Work Text:
INTRODUCTION
Setting:
This universe is set in a world where MILGRAM was a college-run experiment. The experiment studies the morality of the general public via a voting system. The public would be presented with fictional crimes staged by the 'prisoners', then they would vote on whether they were FORGIVEN or UNFORGIVEN. After the experiment, the 'prisoners' would get a sum of money and return to their normal lives. This series would be focused on the reflections and introspections of the prisoners and their fictional crimes, as the crimes themselves are intentionally based on the prisoners' real lives and flaws. This story will be set in 2025, and we will ignore the time dilation of the original work.
Characters:
The characters would have diverged from their original counterparts, as the crimes presented were not real and were only based on their flaws and mishaps.
01 Haruka Sakurai -> a 17 years old boy with a learning disability causing him to fall behind his peers, he has difficulty socialising with his peers and fitting in with society. Fortunately, his parents are trying their best to help and accommodate him, despite being ill-informed themselves.
02 Kashiki Yuno -> a 18 years old girl finishing high school, whilst first entering high school, she had engaged with the act of 'sugar dating' as she tried to chase the warmth of love she lacked within her home, coming from a modest household, Yuno's father is rarely present within her life as he had taken the role of the breadwinner. Yet, despite chasing for that high, the void within her heart had never been filled. Luckily, the relationships have not crossed the line of being sexual in nature.
03 Kajiyame Fuuta -> a 20 years old man currently studying in university. Despite living reclusively in real life, in the online world, he is known as @pazuzu_soccer_0419, an online vigilante in pursuit of justice. Slowly, he begins to fall deeper into an echo chamber, yearning to quench his thirst for justice, yet deep down, what he yearned for more than justice was the approval of his friends.
04 Kusunoki Muu -> a 16 years old girl currently studying in high school. She came from a privileged upbringing with a Japanese father and a French mother. Within the school, she is often referred to as the ‘queen bee’ as she is often seen accompanying her clique of friends, fighting for her approval. Yet her power is proven to be an illusion with the arrival of a certain newcomer, making her question her true position in the group.
05 Kirisaki Shidou -> a 29 years old man working as a doctor in an understaffed hospital. In contrast to the fictional portrayal of the fictional crime, he is a single man without a wife and kids; In the experiment, his wife is portrayed by Fujiyama Hana, a charge nurse working at the same hospital and his sons are played by his nephews. Despite his background being fake, the mistreatment and struggle are undoubtedly real. Contemplating between his duty and his own self-preservation, he is slowly starting to doubt his worth to society.
06 Shiina Mahiru -> a 22 years old woman raised in a sheltered household. Ever since she was young, contact with the opposite sex was prohibited by her parents. Yet the universe has its ways, she met a senior of one year by the name of Aoki Yuuto. And so they began dating without Mahiru’s parents' knowledge or approval. However, with her inexperience in the art of romance as she had learned it from the silver screens and romance novels, her relationship with him soured as it devolved into constant break-up rituals and testing for Yuuto’s loyalty. After the MILGRAM experiment has concluded, Mahiru is faced with the reality of her relationship— she must end it before they OVERHEAT.
07 Mukuhara Kazui -> a 39 years old man working as a police officer. He has a childhood friend named Ueda Minoru who works as a bartender. Despite the fictional crimes he depicted in MILGRAM, he is not involved in a romantic relationship with his coworker, Mukuhara Hinako. Rather, they are best friends who first bonded over the coincidence of sharing a last name despite not being related. However, to everybody but Hinako, they are blissfully unaware of the flesh inside the camouflage— he wonders what their reactions will be, it wouldn’t be as forgiving as hers.
08 Momose Amane -> a 12 years old girl from a religious background, her parents are rather strict compared to the average household.
09 Kayano Mikoto -> a 23 years old man trapped in a dead-end job. His days were spent working and passing out on his couch, but despite that, he still had to persevere to afford his siblings a better life. Although on some days, he feels as if someone is watching him behind his eyes, he chalks it up to fatigue.
10 Yuzuriha Kotoko -> a 20 years old woman with a strong moral compass, as the ugly truth of Japan’s society would only rot further if it remained unaddressed. So, she had taken the task of judge and executor herself, enacting justice for those who can’t speak for themselves and those untouchable by the law. Yet, after the MILGRAM experiment, she started to wonder about the validity of the compass itself.