Half-Truths and False Honesty: An Interpretation of Giovanna's Theme "Trigger"
Channel: Verity's Brain Vomit
Date: 2022-08-14

For the short summary of my interpretation of Trigger:
Verse 1: "They don't like me? Whatever, I'm not responsible."(Distancing herself from the consequences of her actions by stating that her actions are from another actor, specifically fate.)
Chorus: "Tell the truth, and nothing but the truth."(This is the part that is warped and damaging, when understanding her history and behaviour.)
Verse 2: "It's not their fault. I do what I want, and nothing can stop me. I'm just cold metal."(A further distancing, but now focused on herself being the actor. Rather, her emotions are not to blame, because she just doesn't feel them. She's cold metal.)
Chorus(Reinforcement of the negative motivation. The first iteration made her switch from saying "I'm not responsible" to saying that she's "cold metal". The defenses are rising and becoming more self-damaging.)
Sub-chorus: "I keep hurting people. Just leave me alone, and I'll do my job, without hurting anybody else."(The wall is breached very slightly, and an emotional outburst happens.)
Bridge: "Never mind, I was dirty all along."(Building a new layer of walls to distance herself. Now, she is the primary actor, and also responsible for her actions. But, she can't be blamed, because she was built to be this way.)
Verse 1 reprise: "Since I was just dirty to begin with, I can't be blamed if others get hurt."(The beginning of the cycle again, but now it's from a different angle, which is that she's terrible to begin with, so others should know that she isn't to blame. Rather, it's the world that made her this way.)
Chorus reprise: (Reestablishing the negative motivation for the behaviour, showing that the main core of the issue is not solved.)
Addendum: "I am just one of those people that don't fit in the crowd. It's not a problem."(A further distancing from the average person.)
Sub-chorus reprise: "I'm just an asshole, so you better back the fuck off, because I'll cut you down"(In other words, the cycle of self-destructive behavior has reached a new level, until the next time she gets emotionally overwhelmed.)

Look at the chapters to know what parts to skip, as there is a good chance the viewer may be familiar with some of the evidence I'm presenting.

Sources:
Veteran Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/VeteransMTC @VeteransMTC 
Homeless Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/c/InvisiblePeople @InvisiblePeople 
"Adaptation to Life" by George Vaillant https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/183948.Adaptation_to_Life
Arcade Story Footage by @CrimsonContrast : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_kVl30df0kAZp4IB15S8xC-S74tSeDOb
GG Theme Meanings by @GekkoSquirrel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VzRhScn0rs

Jesus Christ, I finally got one project finished. I was planning for this to be maybe 20 minutes, but I kept finding information that helped strengthen the main point, so, like all my other projects, it ballooned up. And yes, I know the audio quality is bad. I don't think I'll be able to fix that anytime soon. At least I've learned some of what not to do, so hopefully the quality of the next project will be better. As long as the main message is clear, I'm happy enough to just get this out.

(Currently working on captions, but it's taking longer than initially planned. Current English subtitles are half worked on, with half being auto generated.)

0:00 Start
6:12 Giovanna's Character Background(GCB)
9:02 GCB: Arcade Story
13:07 GCB: Story Mode
(Skip to this chapter if you want to skip Gio's story elements, but want the psychological elements)
19:38 Psychological Background
26:04 Interviews from Veterans and Homeless Individuals
(Skip to this chapter for a brief summation of Gio's background, and if you want to skip the majority of the psychological elements or interviews)
33:24 Re-summation of Gio's Background
35:09 Demonstrating the Common Perspective of Trigger
(Skip to this chapter if all you want is to know my interpretation of Trigger)
36:41 My Understanding of Trigger, and what it says about Giovanna