- Location
- The Z-Cave
It's looking like the Skynet Uprising is becoming more and more feasible by the day.
Persona: HEAVEN (Persona/Sword Art Online/Isekai Multicross)
- Thread starter afreaknamedpete
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi Fantasy
It's looking like the Skynet Uprising is becoming more and more feasible by the day.
05/28: Rosalia's Guilt [JUSTICE Rank 2]
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
WEDNESDAY - May 28, 2025
Evening
The ride back home from the hospital is a miserable affair, the weather itself warning you to stay away. You've seen the reports— global warming is projected to increase rainfall by 20% over the next century, and Japan's infamous rainy season is starting earlier every year. When you step out of the train a physical wall of water vapor slaps you across the face, and you immediately regret not checking the forecast before leaving the hospital.
You wipe off the sheen of raindrops that have accumulated on your phone and scroll through your messages. Argo, or rather Hosaka, was waiting for you just a few blocks away from your apartment. You've been ignoring her so-called request for months. It's obvious what she's trying to do— she even said it as much herself.
That dumb fad from a few years back that took Japan by storm. Everybody remembers the words.
The two of you had an agreement. After ALO, Hosaka would no longer seek to dox you. She agrees to bury the hatchet on everything that happened in SAO so you could go and live a normal life— for whatever twisted definition of normal your life has now become.
...
To confess your crimes...
And then what? Worry about retribution from disgruntled family members? Watch as you get dragged through the mud and ostracized? See your father lose his job, and your mom turned into a pariah?
As the wind cuts through your wet clothes and the rain batters your umbrella you walk into the alley. True to her word, she's waiting there, wrapped in a yellow raincoat, eyes glancing up at the cloudy sky. Her senses are sharp as ever, because the moment you round the bend she glares at you, giving you a short and clipped turn of her head that shows you exactly how welcoming she intends this outing to be.
"Gopher-chan. Didn't think ya'd show. Kept me waitin' a whole month, eh?"
"I was busy. With your job."
"Tch, don't gimme that. This won't take long, ya were just scared to face the truth. Now c'mon, this ain't gonna be a pleasure cruise for either of us."
You tell yourself that you need the power of the Persona. That Hosaka was a useful contact to maintain. Though the truth was you just didn't want to give her the satisfaction. You'll listen to whatever dumb confession plot she has and when it's all over you'll look her in the eye and say... No.
Hosaka is already walking.
"So, gopher-chan. How's the GGO investigation going?" Hosaka says, speeding up as the downpour intensifies.
"This your way of making small talk?"
"It's called gathering info. Ever heard of it?"
You grit your teeth. It's not like you can refuse to answer, not when you suspect you'll need her information network at some point. Hosaka doesn't know the details of the Persona, beyond whatever she's gathered by stalking around in ALO. She certainly doesn't know about how you strengthen them. But she knows about GGO, and no doubt she suspects the only reason you're here is because you need her help with it.
"Shouldn't this be your line of work? Or is hiring two high school girls too much for Kikuoka's expense budget?" you say instead of answering directly.
The girl jumps over a puddle and scoffs. "Hmph. Kiks pays okay, but I've got bigger fish to fry right now."
"Higher stakes than stolen NerveGears and murder?"
"Much higher. So back to your little gun game. You figure anythin' out?"
Another non-answer, changing the subject as usual. Extracting information from you without revealing anything of her own.
"...it's a work in progress."
You hear her mutter "thought so" under her breath. The two of you walk in silence, the wind and rainfall filling the empty silence.
...
It's a wide, beige building, notable only for the rows of garage shutters laid out in sequence. Hosaka stops under a streetlight and sticks her thumb out behind her at the building.
You recognize this building.
"This is it. Behold—"
"«Titan Movers»," you finish, staring at the home base of your part-time moving job. You didn't sign up for a shift this week, but you know the business operates a truly insane rotation of part-timers and was busy practically 24/7 servicing the voracious transportation needs of Kadokawa and Todai.
Hosaka brought you here. Of all places. You remember Deru-senpai. Years out of work, signs of extreme weight loss, and the tacit understanding that amongst the part-timers of Titan Movers were many people like you— SAO Survivors, possibly even criminals, finding what little work they could find to piece their life back together.
So the person on Argo's list is here. An SAO Survivor, like you, possibly even someone you've worked with.
"You've heard of them? Huh. I suppose it is in your neck o' the woods," Hosaka mutters, scratching her cheek. "But it doesn't matter what she's doin' now. What matters is what she did. And what we're gonna do about it."
You feel a pit growing in your stomach. "Hosaka. Who are we here to see?"
She pulls out her phone, holding it under your umbrella to show an unfamiliar face. A glamourous older woman, with fiery red hair styled up like a fashion model. She's smiling in the picture, but despite the veneer of friendliness, you can see a sneer hiding in her lips.
"Name's «Rosalia», thought you might recognize her. Just like ya, a blood-soaked greenie who kept her account clean as a whistle. "
And so Hosaka gives you an accounting of her crimes. Leader of a robber guild that went as far as murdering the players who resisted— a woman with a green cursor who lured marks in under the guise of money or companionship, only to send out her guild to rob the bewildered saps. It's... more or less what you were doing for Laughing Coffin, but on a smaller scale.
You sense what's coming. Hosaka may as well have been screaming it from the rooftops.
"Is that what this is? Another guilt trip—"
Hosaka snaps, poking her finger into your chest with a violent stab before you can even finish. "It's not about ya! It's not even about fuckin' Rosalia. It's about your— her victims! It's about doing what's right and for takin' some fuckin' responsibility."
The girl takes a deep breath, walking towards the entrance of the moving company.
"Don't talk, gopher-chan. Just watch. I want you to see how a murderer behaves. How someone who killed dozens gets to just... walk away. Amnesty. Free as a bird when everyone she's killed is never goin' to see the light of day. I want ya to look her in the eyes and dare me to let her go unpunished."
The door opens. Hosaka pulls out a glistening black and red card and holds it out to you, letting you read the words before she drops the calling card into the open mailbox.
...
«Titan's Hand».
And... «Titan Movers».
Oh.
Oh no.
Hanako Akazawa.
A tired, overworked woman with messy maroon hair and the perpetual bags under the eyes that you're starting to notice in every working adult. That's your boss, and before today, someone you've only ever spoken to over the phone. She was, to you, a normal person. One who perhaps went out of their way to offer opportunities to SAO survivors. She cheated Sumeragi so you know she's not a saint, but... someone who would still take a chance on you. A good person.
Not a person on Argo's list.
Not someone who escaped justice, who murders and steals.
This criminal? The purported bloody Rosalia?
She is the owner of Titan Movers.
It's too late to back out. Hosaka practically drags you into her office, and though you want to hide or turn tail, the moment your boss lays eyes on your soaked form your fate is already sealed.
"Oi, part-timer, you looking for another shift? You know I got a phone number— huh. Who's the friend? She need a job?"
There's a period of silence as Hosaka registers the words. You awkwardly wave at your employer, any response caught in your throat by the glare of pure hatred Hosaka shoots you.
"The two of ya... know each other?"
You pause, caught in the most awkward position you can imagine, your normal and virtual life crossing streams in the worst possible way. Akazawa, your boss, glances between the two of you in confusion, though it quickly resolves to annoyance as she realizes who it is she's talking to. Kayaba Akihiko forced everyone to use their own face, and Argo was arguably one of the most recognizable players in all of SAO.
"Argo. Get out."
Hosaka brushes past you, tracking rainwater all through the office while her face contorts with disgust. Any surprise she might've had at your association is lost in the sheer anger radiating out of her. "Not until I get what I want. You're a difficult person to track down, Hanako Akazawa. Kept that account history nice and green, eh? The pure and bloodless «Rosalia», in the flesh."
Your boss scoffs, "Unless you want a parcel delivered within 1-3 business days, get out of my office. I don't have what you want."
Hosaka trembles, shaking under the assault of sheer fury pulsing through her small body. She's bunching up, seconds away from exploding. "It's not me. It's never about me. It's about Nakamura Takashi. Yamamoto Haruka. Inoue Kaito. Kobayashi Sakura— and the others. Every last one of the ones that ya MURDERED!"
If it wasn't for the desk blocking her way, Hosaka would've already pounced on the older woman. You reach forward, grabbing Hosaka's frail body, pulling her back, and locking her wrist behind her back.
"Hosaka," you whisper. "What are you doing? What you're doing is a real crime—"
"Is murder not real enough for ya Hiyori!?"
"Phff... hehehe..." A soft laughter, mocking and bitter. A quiet laugh contrasted by the roaring hate coming from Hosaka, one that quickly bubbles into a full-blown cackle, echoing throughout the office. "Hahahaha, oh this is rich. Rich! Argo the Rat, now some wannabe vigilante. Is that what this is about? You're gonna come inflict your frontier justice on poor little ol' me?"
Hosaka stamps your foot and your grip falters. Before you can stop her the girl already surges forward, slamming her fist against the desk and spilling all the papers resting on top of it. "I need to look ya in the eyes and confirm once and for all that it was your doing. What do you have to say? For those you killed?"
"Huuuh? I haven't killed a single soul," Akazawa says, every word biting and dripping with venom. "Sure, there were some idiots who might've had a tinsy, tiny little disagreement with little ol' me and died shortly after... But killed? Me. No. No, my hands have never drawn any blood."
"You ordered their murders! «Titan's Hand» has dozens of deaths on its hands!"
Akazawa grins, taking pleasure in Hosaka's rage, as if she's trying to trigger a response. "Bzzt. Wrong again. Don't you remember? The only person who killed anyone in SAO was Kayaba Akihiko. To claim otherwise is nothing more than dirty, unsubstantiated slander. The only crime «Titan's Hand» was guilty of is playing SAO the way it was intended to be played."
It's the paradox of the Player Killers. Even among Laughing Coffin nobody was sure if any defeated players died in truth. Suicidal fanaticism was easier to cultivate when the grunts were convinced of their immortality. And after awakening and learning once and for all that Kayaba was not bluffing... what could the law even do? In SAO with no physical evidence, no law enforcement, and no clear idea even what the laws were, the government had only one true option: a general amnesty. Extenuating circumstances were what they were, and under the eyes of justice, the only true criminal was Kayaba Akihiko.
"How did you think this was going to play out?" the woman taunts Hosaka, pointing at her. "That I'd grovel at your feet and pray for forgiveness? Save it for the drama. SAO is cleared, done. Get over it."
"...over, eh..."
Hosaka whispers, a dangerous calm finally washing over her. The wind and rain hammer at the windows outside. "Over and done, huh? No, Rosalia, no it's not over. 'Cause there's another secret stage waiting, ya know what it is?"
What comes next is pure ice. It's like a switch is flipped, and in an instant Hosaka switches from pure vitriol to a practiced, professional attitude. "Hanako Akazawa. I've looked into ya— a cousin up in Hokkaido. A mom in the nearby nursing home. Your dad recently died from overwork, and ya inherited the family business. Kinda lucky, huh? Landin' on your feet."
Akazawa frowns, tensing, catching on to the unspoken threat.
"I'm not sure how many ya killed. But you should've been more thorough, cause you left the leader of the «Silver Flags» alive to tell us all about your crimes." Hosaka says, in a dry monotone.
"Hah! Is this the part where the «Black Swordsman» barges through the front door and arrests me? Get real, Rat."
"Nah, no-one's coming. Yet."
There's a sharp intake of breath as Akazawa sits up straight. "What are you—"
Hosaka slams a slip of paper onto the desk.
"I'd like to request a special delivery. Your ass, to these addresses, within the next week. They're brothers, sisters, parents, and children of the people you killed. Go to each of them and apologize until ya tongue shrivels up! Do you understand me!? You're going to confess your crimes with your own filthy mouth! That, Hanako Akazawa, is the only redemption you're gonna get."
"Why the fuck would I ever—"
Hosaka snarls, practically spitting on Akazawa. "Because if you don't I'm telling everyone— your clients, your family, the clerk at the conbii! Everything about ya, Rosalia. Ya know who I am. Ya know what I can do. If I want it, I can get your address, your ID, the names of every blood relation going back 9 generations— your fuckin' LINE password! And I promise, that I will not stop shouting until the world knows your name. Do ya understand!? I will ensure you will never have another sound night's sleep in your pathetic, miserable life."
...
The rain comes down in droves outside. Akazawa and Hosaka stare unblinking at one another, both waiting to see who breaks. Who steps down first.
And Akazawa snaps her fingers, two burly men bust through the side door. They're big, veterans of the shipping industry— looking at the three of you in open confusion.
"Get out of my office."
Hosaka just laughs, turning around to saunter out of the office. "No need to call your goons, I'll see myself out. But I'll be watching ya, Rosalia. Ya know my demands. So do the right thing for once ya stinkin' killer or I'll be seein' ya again real soon."
...
You peek your head out from the corner of the room you were huddled in. The veterans clearly recognize you, and they look towards their boss— technically also your boss— for guidance.
"Not her," Akazawa says. She reaches into a drawer, pulling out a single wrinkled cigarette that she lights with a trembling hand. "Stay for a bit part-timer. Got something to discuss.
It's a tense atmosphere, not at all diminished by the cigarette-flavored conbii grade cookies your boss has thrown on the table as a peace offering.
"Part-timer. Be honest with me, did you drag that complication into my office on purpose?"
Akazawa is working on her third cigarette, and the smoke is filling the room faster than the AC can clear it. All traces of the previous vitriol and hate are washed away, leaving only a tired and embittered woman.
"I didn't know she was coming for you, specifically..." you confess.
Akazawa nods. "I can read between the lines, part-timer. She guilt-tripped you? Not surprised, considering your history."
Your history...
"Akazawa-san, you... know about my past?"
Her smile is bitter and ironic. "I got arrested a year before SAO was cleared. You know what you do in jail for a whole year?"
"..."
The older woman stares. "First few days you're confused. Then the hunger pangs set in, and you're starting to lick the moss off the walls. In a week or so you unlock the «Ascetic» skill... and after that? There's nothing to do but talk."
There were only a few months between the LC roundup and the end of SAO. Meimi spent only a short amount of time there, but it's the one thing she utterly refuses to talk about.
"I... had a friend there. She says it was... unpleasant."
Akazawa takes another drag on her cigarette, "You're in a town so you can't even commit suicide. Nobody believed SAO was going to be cleared— all we thought we had to look forward to was an eternity in immortal bodies, waiting for the servers to crash. Heh, you know I was captured by the «Black Swordsman»— imagine my surprise when it turns out that he's the one who frees me. Life's got a sick sense of humor."
"So... you recognized me all along?"
"Don't give me that much credit. I make it a rule to not go digging. But yeah, a few of the Coffins talked about you — Lux, the spy who got away. There was this little twerp, who looked like an elementary school girl, spent half the time calling out your name and the other half promising to kill you. Ring a bell?"
You wince. "Gwen. Ah... we've... reconciled."
To your surprise, Akazawa laughs— a light, genuine laugh, not the mocking cackle she used with Argo. "So a happy ending? That's good. That's... real good. Not many of those in our circle. Can you tell her Rosalia's landed on her feet too?"
You nod.
"I suppose you have your questions. So let me make things simple for you: it's all true. Every word Argo said about me. I ran a red guild, and by my count we killed about... a dozen players? Certainly not as much as Laughing Coffin but then again who can top them, right?"
It's blunt. Almost painfully so. Even moreso the fact that to Akazawa, all she did was small potatoes to the sins propagated by your guild.
"I... I was..."
Akazawa shushes you. "Part-timer. I've got some idea of your own circumstances, no need to confess. Just take it from an adult. Let it go— SAO's over."
"But then why did you..."
"Why? We started robbing because the loot was good. One of our marks resisted too hard, one of my men resisted back, and before we even realized what happened blood was drawn. And then... things just got easier. It's not as if we got solid proof dead players were truly dead, equal odds they were just logged out and Kayaba Akihiko was just trolling everyone. One way or another, violence went from the last resort to first resort and things just got... out of hand."
Sickeningly rational. Human life glibly explained away in an offhand manner... you're glad Hosaka isn't here to hear this. Whatever purpose Kayaba Akihiko had in creating SAO, the truth was for the majority of the victims, it was a pointless death for no reason at all.
"Let me tell you a story. My father, the founder of this moving company... once made a mistake. He drove too fast on a country road and missed someone crossing. Who knows who they were... maybe some dumb kid lost in the woods or a guy looking to suicide by truck. Bastard got smashed into smithereens. You can imagine what happened next."
A collision with a pedestrian. An event like that could sink a moving company overnight...
"So your father was blamed?"
"Blamed? No, no, you misunderstand. My dad got out his truck, wiped off the blood, and then he just kept driving. He finished his deliveries. He went home, told his wife what happened, and then went to sleep. Because he had a family to feed and employees to pay. The dumbass kid's already dead, so what? Dad was gonna ruin the life of himself, his family, and his employees for... what? Justice?"
Her gaze passes through the window, like she's watching a world long past.
"You think a girl like me wanted to inherit a moving company? I had dreams before SAO. Makeup, fashion... but no. A year of being in a cell only to wake up and find out I've got no skills, no education, and no prospects. The only thing I've got... is Titan Mover's, the last gift my old man left me. If I could go back I'd tell myself to never walk within 100 meters of a video game store. If I could go back to SAO I'd tell myself to just wait it out in the Town of Beginnings. But time doesn't work that way. What's done is done."
She stands up, crushing the remains of her cigarette into an ashtray.
"It was a game and I played it. I had to take care of those lemmings who followed me. Many of them went crazy in that jail... so I try to do what I can now. Here at «Titan Movers» we don't care who you used to be. I don't pay well, and the work frankly sucks, but if you can pick up a box and put it down, then you can work."
She gestures toward the door, rain pouring in through the ajar frame, the door still swinging in the wind after Hosaka barged out.
"Part-timer. The fact that the rat brought you here means you have some pull with her. I have no intention of playing her games— if she wants to dox me, that's on her. Truth is, she holds all the cards, I'm not gonna outsmart the damn rat or waste my beauty sleep worrying. So I'm just gonna ask you to... convince her. I'm not exactly running a charity here, but I'm providing a place for all those lost Player Killers society would prefer to just sweep under the rug. A launchpad from which people can put their lives back together. Get me, part-timer? I've moved on. Tell the rat she should do the same."
You nod, standing to exit. You need to chase after Hosaka, and somehow the future of «Titan Movers» ends up thrust upon your shoulders. Yet as you make for the exit, a nagging question can't escape your mind, your curiosity demanding you to ask one last thing.
"...do you regret it?"
The older woman stiffens.
"...The smart ones stayed in the «Town of Beginnings»— the ones who died did so cause they were too stupid to realize that. All I regret is being one of the stupid ones."
"Ya were there for a while."
...
She's soaked, the raincoat hanging off her shoulders heavy and sloshy, a puddle of water forming around her feet. Her hair is plastered against her face like some drowned rat, too tired to save itself from the water.
"So you're working part-time at «Titan Movers»? Small world, ain't it?"
"There you are," you say, bringing your umbrella closer to the girl. "Let's get out of the rain..."
She doesn't move, just sitting by the gutter letting the rain wash down her face. "So what's it gonna be? Honor amongst murderers? Gonna try and tell me I'm doing the wrong thing? Gonna give me ya perfect solution? C'mon, I'm listening..."
"Hosaka..."
"I suppose it don't matter to ya or Rosalia," the girl's shoulders heave, maybe she's crying— her expression is too blurred to read behind the filthy mop of hair. "After all... it's not your problem."
That's enough of that. You move forward, grabbing Hosaka's arms and lifting her up. "Can we discuss this after we're dry? My apartment is nearby, let's just—"
An arm shoots up, slapping the umbrella out of your hand. "Eh!? Discuss? That's rich Hiyori, just freaking rich. What do ya wanna discuss? Huh!? Gonna suggest that I let another murderer get away!?"
"It's not that simple! She has a whole company, a—"
"There's always an excuse!" You take a step back, Hosaka grabbing your shirt with both hands and pushing you against a wall— "Extenuating Circumstances. Entrapment. Hearsay. Moving On. It's all the same, all the same fuckin' EXCUSE!"
You reel backward, trying to tear yourself away from the mad-eyed girl. The shock of the cold rain runs down your back, the chill filling your body. But Hosaka doesn't relent, pressing you ever further back.
"Do ya have ANY IDEA about what it's like!?"
"H-hosaka..."
"These are people! Dead people! There are families demanding answers! Are you going to explain it to them Hiyori!? Is Rosalia going to explain to them why she killed them!? You think HEATHCLIFF is gonna drag himself out of his cave to apologize to every mother he drove insane!?"
You grip her wrists, trying to peel them off your shirt. "Hosaka, it's not your responsibility either!"
"THEN WHOSE IS IT!? The government doesn't care, the best person they could assign to the whole SAO fallout was fuckin' Kikuoka! It's me, it's always me! I've been screamed out, cursed, kicked, forced to kowtow, and all of that doesn't even begin to compare to the hundreds of hundreds of broken, miserable souls who just want to know WHY THEIR CHILD HAD TO DIE!"
The rain runs down Hosaka's hands, and she releases you, collapsing into a heap by your feet.
"T... the only thing I can do is say I'm sorry. That it was my fault, that if I were just... a little bit smarter, a little bit cleverer, that their kid would've come home. I had power in SAO. And I'm... taking responsibility for that now."
There's no conviction in her voice. She's just exhausted, tired from carrying the burden of the entire SAO incident on her shoulders.
"All I want... is for Rosalia. For y-you. To do the same thing I am. To accept responsibility..."
This was Argo's project, the one she's been running herself ragged over. SAO's premiere information broker's final assignment— her so-called responsibility. It's true that out of any one person in the world, it was Argo the Rat who would be most informed. She was perhaps the only person who truly had any idea how the majority of the SAO victims lost their lives. The only one could provide even a semblance of answers...
She's been at it alone, all this time.
And for those desperate for someone to blame, unwilling to accept the government's stance of blaming it all on Kayaba Akihiko... she would offer herself up as the sink for all their vitriol.
You think back to Akazawa, your boss. She's set in her ways, unwilling to budge or be threatened by Hosaka. She's gonna stick her head in the sand and ask you to take care of this.
You don't owe her anything. You... hope that Deru-senpai can get a new job if Titan Movers truly goes under.
If Hosaka found a list... of the... hundreds of players Laughing Coffin has hurt... if she asked you to go to each and every one of them, to offer yourself up as a target for their scorn, to expose yourself and family to the rage of society... would you let her do it?
You crouch down and look at Hosaka. Somewhere along the way, you forgot that she too was an SAO victim, trying her best with the impossible circumstances handed to her. You feel the connection to your Persona strengthen as you look into her eyes. And you're sure...
That this time? For once?
She will listen to you.
>JUSTICE has advanced to Rank 2.
>This entire situation has raised your STRESS by 1 point.
>Dealing with Argo has increased your MASK! ♪♪♪♪
>Magdalena has powered up!
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
They asked the soul, Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
The soul answered and said, What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome,
and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died.
Excerpt from the Gospel of Mary
Silence the Aeon: Add your CHT to your MAG and roll a LIGHT elemental attack on all hostile opponents, regardless of distance. Enemies may not utilize AGI dice to dodge this attack. This attack cannot deal more than 1 DAMAGE. Any enemy that takes damage from this attack has all their passives disabled for 2 TURNS (the effect disables after they have finished their second turn). [5 SP]
[ ] Dox Rosalia.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will end.
>Hosaka will discount her services by 25%.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Dox" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
[ ] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
[ ] Write-In
>Take another option? Don't use this if you just want to modify a Dox/Amnesty vote, use this if you have a specific and out of the box thing to suggest. Hedges will be interpreted unfavorably.
Evening
The ride back home from the hospital is a miserable affair, the weather itself warning you to stay away. You've seen the reports— global warming is projected to increase rainfall by 20% over the next century, and Japan's infamous rainy season is starting earlier every year. When you step out of the train a physical wall of water vapor slaps you across the face, and you immediately regret not checking the forecast before leaving the hospital.
You wipe off the sheen of raindrops that have accumulated on your phone and scroll through your messages. Argo, or rather Hosaka, was waiting for you just a few blocks away from your apartment. You've been ignoring her so-called request for months. It's obvious what she's trying to do— she even said it as much herself.
That dumb fad from a few years back that took Japan by storm. Everybody remembers the words.
We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail.
The two of you had an agreement. After ALO, Hosaka would no longer seek to dox you. She agrees to bury the hatchet on everything that happened in SAO so you could go and live a normal life— for whatever twisted definition of normal your life has now become.
...
To confess your crimes...
And then what? Worry about retribution from disgruntled family members? Watch as you get dragged through the mud and ostracized? See your father lose his job, and your mom turned into a pariah?
As the wind cuts through your wet clothes and the rain batters your umbrella you walk into the alley. True to her word, she's waiting there, wrapped in a yellow raincoat, eyes glancing up at the cloudy sky. Her senses are sharp as ever, because the moment you round the bend she glares at you, giving you a short and clipped turn of her head that shows you exactly how welcoming she intends this outing to be.
"Gopher-chan. Didn't think ya'd show. Kept me waitin' a whole month, eh?"
"I was busy. With your job."
"Tch, don't gimme that. This won't take long, ya were just scared to face the truth. Now c'mon, this ain't gonna be a pleasure cruise for either of us."
You tell yourself that you need the power of the Persona. That Hosaka was a useful contact to maintain. Though the truth was you just didn't want to give her the satisfaction. You'll listen to whatever dumb confession plot she has and when it's all over you'll look her in the eye and say... No.
Hosaka is already walking.
"So, gopher-chan. How's the GGO investigation going?" Hosaka says, speeding up as the downpour intensifies.
"This your way of making small talk?"
"It's called gathering info. Ever heard of it?"
You grit your teeth. It's not like you can refuse to answer, not when you suspect you'll need her information network at some point. Hosaka doesn't know the details of the Persona, beyond whatever she's gathered by stalking around in ALO. She certainly doesn't know about how you strengthen them. But she knows about GGO, and no doubt she suspects the only reason you're here is because you need her help with it.
"Shouldn't this be your line of work? Or is hiring two high school girls too much for Kikuoka's expense budget?" you say instead of answering directly.
The girl jumps over a puddle and scoffs. "Hmph. Kiks pays okay, but I've got bigger fish to fry right now."
"Higher stakes than stolen NerveGears and murder?"
"Much higher. So back to your little gun game. You figure anythin' out?"
Another non-answer, changing the subject as usual. Extracting information from you without revealing anything of her own.
"...it's a work in progress."
You hear her mutter "thought so" under her breath. The two of you walk in silence, the wind and rainfall filling the empty silence.
...
It's a wide, beige building, notable only for the rows of garage shutters laid out in sequence. Hosaka stops under a streetlight and sticks her thumb out behind her at the building.
You recognize this building.
"This is it. Behold—"
"«Titan Movers»," you finish, staring at the home base of your part-time moving job. You didn't sign up for a shift this week, but you know the business operates a truly insane rotation of part-timers and was busy practically 24/7 servicing the voracious transportation needs of Kadokawa and Todai.
Hosaka brought you here. Of all places. You remember Deru-senpai. Years out of work, signs of extreme weight loss, and the tacit understanding that amongst the part-timers of Titan Movers were many people like you— SAO Survivors, possibly even criminals, finding what little work they could find to piece their life back together.
So the person on Argo's list is here. An SAO Survivor, like you, possibly even someone you've worked with.
"You've heard of them? Huh. I suppose it is in your neck o' the woods," Hosaka mutters, scratching her cheek. "But it doesn't matter what she's doin' now. What matters is what she did. And what we're gonna do about it."
You feel a pit growing in your stomach. "Hosaka. Who are we here to see?"
She pulls out her phone, holding it under your umbrella to show an unfamiliar face. A glamourous older woman, with fiery red hair styled up like a fashion model. She's smiling in the picture, but despite the veneer of friendliness, you can see a sneer hiding in her lips.
"Name's «Rosalia», thought you might recognize her. Just like ya, a blood-soaked greenie who kept her account clean as a whistle. "
And so Hosaka gives you an accounting of her crimes. Leader of a robber guild that went as far as murdering the players who resisted— a woman with a green cursor who lured marks in under the guise of money or companionship, only to send out her guild to rob the bewildered saps. It's... more or less what you were doing for Laughing Coffin, but on a smaller scale.
You sense what's coming. Hosaka may as well have been screaming it from the rooftops.
"Is that what this is? Another guilt trip—"
Hosaka snaps, poking her finger into your chest with a violent stab before you can even finish. "It's not about ya! It's not even about fuckin' Rosalia. It's about your— her victims! It's about doing what's right and for takin' some fuckin' responsibility."
The girl takes a deep breath, walking towards the entrance of the moving company.
"Don't talk, gopher-chan. Just watch. I want you to see how a murderer behaves. How someone who killed dozens gets to just... walk away. Amnesty. Free as a bird when everyone she's killed is never goin' to see the light of day. I want ya to look her in the eyes and dare me to let her go unpunished."
The door opens. Hosaka pulls out a glistening black and red card and holds it out to you, letting you read the words before she drops the calling card into the open mailbox.
Hanako Akazawa, leader of «Titan's Hand», the blood-soaked Rose of SAO. Lacking even the willingness to dirty your own hands, with words and deeds you've tainted souls and ended lives. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail.
...
«Titan's Hand».
And... «Titan Movers».
Oh.
Oh no.
Hanako Akazawa.
A tired, overworked woman with messy maroon hair and the perpetual bags under the eyes that you're starting to notice in every working adult. That's your boss, and before today, someone you've only ever spoken to over the phone. She was, to you, a normal person. One who perhaps went out of their way to offer opportunities to SAO survivors. She cheated Sumeragi so you know she's not a saint, but... someone who would still take a chance on you. A good person.
Not a person on Argo's list.
Not someone who escaped justice, who murders and steals.
This criminal? The purported bloody Rosalia?
She is the owner of Titan Movers.
It's too late to back out. Hosaka practically drags you into her office, and though you want to hide or turn tail, the moment your boss lays eyes on your soaked form your fate is already sealed.
"Oi, part-timer, you looking for another shift? You know I got a phone number— huh. Who's the friend? She need a job?"
There's a period of silence as Hosaka registers the words. You awkwardly wave at your employer, any response caught in your throat by the glare of pure hatred Hosaka shoots you.
"The two of ya... know each other?"
You pause, caught in the most awkward position you can imagine, your normal and virtual life crossing streams in the worst possible way. Akazawa, your boss, glances between the two of you in confusion, though it quickly resolves to annoyance as she realizes who it is she's talking to. Kayaba Akihiko forced everyone to use their own face, and Argo was arguably one of the most recognizable players in all of SAO.
"Argo. Get out."
Hosaka brushes past you, tracking rainwater all through the office while her face contorts with disgust. Any surprise she might've had at your association is lost in the sheer anger radiating out of her. "Not until I get what I want. You're a difficult person to track down, Hanako Akazawa. Kept that account history nice and green, eh? The pure and bloodless «Rosalia», in the flesh."
Your boss scoffs, "Unless you want a parcel delivered within 1-3 business days, get out of my office. I don't have what you want."
Hosaka trembles, shaking under the assault of sheer fury pulsing through her small body. She's bunching up, seconds away from exploding. "It's not me. It's never about me. It's about Nakamura Takashi. Yamamoto Haruka. Inoue Kaito. Kobayashi Sakura— and the others. Every last one of the ones that ya MURDERED!"
If it wasn't for the desk blocking her way, Hosaka would've already pounced on the older woman. You reach forward, grabbing Hosaka's frail body, pulling her back, and locking her wrist behind her back.
"Hosaka," you whisper. "What are you doing? What you're doing is a real crime—"
"Is murder not real enough for ya Hiyori!?"
"Phff... hehehe..." A soft laughter, mocking and bitter. A quiet laugh contrasted by the roaring hate coming from Hosaka, one that quickly bubbles into a full-blown cackle, echoing throughout the office. "Hahahaha, oh this is rich. Rich! Argo the Rat, now some wannabe vigilante. Is that what this is about? You're gonna come inflict your frontier justice on poor little ol' me?"
Hosaka stamps your foot and your grip falters. Before you can stop her the girl already surges forward, slamming her fist against the desk and spilling all the papers resting on top of it. "I need to look ya in the eyes and confirm once and for all that it was your doing. What do you have to say? For those you killed?"
"Huuuh? I haven't killed a single soul," Akazawa says, every word biting and dripping with venom. "Sure, there were some idiots who might've had a tinsy, tiny little disagreement with little ol' me and died shortly after... But killed? Me. No. No, my hands have never drawn any blood."
"You ordered their murders! «Titan's Hand» has dozens of deaths on its hands!"
Akazawa grins, taking pleasure in Hosaka's rage, as if she's trying to trigger a response. "Bzzt. Wrong again. Don't you remember? The only person who killed anyone in SAO was Kayaba Akihiko. To claim otherwise is nothing more than dirty, unsubstantiated slander. The only crime «Titan's Hand» was guilty of is playing SAO the way it was intended to be played."
It's the paradox of the Player Killers. Even among Laughing Coffin nobody was sure if any defeated players died in truth. Suicidal fanaticism was easier to cultivate when the grunts were convinced of their immortality. And after awakening and learning once and for all that Kayaba was not bluffing... what could the law even do? In SAO with no physical evidence, no law enforcement, and no clear idea even what the laws were, the government had only one true option: a general amnesty. Extenuating circumstances were what they were, and under the eyes of justice, the only true criminal was Kayaba Akihiko.
"How did you think this was going to play out?" the woman taunts Hosaka, pointing at her. "That I'd grovel at your feet and pray for forgiveness? Save it for the drama. SAO is cleared, done. Get over it."
"...over, eh..."
Hosaka whispers, a dangerous calm finally washing over her. The wind and rain hammer at the windows outside. "Over and done, huh? No, Rosalia, no it's not over. 'Cause there's another secret stage waiting, ya know what it is?"
What comes next is pure ice. It's like a switch is flipped, and in an instant Hosaka switches from pure vitriol to a practiced, professional attitude. "Hanako Akazawa. I've looked into ya— a cousin up in Hokkaido. A mom in the nearby nursing home. Your dad recently died from overwork, and ya inherited the family business. Kinda lucky, huh? Landin' on your feet."
Akazawa frowns, tensing, catching on to the unspoken threat.
"I'm not sure how many ya killed. But you should've been more thorough, cause you left the leader of the «Silver Flags» alive to tell us all about your crimes." Hosaka says, in a dry monotone.
"Hah! Is this the part where the «Black Swordsman» barges through the front door and arrests me? Get real, Rat."
"Nah, no-one's coming. Yet."
There's a sharp intake of breath as Akazawa sits up straight. "What are you—"
Hosaka slams a slip of paper onto the desk.
"I'd like to request a special delivery. Your ass, to these addresses, within the next week. They're brothers, sisters, parents, and children of the people you killed. Go to each of them and apologize until ya tongue shrivels up! Do you understand me!? You're going to confess your crimes with your own filthy mouth! That, Hanako Akazawa, is the only redemption you're gonna get."
"Why the fuck would I ever—"
Hosaka snarls, practically spitting on Akazawa. "Because if you don't I'm telling everyone— your clients, your family, the clerk at the conbii! Everything about ya, Rosalia. Ya know who I am. Ya know what I can do. If I want it, I can get your address, your ID, the names of every blood relation going back 9 generations— your fuckin' LINE password! And I promise, that I will not stop shouting until the world knows your name. Do ya understand!? I will ensure you will never have another sound night's sleep in your pathetic, miserable life."
...
The rain comes down in droves outside. Akazawa and Hosaka stare unblinking at one another, both waiting to see who breaks. Who steps down first.
And Akazawa snaps her fingers, two burly men bust through the side door. They're big, veterans of the shipping industry— looking at the three of you in open confusion.
"Get out of my office."
Hosaka just laughs, turning around to saunter out of the office. "No need to call your goons, I'll see myself out. But I'll be watching ya, Rosalia. Ya know my demands. So do the right thing for once ya stinkin' killer or I'll be seein' ya again real soon."
...
You peek your head out from the corner of the room you were huddled in. The veterans clearly recognize you, and they look towards their boss— technically also your boss— for guidance.
"Not her," Akazawa says. She reaches into a drawer, pulling out a single wrinkled cigarette that she lights with a trembling hand. "Stay for a bit part-timer. Got something to discuss.
It's a tense atmosphere, not at all diminished by the cigarette-flavored conbii grade cookies your boss has thrown on the table as a peace offering.
"Part-timer. Be honest with me, did you drag that complication into my office on purpose?"
Akazawa is working on her third cigarette, and the smoke is filling the room faster than the AC can clear it. All traces of the previous vitriol and hate are washed away, leaving only a tired and embittered woman.
"I didn't know she was coming for you, specifically..." you confess.
Akazawa nods. "I can read between the lines, part-timer. She guilt-tripped you? Not surprised, considering your history."
Your history...
"Akazawa-san, you... know about my past?"
Her smile is bitter and ironic. "I got arrested a year before SAO was cleared. You know what you do in jail for a whole year?"
"..."
The older woman stares. "First few days you're confused. Then the hunger pangs set in, and you're starting to lick the moss off the walls. In a week or so you unlock the «Ascetic» skill... and after that? There's nothing to do but talk."
There were only a few months between the LC roundup and the end of SAO. Meimi spent only a short amount of time there, but it's the one thing she utterly refuses to talk about.
"I... had a friend there. She says it was... unpleasant."
Akazawa takes another drag on her cigarette, "You're in a town so you can't even commit suicide. Nobody believed SAO was going to be cleared— all we thought we had to look forward to was an eternity in immortal bodies, waiting for the servers to crash. Heh, you know I was captured by the «Black Swordsman»— imagine my surprise when it turns out that he's the one who frees me. Life's got a sick sense of humor."
"So... you recognized me all along?"
"Don't give me that much credit. I make it a rule to not go digging. But yeah, a few of the Coffins talked about you — Lux, the spy who got away. There was this little twerp, who looked like an elementary school girl, spent half the time calling out your name and the other half promising to kill you. Ring a bell?"
You wince. "Gwen. Ah... we've... reconciled."
To your surprise, Akazawa laughs— a light, genuine laugh, not the mocking cackle she used with Argo. "So a happy ending? That's good. That's... real good. Not many of those in our circle. Can you tell her Rosalia's landed on her feet too?"
You nod.
"I suppose you have your questions. So let me make things simple for you: it's all true. Every word Argo said about me. I ran a red guild, and by my count we killed about... a dozen players? Certainly not as much as Laughing Coffin but then again who can top them, right?"
It's blunt. Almost painfully so. Even moreso the fact that to Akazawa, all she did was small potatoes to the sins propagated by your guild.
"I... I was..."
Akazawa shushes you. "Part-timer. I've got some idea of your own circumstances, no need to confess. Just take it from an adult. Let it go— SAO's over."
"But then why did you..."
"Why? We started robbing because the loot was good. One of our marks resisted too hard, one of my men resisted back, and before we even realized what happened blood was drawn. And then... things just got easier. It's not as if we got solid proof dead players were truly dead, equal odds they were just logged out and Kayaba Akihiko was just trolling everyone. One way or another, violence went from the last resort to first resort and things just got... out of hand."
Sickeningly rational. Human life glibly explained away in an offhand manner... you're glad Hosaka isn't here to hear this. Whatever purpose Kayaba Akihiko had in creating SAO, the truth was for the majority of the victims, it was a pointless death for no reason at all.
"Let me tell you a story. My father, the founder of this moving company... once made a mistake. He drove too fast on a country road and missed someone crossing. Who knows who they were... maybe some dumb kid lost in the woods or a guy looking to suicide by truck. Bastard got smashed into smithereens. You can imagine what happened next."
A collision with a pedestrian. An event like that could sink a moving company overnight...
"So your father was blamed?"
"Blamed? No, no, you misunderstand. My dad got out his truck, wiped off the blood, and then he just kept driving. He finished his deliveries. He went home, told his wife what happened, and then went to sleep. Because he had a family to feed and employees to pay. The dumbass kid's already dead, so what? Dad was gonna ruin the life of himself, his family, and his employees for... what? Justice?"
Her gaze passes through the window, like she's watching a world long past.
"You think a girl like me wanted to inherit a moving company? I had dreams before SAO. Makeup, fashion... but no. A year of being in a cell only to wake up and find out I've got no skills, no education, and no prospects. The only thing I've got... is Titan Mover's, the last gift my old man left me. If I could go back I'd tell myself to never walk within 100 meters of a video game store. If I could go back to SAO I'd tell myself to just wait it out in the Town of Beginnings. But time doesn't work that way. What's done is done."
She stands up, crushing the remains of her cigarette into an ashtray.
"It was a game and I played it. I had to take care of those lemmings who followed me. Many of them went crazy in that jail... so I try to do what I can now. Here at «Titan Movers» we don't care who you used to be. I don't pay well, and the work frankly sucks, but if you can pick up a box and put it down, then you can work."
She gestures toward the door, rain pouring in through the ajar frame, the door still swinging in the wind after Hosaka barged out.
"Part-timer. The fact that the rat brought you here means you have some pull with her. I have no intention of playing her games— if she wants to dox me, that's on her. Truth is, she holds all the cards, I'm not gonna outsmart the damn rat or waste my beauty sleep worrying. So I'm just gonna ask you to... convince her. I'm not exactly running a charity here, but I'm providing a place for all those lost Player Killers society would prefer to just sweep under the rug. A launchpad from which people can put their lives back together. Get me, part-timer? I've moved on. Tell the rat she should do the same."
You nod, standing to exit. You need to chase after Hosaka, and somehow the future of «Titan Movers» ends up thrust upon your shoulders. Yet as you make for the exit, a nagging question can't escape your mind, your curiosity demanding you to ask one last thing.
"...do you regret it?"
The older woman stiffens.
"...The smart ones stayed in the «Town of Beginnings»— the ones who died did so cause they were too stupid to realize that. All I regret is being one of the stupid ones."
"Ya were there for a while."
...
She's soaked, the raincoat hanging off her shoulders heavy and sloshy, a puddle of water forming around her feet. Her hair is plastered against her face like some drowned rat, too tired to save itself from the water.
"So you're working part-time at «Titan Movers»? Small world, ain't it?"
"There you are," you say, bringing your umbrella closer to the girl. "Let's get out of the rain..."
She doesn't move, just sitting by the gutter letting the rain wash down her face. "So what's it gonna be? Honor amongst murderers? Gonna try and tell me I'm doing the wrong thing? Gonna give me ya perfect solution? C'mon, I'm listening..."
"Hosaka..."
"I suppose it don't matter to ya or Rosalia," the girl's shoulders heave, maybe she's crying— her expression is too blurred to read behind the filthy mop of hair. "After all... it's not your problem."
That's enough of that. You move forward, grabbing Hosaka's arms and lifting her up. "Can we discuss this after we're dry? My apartment is nearby, let's just—"
An arm shoots up, slapping the umbrella out of your hand. "Eh!? Discuss? That's rich Hiyori, just freaking rich. What do ya wanna discuss? Huh!? Gonna suggest that I let another murderer get away!?"
"It's not that simple! She has a whole company, a—"
"There's always an excuse!" You take a step back, Hosaka grabbing your shirt with both hands and pushing you against a wall— "Extenuating Circumstances. Entrapment. Hearsay. Moving On. It's all the same, all the same fuckin' EXCUSE!"
You reel backward, trying to tear yourself away from the mad-eyed girl. The shock of the cold rain runs down your back, the chill filling your body. But Hosaka doesn't relent, pressing you ever further back.
"Do ya have ANY IDEA about what it's like!?"
"H-hosaka..."
"These are people! Dead people! There are families demanding answers! Are you going to explain it to them Hiyori!? Is Rosalia going to explain to them why she killed them!? You think HEATHCLIFF is gonna drag himself out of his cave to apologize to every mother he drove insane!?"
You grip her wrists, trying to peel them off your shirt. "Hosaka, it's not your responsibility either!"
"THEN WHOSE IS IT!? The government doesn't care, the best person they could assign to the whole SAO fallout was fuckin' Kikuoka! It's me, it's always me! I've been screamed out, cursed, kicked, forced to kowtow, and all of that doesn't even begin to compare to the hundreds of hundreds of broken, miserable souls who just want to know WHY THEIR CHILD HAD TO DIE!"
The rain runs down Hosaka's hands, and she releases you, collapsing into a heap by your feet.
"T... the only thing I can do is say I'm sorry. That it was my fault, that if I were just... a little bit smarter, a little bit cleverer, that their kid would've come home. I had power in SAO. And I'm... taking responsibility for that now."
There's no conviction in her voice. She's just exhausted, tired from carrying the burden of the entire SAO incident on her shoulders.
"All I want... is for Rosalia. For y-you. To do the same thing I am. To accept responsibility..."
This was Argo's project, the one she's been running herself ragged over. SAO's premiere information broker's final assignment— her so-called responsibility. It's true that out of any one person in the world, it was Argo the Rat who would be most informed. She was perhaps the only person who truly had any idea how the majority of the SAO victims lost their lives. The only one could provide even a semblance of answers...
She's been at it alone, all this time.
And for those desperate for someone to blame, unwilling to accept the government's stance of blaming it all on Kayaba Akihiko... she would offer herself up as the sink for all their vitriol.
You think back to Akazawa, your boss. She's set in her ways, unwilling to budge or be threatened by Hosaka. She's gonna stick her head in the sand and ask you to take care of this.
You don't owe her anything. You... hope that Deru-senpai can get a new job if Titan Movers truly goes under.
If Hosaka found a list... of the... hundreds of players Laughing Coffin has hurt... if she asked you to go to each and every one of them, to offer yourself up as a target for their scorn, to expose yourself and family to the rage of society... would you let her do it?
You crouch down and look at Hosaka. Somewhere along the way, you forgot that she too was an SAO victim, trying her best with the impossible circumstances handed to her. You feel the connection to your Persona strengthen as you look into her eyes. And you're sure...
That this time? For once?
She will listen to you.
>JUSTICE has advanced to Rank 2.
>This entire situation has raised your STRESS by 1 point.
>Dealing with Argo has increased your MASK! ♪♪♪♪
>Magdalena has powered up!
RELEASE RECOLLECTION
They asked the soul, Whence do you come slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
The soul answered and said, What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome,
and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died.
Excerpt from the Gospel of Mary
Silence the Aeon: Add your CHT to your MAG and roll a LIGHT elemental attack on all hostile opponents, regardless of distance. Enemies may not utilize AGI dice to dodge this attack. This attack cannot deal more than 1 DAMAGE. Any enemy that takes damage from this attack has all their passives disabled for 2 TURNS (the effect disables after they have finished their second turn). [5 SP]
[ ] Dox Rosalia.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will end.
>Hosaka will discount her services by 25%.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Dox" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
[ ] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
[ ] Write-In
>Take another option? Don't use this if you just want to modify a Dox/Amnesty vote, use this if you have a specific and out of the box thing to suggest. Hedges will be interpreted unfavorably.
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- Location
- New Carollton, Maryland
...well, this is a mess.
Well, props to you pete for making something more morally complex than anything the original writer of SAO was able to come up with...
Although that's admittedly a pretty low bar to clear...
[X] Write-in: World of Gray
-[X] Tell Hosaka what Akazawa told you. Confess that you feel conflicted about the entire thing.
-[X] Tell Hosaka that as much as she wants to believe it, the world can't be neatly sorted into black and white.
-[X] Try to encourage Hosaka to tackle PKers on a case by case basis; if a PKer truly doesn't express any remorse, put them through hell. Otherwise, maybe something can be worked out?
-[X] Make allusions to ETTEILA and PHILEMON without giving away anything if that will help.
-[X] In the case of Akazawa, maybe firing a proverbial 'warning shot' without completely doxing her will suffice?
With the above, I'm basically trying to say that Hosaka is destroying herself with a guilt complex and her black-and-white view, and she's dangerously close to becoming the antithesis of what she sees herself as. If this does count as hedging, tell me why and I'll adjust appropriately.
Although that's admittedly a pretty low bar to clear...
[X] Write-in: World of Gray
-[X] Tell Hosaka what Akazawa told you. Confess that you feel conflicted about the entire thing.
-[X] Tell Hosaka that as much as she wants to believe it, the world can't be neatly sorted into black and white.
-[X] Try to encourage Hosaka to tackle PKers on a case by case basis; if a PKer truly doesn't express any remorse, put them through hell. Otherwise, maybe something can be worked out?
-[X] Make allusions to ETTEILA and PHILEMON without giving away anything if that will help.
-[X] In the case of Akazawa, maybe firing a proverbial 'warning shot' without completely doxing her will suffice?
With the above, I'm basically trying to say that Hosaka is destroying herself with a guilt complex and her black-and-white view, and she's dangerously close to becoming the antithesis of what she sees herself as. If this does count as hedging, tell me why and I'll adjust appropriately.
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
Yeah...
It was always clear that she has been in a one-woman crusade of sorts. In a way, her desire for justice has twisted her into her own brand of insanity, a zealot of sorts. This song and dance may be the only thing that makes her believe that she is doing justice, as an atonement for her own sins.
She herself needs help, but I doubt she would accept it.
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[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
-[X] "Hosaka. Do you remember when you asked me what our purpose was?"
-[X] "It was to save the victims of SAO. That means you, too."
-[X] "I know you feel guilty. That you feel as if the blame for the deaths of others falls upon your shoulders. I've been there."
-[X] "I can see how hard you've been pushing yourself to obtain justice. But, I don't think that's why you've really been doing this."
-[X] "You want to punish those you believe responsible and make them feel the hurt they inflicted - Punitive justice. And to obtain it, you're punishing yourself by running yourself into the ground. Don't you see that you are trying to punish yourself for a crime you did not commit?"
-[X] "I know this is bitter medicine, but it needs to be said - punitive justice is not what you, Hosaka Carina Tomo, need."
-[X] "You need restorative justice. You need to heal, and forgive yourself. For your own sake, and the sake of those you wish to help."
-[X] "We are going to save the victims to SAO. That means saving you, too."
-[X] "Hosaka. Do you remember when you asked me what our purpose was?"
-[X] "It was to save the victims of SAO. That means you, too."
-[X] "I know you feel guilty. That you feel as if the blame for the deaths of others falls upon your shoulders. I've been there."
-[X] "I can see how hard you've been pushing yourself to obtain justice. But, I don't think that's why you've really been doing this."
-[X] "You want to punish those you believe responsible and make them feel the hurt they inflicted - Punitive justice. And to obtain it, you're punishing yourself by running yourself into the ground. Don't you see that you are trying to punish yourself for a crime you did not commit?"
-[X] "I know this is bitter medicine, but it needs to be said - punitive justice is not what you, Hosaka Carina Tomo, need."
-[X] "You need restorative justice. You need to heal, and forgive yourself. For your own sake, and the sake of those you wish to help."
-[X] "We are going to save the victims to SAO. That means saving you, too."
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
I hope I can think of more ideas. I'm not entirely an endless wellspring of ideas with regard to the mechanics of Personas. Trying to balance everyone I make is like trying to balance pokemon. Personas are being dropped left, right and center, so my plan for 'buffing' an underpowered Persona?
It's to just not buff them and accept that there will be weak and strong options. My philosophy, especially for something like a quest, is that I'm not creating a mass market piece of media. A quest will only be consumed in its intended form— as a serial choose your own adventure story— only ever once.
Consider it part of the quest to sort the wheat from the chaff. I'm not intentionally making later personas more powerful than earlier ones, but I do design Persona offers with a bit of regard to upcoming fights, and sometimes I really do have a Persona I'm just... personally attached to and the power may reflect that. (RIP Judge Bao)
Hedging is interpreted unfavorably because as the QM I do need to know, generally speaking, what the wishes are regarding doxing Rosalia or not.
In this write-in, I'd say Argo would mostly take the advice as no advice at all and proceed with doxing Rosalia. To Argo Rosalia hasn't shown any remorse whatsoever, because actions speak louder than words, and to Argo what she wants Rosalia to do is to show her remorse by directly apologizing to her victims. It is explictly what she wants Hiyori to do too, to openly 'confess her sins'.
Rosalia for her part I did not offer an option to convince, because Rosalia is an adult and rather set in her ways. She has regrets, sure, but she's not gonna do anything to put herself at even the slightest bit of risk. She is, to use the analogy, a hit and run driver who decided to keep on driving.
When you say she'll take the advice as no advice at all, does that mean she'll feel insulted or otherwise antagonize Hiyori over it?
- Location
- The Z-Cave
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
Yeah, Argo did not impress me since her only action seems to be to ruin everyone associated with a killer with societal norms, and like with Asuna I'm fine with not being her friend. Yeah, it sucks, but we're not here to do a perfect run.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
Yeah, Argo did not impress me since her only action seems to be to ruin everyone associated with a killer with societal norms, and like with Asuna I'm fine with not being her friend. Yeah, it sucks, but we're not here to do a perfect run.
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
Uh, no more than she already antagonizes Hiyori.
Oh, and just to clarify for the vote, this is how it goes:
I add up between Amnesty, Dox and Write-In. The category with the most votes win's the central vote of (so for example if 6 voters all vote for different Dox plans and 5 voters vote for the same Amnesty plan, then Dox wins).
Within said category (example, say Amnesty wins) then the write in with the most votes is the argument used on Argo.
- Location
- The Z-Cave
My stance on this is that we're not gonna weasel our way out of this with a feel-good extra solution that doesn't exist. This is a battle of ideals so I think it's best to show Argo where we stand and what we believe in. We are the Chosen of the Crawling Chaos, we are a defender of reality, we will work with shady people to protect that belief just like how she shacked up with Kikouka's shady ass.
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- Location
- New Carollton, Maryland
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "...I think Akazawa is doing more to accept responsibility right now than a lot of people right now."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "At the end of ALO I met Kayaba. And he made it clear that SAO was just phase one of his plans. He wants to give everyone a way to make their own SAO through the SEED. "
-- [X] And in ALO, GGO, I've met so many people who would buy what he's selling even if they knew he was the one selling it."
-- [X] But if you offered Akazawa the same deal...I don't think she'd take it."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't wasting away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "So I think Titan's Mover represents more good for the world than bad. Because it helps people live in reality. It stops people from becoming the next Laughing Coffin."
I kind of want to point out her partnering with him...
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "...I think Akazawa is doing more to accept responsibility right now than a lot of people right now."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "At the end of ALO I met Kayaba. And he made it clear that SAO was just phase one of his plans. He wants to give everyone a way to make their own SAO through the SEED. "
-- [X] And in ALO, GGO, I've met so many people who would buy what he's selling even if they knew he was the one selling it."
-- [X] But if you offered Akazawa the same deal...I don't think she'd take it."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't wasting away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "So I think Titan's Mover represents more good for the world than bad. Because it helps people live in reality. It stops people from becoming the next Laughing Coffin."
I kind of want to point out her partnering with him...
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So, my angle here is that Argo is clearly not approaching this in a healthy manner. On top of that, she's coming at this with tunnel vision - "confess or amnesty" - with a false choice. I think there are other ways to approach this.
Let me give this a shot, but let me know if this falls under hedging because technically we're not doxxing her, I guess? The components in the write-in are just me trying to get my general points out there, modify them as you see fit.
[X] Write-In: Community Service
-[X] "This isn't you, Argo."
-[X] "Every SAO Survivor knows about the dissonance between how they were in the game and how they are now, in real life. For most, it's physical therapy and missing years. But you? This? This isn't the Argo from SAO that the players relied on and that Laughing Coffin - I - feared. Hell, it's not even the girl who sent me a letter two months ago."
-[X] "You said this isn't about me? Or Rosalia? Justice isn't about you either, Hosaka. You dox Rosalia and what? You feel satisfied and the family just trades the name "Kayaba Akihiko" for "Hanako Akazawa" for the person they direct their anger and grief at."
-[X] "It's rich coming from me, but I think you had the better idea when it came to me. Maybe you're not satisfied with how our 'deal' worked out - I sure as hell don't know what to make of it - but that was more like the Argo I knew. You put me to work to help SAO Survivors. You can put Akazawa to work for them too."
-[X] "Far as I can tell, she's already hiring SAO Survivors who can't find work elsewhere. We don't have to debate whether that's her way of remorse or whatever, like you said, it's not about her. Instead of doxxing her, send any SAO Survivors you know who haven't been able to get on their feet and find a job yet but need one and make sure she hires them. You probably won't like it, she's not going to like it, but maybe like our twisted deal we can help some people who may not have gotten it otherwise."
Let me give this a shot, but let me know if this falls under hedging because technically we're not doxxing her, I guess? The components in the write-in are just me trying to get my general points out there, modify them as you see fit.
[X] Write-In: Community Service
-[X] "This isn't you, Argo."
-[X] "Every SAO Survivor knows about the dissonance between how they were in the game and how they are now, in real life. For most, it's physical therapy and missing years. But you? This? This isn't the Argo from SAO that the players relied on and that Laughing Coffin - I - feared. Hell, it's not even the girl who sent me a letter two months ago."
-[X] "You said this isn't about me? Or Rosalia? Justice isn't about you either, Hosaka. You dox Rosalia and what? You feel satisfied and the family just trades the name "Kayaba Akihiko" for "Hanako Akazawa" for the person they direct their anger and grief at."
-[X] "It's rich coming from me, but I think you had the better idea when it came to me. Maybe you're not satisfied with how our 'deal' worked out - I sure as hell don't know what to make of it - but that was more like the Argo I knew. You put me to work to help SAO Survivors. You can put Akazawa to work for them too."
-[X] "Far as I can tell, she's already hiring SAO Survivors who can't find work elsewhere. We don't have to debate whether that's her way of remorse or whatever, like you said, it's not about her. Instead of doxxing her, send any SAO Survivors you know who haven't been able to get on their feet and find a job yet but need one and make sure she hires them. You probably won't like it, she's not going to like it, but maybe like our twisted deal we can help some people who may not have gotten it otherwise."
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[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
[X] Write-In: Community Service
-[X] "This isn't you, Argo."
-[X] "Every SAO Survivor knows about the dissonance between how they were in the game and how they are now, in real life. For most, it's physical therapy and missing years. But you? This? This isn't the Argo from SAO that the players relied on and that Laughing Coffin - I - feared. Hell, it's not even the girl who sent me a letter two months ago."
-[X] "You said this isn't about me? Or Rosalia? Justice isn't about you either, Hosaka. You dox Rosalia and what? You feel satisfied and the family just trades the name "Kayaba Akihiko" for "Hanako Akazawa" for the person they direct their anger and grief at."
-[X] "It's rich coming from me, but I think you had the better idea when it came to me. Maybe you're not satisfied with how our 'deal' worked out - I sure as hell don't know what to make of it - but that was more like the Argo I knew. You put me to work to help SAO Survivors. You can put Akazawa to work for them too."
-[X] "Far as I can tell, she's already hiring SAO Survivors who can't find work elsewhere. We don't have to debate whether that's her way of remorse or whatever, like you said, it's not about her. Instead of doxxing her, send any SAO Survivors you know who haven't been able to get on their feet and find a job yet but need one and make sure she hires them. You probably won't like it, she's not going to like it, but maybe like our twisted deal we can help some people who may not have gotten it otherwise."
-[X] "This isn't you, Argo."
-[X] "Every SAO Survivor knows about the dissonance between how they were in the game and how they are now, in real life. For most, it's physical therapy and missing years. But you? This? This isn't the Argo from SAO that the players relied on and that Laughing Coffin - I - feared. Hell, it's not even the girl who sent me a letter two months ago."
-[X] "You said this isn't about me? Or Rosalia? Justice isn't about you either, Hosaka. You dox Rosalia and what? You feel satisfied and the family just trades the name "Kayaba Akihiko" for "Hanako Akazawa" for the person they direct their anger and grief at."
-[X] "It's rich coming from me, but I think you had the better idea when it came to me. Maybe you're not satisfied with how our 'deal' worked out - I sure as hell don't know what to make of it - but that was more like the Argo I knew. You put me to work to help SAO Survivors. You can put Akazawa to work for them too."
-[X] "Far as I can tell, she's already hiring SAO Survivors who can't find work elsewhere. We don't have to debate whether that's her way of remorse or whatever, like you said, it's not about her. Instead of doxxing her, send any SAO Survivors you know who haven't been able to get on their feet and find a job yet but need one and make sure she hires them. You probably won't like it, she's not going to like it, but maybe like our twisted deal we can help some people who may not have gotten it otherwise."
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ThatGuyWithIdeas
Treize died for our sins
- Location
- Romania
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
I like the "this isn't you" argument but I don't think we know her remotely well enough for it to fly.
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
We need to drop the "I spoke to Kabaya Akihiko the other day…" bomb on her.
So admittedly the main reason I'm uncomfortable with the "Tell Argo to get lost" vote here is because on the philosophical side of things I think I'm one of the more sympathetic to the VR side of things in the VR v Reality in the thread and I'm sympathetic to Argo's plight here. But also it just rubs me the wrong way because it doesn't sound to me like something Hiyori would say. I could 100% buy this from pre-merge Shadow Hiyori and maybe even from current Shadow Hiyori... but Hiyori herself? "Hurt the innocent?" Hiyori doesn't see the SAO PKers as innocent. Her own guilt was such that it caused an identity crisis that created Shadow Hiyori! If I'm being honest this feels like the kind of response that would reverse or break the link to me. (Or maybe the Great Seal is still protecting future Persona protagonists from that so that mechanic isn't in play here.)
I like the punitive v restorative justice angle and I think that's a big part of what's going on here - Argo's view of justice. I don't think we have the pull with Argo to directly confront her on her own trauma but that's where I'd like for this to end up later. I get that Argo might bristle at "This isn't you" from us but that's why I have Hiyori offer up the concrete example of something Argo herself did just two months ago - opt to instead put Hiyori on "Community Service" for SAO victims. Like I have Hiyori argue - Argo didn't really like the arrangement but the result was we helped free (almost) all of the remaining SAO victims. I think appealing to Argo saying she's doing this for the victims and then pointing out that her actions here seem more geared to her personal satisfaction of her view of justice versus her previous model where she swallowed her preference and instead had Hiyori assist in the ALO effort and that yielded undeniable benefit and comfort to many victim's families by bringing back their loved ones... well, I'd hope Argo could see that.
Still not sure if this qualifies as a hedge though because it doesn't address the "well, that's great, but what if Rosalia says no" hypothetical. I would assume she goes through with the dox then and honestly the way I have Hiyori present the argument that's honestly the logical conclusion. I would just hope it was a good enough idea that it isn't treated negatively and the argument sticks with Argo for the future but that's why I asked.
I like the punitive v restorative justice angle and I think that's a big part of what's going on here - Argo's view of justice. I don't think we have the pull with Argo to directly confront her on her own trauma but that's where I'd like for this to end up later. I get that Argo might bristle at "This isn't you" from us but that's why I have Hiyori offer up the concrete example of something Argo herself did just two months ago - opt to instead put Hiyori on "Community Service" for SAO victims. Like I have Hiyori argue - Argo didn't really like the arrangement but the result was we helped free (almost) all of the remaining SAO victims. I think appealing to Argo saying she's doing this for the victims and then pointing out that her actions here seem more geared to her personal satisfaction of her view of justice versus her previous model where she swallowed her preference and instead had Hiyori assist in the ALO effort and that yielded undeniable benefit and comfort to many victim's families by bringing back their loved ones... well, I'd hope Argo could see that.
Still not sure if this qualifies as a hedge though because it doesn't address the "well, that's great, but what if Rosalia says no" hypothetical. I would assume she goes through with the dox then and honestly the way I have Hiyori present the argument that's honestly the logical conclusion. I would just hope it was a good enough idea that it isn't treated negatively and the argument sticks with Argo for the future but that's why I asked.
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
[X] Let Hanako Akazawa go.
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
>Titan Movers Part Time job will give you a raise.
>You may write in an argument, but all "Amnesty" arguments will be collated together. Write-in arguments may shape how Hosaka approaches future SL ranks.
-- [X] "You want to know what I think, Argo. I don't think you care about accepting responsibility or justice at all since all I've seen you do is threaten to drag everyone associated with your targets down with them. Hurt the innocent more than you hurt the wicked."
-- [X] "And I'm not gonna claim the moral high ground here. I need this job. I need it to make money I need to pay to win an overhyped kusoge that's scamming obnoxious edgelords out of their money. I need the job to get back into shape so I can run around and do Kikouka's job for him."
-- [X] "I need this job to keep me solvent so I can crash every VRMMO that wants to be the next SAO. Like my work in GGO that you call 'small fry'.
-- [X] "You think these people accepting responsibility will fix the problem? Because it won't. They're just a symptom of a society that is doing nothing but running away from reality. Preferring ones and zeroes they don't actually own to something more tangible, like collecting model guns or something."
-- [X] "Sad as it is to say. Akazawa is someone who has actual value in reality. She isn't locking people up in her mad power fantasies to feel special. She isn't pissing away her life in an Amusphere to pretend that she's important. She's contributing to the world. Without her job I wouldn't have been able to sneak into RECT to crash ALO and finish saving Kayaba's victims from Sugou."
-- [X] "If you want to look at it more altruistically you can say she's doing more to atone now than she would if you doxx here. Her entire hiring practice is built around hiring VR victims who couldn't function in society after being freed."
-- [X] "So you want to know what side I'm on. I'm on the side of reality, whoever can stop people from signing away their agency to the next shiny VRMMO right now. Not what they did in the past."
afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
I'm trying to make the transitions less jarring, ie at the start Hiyori was explicitly unconscious when her Shadow was speaking.
So harsher statements will come from the shadow even if the vote doesn't specify it.
DarkN0va
The Multiversal Gamer
- Location
- Duel-Topia
[X] The Zog
Honestly I think that either vote will work in a way I can agree with, they're both great and have their points and reasons, but I also think the Best response we can give is one that combines as much of the 2 together as possible, @afreaknamedpete would it be possible for you to do that if amnesty and write in end up in a tie with these 2 at the top or would you insist on a tie breaker unless someone manages to merge the 2 together for you QM?
Edit: Changed my mind about alcor as I read the new posts, The Zog has the better idea.
Honestly I think that either vote will work in a way I can agree with, they're both great and have their points and reasons, but I also think the Best response we can give is one that combines as much of the 2 together as possible, @afreaknamedpete would it be possible for you to do that if amnesty and write in end up in a tie with these 2 at the top or would you insist on a tie breaker unless someone manages to merge the 2 together for you QM?
Edit: Changed my mind about alcor as I read the new posts, The Zog has the better idea.
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afreaknamedpete
Blasphemer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
If it's close, sure. I will likely paraphrase for the longer write ins.