Spoiling Works For Yourself Through Recognition of Narrative Tropes · 11:15am May 8th, 2023
So, I was lying in bed tonight, and I realized something about Honkai: Star Rail, the latest gambling simulator video game from the makers of Genshin Impact.
This isn't the first time.
Years ago, someone told me that there was a show called The Good Place, and it was about someone who went to Heaven (i.e. the Good Place) by accident.
I realized, just from that description, that they were in the Bad Place, said this out loud, and accidentally spoiled the first season's twist for the person I was talking with, without having ever seen the show or knowing anything else about it, as the moment you know this, it becomes too obvious that is what is going on. It is obvious from the description that there is no other possibility - the entire setup is designed for that particular twist, and once you hear it, you can't unsee it. If they didn't do that, they'd be doing it wrong.
I've had this happen to me with various fanfics as well, where the story was written in such a way that the very premise of the story meant that the story had to have a particular plot twist, because otherwise, the story wouldn't exist.
Have you ever accidentally spoiled a piece of media for yourself by knowing tropes, and realizing ahead of time that because of conservation of plot detail, that it has to be a certain way? What is your story?
In case you were wondering what brought on this blog post (possible spoilers for Honkai Star Rail):
I was lying in bed tonight, minding my own business, sleeping, while my brain was percolating over things.
Suddenly, unbidden, my brain made the obvious connection - Pom Pom is Akivili.
We're told of Akivili, the supposedly former Aeon of Trailblaze:
* He was friendly and went on adventures with his followers around the universe
* Unlike other Aeons, he cared about people and what they thought and was friends with humans
* He "fell" a long time ago - some people claim he was killed by another Aeon, but you're explicitly told by the person who says this that they doubt that. This means that his disappearance/"death" is vague and unclear
* He was in charge of the Astral Express, and created it, and empowered it.
One thing we're not told is what Akivili looked like.
Meanwhile, Himiko seems to be unable to remember where Pom Pom came from or when he first showed up on the Astral Express. What is his point of origin? Why is he there? He seems to have just showed up. Himiko had repaired the Astral Express, and was its first passenger on its new journey... and yet, somehow, it seems, he was always there.
Pom Pom runs the Astral Express as the conductor. He is very eager to speak to you, and wants to hear all about your adventures. He wants you to bring him back souvenirs from the planets you visit, and wants to go visit them with you - but for some mysterious reason, he is unable to do so, and is stuck on the train. He is constantly worried about you (and other people) not coming back, and is always happy to have more people come aboard. He is simultaneously the conductor of the Astral Express, and yet eager - almost *desperate* - to please, talking with you about ways to improve the Astral Express and always wanting to chat and do silly little things.
And Himiko seems to think it is important not to leave him alone on the Astral Express, having someone stay behind, perhaps to keep him company.
It all seems like he is just a silly mascot character who just showed up, but he is the very symbol of the Astral Express, which is intimately connected with Akivili.
And, finally, he is the one who tells you about your Trailblaze Level and gives you rewards for it - there are a number of "meta reward systems" in the game, disconnected from anyone, but there are a few that are directly connected to people, and, strangely, this seemingly abstract game mechanic is tied to Pom Pom, even though your daily tasks and whatnot are just tabs in your menu screen.
Everything about these people is entirely consistent with Pom Pom and Akivili being one and the same. And because of Conservation of Plot Detail, this makes it very likely that the two ARE one and the same. We're on a journey around the cosmos with Pom Pom, doing exactly the same thing that Akivili did, and we're never actually told how Akvili died or disappeared or fell, making it very likely that we are, yet again, in the presence of an angel (or in this case, a god) unknowing.
It's even a trope they have, perhaps, played with in at least one of their other games, where some innocuous seeming mascot character was implied to be more intimately connected to the plot than it seemed.
In the context of angels, "falling" means something different and relevant.
Glad to know I wasn't the only one who realized the twist in The Good Place from just the setup.
I think The Good Place is the epitome of why twists are, by artistic necessity, more a matter of narrative irony than an honest surprise. Look at how M. Night Shaymalan's career essentially peaked with his accidental masterwork The Sixth Sense, because he thought it was the puzzle-box aspect that had been the reason for its success. If a good twist-based story doesn't flat out tell you in the opening act via foreshadowing this is what this is, this is why you're watching, it's a cheat, or an accident by a runaway panster author.
There should always be a seasoned lawyer having the novice shyster sign his business card, and scrawling next to the signature, I was warned.
I also have this issue, but I was actually able to convince myself that I hadn't spoiled a movie recently.
The movie in question is the new D&D movie (actually pretty good, IMO) and I could see what the ending was going to be like a mile away, as soon as it was set up what the main character was after. But, I decided that the writers wouldn't do that, because it was so obvious, so I started to think of other interesting ways that the writers could end things, and I convinced myself that they'd do something else instead. This actually made it moderately surprising for me that the movie ended the way I'd initially expected.
The item is the Resurrection Stone - something that can bring someone back from the dead, but only works once. This type of magic artifact has appeared in many pieces of media, and the story is always the same: The main character plans to use it on someone they've lost. They fight to get it. They get it. But in defeating the Big Bad, an ally falls, and they suddenly decide that it's best to finally let go of their loss, and to save their fallen comrade instead. It was pretty clear that someone on the team was going to die in the final fight, and that the main character was going to choose to use the Stone on them. Who it would be wasn't necessarily obvious right away, but they set things up as the story went that make it clear.
However, I only notice how obvious it was who exactly it would be because of hindsight. Watching the movie, as I had convinced myself they would do something else, I wasn't paying attention to the signs.
That said, this technique probably only works for movies, stories read in one sitting, or if you binge-watch a shorter series. If I had been given time to walk away and contemplate the story before the ending came, I would probably have realized that the story had to end the way that it did, and the illusion I had created for myself would have collapsed.
Has anyone else gotten so jaded and genre aware that even if they hear a spoiler for a movie or a tv show they're able to just forget it through force of will?
A story should still be enjoyable even if its plot is by-the-numbers. After all, constructing a story without any tropes whatsoever is either impossible, or at least ill-advised. This is where execution comes in to play. Many people derided That 70's Show for it's complete lack of interesting plotting. But it's beloved by many because of its humor and pacing.
In the case of Star Rail, I enjoy the story not for its over-arching points, but for its smaller moments. The laments of an author who doesn't feel good enough to ghostwrite/edit a masterpiece. A man reuniting with his daughter after a decade, unaware that she went into a job he hates.
Star Rail is a strange mix of good writing and adequate writing.
But there is a tipping point. A plot needs to offer some surprises to be interesting. Why I dropped My Hero Academia and The Mandalorian after their third episodes: the trajectory of the plot was so obvious it removed all the fun.
5727078 This is an interesting take on it. Many stories over-rely on their twist to have any impact. The twist and its delivery are the entire point of the work. Take away that surprise, and the story falls flat.
it's interesting to see that framed as a shortcoming.
To a similar extent, there are stories that are so built around an early twist that the twist has to be marketed to get people to read/watch it. I know I'm guilty of it with something I've written for this very site, but for a more relatable example, I've noticed this with a lot of anime. Are there actually people who start watching shows like The Promised Neverland, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, or Yuki Yunna is a Hero who don't already know that the orphanage is actually a farm, the generic isekai protagonist is going to be murdered by the titular executioner halfway though the first episode, and being meguga is suffering?