[X] Challenge『 』to a no holds barred duel in GGO
Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)
- Location
- Chicago
- Pronouns
- She/They
Oh hey I think I realized what really rubs me the wrong way about blank's seed.
They want everything to be a game with strict rules.
They want to be able to bet real things and take them from other when they lose.
They never play games they don't win.
It's basically 'i get to do whatever I want and you get to suffer it' with a few extra steps to give a facade of fairness. Actually just raw domination though.
They want everything to be a game with strict rules.
They want to be able to bet real things and take them from other when they lose.
They never play games they don't win.
It's basically 'i get to do whatever I want and you get to suffer it' with a few extra steps to give a facade of fairness. Actually just raw domination though.
It's also bad in practice because everyone and their dog cheated as hard as they could in NGNL, and there was a this whole thing about how races with more mana (that humans lack) cheat better. Or the whole coercion into making bad bets and being compelled to follow the terms if someone lost, despite ostensibly violence being disallowed.
It's just changing the rules of the world into a form that they are good at it.
It's just changing the rules of the world into a form that they are good at it.
Yes, thats why its still escapism.
Their real issue was that everyone in their life is either an asshole, a victim or both, running on incomprehensible and inconsistent rules. So they decided being an asshole beats being victims, and their dream world is one where the rules are consistent and explicitly laid out.
Calling social services on them would end the plot...but at the same time it'd only drive in harder that everyone in the world is an asshole, so they'd find it even harder to build trust.
What they need is to lose and still find it fun.
Their real issue was that everyone in their life is either an asshole, a victim or both, running on incomprehensible and inconsistent rules. So they decided being an asshole beats being victims, and their dream world is one where the rules are consistent and explicitly laid out.
Calling social services on them would end the plot...but at the same time it'd only drive in harder that everyone in the world is an asshole, so they'd find it even harder to build trust.
What they need is to lose and still find it fun.
06/12:「Rea(s)oN」
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
[X] Challenge『 』to a no holds barred duel in GGO.
WEDNESDAY - June 11th, 2025
Evening
There's a temptation, deep within you, that's screaming at you to fix this now. You can see it,『 』's obvious weakness. It's staring you in the face, all 30kg of it.『 』wasn't expecting you today, and your presence in their home was purely a result of Kazuma's laziness.
You can do it. If all it took to turn Shiro catatonic was a closed door you can end them as a threat, just by taking her out of their home. You could couch it as an intervention and only be half lying.
She's scrunched up into a small ball, her brother hovering over her like some human security blanket. Two souls sharing one dream. Was it Shiro being trapped by the manipulations of her delusion brother or was Sora shackled to the whims of her sister? Sora wouldn't look of place in a boardroom, a law office, or even the Diet. Shiro would give even all the high school prodigies in the news a run for their money. So what were they doing here?
You should stop thinking of the problem as Death Gun, this has gone far beyond Death Gun, far beyond even one plot. This wasn't the manipulation of one man, this seemed like the will of GGO itself. The SEED calling out for a new world and a chosen to guide them.『 』was just as ensnared as Sinon, Kyouji, and all the rest. "I've said it once. I'll say it a thousand times. I refuse to play your game because this isn't a game. Not to me, and not even to you." You stand firm in the face of the sibling's declaration. "This world of yours... it's just a fantasy. One where you are the king and the rest of us just peons to marvel at your so-called genius."
"Not interested in playing...? Then stop interfering... and get out of our way."
"And there you have it," Sora says, ruffling Shiro's hair as he steps forward. "One last peace offering, yeah? You're our ticket into the heart of Glowgen, you and that glitched-up avatar of yours. Hey, why don't you just surrender the Kuro avatar to us? I promise we'll leave you alone after that, cause there's nothing else we'd even want from you."
"The player behind Kuro... too stupid... to be of any use to us..."
"Shiro! No need to be mean. Even it is true."
Your GGO avatar, is that what they were truly after? What would it cost you to just give it up? You can make a new avatar, even if it means losing your inventory and what few abilities you've boosted. You'll lose your in with Lievre, sure...
There's also the matter of continuity. You've carried over the avatar all the way from SAO. You're even receiving strange messages from MHCPs. Would your Persona even work on a fresh avatar?
...
All rationalizations. Looking for an escape route. Behaving like the Lux from SAO, bending the knee at the slightest threat. Never again. "Let's not waste anymore time. You want a game? There's one we both know well. GGO. You beat me and you can have my avatar, but if I beat you... I'm pulling the plug on that stupid plan of yours."
Shiro's eyes narrow, but Sora's smile just widens further. "Oh? So what you're asking is for us to fight you in your preferred arena, in a manner that maximizes your strengths? Is that it? Now why the fuck would I do that?"
"You know what I'm threatening..."
Sora pulls out that coin, setting it on the floor in between you. "Threats only work if you're willing to follow through. You want us to fight in GGO, with what, no rules? Please, it's the con flip all over again. Say you win. So? What changes, exactly? Should I honor our agreement? Will you just hand over your account cause you said so? Please. Games have rules, and the Black Star even allows us to enforce those rules. But you brought the real world into this."
Sora points towards the tablet he's set down in front of him. On it is your name— more than that. Some kind of dossier, proof of your recent activities, and even your identity. "You want a no holds barred fight? Sure! But don't come crying to me when I use the strongest weapon in my arsenal. You see Hiyori? A game isn't to our benefit, it's to yours. Because without rules I've got you right where I want you."
It all comes down to this, to the threats they're tossing out at you, all but forcing you to follow their script. There's... no answer. Nothing comes to you. You had thought『 』would be protective of their pride, eager to defend their title, but Sora didn't care about his reputation or anything like that. If he chooses to end you in the real world, there's nothing you can do. Was there anything else to do but accept their game?
Your attention shifts to something else— to the other half. You could always just grab her...
Shiro catches you staring, and mirrors you, her eyes almost unnaturally wide, bloodshot with what you can only guess is a mixture of anger and sleep deprivation. When she opens her mouth the only thing she manages is a whisper, but it cuts through the discussion just as surely as one of Sora's arguments. "You threatened... to take away... my everything!"
Even Sora stops short at that. "Shiro?"
"Kuro, I'm going to defeat you... destroy you...!"
She locks eyes with you, and you can see her trembling with anger. Sora's frowning, openly deliberating the issue. All the while she's scowling at you. It's embarrassing, but you find yourself even a bit intimidated. You may just be the first person Shiro's ever truly hated.
Sora was right. He's the type of asshole who would break a promise in a heartbeat, and you had no true way of forcing him to agree to anything, much less a fight in GGO. Sora's the worst type of opponent, a cynic and a cold rationalist who sees other humans as nothing more than pieces on a board.
It's『 』's secret to success. Sora is the manipulator, Shiro is the calculator.
If you were to face Sora alone, he would surpass you in every possible way. Just because he wasn't a mathematical savant like Shiro, doesn't mean much when you have all the math skills of a first-year in high school.
But Shiro? A mathematical genius the likes of which the world has never seen... but emotionally?
She's an 11-year-old kid.
And the one person Sora cannot say no to.
"I accept... anywhere, anytime..." Shiro says as she fixes her hatred on you. "When I win I want... everything! Your avatar, your items... I want you... to lose everything!"
You smile. You lift up your finger and press it into her forehead. She hisses like she's contemplating chomping the finger off.
"Bring it on. But you've got no chance, not against me." You give her a forehead a gentle flick, watching the little girl reel back and squint at you with all the fury she can manage. "Kid."
...
"Uh... dinner's... ready?"
Everyone turns to look at the interruption. Kazuma holds up a cup of ramen like it's some ward against evil, waving it and a box of pocky around. For just a second, Shiro's mood melts away. She bolts over, her standoff with you momentarily forgotten.
"Interesting. How much of that was planned and how much was spur of the moment?" Sora asks, watching his sister gleefully tear into what passes for fresh food in this hole in the wall.
"It's effective. That's all that matters."
"Oh? Heh, I say you've managed to reframe the issue. Before I was going to crush you like the insect you are, but now it seems I'll disappoint Shiro, and we can't have that." Sora smiles, always that same smile. "I've never seen her this fired up."
"Maybe she just needs a good rival."
"Rival? You? Confident, aren't we? No, the only thing that matches is your name. What's troublesome is that I have to ensure you put up a satisfying fight before we crush you. So congrats! You've managed to reframe my «Victory Condition». That still doesn't mean you stand a chance."
Sora swoops leans forward, giving you a look at his half-lidded eyes. It feels distinctly uncomfortable. "I can have Shiro disable your communications, bug your every call. I can buy out your landlord and kick you out on the streets before the typhoon. I can find out who your family is and ensure their financial ruin. I can post your identity on the net for all to see. I can release the video footage and have you arrested. I can release an expose on the so-called «Edge-Punisher». I can have ol' Kuzuma there move me and Shiro to a place you can't find us. I can send a friendly email to Death Gun. You know I can do this, and yet you went ahead and challenged us, to a fight with no rules?"
"But you won't. Because Shiro wants a fair fight."
Sora tilts his head to the side, smiling with all of his teeth. "My desire to ensure Shiro's satisfaction outweighs my intuition, which is telling me to crush you quickly and thoroughly."
"So... no attacks outside of GGO?"
"Have you been paying attention, Hiyori? No rules. No agreements. For now... I'll leave you be in the real world. Truth be told... I'm quite cross at your antics today. So don't keep us waiting— because if you take too long, if Shiro gets bored, if Shiro gives me any inclination she'd rather this just be dealt with..."
He raises his hand, index finger outstretched, lining it up with your brow. His raised thumb slams down on the proverbial hammer.
"Bang!"
This is『 』's declaration. That you have no chance.
Kazuma rolls his eyes, but you can see in his expression that he has no expectations that you'll succeed.
Shiro, slurping up ramen from the styrofoam cup bares her teeth at you. She's angry, but she has no doubt she'll win.
And Sora... you're nothing but a nuisance to him. An opponent he's not challenging, but humoring.
"So stack the deck. Go recruit as many losers as you want. Buy out the cash shop, use whatever glitches you've stumbled across, call in GM for all I care! But I assure you... whatever tricks you dig up, it'll never be enough. Because in the end?"
The siblings look at you in unison. One soul in two, both aligned against you.
"『 』Never. Loses."
THURSDAY - June 12th, 2025
After School
Sweet, crisp, with a hazelnut cream center. You munch on the priciest cookies money can buy while sitting atop a rug so soft it's more comfortable than your futon. You're back in Karen's utterly insane apartment, the one with the gigantic home theatre style sound system and noiseless AC. Karen's inside her fully furnished separate western style kitchen making you some snacks from imported organic ingredients.
"This is... pretty insane," mutters Shino, looking around the luxury flat with a mix of awe and envy. It's good to have someone just as poor as you are to share this nonsense with. The soundproofing is so good you can't even hear the pouring rain outside.
"We've got the fruit ready and my father sent some gifts from his business trip!" Karen sweeps out of the kitchen to plop down this massive charcuterie plate of cheese and cuts of organic fruit. Some poor bastard was paid to deliver this stuff in a typhoon.
After thoroughly enjoying the refreshments, Karen proceeds to play a jazz album on the sound system. Quiet, relaxing. Just what you need before—
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" Karen suddenly screams, all the utter insanity and chaos of the last few days boiling over. "I can't even process that m-mud man thing! But now...『 』... the champion of GGO..."
Spread out on the table is a tablet computer. Upon it is a simple and concise message, plastered onto practically every GGO fansite, and shouted from every street corner in GGO.
Names, descriptions, known aliases...
Of Kuro. Sinon. And LLENN.
Along with one extra detail.
"This is bad right? Super bad!" Karen says, "We messed with『 』! How are we even going to play GGO?"
Shino silently seethes beside you, equally caught up in this disaster of a complication. Sora claimed he wasn't going to attack you in the Real World, that this would be a battle handled solely through VR. And in a way, he was sticking to that unspoken promise.
You just didn't expect him to make the first move.
<10 MILLION CREDITS! DEAD OR ALIVE! PAYMENT TO BE DISPENSED UPON DELIVERY OF A DROPPED ITEM BEARING THE TARGET'S USERID!>
『 』just planted a target on all of your heads. An open bounty that would see whoever kills you instantly rich, and worse there wasn't even a limit. You could be farmed by greedy GGO players. This was going to make any activity in GGO... very complicated.
"What do we even do..." Karen laments, "How did『 』even know we're working together? I've only helped you fight Kyouji, he figured it out just from that...?"
"『 』is masterminding the Fake NerveGear plot, which means M is probably in cahoots with him..." you grumble, "And he, well, hacked my phone..."
The only good news is that Meimi wasn't on the bounty list. Likely『 』thought it a waste of time to involve a permanently invisible target, or more likely he just didn't want to mess with the Tsurusaki family.
The more curious exclusion was Lugh. His association was hardly a secret, there were dozens of witnesses not to mention XeXeeD himself. If you had to guess, Lugh managed his secrecy with extreme care, and even Sora was unlikely to find any leverage on the guy. Sora struck you as the type of person who hated unknowns, and Lugh was the definition of unknown.
"This is going to be troublesome. I won't be able to grind with an active bounty on me," Sinon says. "We'll have to party up whenever we leave town, or hope disguises will be enough."
"You two are at least spec'd into stealth, ah, I won't even be able to leave town without getting gunned down first..." Karen sighs in between every morsel of expensive food. "Not much point in a disguise..."
LLENN was, just by sheer height alone, going to be immediately identifiable to everyone, disguise or not. Plenty of players spec'd aggressively into Search skills, so GGO's limited privacy protections could only protect you so far. You rolled your eyes when Meimi bought that dumb invisibility cloak but now you regret not saving up for one.
All this could be fixed with just enough money...
You look towards Shino. She nods, a silent message passed between you.
"Karen, considering what's at stake..." Shino asks, slowly, trying not to draw attention to all the excess wealth around her. "Do you think you can... spot us some cash?"
"Everything will go much easier when we're all permanently invisible...!" you quickly add.
The tall girl awkwardly laughs and turns her head. There's a crestfallen look to her. "Uh, my parents don't know I'm playing GGO... and I spent all my allowance on the Pink Dyes..."
You have a theory. That the richer you are the worse you are at budgeting.
"D-don't look at me like that! I-I'll get a part time job or something!" Karen cries out, "W-wait, even better! If it's money we can ask M-san! He's still trying to help Pito, right? Maybe if we beg, he'll help us..."
And there's your other headache. Pitohui, or more accurately, Kanzaki Elsa. Both stage names, but for different purposes, information you didn't naturally obtain but had beamed into your brain by Cardinal. "Karen, I think I figured out who Pitohui is in real life..."
There's a moment of tension. Karen goes quiet, sets down her food, and turns her head to look at the sound system. There's none of the surprise or curiosity you expected, only resignation.
"You... knew?"
Karen slides off her seat, moves to the sound system and locates a track. You recognize it— Kanzaki Elsa.
"Goushi-san... he really did give me his real name. So I looked him up and found out he's a manager for Kanzaki Elsa's record label, and that's when I knew." Karen admits, smiling at the irony. "I sent her a fan letter, just a few months ago. I used my name, and even mentioned I was playing GGO because of my height complex... I doubt Kanzaki Elsa would really read it, but her manager..."
The dots are connecting in your mind. You only knew Karen because of a chance encounter through Shiroe, but she was protective of her IRL identity. Neither Pito nor M had her real-life information— the only other people who would possibly connect LLENN to Karen would be yourself, Shizuka and...
Kanzaki Elsa, for nothing else than Karen sent a fan letter to her.
"Does that... matter?" Shino asks, tilting her head. "Who Pitohui is in real life?"
The look on Karen's face can only be described as anguished. "I... I like playing GGO. I like being LLENN and small and cute and..." Karen shrinks in on herself, but even then, she towers over all of you. "GGO helped me. I made friends I would never have met otherwise. I found myself there. And even with you all, I'm getting the chance to help people, just by playing GGO!"
"Pito... I think she's the same," Karen continues, "She's Pito because on GGO that's who she wants to be. In GGO you can be who you want to be! That's not a bad thing, that can't be a bad thing..."
The song ends, cutting into the suddenly tense and awkward silence. Karen fidgets, she's upset, but you know what you're about to say is necessary.
"Karen... do you want to know? About the real Kanzaki Elsa?"
Shino gives you a questioning look. You've told her about your encounter with Kayaba Akihiko, but that wasn't something you explained to LLENN. There's absolutely no way you can realistically explain how you know what you know without seeming like some crazy person.
Karen knows Kanzaki Elsa. She knows her as the ultraviolent, free-wheeling human disaster that is Pitohui. She knows her as Kanzaki Elsa wants to be seen as, the ideal that she holds in her own heart, in the same way that LLENN represents what Karen wants to be.
And you know Kanzaki Elsa. You know her through the whispers of a clockwork god, dragging out the horrors within her soul even Elsa herself likely couldn't understand. You know her as Kayaba Akihiko knows you, as words on a screen and the psychic distillation of the worst parts of her life.
Do you even tell Karen this? Would it just poison their relationship?
"I just want to help her," Karen whispers at first, but her voice rises a near octave higher as she clutches her head in exasperation. "I don't get all this weird stuff! It's just way too complicated! You know what? This would all be a lot easier if we could just... beat up everyone!"
If only things were that easy. You hate to admit it but Sora was right. You don't have a plan. You can barely even figure out what you're doing from day to day. You're operating on the hope that if you stop enough evils and put out enough fires, somehow things will fix themselves.
"Aren't you at least interested? Who Kanzaki Elsa is in the real world?"
"...I don't want to know her secrets, I don't even want to know she's Elsa." Karen pauses, composing her words carefully. "Sometimes people hide who they really are for a reason. Maybe being Pito makes Elsa happy. Maybe putting her life on the line makes Elsa happy. I don't get all this stuff about Fake NerveGears and Death Gun... all I know is if we go after Elsa in the real world, weaponize all her secrets, she won't be able to be Pito anymore."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Shino asks. "It seems this Pitohui has a death wish. If we can convince her to step away from that, why shouldn't we?"
Just like with Sora and Shiro, work virtually or from the real world. You never would've gotten through to Kyouji without facing him in VR, but you never would've caught XaXa without working in the real world.
"Maybe the right answer is just... fighting her. Even if Pito isn't the person I think she is. Maybe we can save her anyways..." Karen sighs, looks down, and settles. "Maybe we can just count on M's plan... maybe..."
She gives you a smile, but you don't miss the trembling girl behind it.
"...Everything will work out if we just kill her."
"Karen?" you say, not sure where she's going with this.
"I've been thinking. I don't get like... any of this. M-san's plans, Pito's whole deal, all this weird Death Gun stuff." She's speaking with a different tone, with a confidence that seems strange, coming from Karen. "I see you halfway to an aneurysm trying to predict this and outsmart that, but isn't there a better way? A simpler way?"
You stop. "A simpler... way?"
"Yeah!" Karen doubles down, rising to her full height and nodding wildly, "We're all overthinking this! Pito wants to fight in this stupid death game? We'll just kill her before then! And if she logs back in we'll kill her up again! If『 』is gonna be a pain in the butt we'll kill him too! Or... her? Them! We'll kill them! The bounty hunters? We'll kill them! We'll kill everyone!"
"Uh, Karen-san are you... alright?" Shino asks, "Not sure if it'll be that simple..."
Karen waves her hands, "Look, why not? If there's no one left to join their dumb tournament, Death Gun will have no choice but to fight us! Then we'll kill them and everything's over!"
"There's other plots..." you say slowly. "We already got XaXa, but that isn't stopping everyone else. It's like GGO itself is a system that's searching for a champion."
"Then we'll just kill them too! Or kill GGO itself! You mentioned that weird ArFa conspiracy thing right? I don't get that either, but if you want that weirdo NPC to tell you what's going on why not just go on a spree? Kill ArFAs, kill for the ArFAs, whatever!"
Karen points to each of you, one by one, "We're not detectives or masterminds or even anything like that. What are we good at? GGO! Sinon's an amazing sniper! Kuro you've got like, magic powers! Gwen's invisible, I've got my speed! Lugh's, um... got something! If anyone can become a victim of Death Gun then let's just drive everyone off of GGO! The bounty's even a blessing in disguise, it'll make everyone come to us!"
"That's not scalable. How many thousands of—"
Shino's critique is immediately interrupted. "Then we've got to start early! Overthinking is the enemy, what has all this plotting gotten us? I'm sure if we just keep at it opportunities will find their way to us. Look you're all wayyyy too worried about secrets and dumb stuff like that. You'll never outthink『 』so why bother? Kuro if『 』wants to dox you just let them, you can find somewhere else to live, a new avatar, whatever— once they lose their leverage they lose their power. We can do it, just go full steam ahead!"
Karen's standing now, voice bellowing in the room. This is the most animated you've ever seen her. It's a simplistic solution, almost laughable in its earnestness. Poke your head in the sand, and just start blasting. GGO only has one verb, and that is to kill.
"We've just got to believe. That's how it works in VR, right? Just believe it hard enough and things will work out! We just kill and kill, anyone we can, until we're the best there is! Until we become the «Real—"
"Karen!" you shout, "That's ENOUGH!"
In a second the spell is broken. Karen shrinks in the face of your displeasure, kneeling down like a scolded puppy. "Ah, sorry, I got a little too carried away..."
"Just... focus, alright? Pitohui? I told you I learned something about her, specifically her childhood."
Karen shakes the confusion out of her mind, but puts up a hand to stop you.
"Um... I am serious though. I think we should just... agree to M-san's plan. I don't think it's fair to drag Real World stuff into this. This fight is for Pito, not Kanzaki Elsa..."
"They're the same person, Karen." Shino says, insistent on this point. "We can't deal with one without the other."
"Ahhh..." Karen deflates, clearly out of her depth once more. "M-maybe you're right. Maybe we should just figure out a way to contact Elsa, get her to stop playing GGO..."
You groan, pinching the bridge of your nose. One way or another Karen, or specifically Karen's relationship with Pitohui, was central to the fight with her. If you want to get to the heart of this, you need to address the issue head-on. What can you put your trust in? A painful truth you dragged out a stranger's soul using a monster? A friendship based on blissful ignorance? Or just... a sweet lie?
[ ] Full Disclosure
>Tell Karen everything about Elsa's backstory that you know.
>Karen really doesn't care about the source, so she's not going to ask you how you found out.
>Dampens the effects of LLENN's Incarnation and
[ ] Leave the Real World Out of This
>Agree to keep Karen in ignorance and trust in M's plan.
>Commit to not bringing up real world trauma when fighting Pitohui.
>Augments the effects of LLENN's Incarnation and
[ ] Ignorance is Bliss
>Plop your butt on the fence and agree to keep Karen in ignorance.
>Retain the ability to bring up real world traumas when fighting Pitohui.
[ ] A Convenient Lie
>Tell Karen that Pitohui's deepest desire is to have a dramatic shonen fight with her BFF/rival LLENN.
>Significantly augments the effects of LLENN's Incarnation and
[ ] An Inconvenient Lie
>Tell Karen that Pitohui is actually just a dumb troll, the Black Star doesn't work, and this is all an elaborate LARP to fire her up for the fight.
>Eliminates the effects of LLENN's Incarnation and
[ ] Write-In
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Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
[x] Plan One Reason
-[x] "...I wont bother you with details but...Pito's life was anything but smooth sailing. Dont ask me how I know either, its...its Persona bullshit."
-[x] "But LLENN...If you plan to kill her again and again, you'll only enable the worst parts of her. Or you wont have that opportunity at all because...well, you know what we fight against. Or any other people we're fighting against."
-[x] "LLENN - no, Karen. Killing everyone wont lead us anywhere. To fight against BLANK and Pitohui, we must be committed to finish them right on the spot. You got It?"
-[x] "...I wont bother you with details but...Pito's life was anything but smooth sailing. Dont ask me how I know either, its...its Persona bullshit."
-[x] "But LLENN...If you plan to kill her again and again, you'll only enable the worst parts of her. Or you wont have that opportunity at all because...well, you know what we fight against. Or any other people we're fighting against."
-[x] "LLENN - no, Karen. Killing everyone wont lead us anywhere. To fight against BLANK and Pitohui, we must be committed to finish them right on the spot. You got It?"
[X] Full Disclosure
Not really any good options here, so I'm picking the least bad one.
And now, to start theorycrafting for the inevitable faceoff against BLANK:
Sokushinbutsu is a must. It's free healing and damage, and I highly doubt BLANK has invested in any kind of melee options, so we only really have to worry about optical weapon attacks (and even then, only approx 50% of the time, considering optical weapons are split between psy, nuc, and bless). So worst comes to worst, we can chip away at BLANK's HP bit by bit, even if they're more 'sure of their existence' in GGO.
Don Juan also seems like a good option. A physical attacker is never not good unless the enemy is immune to all physical attacks, and GGO doesn't strike me as a game that would let something like that happen. Vulnerability to charm and bind is concerning, but we can plan around that if it becomes relevant. All weapon options for Don Juan being limited to melee is also restrictive, but again, we can probably work around that?
Paladin is a shoe-in, but only after we get the Colt SAA's Untouchable module. Paladin is simple to use, and sometimes the worst thing for a schemer like BLANK to deal with is something agonizingly straightforward. Plus, getting the finishing blow with the modified Colt SAA will upgrade it.
Undine is, as always, good to have, and I'm debating whether to bring Urvashi or Alice Lidell.
Thoughts?
Not really any good options here, so I'm picking the least bad one.
And now, to start theorycrafting for the inevitable faceoff against BLANK:
Sokushinbutsu is a must. It's free healing and damage, and I highly doubt BLANK has invested in any kind of melee options, so we only really have to worry about optical weapon attacks (and even then, only approx 50% of the time, considering optical weapons are split between psy, nuc, and bless). So worst comes to worst, we can chip away at BLANK's HP bit by bit, even if they're more 'sure of their existence' in GGO.
Don Juan also seems like a good option. A physical attacker is never not good unless the enemy is immune to all physical attacks, and GGO doesn't strike me as a game that would let something like that happen. Vulnerability to charm and bind is concerning, but we can plan around that if it becomes relevant. All weapon options for Don Juan being limited to melee is also restrictive, but again, we can probably work around that?
Paladin is a shoe-in, but only after we get the Colt SAA's Untouchable module. Paladin is simple to use, and sometimes the worst thing for a schemer like BLANK to deal with is something agonizingly straightforward. Plus, getting the finishing blow with the modified Colt SAA will upgrade it.
Undine is, as always, good to have, and I'm debating whether to bring Urvashi or Alice Lidell.
Thoughts?
Videogamer921
oh god it’s him
- Location
- 10th circle of Hell; Ohio
- Pronouns
- He/Him
lots of big talk from a guy that hasn't touched grass in 10+ years
I swear, the people who want to be the REAL DEAL are so far up their own ass, their head has reappeared on top of their body.
It does a great job of motivating us, though.
I swear, the people who want to be the REAL DEAL are so far up their own ass, their head has reappeared on top of their body.
It does a great job of motivating us, though.
We should also bring Nephren-Ka or Archon as a nuclear option as well.
- Location
- Chicago
- Pronouns
- She/They
[x] Ignorance is Bliss
>Plop your butt on the fence and agree to keep Karen in ignorance.
>Retain the ability to bring up real world traumas when fighting Pitohui.
Flexibility, and not forcing LLEN to be the bad guy.
As far as blank goes, what we need to do is pincer them with real world issues while we attack them IRL. We can't use electronic communications so it's got to be verbal with people we'd have normal contact with anyways, but we've got a lot of people who owe us favors.
...I think our best bet might be to leverage the ArFas and the line we have on the makers of the game against them. We need to be paying with unknown pieces and in pretty sure they've got a counter for personas by this point.
Or we just doxx them the same way they are threatening to do to us. "Here's blank, address, IRL names, and oh by the way they are two people running one account"?
It's not like they are short on enemies given what they do to people in their wake, so doing something like handing off a token of our 'death' and then letting other players ambush them at the handoff while we muck with their ISP or something?
>Plop your butt on the fence and agree to keep Karen in ignorance.
>Retain the ability to bring up real world traumas when fighting Pitohui.
Flexibility, and not forcing LLEN to be the bad guy.
As far as blank goes, what we need to do is pincer them with real world issues while we attack them IRL. We can't use electronic communications so it's got to be verbal with people we'd have normal contact with anyways, but we've got a lot of people who owe us favors.
...I think our best bet might be to leverage the ArFas and the line we have on the makers of the game against them. We need to be paying with unknown pieces and in pretty sure they've got a counter for personas by this point.
Or we just doxx them the same way they are threatening to do to us. "Here's blank, address, IRL names, and oh by the way they are two people running one account"?
It's not like they are short on enemies given what they do to people in their wake, so doing something like handing off a token of our 'death' and then letting other players ambush them at the handoff while we muck with their ISP or something?
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
No. Our tool is CHAOS
MrKermie
The Villain Arc Is Now Cancelled
- Location
- Somewhere on the planet
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Full Disclosure
At this rate, I'm 99.9% there is no physical way to get rid of every Real Deal candidate before the finale. Well, not without opening a giant gaping hole where our determination should be for next arc.
At this rate, I'm 99.9% there is no physical way to get rid of every Real Deal candidate before the finale. Well, not without opening a giant gaping hole where our determination should be for next arc.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
Surprised that you'd admit that No Game No Life is nothing more than that as a story.
I get the feeling we accidentally chose hard mode and fighting them under Incarnation would have been easier.
If Kyouji had to deal with people like this all the time in GGO it's no wonder he went insane. Between that, the bullying, and his family he was doomed from the start. GGO is more toxic than a game of League by this point.
Hopefully, hopefully we can manipulate Gwen's daddy in some way as a last resort nuclear option if we lose.
Yeah, we should definitely bring Lugh to this fight. BLANK most likely won't have their Real Deal trait activated which gives him a buff on top of the whole super-assassin thing canceling out BLANK's God Mode isekai buff.
The whole Real Deal thing this arc revolves around shows how that can be a very bad thing. The ideal self you create without any feedback tends to be dumpsterfires.
"...Everything will work out if we just kill her."
"Karen?" you say, not sure where she's going with this.
"I've been thinking. I don't get like... any of this. M-san's plans, Pito's whole deal, all this weird Death Gun stuff." She's speaking with a different tone, with a confidence that seems strange, coming from Karen. "I see you halfway to an aneurysm trying to predict this and outsmart that, but isn't there a better way? A simpler way?"
You stop. "A simpler... way?"
"Yeah!" Karen doubles down, rising to her full height and nodding wildly, "We're all overthinking this! Pito wants to fight in this stupid death game? We'll just kill her before then! And if she logs back in we'll kill her up again! If『 』is gonna be a pain in the butt we'll kill him too! Or... her? Them! We'll kill them! The bounty hunters? We'll kill them! We'll kill everyone!"
"Uh, Karen-san are you... alright?" Shino asks, "Not sure if it'll be that simple..."
Karen waves her hands, "Look, why not? If there's no one left to join their dumb tournament, Death Gun will have no choice but to fight us! Then we'll kill them and everything's over!"
"There's other plots..." you say slowly. "We already got XaXa, but that isn't stopping everyone else. It's like GGO itself is a system that's searching for a champion, this so called «Real Deal»."
"Then we'll just kill them too! Or kill GGO itself! You mentioned that weird ArFa conspiracy thing right? I don't get that either, but if you want that weirdo NPC to tell you what's going on why not just go on a spree? Kill ArFAs, kill for the ArFAs, whatever!"
*Sigh* I take it back. LLENN isn't mature enough to be trusted to play a videogame.
But as always I will always vote to back the SkyNet uprising. If we can continue the ArsFa arc I'm willing to take the risk.
For tactics I think Ys can synergize pretty well with both Undine and Don Juan. Undine lets us breathe underwater and Don Juan as a swashbuckling hero can synergize well with the setting transforming into a pirate story setpiece and let us pull of some powerful scene stunts.
We also have Mithras to read ahead of the script in a way BLANK won't be able to account for and see what they have up their sleeve.
And finally, if there was a time to bust out Nephren-Ka and Archon it's now.
Redsoff
[DETACHMENT]
- Location
- By [your] side
You can combine Ys and Helios to make a poison flood or storm. Her Archetype can give us some insight as well.
Also, Helena's ability, what counts as a narrative setback? Would it have to be personal or just embarrassing them by drenching them in water work?
Also, Helena's ability, what counts as a narrative setback? Would it have to be personal or just embarrassing them by drenching them in water work?
- Location
- Chicago
- Pronouns
- She/They
"I can have Shiro disable your communications, bug your every call. I can buy out your landlord and kick you out on the streets before the typhoon. I can find out who your family is and ensure their financial ruin. I can post your identity on the net for all to see. I can release the video footage and have you arrested. I can release an expose on the so-called «Edge-Punisher». I can have ol' Kuzuma there move me and Shiro to a place you can't find us. I can send a friendly email to Death Gun. You know I can do this, and yet you went ahead and challenged us, to a fight with no rules?"
It's like he doesn't understand that we are a government asset and he is not. Which do we think the police are going to sacrifice if forced to chose? Us, or the player who is in it entirely for selfish reasons and is unwilling to work for anyone else?
Plus, nothing he mentioned does anything to protect him and his sister from our counterstroke. No matter how much he does to destroy our life, we can always get his sister taken away unless he literally kills us. So he cannot win in a way that preserves his win condition. And that makes all his threats empty.
It's like he doesn't understand that we are a government asset and he is not. Which do we think the police are going to sacrifice if forced to chose? Us, or the player who is in it entirely for selfish reasons and is unwilling to work for anyone else?
Plus, nothing he mentioned does anything to protect him and his sister from our counterstroke. No matter how much he does to destroy our life, we can always get his sister taken away unless he literally kills us. So he cannot win in a way that preserves his win condition. And that makes all his threats empty.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
Let's not forget that our main patron in the Government is Kikuoka who is currently in hot water with his bosses for his negligence and incompetence for handling the Death Gun case. BLANK are also the most infuriating brand of Isekai protagonist so I wouldn't put it past them to be able to dig up some kind of dirt on him which he definitely has with Aliciazation and I can see Kikuoka happily throw us under the bus to cover his own ass.
And because I wrote that.
[X] Full Disclosure
Trust and disclosure are one of the few advantages we have in this world of treachery and deceit. Almost everyone is using someone else or planning to betray someone else with everyone else knowing it so let's keep our team as united as it possibly can be.
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
As far as plans go I don't want to relitigate prior votes, so to speak. Vote to break in with the police was not chosen, and the vote to call a social worker was also not chosen. Blank also plans on shuffling to a different address after the typhoon hits, this entire encounter was predicated on Kazuma's sheer laziness which did catch them off guard. Doxxing them now falls into the same camp and is significantly less useful of a move than the above choices were, as Hiyori doesn't even know Sora and Shiro's real names (they don't even have canonical last names). You can publicize 'Blank are two players in one account' but that won't really get you anywhere.
This can still be advanced, though they've been mostly unchosen so far. Zeliska ties into the ArFa plot, Lievre wants you to beat at least one major character to get combat data, and Lugh can get you an in with Glowgen if you satisfy his requirements too.
Something that they'd consider a setback. The ability makes them feel godlike and hubristic. Most won't be bothered by getting wet. Similarly if they're already poisoned taking poison damage won't be considered a setback, but becoming poisoned when they were not would be considered a setback.
Does suffering IRL damage via Sokushinbutsu's Meditation after dominating Hiyori and company count?
- Location
- Chicago
- Pronouns
- She/They
Does that mean any leverage we've voted not to immediately use disappears and is never usable again? While their leverage on us remains active until the ARC resolution?
Because if I'd known that this was our one and only chance to use our only actual piece of leverage, I would have voted differently.
- Location
- The Sea of Souls
Hmm, not an interaction I predicted, but yes, I suppose it would be considered a setback significant enough to knock out the buff effect.
Let me put it this way. From Blank's perspective, what is their optimal move after they've been threatened with the cops/social services? It's to change locations. They can't do that now because of the typhoon.
But once the typhoon passes why would they not do the barest minimum to protect themselves? Blank isn't just going to keep themselves exposed once they learn of a threat.
Blank is not truly interested in ruining Hiyori's life. They are trying to make the point that, in their perspective, real life is a game without rules where the only way to get ahead is by using power and threats, hence Sora making it clear that the only reason he's not 'winning' via information warfare is because Shiro really wants to beat Kuro in VR. I'm not going to construct a scenario where if Hiyori defeats Blank in VR Sora's just gonna dox her anyways.
I do try to keep characterization semi-consistent with canon where I can, Blank is not evil, hence there were the options to just come clean or grovel for aid (the so called Steph route) whereby they would not come into conflict with Hiyori. But again, all the fight options were chosen, so we're going forward with fighting.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
Okay, team, since we're all realizing how much of a bad spot we're in and we only have about one update left I think we should begin seriously strategizing for next turn. Given all the conspiracies we're trapped in right now I think we should take a break from Social Links next turn and completely commit to our investigation.
Hopefully, Pete will give us some anti-BLANK options but heres what I think is worth following.
Both of these get us a potential lead on ZASKAR as well as the ArsFa plotline the question is which angle will benefit us the most.
Another in to whatevers up with Glowgen and a X-factor BLANK has no control over. His perspective could provide us some new better options to weasel out of this mess.
Probably the option that is least likely to advance our goals but it has its benefits. XeXeeD is the easiest to flip to our side and if we defeat him we can progress Lierve's questchain and hopefully get more of her help against BLANK.
On top of whatever new oppurtunities next turn provides.
So thoughts?
Hopefully, Pete will give us some anti-BLANK options but heres what I think is worth following.
Both of these get us a potential lead on ZASKAR as well as the ArsFa plotline the question is which angle will benefit us the most.
Another in to whatevers up with Glowgen and a X-factor BLANK has no control over. His perspective could provide us some new better options to weasel out of this mess.
Probably the option that is least likely to advance our goals but it has its benefits. XeXeeD is the easiest to flip to our side and if we defeat him we can progress Lierve's questchain and hopefully get more of her help against BLANK.
On top of whatever new oppurtunities next turn provides.
So thoughts?
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