⏳TONIGHT! ⏳

An episode of Game Changer over a year in the making - "One Year Later"

Premieres at 7pm ET / 4pm PT, only on Dropout

Starring host Sam Reich and contestants Jacob Wysocki, Vic Michaelis, and Lou Wilson

You have never seen anything like this

King shit if this episode ends with Sam going "Sorry players, I didn't say Sam Says."

Game Changer Season 7 Predictions

Reblogs are right about the Milgram Experiment, I'm replacing it with the Stanford Prison Experiment; that feels more like Sam's style 👍

I’ve been getting into Ace Attorney! Scene from Farewell My Turnabout (no spoilers tho pls, I haven’t finished the case yet)

Best case.

Metatext is my jam, so let's talk.

V3 is doing something really interesting with its plot by playing with intertextuality. Intertextuality refers to the relationship between one text and another - a novel that quotes the Bible, a satire of a popular genre, a reimagining of a fairy tale. The intended audience will presumably have enough knowledge of the referenced text to understand what the author is saying.

The ending of V3 elevates this to metatext - it is referencing it's own franchise, a reference we will almost certainly be familiar with. We're on Game (5)3 at this point - we know the tropes, we know more or less how the thing goes, if not the specifics of each case (yet). We expect a double murder third trial, a suicide, an appearance from Junko. And we get all of those things, but in different ways:

- The double murder is at first subverted when only one body is found, then double subverts it by killing another character after we thought everyone was safe. Then they do it again with the fake out.

- The suicide required the willing participation of an accomplice.

- Junko appears, but it isn't Junko as we know her from the previous games.

We are getting the same tropes we loved before, but it's game (5)3 - the writers are having to work harder to make it feel new. References aren't a substitute for substance; how fitting thay our villian is a cosplayer whose dialogue is largely made of nods to other media.

This also dovetails neatly into the other core theme of fantasy and escapism, how a story (lie) can provide an easy way out. Tsumugi may be running the show, but all the characters go along with it pretty willingly - once the initial shock of the impossible wears off, the cast tends to accept things at face value.

The exception is Kokichi - at one point, he directly says that several elements of the game make no sense:

Kokichi is a liar, and it's that very trait that allows him to speak the truth openly whenever he wants. He doesn't let the others look away from unpleasant truths -

- no matter how much easier it would be to accept the fiction, or how big of a target it places on his own back. He's also the one that calls out Tsumugi for constantly making references:

Kokichi is the lynchpin of V3, the axis upon which the entire weight of the narrative themes spin. He's constantly prodding Monokuma about the existence of an audience - in-game thay means everyone watching, but on the meta level, it's us.

@jacksmusesdrv3 Feel free to elaborate, I don't get enough enrichment in the "DRV3 as metafiction" arena.

Oh! So... it's tricky to elaborate on such a thing without reams of text to try and re-interpret between two lenses but, what I mean is less 'metafiction' in the sense of 'Kokichi communicating to the player' (though I suppose there could be a bit of that, if he has some supernatural talent after all?), but rather 'Kokichi has his own sidelined narrative- which is that way because he is keeping his own story quiet and the game itself seems to be keeping him in a state of sabotage'. So when he's trying to draw attention to things, it's at least partially about this marginalising situation he's in, as another layer to why he would rig games against himself in the FTE with Shuichi

(A small bit of meta-fuckery in this view would be like... the Salmon Mode, that is if Shuichi is perceiving his expressions wrongly, then the meta would also suggest 'Good, he sounds like he had a good time' when he's actually redacting his discomfort as a reflex when he's really not okay- something he's been seen to do in the game too)

As for the 'pointing out things not making sense', the way I see it is that he's bringing attention to a kind of 'sci fi situation' that's already going on in the academy, like the strange tech that has already been noticed by Kiibo and then his talk was dismissed by Himiko as a 'sci fi theme'- just like, in the past, one of the characters would say something like 'I don't believe all this sci-fi crap' when they're rejecting the truth of the game's nonsense (which in the case of V3 would be null in a VR or similar interpretation, I'm guessing)

I harp on the metafiction because I don't often see it discussed, but don't really see Kokichi as needling the player (the audience within the narrative, definitely). That the tropes pertain to multiple levels of narrative does make things a bit tricky to navigate. I've never even considered him being aware of both the in-universe game and our own reality, but now I desperately want that fic.

Kokichi winning by deliberately losing scratches my brain. He absolutely knows what game theory is and how to apply it. The association he has with dice also makes me think he has his own version of luck - it's weird that a lucky student was so critical to both previous games, but entirely left out for the third. He does seem to cycle like Nagito - concussion leads to crucial evidence, being a murder target fuels his grand plan, getting poisoned forces Kaito to cooperate. If he's purposely weaponizing it, well, that's completely in character.

The casts rejection of the "sci-fi crap" drives me up the wall. You are literally interacting with impossiblities - why are you all so casual about it?? How can you not think on it deeper? Why would you shine an unknown device from your enemy directly into your eyes??? Like, bruh. There's escapism, but there's also just plain old stupid.

I have been wondering - often, over the course of years - if I should just say what's on my mind vis a vis some of the background theming I have run into, though I have to warn you in advance it is The Biggest Most Awful Most Terrible Thing I would espouse on this blog

So uh. Let's play a game! See if you can guess what's on my mind, based on the research and theorising I've done on this blog

You have three clues and three clues only:

If you get the answer, you win... psychic damage! Enjoy!!

Since this is still gnawing at me, I'll clue you in about 42- or at least, a connection to the game as well as what it means (from multiple possible angles anyway). That's the only further clue I'll leave, though.

Well, the name of the place is the Academy for Gifted Juveniles - idk how it is in Japan, but that connotates a juvenile detention center to me, implying that any students there have some sort of criminal history.

The thing about Shuichi's lab that always stood out to me were the shelves of case files - they aren't really commented upon in any meaningful way after the initial discovery, but go a long way to propping up my metatext fascination, especially when taken in tandem with the ending.

As for 42, I have no idea what you're on about there, my dude. Numerology is more of an Uchikoshi flourish than a Kodaka thing.

Metatext is my jam, so let's talk.

V3 is doing something really interesting with its plot by playing with intertextuality. Intertextuality refers to the relationship between one text and another - a novel that quotes the Bible, a satire of a popular genre, a reimagining of a fairy tale. The intended audience will presumably have enough knowledge of the referenced text to understand what the author is saying.

The ending of V3 elevates this to metatext - it is referencing it's own franchise, a reference we will almost certainly be familiar with. We're on Game (5)3 at this point - we know the tropes, we know more or less how the thing goes, if not the specifics of each case (yet). We expect a double murder third trial, a suicide, an appearance from Junko. And we get all of those things, but in different ways:

- The double murder is at first subverted when only one body is found, then double subverts it by killing another character after we thought everyone was safe. Then they do it again with the fake out.

- The suicide required the willing participation of an accomplice.

- Junko appears, but it isn't Junko as we know her from the previous games.

We are getting the same tropes we loved before, but it's game (5)3 - the writers are having to work harder to make it feel new. References aren't a substitute for substance; how fitting thay our villian is a cosplayer whose dialogue is largely made of nods to other media.

This also dovetails neatly into the other core theme of fantasy and escapism, how a story (lie) can provide an easy way out. Tsumugi may be running the show, but all the characters go along with it pretty willingly - once the initial shock of the impossible wears off, the cast tends to accept things at face value.

The exception is Kokichi - at one point, he directly says that several elements of the game make no sense:

Kokichi is a liar, and it's that very trait that allows him to speak the truth openly whenever he wants. He doesn't let the others look away from unpleasant truths -

- no matter how much easier it would be to accept the fiction, or how big of a target it places on his own back. He's also the one that calls out Tsumugi for constantly making references:

Kokichi is the lynchpin of V3, the axis upon which the entire weight of the narrative themes spin. He's constantly prodding Monokuma about the existence of an audience - in-game thay means everyone watching, but on the meta level, it's us.

@jacksmusesdrv3 Feel free to elaborate, I don't get enough enrichment in the "DRV3 as metafiction" arena.

About the DRV3 Cast's Flowers

I was very enamored with the new DR x animate collab's vibes yesterday. I have never wanted a piece of merch more than DRV3's I Believe In You shirt because its' meaning is so laser targeted. at me. specifically

it's so beautiful. I can't

so, I became interested in digging up the flower language of the flowers the DRV3 cast was holding to see if this collab could be even more laser targeted at me. the results

Kokichi

these are 紫陽花 (ajisai), Japanese hydrangeas. A couple different Japanese flower language blog posts cite purple and blue hydrangeas as being associated with the meanings "cold", "heartless", "cheating", "intelligent", "mysterious" and "patient love"

the contradictory meanings of "heartless" and "patient love" is pretty on brand for Kokichi imo

Shuichi

I had to *DIG* for these flowers. when I began looking, I hadn't the slightest clue what Shuichi was holding. partway through I even questioned if the artist was being accurate, because I had gone through two! TWO! flower databases searching by color and petal count with nothing to show for it

I kept eyeing different species of lilies, because even though the shape was slightly off, the six petals and maroon-purple was reminiscent of lilies. they turned out to be lilies, and I had to search in Japanese through google.co.jp

these are 黒百合 (kuroyuri), black lilies. and they mean. uh. UH. well

"curse" and "revenge" ... and "(romantic) love". but also curse and revenge??? I would doubt this identification, but I can't find a flower that bears a better resemblance than this. this sure is an interesting pick compared to Kokichi's hydrangeas

Shuichi. who did you offend my dude

Kaede

Yeah, so. IDK lol

pictured from left to right is: begonias (specifically elatior begonias), peonies and camellias. I could not find a flower that fit both the petal and leaf shape 1:1 with what Kaede is holding

begonias have the closest petal structure imo, but the wrong leaf shape, and they have the weakest connection with Japan

peonies show up in all kinds of famous Japanese flowers articles, and I did find a blog post in English claiming they are associated with bravery. this is in line with the shirt she is wearing, which if you do look closer says

"If you're scared, borrow the strength of others who will be there to help you."

y'know. the shirt says something. unlike Shuichi's, which just has black bars, kind of like a redacted statement. as if he were lying in plain sight

or Kokichi's! which you might think says nothing but I'm certain says something deeply personal and revealing! it's just printed black on black

anyway, if you look peonies up on blog posts in Japanese, they say the opposite, peonies are associated with "bashfulness" and "shyness". so lmao. also the leaf shapes are still off

camellias mean "humble beauty, love, modesty" and "loved by you". a somewhat fitting meaning for Kaede for a flower that somewhat fits her flower's petal shape. but again, has a totally off leaf shape. not very convinced personally

if anyone does find a matching flower for Kaede, would love to know. it's gotta be a common flower. feels like I'm missing something obvious

regardless, very interesting collab

Leaf shape and everything 😊

if kokichi was a lawyer in ace attorney, do you think he'd be a prosecutor or a defense attorney. im leaning towards prosecutor because in aa, defense attorneys tend to be more the everyman character (bc u play as them+there are exceptions) and the prosecutors are all kinds of colorful but if we move away from that dichotomy, i could also see him as one hell of an annoying ass defense attorney 🤔

still leaning towards prosecutor though, mostly because of ch2 trial, yknow?

I cam definitely see him in either role, though the doubting nature of the prosecutor does feel like a better fit for the AA world. Buuut, I also think it would be really funny to see him in opposition to Edgeworth.

What do you mean they're narrative foils who barely even interact. What do you mean they hate each other for the same reasons they hate themselves without even knowing. What do you mean they're opposing forces that clash on every set stage while hiding behind layers of lies and disguises, that they understand each other by acting out the other's true self. What do you mean they're such an interesting conceptual duo but were doomed to die for their beliefs by themselves without ever truly witnessing the other. What do you MEAN...

I'm not into the ship (not a ship person), but I do wish we'd gotten to see Kokichi challenge Shirogane directly in some way. He was already so far ahead of everyone else - it wouldn't have been much of a leap to suggest he was on to her, whether from his constant investigation beyond the individual murders, or his knack for detecting lies.

It would have been interesting to have her come to him, knowing her exposure wouldn't matter because no one will believe anything he says.

Sometimes I think about Kokichi's unwillingness to trust others, and I remember that at first he did. In the very first chapter he was willing to stay back, to let others handle things for the most part. When the time limit was approaching, he just left to sit alone in his room.

He trusted these strangers not to kill anybody, and then the person the most vocal about being friends and working together went behind everyone's back and killed a boy. Regardless of her intentions, he trusted her, and this trust was irreparably broken.

Kokichi's abilities as a leader shine the most in chapter one because he's so subtle about it that you barely realize he's done anything. He lets Kaede take the spotlight, but steps in several times to nudge things in the right direction: