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.Hack//Sign Noblesse Oblige

May 26th, 2018
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One of my first animes was .Hack//Sign, which is sort of like an original SAO but only one character is trapped in the game, and the rest are normal. I loved the music, and it helped me think about and understand a lot of things. I connected very closely with and related to many characters, but most closely with Tsukasa. Hack//Sign is what got me into gaming, specifically MMOs and runescape.

I've tried to rewatch it a few times, but I never could. It felt slow, dry, tedius,... Just generally boring. Turns out I can only watch it when depressed (for lack of a better word). All of a sudden it's attention grabbing, relatible, and emotionally impactful.

There's a group in The World (game title) named The Crimson Knights. They're a large player-governed group that imposes laws in game, such as designating No-PK zones in and around cities, handling disputes between players and factions, handling player reports, and hunting down rule-breakers. The game itself only has rules against hacking and specially modified characters, etc. Everything beyond that is entirely the business of the community and not the game's administration. But the Crimson Knights also sometimes act as an arm of the game's administration, as player-moderators, and are sometimes granted special rights when the situations demand it (like being able to view logs and personal account information), and act as investigators - eyes and ears. But they're just players, who use the normal ingame abilities to keep peace, law, and order.

The Crimson Knights were founded when a low-level newbie named Subaru (spoiler: is in a wheelchair irl) went somewhere ingame and was attacked without reason. A person named Crim stepped in and defended her, and said "you can just call us The Crimson Knights!". Later, when asked why she was there while being so defenseless as a low-level, Subaru explained that she believed that was a place where people could come and discuss ideas regardless of who they were or what they did in real life. (interp:) A place where people could get along and set aside petty stuff and stereotypes/niches, and engage as individuals for the betterment of everyone involved.

The knights began handling player reports, and exchanged information with the game's administration frequently. Though unofficial and player-governed, they began to become a symbol for the players. Players trusted them, helped them, and depended on them. When Subaru acknowledged the power she began to command in The World, despite just being a regular player, Crim asked what the purpose of the knights were. She replied that it's purpose was her purpose, through Noblesse Oblige. She had power because the players gave it to her, with their trust and agreement, so that power must be used in accordance with their wishs, in accordance with why they were given the respect and power they had. When she agreed to lead The Crimson Knights, she agreed to accept the obligations of what the players expected of her. To maintain order and peace, and enforce fair, balanced, and just rules (though, only being regular players, and only using the means of regular players).

I was pretty surprised when I saw that scene because other than the visuals I remember nothing about it. I remember hearing the phrase Noblesse Oblige in Eden of the East, and was drawn strongly to it as it seemed to encapsulate my ideals nicely. But apparently, that phrase has been a part of who I am for a lot longer than I knew. Maybe via my subconscious, that's why it caught my attention so quickly in Eden.

Meh.

But yeah, it's boring as hell normally, but when in depressive moods the feelz are realz
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