#ops i manged to delete this

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Rewriting Goro

While Trying to Incorporate the Canon Parts (because I been wondering how the game could have kept Goro as in Canon while fixing the character/whole thing better).

Goro doesn’t think of his ‘didn’t think this plan out well’ plan of working with Shido in order to take him down and inadvertently becoming a supernatural hitman. Goro didn’t plan on killing him in canon, so it’s the same here. Since no one is taking down Shido and all the others rotten people, he’s going to do it. Goro still decides to become a teen detective. I headcanon Shido gave Goro some help with some influence and connections (Goro couldn’t get that famous with just faking a few cases + real work at times), and since Goro isn’t working with Shido in this rewrite, Goro is just a plain wannabe teen detective. However, he isn’t that bad, and while not on the levels of Naoto, he gets a new nickname different from canon: The Black and White Detective of the Law.

Goro sees the world as black and white: those that are guilty criminals, and the innocent people hurt by them. Goro is set on getting the guilty no matter wait. At the beginning, Goro arrest real criminals that escape their crimes. However, in some cases, Goro make a few known criminals psychotic, as the law fail to put them behind bars the first time around, meaning the second time is a 100% guarantee (arrest for new crimes people). Goro keeps an eye on Shido, who is slowly gaining power and influence. Eventually, Goro learns of Wakaba Isshiki, and due to a terrible mistake, is under the idea she’s willingly working with Shido (quite the opposite though, as she’s trying to stop him from getting her research). While trying to get her to be psychotic, Goro inadvertently injures Shadow!Wakaba, causing a much late mental shutdown. Ergo, Wakaba’s death still happen, and Goro has no idea he’s related to it. 

Now, Shido been keeping an eye on rivals and allies, and he learns of Goro’s existence after Wakaba’s sudden death (Shido added the note for the sake of it). Shido has no idea Goro is his kid until some investigation, and he realize there’s no way he can get Goro to work with him. Not voluntary of course. Being the smart man that he is, Shido, with lots of help to make sure it won’t be trace back to himself, gets Goro to do his dirty work. Goro now takes down associates of criminals, believing them to be guilty, not knowing half the people he arrests are framed by Shido, since they’re (admitting guilty of very minor crimes) rivals/innocent people getting in the way. This is how Ohya’s partner ends up in her state: it’s in a similar way to Wakaba. Unknown to Shido, Goro manged to learn about Madarame, Kaneshiro, and Okumura, and Goro plans on taking the them all down, as they have some connection to Shido (Goro is now trying to exposure Shido the good old fashion way).

Of course, Goro’s plan get derail by the Phantom Thieves, as he plan on taking down Kamoshida. Goro doesn’t take their arrival of his world so great. 2.5 years down the drain, and they think changing their hearts will fix everything. To Goro, while the PT get the confess to their crimes, it’s not a true confession. Has it been truly justice, the criminals would be face with the reality of their crimes without any outside help to help them (Goro is totally ignoring he makes people go psychotic cuz he in denial). Goro first meets the PT in Madarame’s Palace, just when it collapses (because honestly the game did Black Mask’s threat level poorly; if you got someone like that, actually show him a few times to and maybe let them interact). Goro/Black Mask and Joker fight, and Black Mask swears he’ll take down Joker if it’s the last thing he’ll do (”I’ll won’t have some criminal trash get in the way of true Justice”, something like that). Now the PT is out looking for the Black Mask. With this rivalry/hatred in the Metaverse, Goro and the Phantom Thieves in the real world get along great...kind of.

Goro befriended Joker after learning about Shido’s drunken night and the ‘attack’ of the teenage delinquent (Goro sees Joker as innocent as mention above). Goro finds him at Cafe LeBlanc, and Joker starts the Confidant/Co-Op earlier. At this point, no one know Goro’s reputation, so the rest of the PT at this point (Ryuji and Anne, granted she does say Goro is familiar), are okay. It’s only after Madareme’s change of heart does it change at the TV Station. Goro calls them criminals, stating what they’re doing is wrong. It sours things, but Joker is still dead set on being Goro’s friend because he think Goro can change his black and white views. The rest of the PT (even those that join later) go ‘FINE”, and they use Goro as a mean to learn info about the problems of the police. In this world, Goro is just working with just the police, having no relationship with Sae (he knows of her, but they never talk as he’s at the bottom of the ladder). As such, Makoto’s issue/joining is still the same, sans Goro (Goro doesn’t know Sae, so he can’t really say much to Makoto). 

It’s after Futaba’s Palace does the PT suspect Black Mask involved in Wakaba’s death. However, they know Black Mask isn’t working with the Conspiracy, as Shadow!Madarame and Shadow!Kaneshiro assumed the PT were allies with him. Thinking back to what he said about “Justice”, they realize the Black Mask’s justice became so skewered, he may have help caused Wakaba’s death, allowing the Conspiracy to play him. Maybe. Everyone is split. They don’t know if they’re being play, if their original assumption is right, or they should just ignore him because he’s actually not their priority at the moment since they haven’t seen or heard any trace of him in a while (they assumed he backed off). The fight of Ryuji and Morgana is more about what they’re going to do with Black Mask, as those two have the biggest different views: Ryuji and rest of PT are on team ignore him and Morgana on team being play. With being ‘abandon’ and his feeling less useful since no one is taking his word, Morgana leaves, trying to prove them wrong (so canon stuff here) in both ways.

Things go out of hand when it’s time to change Okumura’s Change of Heart, both the real and Metaverse world. In the real world, Goro confronts the PT earlier, showing the photo of them entering Okumura’s Palace. He’s upset with all of them, especially Joker, calling them out for befriending him just to get intel, and he runs away, ignoring Joker’s call. They’re scared that Goro, in his anger and ‘betrayal’ (from Goro’s POV), will turn the photo in. However, they still have to worry about Okumura, so they’re extra cautious if Goro accidentally turns them in on the day of the change of heart. While it goes as plan, the PT are soon met with the Black Mask, trying to make Okumura go psychotic. They have a brief fight, ending with Black Mask getting shot by one of the PT (I say Haru, grabbing Makoto’s gun to save her father), and Black Mask shoots Shadow!Okumura, killing him. Everyone FREAK OUT,  including Black Mask. As the PT run away, Black Mask lingering behind, realizing what he had done.

So the PT is now worried about Goro turning them in, the Black Mask wanting to get them for shooting him, and the fact Black Mask did something that could affect the change of heart process. Like Canon, Okumura dies, and they figure the Black Mask has no idea this was even a thing (remember, everyone freaked out). They almost get hearts attacks when Goro meets them at the school festival, telling them he won’t turn them in..if they can prove him wrong. At the cafe, at the proper meeting, Goro tells them about how he be investigation a politician, and that he may be behind everything going on for the last few years, telling them there’s word of Sae being in his pocket, unwittingly at least. If they get a change of heart on Sae, he’ll deleted the photo,and he’ll give the name of the politician so they can change his heart. As they bring up the Black Mask, Goro tells them he saw them, and that he certain the person had no idea shooting Shadow!Okumura would lead to his death, and swears he’ll capture the criminal, turning him in when they save Sae.

Everyone does learn Goro is going to betray them to the Police (not the Conspiracy; they know he has a beef with it, especially with the politician leader. Their theories are wacky, with Ryuji having the wackiest of all: Goro is related to the guy) so he can reclaim his title (everyone see how ironic it is). So the plan is alter a bit: Get Sae’s Palace to sneak out the real Joker, distracting everyone with a fake (and Sae to be their ally). Also, the PT is bit nicer here canon since Goro isn’t trying to kill Joker, but it’s still an act. Joker is upset by this because he thinks he can get Goro to spot what’s he doing and let him (and the others) go free. On the day of the canon heist, they start things off as plan, but unknown to them, Shido deep’s pocket are with the police, and they plan on framing Goro for murdering Joker. However, luck is on the PT and Goro’s side...sort of. The PT are fed lies that Goro, aka Black Mask is working with the Conspiracy, and that he killed Joker, so everyone is angry at Goro for his ‘hypocrisy’. In truth, Goro manged to catch wind of the PT plan, and rescued Joker from getting a headshot, and the two have a heart to heart chat. Goro is upset this is the second time they the PT lied to him. Joker brings up how Goro did set a trap though, and Goro explain he was hoping to convince Sae to get Joker a light sentence, as Goro was going to give up all the info he has of the Conspiracy as well so the two can go to jail together in a rewritten rank eight:

Goro tells Joker about being Black Mask, how the Conspiracy -before it even became it- ruined his life, and the guilt for getting played by Conspiracy into killing, hurting,and arresting innocent people. He tells Joker to get the PT stand down. At this point, the news break out Joker is dead, so Goro suspects he’s being frame. Goro wants to take down the Conspiracy by himself, saying the PT brand of justice isn’t going to work in this case. So they part ways, and everyone is shock to see Joker alive. As Joker tells them what Goro told him, the mood is a bit sour, since they still think Goro is playing them. However, since their leader is alive, it’s a real 50/50 split. Excluding Joker, Anne, Yusuke, and Haru -she truly thinks now it was in accident, like Wakaba- believe Goro. Makoto, Morgana, and Futaba for not believing -she angry for what happened in her life after her mother’s death anf don’t believe it. Ryuji of all people is in the middle, as while he hates Goro, the story they hear doesn’t make too much so...if anything, he wants to hear it from Goro himself. Everyone can agree to take Shido’s heart (they figure it out) before Goro does his plan...whatever it is. 

Everything follow canon, with a few differences. The Cleaner is more of Shido’s second hand here, and he doesn’t back down easy as the PT get the letters. He does a bad number on the PT, and they barely won. To make things worse, while trying to escape. they run into Goro . He complains to Joker for not telling the PT to stand down, since they’re going to ruin everything, and that he’s going to turn them in. The not believing Goro team call him out for ‘working’ with Shido and that he should turn himself in. Goro is upset at this accusation, telling everyone how he can he work for such a scumbag of a father. So everyone is going ‘wtf’, and Goro tells them how he’s the bastard child of Shido, and how he ruined his family life to where his mom killed herself (Ryuji feels vindicated).

Everyone is now more or less on the same team, and they try to get Goro to rejoin the team to change Shido’s heart, since they didn’t actually kept their word to Goro. If they do that, Goro turns himself for the things he did as Black Mask. Goro doesn’t want too. Since at this point his black and white view is turning grey, he’s was hoping to maybe cling onto whatever he has left of his reputation. He doesn’t want to give into society’s view of his status of a bastard criminal, and they fight. The PT win the first time, and they try to get Goro to change his mind still, bringing up all of their misfortunes on how society tries to paint them the wrong way too. They’ll say they are willing to stand by his side, knowing how he was with no one for a long time It almost works, but Loki convinces Goro that it’s another trick like all the others, decides to summons Loki and becomes Black Mask, finally ‘accepting’ who he truly is.

Of course the PT beat his ass, and they still try to get Goro to rejoin them. Back to his senses, Goro does agrees, though he doesn’t look too convince it’s going to work out easy. As they all start to leave, freaking Cleaner comes back, with reinforcement. Goro, being the closest, tries to pull the stunt he does in canon (doesn’t help the Cleaner is actually targeting Goro) but the PT decide to help and they escape back to the real world. Goro is grateful and thanks them...and also ask for them to call Sae. He realize he’s more useful as a witness than taking down Shido, and that a change of heart, Shido will have supporters/allies to keep his plan up. So Goro is secretly arrested by the police, and he gives up all the information he has of Shido and the Conspiracy.

So Goro is out, leaving the boss fight as it is with Shido. As the PT confronts Shadow!Shido after finally defeating him, telling them about how Goro is his own son, and that how it’s his own flesh and blood that’s going to help take him down. As the Palace does his collapse, Shadow!Shido gets the last laugh, telling them that Goro is already dead the second he turned himself in, and that they’ll be joining him soon (cue cutscene of Goro getting a visitor). The PT escape the Palace (no one beats on Ryuji since everyone has important things to worry about, and it’s Ryuji who brings up after they meet up again). They contact Sae, and she’s upset, as it turns out Goro ‘killed’ himself, but all signs points to a murder. However, since Goro’s evidence he collect is still good, they can use it in Shido’s trial (it sucks that there’s no witness though to back the evidence up). Goro did left something behind for Joker, ranking up the Confidant/Co-op from the dead (idk the item. Thinking cuff links or the tie).

So everyone mourns Goro, and get the shock of their live when Shido admits to his crimes...including Goro, telling the world about his son and how manipulated from afar. So the PT has some hope justice will be done, but of course, there’s still the issue with Mementos and Yabadadoo. Speaking of which, learning the truth of that gets a stronger reaction, as everyone is upset Joker and Goro (and in some ways, everyone else), were pawns. For Goro, they realize he died believing everything will turn out fine (when it isn’t). Everything is the same as canon, and Joker turns himself in, more for Goro since died almost for nothing. And like canon, Joker gets out. Everything ends the same way like the game.

It’s honestly not the best rewrite, and the tweaks of the Confidant/Co-Op  make no sense at times. However, Goro’s character is still the ‘same’ like canon, being the traitor while getting his story flesh out to be believable and make him more understandable. And he gets a solid conclusion. It’s not a great one, but it’s better than the AWOL Schrodinger Cat situation the game did.