I had so much fun with these refs you guys have no idea

Not wrong I agree completely and wholeheartedly! Maruki is very much for taking the “easy” way out by implying that if a person is too “broken” the way they are, it’s better for them to be someone else, thus the brainwash treatment. He did it with Sumire, Hell even Mona lost his sassy personality

-and basically says "awww sheesh yeah you ARE a hot mess, I’ll fix you up so you’re nice and sweet for real and everyone will like you then :) “ him being a wildcard is a double edged sword bc in the end he is a failed one. Joker wears masks and gets rewarded for it but Goro is the one meant to lose

Yup…and yeah he had "fans” and he figured this SHOULD have made him happy, but it was all still empty for him because they didn’t love HIM they loved the mask. and were just as quick to turn on him the minute the PTs became a thing. Then Maruki comes along (love you Maruki but)

And of course you get the engine room - which yeah, Call of Chaos was a factor but also years of mental illness being suppressed and untreated leading to one glorious breakdown in which he admits that no one will ever want him no matter what he does

Over time it was a little too late - like "maybe if I showed mom I could be a sweeter child, even if it was all pretend, she wouldn’t have left me”. But he continued anyway, because eventually, it had to work, and he already tried THIS HARD so there was no point letting the mask drop now

People reacted positively whenever he put on a fake smile and used a sweet voice and didn’t say bad words and spoke politely. But somehow, he still kept getting rejected and given away. So, he decided he just wasn’t trying HARD enough, that he needed to stamp out every flaw in himself.

So of course when she DID die, his behavioral issues were compounded & made worse. It didn’t take him long to internalize "people hate me and reject me for being myself” and rather than getting help for managing his emotions AND his grief, he immediately suppressed everything