Just a quick update today, I'm tired, keeping my eyes open is a chore and my vision is a bit blurry. That aside, let's get today;s update rolling.
Even though it's Saturday, we still have classes.
Apparently many schools in Japan teach lessons 6 days a week; Varies from school to school apparently.
You saw what was on last night, right?
I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it.
Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something,
ITT we learn that both Yosuke and our hero have a perception score well below 5... Where does Chie fall?
If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this.
Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims...
If someone's using that world s a weapon, that's unforgivable.
We need to find the culprit... no matter what it takes!
Yeah... I agree.
You know, I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked.
I think I can do that now because I have the same power...
Persona, wasn't it?
Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case.
Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first...
Yosuke, did it by any chance occur to you that the culprit has the exact same abilities as US?
In other words, someone in the exact same situation as our hero.
I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case.
...Well, let's do our best!
> Even with so much mystery swirling around, Yosuke is trying his hardest to move on...
> You sense a faint stirring of friendship between you and Yosuke...
We have just established the Magician Social Link with Yosuke.
Social Links deserve a bit of an explanation, but they're quite simple all in all.
Persona 4 has 21 i think, these are divvied up into 3 categories.
The first category are the other characters that will aid you in the dungeons. Yosuke is an example of one of these. Leveling these up tend to confer additional benefits, in the case of a party member like Yosuke, it will make him more useful in combat.
The first rank of the Magician Social Link allows Yosuke to take a one mortal attack for me.
The second category is of course the opposite, characters who don't directly help you in the dungeons. Leveling these links don't provide any special benefits, but spending time with their associated characters can have their own perks. The first of these we will probably establish will be the Strength Arcana.
The third category I can only describe as "plot milestones". This is pretty much restricted to the Fool Arcana, which we will establish quite soon under the guise of "our investigation". It will track our progress to catching the culprit.
All of these grant on average half a level with fusing a Persona of their respective Arcana. For example if I was to max out the Magician Social Link (rank 10) and fuse a Persona like Jack Frost (Magician Arcana I think...), he'd gain 5 levels after the fusion.
They probably affect a few other things (ie, which Personas are up for grabs), but I don't have conclusive evidence to this point.
To level up your social links, you spend time with the respective character or help them (eg, Magician), advance the plot (eg, Fool) and some require even the occasional odd task.
> As you form a bond with Yosuke, you feel the power in your heart strengthening...
> ...You recall Igor's words.
"The persona ability is the power to control one's own heart... And the heart is strengthened through bonds.
"As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop."
"The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."
> Social Links... Is this bond with Yosuke what Igor was talking about...?
> You have established the Yosuke Hanamura Social Link of the Magician Arcana!
Um... About yesterday... We're sorry we worried you...
Oh--never mind that. Is Yukiko still not here?
Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh... no...? At least, I haven't seen her today.
Oh man... What should I do...? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real?
You know... All that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world.
Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later--
Abrupt musical change!!!
This track is so overused, it actually starts to get predictable and funny towards the end. Never fails to install a sense of worry though.
In any case, we are about to learn on which side of 4 Chie's PE score falls...
The person on TV yesterday... I think it was Yukiko.
That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview a few days ago too.
I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded...
I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today...
I-I...
Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?
No...
> You summed up the information you gained in that other world for Chie.
What's that supposed to mean...? Wait, are you saying... Yukiko was thrown in there!?
We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first.
Give her another call.
> Chie pulls out her cellphone...
> ......
No good... Her voicemail picked up...
She's not answering...
Are you serious...? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place...?
Jus--S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something...
Oh, or she might be helping at the inn... She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it...
Yeah, but would she skip school for that?
W-Well, I'll give the inn a call... Umm... I've got the number here somewhere...
C'mon, Yukiko... Pick up...
If you clicked the link above, you may resume listening to whatever you were listening to before
Oh, is this Yukiko!?
...Thank god, she's here!
Uh-huh... Uh-huh, i see...
Hm? Oh. Nah, it was nothing. I'll email you again later...
*sigh* She was over at the inn.
She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out.
Yeah... Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year.
She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too.
Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing!
She was totally fine!
Having once again failed our perception checks, we will disregard the fact that you brought up the fact that Yukiko was the one on the Midnight Channel and that you haven't heard from her since Yesterday... I'm starting to think Chie's a bit of a tsundere...
And you were all, "Is Yukiko-san inside that place...?" Hmph...
S-Sorry...
But there is a reason we thought that.
Oh yeah...? What?
Well... we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world.
I mean it make sense, right? People show up on TV because they're inside the TV...
But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about.
Alright, let's meet up at Junes after school.
Give Brosuke some credit, he's pretty good at assembling what we've learned so far and drawing quite reasonable conclusions therefrom.
O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades.
If I hadn't seen the place first hand... I'd never have believed story like that,
Yeah, no kidding.
Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside--
Wh--How? By talking to that Teddie guy?
Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around... I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today...
I got it! C'mere a sec.
Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway.
Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me.
A wall?
> Something bit you!
Wh-What's wrong!?
Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!
He'll be right, mate.
Wow, that looks like it hurts... Sheesh, that stupid bear must've done it.
Hey, you! We know you're in there!
No, it's not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?
Who's "anyone"? I'm a lonely little bear like always.
This land feels so bear-ren...
Disclaimer: Teddie really said that line. All my atrocious bear puns are in update #3.
I'm kind of sad they didn't translate his lisp of ending most of his sentences with "kuma".
Shut it!
So there's no one inside...? You're sure?
I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!
I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway.
Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still...
Yeah... You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?
Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house.
Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel.
Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding...
What's your cell number? I'll call you when I watch it tonight.
And we've still got nothing that points directly to a suspect...
We don't even know if this is a homicide.
Well, what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!
...I know.
We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it...
If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp.
But if that's true... what the hell is going on?
You know, I thought at first that this all spun out of that love triangle.
No, That singer--Misuzu Hiiragi--has a solid alibi. She was performing overseas, and her phone records prove it.
And remember, the only reason the scandal went public was because Misuzu herself broke it to the media.
No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind.
I'd imagine phone records wouldn't be terribly difficult to fake... I'm a little concerned they didn't look further into Misuzu, but I digress, she's innocent.
Got a point there...
Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders.
He's been working in the city for the past six months.
Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident.
There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night that Mayumi Yamano died.
And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making content with Namatame before or after her disappearance...
You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary.
He's practically as much of a victim as the Yamano girl.
Yeah, I agree...
Then we have the second case, regarding Saki Konishi...
She's the one who discovered Yamano's corpse... But I don't buy the killer shutting her up as a possible motive.
She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found.
The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up.
But that hardly points to a motive. Coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours.
Yeah... I heard about that angle on the news, too.
What!? Is the story about the inn out already?
Okay, I got it! How's this?
Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew!
And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!
......
Either way, all we can do now is to keep investigating anyone involved with the victims...
Our perp... It has to be someone in Inaba.
Ooh, is that your detective's intuition at work?
> Ryotaru glares at Adachi...
Tadaima!
Nanako is watching a quiz show tonight, which leaves us with nothing to do tonight except save our game and head to bed...
I don't have a suitable portrait... so enjoy!
We're not going to have another one of these animated segments for a long time, if i recall correctly, the next one is scheduled for sometime in July
> That was definitely Yukiko on the Midnight Channel just now...
That was Yukiko-san for sure! it looked like her, and i mean, she even said her name!
But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird!?
And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show... Was it like this before, too?
At present, nether of us have Yukiko's number, naturally that duty should fall to Chie...
Y-You're right! Let's get her to contact Yukiko-san!
Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!
That's all for today, I'll do another one tomorrow after I've rested up, I don't imagine the next game day would be particularly big...
Obligatory Closing DISCUSS! questions
Is there only one culprit as Ryotaru suggested?
Who kidnapped Yukiko, was it someone she trusted?
Why does the Midnight Channel display what it displays when there's no one within?
What's wrong Codex? Why do you want a harem ending? Is it because you're Crispy As Fuck(R) and hoping to pick up some dating tips? DISCUSS!
Even though it's Saturday, we still have classes.
Apparently many schools in Japan teach lessons 6 days a week; Varies from school to school apparently.
You saw what was on last night, right?
I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it.
Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something,
ITT we learn that both Yosuke and our hero have a perception score well below 5... Where does Chie fall?
If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this.
Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims...
If someone's using that world s a weapon, that's unforgivable.
We need to find the culprit... no matter what it takes!
Yeah... I agree.
You know, I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked.
I think I can do that now because I have the same power...
Persona, wasn't it?
Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case.
Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first...
Yosuke, did it by any chance occur to you that the culprit has the exact same abilities as US?
In other words, someone in the exact same situation as our hero.
I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case.
...Well, let's do our best!
> Even with so much mystery swirling around, Yosuke is trying his hardest to move on...
> You sense a faint stirring of friendship between you and Yosuke...
We have just established the Magician Social Link with Yosuke.
Social Links deserve a bit of an explanation, but they're quite simple all in all.
Persona 4 has 21 i think, these are divvied up into 3 categories.
The first category are the other characters that will aid you in the dungeons. Yosuke is an example of one of these. Leveling these up tend to confer additional benefits, in the case of a party member like Yosuke, it will make him more useful in combat.
The first rank of the Magician Social Link allows Yosuke to take a one mortal attack for me.
The second category is of course the opposite, characters who don't directly help you in the dungeons. Leveling these links don't provide any special benefits, but spending time with their associated characters can have their own perks. The first of these we will probably establish will be the Strength Arcana.
The third category I can only describe as "plot milestones". This is pretty much restricted to the Fool Arcana, which we will establish quite soon under the guise of "our investigation". It will track our progress to catching the culprit.
All of these grant on average half a level with fusing a Persona of their respective Arcana. For example if I was to max out the Magician Social Link (rank 10) and fuse a Persona like Jack Frost (Magician Arcana I think...), he'd gain 5 levels after the fusion.
They probably affect a few other things (ie, which Personas are up for grabs), but I don't have conclusive evidence to this point.
To level up your social links, you spend time with the respective character or help them (eg, Magician), advance the plot (eg, Fool) and some require even the occasional odd task.
> As you form a bond with Yosuke, you feel the power in your heart strengthening...
> ...You recall Igor's words.
"The persona ability is the power to control one's own heart... And the heart is strengthened through bonds.
"As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop."
"The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."
> Social Links... Is this bond with Yosuke what Igor was talking about...?
> You have established the Yosuke Hanamura Social Link of the Magician Arcana!
Um... About yesterday... We're sorry we worried you...
Oh--never mind that. Is Yukiko still not here?
Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh... no...? At least, I haven't seen her today.
Oh man... What should I do...? Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real?
You know... All that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world.
Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking of checking it out later--
Abrupt musical change!!!
This track is so overused, it actually starts to get predictable and funny towards the end. Never fails to install a sense of worry though.
In any case, we are about to learn on which side of 4 Chie's PE score falls...
The person on TV yesterday... I think it was Yukiko.
That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview a few days ago too.
I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded...
I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today...
I-I...
Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?
No...
> You summed up the information you gained in that other world for Chie.
What's that supposed to mean...? Wait, are you saying... Yukiko was thrown in there!?
We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first.
Give her another call.
> Chie pulls out her cellphone...
> ......
No good... Her voicemail picked up...
She's not answering...
Are you serious...? Then is Yukiko-san inside that place...?
Jus--S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something...
Oh, or she might be helping at the inn... She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it...
Yeah, but would she skip school for that?
W-Well, I'll give the inn a call... Umm... I've got the number here somewhere...
C'mon, Yukiko... Pick up...
If you clicked the link above, you may resume listening to whatever you were listening to before
Oh, is this Yukiko!?
...Thank god, she's here!
Uh-huh... Uh-huh, i see...
Hm? Oh. Nah, it was nothing. I'll email you again later...
*sigh* She was over at the inn.
She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out.
Yeah... Now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year.
She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too.
Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing!
She was totally fine!
Having once again failed our perception checks, we will disregard the fact that you brought up the fact that Yukiko was the one on the Midnight Channel and that you haven't heard from her since Yesterday... I'm starting to think Chie's a bit of a tsundere...
And you were all, "Is Yukiko-san inside that place...?" Hmph...
S-Sorry...
But there is a reason we thought that.
Oh yeah...? What?
Well... we thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world.
I mean it make sense, right? People show up on TV because they're inside the TV...
But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might want to see what this is about.
Alright, let's meet up at Junes after school.
Give Brosuke some credit, he's pretty good at assembling what we've learned so far and drawing quite reasonable conclusions therefrom.
O-Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades.
If I hadn't seen the place first hand... I'd never have believed story like that,
Yeah, no kidding.
Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside--
Wh--How? By talking to that Teddie guy?
Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around... I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today...
I got it! C'mere a sec.
Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway.
Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me.
A wall?
> Something bit you!
Wh-What's wrong!?
Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!
He'll be right, mate.
Wow, that looks like it hurts... Sheesh, that stupid bear must've done it.
Hey, you! We know you're in there!
No, it's not a game! Can you sense anyone inside there right now?
Who's "anyone"? I'm a lonely little bear like always.
This land feels so bear-ren...
Disclaimer: Teddie really said that line. All my atrocious bear puns are in update #3.
I'm kind of sad they didn't translate his lisp of ending most of his sentences with "kuma".
Shut it!
So there's no one inside...? You're sure?
I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!
I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway.
Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still...
Yeah... You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?
Sure, I'll go pick her up at her house.
Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel.
Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding...
What's your cell number? I'll call you when I watch it tonight.
And we've still got nothing that points directly to a suspect...
We don't even know if this is a homicide.
Well, what else could it be? There's no way a body could end up like that by accident!
...I know.
We haven't found the cause of death for the first vic, and now we've got a second one just like it...
If this is a murder case, there's no doubt we're dealing with a single perp.
But if that's true... what the hell is going on?
You know, I thought at first that this all spun out of that love triangle.
No, That singer--Misuzu Hiiragi--has a solid alibi. She was performing overseas, and her phone records prove it.
And remember, the only reason the scandal went public was because Misuzu herself broke it to the media.
No one would put themselves under suspicion that way if they had murder on their mind.
I'd imagine phone records wouldn't be terribly difficult to fake... I'm a little concerned they didn't look further into Misuzu, but I digress, she's innocent.
Got a point there...
Same with Taro Namatame, her husband. No matter how much we shake him down, nothing links him to the murders.
He's been working in the city for the past six months.
Seems he was here recently because of the scandal, but he was swamped with work back home at the time of the incident.
There are eyewitnesses and other evidence placing him at his office the night that Mayumi Yamano died.
And we can't find anything that shows Yamano making content with Namatame before or after her disappearance...
You hear Namatame's career has also been killed stone dead? He's been fired from his position as secretary.
He's practically as much of a victim as the Yamano girl.
Yeah, I agree...
Then we have the second case, regarding Saki Konishi...
She's the one who discovered Yamano's corpse... But I don't buy the killer shutting her up as a possible motive.
She was killed well after she reported the body, and the culprit didn't hide her. It's like they were meant to be found.
The only other connection is that she attended the same school as the daughter of the inn where Yamano was holed up.
But that hardly points to a motive. Coincidences like that are common in a town as small as ours.
Yeah... I heard about that angle on the news, too.
What!? Is the story about the inn out already?
Okay, I got it! How's this?
Maybe there was something about the corpse that only Saki Konishi knew!
And our perp killed her to keep whatever it was from leaking out!
......
Either way, all we can do now is to keep investigating anyone involved with the victims...
Our perp... It has to be someone in Inaba.
Ooh, is that your detective's intuition at work?
> Ryotaru glares at Adachi...
Tadaima!
Nanako is watching a quiz show tonight, which leaves us with nothing to do tonight except save our game and head to bed...
I don't have a suitable portrait... so enjoy!
We're not going to have another one of these animated segments for a long time, if i recall correctly, the next one is scheduled for sometime in July
> That was definitely Yukiko on the Midnight Channel just now...
That was Yukiko-san for sure! it looked like her, and i mean, she even said her name!
But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird!?
And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show... Was it like this before, too?
At present, nether of us have Yukiko's number, naturally that duty should fall to Chie...
Y-You're right! Let's get her to contact Yukiko-san!
Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!
That's all for today, I'll do another one tomorrow after I've rested up, I don't imagine the next game day would be particularly big...
Obligatory Closing DISCUSS! questions
Is there only one culprit as Ryotaru suggested?
Who kidnapped Yukiko, was it someone she trusted?
Why does the Midnight Channel display what it displays when there's no one within?
What's wrong Codex? Why do you want a harem ending? Is it because you're Crispy As Fuck(R) and hoping to pick up some dating tips? DISCUSS!
Not really much to discuss there.
