Gundam Tanaka (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
godwhisperer) wrote2013-08-01 02:25 pm
godwhisperer) wrote2013-08-01 02:25 pm
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Personality Section for Haven (Spoilers)
Part of Gundam's personality section for Haven RPG. Contains major spoilers for SDR2.
I'm taking him from after the trial in Ch 4, when he's gone off to his execution.
In Chapter 4 of the game, Gundam reveals that his desire to protect extends to people as well as animals when he commits a murder in order to sacrifice himself to save the others. The actions he takes in Ch 4 say a lot about his character. At this point in the game (and in my opinion after he knows he's going to die), he also has a free time event (conversation with Hinata) where he reveals a lot of his motivations.
In the free time event, he finally asks Hinata why Hinata keeps coming to talk to him, and when Hinata says it's because they're friends, he's extremely shocked and distressed and insists that Hinata admit he is telling lies to take advantage of him. He begins to insist again about his evil nature, but this time Hinata recognizes that even though what he says (he's the offspring of an angel and a demon, cursed by this world ever since he lost the only thing he loved, destined to be swallowed by beasts, the mortal enemy of humanity, etc.) is ridiculous as usual, there seems to be a deeper truth to what he's saying this time. Hinata tell him that even if that's true, they're friends, and Gundam finally seems to accept he's telling the truth. He says the only one who could defeat him would be a mortal possessing 'singular abilities' like Hinata, and offers to share his power, and holds Hinata's hand (this really happens).
Even though he's being strange and vague about it, this is the most Gundam reveals about his past and why he is the way he is. He lost something he loved and came to believe humans would betray him, so he gave his life to caring for animals instead. As much as he wants human contact, it is difficult to trust or accept it. Even though he doesn't explain what specifically happened to him, I think the best explanation was that his mother died really traumatically/unexpectedly. He mentions her in a childhood memory with a lot of affection in an earlier free time event, and she's the only human from his past he's ever mentioned, but he doesn't show any concern for her like he does for his pets back home. He also associates his touch hang-ups with her cooking, so his memories of her are tied up in why he keeps people at a distance.
It doesn't really matter exactly what hurt him, though - what matters is it's extremely difficult for him to develop relationships with other humans, and he is shocked at the idea someone would want to be his friend. He says he's 'destined to be swallowed by beasts,' affirming that while he loves animals, they are also somewhat of a crutch, something he throws himself into so he can have affection without having to go through the potential for pain inherent in human relationships.
In Ch 4, the motive Monobear sets is that everyone is trapped in a funhouse and will starve until there is another murder. The layout of the funhouse is mysterious and confusing, but there is a room, the Final Dead Room, which will apparently provide answers and an ultimate weapon if anyone can clear it. Everyone resolves not to kill and are forced to starve, knowing that they will probably die but thinking that it's better that than to commit murder. Gundam, however, decides to kill Nidai, who is a robot and the strongest person in the cast. He clears the Final Dead Room and uses the ultimate weapon, the layout of the funhouse, as the murder weapon. He draws Nidai to a common area early, and challenges him to fight, which Nidai accepts. They fight, and then one of his hamsters pushes the button on Nidai's back that sends him to sleep, and Gundam sets him up to be killed.
Gundam is quickly revealed as the culprit in the trial, and when he's accused, he's at first completely non responsive and just suggests that they vote for him. He only begins to fight when Sonia becomes upset, but he still quickly acknowledges that he is the culprit. For the most part, he doesn't have a breakdown like many others, and goes very stoically to his death; he stops Sonia when she tries to beg for his life, tries to comfort his hamsters that they shouldn't worry for him, and then tells Monobear to bring on the execution. The execution is a stampede charging directly at him, but he remains calm and determined throughout it, setting his hamsters down to protect them before attempting to cast an utterly futile magic circle to protect himself. Even though his magic is revealed as a facade, his bravery and strength is anything but; in fact, in a serious situation, rather than fall apart, Gundam is actually much more serious and determined. He falls back on saying ridiculous things in his trial, but he is much more serious and when he does claim magic or immortality, it seems to be in order to hide his true motives or to comfort someone afraid for his life.
Gundam does lose his cool at one point during the trial, the only point in the entire game where he becomes actually angry. This is when Komaeda suggests that Gundam pressed the button on Nidai's back because he was not able to face Nidai. Gundam becomes furious and claims that none of them understand anything. Once he is voted for execution, he says he will still not explain himself, but has to make a clarification that he did in fact fight Nidai on fair terms and Nidai lost, which is why he died and Gundam lived. This is very, very important to him - Gundam does not seem to care if he dies being hated by the others, but he can't stand the idea that they would believe he was a coward. His sense of honor would not allow him to commit a murder that wasn't a fair fight, and this is probably one of the reasons he chose Nidai - because he picked someone so much stronger than him who had a good chance at defeating him, no one could say it wasn't fair. In fact, Gundam claims he would have allowed Nidai the choice to leave, but instead Nidai accepted a duel to the death; the dialogue from they're fight we're shown confirms Nidai seems to have understood not only this, but also what Gundam's actual motives in committing the murder were.
Gundam's actual motives are something he spends most of the trial trying to hide. He doesn't respond to anyone's questions about his motives, and, once voted for, nearly says there's no need to explain and he'll just go to his death without explaining. Likewise, when fighting Nidai, Nidai asks him if he's doing this to escape, and Gundam says he doesn't need a reason to kill, he just wants to. He does claim he decided to kill because simply laying down and accepting death instead of fighting to live was against his principles. This is true, but not exactly the whole truth. Because laying down to die was not acceptable to him, Gundam decided to sacrifice his own life for the lives of the others. Nidai seems to have understood when they fought that whoever won the fight would not take the opportunity to escape that committing murder provided but would instead let themselves be executed to save all of the others. Gundam, on the other hand, fiercely denies that this was his intent. It is brought up only after he is chosen for execution, when Hinata and Nanami point out he gave up very quickly and ask if he meant to sacrifice himself. Gundam says he would never give his life for mere humans, but adds that it's better this way than everyone starving. The way he speaks and his earlier insistence to just kill him while refusing to explain all the details of the murder and refusal to answer questions show that Hinata and Nanami were right.
This attempt to hide his motives reveals a more complicated side of Gundam. He likes to claim to be evil and demonic and above humans, but is also afraid of forming relationships. Up until the end, he still wants to put on his facade of not caring instead of revealing just how much he cared. When choosing how he would die, his choice seems to have been to go to his death hated as a killer instead of going as a hero. This fits with the distance he consciously creates between himself and others due to fear of being hurt by relationships and fear of revealing his more vulnerable sides. On the other hand, deep down a part of Gundam did not really want to be hated by his friends. He became furious and upset when accused of cowardice and broke his silence on his motives to correct that assumption, and his correction leads everyone to understand what his real intentions were.
At the same time, even though his intent was to kill for others, not for himself, his actions reveal a lot about his worldview. His decision to kill is set up in contrast to the decision of the others not to kill but instead to wait and see if they would find a way out or if something else would happen. He reveals that to him, the idea of passively hoping for resolution instead of taking decisive action is against his worldview; Gundam always wants to be fighting for what he wants to achieve. And he does want to be able to live and has a strong will to do so; it's simply that in this case, fighting meant either his life or the lives of all his friends, and he chose the latter as more valuable. He's not at heart a martyr but a determined fighter who is willing to accept sacrifice as an outcome if it achieves an end he wants.
Gundam really loves animals, but the parts of his personality that come out when he takes care of them aren't necessarily specific to animals. The desire to protect and the capability to feel tremendous love and empathy are in him for people as well. His actions in sacrificing himself show this - he wants to protect the friends he's come to care about even at the cost of his life, and his desire is so strong that he doesn't show any regret or remorse he has to die. His last act in his trial is to give a speech to inspire everyone to carry on and then comfort his hamsters, and in his final moments, even though he's horribly wounded and dying, he smiles.
On the other hand, all of this occurred through development that takes place during the game. He has the capacity to be this way, but he also has the capacity to reject other people and relationships as well. The ending of the game overall makes it very clear that either way is possible, but the influence of positive relationships on him helped him become the type of person who would give his life for the other students.
I'm taking him from after the trial in Ch 4, when he's gone off to his execution.
In Chapter 4 of the game, Gundam reveals that his desire to protect extends to people as well as animals when he commits a murder in order to sacrifice himself to save the others. The actions he takes in Ch 4 say a lot about his character. At this point in the game (and in my opinion after he knows he's going to die), he also has a free time event (conversation with Hinata) where he reveals a lot of his motivations.
In the free time event, he finally asks Hinata why Hinata keeps coming to talk to him, and when Hinata says it's because they're friends, he's extremely shocked and distressed and insists that Hinata admit he is telling lies to take advantage of him. He begins to insist again about his evil nature, but this time Hinata recognizes that even though what he says (he's the offspring of an angel and a demon, cursed by this world ever since he lost the only thing he loved, destined to be swallowed by beasts, the mortal enemy of humanity, etc.) is ridiculous as usual, there seems to be a deeper truth to what he's saying this time. Hinata tell him that even if that's true, they're friends, and Gundam finally seems to accept he's telling the truth. He says the only one who could defeat him would be a mortal possessing 'singular abilities' like Hinata, and offers to share his power, and holds Hinata's hand (this really happens).
Even though he's being strange and vague about it, this is the most Gundam reveals about his past and why he is the way he is. He lost something he loved and came to believe humans would betray him, so he gave his life to caring for animals instead. As much as he wants human contact, it is difficult to trust or accept it. Even though he doesn't explain what specifically happened to him, I think the best explanation was that his mother died really traumatically/unexpectedly. He mentions her in a childhood memory with a lot of affection in an earlier free time event, and she's the only human from his past he's ever mentioned, but he doesn't show any concern for her like he does for his pets back home. He also associates his touch hang-ups with her cooking, so his memories of her are tied up in why he keeps people at a distance.
It doesn't really matter exactly what hurt him, though - what matters is it's extremely difficult for him to develop relationships with other humans, and he is shocked at the idea someone would want to be his friend. He says he's 'destined to be swallowed by beasts,' affirming that while he loves animals, they are also somewhat of a crutch, something he throws himself into so he can have affection without having to go through the potential for pain inherent in human relationships.
In Ch 4, the motive Monobear sets is that everyone is trapped in a funhouse and will starve until there is another murder. The layout of the funhouse is mysterious and confusing, but there is a room, the Final Dead Room, which will apparently provide answers and an ultimate weapon if anyone can clear it. Everyone resolves not to kill and are forced to starve, knowing that they will probably die but thinking that it's better that than to commit murder. Gundam, however, decides to kill Nidai, who is a robot and the strongest person in the cast. He clears the Final Dead Room and uses the ultimate weapon, the layout of the funhouse, as the murder weapon. He draws Nidai to a common area early, and challenges him to fight, which Nidai accepts. They fight, and then one of his hamsters pushes the button on Nidai's back that sends him to sleep, and Gundam sets him up to be killed.
Gundam is quickly revealed as the culprit in the trial, and when he's accused, he's at first completely non responsive and just suggests that they vote for him. He only begins to fight when Sonia becomes upset, but he still quickly acknowledges that he is the culprit. For the most part, he doesn't have a breakdown like many others, and goes very stoically to his death; he stops Sonia when she tries to beg for his life, tries to comfort his hamsters that they shouldn't worry for him, and then tells Monobear to bring on the execution. The execution is a stampede charging directly at him, but he remains calm and determined throughout it, setting his hamsters down to protect them before attempting to cast an utterly futile magic circle to protect himself. Even though his magic is revealed as a facade, his bravery and strength is anything but; in fact, in a serious situation, rather than fall apart, Gundam is actually much more serious and determined. He falls back on saying ridiculous things in his trial, but he is much more serious and when he does claim magic or immortality, it seems to be in order to hide his true motives or to comfort someone afraid for his life.
Gundam does lose his cool at one point during the trial, the only point in the entire game where he becomes actually angry. This is when Komaeda suggests that Gundam pressed the button on Nidai's back because he was not able to face Nidai. Gundam becomes furious and claims that none of them understand anything. Once he is voted for execution, he says he will still not explain himself, but has to make a clarification that he did in fact fight Nidai on fair terms and Nidai lost, which is why he died and Gundam lived. This is very, very important to him - Gundam does not seem to care if he dies being hated by the others, but he can't stand the idea that they would believe he was a coward. His sense of honor would not allow him to commit a murder that wasn't a fair fight, and this is probably one of the reasons he chose Nidai - because he picked someone so much stronger than him who had a good chance at defeating him, no one could say it wasn't fair. In fact, Gundam claims he would have allowed Nidai the choice to leave, but instead Nidai accepted a duel to the death; the dialogue from they're fight we're shown confirms Nidai seems to have understood not only this, but also what Gundam's actual motives in committing the murder were.
Gundam's actual motives are something he spends most of the trial trying to hide. He doesn't respond to anyone's questions about his motives, and, once voted for, nearly says there's no need to explain and he'll just go to his death without explaining. Likewise, when fighting Nidai, Nidai asks him if he's doing this to escape, and Gundam says he doesn't need a reason to kill, he just wants to. He does claim he decided to kill because simply laying down and accepting death instead of fighting to live was against his principles. This is true, but not exactly the whole truth. Because laying down to die was not acceptable to him, Gundam decided to sacrifice his own life for the lives of the others. Nidai seems to have understood when they fought that whoever won the fight would not take the opportunity to escape that committing murder provided but would instead let themselves be executed to save all of the others. Gundam, on the other hand, fiercely denies that this was his intent. It is brought up only after he is chosen for execution, when Hinata and Nanami point out he gave up very quickly and ask if he meant to sacrifice himself. Gundam says he would never give his life for mere humans, but adds that it's better this way than everyone starving. The way he speaks and his earlier insistence to just kill him while refusing to explain all the details of the murder and refusal to answer questions show that Hinata and Nanami were right.
This attempt to hide his motives reveals a more complicated side of Gundam. He likes to claim to be evil and demonic and above humans, but is also afraid of forming relationships. Up until the end, he still wants to put on his facade of not caring instead of revealing just how much he cared. When choosing how he would die, his choice seems to have been to go to his death hated as a killer instead of going as a hero. This fits with the distance he consciously creates between himself and others due to fear of being hurt by relationships and fear of revealing his more vulnerable sides. On the other hand, deep down a part of Gundam did not really want to be hated by his friends. He became furious and upset when accused of cowardice and broke his silence on his motives to correct that assumption, and his correction leads everyone to understand what his real intentions were.
At the same time, even though his intent was to kill for others, not for himself, his actions reveal a lot about his worldview. His decision to kill is set up in contrast to the decision of the others not to kill but instead to wait and see if they would find a way out or if something else would happen. He reveals that to him, the idea of passively hoping for resolution instead of taking decisive action is against his worldview; Gundam always wants to be fighting for what he wants to achieve. And he does want to be able to live and has a strong will to do so; it's simply that in this case, fighting meant either his life or the lives of all his friends, and he chose the latter as more valuable. He's not at heart a martyr but a determined fighter who is willing to accept sacrifice as an outcome if it achieves an end he wants.
Gundam really loves animals, but the parts of his personality that come out when he takes care of them aren't necessarily specific to animals. The desire to protect and the capability to feel tremendous love and empathy are in him for people as well. His actions in sacrificing himself show this - he wants to protect the friends he's come to care about even at the cost of his life, and his desire is so strong that he doesn't show any regret or remorse he has to die. His last act in his trial is to give a speech to inspire everyone to carry on and then comfort his hamsters, and in his final moments, even though he's horribly wounded and dying, he smiles.
On the other hand, all of this occurred through development that takes place during the game. He has the capacity to be this way, but he also has the capacity to reject other people and relationships as well. The ending of the game overall makes it very clear that either way is possible, but the influence of positive relationships on him helped him become the type of person who would give his life for the other students.