#oh we saved saburo arasaka grand leader but he's so pissed off about it all that he's basically destroying everything anyway

[merge-conflict]

okay so the actual butterfly effect decision that separates the fleeting fits of reason/thread-safe timeline from my own alpha canon-divergent timeline and is whether or not goro decides to sleep with valentine while they're working together before the parade and subsequently if he maintains some kind of romantic relationship while they're both working at arasaka. and if you read all my cyberpunk meta shitposts (you *obviously* read all my cyberpunk meta shitposts, who wouldn't), then you might say "but felix! you said that romantic reasons aren't enough to make goro break his code or defy arasaka" and that is correct! but in this case it's really more of a "does he make an exception to his closely held beliefs at his most stressful and doubtful moment" and "what are the consequences of that?".

if he doesn't make an exception then (and I don't think it's by any means guaranteed!), what incentive does he have to do it later? his relationship with valentine is not as strong as a result, and he has more of a reason to believe what he did was correct, and that everything else can stay on track if he and valentine avoid toeing the line at all costs. this means she leaves and they both end up deeply hurt by each other no matter how it ends.

but if he does... then he's reconciling his need to be dutiful with his obligation not to say anything about his transgression or put valentine under more suspicion and danger. he's gotta wrestle with the retaliation hellman has planned for her, and the fact he really can't protect her and some of the shit that rains down on her is seriously unfair. it's another time he's defied orders and thought that maybe he was right about it, because they both remain loyal to arasaka and continuously suffer for it in different ways. that more than anything causes him to become disillusioned (although I will keep mum on the ending for *that* part of the story). ultimately it's an outcome of "I made my own decision and maybe it's wrong to blindly follow people who are being cruel and vindictive to make themselves feel better and I need to stop fooling myself about it." the romance is a factor but it's secondary to the slow erosion of faith.