TAROTOBER PART 10- THE MOON AND THE SUN

WARNING!

THIS POST CONTAINS DISCUSSIONS OF TOPICS THAT ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER AUDIENCES. DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

 The Moon

 

The Moon is the final Card Ruled by A Zodiac sign-Pisces and is the 19th card in line, Designated 18 of 22.

Frightened of all he had seen, the fool turned Hermit on the night of his last day on Earth, Stumbles in the Dark after losing his way, Ending up on a Beach, A Crayfish, denoting the power of Pisces, crawls onto land, But to the Hermit, it looks like a Monster, Stumbling home, there is a dog standing at the Struck Tower and a Wolf standing at a modern Building. But it is a Trap: Seeking Comfort when you can't discern Friend from Foe, is bad idea, even the Rocky terrain is filled with Hidden dangers, However the Illusion is soon illuminated by the Guiding light of the Mysterious Moon!

The Moon is a Warning: Beware for all it not what it seems, Deceptive forces like the Dog and Wolf as well as perceived threats may be seen due to Paranoia. Use Your Intuition to avoid these Traps. When Reversed the card means paranoia, unseen Dangers, Dishonesty, Scams, Clandestine love, or Sudden Illness. But for the last 3 only if the reading is Specified.

For a Single Person, it is a Stranger or someone Born under Pisces.

HOOOOBOY!

We are in the Dregs on the Persona Side of the Cards. We have Nozumi Suemitsu, Persona 3's Gourmet King. Ai Ebihara, Persona 4's Hands off Sports Manager, Yuki Mishima, Persona 5's Phanboy and Vega, the Bloody Terror of Street Fighter!

Nozumi Suemitsu

 

One day after having Dinner with Kenji, At the Fountain of the Paulownia Hall. You see an Obese Boy in your School's Uniform. You go to introduce yourself, But the fat pompous Bastard doesn't want any of your time. That is until a Man threatens him and he hides behind you as a patsy.

And so starts the Social Link voted by the Fandom to be the Worst in the Whole Franchise.

You see, it wasn't enough to Save his ass from a beating, prior you had to do a quiz on local restaurants, then you had to Feed The Fat Fuck For Free with the Worst Healing Item in the game.

Nozumi, quite frankly, is the single worst person you have ever met in your life! Obnoxious, Petty, Egotistical, Suffers From IBS, but loudly exclaims his Potty Emergencies and to make it worse... He belongs to a cult that Worships Nyx and the Fall of Man, the very same Boss you are fighting against. But before the end of Humanity, he wants to uncover all the Epicurean Secrets the District has to offer. 

But to keep with all the food going into his maw, and Actually do right in the eyes of his Abusive Parents, Scams Children for his Cult's Cause.

Nozumi doesn't feel loved by his Family, who are Grieving the death of his Brother, So he Truly wants the Paradise promised by Nyx, and even though Nyx plans on reincarnating all life as Shadows with no Will, at least they will all look the same! As Nozumi waddles away, the Father of the boy Nozumi scammed has hired a Thug to beat up Nozumi to get his money back....which just so happened to be Backlogged from weeks of Scams that rack up to a grand! You Confront Nozumi about "Scamming" the two "New Members" so he breaks off the friendship with Minato. So Despite Nozumi about to reap what he has sown, you save him from a beating, a Beating that was long deserved. Annoyed, the father just settles for the Fat Turd not to be seen near his son again.

So now it's time for the Cop out. Nozumi is this way because he's being blamed for this Brother's death.

He died of Food Poisoning taking Nozumi out to dinner. Nozumi tries to fill the void by doing all the things his brother could, but felt like the world was laughing at him, the only thing he felt like he was good at eating, and so, using his Cult's notoriety to strongarm Comped Means without trouble to built this identity of "The Gourmet King". So maybe he should stop praying for the World to end, and actually live in it, Studying Culinary Arts for real after Graduating-No Doubt Using All the Money his Family's Cult does not plan to give back!

Nozumi is A lot of things, Most of them Negative, has one thing going for him: he's a point Winning Moon Representative. Namely the Deception Aspect-For all intensive purposes, Nozumi Suemitsu is your Enemy. But (and he doesn't really deserve it), he has Your Sympathy. Ironically his own actions led to a Reversed Aspect, Namely people hired to take Retribution out on him.

He is so unlikable, You have to Befriend the OTHER Friendless Cretin to get a look in! And the Worst Part, He never Apologizes for his Behaviour. Oh Sure, he plans to study for a legitimate career, But how, by using the Money he Scammed?

Begrudgingly this is an Essay series scoring characters on their Context to the Tarot, not to their personalities. Otherwise I would go hard on this like one of Cyrus The Great's  Miraculous Ladybug Videos on this fat Asshole! So Nozumi gets a Point.

Ai Ebihara

 

No Matter what Team Route you pick. Halfway through the Story, The school team Appoints A Young Woman About Yu's Age to be the manager. But not for the Love of the Game, she Could Care less, no it's because the team is underfunded, plus The guidance Counselor demanded the Antisocial teen DO SOMETHING! besides darken his door.

 

One day between classes,  You Approach her in the hall. Out of Nowhere She Ask you To Skip Classes. For Some reason you accept and Soon you are in the town over, Okino Being a Bag-Boy for this Snobby Girl. A Few More Trips to Okino Happen, Albeit after School.

Soon Rumours Spread on "How" Ai got the Manager's job in the first place, and soon Accusations of being "Loose" for lack of a politer term. For whatever Team you chose, Kou/Daisuke tells the others to knock it off!

Ai gets wind of this and Asks what kind of Girls does Kou/Daisuke like? Yu goes to ask if he has a crush and both Daisuke and Kou, answers "Chie"!

Behind your Back, you have a feeling you are being watched, AI has heard everything and ....

Not wasting anytime, Yu talks down Ai from Killing herself, When she lets herself over the Fence to Safety, she tells you how hard it has being to make herself this Attractive and Fashionable, you see the Ebihara family were not always Wealthy, they are Nouveau Riche, that money she used to transform from Unloved Fat Girl to unlikable thin girl. She's happy that You can be her friend, But Deep Down, AI has Started to fall in love with him 

 

This Secret is Revealed when Ai's Ex boyfriend insults her and You to her face, when Ai refuses to get back together with him. He goes to punch you, but Ai steps in and takes the blow. She Confesses her feelings and that's when you can reciprocate, or let her down gently, either way she either makes herself worthy of her love, or makes herself Humble for the next one. And So gives Yu a Compact Mirror. No more will she use it to check if she is Beautiful, because it will be reflected in the actions of the man she loves,....whoever he may be!

Ai is the Deception Aspect. Her family's wealth is Built on it! Namely Land Speculation- selling cheap derelict land to companies to build commercial buildings and the like- it itself a shady business  And With that Money, Ai would mould her Body into a Superficial Smokescreen of what Boys may like. But the outward appearance didn't mesh with her Inner Feelings of Inadequacy. Most of her Shopping trips end with her being snippy with those trying to be friendly with her. She gets Better,  whether Directly or Indirectly is player's preference. 

Ai, when you read between the lines, is a character who gets a point.

Yuki Mishima

Life Sucks!

From the Moment you are Born, to the day you die, You are Shackled to the whims of Those Who think themselves more Powerful than You. Those who make the Rules, Rule those who are Made Content with  their lot, Those Weakened By Society Telling them not to Better Themselves due to the lack of Effort they have!

 

Yuki Mishima, Was one Such Schmuck!

From the moment Ren Amamiya, Became "The Joker" and Gained the Power of Persona, Mishima was Asked by the new Student about helping him Implicate the Gym Teacher Mr Kamoshida in the rape of Fellow Volleyball team member, Shiho Sazuii. When Ren, Ryuji and Mishima confront the Teacher, he announces that every student in the sound of his voice will be Suspended in the 2 weeks he needs to file the paperwork. 

Taking their time to investigate Kamoshida's Cognition, Morgana after they got enough Evidence, Told them, that they Should do the Opposite of being Covert-Announce their Intent in a Calling Card, Making the Shadow of the Target so Paranoid about the safety of his "Treasure" that he will get riled up and fight the Heroes himself.

When Kamoshida's heart was changed, After seeing the teacher read the Calling card on the Bulletin board, Mishima's life in a long time had Something to inspire to, he had Something that could be Supported, maybe even...An Obsession!

And that's when Mishima Figures out that The New Student Ren Amamiya and Joker, are one and the Same, I mean it's not hard to figure out, When you think about it!

So Mishima want to help, So he had Launched the Phantom Thieves Aficionado Site-or Phansite for Short! A forum for those sharing Stories Or writing requests into Changing Hearts- aka Sub Boss for Grinding up levels. In Mementos.

However, it's clear when you hang out with Mishima that he is Trying hard to live Vicariously through the Phantom Thieves. Using the Phansite to meet girls, having a Social life, and even buying a model Gun for "Protection". But his desperate Behaviour needs to be checked when he tried to Change the Heart of an Actor to Dump an Idol and make her love Mishima, and using the Phantom Thieves to give the Souls of some Bullies What-For!

Confirming  with the Other Thieves, You All Agree that Mishima is Running Wild and needs to be Stopped. In Mementos you find Mishima's Shadow and he Cries he needs to be the Phantom Thieves, that he wants to be famous and Noticed. So Joker Does the only thing he could do.

Nothing!

Ironically Joker Deals With Someone Who feels Ignored, By Ignoring Him.

It was the right thing to do as Mishima Figures Out by Himself That The Requests should not be for his own Gain, But for the Good of Everyone,

On A night Out Mishima Gets a Phonecall From his Bully, He goes to where he is and it becomes Clear. He's being beaten and Mugged and Couldn't get anyone else to come. So Mishima Bluffs about recording this assault and he'll send it to the police of they Don't leave.  The Next Day Without Telling The other Bullies Why, Akiyami Tells them to Knock it Off with The insults to Mishima. Mishima Ends His Social Link By Knowing What He'll do With his Life, He's Going to Film a Documentary on the Exploits of the Phantom Thieves, Using all the Archived Footage from the Phansite.

Mishima Starts Out as Someone who feels Useless, But in the end It's Mishima That starts the Rally of Support that leads to Joker's Cinematic Final Turn That Ends Yaldabaoth's Conquest Of The Earth.

Like Ai a game Before, Mishima falls Into  his Own Deception and Illusions. Wanting to prove he is as Cool as his heroes. In Fact his Social Link goes through a Microcosm of the Phantom thieves' Journey; A Boom of Interest, Stagnation, Public Hatred Coupled with Hubris, and Redemption. A redemption that saved the World for that Matter!

Vega

 

 

Narcissism. Vampirism. Cacophobia.

These 3 Traits would Make-up the Psychotic Personality of one of Street Fighter's Twisted Villains.

Born into Spanish Nobility, Vega's Formative Years took a turn when his father died. And for Financial Security, Vega's Mother would re-marry an Ugly and Abhorrent Count. Going into the World Vega would Become a Bullfighter, A tradition That the Nobility held in regard, But despite his Great skill, He Grew Bored, He Didn't get A thrill from Killing Animals, that were going to die Anyway. He wanted to Revel in Pinning Down Foes That Begged for their Worthless Lifes and Given the Satisfaction of Denying that as he Plunged the Dagger into their still beating Hearts!

One Night, Vega Would wake to What he Thought was A robbery. Hearing his mother's screams, What he saw was His Step-father, Naked over the Body of his mother, Murdered for Denying him Sex and Killed over his own Ego. Enraged, Vega Armed with his Claw to protect himself, Lunged at his Foul-Looking Stepfather. Seeing him Beg for his life, tears Staining his already Ugly Face, Vega Felt that Rush that he had being looking for! As he plunged the claw into his father, blood splattered into his mouth and he swallowed.

He ENJOYED IT'S TASTE!

 

Saying farewell to his mother, by giving her the Dignity of a Burial, Vega would inherit both Their Fortunes! And would Use it For nefarious Purposes! Flying to Japan to Join the Geki Ninja Clan, Killing it's Master, and taking his place in the first Street fighter Tournament. (Yes it was retconned into Street fighter 5. There are Story modes that replicate the past games and in the Street fighter 1 Mode if you win as Vega, It Shows him fighting and Presumably killing Geki I, And taking his place as Geki II, As the Ninja who faced Ryu Way back When!)

After A few years of Murder, Mayhem, Cage Fights and other things involving Vulnerable Women I should not go into After the first Tournament, He was Hired by Bison to be part of his Shadaloo Syndicate. Being the 3rd King of the Organisation, In charge of Assassinations and the "Welfare" of the "Dolls", The Kidnapped Girls that Bison Brainwashed to be his Assassins, and Underlings, So imagine Vega's Glee. An Army of Beautiful Women, With Free Will Removed and their Memories Wiped Daily. What A Delicious Forbidden Fruit!

But Vega was Tasked with Retrieving A Special Doll that had Went A.W.O.L. A Doll Cloned from his own  Boss' DNA, Despite Cammy's face Being Scarred, Vega's Warped Values on Beauty, Made him Turn against Bison for the first time, Without the Other Kings at his side, Bison was Easily Prey for Ryu to Defeat. In the burning Shadaloo base, Vega Rescued Cammy's Body from the Psycho Drive. Despite pondering what it would be like to lust over his boss in female Form, He instead left her Safe from the Flames. When Cammy woke she regained full autonomy of her Mind, not knowing her saviour was now her Enemy.

When M. Bison Returned, The Dictator Announced a second Tournament. When Chun Li, Now a Fully Fledged Interpol Agent, who seeks revenge on Bison, For the Murder of her Father, Bison who saw Vega lose To Ryu already, told him to redeem himself by killing the Chinese Agent. But as we saw when he covered Chun Li in part 6, That despite planning to kill her in her sleep, She Defeated her would be murderer, by Kicking him out of a Multistorey Hotel Room, and for years Thought he was Dead.

Vega would carry the Grudge for years, in fact killing Chun was the thing they kept him going working for a leaderless Shadowloo, So when S.I.N splintered in favour of Seth, Vega stayed, but only for his own Gain-The technology to stay young Forever. So when Seth was Defeated. Vega made his move to steal data, when he saw Chun Li doing the same, his revenge Superseded his Vanity. Trapping her in an office that slowly filled with poisonous gas.

Looking out his plane Window to see Chun Li rescued by the Special Forces. It was foolish of him to think she would die so easily. No, the next time they meet one of them will die!

Prophetic!

Years later and Shadaloo have Implemented the most daring plan ever-Kidnapping various Programmers and leaving Activation keys, Disguised as Chess Pieces in the care of the world warriors and leading them out in one place to steal them back in a faked Bank Robbery, which our heroes fell for. Activating Bison's final plan, the Dark Moon Space Weapon. However this Was not the Shadaloo of old, Bison's Body was Aging, And in fighting between Balrog, Vega and Sagat's replacement F.A.N.G, complicated matters.

This was the end of Shadaloo, with a Twin pronged Attack of Ryu. Destroying Bison and Charlie sacrificing himself again to detonate a bomb to destroy the Dark Moon as of Street Fighter 6, Vega is Presumed Dead again, but it's Funny isn't? That  both A claw using fighter and The Poison Handed F.A.N.G. are both presumed Dead

 

...and along comes spoilers of a New Villain that's a mix of both!

Vega is A Deceptive man who uses his Attractive Visage and Affluence to trap his victims to appease his Bloodlust. Vega is a Wily Foe who takes advantage of walls and Shadows to trap his opponents. He is also the Dishonesty Aspect, to the point that not even his Allies Trust him. Even When he's done the right thing like saving Cammy, it's so out of character, that noone believes him.

Vega gets a Point

Nozumi -1

Ai-1

Mishima-1

Vega -1

ROUND 2-PERKS

For the sake of Brevity, All Key items in Persona's Moon Social Links is Sandalphon

Nozumi Is  Such a Burdensome Asshole, Even Befriending him is an Annoyance! First you have to Befriend the other Billy-No-Mates Kenji, You must have Level 3 Charm, Meet him on a Sunday, Answer his Quiz (the Questions aren't that hard) and then feed him Odd Morsel, A Healing Item with a  Negative Effect, So I would imagine a lot of players without the use of cheats or a guide, throw these things out! There is a reason you want to befriend Nozumi: he Confirms that the restaurants sell Attribute boosting Food. Not on the game breaker scale of P4s Rainy Day Challenge, But they Still Buff an Attribute, We Covered the Pheromone Coffee in Strength and the Hermit, So let's reveal the others.

WildDuck Burger Sells a Mystery Burger that Raises Courage.( Something they will do again 2 games later,) Hagakure, the Noodle shop sells Tuna that increases Charm (....Somehow!) Wakatsu the Sushi bar sells Academics boosting Sushi (Fish is a Brain Food after all!) So Nozumi can be useful to know, Despite the Toil. His key item is the Gourmet License.

....The same cannot be said about Ai. You have to Join a a Sports team, Have Level 3 Courage, Skip School, Not Say anything to piss her off, Not Romance her At Rank 6, Because she will break to off in her alternative route, Yes the Story I told was the True story route. Get her to Rank 9 and then you can Romance her, if you still want, And for What, To End up in the Boutique in Okina? The one that sells Costumes that are purely Cosmetic? But Unlocking SOMETHING Is a perk I suppose. Her Key Item is the Compact. 

Mishima's Social links Start Automatically, And Cannot Continue, Past Rank 2 without finishing the requests on the Phansite. Mishima's Perks are Themed around Support from afar and Experience. And they are Pretty Useful. At 1, Mishima's Support allows Backup members to gain EXP. At Rank 3, Enthusiasm Boosts Exp, at 5, support Becomes the More Powerful Desperation, At 7 Enthusiasm becomes PhanBoy and at max Rank of 10, You Gain Salvation Wish, Aka EXP Share! His Key Item is The Documentary Notes. 

Vega is So Morally Reprehensible, that he is a lost Cause.

Nozumi -2

Ai-2

Mishima -2

Vega -1

ROUND 3-INFLUENCE ON THE HERO AND HIS WORLD

For the Sake of Brevity again, Nozumi and Akinari Are Optional and bare no Consequence to the story at large.

In Persona 4 Ai, Yumi, And Ayane Only Add their Thoughts On Yu during the Cinematic Final Turn.

Speaking of which, It's Mishima Who Starts as the Cowardly underling to The First Boss, is the one who gains the courage to rally all of Humanity to cheer on the Heroes, To Rally on Joker to even Give Him the Cinematic Final Turn. Talk about Character Development!

Ryu will never Forgive Vega, not only for his Crimes, But during the Second tournament Ken was Defeated by Vega for Lacerating  his friend's Feet and nearly causing his death by due to almost bleeding out! Because of how the Street fighter Tournament was Set up, Ryu has Officially Fought Vega, even before the "Vega was Geki" Fan Wank Theory was proved true! Vega finds hunting Down Sanctimonious Heroes who speak out of his crimes "Wonderful Prey", While if Ryu wins Matches Ryu considers Vega's vanity the Reason his flashy moves can be easily dodged.

Nozumi -2

Ai-2

Mishima -3

Vega -2

The winner is Yuki Mishima.

THE SUN

 

 The Sun is the 20th Card of the Major Arcana. It is the Only card Named after the Celestial Body that rules it. 

After everything he has seen the Night before, The Hermit wakes from his Nightmarish Sleep to see The Glorious Sun Rise for A new Dawn. Under the Light of the New Day, The Hermit sees One last Vision, A Naked Baby Riding a White Horse Holding a Banner Proclaiming Victory! Finally At Ease That the Life will go on Without Him, The Hermit makes Peace with his Morality and Dies.

But It's Not the end of the Story. 

Not Yet!

The Mood Of this card is Happy and Hopeful, Beaming it's Life giving Light over a Green and Pleasant Land, Galloping over a field, A baby on a white horse, Unsaddled and unbridled, Representing Perfect Control of the Conscious and Unconscious Mind. The Child's Nudity Means the Ultimate Truth, he has nothing to hide. Even the Sunflowers the embodiment of Balance between the Four Elements Grow over the Barrier and Boundary of the walls around them.

The Sun card means Hope, Success, Happiness, Truth and Freedom, Happiness in all it's Forms! The Power of Hope is so strong that the Reversed Meaning it not its Polar Opposite, like the others, Instead It Merely means Success will come after some setbacks, Rather than an Immediate effect.

The Sun is Also a Sign of Childbirth. Of course That means if used to denote a single person, it means a young child.

Prying up the Sun with their Bare hands are Not 4, but 5 Representatives. As In Persona 4, You can choose one Non-Sport Club, But First let's cover Akinari Kamiki, The Man in the Striped Shirt. Yumi Ozawa, The Drama Club Route, Ayame Matsunaga, The Band Route, "No Good" Toranusuke Yoshida, and Sakura Kusogano, Street fighter's  Precious Heart!

Akinari Kamiki

 

It was a Seemingly Normal Day of Minato Yuki Playing with Meiko, When Another of Meiko's Friends walked Into View, And the Young Girl ran to greet her Friend "Striped Shirt". But you feel Something is off with this young man Holding a Sketch Book, His "Striped Shirt" is Actually Pajamas, His Skin and Hair are a Pale Colour. Though he smiles for the small Child during small talk, his smile is painfully painted across his Sallow Face. Despite "The Door to Destiny" Living a life far less than Meiko, Minato can see the truth Hidden from Meiko's Naive Eyes.

This Man is Dying!

Every Sunday "Striped Shirt" would Sit at the Playground Bench, etching Into The Sketch book, Sensing a Mind that would understand him. Striped shirt would Introduce Himself as Akinari Kamiki, An Illustrator Of Children's Books. And A Man who all His life Suffered From a Congenital Defect from Birth. And it's not Good, Despite It all, Akinari Is Slowly Deteriorating.

However Akinari Wants to leave a lasting Legacy, Something that'll explain to the Children, What happened to their Favourite Writer, without EXACTLY saying what Happened. His magnum opus: his last Book to give Children the "Death Talk"

At First, Akinari tells you he is Writing the Story of a Pink Alligator and  a Bird Who Can't Fly for His Own Amusement and to Distract from his illness, But it's not the Only Thing he has Written, He Written His Will. 

He tells you he has Refused Surgery and Stopped his Medication. No More Suffering, he has made his peace. So He has Finalized His Last Story Which I will Alliterate right Now

"Once Upon A Time, There was an Alligator that was born Pink, who lived in a Forest of Lush Greenness and Lots of Animals, But the Alligator due to his odd Colouration, could not hunt the animals and he would Starve. But Despite this, the Alligator had One Friend, A Bird who Couldn't Fly, But Would Practice on the Alligator's Nose as it Sang it's Sweet Song to him!"     

"But One Day, The Alligator, Driven Mad With Hunger, would On the Spur Of the Moment, Would Eat the Bird. When the Alligator Realized, what he had Done, he Cried, and Cried, Soon the Alligator Would Drown in his own Tears.

Not Long After The Alligator's Death, The Animals Found the Lake created by the Pink Alligator's Tears. The lake was Beautiful and it's waters helped Grew the Most Beautiful Flowers and The Most Delicious Fruit Trees. Soon All the Animals in the Forest, would come to love going to the lake, Not Knowing their Joy come from the Sadness of One.

Akinari doesn't need to Explain. Minato gets it. Its An Analogy of Kamiki's life and career. His lasting legacy is his books and Pictures that will Bring Joy to Children For Generations to come, Even If he suffered, But he knows Time is Short, Just like that as he Hands his Notebook he Literally Fades Away.

Kamiki is the Hope Aspect. Not only the Sun's Meaning, But It's Narrative From Source. About a coming to terms with his own Morality. He is the Joy aspect too, His books by the 4 years after his death, have remained Popular enough for Kanji to knit a pink Alligator Plush.

Akinari Like Hisano link Plays Along into Memory!

Akinari gets Point.

Yumi (Drama Class route)

 

Okay, so Maybe You Don't want to Join A sport. How about Joining a Club to Raise Your Artistic Expression?

Soon You Find Yourself  back in your own classroom But with chairs and tables Removed for Space. With The Stage Now used for Assemblies Due to the Murders, This is all we got, Much to the Constant Complaints of the Very Haughty and Self-Assured, Yumi Ozawa, Who takes you to one side For "Real" Acting Lessons, Soon the class is over and they are the only ones left.

The Second week of Drama class, You all recite lines and Yumi shows her Arrogance is backed up by real talent, Crying some convincing tears. But then she goes straight into her Brazen Behaviour by telling her peers to top that! So it's settled Yumi and Yu will perform a Two person skit.

But Soon there is a twist, During Practice on the third week, A Student tells Yumi Her Mother has Collapsed and was taken to hospital. Going with her, Yumi sees her Mother and shouts at her for lying. But her Mother said she lied Because it was her Father, who has collapsed, And it looks like He Won't Make It! So Despite "What he Did", It's time to make Peace.

But Yumi is Adamant, You learn that her father Abandoned her and his wife at a young age, and Now he wants Forgiveness? Just because his Bimbo Won't find him attractive, her Mother expects her to follow her in Bowing her head, As if she Done Wrong? Bullshit!

So Because of that Outburst, Yumi's Home life is very Disruptive right now, to the point she wants to stay at school. Soon her Mother Really Does Collapse, And Yumi Quits the drama club, to look for a job, However With her mother convalescing at home, Yumi has no Choice but to tend to her Father to no Avail. Yumi's Father Dies and While you check on her, you become a Shoulder to cry on.

Yumi Returns to the drama club, But doesn't participate, in fact all she does is stare into Space Until you snap her out of it!

So the Next Week Yumi, Decides to no longer Hide, Pretending to be Someone Else, But to find her place in the World, as Yumi Ozawa.

Poor Yumi is the Reversed  Aspect of the Sun. Instead of Success in all facets of her life, Murphy's law comes down hard on her. However it's not Entirely bad, She's not alone in her grief, though it feels like it to begin with. If there is a mis-step, In my Opinion she should have become a better Actress having real experience to draw from, and not give it up wholesale!

Despite that, Yumi Gets a point.

Ayame (Band Route)

 

So Yasogami High Doesn't have Literal Boards to Thread. Maybe, Just Maybe, The Band Route is a Better Club.

Despite having more Members than the Drama Club, The Band Club are Shy 1 member after your induction to even Qualify for Competitions, So to make money for the Club, They play at Old Folks homes and Hospitals And The like. So you meet one of the Members, a Small Girl who could be Mistaken for A Grade Schooler, Struggling to Play a Trombone far too big for  her small Figure to play properly. As the Small reserved girl Stutters that her name is Ayane Mastunaga, tells you that to make for her lack of talent She acts as a Treasurer of Sorts, cleaning The Room and Organising the Venues and such. Even if the Senpais think this Small Kouhai Can do it all on her own. 

You ask her why she would even Attempt to play a Trombone if it's so big. She tells you she wanted to play the flute, But it Cost too much money, So she found a Trombone in a Closet, Because she wanted to join the Band so Much, But it's not just a skill issue, but a confidence issue.

So when the First Trombone Chair gets in a Traffic Accident, It's up to Ayane to get up to par. And despite all the Practice....The Chair Returns and Ayane quietly backs down like nothing happened, But Ayane Continues to be better and to make sure she Succeeds as a Musician, She has to be more Assertive.

And.... That's it!

No Shadows, No Abusive Parents,  No False Gods Trying to Rule Humanity, Just a Small Girl who looks like Pikachu who just wants to play Trombone.

As of Context-Ayane make up for her lack of being Memorable, with Context, as in the Joy and Success Aspect, And Music like Any act of Public Expression is an act of Joy and giving Joy to others. But her lack of Confidence is a Reversed Aspect she had to work for it and though she may not have Played live, She Ends up being on a Equal pegging to everyone on the band. 

Ayane gets a Point.

Toranusuke Yoshida

 

Like Yu Nurakami A Game before him, In the Halfway point with Summer coming up, Ren Amamiya can do a variety of Night Jobs to money and Raise certain Attributes. But it's working at a Beef Bowl Shop that gets the attention of A Politician running for office against Shido. A Former Member of the Diet, Tora Yoshida.

Joker and Morgana sees Yoshida, Speaking in public and Making Eloquent and  Convincing Arguments. So Morgana has one of his ideas. Perhaps learning to speak Publicly will help in Negotiating with Shadows to gather them to fight on Joker's Side in Battle. 

 

Meeting him on the Campaign Trail a second night and Tora hires Ren as a Placard Carrier,  So he can teach you to speak in Public, when you lie and say you are interested in Politics . But Despite his silver Tongue, Toranusuke has a Chequered past. 20 years ago, Yoshida was Indicted for Embezzling Funds, Earning him the Nickname, "No Good Tora"

Tora Despite his Flustered reaction to be called out, is Honest about his "Three Strikes", That got him Disbarred, However Joker feels that Tora is A Kindred Spirit Spurned by Society and not given the chance to Change Minds. Despite his warning, Joker Continues to Support Toranusuke as a Volunteer.

As the days go on, You meet those who ran with Tora 20 years ago, under the banner of the "Kuromoto Children", Young Protégés of the Eponymous Minister, including a Wrestler turned Politician named Mastuhita. As Yoshida uses his charisma to change a naysayer into a Supporter. "No good Tora" is now owning up  to his past on Media outlets, Much to the media who wanted to Smear his Campaign.

Soon Benzo, the Grandson of Yoshida's Mentor informs him that Kuromoto Senpai is in Hospital and wishes to see him.

Soon Yoshida had a Difficult Choice to make: pull out of running and become Matsuhita's Campaign Manager, or Back Benzo, Who plans to Make a Coalition with Shido. Naturally Joker tells him to decline. 

Soon Matsuhita in Confidence under a Subway Bridge, it was Kuromoto Senpai who embezzled the Party and blamed Yoshida. Mastuhita wants Tora's help to make this public, But Tora is a changed man, No more tricks, no more Shortcuts, two wrongs don't make a right.

So Mastuhita has Arranged a Press Conference for Yoshida to publicly implicate Kuromoto. Instead he gives his support to the Phantom Thieves. Matsushita is Bewildered at First, but he understands that Tora is a changed man.

Soon with Yoshida's popularity growing, the Kuromotos of their own free will, when the truth comes out. With a Crowd waiting for his Speech. Yoshida tells his "Secretary" that after Tonight. He will need no longer the Help of "The Phantom Thief"! Yes, he had worked it out, With no more than his intuition, an Intuition he thought was long gone, but with his Faith in himself restored, Tora gets in stage to address his Adoring Public.

Tora is The Hope Aspect, Despite his Mistakes that are well Documented, Tora Still Believes in Forging a Future for the next Generation of Japan. But also the aspect is Reversed, Hope in himself has all but diminished over 2 decades of scandal. However despite learning the Truth Tora Doesn't feel the need for Revenge.

Tora gets a Point.

Sakura

 

 

The World of a fighting Game is a Very Bizzare place.

Of all the things to show the world of the Imminent threat of World Conquest, M Bison decided to throw of all things, a martial arts tournament.

And Clearly there are Fighters, who have entered who don't share the same Urgency to defeat Shadaloo, like Ryu, Guile, or Chun Li. But if you are Entering to Write a Song, Sell Olive oil, or give other fighters Food Poisoning, then you have some Skewered Priorities!

However, What started as A Schoolgirl Crush may blossom into the Future of Street fighter!

Most of Sakura's Back story can be Gleaned from her manga, Which would be a Source Beyond the main Material, However since it is referenced in the main Series, it's Fair Game.

Sakura Kusagano was Your Regular Teenage Girl. 2 parents, 1 Sibling, 1 Dog. Average at school, above average at Sports, After School she would go shopping with her Friends.

 

But One Day Sakura, Caught Wind of A travelling Fighter, who went from Town to Town to train. Catching a Glimpse of Ryu in Action, Sakura became Infatuated with being a Martial Artist...as well as Ryu!

One day Something would happen that Change The Course of Sakura's life Forever!

While Shopping with her friends, A Mugger Pulled a Knife on Them! Sakura Remembering a fight she saw online, Attempted the Hurricane kick, But instead of 10 Perfect Uniform flying kicks, Hers was a Floundering Attempt that ended with a Roundhouse to Maintain her balance, Sloppy, But Effective!  While it did the job, Sakura Wondered if there was a Master of Ansatsuken left in the world.

And that's when she saw an Advertisement for a Dojo that had no Telephone number or Forwarding Address, She only knew where it was, because she recognized the Background, She will enroll in his man's Dojo, because with Ryu travelling the world, there was only 3 other Practitioners of The Assassin Fist left! One was in America, the other a Murderous Lunatic, So all that was left was The Chubby man in the pink gi on TV.

Yes, Unfortunately it was Dan Hibiki.

Emboldened that his Fake Style won a Match that was Rigged out of Sympathy, Dan had Opened a Dojo to Franchise his Saikyo Style, he already had a Student, Blanka, (Though the Green Skinned Manbeast of Brazil would tell him he wasn't Saikyo!)

Sakura, Didn't want to come here to learn Saikyo Style she came to learn Ansatsuken. Dan, who wanted to make rent, (And it Didn't help that his other "Student" had no Concept of Money, living in the Jungle and all!) Said that he will teach her how to Channel Chi into a Fireball, The Only move of Ryu's Sakura couldn't improvise on her own, Using what he had learned in High School, namely track and Volleyball!

Not too long After after that, Sakura was late for School and Bumped into one Karin Kanzuki. Feeling Besmirched by a Filthy Commoner, Karin went and Challenged Sakura to a fight.

A Fight Sakura won! 

Humiliated, Karin Publicly Challenged Sakura to Settle it at the Street fighter tournament. This time Karin won, and Sakura was a good Sport about it.  But she was not here for Grudges, she was here for "Him"!

Ryu had just Fought Akuma and Bison back to back, learning the Former  had killed his master, Ryu had lost his Temper and Tapped into the Satsui No Hadou, Bison who formed this tournament to steal the Body of the Winner, imparted some of His Psycho Power into Ryu's Body making him a Mindless Slave. When Sakura Intervened, Be careful what you wish for young lady, because you got to fight Ryu after all!

Sakura, No match for Ryu who was a Mindless puppet to his Bloodlust Magnified by Negative Emotions. Soon all the heroes tried to quell Ryu but everyone failed. Sakura had one Chance and one chance only; as Ryu charged his Retsu Hadoken, Sakura Cried  out to remember who he was! As the words Reached Ryu, He Turned and Blasted Bison with his Super Art at Point Blank range, Destroying Bison for the first time!

 

A Year passes, And Sakura Continues on her Adventures, Getting stronger as a Fighter, Sparring with Karin, sharing her home with Elena, and meeting the other teenaged  fighters. And Since Street Fighter and Rival Schools share a universe, Sakura's School got Embroiled in a secret Child Super Soldier Scheme called Project Justice.

But Despite all her adventures, Sakura wanted to see Ryu Again, So when Dan Told her about Seth's tournament, He, Sakura and Blanka Stowawayed on a Boat to S.I.N's  base on a secret island. And while they were caught, Sakura earned her Keep as a Ship's mate cooking and Cleaning for 100 men crew on a large ship, while still getting in her ridiculous training Regimen of 500 of each exercise. 

However, Sakura did not have a Good Tournament, she got herself into the line of fire and had to be rescued again by Ryu.

Not soon after, Sakura Graduated High School, and needed a job, no longer being able to rely on Others to enter Tournaments, Sakura Started Working as A Janitor in an Arcade, Later a Pachinko Attendant, Sakura officially couldn't attend the Tournament, Learning what happened after the fact from Karin. Of Bison now Aged before his weakened Body was Destroyed. Of Gen, Dying alone as  his Cancer Riddled Body, Discarded as Akuma Murdered Him, Of Necalli, a Literal Empty Vessel whose hunger for Powerful Souls was the Clay Creature's own Demise!

This did not sit well with Sakura.

Not Being Able, No, Not even Considered by Karin to Enter her Tournament. As well as the Change in the Air that 3 powerful Fighters, still died of weakness, made her Question Beliefs.

"If Someone Seeks Strength, No matter how much, or how they use it, When they die, that Power is gone forever, So why Bother?"

 

Desperate to get Sakura out of this Funk, Karin Asked Ryu to Fight Sakura as a Favour, Sakura defeats Ryu, and After they have a Heart to heart about making sure one's Power becomes a Legacy much like when Master Goutestsu taught Master Gouken, who Taught Him. Sakura realizes that Finding Strength through Bonds between Generations as a Teacher, is the way to go, even teaching her own children when she has them....even if she gets red faced after telling her Secret Crush she wants Children!

I was shocked that of all Characters in the Franchise, Sakura is not Confirmed for 6, Given we are finally Caught up in the present Story!

No other Character, in my Opinion, Could be the Sun Representative, EXCEPT Sakura! Hope, Future, Optimism, it's all there! You could argue it was her who saved Ryu, And not the other way around!

There are some Negative Aspects, This time the Class System is the Setback, it Means Financially, Sakura had to foot the bill herself if she wants to enter Tournaments- And I'm sure finding out their Teenaged Daughter Stowawayed on a boat with 100 men, probably spooked her parents. 

 

Which was why everyone thought this was written into her new Design. Remember when I called her Job an Attendant, well I thought like many did, she Was a FLIGHT Attendant, I mean they can travel without passports, and possibly using that career to get to the Tournament matches on the Q.T! But no, She has become a member of the Work Force, but she would not be Working at the At the arcade for long, 

 

As in Street Fighter 4 Ultra, we see the future, Sakura in her School Uniform -But as it's Gym Teacher! 

Sakura gets a point!

Akinari-1

Yumi-1

Ayane-1

Yoshida-1

Sakura -1

ROUND 2-PERKS

To save time, all Key items Fuse for Asura

You Meet Akinari by Befriending Meiko (who we covered in Wheel of Fortune and Justice) but you need Level 3 Academics to talk to him. His key item is the notebook!

Going to either non Sports Club will raise your Expression Stat. For Yumi, hanging out with her, will raise it 9 times. Her Key Item is the Annotated Script. She can be Romanced.

 

However, going to the band Club will allow you 11 pieces of Expression, and a Diligence point for helping Ayane clean the Classroom. She can also he Romanced, unlocking the funniest Summer Festival date in the game! Her Key Item is the Homemade Ticket.

Yoshida can be Befriended by listening to one of his speeches. By working twice in the Beef Bowl Shop at Yongen-Jaya, for 2 proficiency points, and listening to another speech, Yoshida will teach you how to speak Publicly. Yoshida's skills help in the one part of Persona 5's gameplay we have not Covered; Negotiation with defeated enemies. Based on Policticking, At rank 2 Diplomacy will sometimes Make Successful  to get more money or items, Fundraising Always helps you gey large amounts of money at rank 3. at rank 5 Manipulation may score Joker a rare Item, Mind control Lets you skip  Hold-up if you have that Persona on your person, and Max level of 10, Charismatic Speech Allows you to Negotiate with high level enemies. Yoshida's key Item is the Fountain Pen.

As many of Karin's Friends, ryu has many sparring Partners when he has Business with the Kanzukis, the only difference is Sakura When she could has seeked him out of her own accord.

Akinari-2

Yumi-2

Ayane-2

Yoshida-2

Sakura-2

ROUND 3-INFLUENCE ON THE HERO AND HIS WORLD

Yoshida Adds his cheers to the cinematic Final Turn against Yaldaboath if you get him to rank 10, however Defeat Yaldaboath, and you'll unlock the this: Yoshida will Protest your Arrest outside government Buildings and your Arrest is Stricken from the record!

Sakura is obsessed with Ryu, while it didn't lead to her becoming his protege, Sakura has fought and seeked his advice on many occasions. In game if you beat Sakura with Ryu, he comments among the lines of her getting Stronger.

Akinari-2

Yumi-2

Ayane-2

Yoshida-3

Sakura-3

THE WINNERS ARE YOSHIDA AND SAKURA

TAROTOBER RETURNS IN JUNE, DUE TO THE BACKLOG OF WRESTLEMANIA AND TICKET TO HELL EVENTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE!