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15 Strangers Round 2 Thread Tracker
Dio wakes up, and Joey observes his hardheaded attempt to escape. He finds Torri in strange circumstances. Kurama provides a relatively high level of critical thought about the structure of the game. Just when Dio has almost gotten his bearings, he is interrogated by and needlessly antagonizes Akechi. He receives a free lunch from Britt, and they get to talk shit about old men for a little while, a sentiment that is not shared by Ursula who catches him drinking and considers him a poor excuse for a responsible adult. It's not a particularly notable day as he explores a benign but confined facility.
Then the Life Coach calls a meeting to order and breaks the laws of physics by flying. The shock to Dio's system is sufficient that he decides to take a self-righteous attitude. (He learns that Wake and Torri are close. This is important later.) After all, he remembers that he was about to undertake his mission. Escape is the only judgment he can allow for himself. This plan is complicated when he meets a person who is actually separated from the material world, but he does not waver.
The week progresses. He encounters that old man Sanzashi smoking in the men's bathroom and is entirely unimpressed. Dio reacts to the motive equivalent to a hundred million dollars; he jokes around with Britt and attends the meeting but can barely even hide his contempt at Akechi's reputation-building and Ursula's sanctimoniousness. Doubting the other fourteen strangers, Dio resolves to start plotting a murder the next day. However, mysterious coins aside, he is struggling against his budget for apparel and food, surprised to receive any type of friendliness from sensible Wake and sanguine Britt. His struggles with the environment are understood by Helena. Torri hears more of his cover story. While large swathes of this group are sort of pleasant socialization material for Dio, the possible effect on his plans is very little.
Wednesday brings a minigame where Dio gathers the free funds from Helena's room without offending her too much and buys a straight razor posthaste. He touches grass with Kurama, gets a weird type of help from Sanzashi, and exchanges blood with Wake. Learning that Wake "trusts" him, Dio decides that he is as good a target for the physical murder as any, and he uses his funds to begin gathering supplies. On Thursday Kurama posts a robe from Free the Soul, and Dio asserts that he has no idea what that represents. He is alone with his possessions and tries to beat that shooting game again, learning nothing from the spirit detective. That night he solicits Wake into patrolling and then beats him over the head with a pair of wire strippers, though not before Wake kicked a gold chain off one of Dio's boots.
At the investigation Dio makes an attempt, bringing him close to Akira for the first time. He discovers that the crime scene was doctored with sleeping pills (as well as a T-shirt) and leans on this shamelessly, getting confident enough that he asserts the crime scene is completely inconsistent with Helena's electrocution ability. When the gold chain is discovered (and linked to him by Helena first) he makes the audacious claim that he lost it when eating dinner. The crowd is stirred by the circumstantial evidence, though, so he gives them a show. Croix and Ursula rally against him for being an underprotective adult "murdering a young man". When Dio cites the electrocution argument as proof of his normative investigation, Torri cuts in, "Because you would protect a friend." Helena begins to accept that Dio may have taken actions that would automatically render him unfriendly, and when Torri compares him to a magpie, Dio lets slip a little more about how any mission worth undertaking would require escaping from the mall, appalling Akechi as "Carrying out justice against those who think they can harm others and get away with it [is] my life's mission."
After Joey makes a final rally for logical discussion, the vote is called. Dio throws his jacket at Helena, deeming her a completely untainted person. He jokes about food with Britt one last time. Dio makes another big show out of acknowledging the influence of the "infiltrator", as he calls the Fabricator. Joey apologizes for all this, and Dio designates her the person best suited to catch an actual framing attempt. Katsuki calls him the worst kind of person, though, and Akechi again accuses him of not liking justice, which irritates Dio so much that he votes for Akechi.
Then he is executed.
The following section contains Persona 5 spoilers.
Dio wakes up in the land of the dead having lost his genes and been lent the body of another person, a condition that the life coach Coco does little to assuage or explain. He is deeply confused by regaining the memories of completing his mission, coming to the realization that from an outside view his attempt at escape had no purpose other than the survival of himself. He talks about missions with Victor, Naraku, and Fin, even saving his unlife from the Giant Shark. And yet, whether wearing Akira's jacket or not, he feels empty.
During the second trial a spark of meaning reemerges as Wake expresses anger over Akechi's slaying of Yuuri and Torri. At first Akechi seems bent on escaping, but then he exhibits psychological instability and laments the circumstances of his own life. He is pained that the imminent execution will cut short his earthly relationship with Akira - so Akira and Kurama attempt to intervene in the procedure, getting themselves sedated for their trouble. Making matters worse, Helena criticizes Akechi's actions and defenders such as Ursula, and Croix, who goes on to slap her in the face. And to top it all off, despite Dio's (admittedly gruff) invitations into missions, Akechi goes on to spend his first few days of death in a condition that could appear to be indulgent self-loathing.
Dio is irritated to his core at the hypocrisy in play. His unconscious picks up on the many parallels between himself and Akechi as adolescent assassins of unusual birth - if anything, irritated even more by Akechi attending outside schools and working outside jobs in the "cushy" society prior to the disaster that sent people to the moon - but Dio is not able to realize his own interest in being forgiven, loved, and rehabilitated into normal society. Bolstered by Wake's disapproval of the murders, Dio instead lashes out at Akechi, coming to the conclusion "You don't know the first thing about being anyone's teammate, period. Torri and Katsuki surviving is - tch, suddenly - so important to you? You can't get any good offense against the Noise on your own? I know what only looking out for number one is like, but Jesus Christ. Put two and two together, dipshit! HELP THEM!" He redoubles his commitment to act prosocially in the missions.
Earlier Dio had taken with great enthusiasm to telling Helena about the afterlife. He did not realize how literally she intended to see him later. Floored to breathe the same air as her again, he learns that Helena undertook a suicide mission that resulted in the opening of a new wing in the mall. As he finally accepts her to be a truly altruistic human being, Dio tells Helena a great deal about his past, and they form a Pact. Subsequently they talk strategy with Akechi, then run off to herd cats. Another meeting occurs later.
Upon the third trial, where Kurama tried very hard to get away with his premediated murder but presented his ultimate solitary death as a sacrifice for the group, Dio sinks even deeper into skeptical feelings about the judgment of the remaining players, and he re-Pacts with Helena alone. They hold another meeting and recruit Sanzashi to play a preexisting part, accepting Akechi and Kurama's help to pick the locks. Their rally occurs Tuesday; unprovoked, they attack a man in the unlocked security room, who turns out to be the powerful, angelic Producer, Seven. As Dio and Helena mount a fusion against the manic fellow, Seven manages to demonstrate his powers enough that Dio at least actively questions his situation, creating a sufficient distraction for Helena to hurl herself bodily forward in support of his grand attempt to steal Seven's phone.
This act of love is not enough. That wasn't even Seven's final phone. He partially explains how limited he is as a facilitator of the Reaper's Game, and they are overwhelmed.
And yet, they are spared, recuperating in the cat cafe and remaining conscious to see the final trial. When the survivors express intentions of waging fights like never before, Dio has so thoroughly accepted Seven's existence as a separate more powerful being (who can be texted with the phone capable of using Black Saturn) that he lashes out at their hopes. Helena captures the low mood.
Success somehow occurs. Dio is delighted to have his own body back. He earns outright physical affection with Croix and Ursula, Joey and Akira, reading the mood to accept it but keeping his distance, knowing that his line of work beckons before long. Intimately, Dio bids Helena bon voyage as she goes off to be a composer. He asks Yotsuyu a couple of questions. Finally, Dio makes Seven transfer the phone data and take him back to Rhizome-X. He will decide for himself the place of radical-6 in the multiverse and report the results to the RFA.
Then the Life Coach calls a meeting to order and breaks the laws of physics by flying. The shock to Dio's system is sufficient that he decides to take a self-righteous attitude. (He learns that Wake and Torri are close. This is important later.) After all, he remembers that he was about to undertake his mission. Escape is the only judgment he can allow for himself. This plan is complicated when he meets a person who is actually separated from the material world, but he does not waver.
The week progresses. He encounters that old man Sanzashi smoking in the men's bathroom and is entirely unimpressed. Dio reacts to the motive equivalent to a hundred million dollars; he jokes around with Britt and attends the meeting but can barely even hide his contempt at Akechi's reputation-building and Ursula's sanctimoniousness. Doubting the other fourteen strangers, Dio resolves to start plotting a murder the next day. However, mysterious coins aside, he is struggling against his budget for apparel and food, surprised to receive any type of friendliness from sensible Wake and sanguine Britt. His struggles with the environment are understood by Helena. Torri hears more of his cover story. While large swathes of this group are sort of pleasant socialization material for Dio, the possible effect on his plans is very little.
Wednesday brings a minigame where Dio gathers the free funds from Helena's room without offending her too much and buys a straight razor posthaste. He touches grass with Kurama, gets a weird type of help from Sanzashi, and exchanges blood with Wake. Learning that Wake "trusts" him, Dio decides that he is as good a target for the physical murder as any, and he uses his funds to begin gathering supplies. On Thursday Kurama posts a robe from Free the Soul, and Dio asserts that he has no idea what that represents. He is alone with his possessions and tries to beat that shooting game again, learning nothing from the spirit detective. That night he solicits Wake into patrolling and then beats him over the head with a pair of wire strippers, though not before Wake kicked a gold chain off one of Dio's boots.
At the investigation Dio makes an attempt, bringing him close to Akira for the first time. He discovers that the crime scene was doctored with sleeping pills (as well as a T-shirt) and leans on this shamelessly, getting confident enough that he asserts the crime scene is completely inconsistent with Helena's electrocution ability. When the gold chain is discovered (and linked to him by Helena first) he makes the audacious claim that he lost it when eating dinner. The crowd is stirred by the circumstantial evidence, though, so he gives them a show. Croix and Ursula rally against him for being an underprotective adult "murdering a young man". When Dio cites the electrocution argument as proof of his normative investigation, Torri cuts in, "Because you would protect a friend." Helena begins to accept that Dio may have taken actions that would automatically render him unfriendly, and when Torri compares him to a magpie, Dio lets slip a little more about how any mission worth undertaking would require escaping from the mall, appalling Akechi as "Carrying out justice against those who think they can harm others and get away with it [is] my life's mission."
After Joey makes a final rally for logical discussion, the vote is called. Dio throws his jacket at Helena, deeming her a completely untainted person. He jokes about food with Britt one last time. Dio makes another big show out of acknowledging the influence of the "infiltrator", as he calls the Fabricator. Joey apologizes for all this, and Dio designates her the person best suited to catch an actual framing attempt. Katsuki calls him the worst kind of person, though, and Akechi again accuses him of not liking justice, which irritates Dio so much that he votes for Akechi.
Then he is executed.
The following section contains Persona 5 spoilers.
Dio wakes up in the land of the dead having lost his genes and been lent the body of another person, a condition that the life coach Coco does little to assuage or explain. He is deeply confused by regaining the memories of completing his mission, coming to the realization that from an outside view his attempt at escape had no purpose other than the survival of himself. He talks about missions with Victor, Naraku, and Fin, even saving his unlife from the Giant Shark. And yet, whether wearing Akira's jacket or not, he feels empty.
During the second trial a spark of meaning reemerges as Wake expresses anger over Akechi's slaying of Yuuri and Torri. At first Akechi seems bent on escaping, but then he exhibits psychological instability and laments the circumstances of his own life. He is pained that the imminent execution will cut short his earthly relationship with Akira - so Akira and Kurama attempt to intervene in the procedure, getting themselves sedated for their trouble. Making matters worse, Helena criticizes Akechi's actions and defenders such as Ursula, and Croix, who goes on to slap her in the face. And to top it all off, despite Dio's (admittedly gruff) invitations into missions, Akechi goes on to spend his first few days of death in a condition that could appear to be indulgent self-loathing.
Dio is irritated to his core at the hypocrisy in play. His unconscious picks up on the many parallels between himself and Akechi as adolescent assassins of unusual birth - if anything, irritated even more by Akechi attending outside schools and working outside jobs in the "cushy" society prior to the disaster that sent people to the moon - but Dio is not able to realize his own interest in being forgiven, loved, and rehabilitated into normal society. Bolstered by Wake's disapproval of the murders, Dio instead lashes out at Akechi, coming to the conclusion "You don't know the first thing about being anyone's teammate, period. Torri and Katsuki surviving is - tch, suddenly - so important to you? You can't get any good offense against the Noise on your own? I know what only looking out for number one is like, but Jesus Christ. Put two and two together, dipshit! HELP THEM!" He redoubles his commitment to act prosocially in the missions.
Earlier Dio had taken with great enthusiasm to telling Helena about the afterlife. He did not realize how literally she intended to see him later. Floored to breathe the same air as her again, he learns that Helena undertook a suicide mission that resulted in the opening of a new wing in the mall. As he finally accepts her to be a truly altruistic human being, Dio tells Helena a great deal about his past, and they form a Pact. Subsequently they talk strategy with Akechi, then run off to herd cats. Another meeting occurs later.
Upon the third trial, where Kurama tried very hard to get away with his premediated murder but presented his ultimate solitary death as a sacrifice for the group, Dio sinks even deeper into skeptical feelings about the judgment of the remaining players, and he re-Pacts with Helena alone. They hold another meeting and recruit Sanzashi to play a preexisting part, accepting Akechi and Kurama's help to pick the locks. Their rally occurs Tuesday; unprovoked, they attack a man in the unlocked security room, who turns out to be the powerful, angelic Producer, Seven. As Dio and Helena mount a fusion against the manic fellow, Seven manages to demonstrate his powers enough that Dio at least actively questions his situation, creating a sufficient distraction for Helena to hurl herself bodily forward in support of his grand attempt to steal Seven's phone.
This act of love is not enough. That wasn't even Seven's final phone. He partially explains how limited he is as a facilitator of the Reaper's Game, and they are overwhelmed.
And yet, they are spared, recuperating in the cat cafe and remaining conscious to see the final trial. When the survivors express intentions of waging fights like never before, Dio has so thoroughly accepted Seven's existence as a separate more powerful being (who can be texted with the phone capable of using Black Saturn) that he lashes out at their hopes. Helena captures the low mood.
Success somehow occurs. Dio is delighted to have his own body back. He earns outright physical affection with Croix and Ursula, Joey and Akira, reading the mood to accept it but keeping his distance, knowing that his line of work beckons before long. Intimately, Dio bids Helena bon voyage as she goes off to be a composer. He asks Yotsuyu a couple of questions. Finally, Dio makes Seven transfer the phone data and take him back to Rhizome-X. He will decide for himself the place of radical-6 in the multiverse and report the results to the RFA.
Post Round 2 PSL Content
Seven remains close to Dio as well, riffing about the cuteness of cats and unpleasant nature of dirty jobs. This culminates in Seven showing Dio and Helena the musical "Hell Note", featuring the villainous protagonist "Bright Yamagai", Seven's canonmates Zen and Echo Girl playing the volatile detective "K" and the love-crazy show-stealing Misa respectively. When Dio expresses curiosity about the urban setting, Helena offers whenever she next goes outside to take him virtual sightseeing, and though Dio is very flustered when Seven says "have a fun date lolol", this is still exactly what happens. Helena fulfills Dio's plaintive request to see "a real traveling circus", the kindest thing anyone has ever done for him. By now they text each other constantly with effusive compliments and photographs of tacky outfits they pass in the streets.
Happiness can't last. He begins posting less in the chatroom, then comes back just to insult Sanzashi for rejoicing in the very much wanted pregnancy of his wife. When Helena asks him what's wrong, he texts you're better off forgetting about me. Helena refuses to do such a thing and initiates a voice call. Dio reveals that he accepted an order to stab a fifteen-year-old boy in the chest and feels that he can't maintain contact with Helena in good conscience while he continues this lifestyle. She finally snaps that Free the Soul has not transcended negative emotions, only deprived the perpetrators and victims of happiness, and makes it clear that she hates the leader rather than Dio. Left without any fellow murdergame survivor he lets himself trust, Dio attempts to recruit Sanzashi into Free the Soul. Sanzashi is extremely patient and shares his reasons for distinguishing "vices" in moderation from "vices" in excess. Dio admits his deep-rooted resentment of Akechi's similar circumstances and extracts an apology as well as a pledge to not get Helena hit about this. Despite this alliance, Dio stubbornly remains in the cult, as he reminds Coco for no reason.
Around the same time Dio is "working on a project", the RFA chatroom fires up again (view thread from start for more context) and Dio butts in to poo-poo plans for a party, hinting at his resentment that Akechi, Kurama, and Akira might be closer friends with Seven. Helena is irritated to see Dio like this, and he explains he wanted to call her when his project is done. When this happens, Dio reveals that he was assigned to kill Juichi's twin Kagura, but he has instead used a bomb to pass off both himself and Kagura as dead from murder-suicide; furthermore, the permission to travel became his excuse for leaving the compound altogether and not looking back. Helena is moved to tears, and they pledge to renegotiate their partnership in person.
Dio tries to live on his own in his universe. He consults Seven for help making money but refuses to ask for extradition for several weeks. Then thugs corner him trying to stowaway in a rocket to Earth, so Dio calls mayday. Seven takes him to his own house and gives Dio ice cream, which makes Dio cry because this is the first time he's ever experienced true brotherly kindness. For a couple days Dio is on his couch, and they share engineering interests. Eventually Seven can't accommodate him indefinitely and drops him off suddenly in Sanzashi's peaceful universe, where Dio tries to make it on his own for a couple hours but then drags himself to the doorstep of Sanzashi's home. Sanzashi, his wife Elaine, their three children, and the fourth child born during this time, are all very patient with Dio and let him live with them for several months as he gets cult assumptions out of his system, such as being appalled that children are punished simply by time-outs or requests to clean up their own messes.
Finally the schedules match and Seven takes Dio to visit Helena for a couple days. They agree to become boyfriend and girlfriend, as can also be seen when they stand together at the beach party, which Dio attends to once again show he's the friend who supports Seven unlike his distorted perception of Akira treating Seven as a valet. Dio stays with Helena again for several weeks in December to spend the holidays with his special someone.