I can never decide whether I like this quest or not.
It always feels like we're being punished at every turn and being led around by our nose, except that makes an unfortunate amount of sense because we're doing the whole Path of Destruction set of tarot rather than the enlightenment/realization one. We're destroying ourself too in a way.
Also it feels like we kinda get stuck. Like with Shion we went "We need to fight her" and then we fought her and the fight itself was resolving nothing, just compounding the issue. Except except then the post-fight diplomacy actually did something.
It's pretty clear in hindsight that we were supposed to go after Aimopotis and not Sinon. Things got that bad in that fight because we completely misinterpreted what a Death Gun Persona does.
In GGO we were forced to leave Lux behind and were spawned in as an NPC, which also makes some sense because we're here to destroy GGO so the SEED wants to crush us out, but its... disheartening always being deliberately put on the back foot.
This whole quest is like that though. Its not just less than stellar choices, well it is sometimes yes, but rather good choices tactically end up being mediocre or bad decisions on a strategic level. Most of the Oberon fight comes off this way, wins on a post-by-post basis that barely added up to winning the actual fight.
I'm not sure what we could have done better, but it feels like fighting Oberon was the wrong fight when we should have been... I don't know, ripping apart the souls supporting him?
We did very well for most of the Oberon fight. Things only went somewhat bad because of that write-in.
Like, I don't understand. We're up against a system designed to allow the slimiest most willfully ignorant people their power fantasies who also want to denigrate everyone against them into a one-note strawman with zero effort or self-awareness involved. Of course we're going to be on the back foot. It's one of the greatest appeals of the quest that Pete turns the most flat and uninteresting isekai characters into actually convincing people now that the universe doesn't exist to kiss their asses. Awful people, yes, but people none the less.
I can understand being leery of Sora and Shiro's blackmail given their God Mode Sue status even before they got isekaied in their home series but to me, the uphill battle is also one of the biggest appeals. Not being given control over everything and all the number bonuses under the sun so we're always guaranteed to win barring incredibly bad luck is a very rare find for a quest and creates a far more in-depth campaign and enriching narrative to me.
Its, hmm... Well, Knave is obvious, we just got blackmailed out of the gate, which makes it kinda hard to trust anything they do or promise. A person who uses blackmail already has no respect for the rules*, so why would they ever, truthfully, agree to just forget it.
But that just feels like its the most straightforward social link on that front. Most of the rest also feel like they reflect negatively on Hiyori, or have some antagonistic core.
Which, again, makes sense seeing as we're trying to destroy their SEEDs, their dreams. Just its... hard on Hiyori/us.
*Its hard to put into words, but there's things you can do to break trust that can be recovered from and then there's things you can do that inherently mean its irrecoverably because it can't be taken back. Breaking in is something that's over and done with, evidence can be gotten rid of, but blackmail doesn't go away and as long as it exists there's a power imbalance meaning there's no equality meaning there's no trust and only resentment. And blackmail doesn't get deleted, its always there, because how can you ever be sure they actually deleted it.
In GGO we were forced to leave Lux behind and were spawned in as an NPC, which also makes some sense because we're here to destroy GGO so the SEED wants to crush us out, but its... disheartening always being deliberately put on the back foot.
Relatedly, I wonder if our way of destroying GGO is actually to destroy the robot rebellion. In a post-apocalyptic world you kind of... expect there to be a robot uprising, expect there to be another apocalypse to stop, expect there to be something to fight.
For GGO, the game ends when there's nothing left to fight.
This whole quest is like that though. Its not just less than stellar choices, well it is sometimes yes, but rather good choices tactically end up being mediocre or bad decisions on a strategic level. Most of the Oberon fight comes off this way, wins on a post-by-post basis that barely added up to winning the actual fight.
I'm not sure what we could have done better, but it feels like fighting Oberon was the wrong fight when we should have been... I don't know, ripping apart the souls supporting him?
If it wasn't the blackmail it would have been something else, that's kinda my point.
...you kind of seem to be missing, like, THE ENTIRE POINT OF THIS QUEST.
Read the author's note in the quest title card. This is Isekai Cheat Slayer if it was actually competent and not composed entirely of maliciously shallow potshots at the works they're trying to deconstruct. This quest is, at its core, a Persona story with an anti-isekai theme, using the setting of SAO as a backdrop because SAO is what kickstarted the modern Isekai boom.
Social Links reflecting negatively on Hiyori? How does Hiyori's GENUINE FRIENDSHIP with the Sun Link cast her in a negative light? It's literally spelled out, multiple times by ETEILLA, that we're forcing our Social Links to acknowledge reality and how shallow or messed up their Isekai HEAVENs would be.
Also, we, as DETERMINED BY VOTE, both decided to abandon Hiyori's Lux avatar AND choose the glitched out NPC avatar for GGO, the first because of the other goodies we would have had to give up at the time, and the second for the advantages it gives us with our understanding of how GGO mechanics would work then. We're not so much 'on the back foot' as trying to figure out what the hell to do next with what we have, because it's ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY IN PERSONA.
And, uh, 'fighting Oberon was the wrong fight'? This makes me seethe on a primal level, but for starters:
A) Oberon was the MASTERMIND BEHIND ALO. Who ELSE would we have fought as the final boss of that arc? It's all but stated that Oberon would have been the undisputed ruler of his new world, with ALL of the nastiness that implies.
B) At no point were we given an option to attack the souls supporting Oberon. We could have done so with a write-in, but I get the feeling that it either would have been useless, or QM would have vetoed it to prevent us from doing something stupid.
C) Even if we could have done so, it was explicitly stated that there were, uh...a few thousand ALO players supporting him. I don't think QM would have been willing to use the Crowd Brain mechanics in the Oberon fight because it would have made things unnecessarily complicated.
And, arguably, fighting Oberon and coming out on top even when he's being supported by the wishes and wills of several thousand die-hard fans of ALO is more satisfying. It shows that Hiyori is, fundamentally, more powerful than a wannabe incel god even when he's being backed by the masses, which is kind of an uber-tier powerup in Persona.
And I don't get why you think the Oberon fight was hacked together. The only 'weak' part was because of, as Zog has pointed out, an out-of-character write-in that QM was forced to work with.
I'd actually have to go back and check which SL Actions were done as Shadow!Hiyori (oh no did i just add a sidequest to my calendar project?) because I would tentatively agree that some of them don't particularly reflect the best on Hiyori - take Devil for instance - yeah, yeah you can argue we're doing it for the greater good (I wouldn't though!) but we are actively helping MistCoin with her crypto scam.
But I think we tend to pair that as a Shadow action and we have been warned from the beginning that starting/taking SLs as Shadow!Hiyori can lead to potentially undesirable consequences.
As for the whole "tactically we generally do well, but it leads to strategic setbacks" I feel like that's more a matter of quest voters having different ideas/philosophies and depending on what wins at a given time it can feel like we're (trying to) go in two or more directions. That's kind of a thing with quests in general though if there isn't unanimous, or close to it, agreement on a long term strategy. And I do feel like most of the GGO section has been like that.
I checked with DEVIL, we entered that link as normal Hiyori and because this was back when she was stuck in her self-pity stage we went along with it. Shadow Hiyori's only handled Rank 3 and she's probably been more moral than the normal one since she wanted to cut the crypto crap and just use the MistCoins for powerups.
Not being given control over everything and all the number bonuses under the sun so we're always guaranteed to win barring incredibly bad luck is a very rare find for a quest and creates a far more in-depth campaign and enriching narrative to me.
I agree, to a degree. You have to be careful not to get trapped in a "Suffering Builds Character" meme loop though.
Like I said, and I used this word on purpose, its disheartening to always be on the back foot. The triumph after a long journey is the sweeter for it, but sometimes you need "... Oh, I'm good at this" wins too.
It just feels like Hoyori's "I'm good at this" moments are either what her Shadow ends up doing (which because its the Shadow doing it instead of Hiyori means that its always directed by impulse short-term gain) or things the thread votes against doing for one reason or another. And I do mean against.
And, uh, 'fighting Oberon was the wrong fight'? This makes me seethe on a primal level, but for starters:
A) Oberon was the MASTERMIND BEHIND ALO. Who ELSE would we have fought as the final boss of that arc? It's all but stated that Oberon would have been the undisputed ruler of his new world, with ALL of the nastiness that implies.
B) At no point were we given an option to attack the souls supporting Oberon. We could have done so with a write-in, but I get the feeling that it either would have been useless, or QM would have vetoed it to prevent us from doing something stupid.
C) Even if we could have done so, it was explicitly stated that there were, uh...a few thousand ALO players supporting him. I don't think QM would have been willing to use the Crowd Brain mechanics in the Oberon fight because it would have made things unnecessarily complicated.
And, arguably, fighting Oberon and coming out on top even when he's being supported by the wishes and wills of several thousand die-hard fans of ALO is more satisfying. It shows that Hiyori is, fundamentally, more powerful than a wannabe incel god even when he's being backed by the masses, which is kind of an uber-tier powerup in Persona.
And I don't get why you think the Oberon fight was hacked together. The only 'weak' part was because of, as Zog has pointed out, an out-of-character write-in that QM was forced to work with.
Sorry for upsetting you, not sorry for sharing my opinion?
But, I don't know, most of the Oberon fight feels like we fought harder, not smarter, just smashing our head into his until he gave out first. Which you say is Persona, and it is, but we're not a chosen of Philemon, we're not fighting to defend humanity (we're not here to protect worlds, we're here to shatter them), we're fighting to tear them down back to the real world.
It feels like being a Persona protag isn't a checklist of what to should do, but rather what we should not do. Only, more nuanced of course. Like, we still have social links and stats, but our focus is only dragging down our social links, not building them up.
That's kind of a thing with quests in general though if there isn't unanimous, or close to it, agreement on a long term strategy. And I do feel like most of the GGO section has been like that.
Was starting to think I was being stupid or crazy, but I know what quests are like, this feels... Hiyori has no strategic objective either. She's just... listlessly going along with whatever is voted. Until she snaps and has a Lux moment that is then usually cut short by a vote.
I don't know, just this is what I end up feeling from the quest.
Edit: I like this quest a lot, I want to like it even more but its kinda... Its not even my complaints here that stop me from liking it more in a weird way? It feels more like I have some kind of friction with the quest that makes it hard to like it more than I do right now.
Edit: I like this quest a lot, I want to like it even more but its kinda... Its not even my complaints here that stop me from liking it more in a weird way? It feels more like I have some kind of friction with the quest that makes it hard to like it more than I do right now.
Its easy to like her and get into her character. Its also hard to like her and get into her character.
I wouldn't even make any "recommendations" to fix the quest or anything like that, its just... its a good quest, with good characters, good story, and its fun and engaging. I just feel like I should like it more than I do and I'm disappointed in myself for it.
But, I don't know, most of the Oberon fight feels like we fought harder, not smarter, just smashing our head into his until he gave out first. Which you say is Persona, and it is, but we're not a chosen of Philemon, we're not fighting to defend humanity (we're not here to protect worlds, we're here to shatter them), we're fighting to tear them down back to the real world.
It feels like being a Persona protag isn't a checklist of what to should do, but rather what we should not do. Only, more nuanced of course. Like, we still have social links and stats, but our focus is only dragging down our social links, not building them up.
I point to the part where we disguised ourselves as Rinko to catch Oberon off guard as a counterpoint to your first argument.
Also, ETEILLA is, in a way, trying to protect the world. It's just that he sees the current world as the ONLY real world, and, given he has NO IDEA what will happen to the Sea of Souls (and by proxy the real world) if a HEAVEN actually reaches maturity, his attitudes are understandable.
Of course, given that it's an open secret that ETEILLA is just an avatar of Nyarlathotep, everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt, but he still makes valid points.
Sorry for upsetting you, not sorry for sharing my opinion?
But, I don't know, most of the Oberon fight feels like we fought harder, not smarter, just smashing our head into his until he gave out first. Which you say is Persona, and it is, but we're not a chosen of Philemon, we're not fighting to defend humanity (we're not here to protect worlds, we're here to shatter them), we're fighting to tear them down back to the real world.
It feels like being a Persona protag isn't a checklist of what to should do, but rather what we should not do. Only, more nuanced of course. Like, we still have social links and stats, but our focus is only dragging down our social links, not building them up.
I don't get where your think we're dragging people down. For Shiroe we helped him accomplish his dream in reality, for Subaru we've been being his friend and helping him reacclimate to society without him horrifically torturing himself, for Mikami his Social Link is clearly telegraphing that he's going to realize that he's not the good person he thinks he is, for Mitsuha she's become less of a lazy bum and is willing to actually do things, for Rudy were helping him get his life back on track just without allowing any of his pedo shit or letting him be a sexual predator, PRUDENCE is us rebuildIng our relationship with Hiyori's mom, DEATH is us stopping someone from killing himself over nothing.
Even our more abnormal links can have positive outcomes. Argo is clearly more so on her whole Justice spiel to hurt people and feel better about herself and Lugh's seems to be about Hiyori and Lugh coming to terms with the more vicious aspects of their personalities.
Its easy to like her and get into her character. Its also hard to like her and get into her character.
I wouldn't even make any "recommendations" to fix the quest or anything like that, its just... its a good quest, with good characters, good story, and its fun and engaging. I just feel like I should like it more than I do and I'm disappointed in myself for it.
I also don't get where her being self-defeating came from. Hiroyi is far more passionate, determined, motivated, and in a healthier headspace than she was at the start of the quest. We followed the Ragnarok plan to near perfection in Alfheim and the current arc is supposed to be us being forced to chase shadows because unlike Sugou Death Gun is smart and not high on their own supply.
I'm pretty sure part of the entire point of our Social Links is that they all have dreams that could manifest into SEEDs if only they had the power and our job is to pop the bubble and make them wake up.
We're specifically worried about Shiroe because in the last SL we had with him we realized he's still holding onto something of his dream, Mom desperately wants things to go back to the way they were and deny that we're growing up, the SUN one I think was disassociating so hard she would enter her own world in the middle of the day or something? That one was a long while ago.
In normal Persona terms we'd be going "Hell yeah, chase after that dream." Here we're "Hell no, get back here and deal with the real world."
I also don't get where her being self-defeating came from. Hiroyi is far more passionate, determined, motivated, and in a healthier headspace than she was at the start of the quest. We followed the Ragnarok plan to near perfection in Alfheim and the current arc is supposed to be us being forced to chase shadows because unlike Sugou Death Gun is smart and not high on their own supply.
Self-defeating as in a character trait, not any actions she specifically takes. Hiyori... approaches things badly? She's listless in how she does things, she's trying without really trying a lot of the time, and when she suddenly needs to do something she either goes full Lux or she panics.
Ragnarok was a good character growth for her, she/the thread had an idea, made a plan, nailed it down as it went on, gathered allies, and then rode the wave.
Its like... watching someone who does zero preparation for anything and then they're surprised when they don't know what they're doing.
Hiyori's getting better I feel like, objectively she's doing better because she went out and learned to gun a bit even if she skipped sword lessons altogether too, but... maybe its because everything is from her point of view? Could be, if she feels like she doesn't know what she's doing then she comes across that way even if she does.
I'm pretty sure part of the entire point of our Social Links is that they all have dreams that could manifest into SEEDs if only they had the power and our job is to pop the bubble and make them wake up.
We're specifically worried about Shiroe because in the last SL we had with him we realized he's still holding onto something of his dream, Mom desperately wants things to go back to the way they were and deny that we're growing up, the SUN one I think was disassociating so hard she would enter her own world in the middle of the day or something? That one was a long while ago.
In normal Persona terms we'd be going "Hell yeah, chase after that dream." Here we're "Hell no, get back here and deal with the real world."
Mostly because their dreams are a bad thing. Persona itself examined this in Innocent Sin where people use their dreams as an excuse to be selfish and throw people under the bus no matter the cost. That's most likely why ETTEILLA is so against them beyond his sadism he knows how effective dreams are for hurting people. He did it to great success.
You're looking at this in the most unnuanced fashion possible. ETEILLA points out that Shiroe and the DEVIL Link can accomplish their dreams in the real world or how Subaru's desire to torture himself isn't actually helpful to him and for dreams we want to take down beyond the extreme cases like Ainz and Rudy would a world where Mikami can be god and pat himself on the back for meeting the bare minimum or Sora and Shiro beat everybody at videogames and smugly rub in how much better they are than everyone else because they've eliminated any other way of doing things, or Lugh can assassinate all the bad guys and have it be the right decision really be better?
I was for it at the time, but using our third eye is probably the greatest long term mistake we've made so far in the quest. The write-in was dumb, but it was only temporary.
Even as useless as Megumin is, she's still an option if we need to nuke something stationary. I cannot seriously think of a viable use for Aqua and Darkness.
Hey, just chiming in saying everyone please play nice. This story isn't FMA or anything, there's a lot even I as the author dislike and in hindsight wish I could've done differently. I am, in fact, fumbling through this by the skin of my teeth.
Anyways, here's the current tally, closing vote soon:
Ys: 18
Kalunga Line: 8
Cokaygne: 1
Don Juan: 9
Hikaru Genji: 7
Ximen Qing: 3
St Attilla of Antioch: 14
Black Knight: 4
Lady of the Lake: 3
Saint has a big boom but will take us out of the rest of the fight. It also Nulls Fire, Bless, and Nuclear which can come in clutch.
...wait, so if we don't have enough SP to cast Explosion, do we just sit there like a lemon, or does that free us to try other stuff?
Knight is a tank. That's it. In a Persona game that would be suicide, but with those stats and resistances it might be viable? Maybe?
It would be hell to hog all the aggro to yourself, but if you just need to buy time...
Would you still miss on an immobile target? Like an object?
It's pretty clear in hindsight that we were supposed to go after Aimopotis and not Sinon. Things got that bad in that fight because we completely misinterpreted what a Death Gun Persona does.
...if we hadn't come in with Hiyori's Shadow at the reins, how would things have gone differently?
Edit: Also, now I want to humiliate Blank in GGO in the most public way possible. Not sure how we'll pull it off, but between Ys, Undine, and Paladin we can probably at least make them sweat.
Hmm, I don't have every single option outlined prior to adding it as an option. Generally speaking, I pick out some options that would be reasonable for Hiyori to take, or allow me segue into an important plot beat, and then figure out the details in the process of actually writing it.
Confronting Kazuma normally would've mostly been a short sequence followed by a few vote options on how to approach him, without actually unlocking the SL unless deliberately voted on. Shadow mode was to just explicitly break into his house— immediate SL, you learn that Blank is involved with fake NerveGears, but Blank is immediately on to you and deduces your identity as a complication.
Though it's not a hard and fast rule, generally Shadow actions don't typically offer a choice or do so sparingly, where as non-Shadow options will typically require a choice to do anything aggressive or risky.
AN: This chapter does reference the Sidestory Chapter: The Drifter upon the Winds of FORTUNE. If you're following the quest from when it was moved to that section, it may be worth revisiting.
[X] Ys
[X] Don Juan
[X] St Attila of Antioch
SUNDAY - June 8th, 2025
Morning
<Fake NerveGears?>
The grainy voice of Kikuoka barely cuts through the din of the passing commuters. Thanks to『 』you can't even trust your phone so you're forced into using a public one. It's absurdly inconvenient, but after yesterday you're not taking any chances.
<It's an interesting theory. It would certainly explain the current proliferation of NerveGears... but the ones we have in evidence are legitimate. Even through the slag, we wouldn't miss something that obvious.>
The more you consider the situation the stranger it becomes. What possible benefit could『 』seek from distributing fake NerveGears? Kazuma explained them as modified Amuspheres, but that was the entire extent of his knowledge.
Death Gun is distributing NerveGears for their grand plan— the device serving as both a ticket to the tournament and the ante. So then where do Fake NerveGears come in? A way of joining the «Death Gun Derby» without actually betting one's life? Wouldn't it be blindingly obvious to the real Death Gun if a fake was being used once the participants failed to die? And would it even matter? A fake NerveGear wouldn't fry a brain, but with enough Incarnation... was a coma possible? Even death?
<This is merely my opinion, but this is starting to sound like a dead end. If it's not Death Gun himself, then the Fake NerveGears can be ignored for the time being.>
You wish you could ignore it. "It's not that simple, they caught me breaking in. Unless you can... you know... make the problem go away?"
<Ahaha... maybe if I had some more pull? Right now everything I'm doing is being scrutinized so I can't exactly just sweep home invasion under the rug. But if you figure out Death Gun I'm sure I can pull some strings! What's a little felony between coworkers, eh?>
It's a sad day when not even government corruption can save you, "Fine. I'll be in touch."
You slam the receiver back on the hook. A passing couple eyes you cautiously as they continue on their way, no doubt catching your half of the conversation. You're starting to feel more like a shady criminal with every passing day. Take a deep breath. Stay calm. One step at a time.
You've made it to Setagaya-ward, one of Tokyo's main hubs for the music industry. You were about due for a lucky break, and for once providence delivered. Asougi Goushi was not only a real name, but one of a talent manager with a profile and publicly listed work address— trivially discovered with a single internet search.
«Ario Room» was an extremely prolific Tokyo-based record label and Goushi's place of employment. They made it big 15 years ago, back when they were managing the career of Rise, an idol so ancient she was popular before you were even born. Since then they've accumulated success after success with all sorts of pop icons, from solo idols to girl groups and everything in between.
You stand in front of the gaudy building plastered nearly top to bottom in talent advertisements. Name after name rolls out in front of you, a testament to «Ario Room»'s sheer influence in the music industry.
«YUNA Live! In Tokyo Stadium!»
«Aquours! Over the Rainbow!»
«Kanzaki Elsa Concert Tour FREEBIRD -On Hiatus-»
If you squint you can even make out a half ripped Seven poster, forgotten in the corner of the billboard.
You're not going to be able to barge in unannounced and demand to speak Asougi Goushi. He's the current manager of Kanzaki Elsa, which likely meant he was a highly requested asset. You suspect he's sought after by every singer or aspiring idol in the entertainment industry.
But more than that, Asougi Goushi was a man who claimed to have a way of... saving Pitohui. Two people who were still effectively strangers to you. Karen seemed to trust him, but you still have your doubts. Because Karen was the type of person who would never participate in something as ghoulish as a death game... unless she had some assurances, some mission.
It's entirely possible this was all just a plot by Pitohui to get Karen to take their fight seriously. It's possible Goushi had no plan beyond lying through his teeth, doing anything he could to trick Karen into fighting seriously.
You just won't know until you talk to him. Which brings you to his place of work. For all its welcoming promises on the outside, this company is sure to be wise to all the tricks of the paparazzi. You won't be able to just bullshit your way inside.
Not without a plan.
How do you talk to Goushi?
[ ] There's a time for lying and there's a time for the truth. Asougi Goushi doesn't need to be your enemy— in fact, he could even be your ally. Pen him a letter introducing yourself as Kuro, VR investigator who's aware of his relationship with Pitohui. Tell him you wish to help and want to meet up at his leisure. Simple, straightforward, and almost certain to work... provided someone isn't screening his mail. >Cedes the initiative and openly reveals yourself as Kuro, allowing Goushi time to prepare. Will resolve on a different date.
[ ] You used Seven to bluster your way into Shigemura's good graces, so why not ride that train one more time? Sure you'll owe the professor an explanation, but you suspect the man just really doesn't care about anything not related to his plan. Give him your excuses and become a temporary agent of YUNA, here to speak to Kanzaki Elsa's manager about an upcoming collaboration. >Shigemura will learn more of your current activities. Whether he cares or not is another matter entirely.
[ ] A dash of the truth is all it takes to make a delicious lie stew— but sometimes when you don't even have that you'll just have to double up on the lie. Grab Karen, rub some onion powder in her eyes, and make her cry all over the entrance lobby begging to see her boyfriend. [You have enough MASK for this option] >Draws attention, but maybe that's what you want?
[ ] There's a hierarchy in Japan. It goes something like this: The Prime Minister > The Kurasaki Family > The Emperor > Everyone Else. You don't know where, precisely, Kanzaki Elsa falls on the pecking order, but unless she's living a much more interesting double life than you are she's not going to be able to resist the demands of old money. If Meimi begs really hard for it you're certain she can bag a meet and greet with everyone's favorite idol, or barring that at least force a direct apology from her manager. You just hope you don't have to meet Meimi's father again... [5 D, as you lack the GRIT to perform this option] >Will open all the doors, perhaps some best left closed.
[ ] Though you haven't managed to secure an audition with Asougi Goushi, you were able to secure a slot on «Ario Room»'s open audition process. Show up, sing your heart out, and then get conveniently 'lost' on the premises. You'll have to get ready to dodge security— but once you've made it into Goushi's office he won't be able to run. [10D, as you lack the FITNESS to perform this option] >Will catch Goushi entirely off guard. You'll have to talk fast to stay in his room.
[ ] You've brought a pair of sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a 100 yen paperback. Find a comfortable bench, stare at the exit, and start waiting. You'll have to chase down Goushi, and hope he doesn't decide to get the authorities involved, but one way or another you will have your conversation with him— on your own terms. [You have the GRIT and FITNESS to perform this action.] >Can't do much with this plan, but you'll at least confirm Goushi's allegiance and whether or not he's truly on Karen's side.
[ ] Write-In [5 D, more if a very complex plan]
SUNDAY - 214 CYCLES POST STARFALL
1500 Glocken Standard Time
You sit on the warm sands of GGO's endless desert, plinking away at the far-off robot spider with your X-Calibur. The desert air is dry, and the breeze carries a faint hint of gunpowder.
A crack of a sniper rifle, and another shot rings out— vaporizing your target.
Sinon silently reloads, staring down the scope of her rifle.
You check your inventory. A few scant credits for an hour of farming. Sinon's preferred strategy of standing out of aggro range and shooting things from afar was inefficient and boring in equal measure.
"Hey! There's another group out to the west!"
A young man in a grey camo pattern jumpsuit waves to you from a few meters away, skidding to a stop amidst a growing plume of displaced sand. There's an MP5 SMG slung over his back, and a pair of binoculars in his hand.
"It's a big one. 15-20 enemies, including a «Silent Black Widow». We've hit the jackpot!"
Sinon sighs. "Thanks, Spiegel. You go on ahead, I'll catch up after we finish up here."
Spiegel nods. "Roger!" With a burst of speed, the virtual soldier vanishes into the horizon, kicking up another wave of dust in his wake. Though it wasn't obvious when you first saw his avatar, Shinkawa Kyouji— Spiegel in GGO— has been playing GGO nonstop since its release date. In terms of raw EXP, he likely ranked among the highest in the game, and most of that was dumped straight into his speed. At full tilt, he could be even faster than LLENN.
...Though it was clear from seeing him scout that he couldn't handle the speed at all. He needed to come to a complete stop to properly survey his surroundings, and more than once you've seen him fall over trying to make a sharp turn. You doubt he'll put up much of a fight, not when Sinon's been killing him on an almost daily basis. Which brings you to the whole point of this endeavor.
"You've got to talk to him. All we're doing is mindlessly farming."
Sinon replies, eyes not even leaving her scope. "I apologized, and he accepted. What more is there to do?"
"Ask him about Death Gun!"
Sinon's eye twitches, "Sure, sounds like a plan. 'Hey, Spiegel, is there a chance you might be the killer?' I'm sure he'll love that."
"Just probe him. Be friendly. Indirectly ask if he's heard any rumors or met any players with a grudge. Just do what you normally do together, and sprinkle some questions in! It's not that hard."
Another crack, another spider explodes into a fine mist. "This is what we normally do. He mostly just rants about GGO and I listen, and then we farm. Not much more than that."
"How the hell are the two of your even friends?" Their relationship seemed less like a pair of friends and more like a stalker and a crush who only begrudgingly tolerated his existence.
There's another moment of silence before Sinon finally responds. "We met in a library. I... was looking through a gun catalog. He saw the book, sat down next to me, and just started talking. I didn't tell him to go away. I was even a bit annoyed, but I didn't feel like I could ask him to leave. And maybe... I was a little jealous."
"Jealous?"
"I was stupid. I thought I could just do some exposure therapy and everything would be fine, but I could scarcely even open the catalog without feeling like I was being suffocated. He just barreled straight ahead, talking my ear off about guns for over an hour. I thought he was crazy, being that comfortable around guns... but he just didn't stop and I... I got through it. It was painful but I got through the whole book— more progress in one afternoon than I've made in years."
Sinon lowers her scope, cradling her Mini-Hecate against her chest. "Kyouji taught me how guns work. Ballistics, trajectories, all the basic principles that a gun operates on. I can see the whole thing when I'm holding one, the mechanisms, the parts, the whole picture. Before all I saw was just some... monstrous thing that takes people away. And thanks to Kyouji I can recognize guns for what they are— weapons. Objects. That there's no curse, no supernatural magic, just engineering."
Sinon smiles, staring into the horizon. "Until now, I suppose. Funny how that works."
Two outcasts, both bullied and ostracized, brought together by nothing more than sheer coincidence. Kyouji was the friend Sinon needed to help her conquer her phobia of guns. But what Kyouji needs, that's the crux of the problem...
"He seemed unbothered by your killing spree," you point out. The initial awkward apology of Sinon was waved off as if it was no big deal. He even thanked her for training his reaction speed.
Sinon's face darkens. "I realize I don't know anything about him. His family, his past, his future... the only thing we talk about is GGO. But... he knows more about me than anyone else in the real world. And yet... I can't help him. I don't know what's wrong, or how I can fix it."
You turn out towards the west, toward where Spiegel is scouting out the next group of monsters. Your goal today is to find some confirmation about Kyouji's involvement with Death Gun without painting a target behind your back. He seems to be friendly towards you, and there are certain things an acquaintance can ask that a friend or even family can't.
You just hope you can find some common ground...
"『 』is the absolute worst. Like, what's with the stupid nickname? You know the kind of person who leaves blank letters on arcade machines? 5 year olds!"
Spiegel nods wholeheartedly, waving his arms in agreement. "Right? He thinks he's being edgy, but he's just embarrassing. Like, does he not know what a username is!? Do you know how confusing it is to check the leaderboards and see a bunch of missing letters? It's a nightmare! What's the difference between him and some random troll!? It's like he doesn't understand that he's just wasting everyone's time with the mysterious act. I bet he's some fat middle-aged guy living in his mom's basement!"
You feel the heat rising through your cheeks. Your own phone, violated, by some micromanaging jackass who thought nothing of bugging the room of his gopher. And what the hell was all the stuff about having fun? Was making you run across half of Tokyo on a wild goose chase『 』's idea of fun!? Was wasting your time with Fake NerveGears fun!? WHY!?
"You're red. You okay, Kuro?"
"No I'm NOT okay! It's just that... urgh,『 』. Just thinking about him makes me want to shoot him. What kind of person goes around, making other people do his bidding!? Wipe your own ass for once!"
"『 』's a menace. How the hell have the devs not banned him yet!?"
"If he didn't skip out on the BoB I would've ripped that smarmy jackass a new one!"
Your new conversation partner clenches his fist, his voice shaking in anger. "Nah, he's too cool for the BoB. But mark my words he's still out there— just waiting for the chance to fuck everything up. That's all『 』is good for— ruining everything for his own amusement. If you find him out there, Kuro, you give me a call alright? I know some guys and they'll make sure that『 』will never play a game again. Ever."
You wince. That got dark fast.
"L-let's not get too ahead of ourselves. I was curious if you knew what his playstyle was, in case I ever run into him."
Spiegel snorts, "God, it's just all bullshit. The guy never talks— hell I'm not even sure he's a guy— but it's just one stupid exploit after the next. First BoB? Explosives. Ever wonder why XeXeeD went all in on that meta? Cause he's a talentless hack who only knows how to copy shit, but even he's better than 『 』. XeXeeD needs that big fancy American rifle with programmable grenades to enable his playstyle.『 』just reads inputs or something 'cause he'd cook every single grenade to explode precisely in your face. No dodging, no counterplay, just BOOM! You're dead."
Okay, that doesn't sound too bad, surmountable with your powers. "What else did he do?"
"Second BoB. A bunch of vets teamed up just to hunt him down, but the bastard just sat there in a lawn chair— the moment everyone got to him he just snapped his fingers. Then next thing you know the whole raid just starts turning on each other. He did some psiops shit and just took over their minds, or at least that's what the rumors say. None of those guys ever logged on again. Victory without firing a single bullet!"
Spiegel kicks a nearby rock, his stats sending the thing hurtling toward the horizon. "But even that's just scratching the surface. If you want definitive proof that he's some dirty hacker or GM, then you've gotta look no further than the third BoB. Listen to this bullshit: Ricocheting. Bullets. And you know those morons who're trying to block bullets with laser swords?『 』just blocks bullets with other bullets. You think any real human can play like that!?"
Bouncing bullets, mind control, preternaturally timed grenades... Spiegel was right, if even half of this is true, then『 』seems invincible. Like some GM, a hacker or a... Persona user. Which is not a good thought to have.
"But you know what? In a real fight,『 』would be absolutely fucking useless. Sinon would nail him right between the eyes— no cheating or trickery, just a headshot from the real deal. I'd love to see his brains painted all over the floor..."
Sinon, trailing behind you en route to the next group of spider bots, shudders and shakes her head. "I don't have anything against the champion. If we fight, then we fight."
Spiegel laughs, "Don't sell yourself short! Maybe before you would've struggled but now? Now, that cheater won't stand a chance against you."
"And how exactly did you reach that conclusion?" Sinon asks dryly. "Equal odds『 』will just pull teleportation out of his ass. Or turn into a cat or something equally ridiculous."
You can feel her glare burning a hole into the back of your skull. Can she just let it go? You turn into a cat once and she never lets you hear the end of it...
Spiegel turns around, giving you a clear look at his face. There's an ecstasy, a fervor to him that you've only noted hints of before. Like some rabid fanboy, his eyes sparkle, his body tenses, and a strange expression erupts across his face, "Because, Sinon, you've conquered your fear. You've learned how to put your life on the line. And that's why you're going to win against that faker. You're the «Real Deal» now."
You stop dead in your tracks, the weight of his words hitting you like a ton of bricks. Proof of his association with Death Gun? Or just a bit of innocent hero-worship? By now XaXa's stupid catchphrase was part of GGO's wider lexicon.
"And you too Kuro. I heard about how you completely embarrassed XeXeeD— and your fight with Sinon! The ending was a bit inconclusive, but I got chills watching the two of you fight. Baring your souls, putting everything on the line... you've got that instinct, the will to kill, that's what GGO is really all about. You're the kind of player the BoB is meant to crown! Not some hacker who couldn't even be bothered to show up!"
Sinon tenses, her fingers wrapping around her rifle. Whether Spiegel notices or cares, he doesn't stop. "I think it's beautiful. Friends, neighbors even, fighting to the death for their beliefs— if you ever finish your fight, please, invite me to watch. I can't wait to see how it ends!"
"Spiegel you don't believe all this Death Gun stuff... right?" Sinon asks hesitantly.
Spiegel freezes, his eyes narrowing. "Death Gun? It's only the biggest thing that's come out of GGO since the launch. Everyone's talking about Death Gun."
"W-well, you saw him in the match," you chime in, feeling increasingly nervous, "He talked a big game but Sinon was able to take him down pretty easily. Doesn't he seem pretty weak?"
"Weak? Yes. Of course, he was weak. He's not really «Death Gun», just a benchwarmer. There's only one «Death Gun», one survivor, one champion. They just haven't been chosen yet."
Chosen. Chosen. The word rattles around your head, leaving you feeling cold. "You're talking about the «Death Gun Derby». The winner becomes the true «Death Gun»."
"Yes, YES! You're participating, aren't you Kuro!? And you too Sinon!? You can finish your fight there, on the grandest of stages— the final battleground of GGO! A true, final battle to the death— no tricks, no lies, no excuses." Spiegel's voice begins to pick up in excitement, his words dripping with a feverish passion. "Everyone will be there. XeXeeD, all the top BoB players, maybe even『 』will show up to finally stop hiding behind his anonymity! They'll all see what it means to truly fight. To be the real deal!"
His speech is full of bluster, enthusiasm, and passion. This boy who at one point may have even held the power of a Persona— your power. This boy who once helped Sinon, who once thanked you for your kindness, now speaks about murder with the same gleeful, innocent joy. You decided to confront him here, within the virtual world, to seek out his true self. Find out what became of another person with the... potential.
I wonder what you ever saw in him...
A phantom pressure builds in the back of your mind. MAXWELL borrows your eyes, staring through your gaze. The air around you ripples and distorts and the flooded chamber of your Velvet Room briefly overlays onto the barren wasteland.
You blink, and the vision changes.
Spiegel, wrapped tight in leathers around a white smock. He's rocking back and forth within the glass walls of his cell, his bloodshot and mad eyes gazing unblinkingly at figures judging him from the shadows. And the eyes that look back at his heart are not your own.
The boy is broken, insane, and empty.
"The term you're searching for is: a piece of shit."
And you understand, or perhaps it's more accurate to say you were made to understand.
"Spiegel. Where will you be?"
The boy's head twitches to the side, your words silencing his ramblings. He stares at you blankly, as if he didn't hear the question, or couldn't comprehend the words.
"Spiegel." You repeat, taking a step forward, your eyes never leaving his. "Will you be there? At the «Death Gun Derby»?"
You take a step forward, and another, slowly walking toward Spiegel. His lips quake, his body twitches, and his hands shake, but he never moves. Sinon looks at you quizzically but doesn't interrupt. "Answer the question, Spiegel. Are you going to be at the final battle?"
"Hah... haha..."
The laugh that escapes him is empty, emotionless, almost robotic. He's always talking about Sinon, about you... about the other contestants, even about calling his 'friends'. But never about himself. Where does Spiegel see himself? Killing you and Sinon, standing atop a field of corpses? You recall the numerous people you've met, the various visions of Heaven you've been privy to. Where was his paradise? The root of his SEED, the shape of his other world? If Spiegel were to shoot himself as Sinon did, what would come out? What does Spiegel see in himself, the vision of his ideal? Did he even have one?
"O-of course not! Haha... I'm happy just watching..."
The truth.
"That's all. It's enough. C-can you imagine me winning? Sounds like a bad punchline. No, no... I'm fine with cheering you all on."
The truth, and nothing but.
"I won't stand a chance, you know? XeXeeD sabotaged my build! I-it's too late to reset. And I'm not s-strong like you are, Kuro. I can't just..."
Fascinating. It hasn't left him, not in full.
"So whose fault is it?"
"So whose fault is it?" You interrupt, your voice a harsh whisper.
"I..."
"Whose fault is it that you're weak, Spiegel?"
Spiegel's eyes widen, his face pale. The shaking of his hands spread across his whole body, his teeth chattering, his knees knocking together.
"Y-you don't understand! I tried, I really did. I spent so much time training, practicing... but I couldn't. I just couldn't do it. I'm not as strong as Sinon. I'm not as good as you are, Kuro. It's just fate, it's nobody's fault... just fate..."
"Is that an excuse? Is that really what you believe?"
Sinon's hand grips your shoulder. "Kuro. That's enough. What are you doing?"
You don't budge, not yet.
There is no hope for him, contractor. Vanquish him and be done with it. "Shut up. Can you hear? Who takes responsibility?"
"Why... are you asking me... this? Shut up, stop asking me that. Shut up! Get out of my head!" His hands claw at his head, digging into his scalp. Pixels and fragments of polygons scatter in the air around him. He hyperventilates, his breath coming in sharp gasps.
"Stop it. Stop it. Not again...!"
You feel this thing, this horrid, disgusting thing that smells of rot and decay, slithering around the depths of his soul. A shadow of something greater, laughing at him, laughing at you— laughing at the world. You dredged Havfrue out of the pain and hate that SAO left within you. Meimi channeled the hatred of ALO, the game that imprisoned her will into Daji. If Kyouji was truly capable of creating Persona, then what did he hate? Where did that thing coating his soul get its power from?
Hatred of the real world? GGO?
Or could it be... Everything?
"Whose fault is—"
"IT'S EVERYONE'S FUCKING FAULT!"
He screams. His face twists, the muscles in his jaw tightening, his eyes bulging and bloodshot. You see hints of XaXa's madness, the desire for a pure world of strength, the desire to be better on the edges of his soul. But it's only faint, nothing more than a red-tinged dream of someone else, not Kyouji's true feelings.
"XEXEED!『 』! All you fucking winners and cheaters and champions! You think you're so pure, so strong when you're nothing but losers like all of us! Just trash mucking around in the shit, only you're too high and mighty to realize it! It's a fucking comedy, a fucking joke! I want to see all of them bleed, die, and die again— until the whole world is covered in their guts and gore. That's the only way this shitty, stupid, pointless, fucked up world can end!"
A vision of gold shines through the red. That thing around Kyouji, whether a Death Gun, a Persona, a Shadow or some truly horrific amalgamation of all three opens its formless mouth—
And laughs. A laughter that churns the very earth and poisons the sky, a laughter that tears your eardrums apart.
"The «Real Deal»!? HeheheheHEHAHAHAHAEHA! The only real deal is that you're all just worms, scum, TRASH! All that strength, all that glory, it's worth nothing. You can't win, no matter how strong or clever you are. You can't escape, no matter how much you try. Nothing matters, you have no choice, you're just a cog in a machine!"
"Spiegel, what are you doing!?" Sinon swoops in, reaching out to him, desperate to get him to calm down—
His hand whips out, fast as lightning, seizing her hand in a death-grip. You draw your weapon in a flash of particle effects, leveling it at him—
"I'm sorrysorrysorry... Asada-san... Asada-san! You're the only one who's pure. You deserve to be the «Chosen», the only true champion of GGO. I'll help you, I'll make sure there's only you left upon that shining stage! I'll kill every last one of those frauds. I'll kill XeXeeD! I'll kill 『 』! I'll kill everyone who stands in your way! Oh, I can already see it, the stupid look on their faces when they realize I was the one who brought them all down...!"
"No! Kyouji, stop!"
The pulse of blue energy flies from your weapon, hitting Spiegel in the center of his chest. The energy bolt dissipates against the power of his shield, knocking him out of his reverie. He releases Sinon's hand, blinking in surprise.
"I..."
The vision fades. The darkness, the red, the gold— the thing. It was gone.
He swallows, looking between you and Sinon, the sniper already recoiling away from him. "Kyouji... I knew it. No one else would know about that gun... my home, the Black Star, the only point of connection is you. Are you... really... Death Gun?"
There's a brief second where you expect the boy to make his excuses, but it passes. If anything Spiegel looks relieved, as if lifting a great weight off his shoulders. "I suppose there's no point in hiding it now."
You keep your weapon leveled, the sights aimed at his head. He doesn't react, merely letting out a bitter sigh.
"I was pretty surprised, you know? Hearing that you were Kuro, Kashiwazaka-san. What were the chances that Asada-san's neighbor turned out to be one thorn in the plan..." He looks upon you with an expression of wonder, shaking his head. "I wasn't supposed to reveal anything. But what you just did to me... you really have a way of making people talk."
"Kyouji, why?" Sinon's voice is strained. "Why would you kill those people!?"
"To make you a star, Asada-san. So that you'll be only one left—"
"Don't you dare lie. Not now." You growl out, stepping forward, your finger hovering over the trigger.
Spiegel blinks, before smiling softly, shaking his head. "Wow. You've... really got my number, huh? I feel I should hate you for getting in my way, but honestly, I'm kind of glad. I'm really not all that good at all the subterfuge stuff. You know... Kuro... we don't have to be enemies. How has GGO been for you so far, Kuro? Aren't you just tired of being pushed around by everyone? I know XeXeeD tried to steal your account the moment you started. Now it sounds like『 』's gotten his claws deep into you too."
He brushes a hand through his hair, giving you a look that makes you sick.
"That's the kind of place GGO is, not all too dissimilar from the real world. Here you're either nothing or you're exploited. A place where the so-called strong can just bully the weak without fear. But where does their strength come from? They fight with money, with their resources, with blackmail and dirty tricks but they don't struggle, they don't know what it means to be weak. I can see it in you Kuro, we're not too different. Death Gun is going to be an equalizer. A way for the weak to finally kill the strong, to drag them off their throne."
He doesn't love GGO. That's your misunderstanding, in fact, you realize he may even hate GGO... this thing he put so much effort into only to find out he's nothing but a loser. He's helping Death Gun, you're certain of it, but not out of some obsession with death or even out of a desire to grow stronger.
He just wants to punish the world.
"Like I said, we don't need to be enemies. What you're doing Kuro, I don't mind it at all! You're more than welcome to compete— you might even win! I have no intention of telling the others, this can remain our little secret. You could even say I'm rooting for you!"
You don't get the sense that he's lying. Spiegel doesn't want the same thing as Death Gun, not truly. How many competing interests and motivations were melting into this one place? You once made the mistake of presuming Death Gun was a single person. Are you now making the mistake that Death Gun was one plan? Then『 』's Fake Nervegears... they were also feeding into this. Itsuki's machinations. Laughing Coffin. Even yourself.
This morass of chaos, of a thousand plots colliding with each other upon a battlefield. This is what GGO wants.
"Don't tell me you want to fight? What's the point? You'll beat me handily. What would that even accomplish? Save it for the tournament. I'm just here to help... set the stage. I just want the new world to arrive, and I don't care whose world it ends up being."
What could you do to him? If it's VR Psychosis it's a uniquely self-defeating form of it. He made GGO his world long enough to hate it— betrayed by both the real world and the virtual one. Is this why he's helping Death Gun, to burn the world down just so he can lord over the ashes and laugh? Sinon looks confused, all but begging you to intervene. Spiegel is laughing at you, an arrogance borne from a man who knows he's got nothing to lose.
What do you even say to him?
[ ] Accept his offer of assistance.
>A member of Death Gun will become available during combat against either XeXeeD or 『 』.
>They will enter as an allied entity, seeking to kill your opponent. They will fully expect you to betray them, but the opportunity of defeating one of the Champions will be too much for them to resist.
[ ] Ask for a meeting on neutral ground.
>Spiegel will agree to introduce you to a member of Death Gun in a safe zone.
[ ] Ask for this to have never happened.
>Spiegel has no desire to 'out' you to the rest of Death Gun, provided you don't find a way to cancel the tournament. He is happy to let sleeping dragons lay.
[ ] Handle this in the Real World.
>You will retreat, and try to find out Shinkawa Kyouji's location in the real world through further actions.
>You will not attempt to help Kyouji any further, and will simply seek to arrest him by any means necessary.
>A direct arrest will be seen as an escalation of your threat level to the Death Gun conspiracy.
[ ] "You're a piece of shit, Kyouji. There's only one person at fault. Only one person is responsible!" >Listen to the whispers and rip into him. Expose everything he is, permit him no illusions, and incite him into violence.
>Will enter combat.
[ ] Contractor. I am forbidden by covenant to directly assist your endeavors, beyond my services in the Velvet Room. But this is a special case, for he once had the potential. Empathize with him, connect his soul to yours, and I may be able to force a separation.
>Open your THIRD EYE. [1 STRESS]
>MAXWELL will force his Persona to go Berserk by ripping it out of him.
>Will enter combat.
[ ] Write-In [5 D, more if a very complex plan]
In the event of combat...
Gwen is RIGHT BEHIND YOU BUT INVISIBLE! And is available to assist immediately.
Sinon is Mandatory.
LLENN can be called and will arrive in 1 Turn.
Lugh can be called and will arrive in 2 Turns.
Max of 4 Party members, inclusive of Kuro.
No need for plans. Both votes are separate things.
Will be updating all the informationals shortly.
[ ] Contractor. I am forbidden by covenant to directly assist your endeavors, beyond my services in the Velvet Room. But this is a special case, for he once had the potential. Empathize with him, connect his soul to yours, and I may be able to force a separation.
>Open your THIRD EYE. [1 STRESS]
>MAXWELL will force his Persona to go Berserk by ripping it out of him.
>Will enter combat.
[X] Contractor. I am forbidden by covenant to directly assist your endeavors, beyond my services in the Velvet Room. But this is a special case, for he once had the potential. Empathize with him, connect his soul to yours, and I may be able to force a separation.
I said it before that the last time we used the third eye was the greatest mistake we made so far in the quest, but I'm going double or nothing. Let's let the incel know that we're a bit scared of his brother, and let our worst fears and weaknesses be relayed to our enemies if we fail. 🤣
I'm not really sure if ripping the persona might be the best choice. Maybe destroying Death Gun's taint and trying to make him awaken his true persona would be the best path forward to fix his issues. But that likely can't happen, or would need to be over a long process.
[X] A dash of the truth is all it takes to make a delicious lie stew— but sometimes when you don't even have that you'll just have to double up on the lie. Grab Karen, rub some onion powder in her eyes, and make her cry all over the entrance lobby begging to see her boyfriend. [You have enough MASK for this option]
[X] "You're a piece of shit, Kyouji. There's only one person at fault. Only one person is responsible!"
We committed to this, so we might as well see it through while holding as many of the cards as possible. Surely something at least one of our Personas has counters absurdly high AGI? And high STR too, judging from how powerfully he was able to kick that rock.
As for party comp, I'm thinking Gwen and LLEN in addition to Sinon. What better way to counter a high AGI build than with ANOTHER high AGI build, except this one WORKS. Lugh is a solid party member, sure, but he might be taken off guard by a Persona, and if we have to fight him I'd rather keep him in the dark as long as possible about Persona and what they let us do.
[X] Contractor. I am forbidden by covenant to directly assist your endeavors, beyond my services in the Velvet Room. But this is a special case, for he once had the potential. Empathize with him, connect his soul to yours, and I may be able to force a separation.
>Open your THIRD EYE. [1 STRESS]
>MAXWELL will force his Persona to go Berserk by ripping it out of him.
>Will enter combat.
I'm very much against using Third Eye, not only for the stress gain, but also because it not only shows us our opponent's weaknesses, physical and mental, but also shows THEM our OWN weaknesses. I'd rather not let Kyouji's berserk Persona get insight into not only ALL OF OUR PERSONA WEAKNESSES, but also our past as a Laughing Coffin and ALL of the baggage that entails. If Oberon was able to indirectly cause an identity crisis with that, can you imagine what Kyouji's berserk Persona would be able to do with it?!
[X] You've brought a pair of sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a 100 yen paperback. Find a comfortable bench, stare at the exit, and start waiting. You'll have to chase down Goushi, and hope he doesn't decide to get the authorities involved, but one way or another you will have your conversation with him— on your own terms. [You have the GRIT and FITNESS to perform this action.]
[X] "You're a piece of shit, Kyouji. There's only one person at fault. Only one person is responsible!"
[X] A dash of the truth is all it takes to make a delicious lie stew— but sometimes when you don't even have that you'll just have to double up on the lie. Grab Karen, rub some onion powder in her eyes, and make her cry all over the entrance lobby begging to see her boyfriend. [You have enough MASK for this option]
[X] "You're a piece of shit, Kyouji. There's only one person at fault. Only one person is responsible!"
[X] A dash of the truth is all it takes to make a delicious lie stew— but sometimes when you don't even have that you'll just have to double up on the lie. Grab Karen, rub some onion powder in her eyes, and make her cry all over the entrance lobby begging to see her boyfriend. [You have enough MASK for this option]
This looks like it has the least potential to backfire and make things worse down the line.
[X] "You're a piece of shit, Kyouji. There's only one person at fault. Only one person is responsible!"
Kyouji's issues aren't the same as Hiyori's, trying to force him to grow up by shoving each other's experiences in their respective faces seems a lot more likely to get POH and co at her door than convince him to rethink his life. Getting that spirit of rebellion fired up would be more likely to cut to the heart of the issue without exposing every vulnerability she has to the people most capable of exploiting them and fit him thematically.
Kyouji will likely still be a massive dick, but it could get him to stop following the Death Gun crowd to make himself feel better. We can leave anything else for his social link.
