Use E.X.T. on Unidentified Object Sure, why not? This should be pretty stupid.  You, uh… you sure about that? Are you an alien from space!? Oh… my god…  Girl, you dumb.   Oh, did I scare you? Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba) It’s okay. I’m your friend. Hm. Can you understand me?    Okay, stay calm…  My dream is finally coming true!   B… J… Eleven… BJ? Is that your name?Yes, I’m sure the hi-larious blowjob jokes you’re all furiously typing right now will end war and bring about a new golden age for mankind, but let’s think ourselves above that one, just this once? I’m not saying it’s not funny, because it’s actually extremely loving funny, but I’ve played this segment before, I’ve seen people play this segment before, rest assured, it’s been done.  Innerlocitor code matched. Hm? …Natsuno. Yeah! That’s me! Consider BJ I do this all the ti—No! Stop! Bad! (His name is BJ. His mission was to protect Earth from other evil aliens.)Um, what? Getting ahead of yourself a bit there, aren’t you, Natsuno? Don’t tell me this is just your fantasies acting up again.  But is that a space suit you’re wearing? Like, is your brain inside of a jar or something? Girl, you dumb. This is clearly some manner of robit.  Oh! I think I get it. Is that why you’re hiding in here?  Those black suits all over campus… It’s just like that one movie! They must be here to capture this alien. The thing they were looking for… This explains it.  I must protect him.  Need… memory cell. That’s amazing, BJ! Where’d you learn how to speak my language?You’re treating this “alien” like a particularly smart dog. Go to… gate. Gate? I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.  You need to call your home planet, right? And then a UFO is going to come and rescue you. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you!   This technology is crazy!   I know exactly where that is. It’s a shrine near school.   You can’t just go walking out like that. The black suits would spot you in a second. Consider BJ’s Destination (The location BJ pointed out on the map. It’s a shrine nearby the school.)  Yeah, this’ll do the trick!  Consider P.E. Bag  (It can fit more than it looks! …… Maybe he can fit in here too…)  Use P.E. Bag on BJ    I’ll get you to where you need to go. Just hang tight, okay?How heavy must that bag be right now?        I mean, who would’ve thought somewhere like this… Was really a hub of extraterrestrial alien activity!A bit redundant there, but I appreciate your enthusiasm.   All right.  BJ just jumps right out of that gym bag.   Music: The Sector Theorem (Kazuki Higashihara)  What *is* all this? Are these holograms? Access code approved.  Except in the freakin’ movies! Designating sector… This is awesome, BJ!     Music: Power Of Destruction (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  Don’t leave me behind… Geez, this is getting pretty crazy even by dream standards. One second we’re at the shrine… Then we’re surrounded by this weird light…   It looks like there was a war…    Communications with major cities around the world have not yet been restored. It is likely that these cities have also come under attack by the same unknown entity that has besieged Japan. Domestically, multiple locales are reporting serious damages. Currently, the unknown enemy has made landfall, swarming a large area across the bay. They are now thought to be headed in the direction of Kasumi-cho, in Sakura Ward.  Wait, no… That’s near our school! Is this… Are we in my town?      It’s quite difficult to comprehend… I see five, six, seven… No, there’s more every time I look. What are they?  Could this really be the end of humanity?  They’re nearly upon us. To all of you watching… Good luck.  We’re in the future? 80 years to be exact… This can’t be real… can it?     Music: IMMINENT (Yoshimi Kudo)       I know what they are.Consider “The War of the Worlds”  They’re just like the Tripods. Weapons used by aliens to invade Earth. And now they’re destroying my home. Is this really happening? Was Earth really attacked by aliens? Do they want to destroy humanity…? Why did we come here? Search… memory cell. Yeah, I know, but what IS that? Sentinel… Sentinel No. 17.     Nah, you’re fine.      We end that chapter…  …and get thrust into yet another battle. Music: (LYSINE) (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)   See? I bet it’s already not even weird anymore that the children are naked. Goddammit.  Doing just fine, Natsuno-san. You’re a natural. This was his last gift to me. I gotta do this right, so I don’t let him down. Ominous. Don’t we have a bunch of bad guys everywhere already? Should we really be deployed all the way out here? Our Sentinels were designed chiefly for long-range attacks. I was taught that my primary tactic should be long-distance annihilation. Never give them a chance to close in. So if they *do* get too close, that’s bad news? Well, we’ve got electromagnetic battering rams for both arms in case of close-quarters combat. But we can’t let them surround us. I don’t know if we could fight our way out of that. …Okay. Got it.    Stay calm, Natsuno-san. Get a clear look at the opposing forces. The enemy may have more numbers than us… but we can hit them all in one fell swoop. Miura-kun, I’m… I’m kinda shook up here… We’ll be okay… We can use the electromagnetic rounds. Shake *them* up instead.  …!   So, we have two 3rd-generation Sentinels on the field. These, as Miura said, are designed primarily for long-range encounters. They’re also probably the weakest Sentinels overall, but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there. They’ll do just fine for our purposes here. We have to use Miura’s railgun here, which shoots a giant fuckoff laser beam. One thing I never mentioned is that multi-hit attacks can only damage one enemy per hit. The “Main Battery Heavy Railgun” only technically hits once and therefore does not have this problem. It’s also got kind of obscene range, able to hit the vast majority of the battlefield from where Miura is positioned. For now, let’s just shoot the obvious shot.     That electromagnetic round has the power of a salvo from 46 cm battleship-mounted cannons. But a weapon that powerful comes with high energy costs, and high risks to match. If you don’t use it carefully, you might end up out of power at the worst possible moment. Uh, roger that…!     Now, we just use Natsuno and Miura to mop up these enemies. There’s some slight differences between the movesets of their Sentinels, but we’ll get to that later.  For a first-time pilot, those were some impressive moves out there. Couldn’t have done it without you, Miura-kun.  What? There’s more? How many of these guys are there? Let me check the Sentinel’s data. Maybe we have a dossier in here somewhere.  It’s coming, Miura-kun… do we attack? Wait, I think we have new enemies inbound… Actually, isn’t that…? Sentinels No. 13 and 15… Are they friendly?  What? Juro-kun!? You’re in a Sentinel, too? It IS you, Nat-chan! We’re here to help! No way! You too, Iori!? What’s going on…? Thank you, Juro-kun. I couldn’t have asked for better support. We have to defend the terminal until the systems activate… Nat-chan, let’s do this together!      For the rest of this battle we now have Iori and Juro to help us, neat. Now, Iori and Juro are actually both in 2nd-gen models if you’ll recall, but only Iori has any support armaments equipped at the moment. We’ll plop down a sentry or two. They should help clean up the stragglers, even if they don’t have quite the range of a standard railgun. Just how useful do you think sentries are going to be in this game? Go on, answer. Wrong. You underestimated. I’m getting ahead of myself again, though. All in good time.    This may say missiles can be evaded, but 80% of the time they’re going to target the terminal directly, so you’re generally going to want to intercept them.  Here’s a good shot of two sentries firing off at once to finish the last enemy in the stage.  I can’t see any more kaiju around… Is that it? Did we beat them? …Looks like it… No, this is still just the beginning. If they can’t use this terminal, they’ll just move on to the next one. …If that’s true… The more targets they lose, the more desperate our enemies will get… and the harder they’ll fight. Yeah… These battles are only going to get tougher. Seriously…?   Natsuno Minami is… look, she’s great. I love her. She’s voiced by Erica Mendez, known for roles like Gon from Hunter x Hunter, Emma in The Promised Neverland, and Ryuko from Kill la Kill. That last one is especially relevant on the subject of works that are horny for the anime teens. Anyway, she’s pretty prolific, I could go all day listing roles of hers. Like, I didn’t even mention that she’s Bernie from Fire Emblem! Arist fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Nov 14, 2022 |
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Dec 25, 2020 15:27
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    Chapter 5: Megumi Yakushiji 1 Music: Taking It Easy (Kazuki Higashihara)     It is *so* gross today. Muddy as heck. My shoes are soaked. ……  It’s nothing… Thinking about how no one talks to you again? Is that what’s got you down? It’s just cause you’re so quiet, Megumi. People take that as you thinking you’re better than them. Or that you’re cold and distant. Not sure which is worse.Ouch. Maybe, uh… stop trying to cheer her up? Lotta friendly fire going out here, just saying. They just need to get to know the real Megumi. The one who’s a hopeless romantic… And a cool, laid back girl, just like everyone else. Maybe then they’d have an easier time talking to you.  It could really help you come out of your shell. I think I’ll pass. *giggle* You watched my Inaba Rabbit video? Mhm. I never knew you were so talented. Hehehe… Well, you’re in luck. I’m posting a new one when I get home!   Did you see that? There was a light… I saw it in the water.       Music: The Sector Theorem (Kazuki Higashihara)    …Fall from the sky?  Ah, geez…  And my umbrella got blown away. What a drag… We could have totally died just now. What even is that thing?    No, that’s not it… But what then? I gotta document this. Oh no, where’d my phone go?   And it’s moving? This seems dangerous… What if it, like, blows up? We gotta report this to the police. R-Right… Suddenly, the machine shifts in place, and the light goes out…       Are you all right? …… Where… am I? Music: IMMINENT (Yoshimi Kudo) No… When am I…?This game is relishing its one free use of that cliché. When…? Well, today is October— No, the year… What year is it right now?  2024… I must have been forcefully shifted here. The frontline’s been broken. It’s over. It’s all over… Should I call an ambulance? Who are you? Oh, um, I’m just from the school nearby… No… Then that means… This place is next…  …And I’ve come from the future.  They’re coming… Dire tidings indeed…  Now that that scene is over, we resume—huh?  gently caress OFF  Ooh, it looks so fluffy…   This cat does not want pets? This will not do! We must give chase!  Unfortunately, the cat decides to escape into the school building, and we cannot follow because that’s not where the plot is.    You look a little lost.  In 1985, the west building doesn’t even exist yet…   Music: Impending Doom (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)      One last time? They’re coming. And No. 13 is the only one that can still fight. I have to go. N-No, you can’t. I won’t let you! Taking back that robot, trying to fight by yourself… It’s not a good plan, Juro. You couldn’t defeat them even *with* all your friends. It’s true, I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you all… But I can’t do nothing.  Megumi. I really am grateful to you. So this is goodbye? I hope that it’s not, but… …… Juro Izumi. They’re here, just like you said they would be. And now monsters are flooding the port in droves. Right. Megumi, Tomi… I’ve told a woman named Morimura about you. When the time comes… You must listen to what she says.    Ms. Morimura… How is Juro doing? …… You must forget about Juro Izumi. The Juro you knew no longer exists. There was nothing else we could do. *sharp intake of breath* From now on, you cannot go near him. But— It’s for his own good.  Megumi is displeased and Morimura has nothing more to say. We make to leave.    Music: Self Sacrifice (Yoshimi Kudo)   It is…? How about we head back to the nurse’s office now? It’s important to take your medicine, you know.  You have to stay away. He’s Juro Kurabe now. Not Juro Izumi. I don’t understand… He is not the same person. Giving him a new identity was the only way to save him. That can’t be possible… It was the only way. I’m sure he would agree. It had to be done. So for now, you need to stay away. At this point, he is still very unstable. Trust me. You’re doing this for him.         Music: A Clause With Claws (Rikako Watanabe) A+ on that track name.   All right, settle down. No need to make a scene. People are gonna start to think you’re crazy. Did that cat just… talk to me? Use Talking Cat on Fluffy  That’s stupid. Cats can’t talk. You might want to try thinking before you speak.  How do you know my name?  You’re the one who called me, after all. I… did? Yes. And now I’m here to grant you your wish. Your wish to save Juro Izumi! Looks like I hit a nerve. So yeah, I can do it. I can get his memories back.  It does sound too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, I don’t go around granting wishes for free. In exchange… I need you to do something for me. After you agree to a binding contract, that is.   Come on, it’ll be easy. No experience necessary. And you’ll save Juro. Seems like your best option. Use The Contract on Fluffy  Assuming this isn’t a dream… Or a hallucination… *Or* some kind of cruel joke… What exactly would I need to do for you? I come from another world. One that was destroyed. Destroyed by a relic of an ancient civilization.  …… It spreads like a nasty curse… And has begun to infect this world too. I must find all the codes and set things right again. That is my mission. And the no-big-deal job that you get to do! You’re not serious, are you? In case you haven’t noticed, I am a cat. You really wanna leave the fate of the world to a cat? I don’t even have thumbs. If I screw up, you’re dead too. You’re only damning yourself if you refuse.   Are you going to turn me into a magical girl or something? Well, I am curious to see what this is all really about. And more importantly, who’s behind it. I can come play with you for a bit after school, okay? Just cause you’re so cute. Sure, make fun. Just the fate of the world that’s at stake.  *frustrated sigh* All right. I’ll give you some time to think about it. I suppose it’s a good thing you’re skeptical. Instead of some idiot who believes everything she hears.  You will accept my contract.     And there *is* a way to bring back Juro…   Before we move on to the next battle stage, let’s see what happens if we choose to decline Fluffy’s contract.   I’m sorry, but this all just seems so impossible.  And the scene proceeds the same from there. I think the “Decline” version flows a little better because Megumi actually says the word “impossible,” but the line “Are you going to turn me into a magical girl or something?” meant I just had to use the “Accept” version.  All right, let’s get back to it. Music: (PHENYLALANINE) (Mitsuhiro Kaneda) (Listen to this)  drat! Megumi’s in a tight spot!   It’s like that thing has a wall protecting it… How am I supposed to damage it? Tomi… Why are you…? What are you so surprised about? This is my Sentinel, isn’t it? Seriously, Megumi. I wish you’d just told me. I have to apologize… If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be— Look, there’s only one thing I want an apology for. I got that switch ‘cause you shot me, right?What!? ‘Cause like… did you *have* to put it on my back? I’m gonna give myself a cramp swiping that thing. But you gotta fall back, Megumi. Your Sentinel’s at its limit. I’ll handle this. No, Tomi… We’ll fight together. Come on, dork. What’s the point of fighting together if it gets you killed? You gonna be dumb, or you gonna listen to your best friend? …Yeah, you’re right…  Megumi takes her Sentinel to a remote area and sends it away for repairs.  Over on another corner of the map, Nenji Ogata arrives. You charged out first all thumping your chest, and it took you this long to get here?  The train stopped. I got kinda lost in the crowd. But I got this now, Kisaragi. You can hang back where it’s safer, okay? I just got here, you moron. I’m not going anywhere. Fine, whatever. Just tell me which of these bozos I gotta trash.   Tomi’s Sentinel won’t be much good against it. But your 1st-generation Sentinel’s perfect for close combat.  As Megumi sent her Sentinel for repairs, she is currently without one and is forced to navigate the terrain on foot if she needs to move. We’ll keep her here for now.  Megumi was right about Tomi’s Sentinel not having the firepower to take down this Hi-Quad. Despite being a 3rd-generation model, she lacks even the railguns Natsuno and Miura had in the last stage. She’s still best at long-range like them and has some options for swarms of small enemies, but unfortunately she’s missing the tools to defeat something big like this. That’s where Nenji comes in. He’s in a 1st-generation model like Hijiyama’s, but where Hijiyama has Tackle, Nenji gets DEMOLISHER BLADE, which hits a crazy 36 times with 80 power each. It also pierces armor, which is good because those Hi-Quads are armored and attacks like Tomi’s rapid cannons will bounce right off. Demolisher Blade is Nenji’s bread and butter.  Because it’s a melee attack, we can move into position as part of the action, and we’re even hitting its back for an extra 50% damage. Let’s do this.   There’s gonna be 37 hits: Me hitting you 36 times, and you hitting the floor. So yeah, Demolisher Blade is pretty okay.   Fine by me. I was just thinkin’ I was running out of asses to kick.Ahahaha, this idiot rules My Sentinel’s fixed. I can get back on the field. Please, Tomi. Let me fight with you.  Sentinel No. 23: Transmitted   Two girls and their robots against the world. You know, we could record this and be set for life.     So, Megumi’s Sentinel is ready for battle again. If we ever need to repair our Sentinels, we just send them away for a time and they’ll come back with full HP. However, as we saw, this leaves the pilot defenseless against explosions, so it’s best that they do this far away from the enemy, especially because the death of any pilot is an automatic failure. The pilots are also generally going to be much slower to move than a Sentinel, so we need to be careful about that as well.  Now, you may have noticed the first time Megumi moved before she repaired that her Sentinel wasn’t following the blue lines marking the roads. This is because her Sentinel is a 4th-generation model, designated as flight support. Flight support, meaning they can fly. Yeah, sure, why not? 4th-generations aren’t quite as speedy as 1st-generations to my recollection, but not having to follow the roads means they can be just as mobile if not moreso on more complicated maps. They’re good for zipping around the arena and giving a hand where it’s needed, basically.  Tomi’s three equipped actions are some standard rapid cannons and long-range missiles, plus an EMP Stunner that we won’t go into yet because it’s not terribly useful right now against the current enemy lineup. Much like Tomi herself. Heyo!  Well, that’s not exactly fair, because Megumi doesn’t have much to go on right now either. Tomi at least can help clean up some of the swarms with her long-range missiles, but Megumi is not set up to do much at the moment. She can place a Shield Matrix to nullify attacks on allies near it, but that’s not that necessary this early in the game. Her Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers are armor-piercing and do decent damage, but still aren’t going to do much against the Hi-Quads. She’s also got Flare Torpedo, which kind of seems… bad?   So, Flare Torpedo’s description claims: “Deploys a mine at target area. Upon detecting kaiju, it explodes, overheating them.” What it actually seems to do is put this big red circle on the ground that does piss for damage to any kaiju that are inside it for the ten seconds it stays active. Like, I’m looking at my footage and I’m seeing… 50-80 damage? Hitting like… once a second? That’s nothing. That’s baby poo poo. It might wipe up some small fries but even a G-Moler was having like, a tenth of its health taken by a hit from that, maybe. And they can just move out of it, too!   Thankfully, Nenji’s still here to take out anything big enough to care about. After a frontal Demolisher Blade doesn’t do quite enough to take down one of the Hi-Quads, I decide to maneuver Nenji around to their backs to get that sweet, sweet bonus damage. From there, they go down in two actions.     Hey, he’s that 2nd-year… Renya Gouto. He’s from the future… Further into the future than me. I know a great little place near school. …Yeah. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.    Megumi Yakushiji is voiced by Cristina Valenzuela (who until recently used the stage name Cristina Vee, in case you’re more familiar with her work under that name). She’s voiced Velvet in Tales of Berseria, Sakura from the Fate franchise, and Sailor Mars in Sailor Moon, speaking of magical girls. Arist fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Aug 27, 2021 |
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Jan 1, 2021 21:31
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    Chapter 6: Shu Amiguchi 1 Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba)  Looks like Yuki and Wajima are at odds…  Amiguchi passes the hubbub while riding his motorcycle. Guess Juro was right, he really is rich.  Amiguchi comes to a stop.  What’s going on there? I’m done talkin’.   Got nothin’ to do with you. Get outta here. Threatening a girl? Not a good look, man. Really? Just another pack of posers. What, gotta call in your punk friends to take me on? He ain’t with us. Consider Takemi Wajima (Otherwise known as Tak of Kuri High. One of the top dogs in the gang at Nigakuri Industrial School.)You know Wajima’s bad news because he goes to something called “Nigakuri Industrial School.”   Sorry, but you know I’m always on the ladies’ side. You think she’s gonna fall for that poo poo?I’m with Wajima here, that was a really lame line. That’s Takamiya from Suzu High. No way! I only trashed three of these clowns. Now it’s payback time. Can’t let some chick get away with disrespectin’ us. We got a reputation.   Back off, loverboy.  Bad move. Last time I’m gonna say it, Amiguchi. Walk away.    News flash, buddy. I can’t walk away from a cutie in trouble.     Music: Now Or Never (Kazuki Higashihara)  You gonna be okay after that? What do you mean? Wajima, man. You know that guy’s an amateur boxer, right? My days are numbered, huh? Well, do I get a last wish, Takamiya-san? ‘Cause I gotta say, I’d love to know your first name.Ahahahaha, holy poo poo, what a fuckin’ sleazeball this dude is  What? Sorry, you’re gonna have to speak up! It’s Yuki! Yuki Takamiya! Huh… What’s up? That’s where I’m transferring to. You’re kidding! Well, hey, that means it’s gotta be destiny! You wanna go get a drink somewhere? I’m good. You can just let me off. I got places to be. Yeah, understandable, this guy is a lot. Well, I’ll drive you! I’ll take the train. Really, it’s fine! Where am I headed? The crosswalk in front of the Shikishima Building in Aoi. I know it. Gogyo Street, right? Big commercial district? What, you got a part-time job? Look, you wanna make this an interrogation, I’m gettin’ off. Aww… Okay, you win. I’ll save the questions for later. Just hang on tight. We’re going full throttle.  Time for another scene with objects passing through the foreground obstructing my screenshots, but this time they’re cars!  But your driving sucks, man.   Oh. Cool. When do you start school?  (to self) Can’t wait. Consider Yuki Takamiya  (A bombshell like that, sending those Kuri guys to the hospital?) (I just might have fallen for her.) We get back on the motorcycle…   But Amiguchi barely manages to cross the street before he notices something and stops.    Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)  And this is the Shikishima Building. Shikishima Industries… What’s our school nurse doing in there…? Music: IMMINENT (Yoshimi Kudo)   Turned out to be pretty useless in close combat. Wish I’d had some arms. Maybe then we’d stand a chance. Yeah… A big, metal… weaponized… punching arm. Would’ve been great.   As long as they got to the shifter gate, they should be okay. You realize how far we are from that gate. Too far for us to make it. Don’t give up yet. Can you check that 98 over there? Pop the maintenance hatch. We’re not out of options yet.  Not fighting. Escaping. …… Right! It was through shifting that we got the 98s into this era. So it could be linked to a shifter! It might just get us out of here. I’ve already input the shift coordinates. You disengage the auto control and switch to manual.   Man, they are really relishing this opportunity to show Morimura’s rear end. I’ll see if we can get it out of the downed 98.     Basically everything’s operational aside from the legs… Music: Self Sacrifice (Yoshimi Kudo)  Things are getting bad out here! They’ve taken the last mainframe. We’ve lost… but it’s not over yet. Listen. I’ve got just enough power to send you.I guess there’s enough power to “shift,” but not enough to enact the protocol that strips you naked. Makes sense. (Before you yell at me, I think these just aren’t Sentinels and therefore don’t actually do that, I guess? Explains why he has to climb in instead of teleporting, anyway) As soon as the system’s ready, you need to shift. What are you saying!? No time left. Can’t make it back. Find me, and tell me everything.  I know you’ll find a way—   After a moment of hesitation, and as the shaking continues to intensify, “Ida” ducks into the mech.      …Okay, I’m officially lost on what any the gently caress of that meant. How about you guys?   Amiguchi wakes up in his room, the TV blaring J-pop.  ...That’s definitely not how she usually looks… But I know that was Ms. Morimura. A giant mecha, a ruined city, and a gorgeous teacher in a catsuit… Geez. Like a kid who’s been watching too much anime. …… I still remember how the ground felt under my feet. That felt way too real. Kinda late for a music show. Feel like I recognize those lyrics, too… Oh, she’s that new idol. Been getting big lately.   All right, TV’s off.        I finally found you… Now it’s a drama?  I’ve been looking for you for so long. Please help me… You’re the only one I can turn to, Shu-kun…   No. This is no TV show. Shu-kun…    Uhhhhhhhh…  Music: (THREONINE) (Rikako Watanabe)    I don’t take orders from you! I gotta find Nat-chan!  Wait, something’s coming up… It’s a Sentinel! No. 22?  No. 22, advancing.  Oh, it’s just Gouto. We’re going to have the terminal defend itself. I’ll need your help. Screw you, buddy. Do it yourself. If I don’t find Nat-chan, fast…  Wait, you got in? I thought I told you that thing was dangerous… Just hold on. I’m on my way. What? No! No, you stay back where it’s safe—We got buttloads of kaiju over here! Dammit… Gouto, we gotta do something. Now. I see things in the air… Are those enemies too?   Great, we got flyers now?They fly now? They fly now. …Ouch, ow, please stop pelting me with garbage from the stands, everyone! They specialize in aerial mobility, much like our 4th-generation Sentinels. Melee attacks won’t reach them. We can’t rely on ground-based missiles either. Kinda short on anti-air options here…  They can expand our mech’s functions and unlock new weapons. How about you guys handle this tech stuff, and I just kick the poo poo out of ‘em. Hoo boy, we all better watch out for her…  This fight’s kind of annoying because we only get three 4th-generation Sentinels, which definitely aren’t at peak utility this early in the game. They’re not terrible, it’s just gonna take a bit to down anything with a decent amount of health.    All three Sentinels are equipped with Multi-Lock Missiles, thankfully, which can do a lot to sweep up the small fries. I believe it works by firing 35 low-power missiles randomly targeted at enemies in the vicinity. Also worth noting: this is the rare non-melee attack that lets you move before you use it.  Enemies approaching from the south…  …And more from the north.  Some of those guys look pretty tough… Okay, there’s a lot of them, but as long as we stay cool and stick to the plan… These clowns are gonna need more than numbers to take me down!  Well, okay then.  We’re going to send four-eyes here down south alone to deal with the group of flyers and Twintails. He’ll take a good bit of damage and won’t be able to cover everything coming, unfortunately, but that’s the price we pay with only three Sentinels here to cover this entire map.  Up north, we’ll send Yuki and Shu. Yuki has Leg Spike, the strongest attack anyone here has, dealing two 900 power hits and inflicting the overheat status like Flare Torpedo. The damage over time from overheat is still piddly, we want those hits. Unlike ground-based Sentinels, 4th-generation models can fly right through enemies. We use that here to hit this Hi-Quad with Leg Spike right in its squishy back. We have it down in two uses or so (though it doesn’t start with full health). Meanwhile, Shu takes down the flyers and Gouto slooooooowly whittles down the Twintails while they fire missiles unabated at the terminal. It’s fine, it doesn’t go below 70%.    Aegis activation confirmed. This area’s terminal has been shut down. Wow… Did you see that, Yuki-chan? That UFO must have some unbelievable power…I’m sorry, what? Calm down, Amiguchi. We still gotta meet up with Nat-chan. Calm down, she says. Like she wasn’t the one raging out a second ago…  So one thing I didn’t cover in the battle section here is that whenever you select a character, they play one of a few canned voice lines. Some of them are fun, some are odd (Hijiyama in particular is really hard on himself for some reason), but there’s nothing else quite like one of Shu’s, which is: “Better put on a show for Yuki-chan.” He says it with a really weird emphasis on “Yuki-chan” too and it’s… ugh. What I’m trying to say here is that Shu skeeves me out. He’s played by Mick Wingert, who you probably haven’t heard before because his biggest roles are being Fake Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in a few cartoons and anime and being Fake Jack Black in Kung Fu Panda cartoons/games and the Jumanji game I just found out exists. Arist fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Nov 14, 2022 |
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Jan 4, 2021 01:37
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    Chapter 7: Ei Sekigahara 1 Music: High Alert (Yoshimi Kudo)   The quiet on the rooftop is suddenly interrupted by a boy bursting through the door.      He’s got a loving piece!? You must know who I am, don’t you? That’s why you’ve been following me. Of course I do. You can’t escape us, Ei Sekigahara. Sekigahara… Tell me! …… Guess you have a death wish. Wait! It’s because… You came from another dimension.Guh????? Another dimension? Enough with the games. Tell me the truth. …… Resistance is futile. Surrender now, or else. If you won’t answer my questions… Then talking to *you* is what’s futile.  Holy poo poo! Hmph. Another dimension… Could that really be true? There’s no way I’d be able to tell.  Oh god, we’re doing this one, huh?  Consider Ei Sekigahara (Ei Sekigahara… It’s no use. I can’t remember anything. But that’s what he called me. It has to mean something.)After “Consider”-ing Ei Sekigahara, the keyword remains green. That simply means that there’s an additional thought we can get out of it. Many of Ei’s “Consider” or “Examine” prompts in his prologue have a second dialogue, for some reason. I’ll show them anyway. Consider Ei Sekigahara (Ei Sekigahara… That name doesn’t sound familiar. But it apparently belongs to me.)Consider Phaser  Whoa, careful with that thing! (This gun *does* feel a bit out of the ordinary… Could it really be from another dimension?)Examine Phaser (As long as it’s set to stun, it won’t kill anybody.)Oh, boo. (But it’s strange… why do I know how to use this?)That’s… a good question!   I made sure to set it to stun, not kill. Weeeeeeaaaak.    Maybe he has something on him that’ll give me a clue. Just a pair of handcuffs in his pocket… And…   *sigh* You won’t mind if I borrow these, will you? Examine Black Wallet  (Might as well put it to good use. I haven’t eaten a thing in two days after all… But hang on. This is strange. The designs on these bills look completely different. There’s even a 500-yen bill. Aren’t those out of print? And these coins are from back in the Showa era…)Wait, aren’t you supposed to have amnesia? You remember some specific poo poo. Examine Black Wallet (A fancy leather wallet. There are a few bills and coins inside. No credit cards, though.)Examine Communication Device  (Its range looks to be only one or two kilometers. That means his little friends can’t be too far. If I mess with it now… They’ll know I’m nearby.)Examine Communication Device (An outdated transceiver for communication purposes. It has a very limited range.) It might be safest to travel along the river. But before that, I should really get something to eat.  I woke up in that alley, my memories gone. Since then, I’ve been on the run non-stop.   …I can’t remember anything.    Consider No Memories (Everything is a complete blank… Why am I here? I d on’t even remember my own name…)The “No Memories” thought actually disappears once we Consider it. Examine Strange Gun  (Why would I be carrying a weapon?)  Wait, that’s… Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori) …! She isn’t breathing…  What happened here?      Based on this evidence… The gun appears to be the most likely cause of death.  Consider Woman’s Body (Is it possible this woman and I know each other? All I know is I woke up next to her with a gun in my hand. Was I… the one who killed her?)Now, we need to look around the alley for clues.    Oh hey, pills here. It’s highly likely these belong to me. All right. I should see if that woman has anything useful on her. It might serve as a clue to what happened here. Examine Empty Pill Bottle  (The bottle’s made of plastic. There’s nothing inside.) Now we return to the woman.   Are there any other clues around here?Examine Cryptic Note (The note says…) (What could it mean? A password of some sort?)  …… I haven’t checked my own pockets yet. Let’s see…  Examine ID Card  (Sakura High School. Class 1-B. Iori Fuyusaka.) …Right, from when he bumped into her in her prologue! So this must be after that! (Fuyusaka… Her face does look familiar. But I can’t remember how I know her. It’s uncanny, though. Almost like she’s important to me. In one way or another…)Examine ID Card (It’s a student ID from Sakura High School. It appears to belong to a female student. Iori Fuyusaka. Class 1-B.)Examine Key  (Maybe it’s a car key?) Looking around further, we come across this envelope.  Could it have something to do with that woman? Examine Envelope  (Some documents are inside.)Examine Envelope  Chihiro Morimura. Occupation: Teacher.Well, no more doubts about the identity of that corpse now.  “If capture is not possible, then shoot to kill.”And all signs point to us having done the deed. Whoops.  Examine Morimura’s Files (Chihiro Morimura, 31. Sakura High School nurse. A key member of Shikishima’s weapon development team.)And that’s why Shu saw her at the Shikishima building last update! Everything’s falling into place! Pfft, I thought this game was supposed to be a mindfuck. Examine Orders (A note that was included with the files on Morimura. It says “If capture is not possible, then shoot to kill.”) Use Morimura’s Files on Woman’s Body  That’s who this woman is. Well, was.  Music: High Alert (Yoshimi Kudo) Someone’s coming. I won’t be able to talk my way out of this one.But you’re so personable! Don’t sell yourself short, buddy! I need to get out of here before they see me.  They’ve got me surrounded. I need to hide.  Ei quickly slips into a gap between two buildings.    Where’d that boy run off to? He has a gun. We’d best proceed with caution. We’re authorized to use deadly force if necessary. Yes. We need to clean this up quickly. If he gets away again, we’re in deep poo poo? Let’s contact HQ and tell them we’re on it. I’ll leave that to you. We’ll monitor public transits. He can’t have gone far.   Then that means… I must be their culprit. Why can’t I remember…  At least until I figure this all out for myself. Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)    What’ll happen to me? Examine Orders (A note that was included with the files on Morimura. It says, “If capture is not possible, then shoot to kill.” Did I kill her? Did someone order me to do it?Examine Morimura’s Files (Chihiro Morimura, 31. Sakura High School nurse. A key member of Shikishima’s weapon development team. The one I found dead…)  You stick out like a sore thumb in this part of town. Get yourself somewhere with lots of people.…I’m sorry?  But they’re able to track your general location. Wait, who are you? I’m here to return the package I borrowed from you. A package?   Do you know me? I’m not here for small talk. Coming here at all was risky enough as it is. Just go get your package. See ya.  Music: Lonely Struggle (Rikako Watanabe)  Wait, BJ!?  I can’t imagine how seeing this must make you feel. Forgive me for the theatrics. I didn’t have much choice. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now. My name is Ei Sekigahara. I’m you. If everything went according to plan… Then I’m talking to myself, but with no memories. We don’t have much time… So I’m only telling you what you need to know.Ain’t that (in)convenient! This is not your world. You’re a human from another dimension. Your stay here was intended to be temporary. But… There was an accident. A very grave one… And now, many people are unable to return home. I—well, *you*—are stuck here as well. …… But don’t give up yet. There’s still a way back. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you here.Of course not! That would be too easy! You understand now, don’t you? If they see this recording, they’ll know. So I’ve hidden the information you need elsewhere. Its location is known only to me. You must find it. And don’t get caught. If you do, there’ll be no escape. You have to trust me… I only hope you make the right choice.    …BJ turned into a helicopter. How quaint.   It *does* line up with what those men in black were saying. First things first. I need to get out of here. If what that girl said is true… Then I’m not safe here.   Eventually, we’ll learn what these “Mystery Files” and “Event Archives” actually are.  But not right now! We’ve got kaiju to fight! Music: (METHIONINE) (Kikuchi Yukinori)   Miura moves up to join the other Sentinels.    Takatoshi-san… So it was you. No matter the war, it’s an honor to fight at your side.  We haven’t even met this chick yet, wow.  It’s my Sentinel, isn’t it…?   You came, too, Sekigahara? And why are you in that Sentinel… As long as it’s functional, does it matter? Hehehe, he said “flimflam.” Wait. Stay in position. If any one of us tries to do this alone, we lose any chance we have at victory. Fine… So you call the shots. You’re the only one here with command experience. …We will split into teams individually prioritizing attack and defense.  The rest of you will defend the terminal until Aegis activates. Operation Aegis… We’re really doing this, huh? …We’re short on firepower and time… We’ll need every trick, every weapon in our arsenal. Right? This go-around introduces something new: defenders. Anyone not in the active assault team will be put on defense and will use their defense ability on any kaiju that gets into range. Each member of the team has one defense ability. I can’t really go more into detail about it just yet, but just know it’s there.   This stage also introduces another way to clear by running out the timer, which I one thousand percent guarantee you will never, ever do in normal play. The game simply isn’t hard enough for the timer to matter, and given that the game pauses while you select actions, with any modicum of skill you’re probably clearing most stages in a fourth of the two-minute timer.  So, once again we have Hijiyama and Ei (both gen 1), Shinonome and Kurabe (gen 2), Miura (gen 3) and Gouto (Gen 4). Miura is here using his long-range missiles to take down a swarm of small kaiju. This stage is honestly rather simple, with the only real complication being a Hi-Quad near the top corner.  Ei has the standard Rush attack of 1st-generation Sentinels, plus Ogata’s Demolisher Blade and a new move, Anti-Air Defensive Flares. This places flares in the air that will deal damage to any flying kaiju or missiles that enter them. They’re marginally useful.  The only other cast member we haven’t used yet here is Shinonome, who has Juro’s Rocket Launchers and Heavy Knuckles for explodin’ and punchin’, but also Guardian, which places a construct down that enemies will target, distracting them.  Since Ei has Demolisher Blade, we’re sending him up north to deal with that Hi-Quad.  And Hijiyama too, for good measure.  You’ll note that following that Rush Attack from Hijiyama, the Hi-Quad is now closer to the barrier at the edge of the map. I say “closer,” but really it’s only half-inside the field. This is… something of an odd quirk of the battle system. Your Sentinels can’t leave the battlefield… but the enemy technically can, if they’re pushed. And many moves, like Rush Attack, have some knockback. Now, you can still shoot the enemy when they leave the arena, but that would really suck because 1st-gen melee attacks are much more powerful, especially at this point in the game, than whittling down their health with projectiles.   No matter, we still manage to kill it before it glitches out of the stage.    All right!  Okay, and now we finally get the difficulty select!   Given that Normal is already extremely easy, I’m leaning towards picking Intense for this run so I can actually show off the game. It’ll be fine. Probably. Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)   And now the main overview menu is here! Let’s check out Destruction, the   All right, that’s enough Destruction for now. Just wanted to give a slight bit of context for the way it’s structured if nothing else.  Analysis!  Here is the Event Archive, which shows every story event in order. We can sort them by character, too, in case we just want an outline of a character’s journey, be through in their own story or someone else’s. I won’t be showing much of this because just knowing what event happened when can have massive implications. This is a time travel story, after all.  This is a sample of what the archive looks like for an event we’ve seen, though.    And next, we move on to the Mystery Files. These are files that detail characters, items, and elements of the story, sometimes with a bit more detail than we get in the game. I probably won’t cover a huge amount of these, but some will be important enough that I probably should show them.       Here are the files for the characters we’ve controlled up to now, just for reference.  And we can also unseal new files by unlocking them with Mystery Points gained from Destruction.   Wow! Useful information!  Finally, Remembrance!  Wait, what? “Diverge based on the actions you take?” This game is already too complicated for a branching storyline, goddammit.    Some events are actually locked until we see other events.  Some are even locked until we complete certain stages in Destruction.    And that’s all of it! So… what next? Well, part of the fun of this game is going through everything in your own order, trying to unravel the plot based on what leads and characters you find most compelling. So we’re going to do thread voting, with the caveat that I have ultimate veto power. Why would I need veto power? Well, it’s been brought up that it’s possible to see stuff in kind of a “wrong” order, where revelations come too early or too late to really be effective. So to mitigate that, if I play an event and really strongly think we should see a different event first, I’m just going to pick a different one. I do not expect to do this very often if at all, because the reason this game is so good is that it doesn’t really matter what order you do things in, but it’s *possible* I will end up doing this, so you’ve been warned. On that note I will not tell you when I have done this because that would just give the whole game away, now wouldn’t it? Now, the available choices are: Juro Kurabe (11% completion) Ei Sekigahara (14%) Iori Fuyusaka (14%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (12%) Destruction (18%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Shu Amiguchi (14%, locked behind Destruction) You’re free to choose! Here’s the poll. (but I really suggest we pick Juro next, it would really help me out for structural reasons, c’mon guys just do me a solid this once) Oh, and before I forget:  Ei Sekigahara is voiced by Kyle McCarley, who’s known for roles like 9S from Nier Automata, Mob from Mob Psycho 100, and Narancia from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. Ei is actually way deeper than his normal register, I’m honestly super impressed with this performance. Arist fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Nov 14, 2022 |
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Jan 7, 2021 20:19
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I believe he read the same article I did that listed the inspirations for most of the stories. IIRC, Total Recall was also on that list for Ei, but I'm going to ask that we not talk about that article any more because some of the inspirations are spoilers.
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Jan 7, 2021 22:53
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  Chapter 8: Juro Kurabe 2 Thanks, guys. I wouldn’t normally put my thumb on the scale like that, but this event is just the best way to introduce some stuff. Music: In The Doldrums (Rikako Watanabe)   Story paths?   Oh jesus, oh gently caress, noooooo!!!!! Nobody told me there would be branching storylines! Well, it’s actually a lot simpler than you think it is. But we’ll address that in a bit.   Amiguchi’s gone missing again. Bet he’s at the cafeteria. Get ready to head over.  Why not? Throughout the backdrop of this scene Miwako goes to talk to Tomi, then eventually Iori shows up to join them, then all three leave individually. We won’t really be seeing that conversation in this version of the scene because we’ll be busy chatting with Shiba, but I just felt the need to point that out in case you see them chatting in the background of my shots.     Yup. Last week’s was a real cliffhanger. I’m dying to know what happens.  After all hell breaks loose, the main character just—  *snicker* Whoops. This is no time to be reading comics, huh?Consider Kyuta Shiba  (I saw Shiba-kun in a dream the other day. A pretty creepy one. Something about an android…)Use Iori Fuyusaka on Kyuta Shiba  I noticed she always leaves during break time. And? What about it? I’m just wondering where she goes all the time. Judging from what the other girls have been saying… She runs off to the nurse’s office to take a nap. She’s sleeping…?Poor girl has narcolepsy, geez. What, you wanna follow her to bed? (blushing) Come on, quit it! Use That One Video on Kyuta Shiba  I found a little something else you’ve been wanting to see. You know. That hardcore foreign movie. Don’t make it sound so creepy. It’s just a sci-fi flick. *passes Juro the tape* I also taped the next episode of that drama series. The one where the alien runs away to Earth. Hmm… Is that the one where he teleports from the UFO to the bridge? (brief surprise) Oh, you’ve seen it already?  I dunno. Maybe I did. Consider Visitor from Another World  (So he runs away to take refuge on Earth. There’s a famous scene where he teleports onto a bridge.)Use Shu Amiguchi on Kyuta Shiba  What if we’re annoying him? Then let him be annoyed. I still get to play his games. *sigh*As someone who suspects one of my only friends in middle school only hung out with me because I had Kingdom Hearts 2… too real, anime. Too real. Use Visitor from Another World on Kyuta Shiba  I totally forgot last week… They were airing UFO Wars on TV! Consider UFO Wars (Released in 1977, this was the first in a hit series from the United States. It’s a dramatic sci-fi adventure taking place in a galaxy far, far way. Its popularity holds strong no matter how much time passes.)It’s only been eight years, Juro. Settle down. I’m sure it’s just a fad.  Use UFO Wars on Kyuta Shiba  Want to borrow it? Oh, I’m in luck! The quality’s not that great, though. I recorded it in EP mode. Geez, get your hands on some better tapes. If we’re too slow, we’ll lose him. All right, let’s just get Juro’s bag…    Use Mighty Kaiju Deimos on Kyuta Shiba  They’re showing it at the theater right now. Want to go see it? I’d rather rent it on video. Then we can watch it on Amiguchi’s big TV. Cheaper, too.Well, aren’t you a killjoy.   Let’s step out.   They’re always sold out. I heard there’s a guy who buys shitloads of ‘em.Ha.   Right, let’s go.   Well, crap. So much for gaming today… Maybe they’ve seen him somewhere. I know you were eavesdropping earlier. Y’know, Kisaragi and the others. Did they mention him? I don’t know… Let’s just go home.  Okay, let’s go home.    Wait, that’s it!? But the percentage didn’t go up… what’s the deal?  Well, I don’t think that really counts as a full update, so let’s head back in.   …And we’re back here! What gives? Well, the “branches” in this game function a little differently than in other visual novels. This isn’t a Zero Escape scenario, where every individual path splinters off into a new ending. Instead, when you start a character’s chapter, you’re living a “day.” Once you reach an end of a path, in our case the generic no-ending “Daily Life,” the next time you start as that character you’ll be placed back into the same scenario on a different day, with all unlocked keywords available from the start because now your character knows and is aware of more information. The keywords thing is going to be important later for unlocking more paths, but for now it doesn’t matter too much. The relevant thing is that until we’ve seen every available path, we’re going to start from this scene. Now, Shiba actually pretty much outright told us the thing we need to do to find Amiguchi, but if you actually paid attention to the scene in the cafeteria you noticed someone we didn’t talk to, so we’re going to head back there real quick and take care of that.    Oh, also, if you try to leave without Shiba he gets upset.    Let’s use the other stairway.The game can be kind of a pain when it makes you remember which staircase leads to the cafeteria, heh.   Well, crap. So much for gaming today… Let’s go talk to this familiar-looking student over here.  Oh, Juro-kun! Hi, Minami-san. What’s up? Well, uh… You know. About that guy… Stay over?  About that, um…  If you could let him stay a bit longer, I’d appreciate it. You’re the best!  I’ve gotta go. Let’s talk later, okay?Nice dodge.    Minami-san, my neighbor. My grandma’s pretty close with her family. You’re lookin’ pretty close yourself.    Consider Issues at Home  (Ever since that day… My life’s been turned upside down.)     Dinner’s almost ready. I’m sorry, what the hell are you doing here? Could you get the chopsticks?Uhhh, sure?      Consider Chopsticks for Two (She probably didn’t realize it, but… These are matching chopsticks. Like… for a married couple.  Use Chopsticks for Two on Dinner Table    I need to come up with a way to kick her out.  It’s because you stay up late watching movies every night. You need to get to bed early.  Besides, I can’t fall asleep even if I wanted to. Oh? Why not? Me…?     We really shouldn’t be living together like this. Are you afraid of someone finding out? Well, that’s… part of it… Anyway, I want you out of here by next month.     You’re pretty insensitive, Juro.   Music: Forty Winks (Rikako Watanabe)    We’re neighbors! Think I don’t know my way around the place? Anyway, I’ve got a favor to ask… I didn’t know you cooked!  So, uh, what’s this favor you need?       Do you need something from him?  Look at Natsuno’s face here, it rules. She’s having none of it. This is just… you know… Oh! Come on in. Pardon my interruption. Who are you? So, um… It’s kinda complicated, but yeah. I need you to let him stay over for a few days. What? How do you know Minami-san? Just let him stay until your granny’s back. I won’t tell anyone you’re living with a girl.Blackmail!  The details don’t matter. Just let him stay, all right?    I know Natsuno-san’s intentions are good, but… …… Why don’t you join us for dinner? …… Things just keep getting weirder and weirder… Wah waaaaaaaaaaah  And so concludes this chapter of Juro’s story. But what should we try next? Our choices for now are: Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Ei Sekigahara (14%) Iori Fuyusaka (14%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (12%) Destruction (18%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Shu Amiguchi (14%, locked behind Destruction) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Nov 15, 2022 |
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Jan 14, 2021 22:53
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  Chapter 9: Natsuno Minami 2  Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba) This track sounds so much like it belongs in Ace Attorney to me.   Consider Sentinel No. 17 (Sentinel No. 17. Created to fight against the Tripods. It’s also the robot that BJ used to pilot.)Interesting, BJ used to pilot a Sentinel? Consider BJ (His name is BJ. He’s an alien that came from a highly civilized planet. His mission was to protect Earth from other evil aliens.)  You gotta stay quiet if we’re gonna keep you hidden. Natsuno. Let’s go to the gate. Sound good? Natsuno. The gate… Natsuno, let’s go.  Locking you up in here… But I don’t know where else to keep you safe. Consider Hiding Place   Music: BUDDIES (Azusa Chiba)     But if I left you in my room, my brothers would come in. They’d be able to find you, even if you were hiding. I’ll help you find what you’re looking for.  Natsuno… You gotta stay quiet, or those men in black will find you. They really do seem to be everywhere…   Just stay quiet until then, okay? That means you gotta stay in there. And as the flashback ends, we return to Natsuno stuffing BJ into her locker. I’m sorry I have to make you wait. But I’ll be back soon.Consider Hiding Place (My room… Gets raided by my little brothers pretty often. Either way, I can’t leave BJ at home. As for the track room, no one goes in there until after school. If I put him in my locker, odds are no one would see him.)  Music: Halcyon Days (Yoshimi Kudo)      Uhh… Um… Why? You always put it in your locker. Oh, you saw, huh? What is it anyways? A clock? It’s a… It’s a secret. Oh, I get it. Another silly UFO thingamajig. Whatever. Just put it away before Senpai sees. *leaves*Sure thing! Thanks for not asking why the track room is trashed! *sigh*    *sigh*     Consider P. E. Bag (If BJ is about to be seen by someone… I’ll just hide him in my P.E. bag. Crisis averted!) What would happen if they found you. You’d end up in Area 51. Dissected on a table… Use P. E. Bag on BJ    All right, let’s head to the gate.    Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)   Let’s just walk past all casual-like, nothing to see here…   Crap… ……Natsuno’s on the back foot, let’s see her next play…  And she just loving bolts! A bold move! Music: High Alert (Yoshimi Kudo)    What do I do?   The man in black approaches, looks up and down the hallway, then turns back.    Let’s head down the other way, see if we can lose him.      Looks like we’ve got no option but to turn back the way we came.   Maybe the first MIB has already left?   Heading back in that direction reveals that nope, he’s still on the prowl.    Suddenly, a classroom door opens as we pass by.  Ogata-kun… What’s up? Why’re you in such a rush? Actually… I’m in a bit of a pickle.Use Man in Black Suit on Nenji Ogata  What? What’d they do? Nothing yet… But if they catch us, who knows?   Huh? Y-You know, that little outfit… …Outfit? You mean the space suit? I imagine they’ll search every nook and cranny.  lmao, Ogata you moron Don’t worry.   You ain’t gettin’ away with this, rear end in a top hat!  Never seen someone go down so easily. This moment is hilarious but also kind of contradicts what we know about Ogata’s character? He’s apparently got a history with Wajima, but also Hijiyama said that he was a decent fighter after their scuffle. He’s not all talk or some pushover, basically. I choose not to see this as an inconsistency, though, and will reconcile this information by saying he was too horny to fight good. Problem solved! He came from over there… Crap, he’s coming.  Only one option left here. Gotta hide!    …… …Yuki-chan? Good timing. I could really use your help. We’ve been pursuing a suspicious individual. She’s still in the area, and she’s concealing something.  …Maybe old four-eyes will let me have my way. Fine.  Oh poo poo! All you have to do is locate her. Leave the capture to us.  There’s… no way… Is Yuki-chan… working with the men in black?  Poor Natsuno. Can’t trust anyone.    But with that, we’ve unlocked a new character’s chapter! We can now play as Yuki Takamiya, the filthy narc she is. What’s the backstory there? Will you find out now, or save it for later? You decide what we do next! Our choices for now are: Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Ei Sekigahara (14%) Iori Fuyusaka (14%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (0%) Destruction (18%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Shu Amiguchi (14%, locked behind Destruction) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Nov 15, 2022 |
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Jan 18, 2021 23:19
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I will note that we had a three-way tie in the poll for this last update, to the point where I was panicking and debated just picking one of them myself until it resolved itself.
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Jan 19, 2021 16:21
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  Chapter 10: Yuki Takamiya 1 Music: BUDDIES (Azusa Chiba)   Of course the track room’s all the way in the back.    Target acquired.    Yuki-chan!? You got tall, Nat-chan. You’re the one who told me to grow it out. Remember? That’s right. I was worried, you know! Yeah, sorry. A lot of things happened after the move. But I just got transferred here. Today’s my first day. Really!? I knew you went to this school, too. Figured I’d find you eventually. It’s good to see your face again. Though I never took you for a track girl. Hehe. Oh, there’s so many things I want to talk to you about!    Is it just me or did it just get a lot sleazier around here? Totally! Keep working hard, Nat-chan.    So you’re finally here.Ugh, let’s just get right into this then.  I don’t like being called by my name. But I just heard— It’s fine if it’s her. Uh… You remember me, right? How about the guy you were destined to meet? More like a random guy I bumped into in the shopping district. Don’t get all weird about it. I *said* quit calling me that.    Well, well, well. If it isn’t Takamiya of Suzu High. What’re you doing on our turf? Not tryin’ to stake a claim, are ya? She just transferred here, actually. Consider Nenji Ogata (Built up a reputation as a tough guy. All the way back in middle school, actually. Every delinquent around here knows who he is.)Consider Shu Amiguchi (Some flirty, rich kid who won’t stop following me around. He seems to be close friends with a gang leader at Sakura.)Consider Natsuno Minami (Nat-chan. My childhood friend. We went our separate ways in middle school. But we still kept writing to each other. …She’s the only person I really care about.) You got the wrong uniform on, sweetheart. It’s just because that drat four-eyes made a mistake! I mean… Obviously. Don’t wanna go around wearing those girly skirts anyhow. A transfer at this time of year? Maybe that’s just how it happened for her. Or maybe she’s tryin’ to pull some poo poo. But why’d she come here, of all places? Why here?     Go on, then.  Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)     A first-year at Suzugamine Girls’ High School. Entered a boys’ school and engaged multiple delinquents… Twelve of which were sent to the hospital. Consider Hospitalization (I went to Nigakuri to settle a score. And somehow the cops managed to sniff me out… One of those dicks must’ve snitched.)Use Hospitalization on Mysterious Man  Three had bone fractures. The others, just bruises and scrapes. That’s too bad. Hm… Got something to say? They’re the ones who laid their filthy hands on my friend. All I did was give ‘em what they had coming. None of your drat business anyways. You’re really earning your pay today, aren’t you? Well, go on. Rake me over the coals. See if I care. That seems like a waste of time for both of us. Allow me to get to the point. We’d like to work with you. Seriously? I’m not gonna be your stooge, and I don’t work with cops. Go find some other sucker. Currently serving a sentence for the murder of a gang member. There have been attempts on his life by other inmates. Not surprising, since the man he killed was a gang leader. I imagine it’s a matter of reputation for them. Your father has been assaulted twice, but he is alive. For now.  It would be quite easy to transfer him to a safer facility. Contingent on your cooperation, of course. God, I hate you already.Consider Heita Takamiya (He’s behind bars for stabbing a yakuza. Maybe he’s nothing but a two-bit gangster, but… He’s the only real family I have.) Are you familiar with Shikishima Industries? Rockets, planes, trains, ships—even home appliances. Not so publicly, it seems they’re also developing nuclear weapons. We suspect they are colluding with another nation to do so. And what does that have to do with me? We began investigating… And found that several minors are connected to these weapons.  And are being rounded up at a school affiliated with Shikishima.Wait… is he talking about Sentinels? Consider Weapons and Children (So they’re using kids to make nuclear weapons? This poo poo sounds ridiculous.)Consider Shikishima Industries (Shikishima… It’s that company with all those commercials for TVs and fridges. So they’re making weapons too? Do you have any questions for me?Use Shikishima Industries on Mysterious Man  Why don’t you just bust into Shikishima yourselves? We’d prefer not to have this go public. And the less the police are involved, the better. Wait. If you’re not the cops, then who the hell are you guys? We are a special investigations unit. Government-established and affiliated. Some might call us spies. I am director of the SIU. And your superior.  Oh great, another loving SIU director. Joy. Consider Special Investigations Unit (That drat four-eyes… He says they’re some spy agency. It’s short for Special Investigations Unit. They may not be cops… But they’re honestly all the same to me.)Use Weapons and Children on SIU Chief  But what do these kids have to do with it? I’m glad to see I’ve piqued your interest. Take a look at those documents on the table. It’s a list of their names.  Class 1-B, Iori Fuyusaka. Class 2-A, Renya Gouto. More Class 1… Kisaragi… Kurabe…     But why her?  Oh hey, a new familiar face! How’s it going, Shinonome?   Allow me to introduce you. She is another undercover investigator. And your superior. Just as she did… You will be transferring to Sakura High School. We’ll handle the paperwork.  I haven’t agreed to any of this poo poo yet.   Yes, she is. Hey, I’m talkin’ to you! She doesn’t look like she knows much. ……   Yuki decides she’s had enough of this.  Yeah, that’s what I just said.  …… Do you accept your assignment?  I think it’s safe to say we’re not getting through to her.  It’s her destiny, after all.   *sigh* Where are you, Nat-chan?What’s going on with Natsuno? Is she not here?    Oh, it’s Megumi! Isn’t she in the same class as Natsuno? Let’s ask her if she knows anything.  Megumi seems to be staring at Juro through the classroom window like a total creep. So, not doing anything important. Let’s bother her!   ……  That right? Yes… Why do you ask? Well…Use Natsuno Minami on Class 1-C Student  Oh hey, Juro! What’s up?  Bye, Juro! Have you heard anything? The teacher just said she was out sick. Did they hear from her directly? I don’t know. ……   And so, having missed Juro leaving, Megumi walks off sadly. Great job, us! At the same time, Iori is running up to join Miwako. Wonder if they know anything?  Do you need something?   Iori-chan! Any news?  Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  Stop by Natsuno-chan’s house again? …… Got a sec? Talk about Natsuno Minami   Takamiya. But that’s beside the point. I want to know what’s going on with Natsuno. Why hasn’t she been coming to school? It sounds like she hasn’t been at home either. We went to her house yesterday. But her mom just kept apologizing over the intercom…. The police were there, too.   W-Well, that’s worrying… Thanks for letting me know. Usami-chan! It’s okay. Let’s get going. Consider Cops at the Minami House  (And those cops… Or whatever they are. What were they doing there?)  You remember your orders, don’t you? You’re supposed to keep a low profile. Hm, I can’t recall… Maybe you’ve forgotten about your father, too.  Tch.  What?Use Cops at the Minami House on Ryoko Shinonome  They’re agents with the SIU. In any case, Natsuno Minami isn’t your concern. She’s a part of my assignment. So stay out of my way. Are we clear?  Consider Special Investigations Unit (…… What could have happened to Nat-chan? I bet that four-eyed bastard has some answers. Time to do what I do best.)   Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori) I thought I made it clear that you are not to contact me. I need to know what happened to Natsuno Minami. And I know you have answers. Teenagers run away from home all the time. That’s what the police say, but the school insists she’s out sick. Looks like nobody can get their stories straight. So which is it, huh? I’m not an idiot, you know. Your suspicions are not unfounded. But our investigation is still ongoing. I don’t have a clear answer, myself. We don’t know where she is, or even if she’s still alive. The evidence so far points to kidnapping. Who the hell would want to kidnap her? Shikishima? They could have done it without anyone realizing she was gone. There’d be no need to draw such attention to themselves. No, someone else is behind this. And that’s who Shinonome is looking for? …… Someone at the school could be behind this. It’s possible they are there even now. In any case, this situation is dangerous. I suggest you keep your nose out of it. Shinonome-kun has this under control. As for you, Takamiya-kun… You will continue to monitor the other students, as instructed. Have I made myself clear?   And so ends Yuki Takamiya’s prologue.  Yuki Takamiya is a “sukeban,” which is a term from the 1970s used to describe delinquent girls. It comes from the words “suke,” an antiquated slang term for referring to women, and “bancho,” a common archetype for a delinquent leader. Basically, she’s a female delinquent. She’s voiced by Laura Post, who voiced Kasumi in Persona 5 Royal, Cynthia in Great Pretender, and Catherine in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. As for the poll, our choices for now are: Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Ei Sekigahara (14%) Iori Fuyusaka (14%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (14%) Destruction (18%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Shu Amiguchi (14%, locked behind Destruction) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Nov 15, 2022 |
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Jan 21, 2021 21:39
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 Well, the last result was a tie. I suppose in this scenario I play the part of the Vice President and cast the tiebreaking vote. That would make you all the Senate, I guess. I don’t know where I was going with this analogy. Probably nowhere funny.  Chapter 11: Ei Sekigahara 2    I have to consider my next moves carefully. This scene is gorgeous but unfortunately makes it a bit hard to see the character. Consider From Another World (So I’m… from another world? I said so in that message to myself. Must’ve still had my memories when I left it. I also said something about a way to escape this world. ……)Examine Morimura’s Files (Details about the dead woman I found. Chihiro Morimura, 31. Sakura High School nurse. Sakura High School… Isn’t that where the ID card came from?) Examine ID Card (Sakura High School. Class 1-B. Iori Fuyusaka. She definitely looks familiar… But from where? Why can’t I remember?)Examine ID Card (Maybe if I find this Fuyusaka person… I’ll finally remember something.) Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)  ……A voice emanates from the communication device buried in Ei’s… coat? Yeah, let’s say it’s from his coat. That thing wouldn’t fit in his pocket. But let’s not answer right away. We’re still examining the tchotchkes in our pockets. Examine Key   …Now pick up. I’m not your enemy. Unfortunately, the voice from the radio is going to keep loving talking until we pick up. Maybe it’s a car key? In our quest to keep wasting this man’s time, we’re just going to examine this public phone. An old-fashioned phone…Use Cryptic Note on Public Phone   *dialing*  ……  Fine, let’s answer. Examine Communication Device …Don’t be a fool.  There you are. I take it you’ve seen the recording, then? …! Who are you? Just a friend who’s trying to help out. …A friend? I didn’t expect you to be so… thorough. Regardless, you handled the Morimura assignment well. So *you’re* the one who wrote those instructions. I… can’t remember anything. That’s exactly why I’ve contacted you. Listen, it’s not safe out there. Don’t trust anyone. Anyone? Including you? Better to be too careful than too careless. Otherwise, you’ll never escape from this world. In the meantime, just stay put and don’t go far. I’ll see what I can do about your pursuers. You’ll hear from me again soon. Examine Communication Device (“Don’t trust anyone,” huh… He mentioned an escape, like I did in that message to myself… Should I really just wait for him to contact me again? …No. He said not to trust anyone, and that includes him.)Examine ID Card (Both the victim and the owner of this ID card… They’re from Sakura High School. Maybe this female student knows something I don’t.)  I’ll pay a visit to the school.   Hey, Natsuno! What’s up with your cheek? Got a zit?   No sign of her. At least, not until we move three feet to the left!  Music: Ennui Vibes (Yoshimi Kudo) Iori… Fuyusaka.  I couldn’t stop thinking about you. But now… …… Consider Iori Fuyusaka (It seems like we’re close. Very close. But… I can’t trust anyone. For now, I’ll act like I remember her. I want to hear what she has to say first.)Use Iori Fuyusaka on Iori Fuyusaka  Huh?  Like I said before… …… Even if it is one-sided… Use ID Card on Iori Fuyusaka    I thought I’d lost it… But I’m glad you were there to find it for me. Thank you…Use Empty Pill Bottle on Iori Fuyusaka  Pills? No, those aren’t mine. …Ah, my mistake. These *are* mine.Smooth, Ei. What’re they for? Are you sick? I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about. Use Morimura’s Files on Iori Fuyusaka  Huh? Yeah, she is. What about her?  …… Ever since that day… She hasn’t come back to school. Could something have happened? Which day?  I’m sure she’s fine. Consider Morimura’s Secret (Morimura’s secret…)  Uh…      My first class is about to start! What will you do now, Ei-kun? But those men… Won’t they be on campus, too? …… Why don’t you meet me here after school’s out? I’ll show you where to go. …All right.  Consider Morimura’s Secret (“We must accept our fate.” That’s what Chihiro Morimura said. It’s hazy, but… I think I remember…)  All we need is a big spooky tower and we’re in my least favorite modern Persona game.  Ah, great! This rear end in a top hat’s a time traveler too!? Music: UNPREDICTABLE (Yoshimi Kudo) Figured I’d give the area an advanced survey. Quite the view. Worth taking in one last time. Right… I expect there to be considerable damage… We weren’t prepared for them in Sector 1. There was nothing we could do… But not this time. We *will* fend them off. I certainly hope so.  That’s six too many! And we’ve had positive results in our battle simulations. That won’t mean much if our enemies have evolved. It seems our victory ultimately depends on luck. So let’s assume we’re met with the worst-case scenario. If we fail this time… What the gently caress is a “loop”???? And we’ll start over from the very beginning. We’ll have a greater chance of success that way. Even if it means leaving this world behind? …No. No more running away. If we don’t settle this here… So you intend to close the loop, then? If you do, no one will be able to leave. At the very least… We’ll survive. When that time comes… We must accept our fate. In any case… Yes… If we win now, we can avoid such an outcome. Then we’ll finally be able to leave this world and—    And frankly, I don’t care. Just as long as you can defend my city from the kaiju. Without retreating, that is. *You’ll* be the one in the Sentinel protecting the city. We’re counting on you.  I assume you have some questions for me. So we get a name…  If I keep my end of the bargain…  But I’ll try to be more careful going forward.Use Promise on Tetsuya Ida  You require third-generation machines, right? Correct. Then I’l update their systems, as promised. Though I have to ask… why are you having me do this? Wouldn’t it be faster to go directly through Morimura? And I’d like it to be done without her knowledge. Depending on how the situation unfolds… There’s a possibility she may resort to drastic measures. Is that what she was just talking about? This… Operation Aegis? That’s right.Consider Operation Aegis (Close the loop…? What are they talking about? Are they planning on abandoning the city? No… I can’t let that happen. I need more details on this so-called operation.)Use Operation Aegis on Tetsuya Ida  The enemies’ main target is the underground mainframe. Each terminal is equipped with a self-defense protocol. However, the enemies’ attacks seem to bypass it. So, the moment they strike… We’ll hack the terminal. This will activate the defense protocol. …The Aegis System. Isn’t that a good thing?  And that means we can never start over again. What’s so bad about that? It doesn’t matter as long as we succeed, right?  And in the end…    So… that was a lot. To recap, in 2064 Ida got Ei to update the Sentinels so he can control them (to do what????) so he can circumvent Morimura and prevent her from enacting Operation Aegis, which will save the world but also break time. Ei goes along with this because he wants Ida to stop “using” Ryoko (Shinonome, I presume) in some way. Also there was a lot of talk about “loops,” which, what the gently caress?  But that’s as far as we can get with Ei right now! What next? Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Iori Fuyusaka (14%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (14%) Destruction (18%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Shu Amiguchi (14%, locked behind Destruction) Ei Sekigahara (28%, locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Nov 17, 2022 |
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Jan 26, 2021 19:37
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  Chapter 12: Iori Fuyusaka 2 Music: Bright Days Ahead (Azusa Chiba)  Just a nice, relaxing walk home through the shopping district in 1985.  So, this scene is structured rather curiously and it’s going to be a nightmare to cover if I don’t properly explain it. It’s pretty interesting, though. See, the words “About that cat…” in the top-left corner? That indicates the current topic of conversation. This entire scene is basically one long, meandering conversation between Miwako and Tomi. It also, true to the real life experience of listening to your friends ramble on, doubles back on old territory often. See, the conversation is circular, and these two will essentially talk in a loop (hey, maybe that’s the “loop” Ida was referring to!  ). Depending on what “phase” of the conversation they’re in, it’s possible to get different dialogue from them. If I haven’t explained this well, don’t worry, it’ll make more sense once I get into it. I’ll be showing more-or-less the entire scene, because it’s cool. So, following Miwako’s “Did you see that, Usami-chan?” is: It was that kitty again! I don’t see it. Must’ve taken off already. So many stray cats around here. Maybe someone’s feeding them. That kitty… Think it’s the same one I saw at school? I dunno. A lot of cats look like that. You saw it too, right, Iori-chan? Didn’t it look the same? *does not wait for answer* Oh! It’s over there. I don’t see it. (loop)And from there it just repeats from the earlier identical line. Now that we’ve heard the whole thing, let’s talk to Miwako.  You wanted to go to the record store, right? Yes! You must really want that new idol group’s album. He looks a bit like Amiguchi-kun…  Now we’re in “Boys, boys, boys”, which means another looping conversation. It’s worth noting that we can talk to either Miwako or Tomi here, but we can only talk to the one who is currently speaking. There’s not even one you might like? Being in love is wonderful, Usami-chan. Even just watching from afar… It’s like your heart’s wrapped in a warm blanket. Maybe, but come on… Have you seen how the guys react when Morimura walks in? Let’s just say they’re not looking at her eyes.Tomi with the callouts, jeez. She does have a nice figure… and I can sort of understand. As for guys I like… I think Amiguchi-kun’s handsome. That guy’s shallower than a cookie pan. You’ve got a strange taste in men, Miwako. That’s mean… Gouto-senpai’s pretty cute too… He has a lot of secret admirers. Even some of the third-years! Yeahhh, I’ll pass. Man, all the guys at school suck. (loop) If we walk over to the right here…  CAT   No, don’t flee!   Scaring away the cat will return us to “About that cat…”.  We simply need to talk to Miwako again to go back to “Boys, boys, boys”. All right, now that we’re here again, let’s talk to Miwako first (because I had to record this update six times due to audio issues so I know painfully well which route leads to progression (also, yes, I know this is a screenshot LP, that should indicate how bad the audio situation was)). Use Shu Amiguchi on Miwako Sawatari  I heard he’s not joining the basketball team. What a shame. He’s so good at it. Back in grade school, he played soccer. But one day, he just… got bored and quit. You guys knew each other back then? Yeah, in fourth grade. Nat-chan too. We were in the same class.  Now, let’s talk to Miwako.   I see… Iori-chan… Don’t mind me! Huh? It’s a love charm. I saw it in a magazine. If you include it in a love letter to your crush… Your wish will come true! Uh-huh. And what was it last week? Put a photo of your crush inside your pillow? Now, let’s talk to Tomi.  I’m still hungry.   Good idea. Where should we go? And now we’re in “Wanna grab food?”, so we’ve got a new conversation loop. I’d love to go back to that one place… Their stuff *was* pretty good. At this point we’ve hit up most restaurants in town. I love getting snacks after school. Somehow, it’s even better than eating them at home. That’s the magic of high school life! But seriously, I’m starving. They did make us run a lot in P.E. today. I’d love to go back to that one place… (loop)Okay, now we talk to Tomi.  It’s a hot day today… Why don’t we get soft serve? Nahhh. I’d rather have crêpes. Let’s let Iori-chan decide.  You know the deal, another conversation loop. I wonder what it tastes like… Don’t you want to try it, Iori-chan? I can smell the crêpes now… Freshly made! I need it! The soft serve place just got a new flavor in! (loop)Choose Soft Serve Sorry, Tomi, but I’ve got a serious sweet tooth.  So I agree with Miwa-chan! Yeah, okay. All right, let’s go!    Rich vanilla, right? It was either this or chocolate mint. All right, I’m gonna try it! Let’s see.  Super sweet! Soft serve ice cream!I have no idea what this “lucky item” thing is, and googling is just returning a bunch of Animal Crossing bullshit. I’d call whatever it is stupid, but I don’t want to hurt Miwako’s feelings.  They really are. I can tell!  We’re now technically back in “Wanna grab food?”, but talking to Miwako results in a new dialogue.  We did just eat a lot of sugar… Iori… Don’t tell me… You two are taking things to the next level?  And we’re back to “Boys, boys, boys”. We’re all over the place today. We just need to talk to Miwako again, though.   Huh? But… It said my luck for this week is bad…Use Lucky Item on Miwako Sawatari  Yeah. Just tell him!  Watching from afar is good enough. But I do envy you, Iori-chan. You talk to Amiguchi-kun like it’s no big deal. You two were chatting on lunch break, right? In the passageway. What about?  Consider Strange Dreams  (They sounded a lot like mine. I wanted to talk to them about it. Maybe we’re all connected.)  Music: Just Because (Composer: Azusa Chiba, Arranger: Rikako Watanabe)  Oh, Fuyusaka-san. You weren’t at your desk, so… I thought I’d check outside. Are you waiting for Amiguchi-kun? Well, trying to. More dream talk? But I just want to play games. I thought I’d ask to hang out at his place.  I know we just met here at school, but…  *gasp* Have we met somewhere before? A long time ago?   Amiguchi-kun… You guessed it. It was crazy, man.Oh god, Amiguchi’s one of those assholes who’s just gotta tell you about this craaaaaaaaazy dream they had, yikes. Don’t envy Juro and Iori right now, they’re gonna be here all day.  Walkin’ around, beatin’ up monsters.    You too, right, Kurabe-kun? I went back in time using the UFO’s transmitter. I have dreams like that all the time. But in my case… I think I’m too easily influenced by movies and stuff. Why did you come here, anyway? Don’t tell me…   The truth is… I’ve been having weird dreams too. It seems like they might be related, so… I thought I should talk to you guys about it.   You know, the tank with legs? I saw something similar myself. Use Strange Dreams on Shu Amiguchi   That was you in my dream, Amiguchi-kun.Music: Staring Into The Void (Yoshimi Kudo)   There’s no Century Tower. This must be before it was built. Futuristic cars whir by in the foreground as Iori(?) stares out into the distance.  Were Juro and Okino-kun unable to escape?  And I’m all alone. What am I supposed to do?     It’s Sumire Bridge. Did I make it back? Shu(?) jumps down.  Um… WHAT THE gently caress Who are you? AH CHRIST  To the year 2089…  She asked me to find you on Sumire Bridge 16 years prior… And tell you about our battles. We’ll defeat them this time for sure. I don’t want to get caught. Let’s get out of here.  Are you just going to leave it here? Don’t have much choice. Gonna need it eventually. I’ll worry about it later. For now, though… I think it’s best you come with me.    UHHHHHHHH   Oh boy, a package is here for me! I hope it’s more useless loving Nendoroids I don’t need! Or the political science books I ordered! One of those two, surely!  …Oh. Right. This monstrosity, which I now have to lug up two flights of stairs.  Opened it up. Yep, that’s a corkboard all right.  And I’ve got the perfect barren stretch of wall to put it on!  A few days later, I finally get some help and put it up. And with only one catastrophic error in setup that I won’t go into! Now that it’s all in place, time to get started.  And here’s a look at the early results. Not complete, obviously, but I think it’s coming along nicely. Which, it better have, this all cost me at least one hundred and fifty dollars! I had to buy a printer for this! Some of you may be asking what the yarn colors mean. Well, no, you’re actually probably first asking me what the gently caress I’m doing, but that’s no fun. The colors I have so far are: Red yarn for strong, important plot connections, orange for weaker connections (Okino and Ei are linked orange here because we don’t know much about why Ei was following Okino, for instance), yellow for strong friendships (despite Natsuno being friends with a lot of the cast, her and Yuki are the only case that really makes sense here for that so far), pink for romantic connections, green for… somewhat tenuous connections, I guess (I really just needed a color for the Juro/Megumi/Miura home situation), and finally black is for two characters who are actually the same character. I’ve also got one solitary little bit of white yarn on the board for Ida’s link to the MIB, because I’m not sure it’s been outright confirmed they’re both part of the SIU, but what the hell else could it be, right? Again, still a work in progress, but I think this board will really  God, it’s like a dreamcatcher that only protects me from sex. I already regret this. But anyway, time to vote! Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Iori Fuyusaka (28%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (14%) Destruction (18%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Shu Amiguchi (14%, locked behind Destruction) Ei Sekigahara (28%, locked behind Natsuno) The poll, as always, is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Nov 17, 2022 |
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Jan 30, 2021 03:47
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OOrochi posted:That cork board is great. Fixed, it's here
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Jan 30, 2021 04:10
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Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto) Chapter 13: Destruction 0   I’ve decided we will, in fact, be playing on Intense, because this game is very easy and I want to make it slightly more interesting.       The kaiju are going to try to burrow underground to attack the terminal. If they get that far, then the Sentinels won’t be enough to stop them. This is the only way we can stop them. We cannot allow even a single one through. If they manage to get past our defense squad, then our battle really will be over. We need to balance our priority between defense and directly neutralizing the invasion force.  You guys just hang back and watch me kick their poo poo in.  But we can predict the kinds of Deimos we’ll be seeing in the oncoming waves. We should probably build our offensive ream based on what we know they’ll be up against.   So, here’s the Team Organization screen, where we pick the pilots who will be on offense. We can have a maximum of six members on offense. Everyone else will be on defense and automatically use their one defensive skill. We should, as mentioned earlier, pick our squad based on the enemy type detailed in this menu. Here, it’s looking like we’ve got a lot of ground-based enemies, so we should prioritize 1st-gen Sentinels for melee. I only pick Ogata, though, because it’s only the first stage and I know I won’t need a second. As you can see, the team is broken up into the four generations, with 1st-gen being melee, 2nd-gen being all-rounders, 3rd-gen being long-range, and 4th-gen being flight support. Also, note that Okino is missing from this screen. Interesting.  The starting party looks decent, but I replace Shu with Yuki. Not just for the obvious reasons, but because her Leg Spike will be useful against anything with a lot of HP. From there, I hit “Deploy”.   Oh, there’s Okino. Where are you, buddy?  Don’t “easy there” me, I’m trying to lead the charge… I just want to go over something before the battle kicks off.  …What, a refit? Right now? Sort of. This is one of the meta-systems we managed to analyze. Basically, we can use those Meta-Chips you earn in battle. With those, we can make some serious improvements to our armaments, and the Sentinels themselves. You might even be able to make some brand-new armaments on the fly… That’s amazing, Okino…! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Well, I haven’t even tested it yet. I didn’t have a way to confirm it. But hey, no time like the present. So let’s give it a try. I hope we don’t break it…    Let’s unlock Demolisher Blade for Hijiyama.   And it’s now equipped. As you can see, we only have six slots for “Gear.”       Um… I’m still not sure if I get it… Yeah, maybe this poo poo will make sense once I actually get to punch somethin’. Yeah… Let’s get going.Actually, we’re not going to go just yet. We should review some of the individual details of these Sentinels and upgrade them.  First up, the Meta-System upgrades. From here, we can unlock new Meta-Skills, upgrade the terminal to let us use more Meta-Skills, increase multipliers for our score and Meta-Chips, and increase the level of the Meta-System itself to unlock more gear for each pilot. We can increase the Meta-System Level up to 10. We’re going to upgrade the Meta-Sytem to level 3.  Sentinel No. 10: Nenji Ogata. First-generation. Defensive Skill: Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles Starting Gear:
In terms of upgrades for him, we give him Tackle, and then upgrade some of his gear to +2 (the maximum is +8).
 Sentinel No. 12: Takatoshi Hijiyama. First-generation. Defensive Skill: EMP Attractor Starting Gear:
As mentioned earlier, we already gave him Demolisher Blade.
 Sentinel No. 11: Ei Sekigahara. First-generation. Defensive Skill: Anti-Air Flares Starting Gear:
 Sentinel No. 13: Juro Kurabe. 2nd-generation. Defensive Skill: Multi Rocket Launchers Starting Gear:
Also worth noting that 2nd-generation models are versatile but sloooooow, with long wait times after their moves. They tend to hang in the back and not engage the enemy directly, which is why it’s so weird that their big unlock at the end is the loving plasma cutter I’ve never once used because it requires you to get up close. For Juro, we unlock the Sentry Gun armament and increase its level to +2.
 Sentinel No. 15: Iori Fuyusaka. 2nd-generation. Defensive Skill: Jammer Rocket Launchers Starting Gear:
Upgrades:
 Sentinel No. 14: Ryoko Shinonome. 2nd-generation. Defensive Skill: Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons Starting Gear:
 Sentinel No. 17: Natsuno Minami. 3rd-generation. Defensive Skill: 6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons Starting Gear:
For Natsuno, we unlock and equip Long-Range Missiles.  Sentinel No. 19: Keitaro Miura. 3rd-generation. Defensive Skill: Main Battery Heavy Railgun Starting Gear:
 Sentinel No. 16: Tomi Kisaragi. 3rd-generation. Defensive Skill: Long-Range Missiles Starting Gear:
 Sentinel No. 23: Megumi Yakushiji. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Repair Drones Starting Gear:
Interceptors are amazing, by the way. The small damage and HP may make them seem weak, but they’re legitimately kind of crazy.  Sentinel No. 21: Yuki Takamiya. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Multi-Lock Missiles Starting Gear:
But for real though, Leg Spike plus Composite Ceramic Armor makes Yuki an absolute beast. Upgrades:
 Sentinel No. 22: Renya Gouto. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Arm-Mounted Convergent Lasers Starting Gear:
 Sentinel No. 20: Shu Amiguchi. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Shield Matrix Starting Gear:
 There’s a couple other ways pilots are differentiated. One of them is in skills, which are not unlocked yet because everyone’s at Level 1.  We also can’t access whatever the hell this is yet.  Well, that’s all the preparation we need. Next time, we’ll actually head into the first stage. Arist fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Nov 17, 2022 |
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Feb 2, 2021 00:40
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Chapter 14: Destruction 1 Video: Destruction Wave 1-1 These battles are going to make a lot more sense in video form, so I’ll be posting those as well. Music: (VALINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)    I’ve got this weird pressure in my legs, like they’re super cramped… It’s not just me, right? I mean, I heard about the kind of dreams you’ve been having. It’s super weird to me too… But I kinda figured you might be involved in all this too, Iori. More time in the pilot’s seat will help condition your body. Eventually you won’t even notice it anymore. Well, a force of 13 Sentinels makes a formidable team. Even accounting for the pilots’ inexperience. You’re kidding… It’ll be even worse than the attack on my city…? They’re here… Eyes up, everyone.  Those circles around the terminal are the defenders, for the record.   So, let’s begin.  The first thing that’s going to happen is that Shu Amiguchi is going to immediately fire this rocket at Nenji Ogata.  Don’t worry, it’s a Shield Matrix.  Before the first drop of kaiju has even hit the ground, we’re already laying down a Sentry Gun as Juro near the landing site.    These are the only kaiju we’ll be fighting in this level. I’ll try to show the descriptions for new enemies as they pop up.  Once they’re on the ground, we soften them up with Long-Range Missiles courtesy of Natsuno.  I also decide to at least try to get some use out of Flare Torpedo here.  Leg Spike has a lot of Setup Movement, but not quite enough to get Yuki over to the enemy here, so we have to move her around manually as well.  Same for Nenji. We’re gonna move him and Yuki down to this Hi-Quad and take it down.  Leg Spike is loving powerful. Dealt almost 4k damage here. Now we just need Nenji to finish it off.  Now, we move Yuki east to help Gouto mop up some enemies on that side.  All the while, we’re continuing to throw out Sentry Guns with Juro and Iori.  Worth noting that it’s fairly easy to run out of EP, especially if the pilots you have using their big moves aren’t the ones getting the big kills. On bigger maps, the people who spam Sentries are generally fine because they’re wiping up a lot of small enemies and getting EP back from it, but in the case of the Hi-Quad Nenji finished off earlier, he got all the EP reward from it despite Yuki doing most of the damage. If someone gets low, it’s often best to just have them Defend for the next several seconds, though the EP regained from that isn’t quite as high as you might like.  Juro here is using his Machine cannons against a pack of enemies, including a Hi-Quad. Unfortunately, the Hi-Quad is armored, so he does piddly damage against it. This is why it’s so important to have armor piercing moves—even Sentry Guns aren’t armor piercing, which severely cuts into their ability to damage big enemies.  This shot depicts a Hi-Quad about to gently caress Nenji up with an attack, when Yuki shows up to save the day (don’t worry, he woulda been fine, his turn was about to come up. One of the best parts about using Leg Spike is that because the 4th-generation models are fliers, they can easily move around to hit the back of any enemy for that sweet 1.5x damage bonus. I took this shot at a bad time so the bonus doesn’t actually show up here, but I got it, believe me.   And that’s the whole fight. Pretty simple.    How long you been sittin’ on THAT trick? Why can’t we just do that to all of ‘em? The Aegis can’t activate unless they get close enough to the terminal. Their goal is to slip into terminals stationed in various positions across the UFO. If they seize control of the mainframe, our world is as good as gone. Our current situation demands a defensive approach. To keep the terminals safe, we have to rely on the Aegis.Weird that we’re just going with the plan that will apparently kill time, but I’m sure that these guys know something I don’t. A lot of somethings, in fact.. So what, the best we can hope for is to keep this one thing safe? Makes it sound like we’re getting the poo poo kicked out of us. It’s true… All we can hope for is to protect it to the end.   So, MVP awarding is kind of weird. It derives some formula based on the amount of damage you dealt and how much you took and uses that to figure out who did the most for the team while being the least of a liability. It might even just subtract damage received from damage dealt, who knows? Either way, Somehow Natsuno ended up the top dog here, which is weird because I didn’t feel like I had her do all that much. It would have been Nenji, but he took the most damage. Understandable, as he’s our front-line fighter. These stats determine the amount of experience you gain but you don’t need to think too deeply about them. Just get hit less.  We get 1 Mystery Point for our first clear of any stage, and it also tallies up our score here.  S-Rank! Nice job!  As a reward for getting an S-Rank, we gain a new Mystery File.   And another new mystery file for completing the bonus objective.   We got 1 Mystery Point for completing that stage. Mystery Point gain is largely a function of score, so if we want more we should try to run it up. There’s a couple ways to do this, one of which we’ll get into in a second. Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)      So, the six pilots we used in that battle are now halfway to Brain Overload, or BOL. Pilots with Brain Overload need to sit out the next battle. Unfortunately, the Brain Overload meter doesn’t go down over time. The only way to make it decrease is to fill up the meter all the way and then have the pilot take a mandatory break. If we were so inclined, we could simply hit “Recover” and make everyone better instantly, but that would reset the score multiplier, which increases by 10% every time we complete a stage.  Aerial enemies present here, plus we need Iori for the bonus objective. Let’s take Ei, Iori, Ryoko, Miura, Gouto, and Shu. It’s generally good to take at least one of every generation, even if the enemy types are slanted in favor of air or ground. As for upgrades, we’re going to get the Meta-System up to Level 4, and the Score Multiplier up to Level 2. Ei will unlock and equip EMP Surrounding. This will be crucial in the next fight. Juro will unlock and equip Guardian. Iori will upgrade Sentry Gun to +2 (Lock-on Distance +30 to +60, POW +50 to +100). Ryoko will upgrade Multi Rocket Launchers to +1 (Lock-on Distance +30, Lock-on Range +20) and Guardian to +1 (Lock-on Distance +30, HP +250). The difference between Lock-on Distance and Lock-on Range is simple: Lock-on Distance determines how far away from your character you can place the attack, while Lock-on Range is the size of the attack’s area of effect, so it would determine from how far away the Guardian pulls enemies to it. Miura will upgrade Long-Range Missiles to +1 (Lock-on Range +0 to +20, Lock-on Distance +0 to +50) and Main Battery Heavy Railgun to +1 (POW +0 to +50, WT 6.0s to 5.9s). Shu will upgrade Multi-Lock Missiles to +1 (Number Fired +0 to +3, POW +0 to +2).  Now, let’s deploy. Video: Destruction Wave 1-2 Music: (VALINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)      Not great for my mech. I can punch like a truck, but I can’t reach the guys in the air. Pain in the rear end, though… They ended up with a focus on raw power over mobility. They didn’t know they’d have to deal with these flyers. Hey, hold on a sec, Amiguchi. How do you know all this crap? Well, uh, funny story. I guess you could say it just… came to me in a dream. The hell are you talking about?   Again, the first thing we do is put down a Sentry Gun courtesy of Iori. I probably should have given Ryoko Sentry Gun too, but I chose to upgrade those Guardians for some reason instead. Not that they won’t find some use, though.   See, the big problem we’re gonna face here is that these fliers are fast. To protect the terminal, we’re going to need vigilance from the whole squad, including Ei, who’s largely trapped with ground-based armaments. He’s still got a few tricks, though. That EMP Surrounding we just gave him produces a localized electromagnetic pulse around his Sentinel, perfect for dropping and stopping these flyers.   The only problem is that since it’s localized around his Sentinel, Ei’s going to be running around the arena like a madman using this thing and trying to keep up with the enemies.  Ei also has his Anti-Air Defensive Flares, which don’t do much in terms of damage but are handy for preventing flying enemies or missiles from intruding in a certain direction.  Simultaneously, we have Shu make some excursions to take down big enemy clumps with Multi-Lock Missiles.  When he’s not doing that, he’s got his Shield Matrix up to defend allies.  Ei, still using EMPs constantly.  Throw in some Miura railguns for good measure.  Iori, sadly, isn’t going to make much of a dent in this horde with these cannons.  However, while all this is happening, Ryoko is throwing out a Guardian or two for the purpose of drawing enemy eyes away from the terminal or our Sentinels.   A good peppering of sentry fire and weaker moves from there enable us to make short work of these fools. Also, Gouto was here, and I didn’t mention him once.      Um, my head’s been really hurting for a while now… Is something going wrong…? Ugh, now that you say that, mine’s pounding too… Something messing with our heads? Piloting the Sentinel is an intensely demanding process. Using it puts massive pressure on your brain. You can’t remain deployed for extended periods, or you start getting backlash. I suggest you get out of the Sentinel right now. Unless you want to forget your entire life. Not exactly a user-friendly robot… Let’s get out of these, Fuyusaka. Y-Yeah…    Ryoko, unfortunately, didn’t deal much damage there. Especially compared to Iori, holy poo poo! Sentries are ridiculous!  Now that she’s made it to Level 5, Iori got her first skill. We’ll check out what that does in a second.        We won’t be doing another battle immediately, but this is what it looks like when a pilot has Brain Overload. Also worth noting: pilots with Brain Overload are removed from the defense team as well.  Here’s Iori’s skill. Whenever kaiju appear, her defense and WT recovery speed increase for a time. Neat.  For Ryoko, we unlock the Sentry Gun and increase it to +2 (Lock-on Distance +0 to +60, POW +0 to +100).  And for Ei, we increase everything he has to 1. That’s:
 And we can now progress further with Shu’s story… if you’re so inclined. Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Iori Fuyusaka (28%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (14%) Shu Amiguchi (14%) Destruction (23%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (28%, locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Nov 17, 2022 |
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Feb 3, 2021 21:59
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   Chapter 15: Shu Amiguchi 2 Music: Forty Winks (Rikako Watanabe)    All these weird dreams must be getting to me… …And that show that came on in the middle of the night.  Consider Motorcycle Key  (I woke up late this morning, so I came to school by bike. But I’ve got it parked off in the shopping district. That way the school can’t get on my case about it.)Consider Miyuki Inaba  (…Heh. Who’d believe me?)   No easy way to drop that bomb. They’d have me committed.   I wanted to talk about my dream… Might be out in the passageway…  Tomi and Miwako leave the classroom from the other doorway.     Miwako runs to hide behind Tomi.  Consider Tomi Kisaragi (She’s in 1-B. Same class as Kurabe-kun. She’s not even my type, but I can’t get her out of my head. …Must be from all those dreams…)   Why bother remembering me? I never get a girl’s name wrong. *groan*  Come on, let’s go.  Let’s walk over to Class 1-A now.  No sign of her, though. You successfully scared her away with your leering. Good job!         For the love of god, no one tell Shu what the robot is named! Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)     Even if I could, it wouldn’t solve anything… …Look, you don’t have to tell me any details if you don’t want to… But it sounds like a pretty rough situation. Well… for what it’s worth… You can crash at my place whenever you need to, okay? I owe you a debt of gratitude for all you’ve done. I’ll be all right. I’m staying with an acquaintance now. Oh yeah? Glad to hear it, man.  Ah, well, this is… It talks?   Is it yours? Not exactly… Oh yeah.    *pained wheeze of laughter* Just been having some crazy dreams lately, I guess.  *quiet moan* Hope things start getting better for you soon, man. Thank you. Consider That Dream  (But I feel like I know everyone I keep seeing in them. Well… Maybe I really am just dreaming. Makes more sense than them being premonitions. I dunno if that could really be our future, anyway. Everything in them is way too crazy. Even that dream…) Music: STAGNATION (Yoshimi Kudo)   Hope they didn’t find us…   They had this pear tart… It was amazing. (holding back tears) And now… even my own apartment… It’s all ruined. All gone. Are you gonna be okay?  I gotta stay strong… Ugh, my voice is all scratchy from crying all day… You sound good to me. And scratchy or not…   We might see a rescue copter flying around or something. What, up there? The only things flying around are the weird bug things. Nobody’s here to help us…  I mean…Use Help Won’t Come on Tomi Kisaragi  Those things erased everybody. Like how everyone in the city just vanished at once… I saw it happen. I bet Mom and Dad were… Whatever these big killer alien things are… They’ve clearly got us way outclassed in tech. They can wipe out whole crowds without a beam or anything. And still, with all that power… They come here in this gigantic horde. They dig these holes all over town, and then…   …… And us. We didn’t get killed, or vanish, or anything… There’s gotta be a reason for that, too.  It’s crazy that you can still keep it together, even with all this stuff… Trust me, I’m freaking out too…    You okay?  They didn’t find us.   What? Huh? Uh… Well… Y-You really changed.  Music: A F8ful Struggle (Hitoshi Sakimoto) It just makes me wonder…   I was listening to one of your streams, and… You said you kinda go for tough guys. Cool guys. That’s basically it. What!? …… That’s it? That’s why you started trying to be such a badass? I guess I got the look down, but I couldn’t walk the walk, huh? You were already popular enough back then. Why would you go that far just ‘cause I said…?  That’s… actually my username. Whaaat!? Hey, it’s not like I was keeping it a secret. (to self) I only got so far ‘cause of him. That’s why I started getting serious about my singing. ‘Cause he supported me. Told me I was a great singer. Well, you *are* a great singer.     There *were* other survivors! We came to rescue you. My name is Keitaro Miura. What about you two? I’m… Now… Who are you? Me? DUN DUN DU—wait, we already knew that, what the hell       And we’ve unlocked Miura! Not Tomi for some reason, Miura! Weird! But we’ve got some new minor updates to make to the board!  First up, we’re finally adding Tomi to the board. After that scene, I think it’s fair to suggest some kind of romantic connection with Ida. I could, by the same logic, link Shu and Yuki, but that seems premature because Shu is a loving horndog.  And second is linking Shu and Miyuki Inaba, who I also just added. She may not have appeared in this chapter, but she got her name spoken aloud and that’s almost as good! I wonder what the connection between these characters could be…  And here’s what the board looks like at present. Time to vote! Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Iori Fuyusaka (28%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (14%) Shu Amiguchi (28%) Keitaro Miura (0%) Destruction (23%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (28%, locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Nov 17, 2022 |
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Feb 8, 2021 20:51
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  Chapter 16: Keitaro Miura 1  Wait, what     I guess not, but we’re supposed to be working. How’s everything on your end? Sector 2’s construction is going pretty smoothly so far. We should be able to sustain a second colony soon. All it’ll take is four more orbits, tops. You doing okay? Still getting used to zero-G. And trying not to puke. As for the project, we’ve got a few complications. Got the ethics committee breathing down our necks. Didn’t know space exploration was a matter of ethics. No, they’re all worked up about our machines. Their self-replication is what’s making the board nervous.  …They’re worried about a war with aliens that might not even exist? Shouldn’t our ethics team be more grounded in reality? You’re one to talk. Still reading about history 24/7? Yeah. It’s fascinating stuff.  Two hundred years ago, right? When this all started? Part of a world war, involving countless powerful nations. It reshaped the way we approach technology and ideology. Like I said, fascinating stuff. Sounds like a big mess to me. Oh, well… If you’d like I could send over some light reading on it. I think I’ll pass.Ouch. So… any idea when we can meet up again? It’ll be about 420 hours until the next time I’m off…Nice. Is that still a thing in the future? Evidently not.  I guess one of them is receiving some kind of call.  Good. I’ll be looking forward to it. Bye.  Okay, so… what the gently caress was that?    Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)  No scar, interesting…      And not a single student attending. They need every able-bodied student at the factories. I know, we’re in a state of emergency. Consider State of Emergency (I heard a rumor from the marines at the port. They say we have no ships left, that it’s a hopeless war…)Consider Takatoshi Hijiyama (He’s a year above me, but we’re the same age. We grew up in the same town together. He was such a mess. Seems like he’s shaped up, though. He’s found a certain dignity ever since he enlisted.) No.  Don’t let your nerves get to you again. You’ll get to fight for your country before your peers. That’s an honor and a privilege.  One look at it, and you’ll know this war is ours. At what, exactly? *looks around cautiously* …we have a secret weapon. Our own key to victory. You’ll see it in the armory soon enough. Because… We’ve been chosen as pilot cadets for that very weapon. But keep it quiet. Maximum-level security. Not even your family can know. …Understood.  So don’t worry too much.Consider New Weapon (A secret weapon powerful enough to win the war? And out of all the potential pilots across Japan… They chose me. What can I do? Will I be any help at all?)Use New Weapon on Takatoshi Hijiyama  We’ve been calling it a Sentinel. A heavily-armored craft that requires a pilot to operate. It’ll help us gun down the enemy at our shores. So the Americans really are coming for us… We’ve been forced to abandon many of our posts overseas. At this rate, we’ll have to end this on the mainland. Our homeland’s future is in the hands of this Sentinel. But they’re good hands. A single Sentinel rivals aircraft carriers in terms of power. No… it could outmatch an entire military on its own. Whatever they’ve got, we’ll keep our homeland safe.  …… I didn’t think anyone else would come here. I’ll see who it is.  Wait. Tamao… Kurabe?   So this is where you’ve been hiding!Music: Halcyon Days (Yoshimi Kudo)   Hey, Tamao-san. What brings you here? And when I heard you were back, too… I had to come!  Maybe you and Takatoshi-san can share them? The rations don’t give us that much sugar. I’m afraid they won’t be very sweet… I’m sure they’ll be delicious. Thank you.  Yes, I invited her along… Pardon me, but… Have we met?   But he’s asking about you, Kiriko-chan! ……  I am… Takatoshi Hijiyama. Pleased to meet you… Wait… Douji? Any relation to professor Heizou Douji? N-No, far from it! Consider Professor Douji (I’ve heard about Kiriko-san’s father. They say he’s a remarkable teacher. Though I didn’t realize he was a professor.)  We do, yes.  This poor bi idiot.  If he’s at the armory, that can only mean— That’s enough, Keitaro. His involvement with the new weapon is highly confidential. …… I-I mean—drat it! *giggle* Don’t worry, we won’t tell… You’re pretty funny.  He’ll be working alongside me. The armory’s not too far from here. However, it may be some time until he’s back. You and the Kurabes have been nothing but kind to me. I can only give you my thanks, from the bottom of my heart. I’ll have to leave my little sister with you, so… Please, take care of her for me. Don’t you worry about a thing, Keitaro-san.  And tell her I won’t be gone for long. The second I get time off, I’ll come visit.  We’d better get going.  Do take care, you two.       Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)    Some kind of flash… Lightning, maybe? It came from around here, I think…Consider Professor Douji (Kiriko-san disappeared after that incident. And Professor Douji has gone silent ever since. It just doesn’t make sense…)Consider State of Emergency (Air raids have plagued several regions for months now. At this rate, the Americans will completely destroy Japan. We have to do something…)Consider New Weapon (Our new, top-secret military weapon, called a “Sentinel.” I’ve been selected as a cadet to pilot it.) Maybe I saw a visiting god? …Not likely.  It’s already night. Chihiro’s probably worried about me…   I know you’re there.       Huh?   It’s dangerous to be out this late on your own. Allow me to escort you home. Who are you? My name is Keitaro Miura. I’m stationed at the armory nearby. But I’m off-duty now, so I was on my way home. So, ah… what’s your name? …Natsuno. Um, Natsuno Minami.  Kind of a complicated answer, though… Wait.     Music: The 13th Sense (Rikako Watanabe)  An air raid.  But that’s near where the Kurabes live…  It should be safe at this distance. But what about you? I have to go help.   What, seriously?         Why did you follow me!? I don’t know! Hmph… Fine, but just stay there. It’s clear here, but the flames are stronger up ahead. You’re not going in, are you? I have to. That house up ahead is where my sister’s staying.  How could they attack civilians like this? …There’s a munitions factory in Higoromo-cho.  But that’s…   It’s completely gone. It must’ve been a direct hit…      Tamao-san! Consider Stuffed Rabbit (Our mother’s terrible at sewing, but she made this for Chihiro. I’d never seen her struggle with anything so hard, but she did it. It’s pieced together with scraps of cloth. Not the best quality. Even still… Chihiro took it with her wherever she went.)Welp, this is looking grim. Might want to see about getting a new family there, chief.     Oh, okay. That was short-lived. Where’s Tamao-san?   I know… But you’re alive, and that’s what matters. We ran to the shelters as soon as we heard the sirens… But Chihiro-chan ran off alone. She said she was going back to the house. ‘Cause you were coming home. And if nobody was there to see you… you’d be really sad.   Ah, Natsuno-san.“Tamao, this is a recent acquaintance of mine, Natsuno Minami. I found her hiding in the woods and she doesn’t have any pants.”  Music: KAIJU (Kazuki Higashihara)   What *is* that? Another American weapon? We can’t stay here! Everyone, get moving!     Looks like it’s headed toward Kamazumi next. Big brother… Why are they showing up in this era…? Not that I’ve seen. I’ve never even heard of weapons like this… It’s almost as if they’re alive…Use American Weapons on Tamao Kurabe  That thing has to be one of their weapons. …They’ve finally come for our homeland. And if we don’t stop them… …… Please take care of Chihiro. Stay with her, and do as you’re told, understand? Tamao-san… Can I ask you to look after Natsuno-san, too? Huh? What about you? I’m going back to the armory.  Now go. This is the day I’ve been training for. Against the Sentinel, they don’t stand a chance…  Natsuno… I know, I’m on it.     And that’s Miura’s prologue. Rough, buddy.  Miura is voiced by Zach Aguilar, who is Koichi from Diamond is Unbreakable, Tanjiro from Demon Slayer, Genos in One Punch Man, and Male Byleth in Three Houses after the original VA got replaced for being a sex pest! He’s not my favorite VA or anything but this is a role that really plays to his strengths and gives him a lot to do. It’s one of his better performances in my opinion. Voting time! Juro Kurabe (22% completion) Iori Fuyusaka (28%) Megumi Yakushiji (14%) Natsuno Minami (25%) Yuki Takamiya (14%) Shu Amiguchi (28%) Keitaro Miura (12%) Destruction (23%) There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (14%, locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (28%, locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Feb 13, 2021 20:24
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We have not unlocked Ogata yet.
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Feb 13, 2021 20:49
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 Took you guys this long to pick Megumi, huh? You must really not like her. Well, let’s see if we can change that.  Chapter 17: Megumi Yakushiji 2   OH GOD THE CAT’S FOUND US RUN WHILE YOU CAN  It’s your house, take a load off.It’s not actually her house, cat. Wait, “cat”? God, now I’m doing it in this LP. …… Ignoring me, huh? You must think you’re so cool. People notice you’re always alone, you know.   A real high maintenance girl, aren’t you? I was trying to say that you’re smart. Friends are pointless. They’ll all be toast once the end comes.   That line actually pisses Megumi off enough that she turns around automatically.    Let’s make some food. What should I make for dinner?   Use Spatula on Kitchen  Time to cook some Hamburg steak.   Might as well feed the cat while we’re at it.    Come on, a little closer… …… So annoying…    This will do.  Heh heh. Be honest. You know you like me.  Chasing me around with that dumb look on your face. Th-That’s not true!      Uhhhhhhhh  Don’t go all gooey on the inside now. Come on, you can tell me. What was it like? Shooting that pale, arrogant prick… It felt great, didn’t it? Consider Renya Gouto (My first task after agreeing to the contract. The first witch I sealed… I wonder what happens to them.)  *If* you’re ready, that is… But actually pointing a gun at someone is just… Oh, okay then. Much better. Or would you rather it be a magical kitchen knife? I… don’t want that. You extinguish the evil in the person you shoot. If they could, they’d thank you for saving them. Still… Ready or not, here he comes!Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)       What do you need? Um… W-Well…  You didn’t need to call me out here to do that. Why didn’t you just come to the hangar? I, um, don’t really like looking at that robot too much… I see. But it has yet to be found. If you got in the Sentinel right now… You’d likely end up int the same state as Juro. You don’t say… Use Magical Gun on Renya Gouto (I can’t just shoot someone…)Yes you can! Coward!  Megumi decided to chicken out, it seems. Let’s just leave, then.   …… Just shoot him already! Idiot… And if you don’t? Then we fight with the Sentinels as they are. We couldn’t possibly win like that. Maybe so, but we cannot do nothing.   MEGUMI ANGY Use Magical Gun on Renya Gouto (I won’t let him hurt Juro again.)  Watch out, fool! Megumi’s got a piece!  Music: A Clause With Claws (Rikako Watanabe)  What have I done? You shot him in the arm. That’ll do. Yeah, yeah. He’ll just be a little loopy. How am I supposed to face him after this? It’s called a Magical Gun for a reason, numbnuts. His memories of before and after being shot will be all fuzzy. He won’t even remember coming to meet you. Well, we should probably make ourselves scarce now.    Use Renya Gouto on Fluffy  What *I* asked you to do? You shot him in the arm, from point blank range. I didn’t ask you to pull off a stunt like that. But as long as it was on some part of his body… It shouldn’t matter where I hit him, right? Maybe I chose the wrong person. This one’s got no sense of ownership. Your future’s lookin’ pretty bleak, kid.  We have a contract. Do I need to say it slowly for you? I’ll grant your wish… And in exchange… You shoot the witches I tell you to. That was the deal. All you gotta do is shoot them. I don’t care where. But if you fail… Our contract is broken. …… Shouldn’t you have already made up your mind about this? …Yes. I have.  That reminds me…  It’s still in your bag, right? Well, go on then. Let’s see the Magical Gun.Really appreciate how it’s a Proper Noun.   Use Magical Gun on Fluffy   This is so dumb and I love it You never know when you might need to use this. So always make sure it’s loaded. You keep calling this thing magical… So why does it have to be a gun? What does it matter?  What, you wanna put on a frilly pink skirt… And wave around your magic stick like some idiot? *chuckle* All right, you made your point. It’s for you to shoot witches. That’s why it’s a gun.   Well, time’s up. We’ll discuss the next witch tomorrow. Meet me at school. *flees*  Oh, that’s just the cat food.  *blushing* N-No. I won’t fall for that again. You can only stay here the rest of this month. Yes, of course. But I did already make this, so… It would be a shame to waste it. …… Well, I wouldn’t want all this to be thrown away. Fine. I’ll eat. Thank you. It’s also possible to not have made dinner before Juro arrives, which gets you a different version of that bit at the end. Let’s check it out:   It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. But you can’t just skip dinner. You’re still growing. If ramen’s all you eat… You won’t get the kind of nutrition you need. Just leave me alone.Wow, Juro’s kind of an rear end in a top hat, huh?  Movie’s still not on. More extra innings…   Poor Megumi… There’s more to this event, but it’s a really long one so I’ve split it in half. We’ll be seeing the rest next time. Arist fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Feb 18, 2021 19:23
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Chapter 18: Megumi Yakushiji 2.5 Music: BUDDIES (Azusa Chiba)   Oh, hey Fluffy. Who do we   Are you ignoring me because of yesterday? Someone might overhear.   That’s why we’ve been leaving at different times. Meeting like this defeats the purpose. Should we start going together then? *sigh* You’re missing the point. Oh…  *yawn* Morning. What are you listening to? Just brushing up on my English conversations. Wow… I’m obviously kidding. I’m jamming to rock, of course.Man, this really is the ‘80s. Such dated turns of phrase. Oh. Well, your grades are always so good. It seemed believable. *laughs* Ya think so? I was wondering. Can I come over today? Sure, why not. Great. Oh, right. Gonna swing by the vending machines before class starts. Okay. I’ll see you after school. Was there something else we were supposed to do right now? …Nah, let’s just head inside.   Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)   Iori runs over to the left and calls over Juro to follow her. I have no idea why she does this.  Oh yeah… I didn’t know you were into action movies. That one was a masterpiece. Pretty awesome… Lucky you. That series is really cool. It featured all kinds of different kaiju. If you love movies that much… You should check out this drama series. What’s it about? You’ve never seen it before? You’re so interesting, Fuyusaka-san.  (……)I can’t believe Juro is cheating on Megumi! This will not stand! Go confront him!  Oh, Yakushiji. So, you and that girl… Looks like you two are pretty close. Wh-What are you talking about? More importantly, *why* are you talking to me? We’d get expelled if they knew we were living together. That’s why we decided not to talk to each other at school. ……With that, Juro literally runs away. That boy ain’t right.   From the old building, you know? That place is freakin’ scary at night. It’s all dark and totally deserted. I heard some shady people hang out there now.     Just walk right on by like you can’t see me. And, oh, I don’t know, actually *tell* them what their plans are.Oh, right. We were supposed to get our new mission from Fluffy today. Oops. …… I’m going to be staking out the witch tomorrow. So when school is over, hurry your dumb human legs… And get to the passageway outside the old building. …… When school is over, hurry to the old building passageway. Oh yeah, and how about next time you address me… Show a little respect and use “sir”.Piss off, cat!    Use Kitchen Knife on Kitchen  I’ll grill some mackerel. Oh, and simmer some taro!  It’s like you’re more cat than I am. Ah, hell. He’s coming. All right, listen up. I’ll be waiting for you after school. You better not forget! *flees*From there, the scene proceeds identically to the previous night. Music: BUDDIES (Azusa Chiba)   Once Shu and Juro head inside after their conversation, we can talk to Fluffy and reconfirm our mission.  After school. Old building passageway. Got that?  I have to go. Fluffy’s waiting for me…       Here kitty, kitty…     Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)  And is wearing a school uniform with no buttons.  Uh huh. Now, there *could* be one small hiccup… That seems like a pretty big hiccup to me! Well, in case you’ve never been shot before, it hurts. So… ……       How badly would it hurt… If I were to be shot? ……         Would Juro even cry for me?      Maybe he made a mistake… Music: Cognitive Dissonance (Rikako Watanabe)  You’re not sneaking up on anyone that way. You’re from Sector 3. You’re from back then… So you’re the one. You’re one of Juro’s friends. What are you doing here? It doesn’t concern you.Blatant lie! I don’t think this was your idea. Who are you being used by? I’m fine with being used. I’ll do whatever I have to. Megumi picks up the Magical Gun.   And Ei just… lets her leave.    The last place the Sentinel was seen… It should be somewhere nearby.  Music: Power Of Destruction (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)   But where’s Juro? Juro, where are you? He couldn’t possibly… Still be in there? The all-too-familiar teleportation aura fades in. Better get outta there before you get Timecop’d, Megumi.      *crying* I’m so glad… You’re still alive… I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect your city. Shh. It doesn’t matter… I was so worried about you. …… Right! I’ll go find help. They have to still be here somewhere… That’s what you said. I just have to find them. Juro? Wait… Music: Self Sacrifice (Yoshimi Kudo) Please, don’t go… You’re hurt. We need to get help. I need you… To stay… Please… ……  I can’t… See your face… Why… Why did you get in that Sentinel? You knew this is what would happen. I wanted to protect… What was important to you… I wanted to… Protect… you…  *crying* Hi, BJ! If that is BJ, of course. Could always just be an identical robit.    Unbelievable…  The moment you enter the Sentinel… You inflict irreversible damage to your brain. Your memory is destroyed, and worst case, you become a husk. Just being inside for a few minutes can be fatal. Izumi endured that pain. He fought in there for over 2 hours. He displayed incredible strength. But… You understand, don’t you? It’s too late for him. There was a time I fought alongside him. So you’re one of his comrades. And yet, you won’t even try. Please, there must be something you can do… Izumi was a dependable and true ally. I will mourn this loss as well. *crying*   So, Megumi is now locked. Well, sort of. We actually have exactly enough Mystery Points at the moment to unlock the files to make this scene available, I just haven’t done it yet. I’ll put her on the voting list as if there isn’t a lock here. Anyway, if you don’t forget to talk to Fluffy after Juro and Shu’s conversation outside, here is what happens:   Instead of some crazy person… Who thinks cats give a crap about what she has to say. Anyways… So? I haven’t spotted the witch yet. I’ll keep a lookout. Meet me after school. In the passageway outside the old building. That’s it. Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno) As you’ll notice, I’ve stopped posting the completion percentages next to the options, because I realized it was probably just going to lead us to just keeping everyone about even in terms of progress. That’s a fine way to play, but I don’t want it to be the only consideration. The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2021 20:16
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There is not a line missing there. The flow of that conversation is, Megumi notices Juro, Iori exits the classroom and intercepts him before Megumi walks up, then runs over into the shade to continue the conversation in "private" for some reason(?). Then, Iori's first line is "You just mentioned it," alluding to some previous conversation between the two of them I guess. Juro's dialogue after that is just talking about the movie they would have been discussing, but that's legitimately all the dialogue in that interaction. If it's somehow confusing I can edit in a clarification.
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Feb 24, 2021 21:19
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Well, I'm just trying to see things through Megumi's perspective since we're controlling her. Also, it's funnier.
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Feb 25, 2021 18:19
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 Look at that fuckin’ delinquent crouch. Yuki rules.  Chapter 19: Yuki Takamiya 2  Yuki stands alone on the roof, drinking some apple juice.  What to do…   Somewhere offscreen, the door to the roof opens and closes.   I’ve been looking for you. Don’t you have anything better to do?   I will do my best to assist you in solving mysteries. How would you like to start?Oh man, this story just got a million times better. Delinquent & Nerd: Crime Busters! Consider Erika Aiba I met Aiba while I was trying to find out more about Nat-chan. Seems she likes me. Follows me around like a drat puppy dog. Even my steeliest glare doesn’t faze her. Frickin’ weirdo.Use Hey-C on Erika Aiba  Pft. You wish. …… Just been antsy without my cigarettes.  Been keeping this place all to yourself, huh?  Hehe! I love mystery novels. I’ve always wanted to be a detective too. *annoyed sigh* Yes, of course. I am merely your capable assistant. *annoyed grunt* Well, at least I’ll try to be!  Drink Hey-C First, I need to look into getting my fill of this delicious sugary beverage. (Can’t go wrong with apple juice. Me and Nat-chan used to drink it all the time when we were kids.) And Yuki drinks the last of it, vanishing the apple juice from our Thought Cloud. Use Natsuno Minami on Erika Aiba  She isn’t sick, contrary to what her teacher says. And she didn’t run away, contrary to the rumor that’s been going around. It seems likely that she was involved in something much more sinister.  See that piece of paper on the ground? When we move near it, it will roll off to the left.    Wonder which girl this belongs to.   Maybe he’s not just a dumb pretty boy after all. Then again, he did ball this up and leave it on the ground. Yup. Still an idiot. This thought is actually old, so there’s no point in Considering it.  Let’s move on, then. Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)   Mmm… The word has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?   The one tied to the fence on the roof? I wonder whose it is. You think it’s some sort of sign to her lover? Oooh… Let’s grill some students about Natsuno.   Use Special Investigations Unit on Class 1-C Student  (She was… She’s a name on the list in four-eyes’ file. Her name… It was Yakushiji. She’s pretty dull, actually.)Use Natsuno Minami on Megumi Yakushiji  Seems like it. Did you notice anything strange about her? Before she started taking days off, I mean. Well, I haven’t really thought about it. But now that you mention it… I noticed she was always hurrying to the track room at break. Even during class… She seemed to always be a bit anxious. The track room, huh… Consider Track and Field Room (She was in the track room even during break. What was Nat-chan doing?)Use Natsuno Minami on Megumi Yakushiji  About Natsuno Minami? Hmm… I did see her fervently scribbling something in her notebook. And it didn’t seem like it was just notes on the lecture. Hm… Consider The Notebook My third favorite Ryan Gosling mov—ow! Eh, I deserved that. (Nat-chan was writing things in this notebook. Things that had nothing to do with her classes. Could it have something to do with her disappearance?) Let’s move on to some other students.  I got some things to ask you.  I mean, the way you’re dressed…  Oooh, are you like, hiding a razor in your skirt right now? O-Of course not! This is the first time I’ve seen one in real life… Wow. Use Special Investigations Unit on Nat-chan’s Friend  No… (She’s a name on the list in four-eyes’ file. Iori… Fuyusaka. And the one next to her, in the red glasses… Her too. Tomi… Kisaragi, I think? Use Natsuno Minami on Iori Fuyusaka  You’ve been going to Natsuno Minami’s house, yeah? Any news since? *shakes head* Oh…    The primary suspect. I am certain… Their intentions were not pure!  I’m a second-year. And *captain* of the track team. Did you need something?Use Natsuno Minami on Captain  She’s skipped out on our last few training sessions. But I guess she’s out sick? Did she look sick to you? She looked fine to me. (to other student) Right? Yep, I thought so too. Use Natsuno Minami on Manager  That’s when Minami-san started skipping training. And school too, I guess. What incident?  Maybe it’s unrelated, but… Consider North Building Fire (Right around the time of that fire… Nat-chan started skipping her training sessions for track. Could it be related?)Use North Building Fire on Manager  Yeah. I heard an explosion started it. Really? I heard it was arson. Over on the left, we can find another track member to question.  Yes… Did you notice anything strange about her? Besides her being absent from school. Well, depends what you define as strange, but… Natsuno did stop coming to training. But I’d still see her in the locker room. Doing what? It seemed like she was there to get something. Something like…? Some kinda UFO-looking thing? I don’t know exactly. It just looked like a box when it was in her bag. A box in the locker room, huh? Yeah. Consider The Box My third least-favorite Frank Langella mov—ow! I’ll stop! I’ll stop! (Something that the girl on the track team mentioned… She said Nat-chan went into the locker room to get a box. And described it as some kind of UFO gadget. Hmm…)Use North Building Fire on Track Member  No. Use North Building Fire on Erika Aiba  No, I’m sorry. I don’t know anything.  Let’s head back to the hallway for now.    As we walk down the hallway, we notice Nenji Ogata sigh, then turn around and walk away.  Let’s follow him. He might know something, after all.   *gasp*  …To associate with hoodlums.  It’s a public roof, ain’t it?  Just checking if my handkerchief was dry yet. That handkerchief was yours? (cracking up) I thought it was a girl’s. Oh, not me. Never.   Use Natsuno Minami on Nenji Ogata  What are you getting embarrassed for? You’ve called her that since you were kids, right? Right. So, Nat-chan. You know she’s gone missing? …Yeah. I do know. I suspect the black suits have something to do with that.  I saw Minami being chased by them one time.And then they punched you out. But I guess that part isn’t worth leaving in, I get it. You what? (drat four-eyes never mentioned that little detail…) I guess he’s been looking for her too.  But it’s getting complicated. I can’t keep up.I FEEL YOU, BRO  (The agent on Nat-chan’s case… Shinonome. Do I have to ask her for help after all? I mean, she is pretty messed up too. ……)Use North Building Fire on Nenji Ogata  I *also* heard… That it was caused by a certain cigarette-smoking delinquent.It’s not nice to tell lies, Yuki. Apologize. You tryin’ to accuse me of something? First of all, I don’t smoke. Second of all, the fire was in the girl’s bathroom.It seems like Yuki fits this imaginary profile more than Nenji does, hmmm… And, rumor has it… It wasn’t even really a fire. Consider Girls’ Bathroom Something happened in the girls’ bathroom of the north building. Ace Detective Yuki Takamiya is on the case!  Use Girls’ Bathroom on Erika Aiba   Let’s go to that girls’ bathroom in the north building. Certainly. Music: Who D-Unit (Yoshimi Kudo) The name of this track is so stupid, I love it    There’s no way all this was from a fire.  Ooh, we’ll get in so much trouble if they find us! What is wrong with you? It just feels like we’re actual detectives now! I deduce that the perpetrator was… Someone with an extreme hatred for girls’ bathrooms! ……  Seems more like a bear went on a rampage.   They’re carved pretty deep in there.  ……Our suspect is… A maintenance lady built like a bear. What do you think? …… In mystery novels, the perpetrator’s name is always written somewhere in blood. Yeah, when there’s a dead body nearby. You really are strange.God, I love this idiot.   This can’t have been the work of just one person.   They’re red. Probably belong to a girl. Use Red Glasses on Erika Aiba  Who do you think these glasses belong to? Well, the glasses are broken, so they won’t be wearing them anymore. Do you remember anyone wearing a pair like that? Now that I think about it… Yeah. I do remember someone. Nat-chan’s friend, in Class 1-B…    Consider Tomi Kisaragi (Tomi Kisaragi… I think I saw her in the class 1 hallway just now… I gotta find her.)     She’s gotta be nearby.  I can’t keep up.  Not here either… Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)   Target acquired.   …Yeah?Use Girls’ Bathroom on Tomi Kisaragi  What happened there? Oh, what’s with all the questions anyways? I know you were there. Are you talking about what happened in the north building? I had nothing to do with it. Why would I go all the way there to use the bathroom anyways? …… Use Red Glasses on Tomi Kisaragi  What’s this all about? Well, they do look the same as mine. But, you probably noticed. I’m wearing mine right now. So obviously they can’t be mine. …….  And you’re the only one in this whole drat school… that wears glasses as distinctive as these. So you’re blaming me? What could I possibly gain from setting a toilet on fire? You’re not messing with me, are you?  The day of the incident… Miwako? What the hell? But I really did see you there.No Miwako, don’t snitch!  Wait, what?Music: STAGNATION (Yoshimi Kudo)      Miwako. Aren’t you supposed to be at training? Where are you off to in such a hurry? Where isn’t really the— Sorry, Miwako!     Did you hurt yourself? ……  That’s not like Usami-chan… Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  Seriously, Miwako!? (on the verge of tears) But… I…Now, Miwako, you shouldn’t be snitching. But I’m very disappointed in you as well, Tomi. How rude, ignoring Miwako like that!   Iori-chan! So I was saying…   No, it’s true. I really did see them! That’s the day we were waiting for you outside. And Usami-chan was with me the whole time. At the front gate, remember? That’s right… Consider Tomi Kisaragi (So two Tomi Kisaragis… What the hell’s going on?) How did Natsuno Minami look?  She was in a hurry… She had her bag… Oh, yeah!  I saw another girl. But she was covered in dust. It was really weird. And now that I think about it… She was coming from where the bathroom was! Who was it? Hmm, well she looked mild-mannered. And I know I’ve seen her face around here before. But I don’t know which year or class.Consider Tomi Kisaragi       What a mystery! Well, that was exciting, I tell you what.    We’ve also unlocked Tomi’s story now! Our current options are: Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Feb 26, 2021 21:31
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  Chapter 20: Tomi Kisaragi 1 Music: Bright Days Ahead (Azusa Chiba)      They’ve already got like four at the intersection.    That bus is so… old! What am I even looking at? And all these cars are so… blocky! They look so weird.  I think I’ve seen signs like that before…  This is kinda surreal!   Oh, hey Gouto. You’re looking hale and hearty after getting shot by Megumi. Actually, wait, this is almost certainly before that happened. Oops.  They seriously haven’t invented smartphones yet? Ahaha! This is so crazy! How do they even talk to each other?I’m going to spare you a hackneyed joke about zoomers bein’ on that phone, okay? We good?    I can’t *believe* that hair.   What even is that? A pompadour? The Showa era’s so weird. Huh!? Your hair, duh. I just said. You tryin’ to start poo poo? *sigh*I’d just like to point out that Nenji Ogata does in fact have the same English voice actor as Josuke Higashikata. Nothing I can say here will be funnier than just acknowledging that.    I’m afraid she’s a little… Well, she has difficulty with social interaction. Hey! Don’t make me sound like some kinda weirdo! Please, carry on. I’ll give her a talking-to once we’re home.   You realize we’re only here with the help of this era’s facilitators. We’re essentially foreign refugees. Don’t forget that. It’s the same school. I expect you’ll adjust quickly. That is *not* my school. Everyone from that class is old enough to be my mom. Don’t act like it’s the same. We left mine back in 2025. Consider 2025 (So in 2025, I would have turned 16 next month. But now… I’m way back in 1985. So, like… How old am I, technically?) I understand your situation. But I need you to cooperate. Use Facilitators on Renya Gouto  You mean Shikishima, the military corporation? You sure we’re not being used? That is not your concern.Consider Shikishima Industries (I remember seeing that company in the news back in 2025. They make everything, from fridges to missiles. They’ve got tons of factories across the world.)Use 2025 on Renya Gouto  I thought I explained this already. The world was destroyed. I’ve still gotta go help my mom and dad. They won’t be there. It’s already too late. I doubt you’d get the clearance to timejump anyway. That another one of their orders? …… I didn’t want to get dragged into this. Am I supposed to just take it? Whatever you say? Precisely. You should count yourself lucky to have escaped with us.Consider Ruined World (I never saw it myself. The world was destroyed, apparently. What do I even say to that? “Yeah, cool, got it”? Still, even if I begged to go check it out… Something tells me they aren’t gonna let me. What I need is a little leverage over them. I gotta make them an offer they can’t refuse…)My choice now is to reference The Godfather, which I haven’t seen, or the classic TNT series Leverage, which I have watched two episodes of and probably would not play as a reference for any of you. Or I could take the third option and make a bad meta-joke about it, as always!  Do not act on your own. Remain inconspicuous. And for now, simply attend school as usual. Am I clear?Music: Halcyon Days (Yoshimi Kudo)  Consider Ruined World (So everything back home’s been destroyed? Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it. I gotta get leverage and go back to my own time…)Consider Shikishima Industries (Shikishima’s a conglomerate with political ties. They made it big during the Meiji modernization. You always see their branches on “Employer of the Year” lists. Back in the Meiji era, they were shipbuilders… But they expanded into aviation and a bunch of other things. During the war, they did a lot of weapons R&D. And now, they make everything from home appliances to rockets. Shikishima Industries is just one of those branches. Their machinery’s known all over the world.) Did you check out all those books? What are they? They’re not that interesting. I just want a peek. Business Quarterly? Corporate guides, economic reports…  Are you studying for a career in business? Uh, not really… I was kinda looking for some leverage. You know, dirt on some big shady corporation. So then I could, like, control them a little. Huh? Usami-chan, that’s a little… weirder than I was expecting.  How does one person sleep that much?  Manually searching through books is so inconvenient. Oh, uh, like… This game rules. …Or something.Consider Business Books (I scoured the whole library for reference materials. Wasn’t hard to find things on Shikishima, but… It’s just like… stock market stuff. I should’ve known. Nothing I could use as leverage.)  Shall we go there after school? Sounds good! Those crêpes from yesterday are gonna be hard to beat, though. Back home, they went a little too crazy with the toppings. Sometimes, simple is best. Crêpes would be nice too… Do you think we could get both? …… There’s this company called Shikishima Industries. You know anything about them? Shikishima… They’re the ones who make ships and things, right? Hm… I have this old friend… His father works for them, I think. Seriously? Miwako, can you do me a favor? I want you to introduce me. Sure! (to self) Those big megacorps always have shady stuff hiding in their HQ. One step closer to getting the dirt.Music: Bright Days Ahead (Azusa Chiba)   They’re still not here. Did you get the meeting time wrong? No…  Don’t worry. He’ll be here soon. He’s not the type to break promises.     This is my old friend. Nenji Ogata. You’re kidding.What a farce!  You said some girl was lookin’ to ask me out? Well, um… That would be her. Usami-chan.  Gross.  What does that even mean, Nenji? The heck is that supposed to mean? Way ahead of you, Tomi. I take it you’re not calling me a cute puppy. What did you say to this guy? Just that a girl I knew wanted to tell him something… How dumb *is* he? I’m standin’ right here.  Please, can’t we all calm down…?   Ah!          You weren’t waking up. I thought you might have died… Music: Impending Doom (Mitsuhiro Kaneda) I don’t know… There was some kind of flash, and… Then we were here.  My name…  Get it straight, dogface. Oh, excuse me, Captain Pompadour. I’m Tomi Kisaragi. Don’t give me any stupid nicknames. All right, smartass—   It’s like… We were attacked.   I know the city got leveled. You saw that flash, right? Musta been a nuke.  Isn’t this downtown? Way I figure it…  Okay, never mind. You’re just a moron. Hey! I bet you could survive a nuke, no problem. You got a better idea? What the hell else coulda happened? If we’re here, then… No way…  There’s radiation everywhere! We’re going to die! We have to run, or get cover, or— Deep breaths, Miwako. I’ll try…   Keyaki-cho.   The hell? You know how far that is from school? But nobody else is here. Think they all evacuated? Where’s everyone else? Miwako…  Consider Ruined World (The world got destroyed in my time. According to what Gouto said, anyway. So maybe…) You hear that? A rescue helicopter? No, it’s… Music: The 13th Sense (Rikako Watanabe)    No way. The thing’s huge.  Whatever it was, I got a bad feeling about it. It’s a kaiju… Use 2025 on Nenji Ogata  It’s hard to tell with everything messed up like this, but…   Nenji, don’t make that face. What if it sticks that way? This is my home. Well… *was* my home, I guess. oh god the face got worse somehow      Tomi “Usami” Kisaragi is voiced by Cassandra Lee Morris, who is Sothis in Fire Emblem Three Houses, Fie in Trails of Cold Steel, and of course, Morgana in Persona 5.  This time, we’ve added a new bit to the conspiracy board, cataloging the ongoing mysteries we’ve discovered. Expect this to only get bigger, folks.   Most of these are self-explanatory. “Miyuki Inaba” covers Shu’s Poltergeist phenomenon, “What Are The Dreams” covers the dreams several members of the cast have been having, etc. I’ll just explain the ones that might be confusing.
 I’ll be adding to this liberally, but feel free to throw out any questions I missed and maybe I’ll put them on the board! Anyway, poll time! Our current options for next update are: Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Nov 21, 2022 |
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Mar 6, 2021 02:03
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  Chapter 21: Juro Kurabe 3 Music: In The Doldrums (Rikako Watanabe)   Let me guess. Amiguchi-kun’s not there? He’s probably at the cafeteria? Thanks for makin’ my life easier, man. Cool, let’s grab our stuff and head over.  Usami-chan. Let’s check our flowchart again real quick before we do anything. Here, we can see the way to get to this branch is to eavesdrop on Miwako’s conversation like a creep. We won’t always be told how to unlock branches, just for a couple of Juro’s segments because he’s the “tutorial” character I suppose. That said, Juro kind of needs these hints because his are actually somewhat complicated to figure out. With that said, let’s listen in on Miwako and Tomi.  I’d love to, but… I’ve kinda got somewhere to be. Aww… Okay… Consider Issues at Home (Minami-san suddenly showed up at my house… And then brought over Miura-kun out of nowhere. As if I didn’t have enough problems with Yakushiji around. I always dreamed of living on my own… So much for that.) You’ve been acting strange lately. Are you okay? You seem kind of… stressed out. But you’re just fine, right? Hey… I’m worried about you.  Sorry, I have plans… You too…?Poor Miwako.  Sorry, Miwa-chan. It’s okay. I’ll go home by myself. Okay, that’s a little creepy. If you’re looking for him…   Yeah. Crap! I gotta get going. I should head out too. See you, Miwa-chan. Later. Bye! Use Break Area on Kyuta Shiba   Huh? You mean that place with the vending machines? Let’s check it out!  If we’re too slow, we’ll lose him. Juro! You’ll be home for dinner, right? I’ll cook something for you. And Shiba-kun’s here.  No time for smalltalk, Yakushiji! To the break area!  Music: Ennui Vibes (Yoshimi Kudo)      Hey, Okino!  Bye, Okino!  What’s up? Could we hang out again today? You got it. Let’s see… Why don’t we go to your place this time? Wait, Juro’s place? Nooo! I wanna check it out.Use Issues at Home on Shu Amiguchi You actually can’t progress to the correct branch here without having first gained the “Issues at Home” keyword from the branch at the cafeteria. The branches are a lot more linear than they initially seem.  His TV’s a piece of junk.Shut up, Shiba! Well, right now… I have a guest staying over. Things are a liittle awkward, so… Sorry. It’s just not a good time. Well, all right. Thaaat’s my man! Thanks.    Oh jeez, you guys are standing a little close there. Back off, I’m getting claustrophobic. Music: Some chiptune thing from Shiba’s game     Any game you wanna play, he’s got it. He really is a rich kid, huh? I’m jealous. Heh.   You’ll break my concentration! You cool with soda? Drink Canned Soda  Whew… I need to try that again. If I die this time, I’ll switch with you. We should probably go get dinner soon. You’re coming, right? My treat. You already paid for my ramen last time… I feel kinda bad. Then what, you wanna call it a day? I can still tag along. I’ll just pay for my own food. That means I’ve gotta pay too.Why is Juro friends with this guy?   The TV shelf is full of things too… Looks like LaserDiscs. This is incredible.  Did you watch the video? Did you already finish it? What did you think? Kind of a campy plot. You’ve got this mad scientist who loses his real body… So he builds a new body and sets out, bent on revenge! …It was interesting, but definitely not for casuals. *laughs* For a B-movie, that just proves it’s a masterpiece.   Just learning something about you. I figured you were only really into Western music. Never thought you’d be into the idol scene.  She’s been really getting big lately, hasn’t she?  Did you want to just grab dinner and go home? Actually, um… Do you think I could stay a little longer? I’d really appreciate it. And I’m all by myself here. Stay as long as you want. Thanks. Say, uh… Any specific reason you don’t want to go home? Well, the person I’m living with is— …… (to self) I’m the one with a problem. If I’m around her too long, I might—Oh?    Hold on, I’m almost done! Pick up something new to watch. Oh, speaking of…  Is that the sequel to that sci-fi flick? We can watch it together. I’m… gonna have to pass. Oh? Not in the mood for horror? That’s not it… Sorry. It’s just… I think I’ve been watching too many movies lately. I’m getting kind of scared. Again? Did you have another crazy dream? What happened in it?Use Terrible Dream on Shu Amiguchi  I went insane. I killed everyone around me…  ……Jeez, Juro. You’re such a downer.  So now, I feel anxious whenever she’s around. I’m scared… I might end up actually killing her.Music: Lonely Struggle (Rikako Watanabe)   You killed everyone… How could you do such a thing? You… You came to the future for this?   What? It’s your nanomachines. You all have them. That’s what’s calling the Deimos here. As long as you kids are alive… The hordes will keep on coming until they’ve destroyed all time and space. You’re lying. I’m sorry.    No… No…!    The pain will only last for a moment. It’s too late to back out now. I must kill my doubts… and finish the job. In order to escape from this eternal cage… It must be done. You’re persistent, Ida. Don’t worry… I’ll put you out of your misery. Guh! Oh hey, Morimura has the Magical Gun™! What have you done, Juro? Where’s the wound? Let me see it.  …was all… for you. Morimura…   Dark! At least now we have the answer to the “Why is Juro being such a dick?” “mystery.” I didn’t put that one on the board for obvious reasons, but it’s still good to have an answer. Our options: Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Nov 22, 2022 |
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Mar 13, 2021 19:48
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Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto) Chapter 22: Destruction 2  Well, let’s jump back into the fray.  This is our first encounter with Brain Overload, which as mentioned earlier prevents us from putting afflicted pilots on the attack or defense teams.  For Megumi, we’re going to unlock and equip her Forced Cooling Device and Multi-Lock Missiles. We’re also going to upgrade her Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers to +1 (Number Fired +1, POW +4) and Multi-Lock Missiles to +2 (Number Fired +0 to +6, POW +2 to +4).  We’ll also be upgrading Hijiyama’s Demolisher Blade (Number of Attacks +2 to +4, POW +3 to +6), Leap Attack (Lock-on Distance +0 to +80, Lock-on Range +0 to +60), and Rush Attack (Number of Attacks +0 to +1, Setup Movement +0 to +50) to +2 each.  Tomi gets her Main Battery Heavy Railgun unlocked and upgraded to +2 (POW +0 to +100, WT 6s to 5.8s). She also upgrades her 6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons to +1 (Number Fired +0 to +1, POW +0 to +7).  This is the team we’ll be using for this battle. Ogata, Hijiyama, Ryoko, Kisaragi, Yakushiji, and Amiguchi. I didn’t even notice the bonus objective requires Kisaragi to be on the strike team, that was just a stroke of luck on my part, heh. Anyway, let’s get to it. Video: Destruction Wave 1-3 Music: (VALINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)     It’s basically just a huge crane, though, right? The plasma cannon’s what you need to watch out for. Sentinel armor doesn’t stand a chance against it. But it’s just a big dumb crane! Why’d they put all the weapons on it? Once they started facing resistance, they updated their designs. Trying to match our own force. Wait, you mean those things only have weapons because the Sentinels showed up? Maybe, but we can still take them down… At least, we probably can… How do you know that, Megumi…? They’re coming. Be careful. We’re toast if we don’t win here, right? So… let’s get out there and fight back.  Quick word of warning: I actually reloaded after my first take of this fight because I got a D rating! Four of my pilots almost died and the terminal defense was below 50%! This is actually the first moderately challenging fight in that you have to think at all about what you’re doing.  Let’s start with the classics, though. Shinonome’s Sentry Guns will be pretty useful.  As you can see in the top-right, this battle is a little unusual in that we start with a pretty massive horde already spawned in addition to more enemy drops.   Those drops largely come in the form of more Hi-Quads outfitted with missiles and plasma cannons to attack anything nearby, so watch out.  Multi-Lock Missiles aren’t great for taking down Hi-Quads. They’re just too weak and barely scratch their armor. However, they’re pretty well-used defensively to shoot down missiles while also attacking anything near the Hi-Quads.   We’re gonna get some use out of Megumi’s Shield Matrix, even if it only lasts for 6 seconds. I’m not actually sure if it’s even possible for enemy attacks to penetrate these shields while they’re active. They’re pretty strong, is what I’m saying.   Hijiyama and Ogata’s main goal at the moment is running around and using Demolisher Blade to break the several active Hi-Quads open and feast on the tasty Meta-Chips inside.  Ogata, unfortunately, is largely stuck using Leap Attack here to move around and sweep up ground enemies because of bad placement on my part.   During all this, Tomi is firing off railguns. They’re not much use against the Hi-Quads, but they can at least get the enemies around them pretty well.   And Hijiyama gets another one.  At some point in the chaos, a horde of Drillflies appears. They’re going to be the primary threat for the rest of the battle, and will take more than a few Multi-Lock Missiles and railguns to eliminate. We fly in Shu and Megumi to take them down, but they’re at risk from the missiles being fired.   Ryoko can at least fire off some Multi Rocket Launchers from a distance to soften them up, though. They’re still firing off their own missiles at the same time, however…  I’m fine…! It’s not as bad as it looks. Come on… Just don’t be a hero, all right?This is a warning message, which will play whenever a Sentinel’s HP becomes critical. They’re unique to each character, but they’re pretty short and to-the-point.   Anyway, let’s use this Shield Matrix on Shu to keep him from needing to withdraw.  One of our main priorities now is protecting the rest of our pilots from missiles, if only to preserve our S rating by not taking too much Sentinel damage. Railguns, rapid cannons, and Multi-Lock Missiles all serve a purpose there.  Ogata and Hijyama’s job now is just to take down the two remaining Hi-Quads.   Unfortunately, I make a critical error by not paying attention here and accidentally Leap Attack Hijiyama directly into the path of some incoming missiles! Oops! Thankfully, Shu is nearby and can just use Multi-Lock Missiles to get rid of them.   The Drillfly swarm is almost gone at this point.   Hijiyama and Ogata also manage to destroy the last two Hi-Quads in a third of a second. Nice sync, boys!   And no more Drillflies!   We take down the last G-Moler with Ryoko’s Heavy Knuckles to end the fight.     Dammit, the whole city’s on fire…  We have evacuation measures in place, but they’re far from perfect. And the efforts still lack direction. We tried to reach out to governments and financial institutions through Shikishima… for all the good that did. We’ve got kaiju signals popping up nearby another terminal… We got tons of civilians over there, thanks to all the highways being backed up. Come on, Miwako… Please tell me you didn’t take a bus… Hey, maybe we could send a drone out to check on Miwako? On it. Worth a shot, anyway… Hope my mom and dad made it out. I told them exactly what to do…   It’s always a little funny when you see the MVP and it’s a 2nd-gen who did very nearly nothing getting boosted by all the kills their Sentry Guns got.  Oh, Ryoko got a new Pilot Skill.       Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)   We’re going to upgrade Ei’s Demolisher Blade to +2 (Number of Attacks +2 to +4, POW +3 to +6) and his Rush Attack to +2 (Setup Movement +0 to +50).  We’re also going to increase the Meta-System to Level 5 and the Score Multiplier to Level 3.  Finally, Gouto gets Shield Matrix, which exhausts our Meta-Chip supply. Time to go get some more!  This is the skill Ryoko just unlocked, by the way.  And with that, we head once more into the fight. Video: Destruction Wave 1-4 Music: (VALINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)     What, these wheely guys? Are they really that bad?  Its entire body is filled with RDX. Once a target’s within blast range, the whole kaiju detonates. A single Drum Mine self-destructing could cause incredible damage to our Sentinels.  True. If we knock them away just before detonation, that could wipe out a whole swarm of kaiju at once. We use their own weapons against them…! But is it really going to be that easy? Now you’re talkin’. We’ll give ‘em a taste of their own drat medicine.   These are Drum Mines. They’re not actually mines because they’re not loving stationary, they just explode like mines. By the way, you know that devious strategy the team devised a second ago? Yeah, ignore that. We’re just gonna rush these things down as quickly as possible, and if by accident we pull that off once or twice, so be it. Drum Mines do appear to have a pesky quirk, visible in the fight video, of occasionally catapulting themselves over to the nearest Sentinel, but they don’t have enough HP to make this a credible threat. The one time I noticed this happen in the video was one rushing over to Juro at about 1:51 remaining on the fight timer, but it got instantly deleted by two Sentry Guns firing at the same time.      We start with some Sentry Gun placement, natch.  And some Flare Torpedoes, why not?  One mistake I make in this fight is moving Iori around too much because I forgot what her skill does and misremember it as having something to do with being near Ei.  Whatever, she takes down the last enemy herself. Wait… the last enemy? Already? Geez. That fight was dirt simple.     Dammit… Hope everyone got out okay… It’s never easy to see your own home up in flames… I know this must be hard. We’re fighting to defend our homeland… We knew going in we wouldn’t come out unscathed. Even if we win this fight, how many people are we gonna lose? Goddammit, is any of this city even gonna be left!? Get ahold of yourself, Ogata! If we lose here, nobody makes it out alive. Even if it ends up tearing this city apart… What else can we do but fight back? One cute thing about these scenes: pilots who have Brain Overload aren’t in their Sentinels.   Wait, Miura is the MVP? Huh. A bit surprising, but if you review the footage it makes sense. Despite the message about knocking them back, long-range Sentinels are pretty well-equipped to take down Drum Mines quickly and efficiently. That plus the Sentry Guns meant our 1st-gen pilots might at well have not shown up, because they couldn’t even make it to the Drum Mines to kill them.    Three new skills. We’ll check those out when we get back.          And those are the skills we unlocked. Well, that wraps up this edition of Destruction! What next? Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Nov 22, 2022 |
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Mar 24, 2021 16:34
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Another tie this time. I actually found a coin and flipped it to resolve this one! It landed on heads, and so next we’ll be continuing the story of…  Chapter 23: Natsuno Minami 3 Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba)    Someone’s trashed our room again. Also… Watch this. Shh. Stand over here, quietly. Watch the laundry basket.   You know what I think this is? …… It’s a spy camera, from a peeping tom. *exhale* It’s the same creep that trashed this room. He must have set this up.Well, that’s a relief. Glad the track captain’s only slightly less of a moron than Natsuno! Consider Yuki Takamiya (I can’t believe my one and only Yuki-chan… She’s working with the men in black. That means she can’t know… She can’t know about BJ.)I must protect the BJ secret.   Yours? Yeah, it’s a… It’s an alarm clock. A clock?I cannot believe she is even entertaining this nonsense.    This is confidential information, after all. Use P.E. Bag on BJ  Yeah, well, the thing is, I… Isn’t it kinda… big?How is this working!?    Uh… Yeah, I’m just in a hurry, so…   Well, let’s head out. Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)    We can’t go out there while the MIB is waiting by the entrance. So…   …just wait until he gets bored and wanders over to a different spot! Bing bang boom!      Music: The Tower of Knowledge (Hitoshi Sakimoto)   Where should we look this time? How about Sector 1? Sector 1 has been searched. No Sentinel found. I see. Bummer…  What about Sector 2? 2065. We have been there. That’s where we saw the Tripods… It’s too dangerous. What’s that one at the bottom? Sector 5… 1945. Whoa, so we can travel to the past too? Hey, that’s the year the Pacific War ended. Let’s check it out!     But it smells like fresh wood! They must’ve just built the place. BJ jumps out of Natsuno’s bag.   Check it out, BJ. It’s my school in the past! You really can jump back and forth through time, can’t you? Natsuno. I know, I know. We have to be careful not to change anything in the past. Or else we’ll totally screw up the future! …then Dad’s only 3 years old. He’s probably at Grandma’s house. I’d love to see that… A quick peek wouldn’t hurt, would it? …The Sentinel, Natsuno. Man… okay. I’ve detected a drone signal. An active Sentinel is present.  The sign looks a little different, though. We’ve gotta hide.    Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)     Are these… the same ones I had last month? …Why do you ask? The pills you’ve been giving me… They let me see the future… But these new pills are different. I feel awful when I take them. And they make me forget what I’ve seen in my dreams… You must continue your treatment. They’ll completely eliminate your nightmares. …Nightmares? These don’t feel like— Trust me. They’ll help you revert to your original state. We’re putting an end to this operation.   It’s our only hope of survival… …… It’s no use… I can’t remember…    How could he be here… 40 years in the past? Maybe it was his grandpa. Looked just like him…I’m sure it was, Natsuno. A Sentinel at Ayame Pass… Huh? The place that woman mentioned… Oh right, Ayame Pass… Wait, you mean where the park is? There is no park in 1945. Let’s go.Use P.E. Bag on BJ   Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)     See, the line here as written says, “to not,” but the VA says it “not to.” That’s not important in any way.  What if they find us?  It’s huuuge! How does someone lose something so freakin’ big…? The Sentinels are linked to the shifter. It was shifted here. Crazy… Anyhow, I’m just glad we found it.  Number 19? That’s… the one Miura’s using in Destruction, no? Use Sentinel No. 17 on BJ  You said No. 17. Correct. We’re searching for Sentinel No. 17. I cannot pilot his Sentinel. I have confirmed a cease in his vital functions. Do you mean… he’s… …… Correct. He is dead.Okay, this might seem like a weird time to bring this up but there’s officially something sketchy about this robit. I think it’s evil! Calling that one right now!  A critical change has been detected. …… The Sentinel’s primary system has been altered. Someone bypassed and rebuilt it. I don’t really know what that means. Maybe one of the people here did something to it. That would be impossible with the technology of this era.  Use P.E. Bag on BJ      And I have no problem taking it to the front lines. Even there, I can perform at full power.  I’m starting to sound like Takatoshi-san. Nothing to get riled up over. I’m sure the people in charge have their reasons. And even if it never does… I’ll still be ready.      Oh, hey Okino! What’re you doing here?   Let’s have a look at you… Well… It looks like an alternate route was successfully created. It actually worked. And on my second test subject, no less. Nanomachine reconstruction agitates the brain… but you endured the process without losing your mind. Also on the subject of potentially-evil folks: not so sure about this Okino chap! Just saying, anyone with the explicit goal of doing something called “taking over the Sentinels” is probably not on the up-and-up! …Goodness. I should be on my way.  As promised, I’ll remove the lock on the Sentinel. And there’s one more thing I’d like to do. Just for good measure. …There we go. As long as they come into contact with Miura-kun… the data should spread to the others.   You want to know that, I want to know why neither of those dudes could stop talking to themselves.  Let’s hurry. Yeah, you’re right…     Music: Sneaking Suspicions (Kikuchi Yukinori)      I suppose negotiating with the professor was the right choice. …The settings have been tampered with. *looks around* Was someone just here? I’ll set it back to its original key. I’d best take my leave.    …Is he an alien, too? He changed the key. I can no longer shift. Seriously…? We can’t go home? I can’t stay here that long! Can’t we find another way back to the future? The gate and the Sentinel are the only safe methods of shifting. The Sentinel…Cool, let’s go steal it! BRB BJ, got a massive robot to jack.   Use P.E. Bag on BJ      Maybe I saw a visiting god? …Not likely. It’s already night. Chihiro’s probably worried about me… Shhh.  I know you’re there.   And the rest of this encounter we’ve already seen play itself out in Miura’s prologue. But we still don’t know how Natsuno gets herself back home! Could this be the disappearance Yuki is looking into?   We can unlock this next plot block for Natsuno at any time if we so choose. But as much as I might enjoy it, you guys probably won’t pick her twice in a row… right? Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Ei Sekigahara (Locked behind Natsuno) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Nov 22, 2022 |
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Mar 30, 2021 22:56
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   Chapter 24: Natsuno Minami 4 Well, uh… you actually went and did it. You picked Natsuno again. I was just trying to fill space, but I guess you guys were more pliable than I anticipated. I promise to use my godlike control of your puny minds with the utmost care and responsibility. Music: The Chills (Yoshimi Kudo)      Up on top of the Sentinel, BJ emerges.  Ouch, my back… It felt like I was inside a washing machine. That freakin’ inspection hatch… Definitely don’t recommend. I hit my butt so many times…    Oh, right. The thing I used to get up here in the first place. Just the thought of slipping and falling all the way down…    It is 1985.  Alien technology sure doesn’t disappoint.    You mean he’s somewhere out in the city right now? That’s not good. What if those men in black get ahold of him? They probably wanna take him to Area 51… Our situation is more critical than his.   A bunch of police cars are starting to gather down there. I guess we did kinda destroy the building… Oh man, we’re gonna get arrested, aren’t we? Yeah. Okay. Natsuno. Right, first things first. Let’s get you in the bag. Consider Sentinel No. 17 (Sentinel No. 17. Created to fight against the Tripods. It’s also the robot that BJ used to pilot. It’s even capable of time travel!)Only the last sentence there is new. Use P. E. Bag on BJ   Music: Good Times (Azusa Chiba)   BJ’s quite the little mischief-maker. At least he didn’t trash the room this time.  I’m sorry I have to lock you up, BJ. But those men in black are still wandering around.Consider Keitaro Miura (I’ve searched for quite a while. But I couldn’t find Miura-kun anywhere. I bet he got captured by the men in black… And it’s all because of me.) Okay. We need to get out of here before someone sees us.  *looks around* My notebook’s not in here. Consider Research Notebook (My research notebook on aliens. Where did I put it again? I was writing in it during class today… Oh, yeah! I took it to the audio-visual room. Crap, I totally left it there, didn’t I?)Consider Research Notebook (It has all sorts of records on alien BJ too. It’d be a disaster if someone saw it.)  Use P. E. Bag on BJ    Music: Bad Omen (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)     Just like last time, we wait for him to leave, then run past.  It’d be bad if someone saw my notes… I gotta get my notebook back. No matter what.  All right, Minami. Listen up! All top-secret documents need to be kept extra-secure from now on. We can’t afford leaks! Put them somewhere safe and keep a sharp eye on them!  I know, I know. To the gate, right? No.Music: Cognitive Dissonance (Rikako Watanabe)  It’s coming this way. What is it? Unable to identify. Leave this area. Now. D’okay.    I can’t use those stairs. Better take a detour. I can go from the opposite side.  Wait… Oh gently caress, it’s happening, I’m not ready  No… Music: Metal Demon (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)    Natsuno… Run.    What? So she’s an impostor? No. It’s an android created in her likeness. …Oh, I get it. Those evil aliens are after you. So they made a robot to track you down. Where are we now? I ran into the bathroom… This is a dead end. There’s nowhere to run. Not helping… …It’s too late.    What do we do?      Please don’t make me use force. Just do as I say, and come out quietly.   …Someone else is here. What a surprise. …Aiba? No, wait… Tamao!?  …but its signal led me here. …… …I can’t just walk away. Whatever you have planned… I won’t let you go through with it. You know Ida was full of crap, don’t you? And you *still* have something against me? Many people fell victim to you. That much is still true. That’s why I have to destroy you here and now. You’re awfully dramatic for a machine. Music: 466f756e64205521 (Mitsuhiro Kaneda) (Yes, that’s the real name of this track. Converted from hexadecimal to ASCII, it reads: “Found U!” Heh.) …And I’m awfully strong, too. Well… This body really is falling apart. I can barely hold my gun straight.Sounds of violence continue from outside of the stall. Didn’t think I’d ever see you resort to violence. I never would have expected it, knowing who you were. I guess… even your heart… is just a machine now… You’re a monster yourself… No different from me… The sounds grow more and more intense. Natsuno continues to tremble within the stall. (weakly) …Whatever. Makes it all easier…There’s a soft metallic sound, followed by a short, low-pitched whirring, and then finally silence. Ah! …… What the heck just happened? It seems quiet now…    Oh, jesus!   ……     It really is a robot. It looks just like Usami… And… this… Did you do all this? BJ jumps out of the P. E. bag.  Hey, don’t jump out like that.Music: Double Bind (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)  Created in Tamao Kurabe’s image. She’s a robot, too? I’m the one who called her here. However, as of a few moments ago…   ……  I’m sorry, what? I see… You switched bodies.Huh!?      Say something!  Why did you come for him?  Now that we’ve gotten a good look at it… is that the Magical Gun? What…? Those monsters, the ones that destroyed the city… They have a new commander.  So, starting now… I’ll be the one giving you orders.      What the… What am I doing here? And what the heck happened? I’m not sure. That’s right…  And then… I feel like I saw Usami… Uhh… Man, I can’t really remember what happened here. …… Yeah, you’re right. Come on. We can’t let anyone see you.Use P. E. Bag on BJ    My cheek kinda stings…    So… that was a lot. Back to the board!  We’ve actually got the answers to “Two Tomi Kisaragis?”, “How did Miura get to 1985?”, and “Destroyed Bathroom” now, so let’s remove those from the board.   We’re also going to add a few new questions. I’m curious about the “Magical Gun.” Maybe it’s not magical at all! But it’s definitely got some connection to both Fluffy and this 426 character who was inhabiting the Tomi android and is now in the Tamao android. We’ve added “426?” and “Androids?” to the board as well. There’s some new stuff here that I’m not even sure how to frame as a question. What is the connection between BJ and Miura 426 was hinting about? And Natsuno is the commander of the kaiju? What? We've also added "Okino's Code?" because we didn't quite get to the bottom of that one last time.  Finally, we add a “426” character to the main section, because I sense they’ll become very important very quickly.  So, we’re free again. We’ve also unlocked Ei’s next scene now that we’ve seen “Exterminator.” What next? Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Ei Sekigahara Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) The poll is here. Also, if you want to watch a video of that last scene because it was really excellent, here you go. Arist fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Nov 22, 2022 |
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Apr 7, 2021 20:28
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Jen X posted:It is incredibly well done and I’d recommend actually finding a video if, y’know, that wasn’t likely to lead to spoilers. If you guys wanna see the bathroom scene in full I could go put up a video of it, it's really no problem. It's a great scene, just let me know.
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Apr 9, 2021 18:30
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Here's the video, I'll add it to the end of the update.
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Apr 10, 2021 18:18
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Another tie, this one three-way. So I decided to roll a die. First choice on 1 and 2, second on 3 and 4, and third on 5 and 6.  And we got 5! That means…    Chapter 25: Ei Sekigahara 3 Music: Forty Winks (Rikako Watanabe)   Positive.  But I haven’t seen them at all this afternoon. Do you think they left? I seriously hope so.Consider Operation Aegis (Chihiro Morimura’s objective. One with great implications. Especially for those from another world, like me. If Operation Aegis succeeds… we’ll never be able to leave this world. That must be it… That must be why I killed her.)Consider Iori Fuyusaka (She seems to have a particular fondness for me. It appears she confessed her feelings to me… and I have yet to give her an answer. What was I going to do…?)  Will that be a problem? Oh… I don’t know. Will it? …… But you shouldn’t worry, especially with that uniform. It may be from the future, but it’s still a Sakura High uniform. So you don’t have to feel like a stranger.  What’s Sakura High like in the future? …In the future? Well… There should be a new building up and running. …*Should* be? Yes, you’ll see it for yourself someday. Aw, no fair…   Well, there’s no teacher there, so it’s closed right now. …… Leave it to me! I’ll figure something out.   What’s up? Hey, Usami-chan! Well… He wanted to check out the school. So I’m just showing him around. …… O-Oh, cool… Yup! Anyway, we better get going. All right, see you later…   Wonder what that was about. Well, let’s just head inside, then.  *turns around* …!  Looks like Ei noticed Yuki.  And we run after her. Guess Ei’s curious about how she knew him, after all.  Unfortunately, we lose her. That had to be her… The girl who delivered the message from myself…    …Nothing. No, I’m fine. Must’ve been my imagination. Let’s head to the nurse’s office for real this time.  (from outside) *unlocks door* The door’s open.    And all I had to do was lie to the teacher. “Please! My classmate skinned her knee!” Hehe…Devious. You’re a regular criminal mastermind, Iori.  What’s wrong? Well, um… I-It’s just the two of us in here together… all alone… …… Ei Sekigahara: Master of tact. Let’s just examine the desk.    Oral NM…    These drawers are locked up tight. What are you looking for? ……   Nothing else really stands out here. *shakes head* …… Are you looking for something, Ei-kun? It must be really important! Let’s see… There has to be a spare key for that desk. And it’s probably somewhere in the teachers’ lounge. Okay, I’ll make up another excuse. Then I might be able to get my hands on it. Consider Oral NM (The label’s a bit different, but it lists the same medication: Oral NM: C0204.” Just like the bottle I picked up before…)   Ryoko Shinonome… Looks like she was given C0204… Use Oral NM on Chihiro Morimura’s Desk  She’s been administering this drug to these students. Ryoko Shinonome… There are more… Shu Amiguchi… and Juro Izumi.   Gah, gently caress. It’s Megumi Wick. What do you want? I got my own problems here, like whether or not that reference actually scanned.  Come back when— Music: Bleak Pressure (Kikuchi Yukinori)  Megumi looks awful shocked to be in a Mexican standoff despite the fact that she drew first. What’s going on here? Those men that are after me… Are you working with them? …What *I* wanted?  Don’t shoot! What are you thinking!?   What in the world just happened with Megumi? Not a thing…  And you’re wandering around by yourself? Where’s Iori? …… What’s your problem? *shocked gasp* I’m going to look for Megumi.  I know I’ve seen her somewhere… But where? drat it… Come on, think. That’s right. She’s…Music: Track Down (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)      Quite a bit of android information here. This all looks like research date… Ah, here we go. Shikishima Tech Lab #6… 6th level underground. So, this is a Shikishima facility. Current year is… 2104?   Is that what this place is being used for? What the hell… I keep getting these terrible headaches.  Music: Metal Demon (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)     Think fast, Ei!  Surely you can do something!  Uhh…  Welp, we’re hosed.        Go up there, and you’ll cough up blood until you’re dead. Well, clearly… I’m just a hopeless busybody. …… I inspected the Sentinel that was transmitted underground. How much do you understand about the current situation? I have no idea what happened. Then allow me to fill you in. I’ll start from the end.  Music: The Chills (Yoshimi Kudo)   Seems like whoever shifted you was in a hurry to do so. Otherwise… There’s no way a Sentinel would end up here.Use DD-426 on Strange Girl  It’s a program that’s been implemented into you. Well, into the nanomachines in your body, to be specific. Its main function is to sever a portion of the nanomachine. The part that’s cut is physically connected to the brain. And that region of the brain is where memories are stored. Your brain suffers damage each time a connection is severed. *anxious, pained gasp* You can lose your memories, or worse… become a husk.Is *that* how Ei lost his memories? Seems likely! Is that why I’ve been getting these headaches? I’ve had them ever since I got here… Consider DD-426 (This is all so sudden. I’m not entirely sure I can believe her… But I *do* keep getting these headaches. And I definitely don’t want to become an empty husk…)  Is this irreversible? Can I try deleting the code? …That’s not possible. Access to your nanomachines is restricted. Once a code or program is implemented… there’s no way to delete it. How long… How long do I have before I become a husk? Depends on the intensity of the infection. Or how much time you spend inside the infected Sentinel. The longer you’re in there, the worse it’ll be. Let’s assume the infection is moving slowly. To spread to your entire body, it’ll take about a month. That’s the best-case scenario. Worst-case would be within a few days. A few days…  …but there *is* a way to delay its effects. I found it by analyzing the underground mainframe’s data. It *is* a facility that researches future technologies, after all. I can create a code that’ll temporarily stall the effects. …You can? First, let’s make a deal. …What? I need a small favor from you.  Not anyone can use the shifter. Only those who possess nanomachines can use it. ……Use Android on Strange Girl  What’s a young girl like you doing in this place by yourself? He’s looking at her blatantly exposed robo-leg, for the record. …I see. The androids here are wrapped in a human-like skin. …Just like you. Yeah, it’s pretty easy to see the damage on this skin. Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. He said some AI stole an android and escaped… Tsukasa Okino, huh? You should ask him about DD-426. No one knows more about it than he does. Is that so? So, how does my offer sound to you? I don’t really have a choice. Then it’s settled.    Spooky.  We’ve removed “How did Ei lose his memory?” and replaced it with “DD-426?” Assuming that the escaped AI is 426, how might these two be connected? So, what now? Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Ei Sekigahara Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) The poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Nov 22, 2022 |
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Apr 15, 2021 17:57
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 You guys voted for Megumi next, but we first need to unlock more Mystery Files.  This is one we already unlocked, now updated to be slightly less of a waste!  I unlocked this one offscreen, I believe.   Didn’t even notice that Morimura had the Magical Gun in Juro’s killdream. Interesting.  But now, it’s time for the most important unlock of all…    Heh.  And that was enough to get us to 6.   Chapter 26: Megumi Yakushiji 3   I guess Fluffy isn’t here either. I should get dinner ready.     Use Spatula on Kitchen  Time to cook some Hamburg steak.     Did you make all of this? Amazing… We’ll eat once Juro gets back. Why don’t you go wash up while we wait? Miura runs out of the room to quickly wash up.    Sounds like you’re pretty hungry. It’s okay. I will wait. Go ahead and eat before it gets cold. No, I could never. Please, I insist. Go ahead. A-Are you sure? But what about you, Megumi-san? Don’t worry. I’ll eat with Juro.Does Juro know about that? I see… *stomach growling* Some time later…  It was as delicious as ever. Can I help you with anything? That’s okay. I’ve already put away the cutting board and everything. Why don’t you go watch some TV and relax? Oh, Miura buddy, you’re about to have your mind loving *blown*. That’s better. …… You don’t have to wear your hat in the house. The surgical scar on your forehead doesn’t bother me. Did I tell you…?Uh oh, think fast Megumi! …! W-Well… It, um… Just a lucky guess. I see…   Let’s consider Miura’s secret.   (It all happened right here…)Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)    You can’t overlook him just because he lives here. But Juro could be home any minute. Does it have to be now? Yes. Right now.   The video store explosion that occurred today in Keyaki-cho. …! An investigation found that the accident was the result of a gas leak. This is what happened before…     Hurry up and shoot him, right in the forehead! ……  You always wear your hat, even when you eat.\ Megumi-san? Why is that? I have a scar on my forehead. I thought it might be unpleasant… Oh, you don’t have to worry about that… *approaches* Miura retreats!   How do you know about that…?Use Magical Gun on Keitaro Miura  I’ll tell you. But can you show me your forehead first?Why, sure! I can see no reason why not! ……    This will hurt. But you’ll soon forget.    Oh no, more of the ol’ glowy forehead. I’ve seen this before. Music: A Clause With Claws (Rikako Watanabe)  There’s a component embedded in his forehead. It forces them to use their magic. Who would do such a thing?Probably Okino, considering what he said back in Natsuno’s story in 1945. Besides, he’s that kind of rear end in a top hat. Humans, obviously. There’s many that greatly covet this power.  This is a good catch. The curse? Yes. He is able to use magic… and not suffer the same fate as Juro. …! It won’t be long before he wakes. I’d get out of here if I were you.  Back in the present…   …on the gas explosion in Keyaki-cho. …!? The administration claims these explosions are being taken seriously. Gas companies have been put on immediate notice and instructed to be vigilant in their inspections. Something doesn’t feel right…   …!  Dinner’s on the table for you. It’s fine. I’m not hungry actually. Come on, I’m sure you’ll change your mind once you start. Why do you care about me so much anyways? Oh, is that… bad? Just quit treating me like a child.   …I’m sorry. But there’s somewhere I need to go. I won’t be long.   In between screenshots, Fluffy climbs onto the TV.  You’re going too drat slow. (annoyed) All right, sorry.  Striking stupid poses with your gun doesn’t accomplish anything. When it comes to things like this… You need to do the deed quick. Quickly! You got that? …… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. (annoyed) Got it.What is it with smug, annoying black cats and my LPs?  But you better not screw up this time. This time? He’s also a witch. You should still have some bullets left.  …… I’ll get it done.Music: BUDDIES (Azusa Chiba)  To see everything in this scene, I had to stitch together a number of different takes. Don’t worry about it.   …… Fine. You were waiting for me on purpose, weren’t you? …… I keep telling you. If they find out… (simultaneously) We’ll get expelled/We’ll be expelled. …! Yeah, I know. Right…   Morning. Did you leave your motorcycle nearby again? Sure did. But won’t it be bad if the school finds out? Nah, it just looks like a motorcycle. But it’s a regular bike. Really?Juro, you dumbass. It’s obviously a joke. *laughs* I didn’t bring it into school, so no big deal. You can still get in trouble. Whatever. Our school doesn’t care. I was wondering. Can I come over today? Sure, why not. Great.Megumi, there’s a lull in the conversation! Approach! Now’s your chance!    Juro seems real annoyed. As he probably should be. …… I’m not here to talk to you, Kurabe-kun. It’s you I’d like to see, Amiguchi-kun. Me? I am. My name is Megumi Yakushiji. Cool. So, what can I do for you? Well, I don’t really want to talk about it here…  Juro’s really annoyed now!  How about after school? Let’s say… the roof of the new building? The roof?     N-No. Bye! And then Juro… runs away like a complete idiot.      I won’t fail this time.      Ugh. Terrible. Man, pop quizzes just aren’t fair. Hey, you know Amiguchi? He’s a first year, like us. The girls fawn over him, he’s great at sports… And his grades are higher than those nerds that study all the time. Wow, he’s really got it all… Totally unfair, man.  Apparently, they used to be a lot worse. I heard that too! My senpai told me. Ogata-kun from 1-D really reformed them. But isn’t he a delinquent too? Yeah, but he’s different from the others. Plus, Amiguchi-kun hangs out with him… Oh, he is sooo dreamy!Consider New Building Rooftop  (Shu Amiguchi… I wonder if he’s already on the roof.)Music: LONER (Azusa Chiba)   All I have to do is shoot him. I thought you were told to stop posing. Okay. Here we go. Just got poo poo on my mind. What about you? You look like hell. Somethin’ weighin’ you down? Yeah… You could say that. Oh, I totally forgot. Welp, let’s get right to it then! Use Magical Gun on Shu Amiguchi    Suddenly, Nenji lunges for the gun!  You’re one dangerous girl… I need to wait for the right moment. It was all just Megumi’s imagination. Let’s not do that after all.   What’s happening…? Oh, this is Yakushiji-san. From 1-C. Told me she had something to talk to me about. This poo poo again…? Sheesh… Sometimes you’re real annoying to be friends with. …… Oh, just stuff from middle school. Girls used to confess their love to me in front of him all the time.  I’m sorry, really… But I’ve got feelings for someone else. …That’s not what I came here to tell you. Oh, sorry. Awkward. So, what *do* you need?loving lmao, what a dick. I’m gonna enjoy this. Use Magical Gun on Shu Amiguchi Music: Lonely Struggle (Rikako Watanabe)  This might hurt a little, anyway.         Shu disappears into the Sentinel, which starts to… take off into the sky!?   Well, poo poo.  Juro…  You…  And then a giant robot appeared… You saw everything? But why did you…? Where did it fly off to? Run, Megumi! Looks like we gotta skip town!   Fluffy… drat it. How irritating… Juro, he… He saw me do it. I’ll take care of it. I need to manipulate his memories… And make him forget everything he saw. You think I can do that with you hanging around?Really wouldn’t know, cat! Take a hint and scram!   Juro Kurabe Iori Fuyusaka Megumi Yakushiji Natsuno Minami Yuki Takamiya Shu Amiguchi Keitaro Miura Tomi Kisaragi Ei Sekigahara Destruction There's also: Takatoshi Hijiyama (Locked behind Ogata) Well, that was a lot. What do we do now? As always, the poll is here. Arist fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Nov 23, 2022 |
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Apr 24, 2021 19:13
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