#the chekhov's gun exists as a principle in writing for a reason

[whinlatter]

sorry if you've discussed this before, but do you think ginny's quidditch talent came out of nowhere? it's a common criticism I see about her but I feel like that kind of overstates how much of a quidditch "star" she was at the beginning, like she was consistently described as good but not great until partway into hbp and I also think it makes sense she'd keep it a secret from her teasing brothers. but maybe they're right and I'm just biased towards defending ginny

thank you for the question, anon!

the short answer is - no, i think it's (just about) plausibly rendered in the books. i think the series gets away with it because:

the story is told from the perspective of a teenage boy aka peak obliviousness in corporeal form, so we see what harry sees (and harry notices big fat nothing)

there is an entirely adequate narrative explanation for ginny's sporting skills that most readers not operating in bad faith* can put together, as you suggest: ginny comes from a sporty family who are all good at quidditch; she is of middling-to-good seeking ability when she first joins the team in ootp; she then has a good few months flying several times a week where she would necessarily grow in confidence and experience, leaving her perfectly able to blossom in hbp in a high school sport where she is competing against other children. fine and dandy in my book.

also quidditch is a broadly dumb and pointless plot so ginny being good at it is just a fun extra that we don't need to deep too much because - let's be real - quidditch is a waste of page space.

*i say this because, most of the time, these takes come from those who don't like hinny as a pairing. which is entirely their right and prerogative! it personally doesn't float my boat to spend my days doing worst faith readings of the text in order to make the case against canon ships i don't like, but as this is a race to the bottom - we are all adults dissecting children's books written by a nasty spiteful woman rotting in her mouldy castle spouting slurs, after all - who am i to judge.

(i also suspect the 'ginny is good at quidditch out of nowhere' takes have enjoyed such a long shelf-life on eg. reddit because the films are still most people's primary reference for HP takes so complaints about them then get cast back on the books - and, in the films, ginny does in fact rock up in film 6 like she's mbappé, if mbappé had the charisma of an extraordinarily soggy bath mat.)

with that said... could it have done with a bit more foreshadowing? yes, probably. people who don't like hinny as a pairing and prefer another are never going to be convinced - that's fine! but here i am, a paid-up hinny supporter, and even i think ginny's character development is sometimes wanting, to a frustrating and problematic extent. good writing (usually) means showing not telling, and it's weird and lazy of jkr to be so slapdash about revealing this and other character details about ginny and other (often female) characters. i think it's particularly striking that jkr underserves characters (again, usually women) who exist to serve the emotional development of characters (usually men), rather than the mystery plot(s) that drive hp as a series. (wanted! tonks' personality! last seen making fake pig noses and being the only auror mad eye moody mentored as his successor, for no plot reason!)

while i'm not a die-hard adherent to the chekhov's gun principle, i think one of the strengths of many novels du jour - especially the nothing really happens postmodern novel that crowds the bookshop shelves these days - is that their conventions allow authors to add colour to characters without each tiny detail being pregnant with meaning and in service of a driving plot that must be marched forward at all times. that can be really nice! as readers, we like to get a sense of characters as well-rounded living breathing people who go for a wee and take the bins out and stick on an album because it slaps every now and then; in these novels, we're also happier with the idea that things can happen to characters beyond the protagonist that don't directly impact the plot or demand the protagonist knows more than their own very limited vantage point. you have more room to play with character as a result.

jkr, ofc, isn't that kind of author. jkr is in fact an author for whom everything about her characters serves the plot. this, after all, is the brain that brought you 'remus lupin' the werewolf, and named the bad-guy-turned-good-guy in a book using a big black dog as a red herring omen of death 'sirius black'. jkr wants her audience to notice clues and remember little details about characters because they might be significant later on. this is entirely her wont and - lupin and sirius aside - she's often very good at it. the hp books are all standalone mysteries, and, when they land, those mysteries slap. ginny being the culprit in CoS is a genuinely satisfying resolution to the whodunit plot: this was reflected in critical reception at the time and was part of the reason why hp was able to be marketed as a children's book adults would also enjoy thereafter. there are also very satisfying foreshadowing and mystery plots that straddle the entire series and that reward the reader with reasonably good pay-off at the series end. (my favourite is the foreshadow within the foreshadow - e.g. regulus black barrelling back from ootp in DH, but then regulus' plot turning out to ultimately exist to foreshadow snape's own double agent status... delicious).

for my part, it's also what i want out of the fiction i read and the stories i try to write. i want everything to mean something. i want the weather, clothing, setting, body language etc to all do heavy lifting. i want character work to do work. it makes it fun for me to write and (i hope) it can it a bit more fun for the reader.

the problem is that while jkr is good setting up some mysteries, she is bad at others, and the romantic plot is one she falls down (a bit) on. she sets herself up for this: she wants to be a plot-centred mystery writer, so she does have an obligation to do better in how she deploys character details. jkr does to try to write the harry/ginny romance like a mystery, with little hints throughout the series up to the reveal of harry's feelings for ginny in HBP. (even ginny's full name is nominative determinism, finally revealed in DH once the reader has been told her place in the plot - ginevra, so guinnevre, the hero's queen). and while i will never not tire of pointing out to all of reddit that harry/ginny didn't come out of nowhere, and there is some satisfying foreshadowing knocking about here and there, i think it's fair to say that the harry/ginny build-up is not as satisfying as it could have been because jkr is basically lazier about the clues that ginny is the character harry will ultimately fall for, while she is much better at dropping clues for the series' central plot. that ginny ends the series with no real resolution of the primary tensions that motivate her other than her love of harry is probably the most acute example of this. but there's lots about her character where jkr phones it in a bit in fleshing her out or taking it to any logical conclusions or interesting plot directions. a smattering of examples:

ginny is the character who spends the entire series demanding to be included and not underestimated ends the series... with no real major role in the battle other than causing harry panic, while all other central characters receive a satisfying narrative arc that speaks to their central motivators across the series as a whole. (for an interesting discussion of what should have happened with ginny and the horcruxes, see here. i didn't even pay @saintsenara to write this!)

there are lots of shades of colour to ginny's character that are introduced pointlessly. i have previously talked about my beef with arnold the pygmy puff. we know ginny is popular but we know nothing of her friends who are all faceless plotless nobodies. we know ginny supports the all-womens quidditch team in a way that implies a nascent feminist politics after a childhood being excluded from playing a sport she loves by her brothers - yet we know nothing of it. we know ginny loves the one wizarding band that seems to exist because she has a poster of them on her wall and it just.... is something we just get told about her. now, all of these suggest ginny is a good time gal and a right laugh at the pub. and that's nice! i too am fun at the pub! but why does it matter? it wouldn't, in another series. but in a series where Everything Matters, it really stands out.

now..... i don't think all of this is an unsolveable problem for those of us writing fanfiction about ginny or harry and ginny as a couple. i don't think this makes ginny an inherently bad character. i hope the amount of life i have wasted thinking about this character is testament to this (...) and i personally find trying to cook up some fleshed-out characterisation and a satisfying arc for ginny, and for female characters more generally, from the crumbs of the original source material to be a very rewarding way to pass the time and a fuck you to a woman who thinks she can gatekeep womanhood while writing some astonishingly antifeminist fiction. i think harry and ginny are a deeply compelling and eminently plausible couple, and i think i return to writing about them as much as i do because i think they have a ton of potential as narrative mirrors and as characters with a rich well of tension but also devotion between them. as i say a lot, i think one of the things the harry/ginny pairing does refreshingly well compared to other romantic lead couples in YA fiction is show a couple that, at heart, genuinely get on very well, have a laugh together and enjoy each other's company in completely mundane lovely day-to-day ways (laundry and taxes u know). i think that's a striking and refreshing dynamic that i like to spend time fleshing out and playing with and writing about. but i can also see that there is an inconsistency in jkr's character work here, particularly her character work writing female characters, of which ginny is among the most acute examples.

[maevelin]

What do you think will happen in the final 3 episodes? Which characters do you think won't survive the series?

You know while I was thinking of how to reply to this I came to realize that the show made me not to care? I feel like I only have to take what they give me at face value. Something that kept on happening for a long time now but it couldn’t be more obvious. So since this is not challenging me mentality I only have to sit back and just let the writers spell out the resolution. 

Like i know that many characters won’t survive but after dealing with NK so neatly it feels that…so they survived that so easily despite how the whole show kept building the narrative way differently for so many years and now the same characters will go die a few episodes later in a generic way which is one more pointless struggle for the political games of power? As if we haven’t seen this on repeat endlessly from episode one? So why does it make it any different now? Because the show is ending I suppose but the mentality behind it remains the same so it is more or less a little bit of the same. Unless they give a twist when it comes to the WW lore somehow and add it in the last episodes again which does not make much sense. But even so in the end the way they ended the NK still falls flat and defines the story in a very damaging way.

The narrative was operating so far on the principle that no political system -and especially one that does not favor human rights- was meant to override humanity’s soul and heart and the desire we all have for survival and hope against darkness. Magic was born again for a reason. And it was not meant to be pointless. There was a reason why every character (or at least a collection of so many characters so far) was mostly terrible and showed the bad side of humanity. Because it was meant to rise the question as if that kind of humanity is deserving of being saved in the first place; so the motivations of the NK on this were also important. As were the prophecies that led to something that was meant to be apocalyptic in a way that would bring out the best and the worst of humanity till the very end. You can’t hype something that has been foretold for thousands of years only to end it like this without caring for the consequences on the existential level. 

After the Long Night and after winning the Great War with all the expected losses (none of which we have seen really) everything else in the game board was meant to be inconsequential so when we would finally go along to the game of thrones the expectations would be subverted and the survivors that would take the Throne would reshape the world in the ashes and would strive to make it a better place after the hard lessons they learned. It would put everything in perspective. After all “Power resides where men believe it resides”. This was meant to be the ultimate power struggle that would end up being the last stand of humanity against death and that would redefine the way everyone viewed their priorities and what truly gives power to the throne. I don’t think that after 8x03 anyone actually changed in any way. Either the battle against the NK happened or not, despite his defeat, I don’t feel as if the characters went out to the other side more humble or changed. Shocked maybe. With losses in their military forces for sure. But with the same arrogance despite a bit of grief and relief for making it out alive. But only in that part of the North. The rest of the world, the rest of the Kingdoms were not affected in the least. The perspective didn’t change. Their everyday life didn’t change. Winter came and everyone slept on it. The Wall might have fallen which was meant to be a big deal but Winterfell stood and the battle was won in the span of a few hours. No one else was affected even in the slightest despite all the prophecies for the Prince that was Promised that would save the world from the apocalypse and you know the Long Night that lasted for what? 3 to 5 hours I guess. 

So in the end we are back to square one with most of the world having no clue and Cersei actually making the most sense for not bothering with this. So what is it in the next episodes that can happen that is so important? We faced the nuclear threat that wasn’t that nuclear to begin with and now we will deal with the guys with the rifles that will probably cause the most damage. Okay I guess. Got to love irony. But even so that kind of irony still has divided the sides predictably.

The thing is that in the end of the day the writers have basically cleared the sides way too nicely. There is no conflict in me as to where to side. So one way or another it is most of the faves against Cersei which is the ultimate villain that we know for a fact is evil and not even that smart to begin with (although she made the most sense with the NK). And I mean…we all know she will die so there’s that. And then it will all come down to the personal conflicts of the characters and the dynamics that will make the difference. Which I guess makes sense because the soul of each story is its characters but the timing and the way you place the characters in stories and legends that are supposedly larger than life plays its part. Especially in this kind of fantasy genre. So I feel the positions here have been misplaced. 

I’d assume the aftermath of what happened in this episode and the preparation for the big confrontation for the Throne will happen in the next episode.

The big death count, the battle and characters going against characters will take place in penultimate episode.

Jon’s claim will be the focus in these two episodes majorly too.

And the finale will clear the air where magic will be contained and maybe still simmering, the Kingdoms will find a ruler or a new way or ruling and each character’s story will be wrapped up. Bittersweet ending. Counting the losses, hope for a new tomorrow, maybe an open ambiguous ending for a supernatural threat that must always linger…and see you with the missing answers in the spin off I guess.

[sullustangin]

A Code of Conduct for a Smuggler Ship

This is a world-building piece I'm using in my own fan fic.  Our smugglers, pirates, rogues, and other non-aligned/independent ships do have rules and codes of conduct.  They wouldn't live by Imperial/Republic/Federation/Klingon/Fleet rules.  Whether in space or on the sea, they still have to co-exist with their crewmates and captain.  This is mostly compiled from historical pirate codes, Gibbs from NCIS (it works), and other real-life incidents.

This is crossposted to AO3. 

Code of Conduct for Virtue’s Thief, under the command of

Captain Eva Corolastor

1.       The Captain’s responsibility is to the ship.  The ship is the crew, and the crew is the ship.  The Captain is to save the ship at any cost, including her own.

2.      The Captain is the first and final authority on Virtue’s Thief.

3.      Never screw over your Captain or your crewmates.

4.      All profit is disbursed evenly after the ship receives its share for maintenance. Private gambling, inheritance, and profits do not apply here.

5.      If someone is permanently injured, maimed or disabled in the service of Virtue’s Thief or her captain, they are to be pensioned off for the duration of their lives.

6.      The crew is entitled to a discount for services at the Captain’s discretion.

7.      Police your brass and cover your ass.  

8.      Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

9.      Always announce your entrance into the cockpit or the Captain’s quarters; she is armed.

10.  Always carry a knife.

11.  Never drink the last of anything.

12.  No pets.

13.  No children.

14.  Nobody talks about VATs [Very Awful Thing(s)].

15.  Blood stays in the cargo bay; do not track it around the ship.  Remove your boots as needed.

16.  No fighting on the ship; settle your differences planetside.

17.  No sleeping naked.

18.  No shagging in the ship (exceptions to be granted by the Captain).

19.  All crew members will carry spare clean underwear in a waterproof bag at all times.

20.  Birthdays are to be celebrated.  Get over it.

 1.  This rule is included since my captain is a Good Gal.  She's a Chaotic Neutral Leaning Good.  If your Captain is not so inclined, you may wish to alter this to better suit how your Captain sees his or her crew and ship:  are the crewmen and crew-women expendable?  Is the ship itself a tool to be used and broken, or is it the Captain's beloved home?

2.  Many pirate codes have votes and other democratic devices so each man had their say, especially if their Captain sees them as tools or as useful rather than friends and family.   Because my captain is GG in Rule #1, Rule #2 is not democratic, but rather, an assertion of authority because of GG status; your Captain has to be a leader, not a doormat.  If your Captain is more ruthless, then you may want to counter-balance with a rule that gives the crew some veto power.

 3.  This is self-explanatory.   Ships have limited quarters, and it's in everyone's best interest not to hate each other.  Gibbs' Rule.

 4.  This is a pragmatic rule, as the ship does have to be maintained as the home for everyone, even if she is own by the Captain.  This could also go toward the upkeep of ship's droids, if you're operating in the Star Wars universe.  This is based in actual rules from historical pirate codes.

 5.  Another historical pirate code rule.  This one is very generous (Good Gal Captain).  Often, there would be a limit set or a delineation of what body parts are worth how much -- arms, eyes, and legs all have different value, and how much of you lost also matters.  In the modern world, we have this when claiming disability benefits, particularly for veterans.  This is an opportunity for you to discuss how your characters are valued by the Captain/ship.

 6.  Depending on how you set up your ship and crew rules and who decides what jobs to take, this rule can be very relevant or not relevant.  I use it as an opportunity to prove Captain's benevolence, but this can be used to build tension -- is this job worth it?  Are you actually going to pay us for this gig?

 7.   Gibbs' Rule(s), but highly pertinent.  Most non-aligned ships are non-aligned for a reason -- shady activities? troubled past?  "Police your brass" is a term for cleaning up one's spent casings so that you don't leave a trace or evidence you were there.  Covering your ass is a catch-all for making sure there are no loose ends.  This is the "don't bring trouble home" rule -- don't bring unwanted attention to the ship. 

 8. Gibbs' Rule.  Even if you follow #7 to the hilt, this is still possible -- stay alert. 

 9.  The Captain often has the most to lose.  This is typically their ship, and all troubles land on their desk.  They're the ones trying to lead people of questionable character -- there's a reason they're out on their own.  Depending on what the job is, they may be carrying strangers on their ship or there may be concerns of a boarding party.  This can be used to depict Captain's trust, but also Captain competence -- do you want someone who trusts everyone responsible for your safety?

10.  Gibbs' Rule, but interesting to utilize in space settings.  In modern/historical settings and military settings, you always carry a personal sidearm or two as a hold-out; knife and a single-shot pistol (especially 3-D printed) are useful.  In space, there's all this fancy tech, like blasters, lasers, phasers, vibroknives, and so on. A knife can cut air supply hoses, slice electronics, puncture life support suits, and all sorts of chaotic things that a "highly evolved society" wouldn't think of.

11.  My own creation -- I have a hard-drinking crew, and if you want to break Rule #3 in the worst way possible, this is it.  One thing I have headcanonned is that there were originally just 10 rules on the Thief.  The second 10 come as a result of people breaking the first 10 -- more specific rules for more idiotic behavior that the writer didn't anticipate.  In the words of my captain, "Can I preface that by saying the rules exist for reasons?  As in, someone screwed up, and after we all didn’t die, I made the rule?”

12.  and 13.  These are flexible, but you have to consider what type of operation your ship is running.  Is it derring-do and swashbuckling and a business venture?  Or is something else more akin to a family group?  Within the SWTOR universe, I've seen people keep their ships very businesslike, but the same crews in another fan fic are raising kids and have pets.  Totally fine.

14.   VATs are a sideline business that my Captain operates alongside her two female crewmates; the boys find what they do so distasteful, they try to ignore it as best they can.  In my universe, VATs are wetwork, assassinations, torture, extortion, espionage, information-brokering, and other morally questionable items that don't fall under the main purview of business on the ship.  Does your ship have anyone with a sideline?  It doesn't have to be as violent or dark as this.  Is it officially recognized?  To what extent?  Is it a secret?  Is there a rule against doing this sort of thing? 

15.  Generally cleanliness reminder, but if you have this sort of a rule, you better show off why it's necessary.

16.  Historical pirate rule -- if you have beef, go settle on the shore.  Some codes get the quartermaster directly involved in fairly outfitting both parties and determining whether the matter is settled or if someone should get left behind at port for the good of the ship.

17.  This is for red alerts and making sure nobody wastes too much time trying to throw clothes on while trying to deal with a disaster.  It also ties into #18.

18.  Historically, pirates were not supposed to bring wenches on the ship.  First, there was a risk of someone being accidentally kidnapped if the ship left before critical personnel woke up after a night on the tiles.  Secondly, rape was a serious crime to pirates; the penalty was death.  I've seen in multiple pirate codes that boys and ladies were not to be brought aboard.  Some do allow for a guardian for these people so that they can remain on board until the next port, but those were special conditions in special circumstances.  Since I have a smuggler ship, it's egalitarian -- no sexy times for anyone onboard the ship.  Also, if you're busy getting busy, if there's an attack, well, it takes more time to untangle yourself than if you're by yourself. 

19a.   This is a personal rule (IRL and in fan fic).  As I've been writing, I find that people's clothes getting trashed or messed up is a pretty regular thing.  However, it's made exponentially more tolerable by having a spare set of something dry.  If you plan on having characters get messy and want to move the plot along without dealing with the "uh oh, naked" thing (especially if there's a romantic/sexual tension), this isn't a bad rule to have around.  Granted, if you're writing PWP, make sure nobody has any spare anything.  Also, spare clean undies aren't just useful for the obvious; think of bandages, messages that could be sent while everyone else is "hurr durr"ing over panties, underwires that can be used for other purposes.  Basically, this is where you can put in your MacGuyver plot device -- make people carry some seemingly useless item around and then it's the Most Critical Thing to making some ad hoc plan work.  

b.  Caveat:  Chekhov's Gun.  This the literary principle that you shouldn't put anything into your story unless it adds to the bigger plot: don't put a gun on stage unless it's going to fire.  So you can have a lot of funny business with your #19 (or any of these rules) but don't spend too much time on them.  Some of it might remain headcanon forever, which is fine. Remember that codes/rules are meant to help your ship function, not to bog it down unnecessarily. 

20.  Personal rule. See 19b. Feel free to use these rules or variants thereof; just give me a mention @sullustangin or via AO3 (top of the page).

[lov3nerdstuff]

Writing Advice

A lot of you guys asked me for writing advice, and I'm happily obliging! Especially @averyhill4445 and @lovesmesomehiddles 💗 This list is in no way complete, and just a glimpse of what I thought of, so feel free to continue asking questions about it 😊💚 I'm always happy to answer every ask and every message!

Writing Advice:

Use the "Chekhov's gun" principle: (and look it up if you're not familiar with it.) don't write about things that don't contribute to the overall plot or character development in some way. Leave things out if they are simply not picked up again

Use the characters' senses: what do they feel, see, smell, etc... describing physical experiences makes things relatable for the readers

Show don't tell: it's the healthy mix that makes it good! Only if you can show what a character feels and thinks by their actions and symptoms, it's gonna be believable. Look at the situation and decide for yourself: if you can write an action that shows the principle/idea in less or equal words it would take to flat out describe the ideas themselves, always go for showing

Give characters a motivaton or a reason for their behavior that is (somewhat) fitting to the actions they take: don't give them a minor motivation for a major action

Give more detail than you have to, but less than you want to! Not everything needs to be described in detail though. The more detail you give about something, the more importance you give to the matter in the context of the whole scene or story

The one tip you always get but has proven true to me: read a lot! A great, incredible lot. Mirror (don't copy) what you like and change what you don't

Have a rough plan for the plot, but don't stick to it too closely! Allow the story to write self and for yourself to get sidetracked. Life doesn't follow a strict plan while you chase your goals, and neither should your story. Have a goal, and take the time to find a path to get there. Just going with the flow will lead you to the most amazing places at times!

Good metaphors can draw people in and add value to your story, but don't overdo it! Pick the scenes that focus on the inside life of a character, on their feelings and thoughts, to speak in metaphors. Or for descriptions of atmosphere

If you're stuck with something you're writing, put it aside for a while and read someone else's work. Helps wonders, really! Doesn't even have to be the same character or genre.

Don't go for every trope that offers itself to you. Be conscious of which tropes exist for your genre, but don't have your story revolve around them. It's fun to use some tropes, but again: it's the good measure that makes a story great! Have more of your own ideas in the story than popular tropes

Bonus: (and really random) Have a good measure of both: plot and beautiful wording. It's not always easy to do, but be conscious of the fact that a good plot doesn't work without the proper wording, while beautiful words without a meaning don't catch anyone's interest

So... This is it for now! I hope this will help some of you lovely people in your own writing 💗✨😊 if you have any more questions, don't ever hesitate to ask 🥰

[procession-of-blades]

@loreyrs I can’t @ you but I went to respond to your comment on that other post, and accidentally a bit of a rambly rant after writing the answer, and I didn’t want to entirely hijack @warmaster-aranaies​‘s post like a butthole laskudflkg

We did get one other thing in LW4! It brought us the...frankly ENTIRELY out of left field “Darkness pays Orr a visit” poem subplot. I joined this game around the same time @commander-thiernaen​ did, so I got to Jahai a little later than most people, but I was playing when the episode dropped. I remember the utter confusion spread over the handful of people I’d followed at that point in time, “Wait why are they bring up Trahearne NOW of all times?” On top of that, it was a love??? poem????? Going back to Personal Story sappy soft Trahearne content out of NOWHERE and then...IMMEDIATELY dropping him again. Directly after the line is read and the Commander comments. Bam. He’s vanished again.

Not in the Mist Wardens. Not in the ‘hey we have a message from Glint!’ moment but I GUESS SNAFF HAS A REASON TO POP UP? COOL FANSERVICE NICE TO SEE HIM I GUESS? Snaff’s cool just. Like I guess it’s cuz they had fought Kralk in the past? But we had zero indication that Trahearne didn’t intend to see the dragon threat to the end. The closest I can recall to us being able to say anything about missing him or feeling guilty or sad or anything is when we find that poem, honestly.

And then back to as if he never existed at all. We have limited knowledge of the extent of Taimi and Trahearne’s interactions. No idea if they were super close, etc. If it was LW1 content then LOL FAT CHANCE AT US NEWCOMERS KNOWING THAT? Perhaps it was an optional dialog in an earlier story that I missed? But they just go “btw Taimi n Trahearne talked poetry once upon a time anyway back to Kralk,” and no elaboration. No payoff. Considering how War Eternal ended, it does seem like the theory about ‘it was gonna end here’ has at least a sliver of weight to it, and if so? They woulda dropped that with zero chance of ever paying it off, huh. I’ve been watching that

More analysis lbr it’s nitpicking under the cut

Anet seems to do...interesting and experimental things with narrative a lot. In recent years there’s been a big trend of ‘oh we have to shock and surprise the audience they can’t predict it ahead of time! bad bad bad!’ in media, and while the lead narrative folks on GW2 have talked on and on about how one cannot expect instant gratification, how people expect instant payoff, at least in the case of those ranting about, say, Almorra being (apparently?? maybe?) succeeded by Jhavi instead of the prior ESTABLISHED SUCCESSOR Laranthir, or the people ranting about Trahearne VANISHING AND REAPPEARING RANDOMLY IT SEEMS, there are a few narrative/dramatic concepts that they seem to...take really skewed opinions on?

To get my Wikipedia copypasta on:

Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed; elements should not appear to make "false promises" by never coming into play. The statement is recorded in letters by Anton Chekhov several times, with some variation:

"Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there." "One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep." "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there."

I’d personally count things like the Orr poem as a currently unfired gun. It’s sitting there. Drawn attention to in main story. Even has optional dialog in the Priory!

Moving onto the other point that came to mind, it’s not as if Arenanet is UNAWARE of this, right? In the company’s job postings for narrative stuff, there’s even a line “Unafraid to make tough calls, embrace the necessity of "killing your darlings", and take direction from creative leads.” So clearly they’re talking about the necessity of trimming the story of things you don’t need--

Or do they? It dawned on me a while back that I often see this context used out of context an AWFUL LOT. It doesn’t mean “kill your favorite characters in your story,” like I tend to hear people assume. Often attributed to Faulkner but apparently originating from Arthur Quiller-Couch, the full quote is actually:

If you here require a practical rule of me, I will present you with this: ‘Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.

Now, I don’t want to make assumptions about writers more accomplished than myself, of course not. I don’t want to...presume. That Anet misunderstands that as a concept. I’m sure they prune the HELL out of their stuff. I love watching Guild Chat or reading their responses on Reddit/other platforms. They’re passionate as hell as a group and put a lot of effort into this. But...stuff like the points brought up in the threads today DO make me wonder at times. That plus the lead narrative fellow’s recent Twitter discussion about delayed gratification...

It really feels at times like Anet is firing...the wrong guns. Killing the wrong darlings. Such hit and miss points of focus on characters. This huge amount of clarification and emphasis on why we couldn’t ride mounts in the mines where we find Almorra...but also leaving zero mention of the aforementioned pre-designated successor. In-game or out? I can only hope that they’re aware of how disjointed a lot of these things come off to at least a chunk of the fanbase...and that my nightmares about Anet lampshading the dangling threads and then ignoring them don’t end up a reality.

-longingly stares at the carved tablet- I’ve never been so eager to see a gun fired.

[commentaryvorg]

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 4.10

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time in the second half of chapter 4’s investigation, Shuichi had Kaito “help” him out by doing absolutely nothing, which Kaito totally wasn’t having a big sulk about afterwards, Maki warned Shuichi not to get too caught up in being the Ultimate Detective over being himself (which may have been why he was accidentally kind of a dick to Kaito), Kokichi was still very deliberately being a dick to Kaito about his inability to help Shuichi, not that Kaito was letting it get to him or anything, and Kaito reminded Shuichi yet again that he was there for him if he ever needed help, because this whole investigation has definitely not made Kaito even more terrified that Shuichi simply doesn’t need him at all.

Now, we start the trial! I hope you’re ready to be here a while, because this is going to take several more posts to cover than any trial up until now.

Kokichi:  “Before we start, I just wanna ask something since there’s not a lot of us left… What happens if the votes result in two first places?”

It’s odd that Kokichi is asking this here. Going by the principle of Chekhov’s Gun, you’d expect this to be because it’s going to come up later somehow (like the fact that they keep mentioning not voting equals death will), but… it doesn’t. So instead, the only point of this is to hint at what’s going on in Kokichi’s head right now. I guess he’s worried that people might be so determined to believe in Gonta that he’ll only be able to convince half of them Gonta did it when the time comes?

Monokuma:  “It means they’re both the blackened. As long as one of them is correct, it’s fine.”

No, Monokuma! You of all people should not be misunderstanding what the word “blackened” means! The “blackened” is not the person who was voted for! There cannot be more than one blackened at a time! What he presumably means by this is that both people who tied in the vote count as the person who was voted for, and as long as one of them is the blackened, that still counts as the spotless winning, such that only the blackened (and not the other person voted for) gets executed.

Kokichi:  “Kaito’s the culprit!”

Kaito:  “What!? Say that to my face!”

He… he just did, Kaito? Don’t get so riled up already; we’ve got a long way to go here.

(Still, it’s so very like Kaito to have a thing about how people should say stuff like that to someone’s face and not only behind their back. If you think something about someone, even if it’s bad, then you shouldn’t hide it from them. Stick to your convictions! Be open about your intentions towards others!)

Gonta:  “Kaito couldn’t have killed Miu!”

Aww, look at Gonta believing in Kaito, just like Kaito believes in him. I wish they’d had a chance to become better friends instead of just distantly respecting each other like this. (I mean, that’d make this whole ordeal even more painful for Kaito than it’s already going to be, but. (…but that’d be a good thing.))

Kokichi:  “How long are you gonna keep saying that? Trusted people can still kill, y’know. We already saw that a buncha times! So many times… since Kaede.”

And how many times are you going to keep saying this same tired line and trying to get everyone to believe that even seemingly trustworthy people are nothing but horrible backstabbers, Kokichi? The trusted people who have killed so far had good reasons for doing so that didn’t mean they weren’t still the people everyone believed in. He’s trying to get everyone to think that Kaito could totally have been a horrible person all along despite appearances, but that notion has not remotely been backed up by anything that’s happened so far.

Shuichi:  (The fact that Kaito was the only one logged out is suspicious… But he’s not the culprit! He can’t be!)

Even though by this point Shuichi has definitive proof that Kaito literally can’t be the culprit, I still like to think that his certainty here is coming not from his Ultimate Detective side but from Shuichi Saihara believing in his friend.

Himiko:  “Well, Kaito? Any last words?”

Himiko, geez! I thought you were happy that Kaito supported you last trial! Why are you so ready to throw him under the bus and assume he killed someone!?

(I guess this is maybe lingering hints of her “laziness”, in that while she’s doing her best to act positive now, she still kind of just wants to take the easy way out of things.)

Gonta:  “Ummm… Gonta has question… Where is this ‘Ver-chew-ul World’ place? What floor is it on?”

Oh, poor Gonta. He wants to understand! He wants to be able to follow everyone else’s conversation so that he can help! They’re all talking about having gone to this place that he’s never even been to!

This does work well enough on a first time through as just making one assume that he’s only wondering how they physically got there from the computer room and still remembers that the place exists. Which, fair enough, if that really were what he’s asking then it’s not the most relevant question right now, so it makes sense that everyone would brush it off.

Maki:  “If you don’t understand, then don’t say anything.”

Still, Maki’s bluntness is not helping in this instance. It’s just letting everyone write this off as Gonta being his usual naïve, “stupid” self (he’s not stupid) and not realise how much of a serious deal it is that he apparently doesn’t even properly know about the Virtual World.

Kaito:  “So her cause of death in the Virtual World is the one that matters.”

Gonta:  “U-Ummm…”

Aaagh, Gonta is still being too polite and awkward to just speak up about not even having been to this world. This is the problem with him being so unsure of himself! He’s assuming that he should understand whatever they’re talking about and is simply being stupid, rather than having the confidence to stand up for himself and say “okay, no, really, I’m pretty sure I haven’t been there, what is everyone talking about?”

Tsumugi:  “Oh, it seems like Gonta is confused, so why don’t we review things a bit? Umm… So we split into two groups to find the secret of the outside world.”

Not helping. She’s still completely skipping over the bit Gonta needs an explanation about, namely the bit where they entered the Virtual World in the first place. By assuming that Gonta already knows about that, she’s just making him think that that part is something he should know and if he doesn’t then he’s just stupid. Which leads to him trying his best to catch up by simply imagining all these things and not questioning the fact that they really didn’t happen to him.

Kokichi:  “…that NPC Kaito!”

I’ve mentioned this before, but Kokichi’s insults are very carefully and deliberately geared towards people’s vulnerabilities. He just called Kaito an unimportant background character, irrelevant next to the hero of the story who can actually affect things and make a difference, which is exactly what Kaito is currently terrified that he might be.

(Ironically, from an out-universe perspective, while Kaito is literally an NPC, he is currently anything but a background character, precisely because of these issues he’s having. Tsumugi, Himiko, Keebo and even Maki are mostly irrelevant to this trial’s narrative, but Kaito is one of the central players in it.)

Kaito:  “Hey! Who you callin’ NPC, you A-S-S!?”

…I don’t have any comments on Kaito’s issues to make here. I just like this comeback.

Himiko:  “Whatever did that to Miu… was dropped right next to her avatar.”

“What was on ground?”

It’s convenient that Gonta’s speech pattern makes his white noise easy to identify. Look at him trying to piece together a mental picture of what was going on even though he has no idea about any of this!

Kokichi:  “Or Gonta beat her with his bare hands.”

…

“Gonta NEVER hit lady!”

Aww, Gonta. I’d agree that of course you never would, but…

(Also look at Kokichi dropping that here and making it seem like an obviously-just-being-a-dick suggestion even though he knows. He’s got his sly grin for that line.)

Shuichi:  “During the investigation, we found toilet paper outside the mansion.”

He’s not saying precisely where outside the mansion it was located. So Shuichi is still the only one who knows both of the pieces of information that can prove Gonta did it. He and Keebo found the toilet paper; he and Tsumugi saw where Gonta was standing. Everyone else just knows they were “outside”.

Shuichi:  “I’m guessing that the toilet paper was used to strangle her.”

Gonta:  “Gonta no can ignore that!” … … “What you mean, Shuichi?”

Shuichi:  “Huh? What’s wrong…?”

Gonta:  “What wrong!? Shuichi goofing off! Not gentlemanly at all!”

Oh, Gonta. He’s helping! He can’t just stand there and let Shuichi say something that obviously doesn’t make any sense!

This Rebuttal Showdown is absolutely great. It’s not difficult in the slightest – in fact, it’s the only one in the whole game where the correct weak spot is in the first section and not the second, and that’s the only weak spot it even has – but that’s the point. It’s here as a big hint towards how little Gonta understands about everything that’s going on here.

Gonta:  “Even Gonta know that, and Gonta not smart!”

And it’s also here for the character-writing purpose of showing that Gonta is still desperate to be useful. All of this stuff everyone’s been talking about is so confusing and he has no idea how to contribute, but this is something that even Gonta can tell isn’t right and can therefore help with!

Gonta:  “Miu died such an awful death… So why you not take this seriously!? You call yourself Ultimate Detective!? Use your head! Figure out real murder weapon!”

This is the entire second section of the debate, which doesn’t have any weak spots because it’s not a logical argument – it’s just Gonta getting overly emotional. He hates that so many people have died, and now here’s Shuichi messing around when everyone’s lives are at stake? That’s not like him! If nobody else is going to make Shuichi get his head on straight, Gonta will!

Gonta:  “…Unbreakable?”

Kokichi:  “Nee-heehee! You’re so dumb, Gonta! You didn’t even know that?”

Everyone else is assuming that Gonta is confused because he doesn’t understand the Virtual World. But Kokichi knows Gonta should at least understand the unbreakable toilet paper because he strangled Miu with it, so Kokichi thinks that Gonta just lied and pretended to be stupider than he is. This is him helping back up that supposed lie by going “look, guys, Gonta really is this dumb!”.

In reality, even if he remembered, Gonta would never tell a lie like this. This wouldn’t be a direct lie about something he did, but a lie about his nature to mislead them very indirectly, which is a kind of lie Gonta isn’t even really capable of telling, no matter how much he wanted to hide his crime to save everyone. Kokichi should realise here that something’s up because Gonta wouldn’t lie in this way – but that doesn’t occur to him, because he projects his manipulative two-faced nature onto everyone, apparently even including Gonta, so Gonta lying like this makes perfect sense to him.

Gonta:  “Gonta… not really understand, but… Sorry, Shuichi! Gonta was wrong!”

Poor Gonta. He still doesn’t actually understand how on earth the toilet paper wouldn’t break, but if Shuichi’s saying so and everyone else is agreeing then Shuichi must know what he’s talking about and not be goofing off after all, and Gonta is just somehow being stupid again.

Shuichi:  (If the culprit meant to get rid of the evidence, they did a poor job of it. There was a much better place where they could have destroyed it.)

Shuichi’s talking about the river, of course – but this line of logic doesn’t get pursued for now. The question of why the culprit didn’t dispose of the toilet paper properly and left it where they did is the reason we can be sure that Gonta did it, and that’s not something the writing wants to get to for quite some time.

Gonta:  “Uses for a hammer… Gonta know! Miu gonna build stuff with hammer!”

Aww, Gonta, look at him trying to contribute ideas even though he doesn’t understand what everyone’s talking about! I am sad that the debate doesn’t even dignify this with an agree spot to imply that he could be right.

Kokichi:  “By the way, *Miu* asked to meet up with me before we went into the Virtual World… I totally forgot where we were supposed to meet, so good thing Kee-boy spied on us.”

Yeah, no, his tone of voice here makes it clear that’s a lie. He only pretended to forget precisely so that someone could overhear and Shuichi could figure it out.

Ugggghhh and now more taxi shenanigans. I bought a skill to upgrade my car to a faster one now, which is usually counterproductive because it makes it hard to avoid crashing into other cars and that massively slows you down, but now that I also have Kaito’s FTE skill which prevents any slowdown from crashes, things can go by even quicker! (You still take damage from crashes, but hey; it’s not like I’m taking damage for any other reason in this trial.) It is disappointing to me that Kaito’s skill is only useful in the stupidest minigame, but I’m still going to make the best use of it that I can, dammit.

(I have Gonta’s FTE skill now too, but I didn’t equip that one because it makes the Argument Armaments go by faster, and ha ha, no way I want to do that right now. I’ll use it later, though.)

The questions asked in this taxi segment are still frustratingly obvious and two steps behind. You’d think the answer to “where was Miu trying to kill Kokichi?” should be “on the mansion’s rooftop” and then this is about how she could have got there, but no, we’re not remotely at that point yet, we’re apparently supposed to be just now figuring out that she was trying to kill him in the Virtual World in general.

Kaito:  “What? Miu was the one who put that poison bottle there? No, that ain’t right! Something’s definitely weird about that!”

Kaito is not usually one to have a particularly strong opinion either way about the arguments being made – he normally just summarises points and tries to move the discussion along rather than objecting to anything. But look at him here, actually contributing an argument of his own. He’s totally being useful, right?

Kaito:  “When could Miu have put the poison there?”

“Maybe while Gonta sleep?”

Gonta is still trying to understand. At least this bit doesn’t involve the Virtual World and so he can grasp it a little better – this guess of his is technically correct, after all!

Tsumugi:  “Did you see her log in or log out at all?”

“Gonta see nothing!”

Tsumugi is asking Kokichi, since he was in the salon. Gonta didn’t need to contribute, but look at him contributing.

Kaito:  “…then Miu couldn’t have placed the poison!”

Whoops, my hand slipped and I totally accidentally fired the wrong Truth Bullet at Kaito’s statement here. It definitely wasn’t that I want to talk about the dialogue that happens if you get this wrong:

Kaito:  “If she didn’t log in or out, then there’s no way she coulda placed the poison!” [looking evasively off to the side] “But… if my sidekick says so, then maybe there was a way…”

Kaito knows that if Shuichi is questioning him on this point, it’s got to be because it’s wrong, but even though he believes in Shuichi being more right than him, he’s so reluctant to admit it. Usually he’d be proud of his sidekick and happy to encourage him to try again to get it right even though that’d mean proving Kaito wrong, but not this time. His jealousy is starting to have an effect on him.

Himiko:  “The only person who logged out early was Kaito…”

Kokichi:  “Kaito, your grave just got ten feet deeper!”

“Total self-destruction…”

Also, while Kaito’s argument is wrong, if it had been right then it would have just served to make himself look more suspicious, so, uh, good job, Kaito? Like someone comments, he kinda shot himself in the foot there, especially since he kept saying he wanted to clear his own name.

(Kaito’s grave is going to be so deep it’s going to come out the other side of the Earth and be in SPACE.)

(Well, not technically his grave, but you know what I mean.)

Kaito:  “Is this… a record of who went in and out of the Virtual World?”

See, Kaito was wrong simply because he didn’t see the login/logout record, because someone wasn’t letting him investigate properly (and by “properly” I mean, “with Shuichi”, since Shuichi’s the only one who gets shown all the relevant information because everyone thinks he’s the only one who’ll need it). Kaito is not being stupid – but he is being reckless to assume he’s right and jump in to make arguments when he knows his understanding of the case is going to be incomplete. Kaito’s attempt to “help” here has only ended up drawing attention to him being worse at this than Shuichi.

Shuichi:  “It says that Miu was the last of us to log in.”

Kaito:  “Yeah. What about it?”

Kaito’s got that evasive face again here. He’s not stupid enough to not know what that means – he just doesn’t want to admit that he was wrong and Shuichi had it all figured out while he didn’t.

(When I say “evasive face”, I mean this face. He’s going to be making that face a lot during this trial, so I might as well show you which one I’m talking about when I refer to it.)

This debate we just had is the beginning of what’s going to be a long string of Shuichi refuting Kaito’s arguments over and over again during this trial, which is (yet another!) clearly deliberate thing the writers are doing for the sake of pushing Kaito’s jealousy issues to breaking point and I love it.

Gonta:  “That right! She coulda placed poison bottle on Kokichi’s seat!”

See, even Gonta gets it! Because this part isn’t about what happened in the Virtual World, so he can at least grasp that she “went to sleep” last and therefore had time to do that.

Kokichi:  “She tried to kill me in the Virtual World, make us think it happened in the real world… then pin the crime on Kaito.”

Kaito:  “W-Well that’s not my fault!”

I love Kaito’s exasperated reaction here. Kokichi was being such a dick to him during the investigation, supposedly due to the fact that he looked like the most likely to have done it, as if he’d done something wrong. Now that Kaito knows that all of that was Miu’s doing, he’s mad that she caused Kokichi to treat him that way when he hadn’t done anything to deserve it, dammit!

Kokichi:  “Which is why she manually logged you out, just for that purpose.”

Kaito:  “So she did that to me?”

Come on, Kaito, keep up. I know you were in a sulk about the cell phone thing, but surely not so much that you couldn’t at least realise what that meant? No? Apparently it really was that big of a sulk.

I guess now’s the time to properly talk about the fact that Miu was trying to frame Kaito. Presumably the reason she chose him is that she was thinking of the time Kaito punched Kokichi a couple of breakfasts ago and figured it would make a plausible argument that Kaito would be angry enough at him to flat-out kill him. Because, of course, Miu doesn’t understand Kaito at all, so it doesn’t remotely occur to her that that punch wasn’t about him wanting to hurt Kokichi and was in fact about trying to get through to him. Or that, simply based on Kaito’s character, the idea of him killing someone just because he doesn’t like them is inconceivable. She also completely failed to realise that framing the closest friend of our resident Ultimate Detective was an incredibly stupid idea, because that would just make Shuichi all the more sure that it wasn’t the truth and determined to prove it wrong, even if he might need to lie for Kaito in order to move the debate onto the real truth.

But there’s an out-universe reason for Miu framing Kaito too – because that led to Kokichi using it to be a dick and stop him from investigating, and that has all kinds of relevance to Kaito’s arc about his jealousy of Shuichi that the out-universe writers are crafting here. It meant Shuichi proved he can investigate just fine yet again without Kaito’s help, and Kaito not investigating properly means he’s missing a lot of information, which is partially why he’s going to be refuted by Shuichi so many times in this trial.

Kokichi:  “Well, I knew that from the start.”

Kaito:  “Then why did you say I was the culprit!?”

Kokichi:  “Because I wanted to get it through your thick skull… People you trust and defend will ultimately betray you. This is a game of suspicion.”

Aaaaand now Kokichi is just straight-up admitting that this is what he’s doing! I really don’t know why I don’t see more people talking about this part of Kokichi’s character – he does it so often that it’s so far from subtle, and then here he goes and makes his intention to do so absolutely explicit.

That said, on this occasion, it’s actually quite stupid of him to have been trying to do so by insisting Kaito’s the culprit when he knows he isn’t. All that’s going to achieve, once that theory gets proven impossible, is make people realise that they were right to trust Kaito all along and should never have listened to Kokichi’s words. Which is incredibly counterproductive to Kokichi’s goal of getting this point across to people. So… apparently he’s so irrationally fixated on convincing everyone of his worldview that he’s going about doing so without even really consciously thinking about it, because if he were thinking about how to do so the most effectively then he should have known this would shoot himself in the foot. That’s… actually kind of interesting. God, it sure would be nice if we ever understood why Kokichi is so convinced that people can only ever betray each other so I could get behind this more.

(Although it seems from his wording here that he’s specifically talking about getting his point through to Kaito, which makes some sense in terms of his character because he’s always been the most bothered about Kaito believing the opposite to him – but that’s just even more obviously illogical, how on earth would accusing Kaito of something Kokichi knows he didn’t do ever make Kaito start to doubt people more???)

Kaito:  “…”

Kaito is angry here. No doubt he’s not happy about Kokichi’s philosophy and the fact that he’s been trying to force it onto everyone. But he’s also probably angry that Kokichi claiming to believe Kaito did it wasn’t what Kokichi really thought of him at all (remember “say that to my face!”?) and was just him lying about that to try and manipulate people’s feelings.

Kokichi:  “Welp, I think your ideals should stay the same.”

Haha, no, Kokichi, if you really didn’t mind Kaito’s ideals staying the same then you wouldn’t have just tried so counterproductively hard to change them. Not to mention Kokichi’s whole thing in the middle of trial 2 with turning Kaito and Maki against each other, which was also one giant attempt to convince Kaito that suspecting and sacrificing others in order to protect himself was necessary. He has wanted Kaito’s ideals to change this whole time.

What I think this line could be, though, is the moment Kokichi finally gives up on doing so and accepts that it was always impossible to change Kaito’s mind on this. Which in Kokichi-speak comes out as the idea that of course he totally never even wanted to do it in the first place, because Kokichi can’t possibly ever have been wrong about anything.

Kokichi:  “Because phonies like you are what make the game more interesting!”

And instead it seems Kokichi’s decided that even though Kaito’s never going to change his mind, he can still have fun with that by watching Kaito flounder in his inability to accept that Gonta did it. At least this trial will totally prove that Kokichi’s right and not Kaito, even if Kaito’s too much of an idiot and a “phony” to ever admit it, right? (Because Kaito actually being right to believe in people definitely couldn’t be the reason it’s impossible to change his mind, nope, no way.)

Kokichi:  “Anywhoooo, it’s a blessing in disguise that Miu died and not me.”

It really isn’t. Miu succeeding in her murder would mean that this case got rid of the two people everyone cared the least about – which is still objectively bad, but nowhere near as painful as the reality is going to be.

(But of course the fact that it makes the trial easier than if she’d killed him totally justifies Kokichi killing Miu, right?)

Kokichi:  “You guys would’ve had a way harder time finding the culprit, y’know. She would’ve been able to lie about the Virtual World’s settings as much as she wanted…”

Yeah, no, we wouldn’t. Her murder plan was horrendously unsubtle and Shuichi would definitely have figured out something was up. Plus Monokuma would have made sure everyone got the necessary information about the Virtual World anyway, to make the trial fair.

Kokichi:  “And you’d never know that the murder actually took place in the Virtual World.”

We would, because of the poison. And even if Miu had picked a more sensible poison to use, Shuichi would have lied about the poison to protect Kaito because he’d know Kaito would never have done it and would therefore suspect that the real murder took place in the Virtual World anyway.

Tsumugi:  “I was sad that she was gone, but now I don’t know what to think…”

Kokichi:  “Nee-heeheehee! Niiiiice! Backstabbed by a trusted friend! See? That’s an ideal fun situation!”

Yeah, except for the fact that this doesn’t remotely prove you right at all, Kokichi, because literally nobody ever trusted Miu. (Except Gonta, who blindly trusts everyone.) Everybody was super suspicious of her invitation to the Virtual World and only ended up going because of Monokuma’s bait, not because they trusted her one bit.

Also look at him calling being betrayed by a trusted person “fun”, when actually in his worldview that’s the most terrifying thing ever to the point that his entire character revolves around protecting himself from it. But so long as it’s not happening to him and is only happening to others, then it’s allowed to be “fun”. Kokichi often uses “fun” as basically just a synonym for “good”, and this is good, because look, it proves him right!!! (even though it doesn’t.)

Kokichi:  “Now we can start a *real* class trial!”

Gonta:  “Hey, Kokichi sorta sound like… Monokuma.”

Heh. Gonta knows what’s up. He’s so confused by the actual arguments and deductions about the Virtual World, but he’s still paying as much attention as he can and picking up on the things he can understand.

Kaito:  “No… You’re just like Monokuma. Both of you are cowards. You never speak the truth or show your true face.”

Kokichi:  “Wait, coward? You say some interesting things sometimes, Kaito.”

Haven’t I been saying this whole time that Kokichi is basically just a gigantic coward? Kaito knows it, too. Kokichi’s entire shtick of insisting to everyone that distrusting others is the only sensible thing to do because people will always betray you is just one big elaborate attempt to hide from the fact that he’s terrified of being betrayed and therefore being a coward to not try and take that risk and believe in people regardless. Which means that he’s convinced himself that he’s not a coward, just logical, and so naturally he’s confused by Kaito calling him out here.

And of course, this is another example of Kaito’s intuition at work. He’s still having a hard time figuring out Kokichi completely, but he can tell that what Kokichi’s showing on the surface right now isn’t quite him and there’s something else beneath that that he’s hiding out of cowardice.

It’s also notable that Kokichi calls Kaito’s opinion interesting and doesn’t precisely suggest that he’s wrong. The way Kokichi words that sounds like he might have picked up on the fact that Kaito has him partially figured out. …Alternatively, Kokichi thinks that Kaito is being a coward by hiding his illness (something else Kokichi has picked up on) and that phrasing is him implying that Kaito is being a hypocrite here.

Kaito:  “Smiling, putting on a mask, never saying what you really think… That kind of cowardice is just like Monokuma!”

This whole speech could be read as incredibly hypocritical coming from Kaito, who’s spent this whole chapter smiling and putting a mask over his illness and how that’s really making him feel. But it’s not as hypocritical as it might seem, because that’s not the kind of lying that Kaito’s getting at. When Kaito says Kokichi never shows his “true face”, he’s talking about the part of him that’s terrified of betrayal and hates everything about this killing game, which is the real core of Kokichi’s character and something he’s constantly pretending to be the complete opposite of. But the real core of Kaito’s character is someone who always wants to help out everyone around him and believe in the people he wants to believe in, and he would never try and make people think that that isn’t him. He’s hiding some of his true feelings, about the fact that he’s dying and scared and helpless, but those feelings don’t change who he truly is, and he’s never hiding that.

Kaito doesn’t actually mention his concept of manliness here, because now really isn’t the time to make himself sound ridiculous, but this is what the main bulk of that is and why that concept is so important to him. Stick to your convictions, take responsibility, be open and honest about your intentions regarding others. That kind of sincerity and integrity, or an utter lack thereof, is the biggest way in which Kaito and Kokichi are polar opposites.

It is, however, kind of wrong of Kaito to be comparing this to Monokuma. Kaito is clearly assuming that Monokuma is just a puppet for the real mastermind. He’s saying the mastermind is being too much of a coward to show everyone who they really are and take responsibility for all the suffering they’re causing, instead hiding behind Monokuma’s character and blaming it all on him. In fairness, that is actually what the mastermind’s doing – but that’s not what Monokuma is doing. Monokuma is a separate person, an autonomous AI who really does just enjoy making an exciting killing game and causing despair and isn’t hiding anything behind that. He was created to genuinely be that character that Junko only used as a façade in the original games.

Kaito:  “Listen up, Kokichi! To hell with this ‘game of suspicion’ crap! I will never be okay with it!”

Kokichi was twisted by this game right from the beginning into pretending he’s more than just okay with it in order to cope, which spiralled into him doing the awful things he’s doing here – and Kaito absolutely refuses to let the same thing happen to him. But what’s really interesting is that he’s saying “listen up”, which is something Kaito usually only says when he’s giving people advice. Which means that on some level, Kaito is still trying to get through to Kokichi! He knows that Kokichi doesn’t genuinely enjoy this game of suspicion either and is still hoping to get him to drop the act!

Kaito:  “I’m just gonna believe in everyone! Instead of suspecting my friends, I’m gonna find the truth by believing in them!”

Kaito should understand by now how unfortunately not appropriate it is to believe in literally everyone in this situation – so what he’s most likely saying here is that he believes in everyone except Kokichi, meaning he thinks Kokichi did it and is just waiting for everyone else’s efforts to figure out a way to prove it.

Which makes it quite something that he’s still trying to get through to him just a tiny bit anyway even though he believes Kokichi’s going to die today. Maybe his belief still also applies to Kokichi in a way, in that while he thinks Kokichi most likely did it, he still believes that somewhere deep down Kokichi is a decent person who didn’t truly want to do it and only did so because he was twisted by the killing game. If that’s what Kaito believes, then… he’s actually completely right.

And sure, maybe it’s a bit foolhardy of Kaito to refuse to suspect anyone when doing so at least a little bit really would help to find the truth, but he is so determined to stick to his convictions and not let this awful game twist him into something he isn’t! This game is designed to foster suspicion and distrust, and it takes courage to defy that and keep believing anyway, even if it’s also kind of reckless. Kaito is so good.

Kokichi:  “Well, if you think you can win this game like that… then sure, be my guest.”

What definition of “winning” are you even talking about here, Kokichi? I thought you’d redefined it to mean “getting one over on Monokuma and ruining his game”, and that can certainly happen while continuing to believe in everyone. That would be more likely to happen while believing in everyone, actually, because then you could all work together on it.

The only way in which Kokichi can be arguing that “winning” requires suspicion is if he means “surviving this trial as a spotless”. And sure, that requires suspicion – but not from everyone. Kaito can still keep believing in everybody all he likes and it won’t get him killed, so long as other spotless, meaning mostly Shuichi, have just the right amount of suspicion in others to reach the truth.

And I think Kaito knows this; he’s always believed in Shuichi’s ability to save everyone even if it means suspecting people and facing painful truths. Kaito just might be a little less sure about his own ability to face such truths (and right now he’s definitely not expecting he’s going to have to because he’s assuming Kokichi did it) – but ultimately, he won’t need to in order to survive so long as Shuichi is there.

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